"You're right, Master. Perry is ashamed of its own weakness." The little skeleton hurriedly clambered to its feet before rushing over to its master's side in a bowed posture, putting on a pitiful display.

"However, this human woman really is quite powerful..." the little skeleton added in a quiet voice with its head lowered.

"What was that?!" the burly skeleton asked in a menacing voice as it looked down at Perry out of the corners of its eye sockets.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing! I was just cursing myself for my own weakness," Perry hurriedly said as it waved its hands in a panicked manner, not even daring to look its master in the eyes.

The eyes of the burly skeleton naturally also consisted of two balls of blue fire, but these ones were far more bright and piercing than the blue flames in the eye sockets of the small skeleton.

"Also, that human woman is incredibly beautiful," Perry said as it made its way over to the burly skeleton in a sneaky manner. "How do I put this? She’s so beautiful that it's hard to describe with words."

It was rather interesting to see its demeanor. At the moment, there were only three living beings in this vast landscape of snow and ice, and among them, Lana was unconscious, yet the small skeleton was still scurrying around like a sneaky thief for some reason.

"Oh? Is that right?" The flames in the eye sockets of the burly skeleton flickered slightly, following which it budged Lana's head with its skeletal foot to turn her face toward it.

Beneath the strands of luscious red hair was a set of features that were fairer than snow, but there was a slightly unhealthy flush on Lana's delicate cheeks, and her tightly furrowed brows expressed a sense of regret toward her own complacency.

Upon catching a glimpse of Lana's face, the burly skeleton was immediately intrigued, and it gently flipped Lana's body over so that she was lying flat against the snowy ground with her face aimed directly upward.

As a result, the burly skeleton was able to see Lana's face in its full glory, and it was truly a sight for sore eyes.

The sight of Lana's fully revealed face immediately rooted the burly skeleton to the spot as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and the two balls of blue flames almost bulged out of its eye sockets. Its jaw had also gaped wide open and was chattering in an exaggerated manner, clearly reflecting the tumultuous emotions in its heart.

Lana's slender and delicate arms were crossed gently in front of her own chest, covering the pair of alluring jade peaks that were almost fully visible beneath her tattered robes. Even though she was barely clothed at all, she was still extraordinarily regal and majestic in her unconscious state, to the point that both of the skeletons found themselves entranced by her incredible beauty.

"I didn't lie to you, did I, Master?" Perry asked with a smug look in its eyes, as if it were asking to be praised.

However, the burly skeleton still hadn't returned to its senses, and it nodded in response in a wooden manner.

"Master, don't allow yourself to be captivated by this human woman!" Perry hurriedly urged at the sight of its master's entranced display.

"Hmph! Do you think I'm as weak of will as you are?" the burly skeleton snapped as it returned to its senses.

Perry nodded sheepishly in response, but it was clear that the burly skeleton had been so captivated by Lana just now that its eyes had almost popped out of their sockets. Of course, it was still yet to be seen whether those two balls of fire could be referred to as eyes.

"I ordered you to come out and search for that ice dragon. Have you found it yet?"

"I'm afraid not, Master," Perry replied in an uneasy voice as it took a careful glance at its master.

"Useless trash! Do you think we're here on holiday?" the burly skeleton snapped in a furious voice.

"But Master, I really can't sense any trace of its aura at all," Perry said in a sobbing voice.

The burly skeleton harrumphed coldly in response, but didn't place any further blame on its subordinate because it was also unable to sense where the giant ice dragon had gone.

"We've already been searching for days and thousands of kilometers. How could there be no sign of it at all?" the burly skeleton grumbled to itself in a cold voice.

"Ever since we saw the ice dragon being sucked into that spell on that day, we've never seen it again," Perry said as it recalled the scenes that had unfolded at the time.

"I feel like that ice dragon has most likely perished," the burly skeleton said in a cold voice. "But if that's the case, where is its body? It was such a massive creature, how could there have not even been a single scale of it left behind?"

"Master, the spell that the human cast at the time was also extremely terrifying. Could it be that the spell caused the ice dragon to completely disintegrate?" Perry asked in a careful voice.

"That ice dragon is considered to be an extremely formidable figure in the northwest. Do you think a mere human would possess the ability to do that?" the burly skeleton scoffed as it took a glance at Perry. "The clash of the spells unleashed by the two of them resulted in some space-time disruption, and the ice dragon was merely sucked into it."

"But Master, you just said that you think that the ice dragon has most likely perished, why are you saying that it's only been sucked into space-time disruption now? Doesn't that mean it's not dead?" Perry asked in a puzzled voice.

"My goodness, explaining things to you is difficult," the burly skeleton sighed in a disgruntled voice. "Did you see that ice dragon? Did you see how much mass its body was carrying? Do you know how much energy there had to have been contained within its body?"

Perry remained completely lost and befuddled.

"If a normal creature were to enter the disrupted time and space, they wouldn't be placed in any peril, but something entirely different applies to that ice dragon, understood?"

Perry nodded in response, but it was clear that it still didn't fully understand, not that the burly skeleton cared.

"Master, is it really that important for us to track down that ice dragon?" Perry asked.

"Of course it is! If I can devour its memories, I'll be able to grasp the secrets of its magic, and my powers would for sure to elevated to a whole new level."

"I'll also be elevated to a whole new level then," Perry said with an excited expression.

"Yes, you'll become a higher level of trash," the burly skeleton scoffed in a cold voice.

Perry lowered its head in a dejected manner.

The burly skeleton wasn't in the mood to console its depressed subordinate. It made its way over to Lana's side, then squatted down before placing the tip of its skeletal finger against her forehead.

Glowing blue energy then began to circulate throughout its entire body before rapidly invading Lana's brain.

Even in her unconscious state, Lana's brows furrowed involuntarily, and it was clear that she was in immense pain.

Perry's non-existent heart tightened ever so slightly as he heard the painful moan that escaped from the woman's lips.

It knew that its master was about to devour this human woman's memories.

Losing one's memories was actually a very painful process, at the very least, it was very physically agonizing.

But isn't losing one's memories a very joyful thing for many people? Perry was beginning to doubt whether this thought was correct, and it was the first time that it had ever experienced such doubts.

Perry's memories began from the point where it awakened from a slumber lasting an indeterminate period of time, following which it was informed by its master that it had become its slave.

It could no longer recall any of its own life before it had become a skeleton, and it even suspected that its own life had been bestowed upon it by its master.

However, the sight of such a beautiful living being about to lose her memories struck it with a sense of sympathy and doubt.

For the very first time, it was struck by the impulsive urge to stop its master, a thought that it had never had before.

However, it didn't have the courage to act on the urge as it knew what the outcome was going to be. Even though it was a skeleton, it still possessed life force, and all creatures that possessed life force inevitably had a sense of self-preservation.

The burly skeleton immediately saw through Perry's intentions, and it stopped what it was doing as it turned to Perry before asking, "What? You want to stop me?"

Perry's teeth began to chatter violently yet again, and it didn't even dare to look its master in the "eyes".

In reality, the burly skeleton wasn't actually angry. Instead, it was watching Perry with an intrigued expression, feeling rather amused that its cowardly and submissive servant was even capable of feeling the urge to oppose it.

"I think you've grown sick of living," the burly skeleton said in a cold voice.

"No, I haven't! Please, Master..." Perry sobbed as it fell to its knees, terrified that its master was going to take its life away.

"Piss off!" the burly skeleton roared, and Perry was absolutely horrified, scurrying away in panic until it was out of the burly skeleton's field of view, but at the same time, it was still very concerned for Lana.

The burly skeleton then immediately began its work.

However, it was momentarily stumped as it reached a certain part of Lana's memories.

The memories were pertaining to a certain man, and they were like a soft silken scarf that wrapped itself around the burly skeleton's neck before tightening further and further, to the point that he was on the brink of asphyxiation, as if there were someone slicing onions right in front of its eyes, striking it with the urge to tear up.

What was most alarming to the burly skeleton was that it shouldn't have been able to feel these emotions.

In contrast with Perry, the burly skeleton was well aware of its own past history, and it knew how it had arrived in this world.

Thus, it knew better than anyone else that it no longer had any emotions.

However, as it read through Lana's memories, namely her first encounter with Erwin outside the Redbud Pavilion, the spectacle of fire and ice that Erwin had created for her during the Pillow Sword Tournament, their brief opposition against one another during the battle on the Marrod Plain, the intimacy they had shared on that night in Sarus before parting ways... All of these memories were evoking emotions within its heart that should've already been long gone.

There was even an instant where it hesitated, wondering whether it was incorrect for it to take this woman's memories from her in such a brutal fashion.

As a result of this, ripples were beginning to surge through its heart, and the distant memories that it had sealed away long ago suddenly began to resurface, threatening to shatter the facade that it had maintained so carefully for so long.

No! I can't allow it!

The blue flames within the burly skeleton's eye sockets widened as it hurriedly manufactured a sense of disdain toward the moment of vulnerability that it was almost overcome by, and it warned itself to never think of those memories again at all costs.

Immediately thereafter, a derisive sneer appeared on its face as it severed all of the undesirable emotions that were being evoked in its heart by Lana's memories.

After that, it began to mercilessly devour Lana's memories.

Lana's expression was becoming more and more agonized, and it was clear that having her memories taken from her was not an enjoyable experience.

She could sense that she was about to forget someone extremely important to her, and her memories were rapidly fading as she felt her own mind quickly return to a blank slate.

Her facial features were scrunched together in agony, and her entire body was trembling uncontrollably as her complexion became more and more ashen.

"No, don't..." She seemed to be able to feel what she was experiencing, and she was imploring her assailant not to take her precious memories away from her.

She reached out with her hands, grabbing frantically, but was unable to grab onto anything.

The burly skeleton looked on at Lana's completely futile gestures with a cold expression as it sighed, "Just resign yourself to your fate and become my servant. Why not forget all of those burdensome memories are start anew?"