Chapter 9 - The Enchanted Relic: Infernal Chain

“I knew you liked them,” says Athena in a seductive voice to me as she puts her hands on her breasts.

I’m fucked…

I looked at my mother and Hugo, but it seemed they couldn’t see her.

Is she in my mind? What happened? Did I go crazy when I got hit in the head?

“No, darling… you saw me before you almost died from the skull fracture, remember? I just didn’t interact much,” she said, laughing in that pompous way.

I quickly glanced at her and tried to ignore her existence, focusing on the most important person in the world to me.

“It’s alright, this little bird won’t hurt me. It just said it would stay for a while to recover and then leave,” I tried to reassure the two adults.

“You communicated with this Phoenix!?” Hugo asked, startled.

I communicated with a Phoenix and a dead Goddess…

My mother stared at the small red hawk as it lay down.

“I’ll trust you, now tell me whose blood this is,” she said, pinching my ear.

“That hurts, mom…”

“It hurts? This is nothing compared to the pain I felt seeing you like this.”

“My Lady! My Lord! Don’t you understand the gravity of the monstrosity that is this bird?” Hugo shouted, desperate.

“Tell us, Nathan Evenhart, what have you done?” My mother was so focused on me that she ignored Hugo.

She used my full name; I’m really in trouble.

The two adults stared at me, trying to extract answers. My mother was worried about me being covered in blood, and Hugo was still concerned about the little phoenix sleeping on my head.

I sighed, imagining the scolding I was going to get.

If she scolded me so much and always reminded me of the time I messed up with the mana test… I’m in for it when she sees the beach.

Calling them to follow me, I led them toward the beach, retracing the path I took that night and explaining what I had to do. I downplayed the events, saying they could barely stand and were resting, but it was hard to deceive two experienced warriors. From the position of the bodies, they understood that my enemies weren’t sleeping when I attacked them. To make things worse, one of them was without pants and had a slit throat, indicating that I acted stealthily and killed him in cold blood.

“That was dishonorable… but well done,” Hugo praised.

Well done? I’m just a child…

My mother glared at him, and he turned his head aside.

I had to explain the events of that night, saying I followed an orange light that I later discovered was from the little hawk that could catch fire and not be burned by its flames. Hugo showed me his hand on fire without burning, using his elemental power, and I understood that the bird did that with mana.

“Did your mother teach you the art of assassination?” he asked, looking at the two bodies on the beach.

One body was on the sand, and the other was inside the shipwreck where I found the phoenix.

“I would never teach my son that. I don’t even use swords anymore and wouldn’t want him to follow that path,” my mother said.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hugo looked at me.

“Then it’s in the blood. You’re the son of two warrior mages and a pure Evenhart Legacy. I’m proud of you, Nathan! Like father, like son… both killers of true humans,” he said happily, but the look my mother gave us wiped the smiles off our faces.

“We need to leave. It’s not safe to stay here,” my mother said, and Hugo agreed.

“Those who came after me might have more people waiting to be contacted. We still have a few days until we reach Evenhart Manor. Inside, we’ll be protected,” Hugo said.

As we turned to leave, I had an idea.

“Remember I said I took this phoenix out of a chain?”

They both responded yes.

“It seems that chain isn’t normal. Can you identify what it is for me? I thought… of taking it with us. But I don’t know how dangerous the chain is or if it’s possible,” I said to them.

My mother frowned, confused, and Hugo too.

I had to explain things, downplaying the danger. I just summarized that when I touched the chains briefly, it felt like my hands were being melted by acid.

They looked at each other and asked me to take them to the chains.

As we entered, Hugo made flames come out of his hand to light the place.

“This thing?” he bent down and looked at the chain.

“Hugo, are you feeling what I’m feeling?” my mother asked him.

What? I don’t feel anything.

“Yes… a possible enchanted relic,” he said, stretching his finger.

As soon as he touched the chain…

“Shit!” he jumped back. “What the fuck is this?”

My mother stared at Hugo and then at me.

“You touched this?” she asked me with a severe voice.

I lowered my head.

“Yes…”

“Do you know the risk you took!?” she sighed, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes.

“Sorry…” I tried to say.

“She’s right, young master. Luckily, enchanted relics are just objects with ancient passive magic in them. These relics only serve their purpose and don’t pose severe risks, but you did something reckless. You might not be able to feel it, but this chain is emanating ancient mana,” he said.

I looked at the chain and couldn’t feel anything.

“I don’t feel its mana, to me it’s just a normal chain,” I said.

“When you awaken your Gem, you’ll understand,” my mother said, still in a stern tone.

“Let’s say that in this world there are some relics abandoned by a very ancient people. They’re worth a fortune because of their utility. Great nobles and families try to have one in their arsenal… and you found one. Congratulations, the first enchanted relic of the Evenharts, and its discoverer is only five years old,” he said, laughing.

My mother seemed to have calmed down.

“Margaery will like the chains…” she said.

Hugo froze at that. “I presume she will. I only pity the poor soul she decides to tie up with this thing.”

“So, is it possible to take it with us?” I asked.

“Yes, Nate, a sacred relic can be transported in a simple wooden box or even a cloth. This one seems to be a relic that is always active, so we can’t touch it directly,” my mother explained.

“I’ll find something to put this thing in,” Hugo said, leaving the shipwreck.

We waited until Hugo returned with a cloth sack and a small basket he took from the carriages. My mother was examining the corpses of the true humans. We took the helmets and swords; we would take them for what they called the ‘Evenhart Legacy’.

Hugo spat on a corpse, and my mother looked at them with hatred. It seemed they had a personal grudge against the true humans, and I understood why. It wasn’t just my father who died in that battle but also the families of most of the loyal people who went with them.

Hugo wasn’t in the center of the battle but was in another part of it with others my mother described as trusted people. They didn’t explain much to me, just that I would understand when I knew what the ‘Evenhart Legacy’ was.

As soon as Hugo managed to move the chains, the little red hawk jumped and flew at him.

Hugo fell to the ground.

“It’s alright!” I said to Hugo. “He just has a trauma with these chains…”

I tried to explain to the red bird, and the only thing I could say that calmed him down was: ‘We won’t use the chain on you, but on the one who put it on you.’

After that, he seemed to understand and returned to me, this time staying on my shoulder and constantly watching Hugo.

Hugo was sweating the entire way back to the carriage while being stared at by the little phoenix.

I think he got even more scared after seeing the melted face of that soldier…

We packed our things, and Hugo went to wash in the sea. My mother also washed me, cleaning the blood off my body. I felt a bit embarrassed to be washed by my mother in the open, but I couldn’t complain since I was happy to be back alive with her.

I hid the fact that I almost died and that this bird saved me; it’s better to keep that detail to myself.

“And me? Didn’t you forget to talk about me too?” asked the Goddess Athena.

I looked to the side and saw the blonde woman.

Go away, crazy woman.

I ignored her and went back to focusing on packing our things.

We got into the carriage, and Hugo took the driver's seat.

The red bird lay down on a bench and went to sleep; I think it was the first time in a long while it could do so without feeling that infernal pain all the time.

I spent a few minutes leaning against that thing, and it was agonizing. My whole body felt heavy and tired afterward. This little guy had suffered for a long time.

“We’ll soon be within the protected territory of the manor, don’t worry,” Hugo said to us.

“After all this time, I can’t believe I’m going back there…” my mother said as the carriage started moving.

I don’t know what awaits me there… what will my family be like?

“I hope there’s some fun for us, Icarus,” said the Goddess Athena, sitting in front of me in the carriage.

I’m really fucked…