Novel Full Chapter 851: The Relic Speaks
Chapter 851: Chapter 851: The Relic Speaks
“Ahem. Don’t you think this is a bit, uh, dramatic?” Serena asked.
Her tone carried her usual flat nonchalance, but her ears betrayed her completely—burning as red as a ripe tomato.
And for good reason. A pair of muscular arms was locked around her waist, firm and unyielding, while a broad chest pressed snugly to her back.
Indeed… it was Kain.
They had entered the trial relic hand in hand, as they’d agreed, prepared to complete multiple trials in the hopes of getting the inheritance trial to respond. At first, the physical contact was heart fluttering…before she realized just how inconvenient it was…
——————–
First, Serena nearly tripped over a loose tile during one trial composed of what felt like never ending ceramic creatures, and instead of letting go to steady her, Kain just yanked her along like she was a piece of luggage without feelings!
“Ouch,” she hissed, regaining her balance. “At this rate, I’ll lose an arm before I lose you.”
“Good,” Kain muttered, gripping tighter. “Then we’ll still be connected.”
——————–
During one trap, they had to duck under swinging pendulums.
Kain yanked Serena down a second too late, and the two cracked foreheads together with a sharp thunk.
Serena hissed, clutching her brow. “You’re supposed to watch my back, not give me brain damage.”
Kain rubbed his own forehead, muttering, “Better a headache than getting separated.”
“Why’s your head harder than an Ironheaded Rhino’s anyways…?” He muttered.
——————–
At one point, the floor collapsed beneath them, and they barely caught the edge. As Kain hauled Serena up with one hand, his palm brushed against her chest.
She froze, cheeks blazing with embarrassment and then rage, then promptly smacked him in the ribs with her free fist.
“Watch your hands!” she snapped.
“I wasn’t watching anything—I was trying to save you!” Kain protested, wheezing from the blow.
’Clearly, not only her head is made of iron…’ He thought while clutching his sternum in pain.
——————–
And then, when a puzzle forced them to climb opposite sides of a stone wall, Kain refused to release her. The result? Both of them dangling awkwardly, one-armed, like mismatched puppets.
“If we fall, it’ll be because of you,” Serena said flatly.
“If we fall, at least we’ll fall and get teleported out together,” Kain shot back.
——————–
Going everywhere together was the plan…
But the relic had other ideas.
Every challenge they faced inside the twisting corridors seemed to conspire against their being attached. The puzzles demanded cooperative levers far apart pulled simultaneously, the traps required synchronized dodging, and the battles threw enemies at them in pairs that mirrored their own strengths. And each time they were attacked, Serena couldn’t help but notice: the projectiles, the swipes, the sudden bursts of elemental energy—all of them seemed perfectly aimed to strike their linked hands, as if the relic itself were determined to separate them.
Which only fed Kain’s paranoia.
He had become utterly convinced that the moment they lost physical contact, the relic would snatch Serena away—teleporting her alone into the inheritance trial, leaving him behind.
And that was how they ended up here: perched atop Vauleth’s broad crimson back as the dragon soared through a chamber full of airborne enemies, Serena in the front, Kain right behind her. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, his posture absurdly reminiscent of—
Serena’s lips twitched. The comparison coming to mind kind of funnny. ’It’s like some girl clinging to her boyfriend on the back of his motorcycle.’
Except the “motorcycle” was a massive fire-breathing dragon, and the “girlfriend” was a brooding would-be savior of humanity who apparently thought wrapping himself around her like an octopus was the pinnacle of strategic foresight.
Serena coughed and tried again. “I’m serious, this is ridiculous. If the relic wanted to teleport me, I doubt holding hands—or whatever this is—would stop it.”
Kain’s reply came immediately, his voice low and stubborn. “I don’t want to take any chances. What happens if you disappear and go to another continent without me? What am I supposed to do then?”
As he spoke, his breath brushed against the curve of her ear. Serena stiffened, her already-red lobes practically glowing hotter, as though someone had pressed burning coals against them. She clenched her fists.
“Honestly…” she muttered, but didn’t push him away.
They continued like that through the rest of the trial, Serena half-exasperated, half… something else, while Kain maintained his iron grip. When Vauleth incinerated the last of their opponents, the relic’s glow intensified.
“Looks like it’s over,” Serena said, relieved.
The light wrapped around them, the familiar sensation of teleportation seizing their bodies. But this time, it was different.
The transport dragged on. Far longer than it should have. A moment stretched into two, then three. The air grew heavy, pressure crushing them.
Kain’s arms tightened reflexively around Serena’s waist, squeezing her close as if the force might rip her away from him.
Her heart gave a traitorous flutter, but she quickly suppressed it with irritation.
When the dizziness finally lifted, they weren’t back in the College relic’s typical waiting chamber between trials. Instead, Serena blinked and found herself staring at something achingly familiar and somewhere she didn’t miss at all…
A circular chamber, vast and solemn. Four doors spaced evenly across the room, each one facing a cardinal direction.
The waiting room of the inheritance trials.
Only, unlike the last time they were here, every door was shut.
For a long, silent moment, nothing happened.
Serena frowned, scanning the doors. “It… it worked?” A part of her had been sceptical of Kain’s plan.
Kain, on the other hand, broke into a grin. His eyes lit with barely restrained excitement. “Halfway there,” he whispered. “We’re halfway there!”
Serena glanced back over her shoulder, and instantly regretted it. His face was far too close, his smile inches from hers. She jerked her gaze away, ears flaring bright again.
“Surely,” she muttered, “you can let go of me now. We’re safe.”
But Kain didn’t move. His grip around her waist remained stubbornly firm.
“Not until I know for sure,” he said.
At this point, Serena’s blush wasn’t entirely from embarrassment. Some small, dangerous part of her wondered if he was simply making excuses now. Her fists clenched. Maybe she should turn around—slap him, shove him, something—just to put an end to this ridiculousness.
But before she could, a voice cut across the chamber.
“Well, well. Isn’t this cozy?”
Both froze. The voice was childish, high-pitched, yet dripping with condescension. They turned their heads in unison and saw a figure standing a short distance away.
It looked like a human child of six or seven years, with pointed ears poking through a mop of dark hair. Its arms were crossed, chin tilted arrogantly upward.
Kain and Serena stiffened. Neither of them had sensed its approach.
“Who are you?” Kain demanded.
“What are you?” Serena added. Instinctively sensing that it wasn’t human.
The child sniffed, voice carrying the cadence of someone much older. “What’s with the attitude? You’re the ones who wanted to see me.”
Both beast tamers blinked.
“…You’re the relic?” Serena asked slowly.
“Obviously.” The child rolled its eyes. “What, did you think I was just some dumb hunk of stone? Please. I am a superiorbeing.”
Kain and Serena exchanged stunned looks. They had long suspected the relic possessed intelligence. But seeing it like this—personified, embodied—was far more than they’d expected.
The child continued, smirking. “So. You wanted to meet me. Why?”
They hesitated. Kain began, carefully, “How did you even know we—”
“Desperation,” the relic interrupted. “You both reek of it. I could smell it all the way from the central continent.”
It wrinkled its nose theatrically. “Honestly, I wasn’t going to pay attention to either of you. But…” Its gaze flicked to Serena, eyes narrowing. “Your progress caught my eye. For a moment, I thought there was a roadblock in your inheritance path. I don’t waste my time watching fools who stall at the start line.”
It didn’t even glance at Kain.
Heat crawled up his neck, but Kain bit down his own pride and stayed silent. He knew better than to protest when his own inheritance gains had been paltry at best.
Still, his mind was racing. ’If it’s saying that it sensed us from the central continent, then… this chamber must not even be on the central continent. We’ve been transported elsewhere.’
Serena crossed her arms. “We’ll tell you why we came. It’s because of the Abyss. The Eastern Continent is under invasion, and we need you to open a path there.”
Kain nodded, backing her up. “Millions are trapped there. Ordinary people, abandoned. Beast tamers who couldn’t afford teleportation are stranded. If we can reach them, we can give them hope. Strength.”
The child stared at them for a long, silent moment. Its expression didn’t change, but a flicker of something—amusement? Annoyance?—glimmered in its eyes.
Finally, it tilted its head and asked, in a tone both sharp and mocking:
“…And why, exactly, should I?”