2.07.2 A necklace.

My hand did something outstanding when it died.

"A loach was in your mind. And it probably escaped." The disgust and anger in Remira's voice were very apparent. If looks can kill, my hand would have died another thousand times.

But death is only a one-time deal, it won't happen again and again.

Only a few lucky ones like me can survive that ordeal.

Because of it, there are many that wish to learn my method and how I became what I am today. And I am attracted to those people as well, they are the best tool to have.

"How is her health?" Remira asked, somewhat worried.

The moment she sensed that the hand had exorcized itself, she went on to inform Maxim of the attack. And after hearing the details, he ran to Pierta, who was tired and barely able to keep awake.

Anyone in her situation would be, she was just a slightly stronger human, to begin with. And after her mind had been invaded by two entities, one of them being her own friend. The strain on her soul increased. If not properly handled, it would have collapsed and killed her.

But Remira, albeit a bit childish. She knew the limits of her friend and had supported her mind with her own. It was why she was able to even stay awake at the moment.

"There hadn't been any Marks present on her body, or at least that's what it looks like. But marks are not something that can be detected easily." With the previous precedent set with Farhad's death, there was a chance that Pierta had been marked as well.

But did Maxim think it was such an easy thing to do?

It took more than a year of preparation before I was able to mark the child. Doing so again so fast would require resources that I didn't possess at the moment. So this fear of his was pretty much useless.

"Though, as I have eyes now. I might be able to do a thorough checkup on her before it's too late."

Maxim had already met the young man called Adam and had given him the same test he gave to Farhad early on.

And although the results were not as outstanding as Farhad's. Adam was still able to read around four pages of the forbidden text. Which was the best result that Maxim had been expecting when he originally sent out the job offer.

"Then why the delay, just ask the boy to come here and do it." Remira requested, her desperation apparent. One can see how much care she held for this woman. Their history might be a lot closer than I had originally expected.

"I have already called for him, so don't worry. Instead, tell me more about this hand you see in her consciousness and what it told you." At Maxim's behest, Remira, although wishing to keep it to herself, started to confess the whole event in detail.

"Did you know him? Or anything related to him?" Maxim asked, his curiosity was at its peak when Remira mentioned how the hand seemed to know someone from her family. It spoke as if he was familiar with her.

And unlike Maxim that was assessing each point of information in his mind and making up assumptions, I was just ecstatic.

The things my hands did were pretty audacious. Feeding our enemies wrong information in an attempt to send them off on the wrong path.

Such perfect strategy. Sadly, I would have liked it if it had not done so and just died, keeping the mystery around our existence.

I know that expecting something that was born out of 10% of my true spirit would not be that intelligent and hence would make mistakes.

But even if that was the case, I won't repeat the same mistake of the past in which a part of my body went independent and left me for good.

It still hurts, I haven't recovered from that damage even now.

"Nothing comes to mind, but he acted familiar with me. Maybe that's why he attacked her." Remira said, clenching her fist in anger.

She blamed herself for this small event. For some reason, in her brain, she was able to pinpoint the reason why I approached that woman. Though the reason for that might have been a bit different than what she had expected.

"Don't be led by your anger, this just means that our opponent is getting desperate. That's why he attacked one of us directly." Maxim explained in a calm tone. "Which means that whatever we are doing is correct and will remain correct as long as we don't get distracted."

"Including the mention of your mother. Ignore it and focus on what's at hand. Go and investigate the students in Lucien. That is your current priority." Maxim's voice was stern and a bit caring.

Even though his head has no eyes, he can feel from the palpitations in Remira's voice that she was down in the dumps at the moment.

"Still with your priority when one of our own is harmed? I have said this before and I will say it again. Focus on that child, he probably knows who our enemy is and if we catch him, we will catch the enemy." Remira questioned authority just like I had expected her to.

Her instincts and strength might be amazing, but in the real world, none of that mattered if the individual lacked wisdom.

The wisdom that Remira was sorely lacking.

Though Maxim was as experienced as he was, he knew that all of this might just be a distraction. So in a calm tone, he explained to her. "This is not the time to be swayed by your emotions, this is not how you are trained or expected to act in the field. Here, my words are absolute and if you can't do something as basic as this, I will replace you at the moment's notice."

Even if there might be a delay. He would still choose to call for another backup if Remira kept acting like this.

And besides, it's not like it would actually take time.

There ought to be someone bringing the results on the inscribed wooden board that Remira found. And if Maxim puts in a word, then the deliverer might just be another hunter, coming to replace Remira.

And the little girl knew this, hence she went silent.

But like the carrot and stick strategy, Maxim gave her some assurance.

"Don't worry, I have something that would protect the mind of Pierta." He said while extending his hand forward.

"And don't worry, it's not that dangerous." With those words, he stabbed his hand and made a small incision. Much to Remira's horror.

"What are you doing?" Remira said as she jumped forward to stop Maxim from injuring himself.

"Slow down." Before Remira can actually approach him, Maxim said simple words, causing the blood in Remira to halt, freezing her on the spot.

"What are you doing…" But Remira, even while she was frozen on the spot, still asked this question.

And Maxim just said. "It would be better for you to see it." Pinching his fingers together, he stretched out the incision and slowly went deeper into his wound, causing the blood to gush out bit by bit.

Though Maxim's expression remained stoic as always. With his eyes gone, it was harder to know what he was thinking most of the time anyway.

But this time, I didn't need to read his mind or expression to know what he was doing. Instead, I already knew.

"Found it," Maxim said while taking out a small necklace with a brass ring at the end.

It was also when he released the spell on Remira.

"What is this?" At this point in time, even Remira has caught on to what Maxim intended to do. But she didn't stop. Her hands still moved faster than her words, as she held the wound of Maxim tightly while sending warm currents of her power into his injuries.

Slowly healing it.

And Maxim didn't stop her. He just looked at the necklace for a while, lost in nostalgia, and then handed it to Remira.

"There is a powerful hex on this necklace which protects its wearer's mind."

Unlike enchantments that require inscription to work and materials. Hexes were simple spells that latched onto things.

Though the price to cast a Hex was heavier than it required a lot more resources in comparison to enchantment as well.

Which made the Hex items become a rarity in the market.

"Why give this to me?"

"Not you, it's for Pierta. Your mind is protected by the Radiant blood while mine… it's a bit similar to yours. Leaving only Pierta who remains the weak link in our group."

The old man Maxim said while handing the blood-ridden necklace to Remira. "Just wash it before giving it to her."

He said, before leaving the scene. Going to sew up the wound on his own.

As blood might have stopped, but the power of Radiance that was made for destruction and stalking, won't be able to heal him.

"This necklace?" Looking at the departing back of Remira. She silently clenched the necklace in her hand, before thanking the old man in his mind.

She can understand that Maxim held this necklace dearly to him, it might have belonged to someone important to him, hence why he kept it so close to himself.

Which made her a bit ashamed.

What Maxim said was right, the enemy only attacked because they were on the right track. And if they get distracted at this point. The enemy would win.