There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 337 - 329. A Trace of Darkness

Chapter 337: Chapter 329. A Trace of Darkness

With Han Shin in tow, Bassena drove to Mortix Hill. But instead of the main building Zein usually visited, the car headed toward a passage leading to the inside of the hill.

They were heading to the dungeon.

"Why there? I thought we’d agreed to not interrogate him?" Zein asked. "Not that I mind, just curious."

"Because it’s secure, even more than Trinity," Bassena said. "And in case they tried to do something, we had enough containment system there."

"I see," Zein nodded. "So, Radia is fetching them?"

"Yeah,"

About half an hour ago, Radia suddenly got a call from Darleon. Looking at the time, it seemed like the old man took a whole night to contemplate things. Radia had thought the call would only bring an answer to the deal, but instead, it was like a call for an emergency dispatcher; the old man had asked if Radia could take Varion out of Rexon without anyone noticing.

"What if it’s a trap from the other side?"

"Then we’ll commence an all-out attack," Bassena shrugged. "Radia said the old man had to be such a good actor if that’s the case, because his voice sounds desperate--or so he told me."

"So Radia will go over himself through his portal?"

"His summon’s portal," Bassena corrected. "Well, that’s the easiest way to do the whole undetected thing," he paused, before adding grimly. "It’s fortunate that no one had that kind of skill during your...abduction."

Zein pressed his lips and hummed lowly. "But...would Radia be okay? If it’s a trap..."

"Huh? Are you worried about him?" Han Shin, who was riding in the back seat, tilted his head. "Oh, I guess you’ve never seen him in action, huh?"

Zein glanced at the healer through the rearview mirror, before looking at Bassena, who added an explanation with a smile. "Let’s see...if it’s before my last trial, he’d be able to subdue me enough to put mana-sealing shackles on me."

The guide arched his brow in surprise. He knew Radia’s ’secretaries’ were quite strong--each at least on par with three-star--but it was surprising to hear someone who wasn’t a Ranker could subdue Bassena, however temporarily.

"Except for Nyx, the ones he used as his secretary are his weakest summon," Bassena continued. "That’s why he can maintain them outside for a long time. If he calls all of his summons, especially his strongest three, he will only be able to keep them for a few hours without mana regeneration items."

"But he’d be able to go on par with Bas," Han Shin added. "Radia is the one in charge of restraining him when he has his tantrum."

Bassena pursed his lips, but made no attempt to refute. "Well, he’s still one of the strongest five-star espers in the Federation. It’s just that he never went to dungeons after he became the Chairman of Mortix, so..." he shrugged.

Espers only looked strong when they were in action, so the ones in active duty like Bassena would gain more attention, especially because he was a damage dealer type. Since Radia hadn’t entered dungeons for ten years, and mainly only joined to help in an outbreak, there was no concrete way to evaluate his strength.

Zein understood now why people trusted the man so much; he was almost too perfect. Perhaps this was why Joon said there was no need to protect Radia by being close by, since the man had enough prowess to do it himself. "So you’re saying I don’t need to get worried, right?" he nodded.

The two espers hummed in affirmation, just as they exited the tunnel and arrived at a basement parking lot. Jock was already waiting there for them, and he guided them to an empty hall that looked like a training arena. All of the walls were reinforced with mana-resistant material and formation barriers, including the ceiling.

"Oh, this brings uncomfortable memory," Bassena grimaced.

Without needing additional information, Zein could make his own speculation. "You were beaten a lot in this room, huh?" he smirked, and Bassena just smiled wryly in response. "Are the other ’prisoners’ here too?"

"Yes, including the one we take yesterday," Jock looked at Zein before adding carefully. "Would you like to--"

"No need," Zein shook his head. He had no business anymore with those people, and had his revenge on those who directly harmed him. Rather than giving those people his attention, he’d rather focus on the one behind everything; the House of Horin. "Anyway, what do you think happened--assuming it’s not a trap?"

"Perhaps the old man thinks his son is in danger?" Bassena shrugged. "Radia did say the clan might punish him."

"Oh, they’re here," Han Shin scooted behind Zein, clutching the guide’s jacket as the space split and a swirling portal generated.

The first one to come out was Radia, followed by Darleon who carefully held a man bound with a sealing spell, chained arms to back with glowing runes. Just from the look of it, the man seemed to be a bit distraught, mumbling inaudibly with shaking eyes.

They looked at the bound man in surprise. Zein had thought Varion would come with curses flowing out of his mouth, feeling wronged as he was forced to enter his enemy’s base. But forgot being angry--the man didn’t even look like he knew where he was.

"I think he was being influenced," Darleon answered the questioning gaze as he put the mumbling Varion down.

"What, like brainwash?"

"No, not that far," Han Shin walked closer and crouched down, peering into the wild eyes. "It’s more like a suggestive voice that amplified existing thought slowly, making certain ideas more appealing--I had seen this kind of case with cultists when I was volunteering before."

"Not the cultist part, but I think so too," Darleon nodded. "I know this might sound like an excuse, but...while I know my son is arrogant and power-drunk, he’s a calculative one, and...rather cowardly," the last word was uttered with a sigh and disheartened tone. "He wouldn’t blindly keep pursuing the guide like that."

"He did try to get Zein in the past," Bassena argued with a frown, unconsciously putting himself in front of the guide.

"Yes, but he stopped after," Darleon said. "He failed, so he would deem it was not worth the expended effort anymore."

Bassena glanced at Radia, who had been looking at the man with fascination. There was some truth in what Darleon said; aside from the attempt at the studio in Rexon, Celestia hadn’t done more than stalk Zein from afar--and even then, it had stopped after the internal announcement of the reclamation project.

Even if the man was doing it under someone else’s order, the two attempts back to back were indeed rather reckless. Both were done based on circumstantial opportunities, and while it wasn’t exactly sloppy, it also wasn’t very calculative of him.

"For now, can you help cure him, Shin?" Radia asked, tone softer than how he usually made an order. "Please?"

Han Shin pressed his lips, contemplating hard on what he should do. He remembered that this man was the one who caused the bad things done to Zein not long ago. Even if the man was under an influence, it was still fueled by his own greed and arrogance, and the fact that he had made an attempt in the past.

But Han Shin was also a healer. It was in his nature to want to heal people, just as how guides would still guide espers no matter the alignment. He turned his head to look at Zein, as if asking for his permission.

"I think you should do it," Zein nodded. "We wouldn’t be able to ask him anything in this state, anyway."

The healer sighed, before turning toward Varion again. Slowly, his hand reached out to touch the bumbling man’s temple--hesitatingly at first, but it gained firmness after he told himself that it would help Zein get to the bottom of this.

For this kind of affliction, mental healing was the best remedy. He tried to pierce into Varion’s mind, sending soothing mana to the man’s system. But he immediately frowned and retracted his hand.

"Wh-why are you stopping?" Darleon asked urgently.

"Huh? What happened?" Bassena walked closer, thinking that Han Shin might get attacked somehow.

"Weird," the healer narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "It’s like there’s a wall protecting his psyche, no--" Han Shin touched his chin in contemplation. "It’s more like there’s a wall preventing any attempt to get rid of the influence."

"A mind spell strong enough to reject a five-star healer’s skill?" Bassena raised his brow.

"At least we can be certain that something is influencing him, right?" asked Radia.

Han Shin nodded, and Darleon couldn’t help but panic a little bit. Even if he used to be one of the most influential espers in the Eastern Federation, he was also nothing more than a father. "C-can you do something...please?"

"Maybe it’s a curse?" Bassena offered an alternative. "Do we need to call someone with dispelling skills?"

"We don’t know yet what it actually is," Radia shook his head. "Casting a [dispell] to someone’s mind could be fatal if there’s no target; the skill will just attack the brain."

"Then what--Zein?" Bassena widened his eyes as Zein walked closer to the commotion. He had asked the guide to keep some distance, in case something bad happened.

Clearly, Zein ignored it. Although, to be fair, Varion did not look dangerous at all right now.

They watched as Zein reached out and touched the top of Varion’s bowed head. The blue eyes gleamed, turning brighter as a sign of guiding. But not too long; after about five seconds, Zein pulled his hand away with a curious look in his eyes.

"It’s a miasma," he said. "The wall that blocked the healing; it’s made of miasma."

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