There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 364 - 356. One Night

Chapter 364: Chapter 356. One Night

Li Caishen had never thought the day would come when he could see the core of [Kronos] with his own eyes.

A creature that ate his own children for fear of being overthrown.

Or so it was told in some lost tale of the old era before the apocalypse. How foolish. Were they not aware that Kronos was destined to be killed by the child he was trying to eat?

Or rather; children. Li Caishen shifted his gaze from the giant structure and the core at its top to the two men who, for all he knew, seemed to be on a mission to end it all. Like the child in that tale.

It was quite unexpected when Radia Mallarc contacted him last night, asking for a meeting using his grandmother’s matriarch privilege. He was even more surprised when the heir of House Mallarc brought out operation [Kronos] to him.

Oh, yes. He knew about it. He knew because his dear sister was a target. And he thought...he thought if he became the most powerful person in the Federation, he would find out the truth about her death.

He was wrong.

The President wasn’t the most powerful person in the Federation. There were the Houses Alliance, the wealthy conglomerates, the untamable Rankers--a lot of people were out of his scope of influence. Instead, he put himself in a position where a lot of eyes were upon him, and it became even harder to investigate the operation.

As if it wasn’t enough, he was getting threatened by it. They could kill him anytime, they said, disclosing the hidden details of his sister to show what they were capable of. So it became even more frustrating instead; finally knowing about the operation, but couldn’t do anything about it.

But then, Radia Mallarc came to him with a whole target list from the past fifty years, and shed light on things he had been looking for. When the morning came the summoner asked him for clearance to enter one of the military bases, he only needed a little convincing to execute his right.

The moment he saw there were non-military espers as guards outside the dungeon, it was already suspicious. And even more, when he saw the modern building inside, completely intact instead of a ruin--there was no longer doubt in his heart.

To think that a man, a soldier, singlehandedly infiltrated the place and sneaked out information to the outside. From the look of it, the guards outside didn’t even know something was happening inside the dungeon.

Well, to be fair, even Radia Mallarc had no idea there would be a fight inside the building.

But to think that all of that threat looming over his head was being provided by something from the Deathzone...

No--in retrospect, it made sense that such a wicked operation came from an evil source.

"Have you received my new package?"

He heard the soldier ask quietly; it was apparent that the man had difficulty breathing at this point. Looking at the mountain of corrupted hound corpses scattered around the room, it was understandable.

"I did," Radia Mallarc answered briefly, pouring out bottle and bottle of the most expensive regenerative potions over the soldier, almost as if he wanted to bathe the man in it. "Stop talking and drink this."

As Radia shoved a bottle of lesser elixir to the soldier’s mouth, Caishen looked up at the operation’s heart again. The pulsing black orb inside an enchanted tube was gleaming like a jewel.

"Is that the fuel?" he muttered. How fascinating. "Let’s take that down and bring it back."

He was about to give a signal for his guards to move, but he suddenly heard a cracking sound from the tube. One, two, and several cracking sounds later, the tube looked as if it was getting compressed, squeezing the black orb as if it became a center of gravity, and imploded.

The President and his guards stared at the destroyed core dumbfoundedly, blinking at the smoke of black miasma seeping off the remnant of the core.

"Do you put a marking outside?" Han Joon asked Radia, dropping a burnt formation array control sheet to the floor.

Radia glanced at the sheet; smirking slightly. He helped the soldier stand up, slipping a blood tablet between the man’s lips while summoning Nyx. A portal immediately generated behind them, and he turned toward the President.

"The building will get destroyed soon, Sir, we should get out immediately," Radia said with casually, pointing toward the portal. "Please make sure your subordinates vacate the premises immediately."

"What?!"

Caishen narrowed his eyes, looking around while gritting his teeth. He still wanted to at least check that device below the structure, even if he couldn’t take back the core. But his guards were trained to prioritize his safety, so they immediately grabbed his arms and ushered him through the portal, which Radia and Han Joon had just traversed.

The portal sent them to a hill near the building where they could see it clearly. So when a chain of explosions shook the ground, they had a front-row seat to watch the building engulfed in fire.

"That must have cost a lot," Radia muttered; either referring to how much it needed to build something like this inside a dungeon, or how much it cost to destroy it completely like this.

It wasn’t just fire; it was destruction. The pillars supporting the structure were wrecked by the explosion, causing the whole structure to collapse. Even now, other smaller explosions still happening, especially where the core room initially was.

"Good riddance," Han Joon said simply while wiping his hands; remnants of crumbling paper and ash fell from them.

The black eyes gazed in the direction of the core room solemnly, seemingly waiting for something to come out--someone. It was only after no life force could be felt from the ruined structure that he exhaled heavily.

Radia grabbed the soldier’s arm, staring at the blank eyes keenly. "You’ll come home, right?" he gripped the arm tightly. "This time, you’ll come home."

It was no longer a question the second time, but a demand. Han Joon felt his lips stretched in reflex, the tension leaving his body slowly at the simple sight of his darling.

"Captain Han Joon," the President called out before he could reply to Radia’s demand.

Han Joon turned and straightened his back again. "Sir,"

He glanced at the people behind the President, and recognized some people from the military central base as well as military police.

Ah...

"You are under arrest for infringement of several military rules," a military police personnel came forward, reading his tablet. "Including leave without absence; insubordination; and trespassing into a restricted area."

"Are you kidding me--"

"Dee," just like before, Han Joon pulled Radia and pressed the summoner’s head to his shoulder. The void-like eyes stared calmly at the personnel. "Is that all?"

"...yes," the military police lowered their head, feeling uncomfortable with what they just read out.

They didn’t know the whole story about this place, but by how the espers guarding this place were being detained, they had an inkling that the Night Star was probably doing something good.

Unfortunately, it did not absolve the offenses he had committed to get to this point. It was frustrating, yes, but the military and the government needed a scapegoat.

"I understand," Han Joon nodded immediately, still calm and firm just like how he was known, which made them feel even more uncomfortable, gripped with guilt.

Radia lifted his head and frowned. "Joon!"

"Sush," Han Joon patted the back of Radia’s head, stroking gently. "It’s alright, It’s better than being a fugitive."

He let go of the summoner, stroking the frowning brows. It had been a while, and his darling never ceased to be adorable in his anger. "It’ll be a few years at most," he said with a smile. There was no charge of manslaughter and patricide, which was a blessing. "And I’ll be able to leave the military entirely."

"A few years?!" Radia gritted his teeth. "It had been eleven years! And you told me to wait again? That’s not what you promised me!"

Soon? Where was that soon Joon told him the last time?!

Radia Mallarc had always been known as a calm and crafty man. People had never seen the summoner lose his cool, or let any emotions surfaced. Even his smile rarely reached his eyes in public. Seeing this kind of man yelling in frustration without caring about his surroundings was jarring, and added to the uncomfortable feeling of having to arrest Han Joon.

"Ahem," Caishen cleared his throat, sighing as he finally understood what made Radia look so frantic as he rushed to that building earlier. "Captain Han Joon will surrender himself to the base tomorrow at noon--can you write that?"

The military police blinked at the President’s words, before swiftly replied. "Ah, y-yes! We are unable to locate him, but we believe he will come back tomorrow to take responsibility for his offenses."

Han Joon raised his brow and chuckled silently. Radia, meanwhile, wasted no time in grabbing the soldier’s hand and dragging him through a newly generated portal.

He had thought he would be able to have Han Joon after this was over. But instead, they only had one night. One night before they had to be apart again. And this time, even if they wanted to meet, they would have to meet with an enforced glass between them.

So be it.

If they only had one night to spend together, then they better make every second count.