There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 381 - 373. Bloodlink

Chapter 381: Chapter 373. Bloodlink

The story ended with the Matriarch and Radia’s parents tilting their heads in confusion.

What power?

They looked at Zein, and then at Radia inquisitively. But the fact that Radia did not care to elaborate meant it wasn’t his secret to tell. And since Zein didn’t seem too keen on talking about it, they did not press further.

"I don’t know what’s worse," Han Shin chewed his breakfast with a frown. "I had thought they were colluding with the Deathzone to attack humans or something, but then it’s just...what? For greed? And even though he knows it affecting his mind, he still proceeds with it?"

"Perhaps the force of the Deathzone is bidding their time until Torodeo--or whoever succeeds him later--falls into mind control," Bassena shrugged. "They can attack us then. The one during the annual meeting, and the instant outbreaks before...they were probably a test."

Zein, who had been playing with three grapes on his plate, frowned slightly, before making a dry remark. "Because they sense my presence?"

He had been thinking about it, but a lot of these anomalies that had something to do with the Deathzone happened around him. The instant outbreaks, the black gate anomaly, the attack on the annual gathering...

Those were things that had never happened before, and he couldn’t help but think that it started because his identity as the vessel of Setnath was awakened in the Deathzone. He never thought of this before, but wasn’t it possible that whoever it was taking control of the Deathzone knew about the vessel of Setnath since Zein touched the core fragment?

"Doesn’t matter isn’t it?" Radia leaned back in his chair and smiled calmly. "We’re going there anyway."

"We’re going there," Bassena smirked. "You stay here, Boss."

"Such nice subordinates, I have," Radia chuckled. "Anyway, now that their connection to the Horins is cut, I don’t think they can make more moves."

The Matriarch narrowed her eyes and put her teacup down. "Have you taken precautions for the core that was found last night?"

The most concerning thing about the Specter’s core was the fact that it could affect people’s minds. The worst thing that could happen, in that case, was that it might affect the government agents, or even the President. There would be a lot of people who got curious about it, or even tempted to use it for their own benefit in the palace, and who knew how the Specter’s core would take advantage of it. That was why Han Joon destroyed the core in the dungeon.

"Who do you think I am, Grandma?" Radia curled his lips. "I had moved the core to a newly developed Mortix tube."

It was a tube that was developed precisely for containing the Specter’s core, thanks to them having several on their own. To make sure they could continue their research without getting concerned about the side effects, they had been developing this particular device.

"It’s especially locked so no one could take it out," Radia continued while taking out a small rectangle-shaped metal that was connected to a chain in one end. He put the item in the Matriarch’s palm, smiling so sweetly. "And the key’s in the Head Inquisitor’s hand."

Ludya stared at the electronic key in her hand before scoffing. "Is this how you tell your Grandmother that she needs to work more before retiring?"

"Why are you talking about retiring when you’re this healthy?" Radia replied with a shrug.

"So you’re saying I should work even more."

The breakfast ended with Radia’s cheeky laugh, but Zein continued the discussion with the summoner in private.

"Did they know about the vessel of Setnath from the start?" Zein asked while Radia took him through the Mallarc’s expansive garden which had started to show its full spirit to greet the spring.

"I don’t think so," Radia shook his head. "Torodeo only found out after the traitors requested the Black Viper to kidnap your mother. Based on what Baaleon told me, it seemed like his father was intrigued about the reason and made inquiry on his own."

"And after he found out, he thought it would give him a way out from being mind-controlled."

Radia nodded. "This is a rumor that even Baaleon didn’t know the whole truth, but there was a talk that Lehman Horin was behaving weirdly before his death--perhaps that was why."

"Mm..."

If Torodeo witnessed the mind corrosion on his own, it made sense that he wanted to look for a cure--or at least a balancing power to offset the effect.

"We had thought that they wanted the vessel of Setnath for power, but..."

"Maybe that’s what he said to the others," Radia chuckled. "There’s no way someone like him would want others to know that his mind is not well, don’t you think?"

"Ah..."

"Zein!" suddenly, Zein felt a weight on his side as Han Shin clung to him.

"I thought you were going back to sleep?"

"How can I go back to sleep after all that? Also, it’s not good to sleep after eating, don’t you know that?" Han Shin peeked at the summoner on the other side. "Are you still talking with Zein?"

"No, he’s all yours," Radia waved his hand and took another path leading back to the main building. "I have to settle things with the other guilds."

Ever so busy, their guildmaster. Zein chuckled at the sense of normalcy he felt after all the chaos happening yesterday. He turned to look at the healer, who seemed to want to talk but wasn’t sure how to start it.

"Are you alright?" Zein said. He wasn’t in his right mind yesterday to ask Shin about how he felt; losing his father, having his brother thrown in prison, and finding out he had a dead older sister all along.

Han Shin was quiet for a while, just holding on to Zein’s elbow as they walked out of the garden. "Is it...weird, that I am?" he looked up. "That I feel alright?"

Zein did not reply; he didn’t think he was the right person to judge whether or not someone’s feelings were right or wrong. It was already hard for him to distinguish his own feelings after all.

"When I heard that...that person was dead, I didn’t feel sad or any dread, really. All I could think about was Hyung, and...when I heard about him going to prison, honestly, I forgot about that person at all," Han Shin shook his head, his hand tightening unconsciously around Zein’s arm.

The healer sighed and looked down, scratching his neck timidly. "You see...I never considered him a father at all, but I also didn’t think I ever felt jealous of other kids for having fathers. I knew some kids who’d rather their fathers weren’t around at all, and Hyung always made sure he fulfilled that role for me," he said, lips stretched automatically every time he talked about Han Joon.

Zein looked at the bead pendant on his chest, wondering if the twins would make that kind of expression when they talked about him. His heart clenched at the thought that, unlike Han Joon, he wasn’t able to let them grow up into lovely adults who would laugh and whine freely like Shin.

"Even after he got busy in the military, Calix or Laurel would come to school as my guardian to take care of things, so I didn’t have time to feel envious of others. I’m so lucky, don’t you think?" Han Shin looked at Zein with a little grin on his face.

Ah, that was it. How should he say it...support system? Well, there was also a matter of the disastrous outbreak, which wasn’t his fault--that, at least, he could see now. It wasn’t karma or bad luck; it was just...life.

But it was also true what Han Shin said; that the healer had the good luck of being surrounded by people who cared for him, even though they didn’t have to. It reminded Zein of his conversation with Bassena on a certain rainy day; that blood did not always determine familial bond.

"I hardly think of that person as my father," Han Shin said with a huff, ascertaining what Zein was thinking.

But immediately, the healer stiffened, eyes widened and lips stammered as if he was just making a big blunder. He stopped walking and let go of Zein’s arm, prompting the guide to stop and look at him in confusion. "Umm...I-I’m sorry, it might not be so good to talk about him like this when you just--"

"Oh, it’s fine," Zein replied nonchalantly. "It’s actually good. You make my father look even better and better."

Looking at Zein’s calm response, which was accompanied by a small stretch of his lips, Han Shin let out a relieved chuckle. "Do you know how I got awakened?" he grabbed Zein’s hand again and resumed their walk. "I accidentally saw Hyung’s wounds when that person just...hit him."

Zein narrowed his eyes. He had heard that Han Gyeong was neglectful, but the man was also abusive?

"I didn’t know before, since Hyung never showed it--he didn’t even take his clothes off when he was bathing me when I was a child. So...when I saw it for the first time, I was so shaken that all I could think about was to heal him..."

"And you did."

"And I did," Han Shin nodded and smiled wryly. "Hyung was happy. I...I had thought that he was happy because I could heal him, but later, I realized that he was happy because thatperson deemed supporting awakened as useless," he shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Hyung...hyung was relieved because it meant that person would further act like I didn’t exist, and thus wouldn’t ever strike me like he did hyung."

It seemed like Han Joon had always been the kind of person who bore things by himself, silently, without letting the people they protected know. It was just in his disposition, like a star watching over others from the sky.

Zein understood him, though. He too, wouldn’t share the pain and the anxiety he had to burden with the twins. After all, the point of protecting them was to make sure they didn’t need to experience that burden in the first place.

He looked at the healer, who was entering a state of melancholy as he thought about his beloved older brother. "What are you going to do about...that person, now?"