There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 502 - 495. Aftermath

Chapter 502: Chapter 495. Aftermath

"Congratulations; you finally managed to slay a Specter by yourself," Bassena said as they landed near the pile of boulders.

"Easy...peasy..." Zhan said through panting breath and heaving chest.

Gus also pointed his blade at Bassena. "Don’t...need you...anymore...Boss..."

Pfft--cute little things, these fellow puny humans. Bassena smirked and Zein would have laughed too if it wasn’t for the gnawing concern in his mind. He stared at the big hole in the wall ahead with knitted brows.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah," Zhan replied without lifting his head, too spent to move another muscle. "The darn worm managed to get through when we were busy with the Specter."

"But don’t worry," Gus added swiftly when he caught the guide’s grim expression. "Everyone’s alright since we managed to alert them."

Zein and Bassena raised their brows. "How?"

"We burn the emergency flare," Gus laughed, and Zhan cackled in response, although he immediately wheezed afterward.

"The black sheet?" Bassena arched his brow, before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that’s a good call. They would be alert all right."

"Yep!" Gus raised his thumb. "Worry not, Zein--all of your kids are well and accounted for, except for the one you sent away."

Zein let out a relieved sigh, feeling the anxiety and burden finally lifted off his shoulder. Meanwhile, Bassena kicked the nearest boulder from his feet. "What about the core?"

"Somewhere down here," Gus patted the boulder beneath him.

"Heh--is that why you’ve been lying here instead of climbing up?"

"Of course! it’s not like we’re tired or anything," said the spearman who couldn’t move his legs at all. "We need to keep it there while Kei takes a tube from the command tent."

As Bassena and Zein scoffed at the man’s silly bluff, they suddenly heard agitated voices coming from the passage.

"Wait, Sir! We should make a team fi--"

"You can do that all you want, but I’m going to go now! I can’t possibly..." one of the speakers paused at the entrance of the passage as his gaze lay on Zein. The middle-aged man widened his eyes for a second before rushing toward the guide. "Young Master!"

"Commander!" Iore also exclaimed in surprise, but she ran back to the surface instead of the chamber.

"Ah, Sen--ugh!"

Zein coughed as he was enveloped in a tight bear hug full of concern. Senan pulled away just a second later and grasped Zein’s shoulder. "Young Master!" the esper looked at him up and down with shaking eyes. "Oh, thank the Gods! Are you alright? Do you have any injury?"

"No, you can calm down no--"

"How could I?! I came back to hear that only you aren’t here!" Senan rubbed his face in a mix of agitation and relief, before suddenly lifting his eyes and scowling as he looked at the guide. "That’s it--no matter what you say, I’m going to come with you next time! I don’t care even if you order me to stay, I’ll still follow you!"

"Even if that means you’ll defy the words of the Patriarch?" Zein asked dryly.

"You can kick me out if you wish to do so, but I’m still going to protect you no matter what, even if I have to do it from the shadow."

Gus and Zhan looked at this drama with raised brows, lying on their sides while wishing they brought a bucket of popcorn or something.

"Hah!" Bassena scoffed. "Stop acting, old man; you said that because you know Zein wouldn’t do such a thing."

"Oh, you found out?" Senan replied nonchalantly, but he didn’t stop gripping Zein’s shoulder tightly. He looked straight at the blue eyes behind the goggles. "Still--I’m being serious, Young Master."

"I got it," Zein patted the hands that had been grabbing him and sighed. "You’ll come with me next time."

"Young Master..." Senan exhaled and wiped his face in relief. "Please make sure to do so."

Well, Zein had meant to do it anyway. He realized after this expedition that a lot of unexpected stuff could happen in this treacherous, uncharted land. Having more personnel certainly would help at a time when they had to split up their force. Not to mention, there would be more people for night watch.

"But I still need the Iron Brigade to hunt the Fragments’ location," Zein added. "They are our clan’s enemies, after all."

"Of course, I already put Cohen to lead them so I can focus on guarding you," Senan nodded immediately. It didn’t need a lot of people to protect Zein; Senan just needed to make sure he was there because he might develop a heart condition if he had to be constantly worried like this.

Hearing the older esper, Bassena muttered in a contemplative tone. "Cohen..."

"You seem doubtful," Senan smiled at Bassena’s response. "Is it because of his low rank?"

He understood the concern though, so he didn’t feel offended or anything. Zein was basically making another special force purely for tracking and hunting, so naturally, they would want someone strong enough to lead a squad.

Surprisingly, Bassena had a different thought.

"...he’s not a low rank," the esper muttered.

Senan raised his brow in surprise before smiling deeply. "You know?"

"His mana core is too dense to be a low-star esper," Bassena shrugged.

"Even though he already using a mana-suppressing artifact," Senan chuckled and shook his head in awe at Bassena’s keen insight. "But you’re right."

"So, he’s been hiding his rank?"

Zhan, who had been listening to them in interest, chimed in enthusiastically at the prospect of a strong one. "Who? Who is it? The tank guy?"

"Isn’t that illegal?" Gus tilted his head, raising his upper body for a bit to look at the middle-aged man more clearly.

"Not really? He’s never gone into dungeons, after all," Senan shrugged. "Police officer don’t need to register their esper license. All they need is confirmation from the Tower that they passed the first floor."

"And he can easily have it by taking the first floor re-run after done climbing his real trial," Bassena nodded.

"Exactly," Senan nodded. "First floor is the only qualification they need. Reaching two-star is enough to be the regional head, after all."

"Really?" the two exhausted warriors exclaimed simultaneously.

Senan chuckled at their disbelief. "Do you think espers above that would want to work as a civil servant instead of entering a guild? Even the smallest guild pays better than the government."

"True that," Gus lay back again while nodding.

"But we can’t have him moved to the higher office or the green-zone, so we decided to hide his real rank," Senan shifted his attention back to Zein.

"Why?"

"Because all sorts of people and information always come through the yellow-zone."

"Ah," Bassena snapped his fingers. "I kind of forgot that you were trying to find Zein before."

"And by Gods, I wouldn’t lose you again," the old man stared keenly at Zein until the guide felt like he was being scolded.

Zein smiled in fascination at the fact that such attention and concern were now giving his heart a warm sensation instead. "I know," he said softly.

"So? What’s his real rank?" Zhan asked impatiently. He could care less about the background or technicality.

They looked at Senan; unknowingly had grown curious about the Iron Brigade’s real power. "Well...enough to be my successor?" Senan smiled proudly. "I don’t think he would ever surpass Master Roan without Ishtera’s blessing, but...getting close is possible."

Since Senan was a four-star, getting appointed as his successor meant Cohen already reached that stage. Bassena smirked, and Zein couldn’t help but feel the contagious pride in Senan’s eyes.

"Can I fight him?"

They looked at the spearman, who still thought about fighting someone even while sprawling on top of a Specter’s grave.

Zhan tilted his head innocently at the exasperated stares. "What? I can’t?"

"Say that after you can stand," Bassena sighed, which made the spearman purse his lips.

"...I’ll say it after he comes back," Zhan mumbled while turning his head away.

Pfft--they let out a chuckle that soon grew into a laugh. Bassena was nudging the spearman with his boot when Kei finally descended with a tube in her hands.

"Well, well...you look healthy," she commented with a smile. Iore must have told her about Zein and Bassena’s arrival.

"Did you expect I wouldn’t be?" Bassena smirked.

"I wouldn’t dare," Kei replied with an exaggerated politeness, which was very much in contrast with the way she threw two bottles of serums to the lying warriors. "Drink this and roll away."

"Wow, how benevolent," Gus rolled his eyes. But he obediently drank the serum and rolled away from the boulders so Kei could start excavating the Specter’s core.

Bassena watched the scout put the tube on the ground and fix her gloves. "Can you do it?"

"I can do this much," she gave him a side eye and Bassena stepped away with hands raised in concession.

"How’s the condition above?"

"Only a building and a few tents as collateral damage," Kei replied while pulling out a boulder and rolling it away. "Several injuries, but nothing fatal. Well, rather than damage, I think you need to go up quickly so the guides can stop worrying about their mother hen."

Bassena chuckled and glanced at Zein; the mother hen that was full of worry himself. "

Oh, and Guildmaster is en route," the scout added, as if it was an afterthought.

"...huh?"

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