There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 553 - 547. Moving Forward

Chapter 553: Chapter 547. Moving Forward

From his bed, Zein told what he saw in the vision. It wasn’t a long story, because Zein described the event as concisely as he could, so he didn’t have to dwell on it too much.

"W-what?" Han Shin, who wasn’t on the ship and was not the Boss or the Boss’s husband, heard about it for the first time. He sat weakly at the edge of the bed, grabbing Zein’s blanket with a trembling hand. "T-then...what now?"

"Now, we raced against time," Radia narrowed his eyes.

Zein nodded. "The Fallen Star wouldn’t be able to absorb the celestial energy inside the shard right away."

He recalled back to the vision; it bugged him that the Fallen Star told its fragment to take the shard instead of taking it by Itself. This proved that the Fallen Star couldn’t actually touch the shard--or rather, the celestial energy.

"That Fragment...it covered the shard in some kind of a cocoon...like an energy barrier--only then did the Fallen Star able to take the shard," Zein shared his observation. "I think the Fragment was made of the part of Fallen Star that still contained a little bit of celestial energy. The Fallen Star had to unravel the shard’s energy, mix it with the cocoon that contained part of its own energy, and only then absorb it safely."

"I see," Radia tapped his lips in contemplation. "So that was why you said we still have time."

Zein nodded. "Perhaps not much, but I think we still have hope."

"Why?" Radia tilted his head; the scarlet eyes were both cold and calculating. "How are you so sure?"

Zein would have been annoyed if it was their first time doing this dance. But he understood that Radia had the burden and responsibility to decide whether the operation was feasible to be staked on. Because, if there was no hope of reclaiming the Deathzone through a complete fragment of Setnath, it would be best to retreat and declare failure. That way, they could break the Reclamation Act’s contract and attack the Fallen Star together with their allies and the government.

"This kid told me," Zein lifted his thumb, where the ring sealing the shard circled his hand.

Inside, there was only one shard; the one who had woken up for a bit to suppress the rampaging fragments during the war. It was sleeping again afterward, exhausting the energy it had painstakingly gathered. But perhaps because of Zein’s distress, it woke up.

Despite staying inside the ring, Zein could still communicate with the shard, and the shard could still understand what happened outside through him. This time, as he was deliriously drifting between consciousness, he had a bit of conversation with the shard, which helped calm himself down.

"They might not be able to locate each other if they are too far, but they can still feel it if one of them is gone," Zein explained. Maybe because they used to be one fragment, and should be one again someday, they were aware of each other’s existence. "And this kid said the shards are still complete."

"I see," Radia smiled; his eyes had returned to the usual relaxed state. "That’s reassuring."

Well, it was reassuring for Zein too that Radia could see beyond the profit. This conversation wouldn’t work if their relationship wasn’t in a state where they could trust each other without hesitation.

Honestly, even he knew it was a gamble. This ’race’ came with no proper time frame, since they couldn’t know when the Fallen Star would completely absorb the shard.

"As long as it’s not completely absorbed..." Zein muttered. "As long as something still remains..."

"I understand," Radia exhaled heavily, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the man behind him. He tapped his fingers against each other as he calculated things. "So it’s important for us to make a move as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"That’s fine and all, but..." he opened his eyes and stared at the guide. "Do you know how to find the Fallen Star?"

Zein paused. Ah...he pressed his lips when he realized they were stuck in this region until they figured out how to cross that black fog.

"Umm..." Han Shin, who was still playing with Zein’s blanket, raised his hand. "Can’t you find him through the dungeon? You know...that star corridor or whatever?"

They stared at the healer, who blinked innocently at the edge of the bed, until Han Joon squeezed his cheeks with a smile. "Good job, Shin-ah."

"Hehe..."

* * *

Despite Bassena and Senan’s insistence, Zein refused to stay in bed any longer.

He had no injury, and his condition wasn’t something that could be improved by resting--which he had plenty by laying down for four days. He preferred to recuperate by moving his stiff body around and eating plenty. Seeing his worried kids and reassuring them he was alright was a bonus.

And so, just two hours after waking up, they had a meeting inside the command tent. Zein had taken off his IV drip and freshened up in the shower, and he was welcomed by a tray of food that Bassena carefully cooked himself. Ron was also staying there while Agni returned to the Borderland--after all, the Captain could not leave the Unit for too long.

"So we have three paths now," Radia opened the meeting right away while Zein was eating. "The water route, the fog, and the dungeon."

"I don’t think we have to stick to one route," Bassena said.

"We won’t," Radia stared at the new integrated map that had been combined with the water route and the plains. "Since we’re in a hurry, it will be better if we take all the chances we got."

"So, while we go to the dungeon, the others will try to break through the fog?" Bassena replied.

Radia nodded, this time pulling the list of personnel in the Deathzone. "Even if you find the Fallen Star’s hiding place through the dungeon, only the five stars can get in," he said.

And while they had quite a number of five-stars, even if they used everyone except for Radia, it still wouldn’t be enough to face the Fallen Star. The only way for the other espers and guides to go was by using some shards’ protection, but that was just...

"It’s too inefficient, so we will need another route in the end," Radia said.

That was true, but...

They went silent. Honestly, they realized their limit. The team going to the dungeon would consist of Zein, Bassena, and other five-stars; it was basically their main power. But taking care of the other operations without this main power was...

"We will proceed with your initial plan--scouring the fog for the source bit by bit," Radia told Bassena. "As for the dungeon team..."

The summoner flicked his gaze toward Bassena and Zein--who was peacefully eating while listening to them. "Don’t face the Fallen Star right away."

Bassena opened his mouth without saying anything for a few seconds, before nodding in the end.

"...I understand," Zein voiced it after swallowing his food.

"Good," Radia looked at Zein. "Would it be possible to identify Its presence from the outside?"

The guide glanced at his finger, where the storage ring that kept the shard was. He paused for a few seconds to have a short conversation, before shrugging. "I think so."

"Then that’s enough," Radia nodded. "Instead of going inside that dungeon, go through the nearest one," he tapped on the table and stared at the empty plot on the map that belonged to the area beyond the desert. "This time, exit through the gate, identify where you end up, and make a route to the desert--do this for all the dungeons near where the Fallen Star stayed."

"I see," Zein nodded. So, essentially, they would mark off the dungeon that wasn’t where the Fallen Star was. Once they did that, they would be able to identify the dungeon where the Fallen Star was and make a proper raid.

"Alright, so this will be a long expedition," Bassena exhaled slowly. There was no guarantee that they would be able to go back to one of their bases once the operation was commenced--and obviously, they did not want to waste more time than needed.

"And the dungeon team would be truly alone on the other side," Radia dropped the bitter pill.

For them, it would be like the first expedition where they had to go blind and figure out their way without a place to fall back into. Each time they spent in the star corridor was also longer than the time outside, so there would be discrepancies that might disturb their mental stance. They wouldn’t be able to request any help, since the rest of the personnel wouldn’t be able to come to them anyway.

That was, unless they quickly figured out the path between the desert and the dungeons on the other side. The others also had to get rid of the field of fog first to open the path.

"What if..." Han Shin bit his lips and fiddled with his fingers as he thought of the worst-case situation. "What if the Fallen Star realizes our main force is in the star corridor, and decides to attack? You know times run differently there, right?"

As they had bitterly experienced, it wasn’t just them that could make a move.

"Then it means we successfully found the Fallen Star anyway," Radia leaned back to rest his heavy shoulder. But his eyes looked at the rest of them sharply. "This is why, I will only give permission for this operation when one of the Rankers or the Saint classes is here."

Their eyes widened for a second, but they quickly nodded. At first, they were surprised because calling out those powerhouses was meant for the big last battle. However, they realized that it could be their last big battle--after all, they were hunting the Fallen Star actively now.

"I think the old man is ready anytime," Han Joon said, smiling at Zein, who chuckled and checked on his commlink.

"I’ll talk to him later."

"Good," Radia exhaled in satisfaction.

"What about the sea route?" Zein asked, pointing at the screen showing the dock with his chin. The ship had been moored after they returned with unconscious Zein.

"We’ll continue with that," Radia turned to the guide who finally finished his meal. "Zein..."

"Hmm?"

"Is it possible to attach the shard to a moving object?"

Zein raised his brow. "You mean...the ship?"

"Yes," Radia curled his lips. "I’m thinking of making a moving base."

"That’s..." the blue eyes brightened as Zein recalled what he was thinking during the sail. "Excellent."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.