There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 559 - 553. The Shy One

Chapter 559: Chapter 553. The Shy One

Slowly, Zein moved closer to the shard, who was flinching for a bit. But it didn’t run away, and Zein successfully held it, caressing the clear surface gently.

"Good job," he praised the shy child. "You’re very good at hiding."

Gradually, the caressed shard shed off its wariness and came closer to Zein, getting out of the water it used to hide before. The translucent body got more opaque, just like the other shards, and it hesitatingly hovered in front of the guide’s chest.

With a smile, Zein held the shard and gave it a firm hug. "It’s okay, you’re safe now. We’ll make sure to protect you. I’ll bring you to the others, so...you’ll come with me won’t you?"

The shard, which was hesitant before, pressed itself to Zein and trembled slightly, as if it had been waiting for a long time for a safe place. The familiar warmth of its origin, which had gradually been forgotten after hundreds of years, was coming back.

"Good child," Zein patted the clever shard. "For now, can you ease the barrier? My friends would like to come here."

Moving up, the shard peeked at the espers behind Zein’s shoulder, cautiously checking them out. The Han brothers waved their hands to the shy child, and the energy field shielding the lake finally subsided.

"Thank you," Zein patted the shard and gave the espers an okay sign.

The four espers approached the lake then, and the shard lowered itself, as if trying to hide behind Zein’s arms. It flinched when the espers entered the cavern, shifting away while pulling Zein. Chuckling, he humored the overly cautious shard by moving toward a jutting rock.

"Reminds me of the one we found in the mountain," Cohen muttered.

"Nah, this is different," Han Shin waved his hand. "That one is more ruthless, kinda like--get out of here, leave me alone!--type?" he laughed, tilting his body to peek at the flinching shard and grinned. "This one is more timid."

"Maybe because it’s a deeper location," Zein patted the shard to calm it down. "This one is a very careful one."

"And it survives because of that," Han Joon smiled. He erased his trace and walked closer, testing his stealth against the shard.

"Oh?" Zein raised his brow when the shard did not flinch away. He thought it was because Han Joon’s stealth worked, but the shard turned and shifted to Zein’s other shoulder where Han Joon was coming from. It stayed there and tilted itself a bit, as if curious. "Doesn’t seem like it’s cautious toward you."

"Really?" Han Joon was surprised too and canceled his skill. The shard did not react, which meant it wasn’t surprised. "Hmm...not because of the stealth then..."

Curiously, Han Joon reached out his hand, and the shard, despite flinching a bit, stayed still and let the man touch it.

"Oh?"

"What? I want to try too!" Han Shin waddled closer, but the shard immediately dove inside Zein’s coat, hiding. "Eeeh~?"

Han Joon chuckled and patted his saddened little brother while musing. "I think...it’s the deity’s stigma."

"Ah," Zein nodded. Those with the deity’s stigma had a stronger trace of Celestial Being, which would be familiar to the shard. After all, they too were the trace of a Celestial Being.

"Well, in that case," Han Shin shrugged before looking around the cavern, which floor was filled with thigh-deep water. "But where are we going to camp?"

* * *

"Ooh...this is my first time using this one!" Han Shin exclaimed as a big tent unrevealed in front of him, perching on top of eight pillars above the small lake.

They were contemplating a place to set up their new camp where dry ground was not visible, when Jock came inside after finishing mapping out the surrounding area. The man who had gone through various missions by House Mallarc took out a tent specialized for uneven terrain; one with eight rods that could grip into any surface. The rods latch into the lake’s floor and the tent safely perched above the water.

"Oh, this is interesting," Ashur whistled, entering the cavern just as the tent finished installing.

"It’s designed like a barrack, so there’s only one," Jock said. "It couldn’t be helped, but we have to sleep together tonight."

They looked at Eleanor, the only lady in the group. She merely shrugged and said cooly. "It’s not a problem."

Ashur, however, raised his hand and said that he had the same tent, but only for one person. Despite saying it wasn’t a problem, Eleanor nodded gratefully.

"Our squad always went to strange places, so I have all kinds of tents," Ashur said. "I have one for trees too."

"Ooh! We should use that sometimes!" Han Shin remarked excitedly.

"Is this a fun excursion or something?" Bassena chuckled as he climbed down the stairs, drenched as if he had just swam through the river.

"That’s fast," Zein smiled while Han Shin laughed at the esper’s condition--which rewarded him with a hard flick on the forehead. "Come here, I want to test something."

While the others were checking the tent, Bassena followed Zein into the middle of the lake. There, he could see a shard peeking up behind a boulder. "Oh, so this is the cautious one."

"Try getting closer and touching it," Zein said, stopping a few meters from the boulders.

Bassena raised his brows. "By myself?" he asked in surprise. But Zein merely nodded and he continued obediently, reaching the boulder and raising his hand. Curiously, the shard did not reject him. "Oh?"

"I think, other than the core, the shard can be touched by those bearing a Celestial Being’s stigma," Zein explained.

"I see," Bassena nodded; and then, remembering something, he muttered. "Joon too?"

"Mm," Zein flicked the water surface, and the shard scurried to his embrace. "Well, this might come in handy sometimes," he looked up and smiled at Bassena, who suddenly got quiet. Patting the esper’s wet hair, he spoke softly. "Good work today. Go and take a shower now."

Thanks to the shard’s domain, everyone was wet. Still, no one was as drenched as Bassena, who faced a water Specter alone. While the others merely needed to change clothes, Bassena had a thorough shower inside the tent’s bathroom. For this reason, he went in last, and when he was done, the others had already fallen asleep.

Well, it was understandable. They might not seem to be doing much that day aside from clearing one dungeon and doing some exploration, but going through the star corridor was actually putting a burden on mortal bodies. They did not realize it at first, but those who fought earlier found their stamina to be depleting a lot. Not that it hindered their performances, but rest was much needed.

That being said, Bassena did not find Han Joon inside the big tent, so he came outside after fixing Zein’s blanket. The shard was floating on the lake’s surface, bobbing up and down adorably between two jutting rocks. On top of one of the rocks, Han Joon was sitting crosslegged with an open notebook in his lap, sketching the caverns.

Bassena bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at the ex-soldier. Just like Han Shin, he also longed for the day he could fight with the man who taught him all of his basics; who turned him from a wild ferocious beast into a rather decent human being. But unlike Shin, who was just happy he could spend time with his older brother, Bassena was rather...apprehensive.

No, it had nothing to do with his old jealousy and insecurity when he thought Zein might had a crush on the man.

It was just...a strange feeling of disparity.

Han Joon had reappeared with a very different vibe, and knowing that what he showed all this time was an act to fool others...

Bassena felt uncomfortable. Not because he thought less of Han Joon, just that...well, if had to be honest, he was disappointed that the man hid those things even from him. It was a completely selfish reason on his part, and that made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"Are you going to sleep at the door?"

Bassena flinched at the question uttered with a playful smile and a soft, relaxed tone. He didn’t even know if he was startled by the question or the tone he didn’t usually find from the man.

Ah, this was not good. Grumbling inwardly, Bassena created a bridge from his darkness and walked to the other rock. Between the two people with stigmas, the shard continued to bob and swim around relaxedly.

"You’re not resting?" Bassena asked. "There’s no need for a watch."

With Cohen’s barrier, Jock’s marking, and the shard’s natural energy field, the cavern was a solid safe zone.

"I’m resting," Han Joon replied nonchalantly, hand continued sketching the lake, including the bobbing shard.

Watching the man draw, Bassena couldn’t help but think about how he didn’t even know Han Joon liked to sketch. What did he know, really? He could feel a slight irritation scratching his heart.

Plopping on top of the jutting boulder, he watched the ex-soldier silently, trying to sort his feelings. Honestly, he didn’t even know what should he talk about with Joon now. In the end, he just asked the man random stuff just to start a conversation.

"Are you going to climb the tower again after this?" Bassena asked.

"I don’t know," Han Joon shrugged. "There’s no need for me to do that anymore."

Bassena blinked, staring at the calm, steady, serene black eyes. Ah...that part was just as he remembered. A sense of firmness; of a strong conviction.

He chuckled involuntarily. "Because Radia is safe now?"

"Yes."

There was no hesitation there. Bassena glanced at the notebook and wondered how many sketches of the summoner were there. "You really...only live for him, huh?"

With the same firm voice, but also a layer of gentleness and a smile, Han Joon repeated his answer. "Yes."

With his elbow against his knee, Bassena propped his chin with his hand and muttered on his palm. "How could you leave him like that when you love him that much?"

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