There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 563 - 557. Duty and Desire

Chapter 563: Chapter 557. Duty and Desire

Bassena jogged leisurely once he was out, letting go of the wriggling shard that immediately flew toward Zein. The guide received the whining child who said the place was very scary and disgusting, caressing the surface in consolation.

Although he would definitely send this shard inside again.

But for now, Zein patted the whining child in his embrace while looking at Bassena, who carried an esper like picking up a stray cat from the side of the road. Bassena grabbed the esper by their waist, and the others stared silently, dumbfounded. The esper, after realizing they were out of the fog, lifted their head and blinked at the group.

The one who reacted first was, surprisingly, the quiet Cohen. "Arlo?!"

"Found him looking dazed in the middle, so I took him out immediately," Bassena explained briefly.

Zein crouched in front of the still-bewildered esper. "Give me your hand."

"Huh?" Arlo shook his head slightly, blinking slowly as he found out the people he saw were a completely different set. But he perked up when he saw Zein, grinning. "Oh, Brother Zein!"

And he was rewarded with a smack on the back of his head.

"Ouch?"

"Is young master your brother, huh? How dare you call him that," Cohen scolded the young esper who was finally on the ground. "And why are you here?

Talking about priorities...

"What’s wrong with that?" Arlo rubbed the back of his head while pouting. "We’re guildmates, and Brother Zein doesn’t like stifling formality."

Zein chuckled and patted the young esper, who immediately gave Cohan a look that spelled ’see?’.

"You’re still a member of Ishtera’s vassal house," Cohen argued, but his voice was considerably softer.

"You’ve become so inflexible," the young esper purses his lips. "Is it because you’re the next Head? Is that it?"

"Must be his officer’s day talking," Bassena chuckled, and Arlo giggled at the chance to bully his older cousin. "But why are you here, Arlo?"

"Oh, Guildmaster sent more people over here, so I made sure I could come this time," Arlo huffed, finally giving his hand to Zein for guiding. "You can’t say I don’t have experience anymore after three years."

Han Shin shook his head with a smirk on his lips. "People are avoiding this place and he comes running here instead."

"That’s his charm," Zein said with a chuckle.

"True," the healed nodded and laughed. "But...wouldn’t they get worried when Arlo isn’t back?"

"Oh, right!" Arlo gasped and raised the hand that wasn’t in Zein’s hold. "The rope!"

Just like Bassena earlier, the people from the other side also brought rope as a lifeline. Although the guideline was to search for the way and come back before they reached their limit, some people, like Arlo earlier, found their minds too compromised to go back, or their bodies getting too heavy. In such cases, they were supposed to give a signal through the rope and they would get pulled out.

This time, the rope safely crossed the field for the first time.

"Heheh--so my calculation is right," Han Shin strokes his chin in self-praise. But no one could refute it, even Bassena, because he was the witness of that accuracy.

Bassena pulled the rope slightly, and felt it was still perfectly tense. "Alright, let’s tie this."

He gave the rope to Jock, who immediately went to another boulder to secure it. "I think most of them are stuck in the middle. It was so thick that I could feel the heaviness despite the barrier," Bassena explained. In that environment, he could see why the progress was so slow. "It’s dark even with enhanced vision, and the trees all feel the same. It’s easy to think they’re walking straight when in reality, they are swerving to the side or even back."

"Yeah, and..." Arlo frowned as he recalled the sensation. "I don’t know if it’s because of the visibility and lack of air, or if there’s a spell, but...I felt like walking through an illusion."

"Could be both," Han Joon shrugged.

Jock, who had finished tying the rope and checked on the marker, added. "And the distance is slightly longer as predicted; close to five hundred meters."

The camp went silent; some of them held back the curse from coming out of their mouth. Bassena glanced at the beacon, but Eleanor shook her head. It seemed like the fog was too heavy of a substance to be pierced by any signal. Bassena had tried to use the other communication device--the one using vibration and code--to no avail.

"I’ll be going again," Bassena decided, turning his head to look at the shard.

The child, who was hiding inside Zein’s coat, let out a strong vibration that almost sounded like a growl. Even without any translation device, they could feel what the shard wanted to convey. Bassena smirked, half in pity, as he glanced at Zein.

"Just for a bit, and then you can rest," Zein stroked the shard’s surface, using a gentle voice akin to a warm spring breeze. "Can you do that for me?"

How could it not? How could anyone refuse? Bassena could never, even without it being combined with the pretty face and the beautiful eyes.

As evidence, the buzzing sound grew weaker.

Bassena chuckled and threw a consolation. "There’s a rope already, so I’ll be fast."

"You hear that?" Zein patted the shard, which hovered listlessly like a human who realized how hard living in the world was. Zein smiled and praised the shard more. "Good child."

Thanks to the praise, the shard made the barrier diligently, albeit reluctantly, and Bassena returned immediately so as to not confuse the other side. The others continued with the camp and decided to cook something while waiting for Bassena.

Meanwhile, Cohen continued to nag Arlo, who was still being guided. "But why are you doing this mission? Just stay in the main base and patrol or something."

"Hey, I’m experienced enough right now!" Arlo twisted his lips. "I’m already a three-star, and you might not know this, but I’m the best in my squad!"

While the operation in the Deathzone was underway, the guild did not stop running. The rest of the esper kept raiding dungeons, and even the rookies had become full-fledged reliable esper. Naturally, they could see that Arlo had become sturdier and had a stronger mana core, but perhaps because he hadn’t been seeing Arlo since going to the Deathzone, Cohen couldn’t help but still see the young esper as his unruly baby cousin.

No matter how strong Arlo became, Cohen didn’t want him to be put in danger. Especially because, as Arlo said, he would be the next Head. Naturally, he wanted the younger generation to survive.

"Haa..." Cohen shook his head. "You said that, but you’d be a goner if Sir Vaski did not find you."

"Urk--" Arlo pressed his lips and mumbled defensively. "Th-that’s not true...they’d come if the rope became too loose..."

But even the daring and reckless knew death might come in a second, so his voice faltered. He avoided looking at Cohen while pouting, feeling wronged for getting scolded when he was just doing his job.

"Well, luck is also a skill," Zein decided to put a stop to the arguments. At any rate, both were his responsibility too. "Don’t scold him too much, Cohen. He just wanted to contribute."

"That’s right!" Arlo shouted in triumph.

"But you should know your limit," the sharp blue eyes landed on Arlo then, and the young esper flinched. "Charging in without knowing when to retreat is just a foolish bravado."

"Sorry..." Arlo lowered his head instantly, and Cohen let out a sigh.

Han Joon, who was making coffee beside the firepit, chuckled. "He looks like a proper patriarch now."

"Right?" Han Shin laughed. "He hated it so much in the past."

"Because he is the type who will do it seriously once he accepts it," Jock said with a nostalgic smile, before adding light-heartedly. "That’s why it’s so hard to make him agree to something."

"Heh--is that why you refused to become a Saint before, Zein?"

"No," the guide replied simply. "Saint can’t get married."

Han Shin coughed the hot coffee that touched his lips, prompting the stunned people to laugh and hide their reaction. Of course, they knew Zein and Bassena were practically inseparable; they just didn’t think the word ’marriage’ would come out of Zein’s mouth. Even Cohen and Arlo were shocked; the only one who didn’t was Han Joon, who had heard something similar when they visited the Iron Mountain.

To be fair, Zein never thought of marriage too when he rejected the Saint’s offer. But it was true that he thought of Bassena, because Saint generally could not have a romantic relationship. It would be too risky if Saints got imprinted, when they were supposed to guide everyone.

"Well, that’s good for you guys," Han Joon smiled. "You won’t get his service if he becomes a Saint."

"Yaaay!" Han Shin raised his arms with a silly laugh, as if his burning tongue and wet shirt did not matter anymore. He glanced at Ashur, but the warrior did not show any particular reaction other than surprise--just like the others.

Zein, staring into the field of fog while guiding Arlo, mulled over what Han Joon said. He was valuable because of his excellent guiding and his large vessel. He had also found the joy of guiding people not just to get paid and survive, but as a duty he must uphold. But...

What if he could no longer guide? What if he could only guide one person...

Would the Temple still listen to him? To his demand of reformation? He made a promise to Bassena when he was drowning in emotions, but...

Suddenly, he wanted to let out a heavy sigh.

But he had no chance to do that, because he saw a light emerging from the field of fog. A few seconds later, Bassena emerged from the void, and this time too, he wasn’t alone.

The Iron Mountain was with him.

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