There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 575 - 569. To The Crying Child

Chapter 575: Chapter 569. To The Crying Child

"That’s new," Radia tilted his head when he saw the long white staff in Zein’s hand. He glanced at Bassena, and it didn’t seem like the esper had seen it too.

The staff felt weird and out of place; white and beautiful in this dark and dreary place, nestled in the hand of someone wearing an all-black combat uniform and spreading a fierce aura ready for a battle. Still, it was beautiful. And in this place, a beautiful thing was synonymous with hope.

Naturally, they were drawn to it.

"What is...that, Captain?" Nadia looked at the staff with widened eyes.

"Hmm...that looks like something the Saintess used," Tian Yu stroked his chin after looking at the staff from a closer distance.

"Well, it is.

Zein’s reply, understandably, garnered a hard reaction and a series of ’what?!’ from the onlooker. Bassena, especially, almost dropped his glass.

"Honey?"

Even forgetting his own censorship.

"You’re not--"

"Of course not," Zein flicked the esper’s forehead because the man blabbered even more. "It’s just something being lent to me."

"Is it from your last visit to the Temple?" Radia asked with an amused smile.

Lending the staff of a Saint to someone who had already rejected the position...it could either be seen as a bribe to change Zein’s mind, or to show that the guide was that precious to the Goddess. If this fact was to be known...

There would be an uproar, Radia chuckled inwardly. Well, there was already an uproar here, looking at Bassena.

"What does it do?" Han Joon asked, pointing at the staff with his chin since his hand was in Radia’s. "Something like strengthening your guiding?"

"Yes," Zein nodded. "It’ll enhance the guiding of any guide in the vicinity."

Nadine gasped and Han Shin whistled. Suddenly, the staff seemed to be shining brighter in their eyes.

Hmm? No--the staff did shine brighter.

"It’s just my feeling before, but..." Zein glanced at the two shards following him, which actually shining brighter. "It can also strengthen the shards."

Zein never tried it before, but it was something he thought in theory. The staff had the ability to enhance the Saint or Saintess ability, as well as the other guides--meaning, it enhanced the power rooted in Setnath’s fragment. In that case, wouldn’t it make sense that the staff would be able to enhance the fragment itself? Or in this case, the shard of the fragment.

And the theory had finally been proven. The two shards flinched slightly before the previously shy one suddenly circled around the camp like an excited child in a sugar rush. The other one hovered around the staff and nudged its top part, the one with a simple jewel on it.

"You like it?" Zein chuckled.

"It’s as mighty as it’s beautiful," Radia smiled at the camp that suddenly looked festive with the added lights. But he soon returned to business. "How long can you use it?"

Naturally, no power came without restriction.

"As long as I can supply mana to it," Zein shrugged, causing Han Shin to cough on his juice.

The healer looked up from his spilled glass and blinked. "You get your mana from the miasma you absorbed, right?" he swallowed. "Doesn’t that mean you can do it as long as you want?"

"As long as my mental capacity holds," Zein nodded.

"Oh...wow..."

Zein retracted the mana to the staff, and the blue veins stopped glowing before disappearing into Zein’s wrist. "Well, even with this, it’s going to be hard tacking twelve years of corrosion," he said. "So here’s what we’re going to do..."

* * *

"It’s been a while since we worked together with Captain," Dean smiled while fastening the new combat suit that almost left nothing visible but his hands and face. Even those hands would be covered in gloves until the right time.

"More like it’s been a while since we saw Captain at all," Brisk cackled. Despite knowing how dangerous their newest mission would be, the guides still managed to show a good front.

Well, not all of them. "Ugh...how envious," Dheera pursed her lips. Being one of Zein’s best disciples did not change the fact that she was still a C-class and did not have a big enough vessel to make the cut.

"Why are you disappointed about sitting out a dangerous stunt?" Leehan rolled his eyes.

"Then give your position to me!"

"No way," Leehan flicked the girl’s forehead. "This is serious business, missy. I’m not going to shirk my assigned duty just because I feel a little scared."

Dheera pursed her lips again, but she straightened her back and smoothened her face immediately when Zein and Nadine approached them. "Captain!"

"You’re ready?" Zein asked the ones he had chosen to go into the ruin--the A and B-class guides. "Your vessel clean?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Good," he glanced at the slightly sullen Dheera and patted the girl’s head. "The rest of you, be on standby. We’ll be left practically near burnout, so if anything happens, you’ll be the one taking care of the espers."

Dheera perked up and raised her hand for a salute. "Yes, Captain!"

"Look at her," Leehan scoffed and shook his head, but refrained himself from flicking the girl’s forehead again.

Simply because his attention was shifting to the two shards circling them as if observing.

"You can do it, right?" Zein asked the shards, and a warm barrier started to envelop the guides; Zein, Nadine, Dean, Leehan, Brisk, and two other B-class--Helix and Yoora.

"Oh, wow..."

Not long after, the espers who would act as their guards came too. Rather than guarding though, their task would be to carry the guide out once the guide reached their limit. They would be out of the shard’s protection, so espers with movement skills were chosen to make sure the transfer went as fast as possible. Radia even provided oxygen tanks that were attachable to the guide’s mask for extra measure.

This should work--Zein took a deep breath. They had no choice but to make this work.

"It’ll be fine," Tian Yu, in his grandfather’s voice, patted the guide’s back. "Perhaps the Goddess foresaw this and gave you the staff because of it. In that case, this must be the right way."

Zein steeled his eyes and heart before nodding and putting on his mask. He swept his gaze across the guides that followed his request without any fuss or objection, using the gratitude he felt as fuel.

"Let’s go."

And thus, they entered the field of fog.

For the other guides, it was their first time, and Zein did not lie. It was heavy; it felt suffocating even with the shard’s protection and their new enhanced suits. It reminded them of their first time going to the simulation, where most of them cried and failed.

But that meant they also had an experience of going through something scary and oppressive, so these trained guides quickly found their bearing. To maximize efficiency, the espers carried them through the dark field that looked blurry even through their goggles, so they arrived at the ruin in just a few minutes.

Before entering, the guides tried to get rid of the thought that they would have to travel through those few minutes without protection on their way back. No--they had to focus on the task in front of them. This time, they had to navigate the ruin carefully to avoid disturbance to the structure--after all, they had never come inside with this many people before.

"There it is," Zein let out a sigh at the familiar sight as the two shards tried their hardest to not get too affected by the soundless cry of their kin.

"Oh, Gods--" the guides clasped their masked mouth. Even the thick miasma outside could not be compared to the storm of miasma prisoning the shard. A question popped into their mind then. "How do we even get close?"

As an answer, Zein stepped forward. "That will be my job," he said. "The moment you see an opening, you need to touch it and guide right away. B-classes first."

Looking at their Captain who walked forward without hesitation, the guides clenched their fists and buried their fear. It’s alright, it’s fine--they chanted inside their heart. They remembered what Zein said before. Fear is there to be conquered.

Zein stopped in front of the shard’s natural force field and raised his hand as a signal. Immediately, two guides and an esper each went in three separate directions to circle the podium. Before starting, Zein whispered to Bassena behind him. "I’ll start."

"I’ll be here."

Zein smiled behind his mask and took out the white staff, channeling as much mana as he could. In this first step, he had to attack strongly.

From his palm, blue veins glowed along the white staff, stronger than the previous day. Mana gathered inside the centerpiece jewel, turning it deeper and deeper in blue. Zein concentrated his will as he raised the staff slightly, and the power gathered in the jewel suddenly rushed to the end tip of the staff.

With gritted teeth, Zein swung his arm hard and struck the energy field along with the storm of miasma. Two things happened at once;

The energy field recognized the familiar power of Setnath and unraveled automatically, while the purifying energy from the staff scattered the storm of miasma.

Enough to make a path to the crying black shard.

"Now!"