There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 576 - 570. A Silent Battle

Chapter 576: Chapter 570. A Silent Battle

"Now!"

The moment Zein gave the order, the B-class guides who had been staring keenly at the miasma storm to look for an opening rushed in, using the path illuminated by the shards. There was no time for hesitation, and they immediately put their hand on the visible black shard.

"Ugh--" Brisk gritted his teeth as the triggered miasma storm assaulted them. Thankfully, the Saint’s staff struck the ground, and a field of sanctuary formed to swallow the miasma storm.

"Focus," the firm but melodious voice rang out, and the guides clenched their jaw, pressing their palm against the black shard’s surface.

But focusing wasn’t an easy thing to do. even without the miasma disturbance, the storm happening inside the shard itself was something that could only be described as disastrous. Zein had told them it would feel like guiding an esper on the verge of eruption, but this was...

Perhaps the Captain forgot to tell them that the esper was at least a Saint class because this was just...

They might just as well try to guide the world.

It was like being thrown inside the world of darkness. But it wasn’t just the calm, silent darkness Zein usually experienced blissfully inside Bassena’s core. The darkness of the black shard was tumultuous, like the bottom of the raging sea. The guides felt like they were thrown around in the middle of a hurricane, and nausea was only the simplest thing they felt.

Zein, who was also guiding from the start, took a deep breath as he tried to control the tempest inside the black shard. If he did not calm the raging corrosion, it would be too much for the other guides.

He recalled Bassena’s condition the first time they met, inside that cave. A wounded beast fresh out of betrayal, Bassena’s soul was also a raging sea at that time. The scale was a bit different, but the shard was ultimately a part of Setnath’s soul, which made it sentient.

And all sentient beings had a core.

Closing his eyes, Zein jumped and swam around the raging sea that was much worse than Bassena’s worst, trying to locate the core. But unlike with Bassena that first time, he was actually familiar with the shard as they had the same Celestial essence inside of them. He called out for that cosmic energy, and he could easily sense the crying voice that had been desperately calling for him.

Locating it was one thing, but getting there was another matter. Tapping to the sleeping power of Setnath, Zein broke through the storm bit by bit; smashing the coagulating miasma, sliding through the whirlpool, running around tornadoes...the miasma tried to chase him out, attacking his advance with chains and thorns.

But who was Zein? Zein was a veteran with two decades of experience. He had been taking care of Bassena Vaski for three years, including the times the esper was on the verge of eruption.

And he had the Goddess’s blessing as well as the future Saintess’s prayer strengthening him.

Zein opened his eyes, and the blue eyes flashed as he reached the core. Soothing water rushed through the hurricane and enveloped the weeping core, scared and scarred, creating a protective cradle.

The crying subsided, and the raging storm calmed. Harsh wind still blew, but all the guides needed to do was picking up the piling trash; the wriggling miasma trying to attack the cradle of water.

"Get rid of them."

With the nauseating feeling lightened, the guides pressed their lips and pressed both of their hands on the black shard’s surface, absorbing the miasma as much as they could. They could feel it; the increase of their vessel and the speed of their absorption.

Still, in front of the sea, even if their vessel increased twofold, it still felt like scooping water in the swimming pool with a single bucket at a time.

"It’s fine," they heard that soothing voice again. "Just do what you can."

They nodded and just focused on tackling the trash in front of them rather than facing the mountain on the horizon. That was for the Captain to handle. Even a bucket should be of help, right? With that conviction, they continued to absorb without thinking about anything anymore.

Not the Deathzone, not the sinister miasma that had been trying to break the field of sanctuary, nothing. Just absorbed, absorbed, and absorbed.

"I’m...I’m almost--"

"Switch," Zein ordered immediately, and the B-class guide Helix gasped as Naoya pulled him away from the shard. Immediately, Leehan took the guide’s place while Naoya connected an oxygen tank with Helix’s mask. "Take him out."

Grabbing the guide tightly, Naoya activated his skill and rushed out of the field of fog with increased agility. On the way, it was slight, but he could feel it; a decrease in pressure. He quickened his steps and came out of the fog in two minutes.

Helix gasped the moment they were out. Having the oxygen tank helped, but the pressure on his body was something else. He felt like he just went through a heavy gravity room training, or inside a container that was rolling down the hill. He couldn’t move, feeling his muscles contracted and his organs impacted. It didn’t even have anything to do with being full and nearly burned out.

"Does it work?" Radia asked immediately.

"It is," Naoya replied without hesitation. "I’m just not sure about the limit."

Radia nodded. "As long as the solution is correct, Zein would figure out the rest."

Naoya agreed. For some reason, he wasn’t worried about failure at all. Perhaps because Zein was maintaining his calm and collected front; whether it was a facade or a confidence, it brought some sort of conviction.

"I’m going back," Naoya said quickly and rushed inside before the Guildmaster even said anything. He met Ashur on the way, who was carrying Yoora, and when he arrived at the chamber, Brisk had just switched with Dean on the shard.

With that, all the B-class guides had done.

"Are you okay?" Zein asked the remaining guides. "Do not rush; do it at your usual pace."

"Yes, Captain!"

They replied in unison, but that was the last time they could speak. After the B-class got rid of the trash on the shore, the A-class guides had to tackle the miasma infesting the water. The resistance was greater than what the B-class had to tackle, so they had to concentrate harder than during their usual cleansing.

But they clearly showed that they were at the top of the guiding world. They were A-class; they were the best. The blackened surface slowly receded, and more of the shard’s original light was able to shine through. As long as they maintain their pace, they should be able to lessen Zein’s burden during the last stage.

Still, Zein kept his vigilance. Aside from preventing the storm inside the shard, he kept watch on the guides’ condition. They had no idea when they would go into the final battle, so they could not afford to have a burnout. Full capacity could be digested in one or two days, but burnout meant the guide would be incapacitated for almost a week. Whose to say the Fallen Star wouldn’t make a move tomorrow?

Like that, Zein warned the first A-class. "Leehan, you can stop now."

During a case of high concentration, however, sometimes they became detached from the outside. "A bit more...just a bit more...I can do a bit more..." Leehan muttered with unblinking eyes, hands gripping the shard tightly as if he would never let it go.

"Leehan," Zein repeated, a bit sharper this time.

But the guide just mumbled the same thing. "More...more...just a b-bit...mo--"

"Leehan!"

"Naoya," Bassena called out the archer, who immediately peeled the guide off the shard and checked his condition.

"He’s fine," Naoya confirmed before attaching the oxygen. "I’ll take him out immediately."

Zein flicked his gaze toward the two other guides who were still concentrating on the black shard. "Don’t get burnout."

"Yes," they replied briefly in a strained voice as they still had to battle the struggling miasma.

Zein looked at Nadine especially, who was doing an act for the first time inside the Deathzone. But as if proving why she was Zein’s deputy, she maintained her calm through the barrage of miasma storm with a steady pace and breathing. More importantly, she knew her limit and pulled away right before she hit her limit without Zein needing to tell her to.

"I’m sorry, Captain."

"It’s fine, you did a good job," Zein nodded at her before Ashur took her out of the ruin.

As self-aware as Nadine was, no one among the guides was as precise as Dean, who could put his limit into second. "One minute," he gave the signal, and Zein took a deep breath, loosening his upper body like a fighter about to march into battle.

"Thirty seconds."

Zein let go of the staff, which hovered in the air and created a triangle field with the two shards.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Dean started to count down and frowned at the increasing movement from the miasma. But he kept to his duty and left the last mountain for his Captain to tackle.

"Two, one--"

Dean immediately pulled out his hands before the miasma sneaked in and over-burdened him. Zein, who was no longer holding the staff, grabbed the half-recovered shard with both hands. The dark sky and black water churned out as if going for their last battle, and so did Zein.

Fresh, soothing water rushed out of every corner, bearing the power of Setnath and the blessing of Frejya. The forces collided inside the screaming shard, and the world raged outside the sanctuary.

The fog, which had been stagnant outside the ruin, was writhing and wriggling.

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