There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 581 - 575. Not a Miracle

Chapter 581: Chapter 575. Not a Miracle

"Sir Jock and Miss Eleanor are..."

Cohen looked so horrified that he couldn’t quite finish his sentence, as if he couldn’t find the words to describe the situation. Zein and Bassena didn’t need more explanation to know it was bad, however, and they immediately moved to where they could hear the sound of commotion.

"What happened--"

Just like Cohen, Bassena couldn’t finish his question when he saw the two--or rather, when he saw Jock.

Holding Eleanor in one hand, his other hand was practically non-functional. And that was because half of his body had been burnt severely; his skin was either blackened or melted completely, revealing the cooked flesh underneath. His bone could be seen in his arm, and one of his legs was dragging without any, holding onto a piece of skin. Half of his face was burnt; singed hair melted into his skull.

Still, the half that was still solid never let go of Eleanor, who was wrapped in his protective coat. The support magician seemed to be out of it--not exactly unconscious, but not exactly there either. And even though many people had come to help them, Jock still refused to let her go and kept walking forward while dragging his tattered leg in a delirious state of mind.

It was a pitiful sight, but they couldn’t do anything unless they wanted to force the man and peel his fingers off Eleanor.

As everyone felt confused about what to do, Zein approached his former bodyguard and spoke in a soft, but firm tone. "It’s okay, we’ll take care of her now," he touched the hand that was gripping Eleanor tightly and made sure his voice was heard in the considerably still-healthy ear.

"Ah..." the man’s eyes flickered and as if the adrenaline finally left his body, his grip loosened and he collapsed to the people who had been ready to catch him. "...’nk you..."

"Where’s Shin?" Bassena asked right away when he couldn’t see his friend around.

"Chief Han is in the Castle, Sir," one of the healers replied while directing the espers to move Jock and Eleanor to the stretchers.

"I’ll bring him back quickly," Bassena patted Zein’s back before shifting his gaze toward the healers. "Do your best to keep his life--here, use this," he took out two bottles of elixir and a case of painkiller. "Cohen, cover the wound with a barrier to prevent further infection."

"Yes, Sir."

Right away, Bassena disappeared in a wisp of darkness. Immediately, the healers took the elixir and administered it to Jock, before injecting a pain killer to the delirious man. The gradual disappearance of the pain brought back clarity to Jock’s mind, just in time for him to see the healer about to give the other elixir to Eleanor.

He snapped and tried to get up again, but all he could let out was a small voice with an incomprehensible message. "...no...she...already..."

Thankfully, they had Zein there. "Okay, you gave her an elixir earlier?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright, just focus on yourself for now," Zein patted the unburnt side of the man and got him back to lie on the stretcher. "Let’s move them to the aid station."

The defenders, who used to carry shields around, steadily brought the stretchers with as little shock as possible. The quick-witted healers had cleared up the aid station and they quickly put the injured espers. Zein, narrowing his eyes, immediately came to Eleanor’s side. She was still half-awake, but her eyes were blank as if she was barely hanging in there even though she looked fine from the outside.

"She was hit on her mana core, and her internal organs seem to be affected," Zein told the confused healers who seemed lost about what they should do about Eleanor.

"Ah..."

The healers nodded and Jock let out a sigh of relief when he found out someone knew what happened. Finally, he could stop worrying and let his body rest.

One of the healers, who was checking Eleanor’s internal organs, frowned. "But nothing seems to be broken, Sir."

"No, it just feels like they are getting crushed," Zein explained.

"Oh..." the healers looked at each other. Since the new camp no longer had dungeons, the healers staying in the camp were those of the lowest rank, only one and two stars. Naturally, they never faced a case of healing someone with a damaged mana core before, and became confused about what to do. "Umm..."

"Don’t worry; Shin will be able to fix her," Zein understandably reassured them. "Just focus on what you can do, like rejuvenation."

The healers nodded nervously and Zein held Eleanor’s hand to guide her. Absorbing the corrosion would help lessen the burden on her body and make sure the system focused on natural regeneration rather than preserving the esper’s mental state. It would also increase the healing that the esper could receive later.

"Oh, so guiding can be used like that," Nadine, the only other guide who stayed in the new camp commented in awe.

"If it comes to the category, we’re also healers," Zein smiled.

"Yes, you’re right, Captain. Then, shall I guide Mister Jock?"

"No, leave him alone," Zein shook his head, glancing at the scout’s half-burned body. "At his condition, his system will get overridden with more stimulus."

"Oh, okay..." Nadine retracted her hand, feeling glad she did not make a hasty move and confirmed it first. "Seems like you have a lot of experience in this, Captain."

"It’s not a rare occurrence in the red zone. You’re still there, Jock?"

The man, who kept looking over to where Eleanor was, replied weakly. "Yeah..."

At least he still had clarity--Zein smiled and gave the man more assurance. "She’ll be fine."

"Haha...thanks..." Jock stretched his lips subtly. It was clear that the man was still worried sick, so Zein tried to distract the man.

"So you found it, huh?" he looked at Jock. The man parted his lips to answer, but Zein raised his hand and shook his head. "No, no--don’t talk. We’ll have time later," he stopped the man, who could barely breathe with the help of an elixir and painkiller. "Just the fact that you’re not being chased means the Fallen Star is also feeling cautious. Anyway, Bas already told the patrol team to watch the border, so you can focus on your treatment instead."

"Haa..." Jock closed his eyes for a second and let out another breath of relief.

Zein patted the man’s arm. "Shin should be here short--"

Like a summoning spell, the youthful voice announced the arrival before Zein even finished his words. "What’s the situation?"

They looked toward the opening door with relief--especially the healers. "Chief! So..."

With Zein’s help, the healers conveyed both patients’ conditions to Han Shin, who looked very firm and serious. Zein had only seen Han Shin like this once before; when the healer was trying to find out Han Joon’s whereabouts.

In other words, he looked like a proper five-star esper.

"Alright, how much longer on the painkiller?" Han Shin asked while taking out an ornate chest from his storage ring and placing it on the table between the two beds.

"Should be around twenty minutes, Chief."

Han Shin glanced at Eleanor. "That’ll be enough," he said, pointing at Jock. "Keep the barrier on him for now. I’ll focus on repairing Ella’s core first."

"Yes, Chief!"

Han Shin opened the chest and took out a shimmering silver vial. As he moved the liquid in the vial to a syringe, he turned toward Jock briefly. "Jock, you’re still her medical proxy, so I need your consent."

"What?" the scout widened his eyes, but Han Shin had no time to give any deliberation.

"Your consent."

"...yes," bewilderedly, Jock gave a weak reply.

Han Shin nodded in acknowledgment and turned to Eleanor. "Excuse me for this," he told one of the healers to lift Eleanor’s shirt so they could access her solar plexus. Han Shin held her in place and carefully injected the serum. "This will be harsh, but hold on for a bit."

Right after he said that, the liquid entered Eleanor’s mana core and an immediate response came through a seizure. Her blank eyes widened and shook, and her limbs started to trash around. Swiftly, the espers held her in place and Han Shin sent threads of mental healing to her shocked mind.

"Okay, okay...you’ll be alright now, breathe..." he talked soothingly through the process as the onlookers held their breath. Zein cautiously watched over Jock to make sure the scout did not get agitated, but it seemed like the man put more trust in Han Shin than Zein thought since he looked really at ease.

As if answering that trust, Han Shin finished the procedure quickly, and Eleanor stopped seizing. Her eyes finally closed, but her breathing was steadier and better than before. "Okay, it’s done now," Han Shin clapped his hands once. "The rest will heal by themselves since the core is healed, just keep giving her rejuvenation."

"Yes, Chief."

"Now, to the main part," Han Shin clapped his hands again as he moved to Jock’s bed. The black eyes gleamed as he scanned the scout’s condition. "This is the Fallen Star doing, isn’t it?"

"Yeah..."

"So that’s why Zein did not guide you," Han Shin let out a breath of relief. The attack from Fallen Star contained the corrupted cosmic energy that might clash with the guide’s power, and it would only worsen the already horrific condition. "Good; I’m going all out, so no one speaks from now on. Expand the barrier to include me."

"Yes, Sir."

True to their promise, no one made a sound. They didn’t even dare to open the door in case it would cause disruption. Cohen’s barrier provided some kind of transparent glass operation room where they could see the five-star healer in action. It was fascinating for Zein to see the half-burnt body slowly mended; to see the organs fixed and flesh growing out.

It was probably the hardest Han Shin had to heal a single person, but his calmness was honestly commendable. Seeing the healing unravel like a miracle brought a smile to Zein’s face. It gave him more confidence that they would be able to do this; facing the Fallen Star.

Surely, with this kind of healing ability...

"Done," finally, after what felt like hours, the healing was done. Han Shin exhaled slowly and wiped the sweat dotting his forehead. "Phew...it was fortunate that the corrupted energy did not come with anti-healing property this time."

"Haa..." Jock also let out a long sigh, wriggling his hand weakly. "Can’t believe I survived that..."

"You talked as if you’ve prepared to die," Zein narrowed his eyes.

"Isn’t that why we were told to make a will?" the scout merely chuckled and shrugged, now that he had enough energy.

"Heh," Bassena, who was just entering the tent, smirked. "Is that why you were sending me a voice memo while you were running?"

Zein raised his brow and glanced at his commlink; there was an unchecked notification there. It seemed like the message was sent when Zein and Bassena were in the middle of ’guiding’.

Feeling a bit guilty, Zein bit his cheek as he approached the scout. "I’ll guide you now, so you can talk if you want."

"Alright," Jock nodded and took a deep breath. "So what happened was..."