There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 494 - 487. Pursuit

Bassena watched until the last person, Julian, disappeared inside the right hole before turning around to observe the path he would enter. Now that he was standing in front of the entrance, he could feel what Zein had sensed earlier; the leftover corrupted mana of the Fragment.

The compass was pointing steadily into the hole, but Zein had yet to feel the presence of the shards, which meant they were still considerably far away from the shards. That, or the presence of the Fragment overshadowed the guide’s senses.

He turned toward Zein, who was staring anxiously at the dark path. "We’re pressed for time, so--"

"Just carry me."

Unlike usual, Zein readily let Bassena handle him. Usually, he would just run like any esper, unless it was a large jump that was impossible for his physique. But this was an emergency, and Bassena couldn’t use teleport in an unknown terrain.

Bassena pressed his lips. He would have made some flirting comment if it wasn’t for the serious face. "Alright, just concentrate on sensing the shards."

They had no idea how far the shards were, and how many days ago had the Fragment moved. Of course, Zein knew the shards would be able to hold on since there were two of them, but the fact that the Fragment made a move meant it had a way to go past the shards’ barrier.

Perhaps, just as Zein could destroy the fragment, so did they to the shards. And that was what frightened him.

He felt guilty for shoving away his concern about the kids that were pursuing the Specter and a horde of beasts, but between the two options, his priority would always be the shards.

"Do you think that perhaps, the shard at the base could finally sense the twins because they were actively sending out emergency signals?" Bassena asked the guide as he ran through the path. "Maybe they sensed the movement of those beasts around the system and decided to test their luck."

"Maybe," Zein nodded. In that case, it wasn’t a coincidence that they arrived just a few days behind the beasts. "But then the emergency signal caught the Fragment’s attention."

"Along with the receiver," Bassena muttered.

"You think that was why they split their force?"

Bassena hummed in response, slowing down when he passed another intersection. He looked around every time he saw another hole in the wall, scrutinizing the entrances. Zein gripped the esper’s coat tightly, pressing his head on the broad shoulder while mulling over the theory.

It might be no more than a conjecture, but honestly, it made sense. And that was because Zein didn’t like thinking about the other alternative--that they might move to gather with more forces. Because if that were the case, then the danger those kids faced would be multiplied.

"Hey, maybe we can catch up just fine," Bassena tapped on the clearly distressed guide. He pointed at an entrance they just passed with his chin. "There are traces of entering and exiting from the paths we had been passing."

"...meaning?"

"It seemed like they had to check every path one by one to see if they go in the right direction," Bassena said. "Since they won’t have a compass like us. If all they sensed was the signal as the shard did, it wouldn’t give them a precise position...right?"

"So...you were saying they would be slower?"

"Considerably so," Bassena nodded, glancing back with a smile. "Hang tight--I’ll run faster so we’ll catch up soon."

Zein stared at the bright eyes that always exuded confidence. Yeah--yeah, those were the eyes that convinced him of everything; of life, of love, of the future.

And so he hung tight, letting the esper carry him swiftly through the dark tunnel.

* * *

"Aren’t you tired?" Leehan looked up at Banner, who had been carrying him and Dheera in his arms as the group ran along the tunnel while following the traces that Kei could see.

The defender scoffed and replied with a lighthearted laugh. "The two of you combined are lighter than the shield I always carried."

"Whoaa...really? You’ve been carrying a hundred-plus-kilo shield all the time?" Dheera gasped. The shield in question, at this moment, was stored in the squad’s dimensional storage.

"Since I’m a physical type," Banner smiled, looking at the guides in his arms amusedly. They really were as talkative as people said, even in this tense situation. Or perhaps, it was their way to drown it.

Banner had always been staying in the front of the formation, so he rarely conversed with the guides, who always stayed in the back. But this time, the ones who took the frontline were the warriors and the scouts, while he stayed in the back with Julian and the support espers.

There was a gap between the vanguard and the rearguard that was both intentional and unavoidable. The scout and the warriors, who had more speed, were going fast so they could try to catch up to the horde of beasts. The rest of them, who weren’t as fast, unavoidably stayed a bit behind.

But it was also intentional; a safety measure because they had no idea what would be waiting ahead. In case they were found out and attacked, at least they wouldn’t be at risk of total annihilation. That was why the flare papers were placed in the hand of someone with the highest survival possibility among them; the only healer and five-star of the team.

"What about you?" Banner asked the guides back. "Are you fine being carried like this?"

"You mean like a sack of potatoes?" Dheera muffled her giggle so it wouldn’t echo in the narrow tunnel. "Captain used to do this to me during training; he said I’m the perfect weight for a barbell substitute."

Banner pressed her lips to hold back his laugh. "No wonder you guys are so close."

Dheera grinned for a split second before suddenly tensing up as she saw the vanguard halt their step. Kei raised her hand to stop their movement, and gave them a signal to stay low, before disappearing into a curve.

Banner carefully placed the two guides down and told them to stay pressed to the hardened wall. No one said anything, but Han Shin made a sign for the guide to use the time for drinking their water. When they finished keeping themselves hydrated, Kei came back and walked to the rearguard with the damage-dealers.

"I found their tail," she said, and then added immediately when she saw their surprised eyes. "Well, more like a severed tail. Those who are weak, injured, or are too slow to keep up. They are still trying to catch up with the group, but there’s no reason for us to let them be, right?"

"How many of them?" Naoya, the permanent clean-up crew, asked.

"Just a few dozen, like those hounds."

"Just..."

"They are just weak ones, no higher than C-class--it’ll be quick," she patted the archer’s shoulder. "There’s no need for the rearguard to get involved, so just buff us and come slowly."

They nodded in agreement, and the vanguard members stood up while Carra activated her skill to give them some boost.

"It would be nice if we could speak to them, huh?" Zhan cracked his fists, fired up for some action at last. "Maybe they can tell us what they’re after, then."

"Oh, don’t worry," Kei glanced at Hari, who returned the gaze with a smirk. "There are all kinds of ways to make someone fess up without their mouth."

* * *

How long had it been? They had run through a long straight path, through a spiraling path that seemed like the worm made when it was drunk, and then some sections that looked like a labyrinth. But they still had yet to see the tail of the group.

All Zein could hope was that the more complicated path they had just traversed slowed the beasts that much more.

But, no matter how anxious he was, Zein couldn’t just whip Bassena to keep running. It had been hours of high-speed chase and the esper hadn’t slowed down even for a bit. They must have traveled through the desert already if they were running in a straight line, but the Stone Eater’s system was nothing but.

"Bas, let’s take a break."

"Huh, why? I can just--"

"I’m hungry."

Bassena stopped immediately then. Since it was only the two of them, there was no need to look for a chamber or a wider path. He carefully put Zein down and immediately asked what the guide wanted to eat.

Zein let out a sigh before plopping down. He wasn’t hungry, really; but if he didn’t say it like that, Bassena wouldn’t stop at all. "I’ll just take some bars and water," Zein said, patting the ground beside him. "You too."

"It shouldn’t be that far anymore," Bassena said, sweeping his hand on the ground. "The trace is fresher here..."

"And the miasma is thicker," Zein nodded, pressing a button in his mask that only retracted a portion covering his mouth. It was Mortix’s newest mask that allowed him to keep the filter on while eating and drinking. "I don’t think there’s a lot of them."

Bassena nodded in agreement, opening an energy bar for Zein to take. "Once we find them, I’m going to activate Nightfall right away," he said. "But there’s a possibility that the Fragment can break my domain, so you need to run to the shards immediately."

Zein nodded silently while biting into the bar. The plan was fine and all, very straightforward too, but something was coming into his mind suddenly.

"Bas,"

"Mm?"

"It’s just the two of us," Zein chewed on his bar for a bit before continuing. "That means there’s a possibility that some of the enemies will sneak past you and come to me."

"I won’t let that--"

"No, listen to me," Zein turned and grasped the esper’s head. "Things can happen; there might be some beasts that won’t get caught in the Nightfall, or those who only come out after you cast your domain. My point is not that."

"But--"

"Listen to me, baby," Zein stared at the amber eyes keenly, and Bassena paused with a caught breath. "Your focus should be on the Fragment, okay? Do not, and I repeat--do not distract yourself by checking on me because I can handle it just fine."

Bassena clenched his jaw at the preposterous notion of letting Zein fight on his own. But the blue eyes gleamed firmly behind the goggles, and all Bassena could do was nod.

Stronger.

He needed to get even stronger, so that his beloved wouldn’t ever have to raise his weapon anymore.