There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 496 - 489. The Twin Shards

Nestled in a small chamber at the edge of the black desert, two crystals of light vibrated heavily, running around in circles like a pair of panicking children.

The source of that panic was the shadowy creature with a wide grin and an echoing giggling sound swinging its hands against a barrier protecting the crystals. Every time those hands, which looked like spiked tentacles, struck the barrier, the outer layer of the barrier shattered like broken glass. The crystals would take turns fixing the broken barrier and add another layer, but after doing it for a whole day, they were getting exhausted.

Normally, they wouldn’t be bothered by any beasts that might come close to their barrier. Those creatures made of miasma couldn’t breach their barrier anyway. But that one--that one big shadowy creature...

That one was scary. That one felt like them but also not. It could strike their barrier; only weakly at first, but with more power added, it started to crack the barrier until finally, it managed to shatter it. If they were alone, the barrier would probably be breached soon.

But they could feel their kin nearby, so they had been screaming for help.

"Fuck--this one’s bigger," a voice came from the other side of the bigger chamber; the shards flinched and the shadowy figure stopped its assault temporarily to turn around.

From the path where these creatures came from, two figures emerged, who were wholly different from the crystals or the beasts, or the scary shadows creature.

Or probably, not? The crystals--the shards--vibrated heavily and screamed even harder, calling out for their kin that finally came to their rescue.

"We’re on time, right?" Bassena said wryly as Zein jumped off his back. The Fragment, which was almost two times bigger than the last one, hissed and stared at Zein.

As expected, the Fallen Star’s Fragment could feel the presence of another fragment. Bassena stopped and stomped the ground, hissing back to the Fragment. "I told you not on my watch!"

Mana swept the ground and dark tendrils sprouted up, coiling into the shadowy creature like a bunch of persistent snakes. Bassena yanked his arms back and the tendrils dragged the roaring Fragment away from the barrier. More tendrils shot toward the other beasts who had been trying to strike the barrier too, and pulled them all toward the middle of the big chamber.

"Nightfall."

The spreading mana churned and even more darkness filled the bigger chamber, creating a dome that enveloped its caster and the bound creatures. Zein ran toward the shimmering barrier of light the moment the dome was created, and the Fragment who had been looking at him roared in anger. It grabbed some of the bound beasts and ripped them off the tendrils of darkness, throwing them out of the Nightfall’s dome just before it closed up completely.

Zein flicked his eyes toward the beasts flying toward him. He channeled his mana into his storage ring and tapped into Setnath’s fragment of power. Gripping the hilt of the daggers appearing in his two hands, Zein rushed toward two beasts stretching their claws at him and drew his dagger upward.

It was a hurried attack, so the slice wasn’t deep. The slowing effect of the white knife, however, was enough to stop them on their track. The beasts hissed and turned around at Zein who perched on the wall after the rush attack. He kicked the wall and propelled him forward to the beast, swinging the white knife at the beast who was at the front, slicing its neck. The beast shrieked and fell down, while Zein swung his other hand and stabbed the black dagger into the other beast’s core until they both slid against the ground.

"As expected of high-rank artifacts," Zein muttered in satisfaction at the successful kill.

He didn’t have any leeway to enjoy, however, since more beasts were coming at him. Among them, there was a giant bipedal pig swinging a big club in its hand which was a bit concerning. Worse, the beast came from the direction of the barrier where Zein headed.

Zein gripped his daggers better and dashed forward. For some reason, he wasn’t worried. Since earlier, he felt like his body was moving lighter and better. It seemed that the two shards’ energy was resonating with the power of the fragment inside him and giving him a boost.

The bipedal pig roared, its threatening tusk gleaming by the barrier’s light. Zein raised his arms, but instead of meeting the bipedal pig’s club, Zein slid onto the ground between the pig’s legs, and made a long, deep gush in the pig’s tendons.

The pig howled and stumbled forward, giving Zein time to get up and dash forward, running toward the barrier. As much as he felt he moved better, he was still self-conscious enough to know that he couldn’t face a beast that was bigger than him. The plan was still the same; to get inside the barrier as fast as he could. He used his knife’s effect to slow down the other beasts catching up to him and ran as fast as he could, breaching the shimmering barrier.

Zein inhaled sharply as he stood up, panting. The two shards in the crook of the wall were vibrating so much it looked like they were jumping in joy to welcome him. But it wasn’t yet the time to greet them. He turned around, just in time to see the angry bipedal pig smashing its club against the barrier.

Naturally, it couldn’t breach the barrier, unlike the Fallen Star’s Fragment. But to let the beasts freely assault the barrier also didn’t sit right with him. Zein took a deep breath and put his daggers back inside his ring. Instead, he reached to the back and pulled out a mana gun.

"Let’s see if the training pulls off," he muttered while aiming at the shining tusk, and pulled the trigger.

The concentrated mana shot forward and hit the pig’s roaring mouth, blowing its head off.

"Huh..." Zein looked at the gun, staring at the power indicator. "Seems like it needs some calibration."

A big destructive shot was nice and all, but it sapped his mana too much, since he didn’t use a mana stone. As he tinkered with the gun, more beasts were coming and clawing at the barrier. From the look of it, they were the ones Zein slowed down earlier, and had grown berserk from the Fragment’s influence. The guide wasn’t in a hurry, however, and recalibrated the mana gun relaxedly. Not long after, he raised the gun and fired the mana bullets one by one at the berserking beasts.

Seemed like trying a new weapon was the right decision. Soon, the last beast surrounding the barrier fell to the ground; either dead or twitching in its last breath. Outside, however, there were still some that stopped on their track and became cautious after the other beasts’ death. They skulked back, staring sharply at the barrier as if trying to think of a way they could breach the barrier.

"Like I’ll let you," Zein lowered his gun again and did another calibration, compressing the mana more and increasing the range. He poured mana into the gun and changed his goggles’ mode, allowing him an aim assistant.

Again, he pulled the trigger and hit the skulking beasts. They flinched and jumped and scattered once one of them got its head blown out, making it harder for Zein to aim. But he had the time and the security, so it didn’t matter even if he missed a few shots. When he felt his mana reserve going thin, he took out a golden needle and had it while continuing his leisure hunt.

It took quite a while, but he managed to get the rest of the beasts--unless there were some that ran away into the tunnel. But he could take it easy now, and he turned to finally meet the buzzing shards that had been jumping around excitedly since earlier.

Truly; it seemed like each shards had a different personality. He climbed into the crook after storing his gun, and passed an invisible barrier that would reject even humans--except him.

The moment he stepped inside the crook, the shards rushed forward and circled him like a welcoming ritual. He reached out both hands and they came to nuzzle onto his palms like a pair of adorable pups. Zein felt his head filled with a surge of messages as both shards were shouting all kinda thoughts into his head all at once.

"I see, you’re scared, huh?" he patted the shining crystal, who was whining and crying again. "I know, I know--that one is indeed scary."

The shards rushed and latched into his chest, as if seeking protection. He continued to caress them; a smile forming on his lips as he recalled his younger brothers. "It’s alright now, you’re safe no--"

BAM!

The shards flinched and buzzed again as they heard the loud sound coming from the dome of darkness in the big chambers. It pulsed crazily, and several loud sounds kept coming as if someone was hitting the dome with a giant hammer from the inside. Again, the fear of the shards flowed into Zein’s mind.

"It’s alright," Zein tapped the twin shards gently. "It’s alright, because I came with a Guardian."

He looked at the dome of darkness, which stayed firm even with all the pounding sound. Yes, he believed Bassena could prevail.

He just hoped the other group would be alright too.