There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Chapter 24. Where Intuition Flares

It was a weird feeling, waking up so comfortably on a plush mattress inside a secure tent in the middle of a freaking Deathzone. It was so weird that despite how nice it felt, Zein woke up earlier than anyone else.

When he came out, the barrier was still standing, and he could inhale a sense of fresh air inside a small safe zone.

'What a piece of miracle,' he thought, looking at the device in the middle of the camp. Twenty meters of radius couldn't be considered as big, but it was enough for a small group like this. If it could be used in a place like a Deathzone, it should be even more effective in a dungeon.

"Coffee?"

Ah, right. Zein woke up earlier than everyone, but there was someone who didn't sleep and took the role of the solo night watch.

"Do you ever sleep?" Zein asked, genuinely curious at the esper that was in the middle of pouring freshly brewed coffee into two mugs.

Freshly brewed coffee in the middle of the Deathzone...

Zein felt complicated about this. So far, nothing truly serious had happened, so his outburst about the danger of bringing civilians here felt ridiculous now.

"Sleep..." the esper walked closer and put a steaming mug in Zein's hand. "Sometimes, I guess..."

"What kind of answer..." Zein sighed, and just decided to not care anymore. It wasn't like he knew how the real esper's body worked.

Besides, despite hadn't slept a wink since arriving in the borderland, Bassena didn't look at all exhausted. In fact, he looked kind of energized, amber eyes shining like a pair of jewels, appearance as impeccable as ever.

"Well, thanks to someone's diligent guiding, I feel refreshed," the esper smirked, sipping on his coffee. The amber eyes narrowed from behind the steaming mug, staring at the guide with a deep smile. "And I feel even better seeing your face first thing in the morning,"

Zein scoffed and turned away, sitting himself on one of the chairs surrounding the table used as the kitchen, and drank the coffee. It made his face scrunch in bitterness, and prompted a chuckling sound behind him.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Zein sunk his back into the chair, only to have a looming shadow hovered above him. He lifted his head, and watched with a raised brow as the esper dropped two cubes of white sugar inside his mug.

Bassena looked at him with a smirk, somehow looking more annoying from down here. Without even giving any time for Zein to make a face, the esper lowered his head, and whispered close to his ear. "We don't bring much of that, so keep it a secret, okay?"

Zein pressed his lips and said nothing, quietly sloshing the mug to dilute the sugar, and sipping it wordlessly. This time, a slight blissful blush appeared on his pretty cheek, just like the time he ate the mango for the first time.

It was quiet inside the camp, but it wasn't the eerie quiet of the regular Deathzone. There was clean air, a safety barrier, a dimensional pocket full of fresh ingredients, a warm tent, and a powerful guard.

Zein just wished the rest of the expedition would be as nice and as peaceful as this morning.

* * *

After a peaceful breakfast and a quick dismantling of equipment, they continued the journey, leisurely climbing the hill along the stream. Just like yesterday, nothing of note happened, as the espers worked diligently. Even Han Shin hadn't faced any need to use his skill, and looked just like another researcher instead.

The day proved to be uneventful, and they arrived at what seemed to be the peak of the small hill. From here, the stream went down gradually instead of forming a waterfall. The team decided to have another test on that point then, as well as giving the chance for the researchers to rest.

Ron used the time to organize his map—the area he charted within these two days was already bigger than the one the Unit managed to do all these years. Truly, the presence of a Saint-class esper made all the difference.

The Saint-class who also ceaselessly trained the miserable sharpshooter.

Perhaps because they hadn't faced any significant danger, they proceed with a lighter heart, even when the miasma getting thicker. Their face wasn't as tense as before, and they even began to converse on the way.

Zein was no longer gripping the hilt of the Black Pearl all the time, and used his time to observe the surrounding area instead. Usually, when he went to the Deathzone, they had to constantly move in vigilance, so there was no time to observe the diverse vegetations that were getting wilder and wilder. _{freewebnøvel.com}

He also used the opportunity to further hone his senses, spreading his detection range wider bit by bit, watching the beasts getting chased and massacred by a bunch of fleeting darkness—sometimes in the shape of stakes, sometimes scales, arrows, even swords.

Zein noticed, however, that the number of these flying weapons of darkness was increasing the further they moved. It was to be expected though, since the deeper they went, the thicker the miasma. Of course, the beasts would be that much more, and that much stronger.

He was honestly amazed that even with that, Bassena still managed to eliminate them before they got close to the team's proximity. The only enemy the Saint-class couldn't get was the one inside the water, which was probably why he'd been training Sierra so hard—at least to be able to lure these water creatures out.

But no matter how amazed he was, when Zein looked at the increasing force of the beasts as they proceed further, he couldn't help but get tense. It didn't help that the others felt so secure they started to lower their guard, even without the presence of a safe zone.

Nothing happened, however, and Zein began to breathe easier. He'd been living in so much danger that he got paranoid easily in a place like this. Perhaps because he hated putting his life and safety in others' hands, Zein could never completely feel at ease, even in a seemingly secure environment.

But he realized that it was easier this time, putting his life in another's hands. Another's very strong hands.

But was it just the strength that Zein confided in?

Honestly, he wasn't sure anymore.

Zein had met a lot of persistent espers chasing him. And all of them were rude, pushy, quick to resort to their superiority when making a point, and had no qualms about using violence in the face of rejection. Of course, not all of them were like that. And the other type—the gentleman and considerate type, as Yath put it—would immediately back down once Zein said no.

But somehow, this man, Bassena Vaski, managed to be persistent without crossing any boundary. The man didn't use force, or pressure him with an esper authority. But when Zein clearly reject his advance, the man didn't just stop and gave up. It was like he chose to ignore the rejection and just kept on going until Zein had a change of heart. As if he had all the patience and the time in the world.

And Zein...Zein didn't find it revolting, somehow.

Not that Zein had any intention to change his mind, however. But still, he realized that he'd been indulging this one esper more and more...

'Am I getting swayed?' Zein frowned and shook his head. 'That's not good, I shouldn't—'

"Let's stop there," the voice of the man that had been disturbing Zein's peace of mind suddenly rang. The guide lifted his gaze, and so did everyone else.

In front of them, Bassena was pointing at the cliff wall on the other side of the river. There was something that looked like a void in the wall, so it seemed that they finally found a cave.

"It's time to call it a day, and you should test it out inside a closed space," the expedition's commander decided, and no one from the team had any objection to the idea.

Once again, they jumped over the five meters wide river to enter the cave. This time, since there was no stone in the middle that they could use as a medium, both Han Shin and Zein had to be carried over.

Zein had wanted to try if he could jump over the river on his own, but unfortunately, this wasn't the place nor time for experimenting with his limit. So he obediently waited until Bassena threw—yes, threw—the cursing Han Shin over to the other side like a sack of potatoes to be caught by the tanker Balduz.

"Are you going to throw me too?" Zein tilted his head as Bassena walked toward him with a smile.

"Of course not," the esper looked down and whispered. "I don't have a grudge against you."

"You have a grudge against him?"

"No, but he's annoying," Bassena brushed a finger on Zein's midriff. "Can I?"

"Yea—ugh!" Zein pressed his lips as the esper grabbed his waist tightly, pulling their body close together. He felt the same feeling he got inside the sentry box—the rousing of strong mana. But this time, that mana enveloped him instead of the enemy, and Zein's mind flew to the sea of darkness—the feeling of swaying inside that abyss.

In the time it took Zein to blink, the swaying and floating feeling vanished as the mana retreated, and he found out they were already on the other side of the river, right at the front of the cave where everyone already gathered.

The hand on his waist lingered for a while, even after they landed safely, and Zein couldn't help but lifted his gaze to meet the observing amber.

"Are you—"

"Can't you just take me like that, you fucker?!" Han Shin shouted before Bassena could finish his question to Zein. He stomped his boots to the ground as if it was Bassena's feet, and glared daggers at the man.