There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Chapter 28. Where Vision Cleared

"It's really there,"

Ron, Bassena, and Sierra were hiding behind a boulder on an elevated ground overlooking a huge, flat terrain that seemed to be the heart of the mountain. There, in the center of the terrain, was a tree-like creature as big as an apartment building filling up the space. Its road-size roots were planted on the ground, on the wall, and on the ceiling of the huge cavern, pulsing like some kind of life-sustenance device.

"So that's the Wood Specter?" Sierra asked in a whisper carefully, peeking out of the boulder.

"Hmm...this is tricky..." Bassena looked at the ceiling of the cavern. His eyes then moved to the nine cave entrances surrounding the Specter. One of them should lead to the location of the shard, but they had no idea which one.

After walking along the right-side path and spending another night on the uncomfortable river bank, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. From there, the river ended in a waterfall, but there was no way to climb up. The tunnel led them to another exit not far from the river, and as they climbed the elevated ground that marked the exit, they were greeted with this view.

It was an underground lake with a small island at the center. Or, rather than an island, it was probably more correct to call it the Specter Lair. The only occupant of that island was the sinister-looking tree, sitting in the middle of black water that felt more like a huge puddle than a lake.

Within various levels of height, there were cave and tunnel entrances much like the one they used right now. Five of them had streams of water flowing to the lake, and they concluded that one of those five should lead to the shard.

The question was which one?

"Let's get down first," Bassena tapped on the other two espers and they slid back down to the tanker and the non-combatants waiting down in the cave.

"So?" Han Shin greeted them with a question.

"It's tricky," Bassena repeated what he said up there. "There are five possible entrances, but we couldn't know which."

"Well...what about using the tracker again?"

Bassena shook his head. "Using it here is no use. If we want to be precise, we have to use it in front of the entrance."

"But it's not like we have five chances..." Han Shin sighed.

"Unfortunately,"

"What about checking them one by one?"

Bassena answered with a flick on the healer's forehead. "Past that Specter? We can if we have someone like your brother, but I don't think Ron has concealment skills, do you?"

Ron shook his head at Bassena's question. "I have a stationary one, but it doesn't allow me to move."

"Uhh...we should have dragged Hyung to join the expedition," Han Shin rubbed his stinging forehead. As it happened, the Captain of Mobius was the Tower of Scathach's beloved champion who had a [Night Walker] trait, which could conceal his movement within the darkness. But of course, someone in his position wasn't a person who could be summoned just because his younger brother asked him to—especially considering the man's widely known bad relationship with Radia Mallarc. "Can you just use your skill to probe the tunnels?"

"I've tried," Bassena clicked his tongue, visibly dissatisfied. "But the Specter instantly sensed it earlier, and swatted them the moment they got close."

Han Shin was about to open his mouth again before Bassena cut him off. "Also, before you suggest anything more, know that the moment we defeat the Specter, the ceiling will collapse. So we only had one chance—everyone should enter one of the caves before I finish the Specter off."

From the way the cavern was structured, the whole space was supported by the Specter's giant roots. It was why the creatures had only been able to send its offshoot to attack them before, since it practically couldn't move its main body without destroying the integrity of its home.

"And the moment the ceiling collapsed, the entrance might get sealed, and the water had no outlet. Which means the tunnel could be flooded. So we have to constantly move to reach the exit before we get completely drowned."

"Uff—" Han Shin let out a sound that perfectly represented the rest of the team's feelings.

Eugene scratches his growing beard nervously before stating the obvious. "Which means...we'll gamble?"

"We'll gamble," Bassena let out a bitter smirk. He was the one who said they'd gamble their next chances, but who knew it would really come to that?

An understandable silence fell on them after that, as they realized it was the closest they would have to failure. It wasn't much about the Specter itself, since they vehemently believed in Bassena's prowess. But not even the mighty Bassena Vaski could prevent the work of gravity on tons of unsupported earth and stones, or stop the flow of water.

The one who broke the silence, surprisingly, was the quietest of them all. "Then, if it's up to fate anyway, can you let me choose?"

They all shifted their gaze to the nice, low voice of the guide.

"Zen?" Ron was the most surprised of them all, since he was the one who knew Zein the best. This sudden proactive move was even more uncharacteristic than the laughter he let out yesterday.

Zein, however, wordlessly stared at Bassena, the one with the authority of decision-making. The amber eyes probed him, glowing slightly to peer through the goggle. Zein might have said it as if he would just pick it out based on luck or intuition, but Bassena could see the firmness behind the deep blue eyes.

"Come," the esper got up, taking the guide's arm on his hand. Without waiting for anyone's input, or saying anything regarding his decision, he took Zein to their scouting place behind the boulder.

For others, it might seem like Bassena granted the request because of his blatant courting to the guide that he had never tried to hide. But from his firm tone and sharp eyes, Zein knew the esper made the decision based on rational thinking.

"Can you see the entrance where the streams come out of?" he whispered, and the guide nodded. The esper held Zein's wrist then, thumb laying flat on the other's pulse. "Back then, you were already looking at the right side path from the start, before I even took out the artifact."

Zein, who was in the middle of discerning the five entrances, stiffened for a second. "Did you feel something?" there was a slight jolt on the guide's wrist. "Can you feel it still? The fragment..."

There was no answer from the guide, and Bassena asked again; lower, sterner, in a whisper only they could hear. "Does it has something to do with the mark on your nape?"

This time, the pulse beneath the esper's thumb ran erratically for a few seconds. The guide turned his face then, and though his face was obscured by the mask and the goggles, Bassena could see it clearly—the coldness of defense.

"I don't mean to probe if you don't want me to, but I need reassurance even with a gamble," Bassena paused for the words to sink in, before adding. "Because it was you who told me to be cautious."

When the coldness inside the blue eyes dissipated, Bassena let go of the guide's wrist. "Just tell me if you can sense it."

Zein let out a soft, resigned breath. "Ten o'clock," he said briefly. Then, in an even softer whisper; "I sense it there."

Bassena nodded and they came down again, with inquisitive looks from the other. Certainly, neither of them had any intention to humor their curiosity, and Bassena went straight to the plan.

"We'll take the cave entrance at the ten o'clock position. Here's how it'll go—"

* * *

Zein had never seen Bassena properly fought before. The espers had always managed to eliminate the beasts from afar, and during the fight against the Earth Specter, Zein was busy with the offshoot of the Wood Specter to be able to see anything.

But Han Shin told him one thing about spectating Bassena's fight: "It's annoying."

Clearly, Zein had no idea what that should mean. He just watched with curiosity as the man climbed the elevated ground while snapping his fingers. The shadow beneath his feet was wriggling, and several small snake-like figures made of pure darkness slithered out, coiling the esper's body.

"Go," with a short command, and another snap, the snakes turned into arrows and scythes and flew out of the cave. Bassena turned his head to the others, a smirk adorned his calm face. "See you then," he said in his low, husky voice before he was scattered into darkness.

When they climbed out of the entrance to hide behind the boulder, Zein saw Bassena standing in the open, on the farthest side from the cave they meant to enter. With arms casually crossed in front of his chest, and amber eyes coldly staring at the Specter, the man looked like the epitome of a valiant hero in the brochure.

The esper put his hands in front of his chest in a gesture of fake sympathy, eyes knitted in sorrow, but lips stretched in joy. The Specter shrieked now—they had no idea where the sound came from, but it was positively enraged. _{freewebnøvel.com}