There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 376

Chapter 376: Chapter 368. Paladin’s Shield

It was clear and bold on the screen; the process of taking the storage ring from Baaleon’s finger, taking out the contents, and the sinister black orb inside a protective tube.

"Would you look at that," Ludya remarked calmly, but her eyes were full of mockery. "Surely you’re not going to claim it was plated by someone?"

Torodeo gritted his teeth as the camera showed even more; the document of agreement between all the people who were involved. There were more, including the log of meetings between the parties involved, and a detailed report on each planned ’accident’ which at this point could be concluded as predetermined murder.

But for now, just the existence of the Specter core and the contract agreement were enough to detain them.

"Torodeo Horin, Ali Chodjim, Rokin Naalaka; you are under arrest for your involvement with Operation [Kronos]--"

Before the President could finish his word, Torodeo roused his mana, while the entourage of House Horin brandished their weapons. People from Caishen and Kamui immediately moved to apprehend them, but Torodeo blasted his thick mana and pushed the others back. He snatched the nearby weapons from the owner’s hands with his mana and hurled them across the table.

"Young Master!" A huge tower shield covered Zein from the weapons, and the rest of the weapons were being repelled by Cohen.

"Matriarch, are you alright?" Zein turned to the side; Jock had pulled Ludya down and the other guard had erected a barrier in front of her. But mana blast could not be blocked by a simple barrier, and Ludya was just a normal, non-awakened human.

Thankfully, she looked relatively well. "I have consumed an anti-mana tablet, you don’t need to worry about me."

Zein exhaled in relief, but the other non-awakened representatives weren’t as prepared as Ludya, and some of them had breathing difficulty due to the pressure of mana.

He stood up and glanced at the struggling representatives, as well as the bodyguards and agents who were clashing with the people from Horin, while the bodyguards from the other representatives were busy protecting their charge. The only ones who moved against the people from House Chodjim and House Naalaka were the people from the Apsoro clan.

"Go help them," Zein told his bodyguards, and before either Senan or Cohen could prevent him, Zein jumped on the table and slid to the other side.

"Foolish brat!" Torodeo compressed his mana above his palm and threw it at Zein. "Just die if you don’t want to come to us!"

Zein swiftly raised his arm and the compressed mana blast struck three layers of mana barrier coming out of his bracelet. Torodeo widened his eyes, and that second of astonishment was enough for the guide to arrive in front of him and grab his hair.

"You--"

Wordlessly, Zein slammed the old man’s head to the table; the cracking sound was enough for the skirmishes inside the room to halt. Even the President, who was in the middle of asking for backup from the personnel outside the room, stopped talking and stared at the table with parted lips.

"It’s you," Zein said with a low voice amid Torodeo’s cough. A shimmering white knife appeared in his hand. "The one who ordered my father’s death."

The words were uttered with a dry, cold fury that struck fear in people’s hearts. With an unchanging gaze, Zein swung the knife in his hand.

"Patriarch!"

"Young Master--"

"Gaaah!!"

Torodeo’s scream resounded inside the room as the knife of Acheron pierced his hand and pinned it to the table. "This should seal you for now."

"You...son of--"

SLAM!

Zein bashed Torodeo’s head to the table once again, with the same force he exerted when he drove Bassena’s head to the cave wall the first time. "I’m the son of Alteroan and Lucia Ishtera," he said with a hiss. "Don’t think you can break me when you can’t break them."

* * *

While the little skirmish in Rexon was happening, Radia walked through the secret corridor of the archive hall.

"Take everything," Radia told the people who came with him. ’We’ll peruse them later, but don’t let them hide anything. Check each storage ring for any evidence."

"Yes, Sir!"

"What is this?" he stopped behind Baaleon, before shifting his gaze toward the door. "Deva,"

The infiltrator peered out from one of the rooms to reply. "It’s sealed with biometric keys, Sir. I think it’s iris--living one--and manaprints."

"Hmm..." Radia glanced at the man on the ground. "And I guessed this one won’t just give it, huh? Makes me wonder what exactly you are hiding there."

Radia crouched in front of Baaleon and stared into the other’s eyes. "I hate wasting time, so listen to me, Baaleon Horin,"

Bassena glanced at Nirmala, who stepped back and out of the corridor in understanding as Radia continued.

"I’m not here to uphold justice, and since you have no regard for other’s life, I don’t see the need to offer you some. You should know that my brother here is capable of doing so," he said. "But oh, I guess you’re thinking that we still need you to open this door. I bet you’ve already put some destructive spell in case we open it by force."

Baaleon’s eyes twitched, which was all the confirmation Radia needed.

"You’re right, we do need you. And I bet you also think we can’t torture you because there are government agents here. You know what? You’re right; we can’t hurt you," Radia lowered his voice. "Physically, that is."

"Urk!"

Baaleon widened his eyes as a cold hand gripped his head. "Now, now--why don’t you have fun with me?"

The pale-skinned summon that Radia called earlier grinned widely, before vanishing as if being absorbed inside Baaleon’s head. The esper’s eyes rolled into his head and his lips parted in a silent scream.

"What happens to him?"

"A dream that feels like reality," Radia said. "We can’t torture him here, but we can do it inside. He might think the pain is just in his head, but..." he looked at the time in his commlink. "After a few years, it’ll start to feel real, I reckon."

Bassena blinked. "A few years?"

"Every second that passed will feel like a year’s worth," Radia replied nonchalantly. "Alright, we don’t get a lot of time, Cero."

The summon appeared not long after, whining but still licking his lips in satisfaction. "Well, that was fun after a long time."