There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 454

Chapter 454: Chapter 447. Taste of Darkness

"You’re so silly," Gus sighed as he watched Zhan put the motorcycle inside a storage ring.

"Shut up! There might be a place where I can ride this inside," the spearman spat after stubbornly putting his sweet ride inside. "Isn’t there a city ruin or something?"

"Don’t cry to me if your bike got damaged later," the swordsman scoffed. "There’s no repair garage here, just so you know."

Zhan belatedly blinked and turned toward Han Shin. "I didn’t take mechanical course," the healer shrugged.

"Tsk."

Ron laughed inwardly as he watched these high-rank espers bickering before at the edge of the jungle. It was an unthinkable thing to do for him and the other Unit personnel, even if Ron himself was an A-class esper. Even during the excursion last year, they weren’t this relaxed. But then again, there were only Bassena and that markswoman as proper damage dealers.

This time, it was a proper attack squad, and each of them was a veteran fighter--not only in dungeons, but people who used to do a lot of dangerous missions. And Ron could tell at a glance, that most of them were just like Agni Khan--battle frenzy bunch.

Well...perhaps that was why he was also at ease this time.

"You’re recording?" Bassena asked Kei, who gave her an OK sign. He clapped his hands then, to garner everyone’s attention. "Alright, we’re going inside the jungle now, so go into formation."

As if the bickering before was a lie, the squad immediately moved into position. Two defenders positioned themselves at the front and the back of the formation, and the guides huddled together with the healer and supports. The attackers strategically positioned themselves based on their range, and Ron shuffled to the front, since he would be the one to lead the path this time. Kei, meanwhile, would take the role of surveyor for the time being--supporting them with data and recording the whole thing.

"Goggles and mask?" Zein checked the guides. "Shield?"

"All ready, Captain!" Dheera and Leehan answered by activating their Shield and shutting it down again.

Zein looked forward and nodded at Bassena, who was standing at the front as usual, despite being a long-range dealer. The Saint class looked at his commlink and announced for the recording.

"June twenty-third, 576 NA, zero-nine-fifty-five; entering the Deathzone."

Dheera gulped and curled her fists as the Commander gave a signal to move. She looked at her Captain for a second, and the serene blue eyes she could slightly see behind the goggles calmed her down somewhat. She nodded to herself and started to walk forward.

In front of her, there was a ’gate’ made of two huge black trees like a pair of pillars, and between them was a gaping darkness that seemed to be ready to swallow her whole. As she looked up to see the entirety of the jungle and the dark cloud above, the Deathzone felt like one big monster, and she was about to step into its maw, straight to its belly.

Not exactly a nice picture, and she started to repeat the Deathzone manual Zein made for them again and again in her mind. The kinds of creatures she might encounter, and what to do in their presence. She recalled what Zein told her to feel calm; touching her weapon.

As she did that, the beast’s maw was already in front of her, and she took her first step into the darkness.

It had been three months since she started the simulation in tears. For those three months, she had steeled herself, determined to not be a burden and a disappointment to her Captain. She had become the one who survived the longest inside the simulation, even when the miasmic beast started to be added.

Still...

Her Captain was right--the simulation was inadequate. The pressure of the miasma she felt immediately once she entered the jungle was no joke. The darkness was something inherent that suffused with dread, and even though she could somewhat see with the help of the dark-vision goggles, it did not alleviate the eerie feelings. Just like in the simulations, the tall trees seemed to be scarier than the total darkness.

Breathe--she told herself. Breathe...

And she did, but she felt like she wasn’t. The air came to her lungs, filtered, and yet it still felt heavy. Dheera was sure that without this mask, she would feel like drowning the moment she inhaled the miasma-riddled air.

The squad was walking without a single word, and it made all the sounds seem so loud in her ear. She could even hear the sound of her heavy breathing and the pounding of her heart.

This situation persisted for a while as they traversed through a path that the Borderland Unit had cleared before, until the Commanders stopped their advance and told them to wait. "We will widen the path Hagalaz," Bassena said. "Carra, give Gus and Zhan a buff. The others stay here for now."

"Yessir."