There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 495

Chapter 495: Chapter 488. The End of The Tunnel

"Urk--"

Dheera clasped her hands over her mouth, even though it was already covered by a mask. The shrieking sound filling the chamber was unearthly and inhumane, made of the stuff coming out of the worst nightmare.

A pair of hands took off her goggles then, blessing her with the darkness that protected her mind from the horrifying scenery that almost made her feel pity toward a miasmic beast.

"Better close your eyes, Missy," Gus whispered gently. "Protect your sight."

And your mind--the esper muttered inwardly. Even among the espers, the use of hex had never been seen favorably. It was rather hard for a black magician like Hari to find a place in a prominent guild, but fortunately, their Guildmaster favored functionality over image.

And that decision had proven right countless times, including this moment.

The shriek of the hobgoblin they chose to be ’interrogated’ continued as the creature was mind-bent by the hex and started to scribble on the hard floor with bloody fingers. It was hard to discern; apart from the wobbly squiggly lines inevitable by the pain, they had to look at the dark blood against the dark floor. Thankfully, Kei had better vision than most esper and managed to replicate the scribble--or rather, drawing--in her commlink.

"Here," Kei pointed at a square with many circles inside. A line was drawn on the top side, with a diamond-shaped thing on its edge. It almost looked like a box birthday cake, and they would laugh if it wasn’t for the implications of the drawing. "I think this is referring to the base."

And the ’diamond’ was definitely the shard.

Beneath the square, the hobgoblin had drawn what they thought was a path--a complicated one, which represented the Stone Eater’s path perfectly. And then, at the bottom of that path were indecipherable lines that they couldn’t read. However, from how much the creature’s hand shook while making those lines, they concluded that the lines referred to the Specter.

"So it seems like our conjecture is true," Zhan said after stabbing the creature to its much-wished death. He dragged the dead body and threw it to a path they wouldn’t take. "So? We will pursue them, right?"

"Of course," Kei nodded while making an input into the map she made. She had been calculating how far they were from the base, and the result wasn’t that good. "If my calculation is correct, we are a day away from the base, even if we run all the way."

"Wait--is that mean those creatures are already..."

Kei frowned and shook her head. "Perhaps not," she said finally, although they could feel a slight doubt. "Moving in a horde is difficult, and even the leftover tails wouldn’t be too far behind. They shouldn’t be able to move as fast as us. Even if the head had reached the end of the path, they would probably gather in the last big chamber and make sure their numbers are big enough."

"But we still have to chase them fast, right?"

"Well, then..." Zhan put his spear back in his back with a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "Let’s hurry and--"

"No," Kei shook her head before sweeping her gaze across the squad members. "We are not Commander; we wouldn’t last if we keep going without any rest--even more if we have to fight at the end of it."

The support magicians were especially relieved by this decision. They might have better physiques than guides or civilians, but they weren’t made for prolonged physical exertion, and didn’t have as much stamina as the defenders.

"We’ll do what the Borderland Unit does when they have a Deathzone expedition," Kei said, putting down her bag on the ground. "We’ll rest for four hours, and continue for six before taking a rest again for two hours and continue."

It would be their first rest without a proper camp or purification device, and they had to get used to sleeping in short hours. But it was the best they could do in that situation and at least, they could have a drink and make some instant meals during that time.

As they started to find the best spot to rest, Han Shin approached the scout. "Hey, is there any way we can warn the base?" _{ƒгeewёbnovel.com}

Kei shook her head with a sigh. "We can’t get any signal underground. Even if we stay in range, the beacon wasn’t designed to breach the ground."

The healer frowned and chewed on his cheek in contemplation. "Hey...what if we use the flare paper we shared with the base?"

"We can’t," Kei frowned too. "That one is supposed to be used when we are in an emergency and they have to enact the defensive protocol."

"But isn’t this an emergency too?" Han Shin argued. "Sure, they won’t know what actually happened, but at least the defensive protocol will be in place; the guides and supports will be in a safer place and everyone will be on alert. Isn’t that better than suddenly getting attacked out of nowhere without anyone but the guards being ready?"

Kei bit her lips in contemplation. "That protocol means they will contact the Guildmaster too..."

"So? Is losing people better than making a fuss?"

Kei pressed her lips. Han Shin could easily say that because he was a higher executive, a shareholder, and the Guildmaster’s future brother-in-law. It was different for a normal employee like her. But...what he said wasn’t wrong.