There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 581

Chapter 581: Chapter 575. Not a Miracle

"Sir Jock and Miss Eleanor are..."

Cohen looked so horrified that he couldn’t quite finish his sentence, as if he couldn’t find the words to describe the situation. Zein and Bassena didn’t need more explanation to know it was bad, however, and they immediately moved to where they could hear the sound of commotion.

"What happened--"

Just like Cohen, Bassena couldn’t finish his question when he saw the two--or rather, when he saw Jock.

Holding Eleanor in one hand, his other hand was practically non-functional. And that was because half of his body had been burnt severely; his skin was either blackened or melted completely, revealing the cooked flesh underneath. His bone could be seen in his arm, and one of his legs was dragging without any, holding onto a piece of skin. Half of his face was burnt; singed hair melted into his skull.

Still, the half that was still solid never let go of Eleanor, who was wrapped in his protective coat. The support magician seemed to be out of it--not exactly unconscious, but not exactly there either. And even though many people had come to help them, Jock still refused to let her go and kept walking forward while dragging his tattered leg in a delirious state of mind.

It was a pitiful sight, but they couldn’t do anything unless they wanted to force the man and peel his fingers off Eleanor.

As everyone felt confused about what to do, Zein approached his former bodyguard and spoke in a soft, but firm tone. "It’s okay, we’ll take care of her now," he touched the hand that was gripping Eleanor tightly and made sure his voice was heard in the considerably still-healthy ear.

"Ah..." the man’s eyes flickered and as if the adrenaline finally left his body, his grip loosened and he collapsed to the people who had been ready to catch him. "...’nk you..."

"Where’s Shin?" Bassena asked right away when he couldn’t see his friend around.

"Chief Han is in the Castle, Sir," one of the healers replied while directing the espers to move Jock and Eleanor to the stretchers.

"I’ll bring him back quickly," Bassena patted Zein’s back before shifting his gaze toward the healers. "Do your best to keep his life--here, use this," he took out two bottles of elixir and a case of painkiller. "Cohen, cover the wound with a barrier to prevent further infection."

"Yes, Sir."

Right away, Bassena disappeared in a wisp of darkness. Immediately, the healers took the elixir and administered it to Jock, before injecting a pain killer to the delirious man. The gradual disappearance of the pain brought back clarity to Jock’s mind, just in time for him to see the healer about to give the other elixir to Eleanor.

He snapped and tried to get up again, but all he could let out was a small voice with an incomprehensible message. "...no...she...already..."

Thankfully, they had Zein there. "Okay, you gave her an elixir earlier?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright, just focus on yourself for now," Zein patted the unburnt side of the man and got him back to lie on the stretcher. "Let’s move them to the aid station."

The defenders, who used to carry shields around, steadily brought the stretchers with as little shock as possible. The quick-witted healers had cleared up the aid station and they quickly put the injured espers. Zein, narrowing his eyes, immediately came to Eleanor’s side. She was still half-awake, but her eyes were blank as if she was barely hanging in there even though she looked fine from the outside.

"She was hit on her mana core, and her internal organs seem to be affected," Zein told the confused healers who seemed lost about what they should do about Eleanor.

"Ah..."

The healers nodded and Jock let out a sigh of relief when he found out someone knew what happened. Finally, he could stop worrying and let his body rest.

One of the healers, who was checking Eleanor’s internal organs, frowned. "But nothing seems to be broken, Sir."

"No, it just feels like they are getting crushed," Zein explained.

"Oh..." the healers looked at each other. Since the new camp no longer had dungeons, the healers staying in the camp were those of the lowest rank, only one and two stars. Naturally, they never faced a case of healing someone with a damaged mana core before, and became confused about what to do. "Umm..."

"Don’t worry; Shin will be able to fix her," Zein understandably reassured them. "Just focus on what you can do, like rejuvenation."

The healers nodded nervously and Zein held Eleanor’s hand to guide her. Absorbing the corrosion would help lessen the burden on her body and make sure the system focused on natural regeneration rather than preserving the esper’s mental state. It would also increase the healing that the esper could receive later.

"Oh, so guiding can be used like that," Nadine, the only other guide who stayed in the new camp commented in awe.

"If it comes to the category, we’re also healers," Zein smiled.

"Yes, you’re right, Captain. Then, shall I guide Mister Jock?"

"No, leave him alone," Zein shook his head, glancing at the scout’s half-burned body. "At his condition, his system will get overridden with more stimulus."

"Oh, okay..." Nadine retracted her hand, feeling glad she did not make a hasty move and confirmed it first. "Seems like you have a lot of experience in this, Captain."

"It’s not a rare occurrence in the red zone. You’re still there, Jock?"

The man, who kept looking over to where Eleanor was, replied weakly. "Yeah..."

At least he still had clarity--Zein smiled and gave the man more assurance. "She’ll be fine."