There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Chapter 61. Dark Knights

Another thing Zein found out was that executives had unlimited access to the guild’s car and its driver. _{freёwebnovel.com}

He didn’t even have a chance to consider calling a taxi when the guild’s chauffeur already contacted him, telling him they were ready to drive him to his only schedule on Saturday, which was a medical examination.

Obviously, Zein never had one before, which was why the guild arranged for him to take one. It seemed like it was mandatory for the members of the guild to have an annual check-up, and it was always held at the medical center he was heading to.

The chauffeur had already waited for him with the same kind of car he rode in on the first day with Bassena. The man also treated him with so much politeness that Zein felt uncomfortable and contemplated buying a car on his own so he could just go on his own. He even messaged Bassena for some recommendations and ended up having a call with the esper throughout the journey, unconsciously making the chauffeur even tenser around him.

[Get used to my car first] the esper said in the end. [You can get one after you master it]

"I don’t plan on having something as complicated as yours,"

[Even better. Once you mastered mine, any other one would be easy] Zein heard the sound of a chuckle, and some noises in the background. [It’s just sitting in the guild’s parking lot anyway]

Bassena was saying it as if the luxurious car he had was just a toy laying around unattended or something. Zein scoffed, and focused his hearing on the noises behind the esper. "Seemed like they’re waiting for you,"

[Just ignore it]

"Bassena Vaski, be professional," Zein sighed, looking at the medical center plaque outside the window.

[Damn, it’s kinda scary when you call my full name like that] despite saying that, the esper still chuckled slightly. [Go on a drive with me tomorrow]

"Again?"

[Aren’t you going to learn the car’s mechanic?] Zein could almost imagine the esper’s shrewd smile. [I bought some chocolates for you]

"...I’ll think about it," Zein hummed and looked outside once more. "I arrive, so end the call."

[I’ll call you later] the esper said with palpable joy and tenderness, enough to make the chauffeur stiffen, before the line ended.

Zein stared outside again, eyes narrowed in curiosity. While it was true that they almost arrived, the car hadn’t entered the driveway yet. But Zein saw something interesting across the medical center, so he told Bassena to end the call. A secured field with staff from a guild Zein had no knowledge of and government agents guarding the perimeter. Barricade was made around the field, which seemed to be a children’s playground.

"A dungeon?" Zein muttered, trying to see the shape of a swirling gate between the trees.

The chauffeur responded immediately with information without Zein needing to ask for one—probably the effect of having a call with the Serpent Lord. "Ah, yes, Sir. It’s a low-difficulty yellow dungeon, so they only secured the field around the gate instead of a whole street. We won’t be able to visit the medical center today otherwise."

"Hmm," Zein stopped looking then. A low-spectrum yellow dungeon meant even a group of 2-star espers would be enough to clear it.

It was nice though, finding out the safety protocol. There was no such thing in the red-zone—even if a gate showed up above someone’s roof, the house owner wouldn’t budge unless it was a red dungeon or above. It wasn’t as if they had people who would make an evacuation effort. Moreover, leaving the house to evacuate might result in other people taking over that very house, which was annoying.

Zein saw that people here also didn’t think much of the appearing gate. But it was clear that the indifference was derived from a completely different reason. Here, they just felt safe and secure, with espers and agents already standing by in case of some mishaps.

Not even a critical infrastructure like a medical center experienced any kind of panic from the appearance of the gate a couple of hundred meters from there. The medical personnel and visiting people went about their business as usual, including the medical staff waiting for Zein in the lobby.

He followed the staff to a room where they asked him some basic questions, and jotted down his basic measure. And then he followed the staff to many more rooms with equipment that he had never seen in his life, doing things he had no idea what the objective was for. That one particular staff stuck to him through all that, and gave him ample explanation during each process. Unfortunately, it wasn’t being dumbed down enough for Zein to understand, and a lot of medical phrases just flew out of his mind.

But Zein didn’t really protest to anything, following the procedure obediently, even when he needed to change into a hospital gown and took off his mask. The only time he hesitated was when he had to take off his necklace, but the staff made a promise to guard his stuff with their life, so Zein eventually gave in.

He didn’t really understand what each procedure did. Everything felt so new and strange, but also fascinating. He also found out that the medical procedures and equipment differed between espers and civilians. With different physiology, and body that was responsive to mana, a more specialized procedure was needed for espers.

Guides, on the other hand, had a body that wasn’t so different from civilians, so they used normal equipment and procedures during examinations.

But Zein...Zein was an anomaly.

Most of his examinations could be done with civilian equipment, until they had to see his inside, and the equipment couldn’t get through him. There was a bit of chaos before they decided to use the ones designed for espers, and everything went back to normal.

"Your internal organ is protected by a layer of magic energy, like espers," the head of Zein’s medical exam team said at the end of the session, at the head’s office. "But the organ itself, your cells, your skin...everything’s normal. Just like any other guides."

She looked at Zein inquisitively. It was bizarre, and definitely something that never happened in her medical center. And yet the man itself only put on an impassive face, nodded, and responded nonchalantly. "I see,"

"You don’t look surprised. Do you perhaps know about this already, Mister Luzein?"

Zein had given up trying to change the way people call him by his full given name, since it was printed on his license and resident permit. "I don’t—but I know I can use mana."

It was the doctor that was taken aback. "That’s...fascinating. Do you have any intention to do a thorough—"

"No,"

She pressed her lips and smiled apologetically. Her doctor’s senses were tingling, but there was nothing she could do to force someone from Trinity, especially an executive. And by the look of it, this extremely good-looking man was the stubborn kind.

"Ah, my apologies," she bowed her head a little bit, smiling sheepishly. But afterward, her expression suddenly turned serious as she read a particular chart. "But, Mister Luzein...there’s something that you need to know."

Zein tilted his head, waiting for her to tell him further. She had quite a troubled expression at first, but she put on her professional face and told the guide straight. "It’s about your womb."

It was then that Zein’s face shifted a little bit, and the blue eyes hardened. "It was deformed and damaged so badly that it can no longer function. We can’t find out the reason without further examination, so—"

"There’s no need," Zein cut her with a dry tone.

"Pardon? But..."

"It’s me," Zein said with deadpan eyes. "I’m the cause. I destroyed it myself with mana."

The doctor parted her lips, seemingly wanting to say something but couldn’t find an appropriate words. Her eyes clearly asked why, but Zein also looked like he had no intention to spell out his reasoning.

Because there was no special reason other than self-protection. When Zein witnessed the way espers treated guides, watched a lot of guides getting raped and pregnant, and then abandoned at the corner of the red-zone until they could work again, he did everything he could to prevent that from happening to himself. From learning martial arts, always wearing a mask and covering himself in bulky clothes, and then, finally, destroying his own womb when it manifested.

It had hurt like nothing he ever experienced before, and he had silently screamed into the bundle of cloth in his mouth, behind the boulder at the edge of the ravine where he used to hide. He had to keep controlling the blood and the internal wound with his mana, until he got used to it. Until it didn’t hurt anymore.

He was fifteen.

He couldn’t afford any mishap, couldn’t risk stupid things like pregnancy if an esper somehow successfully assaulted him. No one could provide for him and his brothers if he was unable, and his scared, scarred mind just decided that it was the best option at that time.

Zein still thought it was the best option even now.

It was a secret that no one knew, not even Alma. And Zein had no intention to let anyone know. He simply considered that he had no such thing inside his body from the start. Honestly, he even forgot about it until the doctor mentioned the fact.