There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 678

Chapter 678: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 13

Canceling all of his afternoon plans, Radia opened a portal straight to the Trinity branch in the middle of the lake. Waiting there was Lex, who immediately drove them to Ishtera Hill.

While being bonded to an esper made Zein lose the Saint-candidate title, he was still welcomed in the Temple of Freyja and Mago. The Goddess themselves connected the Guardian Tree with the Temple, so Zein--and only Zein--could use it to travel to both temples easily.

He called Radia on his way back, and they decided to meet at the cliff house. Bassena was already there too, waiting for Radia and Joon in their patio with the twins.

Despite feeling impatient and restless, Radia made time to greet their excited godchildren--especially because Joon seemed unusually happy about meeting them. The man was probably glad to move around instead of cooped up in the mansion and Althrea.

"It’s cool here even in the summer," Han Joon took a deep breath and savored the sea breeze.

"It’s because this place is closer to the Northern Alliance," Bassena said. "The downside is the winter."

"Yeah, it’s freezing," Zein chuckled. "Kar loves it."

"That’s why you don’t mind my temperature, huh?" Han Joon chuckled, pinching the toddler’s cheek.

Kar let out a rare giggling sound while leaning back against his uncle’s chest, and the smile on Han Joon’s face made Radia think it was worth the travel here--even though they didn’t move much.

Joon said he didn’t need to go anywhere, but...Radia made a note to still look for a nice place where they could spend time together in a new environment. An island? A nice cabin in a mountain?

"Talking about temperature..."

Radia stopped his wandering thought the moment Zein started to speak and turned toward the guide. "Did you find something?"

Seeing the summoner’s eager expression, Zein raised his hand in warning. "Don’t get your hopes up--I didn’t exactly find any solution."

"But you still found something," Radia replied. Otherwise, Zein wouldn’t make the call. He was the type to make sure he had something worth to say before opening his mouth.

"It’s not necessarily good news," the blue eyes glanced at Han Joon--no, they looked at the twins. Bassena tacitly peeled his sons away from their godfathers and, after coaxing them nicely, sent them to play inside with Ayya and the other nannies.

The fun time was over.

Amidst the cool breeze and the beautiful scenery of the sparkling blue sea, a tense atmosphere was shrouding the patio. When Bassena returned to the table with more cool drinks, Zein raised his musing face.

"There’s bad news and not necessarily good news," Zein said. Unlike other people who gave the listeners a chance to choose, however, Zein moved on right away. "I will tell you the bad news first."

Han Joon would have laughed if it wasn’t for his darling’s serious face.

"The core can not be repaired."

The guide uttered it dryly, as a fact, which Han Joon was thankful for. He was tired of people acting as if he was going to die tomorrow because it gradually affected him. He even acted childishly earlier.

But he understood now why Zein did not call Han Shin over, or why they seemed to be moving over secretly. The guide probably knew Shin would be devastated. On the other hand, unlike his brother, Joon and Radia had already accepted the possibility of his complete retirement.

Still, Radia asked just to cover all bases. "Do you know why?"

Zein turned to Radia and threw a question instead. "Have you talked to the Eastern Sun? Her problem was with her core, right?"

"Yes. I was looking for a similar artifact right now," Radia replied with a bitter smile, swallowing his sigh. He was so busy looking for it that he made his husband feel neglected.

"You can stop--at least not one with the same effect," Zein said. "What happened to the Eastern Sun was a damaged core. What Joon has is a flawed one."

"Flawed..." Han Joon muttered. "The butterfly wings."

Zein nodded. "When I guided you in the past, I realized that there were a lot of scars on your core--that is where the cold energy seeping out from. I didn’t know it was already there from the start," Zein chewed the inside of his mouth as he recalled what he saw. The scars were covered by the wound that came afterward, so he didn’t know it was flawed from the start. "At any rate, she said it can’t be healed or repaired."

Han Joon nodded. "I understand."

"But you were also heading in the right direction," Zein continued. "The option is either breaking the core or isolating it."

"I see..."

"But--" Radia frowned, recalling their conversation. "Wouldn’t breaking the core cause the cold energy to spread even more?"

"That’s why we have to look for an artifact that can devour the cold energy the moment you break the core," Zein said. "On the other hand, if you just want to isolate the core, we can ask the new Saintess’ help."