There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Chapter 116. Stairway To Heaven

"How can you fail to take care of even a simple guide?!"

The Moonlight Princess yelled at a group of espers in black suits, prancing around the guildmaster’s office while fuming, stomping her feet to the floor.

"With due respect, I don’t think he’s a simple guide," one of the espers opened his mouth, only to pause at the Princess’s glare, and then added politely, "...Ma’am."

"Hmph!" Senia crossed her arms and continued berating the espers with furrowed brows. "He’s still just a guide! And you tell me you can’t even secure one opportunity to talk to him?"

Just talk--they couldn’t even corner the man to talk about recruitment. They didn’t even need to kidnap him or anything, just securing the man a bit for a talk without Bassena Vaski around.

It was such a good opportunity with the Serpent Lord trapped in a shoot, and yet they blew it off just like that. And now people were whispering about how silly their sudden appearance in the studio was.

So much for wasting her precious time!

"He was there for hours! With only one guard!" she stomped her feet in frustration.

"No, I don’t think that’s the case," the guildmaster suddenly interjected, tapping on the desk in contemplation.

"You’re right, Sir," the leader of the group of Esper responded. "We dispatched a lot of people, even esper with infiltration abilities. But somehow, all of us never manage to find him. We’d suddenly end up in different sections, even bumping into each other,"

Another esper nodded and added in support. "I think it’s some kind of bewildering skill,"

"Is it the guard’s skill?"

The espers shook their head. "Not the one who stayed with him, Sir."

"So you’re telling me there are other people guarding him?" Senia furrowed her brows, and finally stopped moving around and leaning on the guildmaster’s desk.

"Yes, Ma’am."

"Hmm..." Verion tapped his temple, golden eyes narrowed as his lips stretched into a cold smile. "They put the Mallarc’s shadow guards on him."

The guildmaster glanced at the images that had been circulating since last night; the intimacy between the Serpent Lord and his guide. It seemed like they put the guards on him because Bassena Vaski was smitten with the guide. How foolish.

Or was it because Radia Mallarc didn’t want to lose the guide to Celestia? Aside from losing to Verion, the smitten Esper might explode in anger too because of that.

Hmm...should they manage to get the guide, would Bassena Vaski follow suit then? Verion licked his lips at that--but he couldn’t tell Senia that lest the Princess would throw a tantrum.

"Ugh--what a pain!" Senia clicked her tongue and turned around to face the guildmaster. "Hey, I don’t think he’s worth all this hassle."

Verion tilted his head and replied with a patient smile. "Why do you think so?"

Senia sighed and started to speak in an exasperated tone. "Look, he’s one of that annoying guides who think they are equal to Esper, I know that!" she slammed the desk with her palm as her whine continued, frowning while remembering yesterday’s event. "He was so rude! He even talked casually to me!"

"Mm..."

"If it’s just to damage Trinity, we can do other things," she straightened her back and shook her head in frustration. "This guide is so not worth it."

Why would a mere guide make her waste hours of precious time, and mobilize human resources that could be used for more beneficial things?

"Is that so?" Verion smiled at the infuriated Princess. Rather than agreeing with her, however, the guildmaster offered her another perspective. "But don’t you think it’ll be fun knocking down such a haughty guide?"

Senia froze for a bit before responding. "Uhh...well, if you put it like that..."

It did sound nice, humbling such a guide. He longed for putting that tall figure on his knees so he should look up at her, not the other way.

But...was it really worth all the resources they used yesterday?

In the middle of her thinking, Senia suddenly heard the guildmaster muttering the guide’s name. "Luzein..." Verion swiveled his chair while tapping on the armrest. The golden eyes were staring at the ceiling while he muttered the name again, seemingly trying to recall something. "Luzein..."

"Why do you keep saying his name?" Senia pursed his lips. The guildmaster started to sound like he was obsessed with this guide, and it didn’t sit well with the girl.

"I don’t know," Verion chuckled, eyes shifting back to the Princess. "I feel like I know something about this name, but it kept slipping past my mind," his lips curled into a deep smirk. "It makes me curious..."

"So that’s why you want to get him?" Senia narrowed her eyes.

"Well, doesn’t matter," the guildmaster shrugged. "Nothing we can do if he’s still behind Mortix’s wall, so let’s just wait for another opportu--"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, his secretary suddenly came inside the room without knocking, looking very much in a hurry. The espers looked at him in surprise, and Senia in annoyance, but the man couldn’t care less about that now.

"Sir! Sir!" he arrived in front of the guildmaster’s desk with bated breath, a tablet in his hands.

The golden eyes narrowed at the frantic way his usually calm secretary acted. "What is it?"

"You have to see this," the man put the tablet in front of the guildmaster, which showed a recording of an esper streaming account.

Though taken from quite far away, they still could see the video clearly; of three tower administrators coming out to greet and invite a simple guide inside.

Yes, of course, Bassena could infer that much. But that didn’t mean he knew why Ophiuchus would call Zein because of that. And because he didn’t know, he got anxious.

"It’s the One who gives you your power," Zein looked at the esper firmly. He knew why Bassena got antsy, but the man couldn’t afford to be burdened by such thought when he was about to undergo a trial that was being watched by the whole world. "Do you think he’ll harm me?"

"I’ll tear down this place if they do!" Bassena replied sharply, seemingly did not care that he said it in front of three administrators. _{freeweɓnovēl.coɱ}

Zein smiled at that, and retracted his mask so Bassena could see it. "Yes, you do that," he patted the esper’s head, stroking the furrowed brows. "But do your trial first."

He looked at the esper keenly, until the knot in Bassena’s brows unravel. The agitated look was getting replaced by a forlorn one, and Bassena closed his eyes with a sigh, leaning into the guide’s caressing hand.

Zein looked at the admin then, while Bassena was managing his emotions. "Will it take long?"

"We do not know," the admins simply shook their heads. "But we shall provide shelter for your companions."

So Lex and Jock didn’t have to be concerned about staying here, although Zein didn’t think those two would find it difficult anyway.

"Alright," Zein nodded then.

At his response, two admins turned their bodies and reached out their hands toward an empty wall, which Zein guessed was the entrance to the place he was invited to. "Shall we go? The Lord is waiting."

"Bas," Zein shifted his gaze toward Bassena again, who was holding the hand he used to caress the esper’s face. "Do well, but be careful."

Zein stressed the last word heavily. He really didn’t want Bassena to do the trial carelessly just because he wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible.

"You too," Bassena opened his eyes and brought the guide’s hand over to his lips, kissing the pulsing wrist. The amber eyes stared deeply into the pair of blue, as he made a promise. "I’ll see you at Trinity."

"Mm," Zein let out a rare, soft smile, before pulling his hand off from the esper’s grip.

"This way, Guest," the waiting admins urged him again, and Zein turned away to follow them, feeling the piercing stare of the esper on his back.

But soon, with a swipe of their hands, the empty wall in front of them wavered like a mirage, and just like before, Zein stepped through the wall. He could no longer feel the piercing stare, and for a second, he felt a pang of loneliness from that loss.

Unlike before, the space felt empty, as if he was standing in an infinite space; an infinite darkness--only, he could somehow see. It almost felt like he was guiding Bassena, only he wasn’t floating in the water, but standing on solid ground.

There was a path in front of him, leading upward to a place he didn’t know. The two admins stood at the base of the path, beckoning him to continue.

"This is as far as we could go. Please proceed to the end," they said before bowing their head.

Zein thought it was quite polite of them to do that, seeing how haughty they looked at the start. Since there was nothing else he could do, Zein stepped into the path, climbing to where the Celestial Being invited him to.