There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Chapter 137. Thorny Blanket

Gillian had never taken a day off ever since he started to work for his friend’s new little guild last month. It couldn’t be helped, since they needed a lot of resources, and all members needed to work hard not only in dungeon raiding but also in other miscellaneous jobs, like becoming a bodyguard.

Thankfully, he had a very understanding lover, and now that he finally could take a breather, he decided to have a nice little date in Tosan Park, having a picnic with his girlfriend.

He should have known the moment he caught the sight of Bassena Vaski getting out of a car, that something bad might happen. After all, why would someone like the Serpent Lord show himself there in the middle of the crowd, with that famous guide no less, when they were currently the talk of the town--no, the talk of the Federation?

But alas, his girlfriend, a romance enthusiast, was staring at Bassena Vaski and his guide with sparkling eyes. ’Let’s get closer’ she said. ’I want to see them better’ she said. Gillian knew it was all because of that darn rumor about the two’s possible relationship. He tried to warn his girlfriend, but she argued that the Serpent Lord and his guide might be there for a date, not something related to their job as esper and guide.

Gillian thought; well, she had been very understanding about his schedule, so might as well indulge her.

That was, until an announcement came, and the world seemed to get twisted; a section of the river evaporated, the bridge and the ground shook, and a swirling gate could be seen in the bottom of the now exposed river. Suddenly, the air was filled with the shrieking sounds of the beasts and the scream of the people.

Gillian froze. There was a license in his wallet stating that he was a certified 1-star esper and a blinking message from the federation tasking him to help evacuate the civilians. But at that moment, with his girlfriend clutching his arm in fright, he was frozen.

An outbreak? In the middle of the green-zone? So suddenly?

"G-Gillian...w-what happened? I...I’m scared..."

No shit--Gillian thought. He was scared too. As a 1-star esper, he was basically in the bottom rung. All he ever did was raid green dungeons, with his fellow guild members and wearing full equipment. Right now, he didn’t even have his weapon, and his skills only consisted of low-level elemental spells.

"G-Gillian!"

"D-don’t worry..." he snapped at his girlfriend’s scream. The people around them, who was also too slow in running away, were under the paralyzing effect of the miasmic surge from the dungeon break. "T-the Serpent Lord is here, so...so we’ll be alright--"

Just as he said that, the air suddenly became heavy, and the world turned to darkness, as if the night just fall around them.

His girlfriend shriek again, and he could hear startled gasps from the people who got caught in the dark. "W-what happened?" his girlfriend asked in distress, but the only thing Gillian could do was shook.

The civilians couldn’t feel it, since they could not perceive mana. But Gillian could, and right now, he felt a massive amount of mana being released in the air. Slowly, as their eyes get accustomed to the darkness, he could see a figure hovering above the river, platinum hair flashing like a sole sun inside the veil of darkness. Suddenly, Gillian recalled a certain skill belonging to the Serpent Lord.

"Nightfa--hieek!" before he could even utter the word properly, something suddenly wrapped around his body. The startled screams around him indicated that other people who got dragged inside the dome of darkness also experiencing the same thing. Without any warning, he felt his body getting dragged by whatever it was wrapping him, and the next thing he knew, he was being gathered with other people at one point, as they stumbled against each other. "W-what--"

CLAP!

Before Gillian, or anyone, could make any sound, someone already spoke. The only figure that was still standing within the group. Although it was dark, they could see the man clapping his hand to gain their attention.

"Alright, please calm down and pay attention to me," the man said, with a very calm and clear voice that was almost as mesmerizing as Callista, the best singer in Eastern Federation. That voice alone was enough to silence the anxious crowd.

At that voice too, the things that had been wrapping Gillian and others slithering away from them. He could see with his esper eyes, that it was something like a snake, all black as if rising from their shadow. The ’snakes’ fused into one and coiled the man’s leg, slithering up and nuzzling the man’s side--if Gillian could call it that.

"Yes, yes, good job," the man said, stroking the nuzzling tip of the moving shadow, before casting his blue eyes back toward the confused and scared people. "As you can see, an unexpected outbreak happened in the middle of the river. But don’t worry, as long as you stay put, your safety is guaranteed," the man said with that nice, melodious voice, and then added with a stern, bold tone. "As long as you stay put."

The people, who were still looking around and fidgeting earlier, stopped moving at the tone. Their mouths were closed as if in command, except for Gillian’s girlfriend, who boldly asked. "A-are you...Guide Luzein?"

The blue eyes twitched slightly, and Gillian almost wanted to reprimand her. Didn’t she know that a high-class guide taking care of high-rank espers was considered an elite? But before he could do so, the guide already replied flatly; "Yes," he said, and then the blue eyes shifted toward Gillian, and he almost jumped in fright. "Esper, please stand by in guardian mode."

...oh, so the guide knew he was an esper. With fluster, Gillian nodded and answered in a stutter. "Y-yes, Sir..."

Zein shook his head and let out a sigh, but blinked in surprise as Bassena started to move. In a swift movement, the esper grabbed the weapon from the ground and started to stab, slash, and throw them to accurately one-shotted each beast. Whether it was with footwork skill or using teleport, the esper fleeted around the field of darkness from one sword to another, as if he was a warrior-type esper instead of a magician.

"So that’s what all his muscle used for..." Zein mumbled, finally finding the answer to his neverending question of why Bassena, a magician-type esper, would work out every day and sport a physique that rivaled those of physical-type espers.

Truly, a man born to conquer. The title ’Lord’ didn’t seem too much for his prowess. Zein almost wished he didn’t leave the box of chocolate in the car, because it was quite a sight--a show, as Bassena so brazenly called it. Even as the beast swarm felt neverending, the weapons would just replenish on their own, sometimes while accurately piercing the beast that crawled out of the basin.

"Haa...what a show-off," Zein let out a chuckle.

Due to the sheer number of the beasts, however, sometimes there would be those that went past Bassena’s defense and lurched toward Zein and the others, especially the aerial type. But even then, Bassena would throw a weapon right at them, or the shadow guarding the civilians would lunch an attack. Zein didn’t even feel the need to take out his daggers, just watching leisurely with crossed arms.

That sentiment, however, wasn’t shared by the rest of the people trapped there. As the dead beasts’ carcasses kept on piling, the civilians were trembling.

"S-so...s-scarry..."

"Honey...I-I’m scared..."

Zein turned his head to glance at them. He swept his gaze over the civilians, wondering what it was that got them scared. Was it the dead beasts? If that was the case, he could ask the children of darkness to take the carcasses elsewhere. He recalled there were some emergency lamps inside his storage ring, perhaps he should lit them...

But then, Zein realized that those shaking eyes were pointed not at the darkness or the dead beasts--not even the living beast. It was directed at the fleeting, imposing figure that slaughtered the beast like a God of Carnage, that singlehandedly killed hundreds of creatures while smiling like he was having fun, amber orbs blazing like hellfires.

What they were scared of, was Bassena Vaski.

For as much as they felt protected by those massive power, they were also under the fear of that power someday turning on them. Like sleeping with a dangerous blanket, they feared the possibility that this power, which seemed as if it belonged to God, which had been protecting them like a safety blanket, would turn into a bed of thorns.