There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 736

Chapter 736: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 19

After spending another day to do a thorough check-up on the baby, the Ishteras left the hospital. Their destination, however, wasn’t the house on the cliff--it was the Guardian Tree.

A symbol of Lucre and the Far East district, the Guardian Tree was a place of reverence as well as a sightseeing location. While people could not go past certain borders--which used to be the wall of the dome in the past--the area around it had been fashioned into a hiking area surrounded by natural parks.

With a museum built to memorize Operation Fallen Star as a center, a town was established around it, accommodating visitors who wanted to see the Tree and the wonder of nature surrounding it, including the dome waterfall falling between the Tree’s many roots.

If they were lucky, they could even see one of the Guardians strolling around or sitting on the ledge of the roots. On a certain bright day in June, however, the tourists could see a lot of them on the roots--standing and watching the forbidden pathway. There were five of them around the ledge, but some people with binoculars said there were seven more around the base of the trunk.

Twelve of the Thirteen Guardians were out; there was only one instance this had happened in the past: during the day of liberation.

Naturally, as the news spread, more visitors were flocking to places where they could see the roots and the forbidden path unperturbed, wondering if something was about to happen. Their answer came with two cars driving toward the edge of the border.

A thing about the border: it wasn’t that people couldn’t pass through due to guards patrolling around. People just couldn’t pass through physically. There was a repulsing barrier rejecting them, and the only way up was through the smooth, slippery roots.

A lot of people had tried to go to the Tree, but no one had succeeded in breaching the barrier, much less climbing the roots. That was why, no guards had ever been needed around the border.

They were wondering who these people were, who came in high-end cars with last-tech security systems and tinted windows. The ’forbidden path’ as people called it, was not suitable for cars, after all. As expected of a high-quality vehicle, however, the cars drove through the path without any problem.

The visitors rushed to the forbidden path following the cars, feeling curious about it. Naturally, some also pointed their commlink to record just in case it was something worth posting on link.

And then, they saw the famous Bassena Vaski--no, Bassena Ishtera--come out of the car, holding the door open for a pair of twin boys and finally, of Luzein Ishtera holding a baby.

That wasn’t just something ’worth’ to be posted--it was a whole scoop.

The moment Luzein Ishtera stepped out of the car, the Guardians moved. The five waiting on the ledge--twin girls, a little boy, and two young-looking androgynous people jumped down and walked to the border. With ease, the Ishteras walked past the barrier while the Guardians welcomed them.

As the footage of this was circulating, Zein and his family followed their escorts to the waterfall. The Guardians waved their hands and several roots shifted, intertwining to create a stairway for them to climb. The twin girls held Kar’s and Asa’s hands while the youngest clutched Zein’s sleeve as usual, with Bassena following close behind in case Zein tripped or slipped.

"Welcome," Cliff, as always, became the Guardians’ spokesperson. The blue eyes turned to the blinking baby, whose eyes were squinting at the barrage of new visuals. "Are you very surprised?"

The baby squirmed and turned her face to hide in his father’s arms, prompting Cliff and the observing Guardians to chuckle.

"Little Sister is sensitive," Cliff smiled, hiding his twitching fingers behind his back. He was tempted to hold the baby, but he didn’t want to incur Big Brother’s displeasure. "But that’s understandable. Let’s go inside."

"Wait here," Zein told the twins, who were looking around in amazement.

"Can we swim, Dada?" Asa asked with sparkling eyes, and Kar perked up at the idea.

Zein glanced at Bassena, who only shrugged in response. He always had several sets of the twins and Zein’s clothes--probably for the baby also. One of his storage rings--which used to be Zein’s when the guide could still use mana--was full of emergency stuff for his little family.

"It’s fine; the others will keep them safe," Cliff told Zein. "It might take a while, so just lounging around will be boring for them."

"Well, in that case," Zein said and glanced at Bassena. "It’s on you, Baba."

"Yaaay!" Asa immediately ran to follow the twin guardians, before Bassena snatched him.

"Change your clothes first, Asa."

"Oh!"

Leaving his giggling sons behind, Zein entered the Tree while chuckling. A door had appeared at the base of the trunk, allowing him to enter with his daughter. While the Guardians were following him so they could take a look at little Lucy, only Cliff followed him inside the Tree.

The first thing he saw was a spiral staircase. He looked up and failed to see the end of it, but he wasn’t worried--it wasn’t his first time here. Without hesitation, he stepped into the staircase with Cliff, and stopped. Three seconds later, the staircase moved like a spiral escalator, allowing them to go up without dropping a single sweat.