There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 465 - 458. Secluded Sanctuary

While Bassena told everyone to rest, and most of them were indeed playing in the lower lake area, there were still some people working above.

On a small clearing not far from the lake, the two defenders were helping Kei put up an office of some sort around the beacon Han Shin had set up before he came down to prevent any lovey-dovey moment from happening. But even after Julian and Banner followed the others to have some fun at the lower lake, the scout still stayed there to transcribe the recording she made into a report.

"You’re still doing it?" Bassena came up to check on the scout after the two defenders came down without her.

"I rest better if I don’t have to think about leftover work," Kei replied without looking off her screen. "I’ll send this first, and we’ll deal with the report on the purple stone later."

Bassena glanced in the direction of the lower lake, where the loud sound of the playing squad members could be heard. "Well, Shin will definitely refuse to do anything today," he said with a chuckle.

"Yep," Kei nodded in agreement. "Ah, we got a message from Hagalaz--it seems they had arrived at the cave we used yesterday, so they’ll arrive here tomorrow."

"How’s the journey?"

Kei leaned forward slightly to read the transcript on the screen better. "It said there’s nothing much happening; some attacks from the sky and the river, but there are almost no enemies on the ground, although they mentioned wight attacks a few times."

Bassena dragged a folding chair over and sat there, leaning back while looking up in contemplation. "The wights probably came from the groups we slayed but had no time to rid of the corpse."

"I agree," Kei nodded. "I’ll mention it in the report. Seems like there’s no regeneration--or it’s slow. Well, they should originally come out of the dungeon just like anything else. I’ll tell Hagalaz to burn off the corpse as they go."

Bassena tilted his head. "If there’s not much fight, shouldn’t they be able to move quicker?"

"The terrains, Commander," Kei reminded Bassena. "Please remember that they basically brought a wagon with them. Hmm...they said they will make a simple bridge first to cross the ravine tomorrow before continuing."

Ah...Bassena turned toward the wall of trees beyond the woods where they were. He failed to think about it earlier, but...they would need a way to get down here with all the luggage tomorrow.

"We should make a path from the cliff down," Bassena muttered.

"What, like a stair? A slope?"

"Both."

"Wouldn’t the beasts use it too?"

Bassena scoffed. "They could already come down even without anything, so making one or two wouldn’t change things. But it will allow our people to get here easier..."

He stopped talking and fell into a silent contemplation as the scout was back into typing both her short summary report and another detailed description of what transpired in the battle, along with her analysis.

Bassena, meanwhile, looked around the place, listening to the sounds of relaxation down there. This place was truly a paradise; there was ample water and even a light. While the temporary safe zone they made from the purification device could be destroyed by a monster attack, malfunction, or run out of energy, this dome’s security had the might of an unbreakable fortress. At the very least, it could withstand an attack of a horde with several commander-class beasts and a Boss. But also, in the first place, the location was actually very secure.

"It’s like a bunker..." he muttered.

A bunker for emergency situations. Yeah, that’s it! They only thought about making relay points and headquarters, but what about an emergency bunker? A place where they could fall back into if they were driven to a corner?

Not to mention, this Operation would probably take years to complete, and staying inside the Deathzone for that long was not healthy for anyone. There would be people who got too stressed out, too tense, or even going crazy in the middle of all the pressure and neverending fights. Those people would need a place where they could heal and recuperate their minds.

This place could be it--on a note that Zein and the core were agreed, and that everyone could open the way.

Kei looked at Bassena silently for a while. He realized what Bassena wanted, and she was also excited about the prospect. But she decided to keep her expectations to a minimum.

He had worked with Radia Mallarc way before Trinity was established, on her mercenary days. She knew the man would have thought about this too, but...the reason it never came up was probably because it hung too heavily on the fact that they would need permission from the host.

The core itself.

It was too unpredictable, and Radia did not like unpredictable things, so he probably scrapped it altogether. It would be better to progress with the assumption that they wouldn’t receive any help, after all.

But both Radia and she hadn’t seen how Zein interacted with the shards directly, so...

"You should talk about it with Zein, Commander," she said. "It won’t work if the gatekeepers don’t give permission."

"I know that much," Bassena chuckled. "Wouldn’t it be great if we could even plant something here? There’s a field down there flanking the river that--ah...the river."

Bassena snapped and, without a word, left the clearing, leaving Kei to blink in confusion. But he had no time to give an explanation, because...how could he forget?

The path to the valley was protected by the wall of trees, but there was another entrance to this place--where they originally came from last year; the tunnel above the underground river where the lake continued to flow.

Of course, he knew that the core would protect the entrance with a barrier. But he couldn’t feel at ease if he didn’t check it first. He jumped down through the woods around the lower lake and went straight to the river. As his memory served, there was a field of wild plants on the riversides, and further away; the tunnel.

He jumped to the entrance and looked down. It was dry. Bassena let out a slight breath of relief. It means the tunnel was no longer flooded by the underground lake’s water, which also means the path was still blocked.

That being said, Bassena still proceeded to check the entire tunnel for any new breach. He did feel the core’s barrier at the entrance, but he checked just in case. The tunnel itself wasn’t very long, and he soon reached the end, where he faced a wall; a dead end.

But he frowned.

"A wall?" Bassena touched the surface in front of him. The path should have been blocked by boulders as he collapsed the underground cavern at that time, but...

In front of him, rather than an uneven surface from the boulders, it was a smooth wall that looked as if it was a part of the tunnel from the start. Like a dead end of a cave.

"So...this is what Ron meant," he muttered as he knocked on the wall. It was sturdy and thick, and above all, felt natural--as if the cave ’healed’ by itself.

Well...at least, it seemed like the place was secure enough for now.

Bassena let out another breath of relief, but he almost felt his heart fall to his stomach the next second as his shoulder was gripped tightly from behind.

"What did I say earlier?"

Bassena swallowed in dread and replied awkwardly. "That...I should sleep?"

"Then why are you here now?" the cold voice continued behind his ear.

Bassena avoided the pursuing blue gaze and turned his head away, mumbling. "I sleep better if I’m sure there’s no more work?"

Bassena waited breathlessly for a few seconds, until he finally heard the sound of a soft sigh. "So? Are you done with your work?"

Letting out another breath of relief, Bassena turned and replied with a grin. "Yep! I’m all ready for your lullaby no--"

Bassena’s words and grin disappeared into a pair of lips as his body was pushed into the dead-end. The hands that grasped his face and neck called forth his instinct to hold onto the lean waist and scarred back, pulling the man closer to him as if they wanted to blend into the wall of the cave.

"What..."

"Didn’t I tell you?" Zein tilted his head and chased the warm lips again, nibbling into the wet surface.

Bassena took a deep breath as he stared at the desire inside the blue eyes, that gleamed like a pair of beautiful gems even inside the dim tunnel.

"A kiss...is fine," he repeated the words uttered on the riverside.

Zein replied with a deep smile and an equally deep kiss. Here, in the safe darkness, there was no need for consideration. They chased each other’s lips, savoring the unleashed desire they had kept since the merriment on the lake. Slowly, the soothing sensation of being cleansed filled Bassena, throwing a deep moan against Zein’s lips. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Smiling into the kiss, Zein parted his lips and, unlike that day, slipped his tongue in.

And he kept it there until the end of the guiding. And a while more. The heightened pleasure of cleansing made it hard for them to part; no one was eager to end it anytime soon. But when Bassena pulled Zein even more by the waist, the guide pulled away and ended the kiss abruptly.

"Wha--huh?"

Zein patted the dazed esper. "Just a kiss, isn’t it?"

Bassena looked at his lower body, jutting out his lower lips. "But..."

"Then you’ll never sleep," Zein frowned, smacking the esper’s hip like scolding a brat. He tilted his head and leaned a bit closer, however. "You should save that excitement for that place, shouldn’t you?"

Bassena gulped unconsciously.

"Since I plan to let you do everything you wanted to do that night."

Bassena inhaled sharply before groaning into his palms. Agh--that would not help it soften, wouldn’t it?

And as if in ignorance of his lover’s struggle, Zein turned around and walked out of the tunnel with a crisp chuckle.