Ball of Nothing

by Stayrr

I started off as nothing, just a mass of consciousness that slowly evolved. Just your average overpowered existence hungry for a multiverse adventure. Demons? They are my friends. Monsters? They are delicacies. Heroes? Not even equal to the dirt on my boots. Royalty? Money Machi- Ahem, a pleasure doing business. Immortals and Gods? Share with me the latest gossips! With power comes

6. 199

Chapter 199: Nose Poking

"We can't evacuate!" Zero struggled in Olaf's hold and received a smack on his bottom that made him squirm uncomfortably.

"Yes, we can. I'm not putting up with those fluff-brains for longer than I need to," the dragon demon huffed.

"No, we can't! Beel and Baal are-"

"Beelzebub and Baal are Demon Lords, perfectly capable of surviving any kind of crisis. You should know best that even if their physical bodies were destroyed, the soul of a demon lord would never disappear. Besides, the headmaster if personally going to take care of it. I don't believe that the gate cannot be taken down with so many powerful individuals joining hands so don't worry more than you have to," Olaf huffed.

"But stil-"

"No buts," the librarian cut him off curtly with a strict look. "Any more meddling on your end will only be poking your nose into where it doesn't belong. You can help by not being anywhere near that disaster zone and giving everyone else a piece of mind."

Zero looked conflicted and highly unsure. His anger from earlier was still simmering underneath the constant waves of worry the further they got from the library. As Olaf was flying at quite an altitude, Zero could see the chaos happening below them. Students, teachers and townfolks were evacuating the domain in a hurry. Many tried to step over the slower demons who mercilessly stampeded to death. The doctor couldn't believe his eyes.

"I still want to be able to do something to help..." Zero admitted in a whisper.

Thanks to his keen sense of hearing, Olaf heard that clearly. The librarian said nothing for a while as they flew further and further from the campus. Olaf had a few hideouts near the Academy and was considering if he should do as told and keep the teenager there. It was a tough decision.

On one hand, Olaf had the duty of an adult to guide Zero who was young and naive. In addition, Baal and Lucifer would have his head should something befall upon the young doctor. He didn't know what kind of background Zero had but from Bobbinskrier's words, Zero was on very intimate terms with many Gods. Olaf might be a powerful dragon demon but his existence was as significant as a grain of sand on the beach when compared with the Great Gods.

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However, the dragon could fully empathise with Zero's desire for revenge and the urge to help his friends. Olaf was convinced that revenge was less than half of Zero's true motive for wanting to join in the raffle. More than petty revenge for an overpowered existence like him, Zero was more concerned about the well-being of those dear to him.

Knowing that he would come to fully hate himself for what he was about to do, Olaf groaned and stopped mid-air. Zero looked up in surprise at the lack of momentum and his eyes brightened up in hope. Could it be that Olaf was going to turn around and let him help?

"Alright, listen up. Before we head back to the Academy, you must promise me two things."

Zero nodded eagerly and was all ears.

Olaf couldn't believe he was doing this and resigned to fate. "First," he sighed with a dramatic long pause before continuing. "You will only use defensive magic and healing magic. No attacking anything."

Zero nodded and waited for Olaf to lay his second condition. They were wasting precious time now and the teenager wanted to rush back there to get his friends to safety.

"Secondly, you will evacuate the scene once you have retrieved Baal and Beelzebub. I will remain behind to aid Lord Lucifer. Bob, I will lend you some of my powers. Open the gate for Zero, I want him to leave the abyss immediately."

Zero wanted to protest when Bob agreed. The brunet didn't want to leave the abyss just yet. There were so many people still in the abyss like Coux and Ruth! What if the abyss was really destroyed? Zero shuddered at that thought. He couldn't just leave like this, he had to do something!

"If you can't agree to my terms, we are not going back," Olaf said sternly. He bore his eyes into Zero's neither backing down.

Bob was anxious. Knowing Zero, the teenager might decide to rebel and teleport back to the Academy while sticking his nose into the heat of everything. The Eternal Dragon looked at his dragon friend with worry from Zero's mindscape. Mii seemed to be struggling with something but the dragon child didn't know how to help her. The strawcherry fairy's mana flickered like a candlelight in a strong wind.

"My other friends are still in the abyss," Zero told Olaf coldly.

The dragon demon looked at him unblinkingly. "It will be their fate if the plane collapses. Even so, they will evacuate the abyss before it collapses. The Demon Lords are ready to open the gates should anything happen."

Zero didn't look convinced. By Demon Lords, that meant Baal and Beelzebub, right? With two Demon Lords unconscious and one currently with the angels, the teenager had his worries. The last time Baal held the gate open, he fell terribly ill. Even Gods would struggle with maintaining the gate open for prolonged periods of time. With only four active Demon Lords, would they be able to open the gates long enough for everyone to escape? Not to mention, they would have to dedicate some of their strength to hold up the collapsing plane.

"I'm sorry, I can't agree to your terms. I will return to destroy that artificial gate. the only way to save the abyss is to destroy it. I promise not to do anything dangerous, I will just destroy it without magic!"

Olaf didn't believe a word Zero just said. If anything, he was more determined now to get Zero away from the danger zone.

Zero sensed that and immediately used teleportation to escape the librarian much to Olaf's frustration. The dragon demon flew back as quick as he can. Lucifer would have his head if anything happened to the kid.

Michael wasn't expecting the kid to reappear before him. His initial surprise soon turned into anger at the meddling brat. Of all the times he could have interfered, he chose to jump in right when the Pegasus riders were going to launch a surprise attack on the Arachne descendant. With the lost element of surprise, the battle would be drawn out longer and their chances of victory were lower than it could have been.

Merlin sensed a very familiar magical energy in the vicinity and Lucifer cursed at it. They should have known better than to hope for cooperation from Zero. The Demon Lord wanted to sigh. He hoped that Olaf would be able to keep the kid away while they worked on his curse but that proved to be wishful thinking. How could they have forgotten that Zero had powerful magic on top of his stubborn streak?

The ex-archangel turned to Zero's other teacher. Merlin sensed the heavy pressure of Lucifer's eyes on him and averted his line of sight. Lucifer wanted to laugh. Not even Zero's teacher wanted to take responsibility for his actions. For all the eccentricity and arrogance Merlin was famed for, these traits were nowhere to be found. Lucifer wanted to laugh at that. For the almighty to have fallen, it was something Lucifer would have milked its worth on another day. However, the fate of Hell was at stake now.

"Your student is interfering. As a teacher, isn't this your responsibility to teach him not to meddle in other people's affairs?"

Merlin pretended not to hear anything much to Lucifer's annoyance. He glanced worriedly in the direction of the library where Michael was battling. Zero's interference only made things more complicated. With the brunet in the middle of the chaos, how would he explain to it Baal that he couldn't stop the teenager from getting into danger's way?

Uriel trembled behind Lucifer. "He must be stopped... Hell cannot take the level of catastrophe that he will create..."

The Demon Lord looked at the angel of prophecy with a troubled expression. "Wizard, hurry up and take your student away!"

Merlin gave Lucifer a cold stare. "It's not possible. Zero will not leave until he has saved the abyss from its fate. My job is to ensure that no harm befalls him. I cannot help Zero decide what he wants to do."

Lucifer felt irritation brew in the pit of his stomach at the Wizard God's statement. Uriel's prophecy was never wrong. If Zero was the destroyer of the abyss in his visions, then it will be true. Lucifer looked at the ring of ancient words on his wrist. If this curse wasn't holding him back, he would have dived right into it and fought alongside Michael. His only other hope was Baal, his brightest student and second most powerful Demon Lord. With Baal and himself out of commission from the battle against Rhinestone, Lucifer wasn't so sure they could stop the Arachne's descendant from succeeding.

Gabriel had to hold Lucifer back from lunging at the Sage God of Magic. Raphael decided to leave and check on Michael. "I won't let any harm befall Zero while I'm there. Just find a way to break the curse and join us in the battle. We'll hold off anything potentially crazy while you do that."

Lucifer wanted to tell the Healing Angel that things weren't as straightforward with the curse but Raphael had already taken his leave. Gabriel decided to look for Buddha who might know a thing or two about the ancient language of Gods.

Back at the library, Rhinestone rejoiced. He was initially worried about the reinforcements' arrival but Zero's presence disrupted their advantage. For some reason, that frail-looking student was someone of great importance who couldn't be hurt. Rhinestone rejoiced at the appearance of the perfect hostage. If he could hold out for just a little longer to ensnare a Demon Lord, his plans would be realised. At that point, nobody can stop the fall of Hell and demons shall overrule every single plane in existence as the true superior existence.

Zero felt a chill when Rhinestone smiled at him from the warped mirror's reflection. The portal turned and suddenly, the vortex that sucked everything in it was now focussed on Zero. Michael was quick enough to have the Pegasus riders move out of the trajectory but he didn't think Zero would be caught by such an obvious ploy.

"That idiot!" he growled and swooped back to retrieve the stationary student.

Zero wasn't expecting for the target to be switched to him. He wasn't expecting to be hauled by the collar of his uniform by Michael either. Rhinestone clicked his tongue in the mirror when he saw the War Angel diving for the teenager. The ex-professor didn't give up and chased after Zero. Severed limbs rushed after the young doctor defying the gravitational attraction from the mirror. Michael struggled against the force pulling both himself and the teenager. The professor leered. Victory was in his grasp.

Snap!

Rhinestone's eyes widened when the limbs that were chasing after Zero got shot down rapidly before his eyes.

"Wha-?"

Another arrow zipped through the air from a distance and Zero's eyes widened in surprise. Michael didn't relent and continued to struggle against the pull with his powerful wings. Olaf stood at the top of the broken library's roof and notched another mana arrow on his magic bow. The dragon demon made the right decision to observe from a vantage point. After working with Rhinestone for a long time now, he knew a few things about how the sly spider worked. Of the shortcomings that existed, Rhinestone was famed for having a tunnel vision. His obsession towards his goals made him blind to his surroundings. Olaf could only chalk that up to the spider demon's lack of intelligence and experience. Thankfully, that flaw made things easier for the sly dragon demon to work around.

Lucifer watched as Olaf toyed with the infuriated ex-professor and wiped the bead of sweat rolling down his temple. Merlin didn't say anything about it and concentrated on suppressing the effects of the curse as much as possible. The only downside to this method of sealing was how fragile it was. At the tiniest flare of mana from Lucifer, the seal would be undone at once.

Olaf created another clone to distract Rhinestone while Raphael assisted Michael to rescue Zero from the stubborn game of tug and war.

Zero heard the telltale sign of doom when the fabric of his uniform began to rip at the seams. He should have worn the clothes that the Great Goddesses gifted but now it was too late. Death by poor clothing stitches giving way sounded lame and Zero was having none of it. Olaf didn't want him using any offensive magic but that didn't mean he could teleport out, right? Michael and Raphael were startled when darkness engulfed them momentarily. The next thing they knew, they were reunited with the Pegasus riders with Zero pulling another disappearing act.

Olaf lost sight of the teenager and was distracted for a second. That was all the time Rhinestone needed to open a teleportation gate and shove him through it. Although it wasn't an interdimensional gate, it took up a good amount of mana to send the nuisance away to some random place in the abyss. With Olaf out of the picture, Rhinestone could now focus on the pesky teenager with little difficulty.

The angels wouldn't be a threat for much longer, Rhinestone would see to it. he could sense the two sleeping Demon Lords somewhere in the Academy. All he needed to do was convince the Bloody Willow to sniff them out for him. It took a long time to train that stupid tree but it was worth it.

Rayneld who was guarding the two Demon Lords felt an unnatural tremor from the ground. A familiar looking thorned root came bursting through the tiles of the floor, making the manta ray demon jump in surprise. Before he could do anything, the Academy's guardian had kidnapped both Demon Lords and made her speedy escape.

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Rayneld stared blankly at the betrayal. Veronica presented the two captives to Rhinestone who cackled crazily. Zero's eyes widened in horror at the sight of his friends in the professor's grasp.

"No!" he cried out and broke free from Raphael's hold, throwing himself straight in the path of Rhinestone's activated vortex.

Everyone watched in horror as the teenager got sucked into the mirror together with the two unconscious Demon Lords. Nobody breathed a word for a minute as Rhinestone struggled to understand his sudden victory.

Slowly, the surprised expression morphed into one of arrogance and triumph. Merlin paled and Lucifer felt his heart stop. Time froze and only resumed when Rhinestone's laughter broke the trance.

"Two birds and a nosy kid? Don't mind if I do. Angels and Gods! The day to make you pay this debt in blood has come. Behold! A new era is about to begin."

Lucifer howled in fury when he saw the three children get sucked into the vortex. His rage triggered a sudden surge in mana causing Merlin's seal to break. The curse fed on Lucifer's mana and nourished the exhausted Rhinestone. Now that he managed to get the power sources he required to open the gate, he no longer needed to fight.

Conserving his power, the Arachne descendant went into a total defence mode. It didn't matter what kind of formation or attacks Michael and the Pegasus knights launched, Rhinestone remained safe inside the mirror.

Lucifer wasn't the only person who lost their rationality. Merlin and a certain son of the Charybdis followed suit and attacked the artificial gate without holding back. The Academy shook and trembled under the immense pressure. The only person who didn't look worried or angry was Uriel. The archangel seemed somewhat relieved at the turn of events. Still, there was something strange about how smoothly everything progressed for Rhinestone. Uriel couldn't shake off the foreboding feeling that something terrible was going to happen following Zero's disappearance.

The curse backfired badly and Lucifer was quickly put out of commission with the ex-archangel looking paler than Hades. Raphael was immediately by his side, keeping Lucifer away from the heat of the action.

Rayneld hasn't bothered to keep his true form or capabilities under wraps. His face contorted with rage at Rhinestone's manipulation of his lover to betray him. With Lucifer's weakening magic, the barrier around the Academy was lifted. If not for Olaf's barrier around the library, the damage would've been extensive. Still, that didn't mean the dragon demon wasn't unaffected from the mass explosions caused by violent spells form the duo. He struggled and swallowed a mouthful of blood as the Wizard God hurled another Godly-Tier fusion spell at the portal using his grimoire.

Merlin was livid and scared for Zero who'd been transported to a different dimension. Although powerful, the Sage God of Magic isn't infallible. He knew that nobody would be there to save him from the rage of the Great Gods should anything happen to Zero. Worse still, Merlin couldn't commit suicide even if he wanted to. That was the price of immortality and being a God over such a strong domain too. If he wanted to live a little longer, the magician would have to exhaust every trick in his book - literally.

Olaf didn't know how much longer he could hold on for. However, after glancing over to Raphael tending to the fallen headmaster, he knew that he would have to hold out until it eventually killed him. The strongest have fallen and now the abyss is without its protectors. Unlike Bob, Olaf's home was in the Academy. All his treasures were in this very library and Academy. He couldn't watch it all get destroyed with the plane without at least putting up a fight.

Raphael was at a loss. He could heal wounds and illnesses but not mana depletion or break curses. The only one capable of doing it was going all out on the unshaken portal with the child of Charybdis. Michael was forced to back away with the Pegasus riders. Although the two were powerful, the lack of coordination meant that some attacks were negated by each other's magic. Gabriel looked at the mess in front of them and at Uriel who seemed to be hopeful about something and felt anger take over him. How could they be so disorganised in times of crisis? It was unbecoming of them. No wonder the enemy had the upper hand!

With a flash of brilliant light that blinded both friend and foe, Gabriel successfully got everyone's attention in the messy brawl.

"Stand your ground! Throwing a bunch of powerful spells wouldn't work, look for blind spots! Heal the wounded and enclose of this area, why are we working against each other instead of together before the enemy?"

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Uriel looked at Gabriel and was reminded of why he was chosen to be the voice of angels. While Michael was more famous as the leader after Lucifer's fall, nobody could replace Gabriel as the heart of the angels. With his soul brother giving him strength, the fragile angel picked himself off the ground and took a good look at the battle scene.

He looked at Michael once and decided that it might be time to bring that sword out again. The one sword that caused Lucifer's defeat will now bring about a change once more by cutting down the Arachne's spawn before them.

"Michael!"

The warrior caught it in both hands by reflex and blinked. In his entire life, he had only wielded this weapon once. The flaming sword brought back memories that were both pleasant and unpleasant. Looking at the enemy before them, Michael held the hilt firmly and the holy sword blazed in response to his determination.

"For Luci," he whispered and closed his eyes for a short prayer.

When the proud archangel reopened his eyes, the entire library was shrouded in his blessing. The Pegasus riders were filled with courage and let out cries of indignation on behalf of the residents in the abyss. Raphael used Michael's blessing to boost his ability to suppress the curse. Merlin returned from the frontlines in shame and settled by the fallen Demon Lord's side. Rayneld was still furious but with Raphael's are healing blessing in effect, it allowed him to regain some of his rationality.

Rhinestone cursed. He still needed a little more time to fully seal the Demon Lords inside of him and use their powers to activate the gate. It wasn't easy with a certain doctor running rampant in his alternate dimension. Zero proved to be not completely useless in a magic-null area. With nothing physical in that space, mana cannot gather. Sadly, that didn't apply to the teenager who had the abilities to control the space within his dimension. It was tiring to have to continuously close the portals Zero opened. It was more tiring to keep Zero away from the two Demon Lords. If Zero got hold of them, Rhinestone knew that the sneaky young one would make his hasty escape to a different plane out of his current reach.

"Don't do it! We're still in Rhinestone's artificial dimension... it is very fragile and if you break it all of us will be lost in the void!" Lily warned Zero who was ready to blast their escape route open with Zeus' blessing.

Mii mentally thanked the flower fairy. Bob was still trying to make contact with his dragon friend out there. The dragon said he smelled blood just before they were swallowed by the mirror. Zero asked if Mii was able to contact Hua Tuo but there was some kind of magic interference in the dimension. It was something the strawcherry fairy had never come across and that information made Zero feel sick. Not only was he having trouble getting to Baal and Beelzebub, he was also in danger of losing them at any moment.

In the dimension that Rhinestone played God, Zero understood why the Arachne descendant hated Gods so much. From Mii's short history lesson, Arachne was a talented weaver who challenged a Goddess called Athena who was Zeus' ex-colleague and won against that Goddess. However, Athena wasn't happy with the results and cursed that mortal weaver and her offsprings to become spider-like monsters who could never stop weaving. Along the way, the curse's power diminished when Athena was killed and Arachne finally was able to die in peace to be reincarnated. The same couldn't be said of her descendants. Most of them became demons or monsters and Rhinestone was one of them.

"While I can understand his hatred for the Gods, I cannot condone him harming innocent beings for his selfishness. This has to stop," Zero growled lowly.

Bob agreed and Mii didn't disagree. Lily looked worried, unsure about how she should respond. The strawcherry fairy couldn't say anything because she didn't want the system to deem her as interfering with Zero's choices unnecessarily again.

"What will you do?" Bob asked carefully and observed Mii's expression. She was too quiet and the Eternal Dragon worried for her. Something was off about the whole matter. If there was one thing Bob knew to be true, it was how much Mii cared about Zero. She was like the parent Zero never had in a way. The strawcherry fairy was more than a mere assistant.

Zero stopped everything he was doing and observed the empty space for a little. Baal and Beelzebub were still suspended in the middle of space here. Rhinestone could have done something to them earlier while Zero was preoccupied with the irritating magic cancellation spells. However, he hasn't started anything funny. That gave Zero some hope. Perhaps, Rhinestone wasn't almighty even if he was the "God" of this dimension. That meant that Zero had some time to formulate a plan to rescue his friends.

He crossed his legs and closed his eyes to enter a meditative state. With a clean state of mind, Zero thought through his options carefully. Killing was still against his principle as he was a doctor. However, he couldn't let Rhinestone get away and succeed. Many innocents would die. Zero also remembered the promise he made with Baal and Lucifer. He was not to interfere with any of the abyss' affairs. Technically speaking, he would be interfering with the abyss' affairs by destroying the false dimension and gate. He was doing it wrong.

Buddha always mentioned that the best way to do things was to go with the flow. Hua Tuo always said that the way of life was living true to one's nature and not going against it. Whenever there was resistance, Zero should move like water to overcome it in a gentle way without hurting anyone. There was always a way to reach a conclusion without harming anyone. Although Zero may have many restrictions, he believed that with the teachings of his teachers there will be a solution.

Still, the possibility of finding one in such a short frame of time dampened his optimism. Was there really such a solution? Breaking out of the dimension with force would work. Zero could save both his friends but he would also inadvertently hurt Rhinestone in a way that might kill him. Rhinestone's existence was tied to this very dimension. Enma wouldn't be happy if he destroyed a soul permanently. It would throw the world out of balance.

Subduing Rhinestone with his magic would be interfering with the abyss' affairs. Baal and Lucifer would chew him out when they found out. There was also no hiding the matter, Zero just know that they will find out one way or another. Worse, if the news got out that he tried to do something reckless again there will be others who will give him a good earful. Truen was one of them. The Great Goddesses were people Zero didn't want to disappoint either. Zero scratched that option out.

If Zero healed Baal and Beelzebub here, they might be able to break out of the dimension without Zero doing anything more but that would mean he would have to watch them fight and get hurt in the process. Zero didn't like the idea of patching someone up only to have them break it again. His heart couldn't endure that kind of pain even if he understood the reason in his head.

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If only there was a way to make Rhinestone surrender... Zero felt the tumultuous emotions in his mental state swirl in apprehension. They twisted, turned and churned loudly and put a frown on the young doctor's face. Rhinestone noticed the sudden change in his inner dimension and frowned. Zero was being too docile and that made him worry. He could fend off the continuous wave of attacks from the coordinated Pegasus riders with little problems. He couldn't fend off attacks from the inside as easily and knew how vulnerable that inner dimension truly was. Ideally, his prey would be unconscious and near death. It was good that he had two power sources unable to retaliate. Zero's presence was an uncalculated accident and Rhinestone was afraid of the things that powerful teenager could accomplish. If he wakes the two Demon Lords, Rhinestone would be destroyed from within without doubts.

"To make him surrender..." Zero mumbled to himself and Bob blinked. The dragon looked at the two fairies who were keeping a lookout for the two Demon Lords' safety. The Eternal Dragon didn't know what changed Zero's line of thoughts but to make Rhinestone surrender would be incredibly hard seeing the professor didn't have anything of value to use as a threat, bribe or blackmail. Rhinestone was also unafraid to die, his life meant nothing for the greater cause.

A random memory came to Zero. He remembered how he was absorbed into the stomach of a particular bird. In there he met his very first comrade - Namekuji. The slug was very resilient and used a delay technique to fool the enemy before buying its freedom. Namekuji brought down an enemy bigger than itself from the inside out. It attacked vital points and eventually killed the bird.

Now, Zero didn't want to kill. However, he wanted to make Rhinestone as uncomfortable as possible on the inside to make him spit them out. The young doctor opened his eyes with a newfound determination.

He was going to make Rhinestone vomit them out from this inner dimension to break this battle stalemate. He was going to give the arrogant spider demon the worst stomachache he has ever known.

"Mii, I want you to prepare as much water as you can. We're going to flood this place!"

The strawcherry fairy was once against surprised by Zero's request. Water? Flood? Did Zero understand the magnitude of his request? The teenager might not feel it but there is a lot of seawater stored in his limitless inventory. That amount of water is enough to destroy the balance of a small planet and send it spiralling towards self-destruction. Also, wouldn't that endanger the two Demon Lords? Zero might not need to breathe but the same couldn't be said for everyone else. Bob and Mii could hide in Zero's mindscape. Lily could return to Gaia. However, who was going to help Baal and Beelzebub?

Sensing Mii's worries, the brunet smiled. "Don't worry, I have a plan. Bell and Beel will be alright. Hua Tuo didn't teach me healing magic without telling me the limitations. Just trust me on this..."

Bob blinked. He knew exactly what the kid was planning to do and honestly, it scared him a little. While Zero's plan was logical in all ways with the highest chance of success given their circumstances, he couldn't believe the boy who was so against taking lives was about to temporarily take the lives of his friends to save them and the enemy.

"Zero, don't tell me..." Bob swallowed when Zero gave him the most innocent and reassuring smile. If the Eternal Dragon didn't know his master's insanity so well he would've been disarmed by that smile. However, after confirming Zero's intentions only made the dragon's blood turn to frost.

Mii readied the logistics and told Zero that he had to open the portal for at least two minutes to empty out whatever water he had left in his inventory. Zero didn't know how quickly his portal would be stopped by Rhinestone this time and told Mii to ready herself. His plan to counter the anti-magic? Zero was going to open several thousand portals at once in this small area continuously with no pattern. No matter how vigilant Rhinestone was, he couldn't possibly shut more than a few hundred portals at once, could he? Even Enma, who was the most proficient with multitasking as a God, couldn't keep up with Zero's pace.

"Ready? On the count of three... two... now!"

Rhinestone nearly jumped out of the mirror in shock at the sudden attack. His momentary lapse in defence gave Michael the opening he needed. The archangel slashed the flaming word down onto the guarded portal and was able to cut away one of the frames that aided with Rhinestone's ability to regenerate.

Furious and desperate, the spider demon launched attacks of his own while turning an interesting shade of turquoise. Lucifer didn't know what was going on. Rhinestone looked physically ill even with the lack of his physical body from the mirror's reflection. Could it be that Baal and Beelzebub were awake? Or was this all the doing of Zero again?

Olaf who saw how the tides have changed felt like his limits were almost up. Raphael caught the severely injured dragon demon just as he fell from the sky. The archangel used a powerful healing spell on the librarian who looked at the beautiful angel with curiosity. Unlike most angels he knew, Raphael gave off a pleasant vibe. He was intrigued by that gentle nature and wished that more angels were like him.

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"Thanks," he told the angel of healing who was startled by the very intense stare. Raphael backed away quickly and nodded shyly before going to assist the injured Pegasus riders. Olaf's eyes followed after him throughout the battle much to Bob's amusement later.

In the inner dimension, Zero shuddered in exhaustion. His physical body was reaching its limit. Although powerful, the current vessel was unable to control so much mana with deadly precision. New portals were opened and old portals closed. Seawater continuously poured into the room causing catastrophic waves and whirlpools. Right now, Baal and Beel were dead. Zero couldn't feel their heartbeat as Rhinestone sank them to the very bottom of this place. Zero still ran around evading the mental attacks while filling the dimension with water. The young doctor tried to calm down. He could still feel the soul of his friends strongly in place even if they'd both perished in the first minute.

Mii worked harder with the time pushing closer. By now, Rhinestone should be past his limits. The inner dimension trembled more frequently and cracks could be seen forming on some of the surfaces. Zero didn't relent and pushed forth.

There was another particularly large crack forming on the side of the dimension, giving Zero a rough idea of how big it actually was. If math worked correctly, the mass that was in this dimensional space didn't match with the capacity it could carry. Rhinestone was clearly holding on with pure willpower to force it to be contained. Zero wasn't one to give up easily either. There was more of where that water came from, he emptied only a third of what he absorbed from Amarania.

Before Zero could force another few hundred portals to open, the crack widened with a loud shattering sound. The young doctor quickly teleported to his friends and escaped the dimension.

Lucifer felt his heart race when he saw a random portal open in front of the mirror with a familiar tuft of brown hair. However, what followed the appearance of his students shocked everyone represents. Olaf felt despair when water burst from that portal, flooding his sacred ground destroying all his precious books.

"My babies!" he cried but nobody paid him any attention.

Michael cursed. With this much water, the flaming sword would be ineffective. The Pegasus rider evacuated the scene and tried to calm the frightened horses. Nobody stayed close to the portal and watched as Rhinestone continued barfing water from his inner dimension.

Zero wasted no time. He placed a hand over each Demon Lord's head and chanted fervently with his eyes closed. At first, nothing happened and Lily worried for them. However, in the next ten seconds, things changed. Baal started coughing out water and Beelzebub wheezed for air. Both Demon Lords opened their eyes at the same moment and Zero continued to pour golden mana into them, unaware that they've come to.

Baal had to grab his friend by the arms before Zero realised that he succeeded. "I have to scold you but I'll leave it for later. We have a spider to take down, your mission is complete. I'll take it from here. Beelzebub, please take Zero away and report back to the dean."

The Lord of Gluttony complied with a nod. He was slightly surprised by his regrown limbs but didn't question it. It had to be the work of Zero here and Beelzebub felt touched that Zero was willing to go so far for him.

"Lord Lucifer?" Beelzebub was unsure. The man before him emitted the same scent and aura but he looked nothing like he did before.

"You did well," the fallen angel replied, confirming Beelzebub's suspicions. Zero had his head hung low when Lucifer scrutinised the teenager.

"You did well too, Zero."

That surprised him. Zero's head shot up with wide eyes. Baal said that he would be scolded later, he must have done something wrong there. Why was Lucifer praising him? That was scary!

"Zero, I remember Buddha gave you the blessing of wisdom..." Merlin coughed sheepishly. "Could you translate what this says?"

Zero looked down at the ring of words on Lucifer's wrist. The fallen angel gave the Wizard God the stink eye. Didn't the wizard say that there was no other way to break the curse? Was he lying?

Zero took a quick glance and read it aloud. "For the dishonest one who cannot be true to their feelings, unless they recognise their fears and desires they shall forever be forced to lie."

Merlin didn't dare meet Lucifer's glare. The moment Lucifer made peace with himself on the inside, his halo returned and the ring of ancient words vanished.

"Arachne's tapestry or a piece of my soul, huh? Wizard, you will pay for lying to me later. For now, I have a traitor to take care of."

Merlin shivered and took the chance to run when Lucifer's attention was turned onto the battlefield. Zero didn't understand what they were talking about but didn't question why his magic tutor was fleeing in such an undignified manner. In any case, he was actually glad to see that everyone was well and alive. Bob sniffed the air and raised a brow. He was very certain he smelled blood earlier. The Eternal Dragon looked over to Olaf and frowned at the odd expression. Why did his friend look like it was the end of the world? What exactly happened while they were isolated for a while?

Rhinestone was still feeling shaky even after throwing out everything in his inner dimension. The kid really did some heavy damages that will not only take some time to repair but also recover from mentally. He was still bitter at the loss of two very powerful chess pieces to his plan. He froze when he felt a chill down to his very soul.

In all his glory was the former leader of the angels - Lucifer, smiling at him. Michael stood back now that the true leader of Hell and the Angels was back in action. Uriel didn't look happy about it and kept glancing at Zero's way. The library was thoroughly soaked and Olaf despaired.

"My books..." his voice sounded weak but it was lost to everyone who was too focused on the main battle that was about to happen.

Greatly weakened, Rhinestone knew he had no chance against Lucifer who had regained his powers. Still, that didn't mean the ex-professor was going down without a fight.

The portal fused spider demon tried to swallow Lucifer into his inner dimension but failed when Lucifer swatted the probing tendrils away like a fly. The force of Lucifer's swat broke half the portal frame and Rhinestone felt the mirror crack a little under Lucifer's battle aura.

"Rhinestone, it's disappointing. I had high expectations of you when I first welcomed you as a teacher of my prestigious Academy. First and foremost... you're fired."

Olaf wanted to cry in frustration. Fired? That was it? How was this fair? However, before he could voice his discontent, Lucifer continued.

"For endangering the students of the Academy," he motioned to the two Demon Lords and aspiring doctor. "You will be banned from my domain."

Rhinestone looked at Lucifer as if he'd lost his mind. Fired and banned from a domain? Why did he care about that? He was dead and tied to a portal.

"Lastly, your most severe crime is the damage of property and the endangerment of the existence of the Abyss. Your title and rank as a demon will be stripped. You will return to becoming a minor demon. I hereby sentence you to be reincarnated as an imp in your next life. Your identity as Rhinestone and your bloodline as a descendant of Arachne, the greatest weaver, will be revoked."

A strange magic circle appeared over the sky and a lightning bolt struck down onto the mirror, shattering it into a million pieces. Zero watched in horror at the blatant murder. Still, he couldn't complain about how Hell wanted to deal with its traitors. Zero closed his eyes and turned his head to one side, not wanting to watch anymore.

"Demon Lord of the Pride Domain, I King Yama hears your request and will grant it. Son of Arachne, you shall now be sentenced to a thousand years of redemption for your crimes. You will earn your right back by living as a minor demon to learn how to appreciate the value of life."

Although Zero couldn't see or sense where Enma was, he heard his voice clearly from somewhere in the sky. Not dying? Lucifer didn't kill Rhinestone? Zero almost couldn't believe it but he was still glad that Rhinestone's soul wouldn't go to the void.

Rhinestone's last scream of agony as his soul was forcefully ripped from the mirror portal for reincarnation was heard by everyone present. A strange silence followed after and Zero wondered if nobody was going to initiate anything. Should they start cleaning up or retreating? Also, would Baal choose to scold him now or later?

Zero's questions were answered when Olaf grabbed Lucifer by the collar of his shirt with a furious look in his eyes.

"Look. At. What. happened. To. My. LIBRARY!"

Lucifer was calm. Usually, such a display of disrespect would get them punished harshly but this time, the Demon Lord allowed it. He deserved it after all.

"I'm sorry, we'll get the cleaning team to-"

"SCREW YOUR CLEANING TEAM! You can't replace my books, they're RUINED!"

Zero looked around and realised that Olaf was right. He felt bad when he understood the destruction was indirectly caused by him too.

"Young master..." Bob tried to stop Zero but it was too late. Zero had stood up and admitted that the water was his fault.

"I'm really sorry that this has happened but... I can fix it."

Olaf glared at Zero with mixed feelings. It wasn't Zero's fault that his entire collection was destroyed, he was up against a powerful foe and had every right to do what he had to for survival. Still, that did nothing to ease the red-eyed monster in him.

"Fix it? How? It's ruined! Centuries worth of information cannot be replicated even if you fixed the water damage..."

Zero swallowed when Baal shot him a warning glare. the young doctor knew he should stop speaking to avoid any more attention on him. However, the righteous part of him couldn't let things be. He wanted to fix it.

"I might have a way..."

Olaf felt like he was losing his mind. Bob did say that Zero was an interesting master but it looked like the young twerp didn't understand the situation they were in. He felt tired and didn't want to argue further. All the dragon demon wanted to do was cry in a corner and destroy a few villages to ease his grief.

"Whatever... do whatever you want, I don't care anymore..." he sighed and flew away.

Zero took that as a green light and activated the special skill of absorbing and magic. If there was cleaning magic, why wouldn't there be drying magic? The trick was simply to absorb only specific molecules or substances like what he had learnt from Raj.

Uriel paled when he understood that Zero was going to absorb the entire library just as he saw in his visions. The archangel screamed when Zero activated the magic and jumped in Zero's path trying to stop the powerful teenager from throwing the Abyss into its last moments...

Only that powerful attack never came. Uriel felt his wet sandals become dry and comfortable again. He also felt the saltiness in the air disappear much to his puzzlement.

Lucifer was impressed. At least the student had a better head on his shoulders compared to his cowardly teacher who demanded a portion of someone's soul to break a curse.

"Zero, what did you just do!" Baal demanded to know and his friend gave him a cheeky smile.

"That's Zero's Vacuum Magic 2.0 now with drying function. With this, Olaf's books are saved, isn't that a neat trick?"

For a few seconds, Baal's expression was still straight-laced with no signs of being amused. Zero let his victory sign drop and became more apologetic when Baal burst out in laughter.

"It's a good one, you've redeemed yourself for now. Let's go back and eat something celebratory. I'll have Coux prepare something, what do you want to eat?"

Beelzebub ears pricked at the mention of Coux's cooking. "Lord Baal, please allow me to escort both you and Zero back to your residence. It must have been tiring for the both of you who've contributed much to this battle..."

"Indeed," Lucifer agreed, much to his soul brothers' surprise. "I think a feast is the only right way to celebrate the salvation of Hell. Why don't we have it in the cafeteria in the Academy? I'm sure many of our guests here would love to try some of the famous cuisines Bells and Begonia has to offer..."

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Baal gave Lucifer a glare and the fallen angel continued smiling. Zero nodded and agreed, much to Baal's chagrin.

"Zero!" Baal was horrified by his friend's response.

On the other hand, Beelzebub has forsaken his image and requested for more carrot cake. Before he knew it, Zero was swamped with special food requests that made his head hurt.

"Coux! Help! Bring food, lots of food to the Academy!" Zero pleaded with the half-succubus in the party call. Mii silently disappeared with Bob and Lily. None of his assistants responded to the distressed teenager's pleas for help.

Who could blame them? Sometimes, it was much easier to teach someone how to fly by throwing them off the cliff.

The next few days were spent celebrating the good news. Songs and stories were created and it was the newest hype after the opening of Bells and Begonia. Many demons hailed Beelzebub as the new hero who saved Hell. That earned Beelzebub a true place in the abyss as an important member. Zero couldn't see much of him ever since he returned to his domain to take care of business. Lucifer practically signed Beelzebub's graduation certificate and booted him from the Academy the day after the celebratory feast.

Things only become lonelier when Lucifer sent Zero and Baal packing back to Baal's castle saying he had things to oversee. Zero couldn't refuse because there were extensive repairs to be done to the Academy. On the bright side, Olaf came back and gave Zero a magic contract that allows him to visit his library anytime after he found out that Zero was the saviour of his treasures, completely forgetting that Zero was also the cause for most of the damage in the first place. Nobody reminded Olaf of it and Zero was glad that they didn't. On the other hand, Bob and Olaf decided to stay for a few more days and Zero allowed it. The dragons haven't seen each other in centuries, surely they had many stories to share.

Of course, Raphael and Michael decided to stay back and help restore everything to its former glory. Michael and Lucifer discussed for hours on how to improve the Academy. Who knew that Michael was a secretly competent architect? Raphael took this chance to harvest more mana flowers from the Spring of Vitality for his personal research using the pretext of healing the wounded. Olaf didn't complain about it, in fact, he welcomed it. That confirmed Bob's suspicions about his friend. Olaf was whipped!

"Come here, you scaly hog!" Bob hissed when his friend unknowingly made gooey eyes at Raphael who was passing by. The frost dragon wasn't expecting such a harsh tug at his ear by his friend's material projection and yelped in an unmanly manner much to the archangel's amusement. Instead of helping the frost dragon, Raphael turned away and continued on as if he hadn't noticed anything. Bob narrowed his eyes at that.

Once Bob was certain that Raphael was out of hearing range, he smacked his lovestruck friend hard and pulled his cheeks. "Stop it! You know how this will only end up... you're both too different for it to work out!"

Olaf didn't take kindly to the Eternal Dragon's words. "What do you know? Just because the humans you fell for betrayed you doesn't mean he will... he's an angel! In a literal manner too!"

Bob rolled his eyes. There was a huge difference between loving someone of a different species and loving your natural enemy. Dark and Light magic is each other's natural weakness. The two can never exist in the same space which was the reason for the split between Heaven and Hell. Even if the feelings were mutual, Bob highly doubted it, the relationship will only suffer and hurt both parties.

"Give it up," he told the frost dragon.

Olaf didn't answer. However, the room dropped by a few degrees.

"What if I don't want to?"

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Bob sighed. He knew how dragons in love were like. They wouldn't give up on their obsessions easily, not even when hurt or betrayed. That's how many young dragons were killed. Bob knew that his old friend wouldn't be so easily killed but the worry remains. After all, the one Olaf was crushing on was an archangel somewhat on par with Lucifer's power.

"I guess I'll just have to watch your back then," the Eternal Dragon relented much to Olaf's surprise.

"You're not going to duel and stop me?"

Bob raised a brow. "What good will that do? Besides, I'm still just an egg maturing slowly in my master's alternate dimension."

Olaf laughed at Bob's sullen tone. It was odd hearing the word 'egg' coming from the mouth of such an ancient dragon. Yet it was what it was. Bob's curse made him continuously experience that painful cycle of maturing and dying to grow stronger and stronger each life in exchange for his emotions and sanity. Of all the dragons, Bob was the one with the most experience and knowledge about the world. What he knew was comparable to some Gods who never left their territories and gained their knowledge from the prayers they heard.

He then gave his long-term friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me and enjoy the time you have with your current master. Your contract with him doesn't last forever."

Bob didn't want to be reminded of reality, not when he hasn't even taken the first step with Zero. It was true that their contract as master and servant only lasted until his guardian duties returned. Once Kerberos' sentence was up, Bob knew he had to return. It was part of the deal after he pleaded for Gaia's protection back then when it rained dragon blood. Olaf and Bob shared a knowing look and silently mourned for their fallen brothers. There were not many of their race left after the attempted genocide. The weaker ones who couldn't escape to the realm of dragons were forced to seek protection under a stronger umbrella. Bob sought Gaia's protection while Olaf sought Lucifer's protection.

"Stay safe, let's have tea again sometime in the future."

Bob smiled. "Poxie tea is great but I hope for something stronger the next time we meet. I won't be a hatchling the next time."

Olaf agreed and they parted without fuss. Olaf then turned to look at the semi-restored library. He knew that Lucifer was listening in on them somewhere close by. Even with his suppressed magical aura, Olaf still knew the headmaster's personality well enough.

"What do you want?"

Lucifer let the magic fall and walked over to the couch, settling himself in it. The frost dragon still couldn't get used to the new look. Lucifer looked like someone who walked out of a painting and fit very well in the redecorated Academy with its bright walls and colours. It was too white for Olaf's liking despite being a frost dragon but Michael now called the shots so nobody dared to voice their opinions.

"Have you placed the tracker and emergency teleportation gate on him?"

Olaf didn't look too pleased about it but nodded. Bob didn't have to know that the invitation to his library was actually a marker for Lucifer and the Angels to keep tabs on the powerful individual. The frost dragon tried very hard not to think about it as a betrayal. Bob would understand, they couldn't let a suspicious character run around with such power, especially when the said suspicious individual was sometimes a ditz.

Lucifer nodded in satisfaction. It was something the archangels came up with. Although Baal was on good terms with Zero, it didn't mean that the Demon Lord would be able to convince his friend to take responsibility for anything that happens to the Abyss after he forced his way through to have everyone agree on the terraforming project. There was still tension between Heaven and Hell. With the lotuses that could potentially save the abyss from destruction, Heaven was put out of business quickly. This was how Gabriel proposed a plan that would benefit both parties.

"Zero isn't that kind of person, Bob would be the first to know if he was..."

Lucifer didn't bother with Olaf. He was more concerned about having a hidden ace for when things go south. Not even Baal's power can avert some of the disasters they may face. Lucifer convinced himself he didn't do it out of worry for the young and reckless doctor. No, it was for the greater picture. After all, many things could go wrong now that Zero has opened the gates for Redemption once and brought Kerberos away. For a place like Hell that hasn't changed since its founding, the drastic transformation in just a few months caused by a small boy was enough to throw everyone off the balance. Who knows what other chaos the little rascal would be causing when he returns?

"Luci, the painters are ready. Where would you like to commission the mural of Beelzebub's heroic battle? Also, are we really going to dedicate an entire wall in your office just to commemorate a certain cute looking student?"

Lucifer glared at Michael and Olaf raised a brow. "Not here, we'll discuss it in my office." As the dean left, Olaf wondered if there was more than met the eye. Perhaps... perhaps Lucifer actually did like the troublemaking brat!

Zero couldn't find it in himself to sleep in the carriage. Although he was feeling sleepy, he tried to stay awake and take in as much as he could. Veronica was feeling a lot better after Lucifer bought the first batch of mana-producing lotuses from Buddha after they were harvested by Robo Mike. The first batch wasn't as successful but they worked well in beautifying the Academy that was undergoing some massive renovation. The Bloody Willow was now better tempered and to Rayneld's surprise, she started growing flowers of some sort. They were still little buds and Zero wouldn't be able to see them when they bloomed but he promised the child of Charybdis that they would write letters even after he left.

Rayneld watched the mana lotuses and wondered if Zero knew how thankful he was. For him, Zero was the first friend he ever had who didn't look at him strangely for loving someone as violent as Veronica. Not only that, the young doctor impressed him with his determination and his wits battling a foe stronger than him. Rayneld was ashamed. Even with such a powerful bloodline, he paled in comparison. Not only did Zero not shun from him, he also helped the manta ray demon to get Veronica back after she went berserk. Rhinestone played with her pure maiden heart and caused her to betray him, taking advantage of her kindness but Zero healed those wounds and made Veronica lovelier than before. he didn't know how to thank the young boy.

The young doctor looked at his map with the markers going out of range as they got further from the Academy. Zero felt as if those reducing marker numbers were like the time he had left in the abyss. He wasn't fooled into thinking he would be here forever. Still, tears made their way down his cheeks. He knew he was going to miss it badly. He had to leave his friends behind and all the people who helped him so much as a person. There were four fragments of Divine Entities here and a family of sorts too after that ordeal.

"What are you thinking?" Baal asked.

Zero didn't dare to look up. He didn't want Baal to know that he was crying again. then again, it wouldn't have mattered. Baal heard him sniffle and frowned.

"Zero... what's wrong?"

The teenager chose not to answer and Baal got up from his side of the carriage to walk over and plopped himself down beside the sniffling brunet. He did something uncharacteristic of him and transformed into his adult self before wrapping one arm across the small teenager's shoulder and hugging him tightly.

Zero melted into the warm arms and felt that he could no longer hold back the dam of tears. His feelings flowed freely as he cried out his sorrow.

"I don't want to go..."

Baal patted Zero's back lightly as the young doctor's shoulder shook. "You have to. What about going on a journey to save those in need and discover new illness you would create cures for?"

"But I don't want to leave you and everyone else behind... It's not like with Truen when you would travel with me after I'm done with my training..."

Baal nodded. "That's true, I can never leave Hell."

Zero sobbed harder at the harsh truth. "Will I ever see you again?"

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At this, Baal gave a rueful smile when Zero wasn't looking. "I'm sure we will."

"Promise?" Zero turned his puffy eyes upwards and searched Baal's eyes for the truth.

Baal merely stared right into his hazel ones and replied with certainty. "We will always be friends no matter how far apart we are."

Zero didn't sense any lies from Baal but for some reason, his friend felt further away from him when he said that. He didn't think about it for long and chose to indulge the moment, returning the hug tighter.

"Please don't let this end..." Zero thought to himself as he finally drifted off.

They decided to stay for a few more days at Baal's castle before Hua Tuo came to fetch his disciple. Zero clung onto Baal more than usual and was absolutely devastated to know that Coux and Wiser will be remaining in the abyss with Baal.

"We'll write to you often, don't cry..." Coux wiped Zero's tears away and held out a handkerchief for him to blow his nose into.

Wiser didn't know what to do. He simply stood around and watched as Baal flicked the teenager on the forehead. Even as a teenager, Zero wasn't very tall. The Demon Lord in his child form was able to reach Zero's forehead without even tip-toeing.

"Stop sniveling and man up! You're the one who's going to become a great doctor. What would your patients say if they knew that you had such a weak resolve?"

"My Lord!" Coux was horrified by the harsh reprimanding. She was about to go coddle Zero again when the brunet smacked himself hard on both cheeks till they reddened painfully.

The tears were still there but they weren't running freely any longer. Zero held them back and choked back another sob as he met Baal's onyx eyes. He looked at his stern best friend and found his resolve wavering. Yes, Zero still wanted to be a doctor very much. However, he didn't know if he was able to sacrifice so much in order to achieve his dream.

"You'll meet many people along the way, goodbyes are only part of the routine. You'll have to start getting used to it. This won't be the last time we will be seeing each other. Besides, we can always be in contact, you have some rather unique skills."

Zero pouted. Baal's perspective made it easier to put aside the fact that they might not ever meet again. While Baal might not have said it out, Zero had a feeling that this would be the first and last time he was welcomed in the abyss. It wasn't easy to travel in and out of Hell. Even Gabriel had to apply for a travel pass whenever he made a trip with an official purpose. Even if Zero was a friend of Baal, he would still need to have official reasons to visit.

"Don't worry, Zero. We will be here to assist Lord Baal with his business and your dreams. The terraforming project will help to cure many sick and weak demons. Once the mana lotuses are ready, we will spread them across the plane to minimise the miasma."

Wiser agreed with Coux. "I will be finding a way to create a purifier machine that converts miasma into mana. We will be in close contact, Raj and the rest of the lab members will help out. I've received Lovina's reply and they want to talk to you as soon as you return. Grandma Moppo has an announcement to make on behalf of all the villagers."

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Zero blinked. Grandma Moppo? It had been a long time in the abyss that the young doctor almost forgot the reason why he was in the abyss. The brunet looked slightly worried after he remembered the trouble he caused the villagers. He also wanted to apologise for meddling with Douglas' punishment but what was done couldn't be undone.

Fear and anxiety about the unknown future gripped Zero. Baal noticed the change in his friend's behaviour and sighed. He should have seen this coming. While he did lecture Zero earlier about causing inconvenience for others and poking his nose into things that wasn't his business, it wasn't quite a bad thing if it was Zero. After all, he did everything with good intentions in mind... mostly. None of the Demon Lords truly hated Zero for what he did but as the strong pillars of Hell, they couldn't allow a no-named human-looking creature influence them. The power balance would tilt and internal strife will tear the fragile harmony apart.

"Just go back and listen to what they have to say," Baal advised. "You can apologise later and think about how to make it up to them. We have two more days here. What do you want to do? I'm sure work can wait for now..."

Coux didn't look too pleased but agreed. She understood Zero's desire to spend the rest of his time in the abyss with his best friend who'd helped him through tougher times. If it wasn't for Baal, Zero might still be in a coma. If it wasn't for Baal, Zero might never have experienced a sudden growth in mental maturity. Coming to Hell was an eye-opener to the naive apprentice and Coux can only thank the Demon Lord for playing the role of the necessary evil in Zero's life.

Zero thought for a while. He'd been to many places in the abyss so nothing really surprised him now. However, he wasn't going to turn down having Baal as his guide. If Zero was going to say goodbye, he was going to do it properly.

"I want to visit everyone here."

"Everyone?"

Zero nodded and made a list of people he wanted to say goodbye to. Baal wasn't surprised that Zero included all the Demon Lords in the list. However, the last place Zero wanted to go surprised him.

"The Roth village?"

Ruth wasn't here to hear that but if he was, the vampire would have called Zero a moron. Of the little time he had left, Zero chose to spend it visiting the ruins of his miserable past.

Baal studied Zero carefully. "Why? Are you going to bring your servant with us?"

Zero shook his head. "I just wanted to pay respects to his family. After all, I am taking him away to a very different place. I feel like I should do at least this much."

The Demon lord nodded his head. It sounded like something Zero would do with his still annoyingly upright sense of morals. Despite receiving four sets of memories from the less pleasant Divine Entities, Zero hasn't shown much change although there was now a shadow if one squinted past his light. It was a shadow that wouldn't consume the doctor but protect him and that alone was enough for Baal.

"I see. We will set off in an hour. There is a lot of travelling to do. I shall write to the other Demon Lords, we should visit the village of Roth first."

Zero agreed and Coux helped the brunet pack. Baal waited for his secretary and friend to leave before turning to Wiser.

"Have you made up your mind?"

The frail inventor nodded. "I will become your family and sign the pact. I still can't abandon my mortality, not even for Zero. Just promise me that you will not use my inventions for mass destruction."

Baal nodded and threw a scroll at the thin man who caught it clumsily. Wiser fumbled with a feather pen and signed on the bottom of the contract. The moment the ink dried, a different kind of contract seal was formed behind Wiser's right ear near his nape. The contract scroll went up in black flames and Baal nodded in satisfaction. He should inform Truen that Baal's faction in the Zero Army was ready to put things into action. With a brilliant businesswoman-secretary and a genius-inventor, Baal and the rest of the Demon Lords who were in the alliance would be able to prepare the resources that Zero required. Preparing for Zero's multi-world, multi-dimensional and multi-space travels will be costly beyond imagination.

"Baal, let's go!" Zero called from downstairs. He was already waiting by a carriage that Coux readied. The Demon Lord wondered how anyone got anything done at the speed they did. While Zero didn't have much belongings to pack, Lucifer and Olaf did give him many things before sending him away from the Academy. Even the Charybdis' son gave Zero something rather bulky and disturbing but Baal didn't see the teenager carrying it.

"Must be King Yama's dimensional storage bag... or his other skill. How unfair..." he grumbled and jumped off the window ledge before morphing into a bat to join them in the carriage.

The rat demon coachman departed as soon as Zero said goodbye to Coux. Little did he know, that casual goodbye would be the last he would say to her. Baal had no intention of letting the brunet go through long and painful goodbyes drawn out with lots of tears. He had sent Ruth away to the village who would greet Zero when he returned. The plan was also to visit the Demon Lords in the sequence of those Zero was most fond of to the ones he wasn't as close to. Baal would be the last one to accompany him on his journey back to Earth. They would part at the foot of Endow Hill where Hua Tuo would be waiting.

There was a stinging pain in Baal's chest and that surprised the healthy Demon Lord. He was very sure whatever side effects from mana overuse were over. Was this some sort of mysterious new illness?

"No, who am I kidding?" Baal smiled wryly when Zero dozed off on the opposite side of the carriage. He took a good look at the growing teenager and went over to drape a blanket they had on the seats over him.

"If it weren't for you teaching me that I still had some good left in me, I don't think Earth would have survived as long as it did," he confessed.

It was a plan that the Demon Lords made together. With Rhinestone opening the gates, they would kill the Arachne Demon and take over control of that unstable dimension to conquer the lower lifeforms on Earth and siphon off their mana to stabilise the abyss plane. Things turned out a little differently when Zero proposed a more peaceful method of stabilising the plane with Buddha's rare mana lotuses. It was an olive branch to mend the broken relationship Heaven and Hell had. It also saved Earth from becoming like the first planet.

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Thinking about letting his very first and last friend go made Baal feel strange on the inside. It wasn't as if they were parting forever. They would probably meet again when the world was going to end but Zero was someone destined for greater things. Wherever he went, action would follow and change will happen. Baal knew that his trouble-making friend was going to be that final push this world needed to break or to make.

Baal gently caressed the cheek of the sleeping apprentice and leaned down to place a very chaste kiss on it. The kiss sizzled and Zero squirmed in discomfort but never woke up. Baal thanked Coux's foresight to dust the interior with sleeping powder. With this, Baal could put his feelings back into place before they arrived. He had to perfect the mask so that Zero wouldn't see how much letting Zero pursue the path he has chosen was hurting him.

Baal closed his eyes to rest and enjoy the bittersweet companionship while it lasted. Of all the things that Zero chose to do, he chose to become a hero even if he wasn't aware of it. It was a path that the Demon Lord couldn't follow no matter how much he wanted to. The Demon lord only wished that his naive friend wouldn't solely view the world in black and white but also take note of the shades of gray in between.

With Ruth and Truen guiding Zero, Baal was counting on them to protect Zero's kind heart. Although he often disagreed with the way Zero did things, it would be incredibly sad to see the young doctor give up on hope. After all, Zero was Baal's hope. He was Baal's light. He was the only one who reached out to him in that darkness when he was at his most vulnerable.

"Please don't take away my light," Baal whispered his silent prayer into the void just before the effects of the sleeping powder took over.

As an androgynous creature typed on a keyboard late into the night of 30th October, a grim-looking portal suddenly opened.

"You have been summoned," the figure in black hooded cloak announced and the writer dropped her glasses.

"Hades is that you?"

The summoner said no more and dragged the sleep-deprived and coffee overloaded author into the world of ink.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

On the night of 30th October, a certain someone was also studying complicated alchemical formulas to make toad-skin cures. Gnarly warts caused by curses can only be undone with the lotion made from...

"Slime excretion?"

Behind the hardworking wood elf, three human children tumbled onto the pile of books. The bodyguard was instantly on high alert when that happened. He readied the most advanced tier of calamity spell at his arsenal and pointed it at them.

There was a girl with a side braid, a female who looked like a male and a boy with hair covering his eyes. Where did these three weirdos come from?

Another portal opened from his shadow, starling the wood elf terribly. However, this time, he recognised the Great God and bowed. As a loyal servant of the Great Zero, he didn't question who the odd-looking human was on the ground that Hades dragged along.

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"Truen, I have a mission for you."

The wood elf put away the wand and stood upright at attention while the kidnapped humans shook hands and marvelled at the interior decoration.

"It comes as a tradition in the original world to celebrate an event called Hallows' Eve - a customary honorarium of the dead. However, it appears that it has been far too commercialised and the Great Gods have decided to task you along with these humans to collect evidence of the original spirit."

The three mini humans introduced themselves as Scarlet - the one with a side braid and broken leg in a cast and the run of the company, Alex - the confusing girl who looked like a boy, and Jasper - the weird male with hair over his eyes.

Merlin burst into the room with costumes in his arms. "Hot coutu- I mean hot costumes made fresh out of the wizard's oven. These are magical costumes that allow you to disguise yourselves as various undead for tonight. One for you, you, you and you!"

After throwing costumes at everyone, the Sage God disappeared. Hades told the humans to change into their costumes and Truen was confused. "How do we collect the evidence of the original spirit?"

Hades smiled. "Glad you asked. You need to play them a trick and try to scare them. If they see past your trick, you give them a treat. also, this is a camera made by Steve. Get these humans to help you with it. Your target is to collect three scares by playing tricks on them before leaving them treats. Good luck, you have twenty-four hours."

Scarlet was the first to finish changing despite the broken leg. All she had to do was wrap bandages on her wrist and the magical costume did the rest for her. Truen noticed that it wouldn't be convenient for Scarlet to walk around with a broken leg so he decided to find her a doctor who could fix it. They now had their first target in mind.

Jasper was the next to get ready. Unlike Scarlet, it took awhile for truen to identify the kind of undead Jasper was dressed as. The boy didn't appear any different from normal apart from the greyish skin tone.

"A mummy and a zombie, that's classic. What's next?" Truen wondered.

Alex came out looking more handsome than pretty and the wood elf was impressed. "A very handsome vampire," he nodded in approval, much to the girl's dismay.

The last to come out was the mysterious girl who claimed to be the creator of both this world and the world that the three children came from. Truen didn't really believe that she was the Great One and decided not to mind the ramblings of a mad person too much. Destiny, as the creature claimed herself to be, was dressed up in a sheet with two eye holes. Her entire face and body were covered, giving her the illusion of floating when she walked.

Now that his troop was ready, the wood elf asked who would handle the camera.

"I will," Jasper volunteered. Seeing that the job was to take a picture of the victim before they were scared, it was way better than anything else Truen had in mind. They might have just met but he had a feeling Truen was secretly a sadist at heart.

Satisfied, the wood elf turned to the girls and blinked. Destiny was out of the question with that ridiculous sheet. The same reason applies to Scarlet. They're going to be good for jump scares at this point. he then turned to Alex and pointed at her. "You're the mascot."

Destiny had the job of scaring Hua Tuo and Scarlet had the job of getting the doctor to fix her broken leg. With that decided, they left to find the Medicine God who was most likely sleeping at this point.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Hua Tuo felt a disturbance in the force and jolted awake only to be met with two eyes and a white sheet.

[The system has censored this for underaged readers. Please standby while Hua Tuo collects himself.]

"Hello," Truen greeted and apologised for the unannounced visit. The doctor didn't know if he should laugh or cry. Dealing with Zero and Ruth was difficult enough as it was. They bickered like siblings all day and now even Hua Tuo's nights weren't spared from drama.

"How did you get here? Actually, never mind. What do you want? Isn't Merlin supposed to be training you?"

Truen sighed. "I'm babysitting on his behalf tonight. We're on a mission to collect the original spirit of Hallows' Eve. It's a timed mission so I can't see Zero right now. Can you help me fix Scarlet's leg? I think she broke it..."

Scarlet was amazed by magic when Hua Tuo used it to mend the broken bone. She tried walking, running and jumping after it was healed. Much to her delight, it didn't hurt at all!

"It's only temporary. That will last for twenty-four hours while you're here. I can tell that you don't belong to this world."

Truen was impressed by the sharp observation. Then again, he should have expected it. Hua Tuo was a Sage God after all.

"What are you going to do next?" the doctor asked.

Truen thought for a while. "I know just who to scare. Thank you for having us here, we must hurry while the night is young."

Hua Tuo didn't even have time to say goodbye to the wood elf when he disappeared. he was about to go to bed when he spotted something left behind by the wood elf. It was a medicine sachet pouch with dimensional magic imbued in it.

"That punk..." he smiled and happily went back to bed.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

The wood elf did think that it was slightly ironic to be scaring the representative of Halloween itself in the dead of night but what must be done will be done. Besides, whoever said that Jack Lantern wasn't afraid of the spooky?

The event emcee was the easiest to frighten. Jasper had good shots when he was scared three times in the short span of one minute - the first by Truen, the second by Scarlet and the last by Destiny. The boy wondered if this counted as three tricks because Jack Lantern was probably the biggest coward he ever knew.

To thank Jack for his participation, Truen gifted him a packet of fairy dust that he could use to enhance his natural glow.

The team's last target for the night was none other than a certain son of Charybdis in the Morning Star Academy.

Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX

Lucifer noticed an unfamiliar presence on his school grounds and shifted into his bat form to confront the visitors.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Truen stopped the humans toddling behind him and they bumped into one another, resulting in a human chain accident. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

"I came on a mission," Truen explained and held up a token that the Lord of Hell recognised.

"I don't want any trouble, keep it clean. It's still a school after all," he told the wood elf who bowed in acknowledgement.

Scarlet was impressed by the quality of this unusual dream while Jasper wondered just how much that piece of Venetian glass would cost. Alex was the only one wondering when they could go back to sleep for she was feeling very tired.

Truen led them down to an underground passageway and the spookers were starting to feel spooked.

Their next target was slightly insane but Alex blushed when she laid her eyes on him. ignoring the blue skin, Rayneld was a handsome looking gothic man. The Wilde princess swooned in silence and didn't notice the jealous bloody willow creeping up on her.

Alex's scream when a vine grabbed her woke the slumbering student. The Manta ray demon nearly attacked the intruders in alarm when he saw the party. Luckily, Truen was able to calm him down and explain the situation.

This time, it was Scarlet's turn to scare so she shyly walked up to the handsome man and whispered "Boo!".

Rayneld pretended to be frightened and Jasper quickly snapped a photo. He frowned. They should have better lighting here for a nicer picture but this will have to do.

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"Happy Halloween!" Destiny chirped and gave the Manta Ray demon a book about the twelve steps to finding happiness.

With their mission accomplished, the small randomly put together party was whisked away by a spell and they saw Hades once more.

"Well done," the God of Death commended. "You have done well for collecting the original spirit of Hallow's Eve. Let the world spread far and wide that Halloween is not just a time for collecting sweets. It is also a time for appreciating life. Now, shoo! I need my beauty sleep."

Scarlet, Alex and Jasper were thrown back to their world while Destiny was mercilessly spat out by the vortex into her room.

She looked at the blank screen that she was staring for the past hour and sighed. A glance at the clock told her how late it was. Two in the morning and well into Halloween, but not a single chapter for Ball of Nothing was ready. Oh well, at least Love Journal was getting contracted.

Zero didn't know how long he'd slept for but his neck made a painful crack when he got up. It must have been hours judging from the pain. Beside him, Baal made himself extremely comfortable by snuggling towards his tummy with his head on Zero's lap. The young doctor felt his eyebrow twitch a little. If Baal could cover him with a blanket, why couldn't he shift him into a more comfortable position?

"Bell! Wake up, we've arrived!"

Baal moaned and decided that the wisest thing to do was to snuggle back into the blanket. Zero rolled his eyes. For an ancient Demon Lord, Baal can sometimes be no different from a child. The teenager sighed wistfully before yanking the covers off with one hard tug.

The Demon Lord tumbled out of Zero's lap and onto the hard carriage floor. He almost whined with tears in his eyes but remembered at the very last moment that he had an image to keep as a Demon Lord before settling with sulking. Zero wasn't amused with Baal's antics. If there was something he'd become mature in, Baal swore it was definitely nagging. The Demon Lord cursed his overly efficient secretary. She was definitely a bad influence on the worrywart teen doctor. Nobody needed an overly kind and concerned mother-hen to peck them over every single little thing. A man needs his space to breathe!

Zero wasted no time and rolled Baal out of the way with his knee before folding the blankets and placing them nicely on the seats again. The Demon Lord couldn't understand why Zero kept insisting on participating in menial tasks that could've been left to servants or done up with magic. The brunet insisted that it was a way of life and something about being centered to the world. Baal bet that it was Hua Tuo's teachings and groaned when Zero tried to influence him.

The teenager hopped out of the carriage and slipped on the muddy ground, landing on his bottom with an 'oof'. Baal merely morphed into a bird and settled down in Zero's hair. The young doctor was slightly annoyed at how cosy Baal seemed.

The Demon Lord was greatly startled when Zero shook his head vigorously and tumbled off into the mud. He morphed back at once with his face full of nastiness and glared at his giggling best friend.

Zero wasn't expecting to be hit in the face with something cold and awful smelling. The smile was wiped away almost instantly and he turned to look at his chortling pal. With narrowed eyes, Zero decided that payback was needed.

Baal dodged the returned favour cheekily and the two friends began a mini mud-slinging battle. Before long, the glares turned into mirth and hearty laughter. The rat coachman had departed, leaving the two to their own world. They were so engrossed that neither of them was aware of a new person's arrival.

"If I knew you were comfortable with the swamp lands, I wouldn't have taken a loan from Mammon to prepare a townhouse in haste for your arrival."

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Zero found the voice familiar and turned around. He ignored Baal's latest mud ball and waddled over in an attempt to hug the Lord of Gluttony only to be shunned.

"Don't you dare come near me reeking of mud!"

The teen then looked at himself and Baal who was also covered from head to toe in the same nastiness. Beelzebub didn't comment when Zero conjured up water magic to clean them off and wind magic to dry them. If anything, he was envious of Zero's portable bath system. While Beelzebub was a talented Demon Lord, he wasn't adept in magic at all. Still, he didn't comment and led them to the townhouses built for the esteemed guests.

"It's been a while, I'm so happy to see that you're doing well!" Zero gushed.

Beelzebub tried his hardest to not blush and turned away, coughing into a fist to regain his 'Lord-like' composure like how Lucifer and Mammon taught him to. Baal was doing his best not to laugh at the awkward manner Beelzebub carried himself with. Even as one of the most feared Demon Lords, Baal simply dismissed the etiquette expected of him. Beelzebub was trying too hard.

Even Zero noticed how stiff and different Beelzebub was behaving. Concern was written all over his face as he followed their host to their lodging. The youngest Demon lord did his best to ignore his ex-room mate's concern. He heard it from Lucifer and Mammon that Zero was making his rounds before returning to the material world. He didn't want to appear as weak or incapable in Zero's eyes especially when they parted so he did his best to hold his chin up high with back straight and chest puffed. It felt strange pretending to be someone of importance but it was something Beelzebub didn't have an opinion about. Ever since he was discovered as a Demon Lord, his life had made a complete one-eighty.

"Is Beel ok?" Zero asked Baal through their mental connection.

Baal didn't really answer. While Beelzebub was doing fine, he knew that this definition of 'fine' didn't constitute well in Zero's dictionary. As long as there was something bothering his patient, Zero will not give them the doctor's verdict of being 'fine'.

Beelzebub showed them to their rooms and told them to meet him in the main hall where they would then dine. Zero didn't manage to catch them Lord of Gluttony before he left. Disappointed, Zero flopped onto the bed and Baal took his leave.

"Holler if you want to go somewhere. Don't think that I'm letting you out of my sight..." Baal narrowed his eyes in warning and Zero nodded like a pecking hen.

The moment the door shut, Zero hopped off the bed. He called for Mii and Bob to appear before him. "What's wrong with Beel? He was acting strange but he wasn't sick or injured..."

The Eternal Dragon appeared with a poof and the strawcherry fairy decided to continue working in Zero's mindscape.

"With all due respect, young master... Lord Beelzebub might be feeling a little out of place with his new status as a Demon Lord."

Zero looked confused and the dragon had to explain what 'social expectations' were. Zero had a hard time understanding it but Bob's explanation certainly helped with many questions lingering on his mind. It explained how Rhinestone became the way he was and why Rayneld had a hard time making friends. Thinking about it, it could explain a lot about the villagers' behaviour in Half Moon village.

"Come to think about it... didn't Clowis mention something similar?" Zero thought aloud and Bob shrugged.

"Perhaps. Cockatrices aren't exactly well-liked. It didn't matter if they were kind-hearted or not, people just didn't like them because of the species they were. If history told a terrible tale about how cockatrices killed many, the descendants of these victims will come to learn to hate the descendants of cockatrices because of what happened to their ancestors. Similarly, the stories told by cockatrice ancestors about how humans tried to steal their eggs and kill their young will incur their hatred. It would be hard for these two species to bury the ill-feelings they have towards each other and start a good relationship on a different foot without some drastic changes. Right now, Lord Beelzebub is forced into a role of Hell's saviour. It's not going to be easy for him to escape the demands from the people who worship him."

Zero sat down on the edge of the bed to ponder through Bob's words. The Eternal Dragon took his leave and left Zero to his own thoughts while he helped Mii out in the mindscape. Ruth would be meeting them after paying respects to his family in the vampire village. The last minute change in plans by Coux made the two assistants busy with Zero and Baal snoozing away. If it weren't for Sekkin's tip-off after his return that Ruth's fallen family members were slowly turning into mindless undead from the thickening miasma outside of domains, Zero might have to witness something that Baal wouldn't be happy with.

"What's the situation like?" Mii asked Coux.

The secretary sighed, feeling a headache build up. " Ruth arrived just in time. They were burnt and their ashes were scattered. Sekkin thinks that Ruth needs some time alone to mourn. I guess the Roth village would be the last stop after all. Zero might be disappointed to know that the Roths are no longer there."

Mii nodded grimly with a pursed lip. Being Zero's information filter was a tough job. Not only were there system limitations, she had to coordinate between different realms. Truen had recently began to pile work and Mii was feeling the stress take a toll on her mental health. Her ability to cope with Zero's immature problems were dwindling and it was obvious to Bob who offered to take over that aspect of her job.

"They have a new request... The Great Gods will supply the materials and finances required but they want Wiser and company to create a weapon befitting of Zero for his travels," Mii told Coux.

The half-succubus raised a brow. Zero was a pacifist. Also, he had great magic and special skills that could easily get him away from any scuffles or conflicts. Why would the Great Gods want to commission a weapon for someone unwilling to fight? Besides, Zero has a bodyguard-guardian capable enough to do the dirty work for him.

"Don't question it... it's something Isis saw and Uriel confirmed it. They want a weapon that wouldn't kill but could defend its master."

"Are you talking about an intelligent weapon like the ones used to slay Gods in legends?"

Mii grumbled a little before confirming it. "I don't know if it's just me but the Great Gods seem to want Zero to walk the path of a hero or something... On the other hand, Lucifer wants to teach Zero how to become the perfect destroyer although Zero's constant destruction of plans, relationships and properties in the Abyss is taking a toll on their resources. Thankfully Hua Tuo is the only sane influence Zero has."

Coux didn't have the heart to tell Mii that she was wrong. Hua Tuo and Buddha wants Zero to tread the toughest path between becoming a hero and a destroyer. To her, she didn't want Zero to walk any of those path if she had a say in the matter. All she wanted was for Zero to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest as much as he could. She didn't want to lose the adorable child to the cruelty of the world they lived in.

"I will see what I can do," Coux relented. A weapon that doesn't kill befitting of Zero's kind-nature... Coux didn't know what it would be just yet but it certainly was better than giving the young healer a sword and telling him to cut the heads of his enemies off because he had the right to defend his honour in that manner.

"I'll leave it to you then," Mii concluded and ended the party call with Coux. She then looked through the list of things to do that Truen sent and groaned. One down, twenty-seven more to go. At this rate, she would be working until next year as it was!

"One day," she swore. "One day I will quit this job and earn my freedom!"

Bob decided that the best option right now was to silently retreat into his personal corner of Zero's mindscape. Mii was positively raging and an angry strawcherry fairy was a snappy one. He knew that whatever Mii was working on would be beyond his ability to help. Hence, he decided to do the next best thing and peak at what Zero was doing.

The young doctor thought that he would try and spy on Beelzebub using the Mii's map. The tracker was blinking and Zero was calculating how high he should grapple before making that perfect landing and slapping the Demon Lord with a bunch of healing spells.

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"Young master, I highly advise against that plan. Perhaps you could try talking to him at dinner or after without Lord Baal in hearing range."

The brunet almost ripped the curtains off their hinges when he heard Bob's voice in his head and cursed. He could've fallen out of the window and hurt his head very badly while ruining his clothes with mud again. Couldn't Bob give him a little warning?

The Eternal Dragon deadpanned. "And how should I do that, young master?"

Zero blinked and grinned sheepishly before apologising. Then his stomach rumbled. "I guess it's the perfect time to interro- I mean, question him at dinner," Zero announced louder than necessary and dashed out of his room.

Baal who was in the other room heard Zero's announcement and frowned. That brat better not be up to something again.

Beelzebub wasn't quite prepared to be tackled by Zero in the kitchen. He was trying to sneak another plate of fruits from the counter while the chef busied away and almost succeeded too!

"Beel!"

The Demon Lord froze when his chef turned around and growled at him, swatting his outreached hand with a spatula. Zero looked blankly at the angry chef until he was thrown out of the kitchen together with Beelzebub.

"Why did you have to do that?" The Lord of Gluttony hiss. Knowing the stingy chef, his portion of dinner was going to be reduced after that failed attempt.

Zero blinked. "But I was hungry too? I thought we could get early dinner together."

Beel gave Zero the deadest eyes. "Does it look like we're going to get dinner now?"

The young doctor grinned and tugged on Beelzebub's arm. His wide smile only made Beelzebub grumpier. His stomach grumbled loudly and now there was a good hour left till dinner was officially served. The one thing Beelzebub hated as a Demon Lord was the thing called etiquette. He could deal with the other nonsense like walking, talking and the duties he had over his domain but Beelzebub hated having to wait for food. Didn't Lucifer promise him that he would never have a shortage of food after he becomes a Demon Lord?

"Come on!" Zero insisted and pulled Beelzebub along. "Let's do something fun. I'm sure dinner can wait..."

Just as he said that Beelzebub heard a loud rumbling noise and Zero reddened in embarrassment. The Demon Lord smiled knowingly. "If you insist," he told the young doctor and didn't question further. Zero might have visited the kitchen with the intention to get something to eat too.

The Demon Lord certainly wasn't expecting Zero to bring him outside into the swamps. In fact, he wasn't expecting them to be walking out of his domain. The Demon Lord started to worry a little when Zero showed no signs of pausing while his stomach's rumbling became louder. Out of the protected zone, Beelzebub knew that predators lay waiting for an easy meal. Zero looked like an easy meal and he couldn't possibly let anything happen to the overpowered teenager no matter how capable Zero really was. Baal would kill him, revive him and do it all over again.

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"Zero?" Beelzebub's voice was terse and tense. "I think you're going a little too far for something fun..."

Zero ignored Beelzebub. He knew that there were many hostile creatures in the area closing in on them. The minimap was blinking with red dots after all. At this point, Mii has levelled up enough to help Zero identify their enemies in the vicinity easier with a colour code. Red were enemies, green were friendlies, white were unknowns and the different shades of colour indicated how threatening they were to Zero.

Given that Zero had no real means of combat except for his bag of tricks from the Blessings and his natural ability to warp through the void, the enemies surrounding them were a vibrant shade of crimson. Thankfully, his party member Beelzebub was a Demon Lord capable of blowing them away with a punch so the minimap overlaid the enemy markers with an orange filter. Zero wondered how the enemies would appear on his map if Baal was present. He knew that his best pal would have no issues wiping them from the existence of the plane with a well-timed sneeze and was curious as to how Beelzebub would react knowing that he was the weakest amongst the Demon Lords.

"Zero?" the Demon Lord spotted some lower levelled monsters approaching them and grabbed the young doctor's hand in panic. On their own, these monsters were no match against him. However, they were known to be very cunning species who tricked their prey into underestimating them. Given Lucifer's education in the Academy, Beelzebub was thankful that he had this knowledge crammed into him. Sadly, the same couldn't be said about Zero who smiled and reassured him that they would be fine. His reason?

"Oh, they look friendly. There's nothing to worry about!"

Friendly? Beelzebub wanted to shake Zero by his shoulders and scream at him. How do any of those foul-mouthed monsters dripping with saliva staring at them with hunger in their eyes and emitting killing intent friendly?! If these Ponygators were friendly then Kerberos was just downright cute.

The Demon Lord readied to fight back. They were now surrounded by no less than twenty Ponygators and more were on their way. Beelzebub didn't want to do this but to protect Zero, he would have to take them all out.

The leader of the Ponygators was a greyish-blue beast with a mane of black hair, yellow eyes and a long snout that snapped at the air, showing all of its yellow razor-sharp teeth. The Ponygator leader stomped on the ground with its hoof and neighed loudly, throwing its head into the air. Its spiny tail whipped around, destroying a dead tree nearby and Beelzebub swallowed the lump in his throat. Although these monsters looked ridiculous and had a cowardly nature, they were not to be taken lightly. Ponygators were masters in the swamp and once they set their eyes on a target, the chances of anyone surviving it were less than ten percent.

"Aw, he just wants to talk."

Hearing Zero's comment made Beelzebub stunned. "Zero, I hate to question your sanity but can you understand the situation we are in now? You may be able to reason with demons who have higher intellect but these are just monsters incapable of understanding anything else but their instincts. Right now, those instincts are telling them to hunt us down for food."

Zero's smile never wavered. "What a coincidence. I was thinking the same too!"

The Demon Lord had no chance to react to that bizarre statement as Zero launched into action. He took out a scalpel and dashed towards the nearest Ponygator. Unprepared by the sudden charge, that ponygator didn't make a single sound after Zero skilfully dismembered its head with a clean cut.

"Wha-? When did you learn to kill so efficiently?"

Zero didn't answer and hunted down the next monster who tried to snap its jaws at the teen. Zero leapt into the air and got onto its back before digging his heels into its side. The ponygator neighed in pain and tried to throw Zero off but failed. Knowing that it wasn't an option, the beast took off in a wild gallop. Zero had the time of his life practising some of the newer magic tricks he learnt from Olaf. He could only use the basic elemental magic for now but the Frost Dragon told him under a magician with skilful control, even basic magic could become something powerful.

"Air shot!"

Beelzebub watched the tiny pellet of compressed air zip through the air with astonishing speed after Zero cast it. The air pellet disappeared after it hit a ponygator's forehead and Beelzebub thought that it wasn't effective until brain matter splattered out of that tiny hole and the monster's head exploded. Zero's gleeful giggles didn't make the gory scene any easier to understand. For a doctor, this was a rather gruesome method of dealing with enemies.

"Rock Bullet!"

"Light Beam!"

"Shadow Rope!"

"Cherry Bomb!"

Beelzebub merely stood out of the bloody massacre. After witnessing the overpowering difference in strength, the leader of the ponygators called for a retreat. By then, Zero had already taken out more than ten monsters while the Demon Lord stood there with his jaw to the ground, unable to believe his eyes.

He wasn't able to gather his sanity when Zero sent the captive ponygator off with a slap to its butt. The teenager then proceeded to skin the monsters and cut out chunks of meat.

"Could you help get some wood? I want to have a snack before dinner, especially after this workout. Don't you want to join me? I have some of Cleo's special spice powder here. It's going to be delicious!"

Numbly, Beelzebub headed further into the dry swamp to get the wood Zero requested for. He didn't let Zero out of his sight, unable to understand what he just witnessed. Zero didn't notice the conflicted look on his ex-room mate's face. His excitement of trying out the unknown meat made him work with twice the efficiency.

Somebody in Zero's mindscape noticed the way Beelzebub was acting. Mii felt troubled by Zero's gradual change. Ever since the system stopped her from interfering, Zero's character has been altered heavily by the memories he received. His all-embracing nature made it difficult for him to form an opinion over what was good and evil. Without Truen around to guide him or the neutral Hua Tuo, the teenager learnt a lot from Lucifer, Baal and even Olaf. the value of life in Hell just didn't have the same meaning as it did for the living creatures on Earth. Things only became more muddled with Professor Rhinestone's betrayal. Beelzebub was badly mutilated and even Baal was severely hurt during the battle. Zero's principle of not killing became twisted there and ever since that day, the young doctor made a resolution to not let history repeat itself. To kill one and save many was the road he had decided to walk after coming to terms that the ideal world of peace wasn't possible without some form of sacrifice.

Bobbinskrier was also concerned with some of Zero's darker thoughts as he worked mechanically cleaning the meat and preparing them for roasting. He sprinkled the spices and sneezed when some powder got to his nose. The Eternal Dragon only pondered silently about having the memory of four Divine Entities merged with Zero's. As the saying goes, anything that is next to vermillion turns red and anything next to ink turns black. Zero was like a child who doesn't know anything. All his thoughts, actions and emotions were things influenced by the people around him. Hua Tuo's good nature and pacifistic idealism shaped Zero's dream of wanting to become a doctor. Baal's distaste for troublesome things, Venn's battle frenzied lust and Jevy's lack of self-confidence shaped Zero's behaviour as a teenager. While there was still some of Hua Tuo and the Great Gods' teachings left in Zero, his perspective of life had changed. Right now, Zero was beginning to judge the worth of each soul and life much like King Yama. The ponygators were like the fishes Hua Tuo had him kill in order to teach him resurrection magic. In order for Zero to become stronger, they became the stepping stones he required.

"Did you find the wood?" Zero asked when he heard Beel coming closer. The Demon Lord was usually quiet but Zero sensed that something was off about the silence they shared now.

"Yes, I did. Zero..."

"Hmm?"

Beelzebub hesitated. There was something really disturbing about how clear Zero's eyes remained despite that disturbing massacre that occurred only minutes ago. It was as if the teenager didn't know that he'd committed sins by taking away lives.

"What you just did... I thought you wanted to become a doctor to save lives. Why did you kill them all when you could have run?"

The teenager blinked and tilted his head in confusion. "Run? Why should I run from food? besides, I wasn't the one who started this fight. They tried to eat us first, didn't they? I was kind enough to end it quickly and not prolong their suffering as they died. Unlike those fishes that I failed to revive during my training, these monsters have a better death. It was quick and painless. Once the brain is destroyed, they wouldn't be able to feel anything at all."

Beelzebub watched as Zero made a bonfire and skewered chunks of seasoned meat to roast. It didn't take long for a mouth-watering smell to fill the air. The Demon Lord felt his stomach rumble despite the questions in his head.

"Also, this is my gift to you before I leave. I know that Baal was half-lying. It would be difficult for me to visit Hell again in future. We also wouldn't be able to hang out and have moments like this very frequently in the future. You're going to become a great Demon Lord like all the others busy maintaining the balance of the plane and protecting the demons under your domain. You're a friend of mine and I'm very sorry that I couldn't help you before due to my wussy nature. I let you get captured, tortured and badly hurt because I decided to back out of the crucial moment and not follow the original plan."

Beelzebub wanted to sigh. While it was true that Zero stole his target suspect back then, Beelzebub didn't hold it against him. He always knew that Jeremiah was the only solid lead they had. He was using Zero to clear up the suspicions of the other four suspects because it was tedious and beyond his capabilities to do so. Having Zero to see his tortured form must have made the teenager blame himself deeply for it.

"It's not your fau-"

Zero shook his head and cut Beelzebub off. "I should have been there. We were partners, we were supposed to work together and yet I-"

Unable to stand any more of Zero's self-loathing speech, the Demon Lord got up and smacked Zero really hard with his fist. Zero cradled the top of his head and teared up in pain.

"Listen. I'm only going to say this once. None of what happened was your fault. Nothing is as it seems at surface level, there is more going on undercurrent than you would think. Baal and Lucifer don't want to say it but I'll let you in on their secret. If you didn't do what you did, you could forget about returning to Earth. You might be annoying but your meddling has done Hell some good. You don't know this yet but you will in a few centuries. What you did might be messy and uncalled for but it was the necessary change that everyone needed. I can assure you that everyone is grateful for what you have done for us. Without you, we would be forced to have another war against Heaven. Many demons would have died, the plane may be destroyed by the end of everything but you - one silly little lad, stopped it all because of your kindness. It might be stupid to be so blindly trusting and kind but you did it somehow. Be proud of the path you have chosen."

"What do you- Mmph!"

Tired of hearing Zero's blabber, the Demon Lord shoved a piping hot freshly grilled skewer of meat into the teenager's mouth. He grabbed one for himself, unable to resist the perceptual hunger and chowed down before moaning in bliss. Whoever Cleo was, she knew just how to make everything taste better with her spices.

"Dammit Zero! You need to tell me who Cleo is, I need her spices in my kitchen and have my chef make us roasted ponygator every meal."

The apprentice blinked with a long silence. "Alright. If you're interested in her I could always make a portal at Half Moon Village's entrance that links to Hell. I intend to do it because Sekkin needs to travel and I don't want Mitchnew to be lonely without her husband. Plus, it might be good for Coux to travel to and fro and keep an eye of Schaf. As much as I want to trust that banker, I just don't think it is a good idea to let him do as he pleased. It is meant to be punishment after all..."

Beelzebub snorted in laughter as Zero delved into tales about the villagers and their silliness. Perhaps Earth wasn't that much of a boring planet. Having not travelled out of the abyss before, Beelzebub found himself incredibly curious about some of the things Zero shared with him. If possible, he would like to see them for himself about the sun and the stars that Zero described so vividly., They sounded beautiful, a complete contrast to the never-changing darkness on the horizon and fiery red sky unless it was raining or something.

"How beautiful," Beelzebub thought as he roasted another skewer of meat. "I would love to travel too if I wasn't a Demon Lord..."

Zero smiled. "One day when you retire as a Demon Lord and I've become a successful doctor who has travelled the multiverse, I will show you all the best places to eat and the most beautiful sights!"

"Now that is a promise," Beelzebub smiled even though he knew that it was a promise unlikely to be fulfilled.

The duo finished the rest of the food with gusto and small talk before heading back for dinner. To Zero's delight, Beelzebub had specially asked the chef to prepare a hundred-course cuisine from the Abyss.

"I heard that you once participated in an eating competition and had no worthy opponent. Today, the Lord of Gluttony shall change that. The rules of this competition are simple. We eat till we can no longer eat or when the house is out of food. The one who quits eating first will wear this flower crown of shame for a day."

Zero stared at the flower crown with raised eyebrows. "Are those Poxie flowers?"

Beelzebub grinned. "Yupp, good for digestion."

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Zero snorted and the competition began. Needless to say, Baal who was an unwilling participant in the competition ended up wearing the flower crown of shame. Zero smacked his lips and compared notes with the insatiable Demon Lord on what could have been better. Baal let them be and retired early, knowing that they had to depart early the next day to the next Demon Lord.

"Thank you," Zero told Beelzebub when the servants were clearing the last of the dishes.

"What for?" the youngest Demon Lord asked.

Zero smiled and yawned. "For being my friend..." he answered and then snored.

Beelzebub looked at the passed out teenager and smiled. "Yeah, thank you for being my friend too. It's been nice knowing you, Zero. All the best for your adventures."

Zero parted from the Gluttony domain without tears. Beelzebub was glad to know that Zero no longer felt the guilt that came with the trouble he caused in the abyss. After all, the next Demon Lord he was visiting didn't take kindly to the young doctor's contributions in ways more than one. He only wished that Zero wouldn't buckle under all that pressure. Mammon had explicitly told him that should Zero choose to bother him again, he will make the teenager work his debt off. Beelzebub had to work for his loan and that was an experience that he never wanted to go through again. Office jobs and administration was a whole new level of torture, Beelzebub never wanted to go near the subject called Math ever again.

Baal was still sleepy. The food he ate still hasn't quite digested from last night and he looked at Zero with disgust at how the petite brunet inhaled breakfast worth for three ogres. That was some ungodly metabolism although Baal knew that it was more of a Zero cheat than a biological thing. Still, it was highly disturbing to see Zero eat so much. The thought of it made him ill and he rested in the carriage as they journeyed towards Mammon's castle.

Mammon was signing his name off on the bottom of some document when he heard a knock at his door with a very familiar magical energy. Knowing the lazy Demon Lord, he would never make an unannounced personal trip. This must concern a certain business ruining pest.

With a sigh, he put his feather pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come in," he said.

The door cracked open a little and Mammon know that a headache was coming up. In the entire abyss, there was only one person he knew who had the shade of hazel eyes and hair.

"What do you want? Didn't I say that I don't want to see you ever again or did Beelzebub not pass on my message?"

Zero looked sheepish. "I just wanted to drop by and thank you for everything that you've done for me so far. I know it wasn't easy for you and that it was a lot of money investing in the business and firing one of your most capable employees... I just wanted to know if there was some way I could make it up to you before I left."

That made Mammon grin evilly and Baal shuddered. Mammon would never pass up the opportunity to milk a cash cow dry and as one of Mammon's inner circle, he knew that the best thing to do was abandon Zero. There was no saving stupidity. Zero simply never learned.

Zero felt Baal run away and a bad feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. "Bell...?"

"Why... since you've so politely offered I can't refuse it now, can I?" Mammon purred with a glint in his eye. Zero swallowed and wanted to bolt for the door but he stood his ground firmly. There were no take backs now that he had offered.

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"Yes. Is there something I could do to help?"

Mammon grinned positively wicked at this point. "Of course! Ever since Schaf was fired, I've been shorthanded. There simply wasn't anyone capable enough to replace him. I know that you can't be here for long but I know that you're rather capable. Now that I think about it, you've grown into such a fine young man. Surely helping out with some paperwork wouldn't be too much to ask right?"

Zero blinked. Paperwork? "Sure! Just let me know what I should do."

Zero laid on the couch in the staff break room deflated like a balloon and as white as a sheet. With Mammon barking orders every minute demanding for the impossible, Zero didn't know how he survived. He had no idea which files were for what and how the magic scrolls worked. To make matters worse, his clumsiness decided to kick in during the heat of the chaos. Beverages were spilt and the Demon Lord instantly booted him out. It was lunch break now but Zero didn't feel the slightest bit of hunger. He was too mentally exhausted to do anything and that was when Baal chose to make his entrance.

"How was the internship?"

Zero groaned and closed his eyes. "Horrible..."

His friend merely laughed and patted his head. "It usually gets better. Although he isn't an agreeable fellow, Mammon has groomed many of Hell's most capable businessmen under his tutelage."

Zero couldn't deny it. He came in with no knowledge about business apart from basic Mathematics but now he knew what interest was. Also, Mammon's business processes made Zero think about how he should manage the Mana Lotus farm and the Herb farm in Half Moon Village. He wanted to ask Hua Tuo if he could pay the villagers something in exchange for their services to help him grow special herbs and invent special medical tools.

"Bell, do you think Mammon would be mad if I asked Schaf to help me set up a business?"

Baal blinked and then grinned. "Well, why don't you ask him?"

Zero hesitated. "I don't want him to be mad at me... he was really angry when I spilled drinks all over the magic parchments even though the documents were coated in protective magic to prevent any kind of destruction."

Hearing that made the Demon Lord want to laugh but he held it in and fixed his poker expression. "I'm sure that wasn't it. Mammon usually gets stressed easily when things don't go the way he wants them to be. It's not something he openly shows anyone. You know how he was the first time you met him... all stiff and proper. I'm sure a good shoulder rub will help."

Zero's eyes brightened up at that suggestion. "Of course! Bell you're so smart, I should've thought about that as a doctor. This means that I still have a lot to learn... I shall treat his stress at once."

Baal didn't say anything and watched as his friend bounced back onto his feet and marched towards Mammon's office. Now that his job of stirring the pot was done, it was time to take a nap on the roof and wait for Mammon to kick them out.

The Lord of Greed wasn't expecting his newest intern to return so soon. Didn't he see Zero trudge away as if his soul was sucked out of his brain? That ought to put him out for two hours but it hasn't even been half an hour since he left. Did that kid have an endless supply of optimism or was he just a dunce?

"Come in," he answered when he heard the young doctor knock on his door.

"Good afternoon, sir! Would you like anything for lunch?"

Mammon blinked. "No, nothing in particular. I still have some urgent reports to look over. Why aren't you heading for lunch?"

Zero beamed. "I just thought that it might be good to take a break from time to time. I'm told that I'm good with healing magic. Perhaps I could help ease some of that headache that has been bugging you since eleven."

Now that surprised Mammon a little. He didn't think that it was that obvious to anyone but he had frequent headaches from time to time and body aches from the long hours behind the desk.

"I suppose there's no harm trying," he conceded and allowed Zero to take over.

After getting the green light and carte blanche, Zero swooped down on the opportunity presented. He examined Mammon thoroughly and decided that the best course of action would be to cast gentle healing magic while massaging the tension away in those shoulders.

Mammon welcomed the warm and comforting healing magic. His eyelids grew heavier as he fought drowsiness. However, he lost that battle when Zero's fingers kneaded through the tight knots of muscles in his shoulders and neck. It didn't take long before Zero heard snoring. Mammon was out like a light and the brunet chuckled. Even the most hardworking person couldn't continue working without proper rest. From the dark eye circles beneath the Demon Lord's eyes, Zero concluded that the Greedy Lord hasn't been getting enough rest. He was fatigued and the headache was a sign from the body that it needed to stop working.

Zero clicked his tongue in annoyance when he discovered more concerning parts that needed healing. Due to the accumulated fatigue, Mammon's chakra channels were blocked and the flow of magic wasn't circulating well. That, in turn, caused some sort of paralysis to the Demon Lord's mana sensing.

Delving into meditation, Zero reached deeper into Mammon's system and sorted out the chakra mess. Nobody dared enter the room while the treatment was ongoing. In fact, Baal took the opportunity to give all of Mammon's overworked employees a day off. Zero wouldn't be done with the treatment for a few hours judging by the steady waves of mana circulating in the air.

Oh well, it wasn't Baal's concern so the Demon Lord continued napping. He had an idea of what Mammon's intentions were after he informed him about Zero's visit. Still, he doesn't know when and how the Bank Owner wants to transfer the deed and make Zero sign his own inheritance. The young doctor would refuse such rewards if Mammon were to say it outrightly. Then again, after what Zero was doing for him, Baal didn't know if Mammon could still pull off that sneaky attack and make the gullible brunet sign them.

Mammon didn't know how long he'd slept or how he had fallen asleep in the first place. All he knew was how fantastic he felt. It has been centuries since he felt this refreshed at all. The last time he was this energetic was before he was an official Demon Lord. His mind was working at five times the speed, his body felt ten times lighter and younger, his magic felt powerful and Mammon felt alive again.

Zero had his eyes closed and emitted a radiant glow in both his hands. The Demon Lord didn't know what kind of healing magic this was but he welcomed it all the same. His body felt like it was getting recharged and the Demon Lord took everything that Zero gave greedily. With this amount of energy, it wouldn't be impossible to oversee the business expansion he'd always been dreaming of.

Zero continued for about another twenty minutes before exiting the trance-like state and opened his eyes. Mammon was looking a lot better than he did. The Demon Lord wasn't as pale as before and his skin was now smoother. Zero didn't know if he should say it but he thought Mammon looked a lot younger after the healing session.

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Mammon caught the young doctor staring at him and remembered his original objective of having the teenager work here. Getting back into character, he frowned disapprovingly and snapped at Zero to get back to work. This time, he was sure to slip in some special documents for Zero's processing.

The apprentice suspected nothing and did as he was told, stamping and signing on the stack of documents on behalf of Mammon who went out for his late lunch. Zero didn't dare ask if he could go too because of the mountain of work waiting for his attention.

Mammon bit into a simple sandwich and watched Zero work through the monstrous stack of paperwork. The diligent intern worked through them without pausing and Mammon felt moved by his serious work ethic. If Zero wasn't someone destined for greater things, he would have done everything in his power to retain such talent and even take him under his wing. Pity, the teenager had already chosen his path.

After Mammon saw that all the secret documents he slipped in were signed, he decided to grab some leftover sandwiches and a cup of the holy beverage known as coffee to reward the clueless boy. He just hopped the boy doesn't mind polygumy meat because it wasn't particularly common.

While Baal slept and Mammon got grub for Zero, the doctor-in-training remained blissfully unaware that he was now the official heir to Soul Sins bank alongside the newest business venture Belles and Begonia Trading.

"Zero, my boy~! Lily's come to pick you up!" a song-like voice sang and Zero felt all the hair on his arms stand.

Baal shuddered visibly for a moment and glared at the lady with the sickly sweet voice. "Lilith..." he growled.

"Oh don't be such a sour puss! I heard that Zero is going around, it's my turn now!" The Succubus Queen pouted.

The teenager didn't have much time to ask questions because Lilith decided to take matters into her own hands...literally. She grabbed the small teen under one arm with her bust squashing the young doctor's face and jumped out of the window. Her gigantic wings caused a huge gust of wind after she took off and blew the neat stack of paper all over the office. Baal cussed at the mess and deliberated cleaning it up or giving chase. In the end, the Demon Lord sighed and bent down to pick up the fallen documents. He would smack Lilith for the stunt and trouble later. For now, he didn't want Mammon adding any more to his existing debt.

Somewhere in the air space, Zero finally freed himself from the bouncy death traps and inhaled deeply with flushed cheeks. He made the mistake of looking down and turned green. Lilith took no notice of Zero's growing discomfort and continued to zip through the air, doing occasional loops with her unfortunate travelling companion.

"Lilith... I'm sorry..." Zero's muffled groan was the last thing the Succubus Queen heard before the young doctor vanished.

Almost at once the Succubus Queen stopped and looked around. Zero's sudden disappearance made her blood run cold.

"Zero? Zero can you hear me? Answer me please!"

Not knowing what to do, Lilith circled the area and searched high and low for traces of Zero's mana. It was faint but knowing that Zero was somewhere in the wilderness set her heart at ease. Baal would have her head if he knew she lost Zero after kidnapping him. Still, she had to find him quickly or the teenager might find himself in trouble. Unlike in domains, there were many wild and ferocious creatures lying in wait for an easy meal.

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Baal was startled when the coachman pulled the carriage to a sudden halt. He almost fell out of his seat when that happened and frowned. The rat demon coachman reported the emergency in Demon Tongue and Baal raised a brow. A human with brown hair? That sounded awfully familiar. It had better not be who he thought it was or that dumb succubus will pay dearly for not only giving him extra work to do but also losing Zero.

The Demon Lord got off the carriage and approached the teenager who gave off similar vibes to his best friend.

"Zero?" he called out.

The stranger turned around and Baal knew that familiar face. Lilith was going to get smacked later. For now, he was more concerned about how pale his friend had gotten.

"What's wrong?" he asked and tried to get closer but Zero raised a hand to stop him from getting any closer.

The young doctor turned to the side and proceeded to empty out the contents in his stomach. Baal wrinkled his nose and chose to stay a little further back. He didn't know how to help Zero seeing that the brunet was supposed to be the doctor and not him. Also, as much as he cared for his friend, Baal wasn't very fond of getting himself dirtied because cleaning up was going to be troublesome.

Ten minutes later, Zero was lying down on Baal's lap in the stationary carriage. The Demon Lord decided to send a signal to the Demon Queen in the area who was still searching for her missing charge. Baal waited with the patience of a saint while counting down the minutes that Lilith would be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Baal! Is Zero o-"

Lilith couldn't even finish her sentence because Baal's infamous slap resounded in the carriage. The vehicle shook a little but that was all. The skin that Baal made contact with turned red and the succubus' eyes widened in shock as she cradled the throbbing cheek with one hand. That shock melted away quickly and was replaced by rage.

"How dare you hit a lady's face!"

"What lady?" Baal asked coldly. "I only see a dumb hag here who couldn't even take care of a teenager."

At that biting remark, Lilith remained silent. Baal was seething, there was no mistaking it. Still, her pride as one of the Demon Lords didn't allow her to apologise immediately. She looked away, unable to refute or retort. Baal wasn't expecting an apology from the high and mighty queen either. He was just annoyed that Zero ended up in such a condition.

There was a soft groan and both Demon Lords turned their attention to the teenager.

"How are you feeling?" Baal asked.

"Horrible but better now. My head is still woozy but I don't feel like throwing up."

Lilith felt bad seeing how she was the reason Zero ended up in such a state. Before she could berate herself, she heard Zero's soft whisper and brightened up.

"I wonder if there was a way to not be motion sick when up in the air... it's going to be terrible if I get sick after I learn how to fly..."

"That's it!" Lilith smiled. "I can teach you hypnosis. It's a useful skill to help you overcome your fears or weaknesses although you can also do the same to others."

Baal looked sceptical. Hypnosis only worked on the weak-minded or the simple-minded. He didn't want to think that Zero was weak or simple-minded enough for such a trick to work but he couldn't deny Zero when he looked so full of hope.

The Demon Lord remained silent and allowed Zero to learn the skill from Lilith. He chose to observe silently on the other side of the carriage and wondered if Zero was capable of learning just about any skill by observing. From Ruth's report, Zero learnt the skill of Observation from him. That unique skill allowed Zero to imitate anything that he sees to a certain extent. For an ordinary creature, they would have many limitations such as physical abilities, mana compatibility or mana capacity. In Zero's possession, that skill opens up the door to endless possibilities.

"Watch closely, the trick to Hypnosis is the fluid movement. You guide your mana into your target's chakra channels and take over control to alter their brain waves according to your intentions. Self-hypnosis is even easier. As long as the mana flow isn't blocked, you can override it and suppress the natural instincts with it. Of course, the bonus part about self-hypnosis is the ability to remove it at any point. All you need to do is release your control over that mana control and the effects will disappear."

Zero nodded enthusiastically and paid close attention as Lilith demonstrated it on herself. The young doctor watched as Lilith concentrated a very thin but steady flow of mana that eased into her natural chakra channels. It was not very noticeable but that foreign mana disguised itself and flowed all the way to the brain where it parted from the natural flow and settled in the subconsciousness. It formed something like a clot there, preventing the natural flow of mana to circulate in that area and nourishing it with that unnatural mana inserted to trick the brain.

Zero began taking mental notes at once, finding this mana manipulation skill extremely fascinating. hypnosis was going to be very useful for situations like emergency operations where painkillers are not available. After a while, Lilith dispelled that mana and Zero noticed how she did it.

"Sudden surges of mana will disrupt that balance. Does this mean an emotionally shocking thing can undo hypnosis? That's not going to be very useful then..."

Lilith heard Zero's mutterings and smiled. "It wouldn't work on anyone with mana but it could definitely work on beasts and life forms without mana. Humans are easily affected by hypnosis because not many of them have chakra channels and those who do usually don't have good control over them."

Zero nodded. "I understand. It is indeed a very useful skill. However, I think I would like to continue the rest of the journey to your castle by carriage..."

Lilith deflated slightly but agreed. Baal felt somewhat satisfied that Zero didn't want to travel alone with Lilith and chose to ride the carriage he provided instead. Lilith picked up on that smugness and shot him an annoyed look. Still, she didn't hold onto that feeling for long. She was more than happy to tell Zero stories about her family when Zero asked about it. She only faltered when Zero asked about the birds and the bees, looking at Baal for help. The Demon Lord feigned sleep and offered no assistance.

Helpless and unable to deal with the innocent eyes full of expectations, Lilith apologised and jumped out of the carriage, opting to travel the rest of the way by flying. Zero was disappointed at the lack of answers but decided that it wasn't important. He would find out when he reached Lilith's castle.

"Clean up everything!" Lilith snapped at her maids and butlers. There would be no tour at her castle or within her domain. While she was proud to be the Demon Queen of the Lust domain, it wasn't in her nature to corrupt children. Although Zero was of physical age to know about such things, Lilith couldn't accept it. Zero's mental maturity was still lacking and she didn't want to be the one to taint his mind. Lust is something that encourages infidelity not just among humans but for any living creature who need to reproduce to keep their species going. Lilith was a master at siphoning energy from these victims who drowned in the pleasures of the flesh. It wasn't something she wanted to teach Zero about. Unlike hypnosis, there was no beautiful way of packaging this filthy act. Of course, there was a beautiful way of doing it full of care and concern under the influence of a fickle emotion called love but Lilith didn't think Zero was ready to know that either.

"Keep everything away, I want to childproof this castle. Do not, and I repeat... Do not let our guest out of sight. Our guest is a human teenager who knows nothing about our world. Treat him with professionalism and reduce contact as much as possible. Inform me and Lord Baal about his demands, do not make arrangements for his requests on your own discretion."

"Yes, Milady!" came the strong chorus of maids and butlers before they busied away.

Lilith oversaw the cleanup process and sent a short message to Baal. They had to delay Zero's arrival for the next hour before everything was decent. While the domain of Lust was more commonly known as the paradise in Hell, reality can be a harsh thing. Lilith was proud of the gardens and landscape in her domain. However, she wasn't proud of her towns and streets. There were many horrors that happened behind closed doors here with demons fuelling each other's hunger. That was something Lilith wanted to keep Zero away from.

"That's right," she nodded to herself. "I'll get Amon to send someone for him... the less time Zero spends here, the less he knows about the ugly reality."

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Amon was sparring with some of his top warriors when Lilith's message arrived. The Lord of Wrath grinned and yelled for his disciple to come.

"I have a task for you. Go to that sleazy Queen's domain and fetch the human boy. We're going to throw a party when he arrives!"

Sekkin was mildly surprised. A party? Lord Amon was a battle crazy person who doesn't give two hoots about social etiquette. To throw a party for Zero's arrival was something the spider demon wasn't expecting. Still, orders were orders. He received the letter, bowed and excused himself.

Amon grinned. He could already feel the excitement running through his veins in anticipation. The Demon Lord couldn't wait to throw a party for the rumoured genius. Gifted in magic and medicine, Amon wanted to pit his combat skills against such a prodigy. Surely he would prove a better opponent from that wussy Wizard God, right?

Baal did his best to stall for an hour before they arrived at Lilith's castle. He told his coachman to take the shortest path to the castle and distracted Zero with a game while they were in town. Incubi and succubi filled the streets with no care about the visitors in town. They did as they wanted, tossing clothes around leaving them strewn on the streets with their bodies on full display while others opted for messy make-out sessions. Nowhere in town was safe for innocent eyes.

Zero was blissfully unaware of the growing tension in the carriage, too engrossed in the game of chess. Baal was such a good player. Despite his bored external appearance, Zero knew that the Demon Lord wasn't going to give him any chances or openings. That was the current gap between their experiences and Zero found it exciting. He wanted to challenge Baal again despite his six losses but they had arrived at the castle.

"Tonight, can we play again?" Zero asked and Baal pretended to consider.

"Please?"

"How many stories will you tell me?"

Zero paused and calculated. Baal found that crafty look adorable. Zero could never be a successful poker player with his intentions so clearly written on his face. Knowing his friend, Zero would try to push the numbers low like what Coux taught him. He would start off with one or two but Baal wasn't going to let him gain the initial advantage.

"Five or no deal," he yawned.

Zero's jaw fell. Five? That was ridiculous! Baal didn't even demand so many stories back when Zero requested for Baal's help to sneeze a powerful illusion away. Then an idea came to him. Baal never mentioned what kind of stories he wanted, right? So far, Zero had always been telling Baal long stories and Baal would always let him. Only occasionally would the Demon Lord ask for details. This time, the teenager was determined to not give Baal so much to chew on. he could have five stories but Zero wasn't going to spill all the details for free. That should teach Baal not to be so greedy in future!

"Deal," he told Baal calmly.

At once, the Demon Lord opened his eyes widely in attention. He wasn't expecting for Zero to agree to it without trying to lower down the rate. Then he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. No, that isn't right. Zero would never agree to it without some kind of trick. Ever since his secretary has been tutoring Zero, the young doctor had gotten sneakier. Mammon would've killed to have an apprentice as brilliant as Zero. Baal had to admit, Zero was learning. In fact, he was slightly threatened by how fast Zero's growth was.

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"What's the catch? I demand five full stories and won't accept anything less than that."

Zero smiled. "Oh, I'm aware of that. I will deliver five full stories as you requested. No cliffhangers."

Baal narrowed his eyes but couldn't probe further because Lilith swopped down and crooned at Zero.

"Come," she urged with a blinding smile. "We've prepared scented baths for both of you. Dinner will be ready in about an hour and your rooms are ready. Please let my servants know if you require anything, enjoy your stay in the Red Palace. We have a garden tour after this, you will see one of the rarest sights in the abyss. You can only find crystal flowers and trees here in the Lust domain."

Zero's interest was captured almost at once. Crystal trees and flowers sounded fascinating. He nodded and followed Lilith inside. Baal shrugged. He wasn't too interested in the garden Lilith boasted about. Flowers were flowers and trees were trees. He didn't see anything special about them and would prefer to take a nap before dealing with Zero tonight.

Zero was overwhelmed by all the action. People were talking, bowing, guiding and helping him prepare for the bath. Maids and butlers were all over the place and everyone was very polite. Zero didn't know if this level of hospitality was common because he hadn't experienced much of it anywhere else. Unable to cope or react, Zero could only follow instructions and cope to the best of his abilities to leave everything to the maids including helping to undress him and choosing his clothes. Apart from choosing the scented oil he wanted for his bath, Lilith's servants took care of everything else efficiently.

By the time Zero was submerged in the comfortable lukewarm water, he wondered if the same happened for Baal. The water was milky and smelled pleasant enough to drink but something told Zero it was better if he didn't do that. He listened to that instinct and waited for Baal. The maids taught Zero something very interesting. Apparently in the domain of lust, enjoying the hot spring water must always be accompanied with a towel wrapped around his head with sheep horns on two sides. It helped keep the towel from falling off and for wet hair to get messy during the bath. Also, it was common for people to dip in the hot spring water naked.

"There is a special kind of friendship that can only be formed when two people bare their skin in front of each other," was what the head maid told Zero. After hearing it, it was impossible for Zero to not want that kind of special friendship, especially with Baal.

"Why is Baal taking so long?" Zero asked himself and pouted. He sank lower into the water and blew bubbles into it out of boredom. To amuse himself, he started to hum different noises just to hear how it would sound like with the water's interference.

"I see that you're having fun without me," Baal was amused to find Zero doing such childish things.

The young doctor spluttered in the water and choked on it when some got into his windpipe. "Baal!" he perked up when the Demon Lord sank into the water beside him.

"Have you decided what kind of drinks you want to try after this? It's a custom here to drink flavoured milk after a soak in the springs."

Zero thought long and hard. "What would you recommend?"

Baal hummed. Usually, he would go for some kind of alcohol but he didn't want Zero touching any of that yet. "I would recommend strawcherry milk."

Zero spluttered. The thought of Mii as a milk flavour left a bad taste in his mouth. "Is there anything else?"

Baal shrugged. "Cocorice, banono, green lemon, sweet thorns are some of the more popular ones."

Zero didn't know any of those and chose one of the more harmless sounding ones. "I think I'll try banono milk..."

Baal smirked. Oh well, Zero would be in for a treat there.

Coux who heard the story from Baal at dinner laughed heartily. Zero sulked badly and shot Baal one of his meanest glares. He could've mentioned that banono was a type of screaming plant. Zero wouldn't have chosen the noisy thing to add with his milk. Then again it was delicious so Baal didn't really lie to him. Still, it wasn't worth the trouble of listening to the screeching thing before it became milkshake.

"Oh dear... I should've told the maids to bring you the menu. My apologies..."

Zero was quick to deny that. "No, it's alright. I did enjoy the hot spring, everything has been more than I expected. It's a very wonderful experience..."

Lilith smiled, thankful that the teenager was enjoying himself. Dinner seemed like a success too with how Zero cleaned his plate completely. Zero licked his lips. Fish hasn't tasted this good uncooked before and the young doctor was curious as to what kind of sorcery the chef has applied. Lilith assured him that no magic was involved but Zero found it really difficult to believe that.

"It's the art of presenting food from the land and food from the ocean together," Lilith explained. It was difficult to explain the cuisine of her domain seeing how the rest of the abyss didn't share the same luxury. Her domain focussed very much on pleasure and everything was customised to make everyone who came here feel like indulging the moment. It was their business strategy to retain visitors and siphon off their life energy after all.

Zero was intrigued. Everything was like a dream here. He loved how everything was perfect. The people were nice, the food was good and now Lilith was going to show him the garden. Crystals were pretty by themselves. What kind of trees and flowers will he be witnessing? The teenager couldn't wait.

Baal decided to tag along despite his lack of interest in such things. Lilith claimed that the best time to view the crystal trees and flowers was when night had fallen. In the darkness, these crystals will glow and Zero would be able to fully appreciate it.

The garden was huge as it surrounds the entire exterior of the castle. Zero was slightly relieved when Lilith said they will only be visiting the inner garden that was in the centre of the compound. It was near the tea room and Zero didn't mind when the butler took over and explained the castle's history while they strolled.

"Music, art and dance are very much part of the Lust domain's history," the old butler explained. Although he looked aged, he still retained his gentlemanly mannerism and Zero thought he was very charming.

The butler droned on about how the castle was founded as well as the rooms once occupied by the different royalties including the Van Doux. That got Zero's attention because he knew that this was Coux's home. He asked a little more about the history of that lineage but the butler wouldn't say too much about it. Lilith only told Zero that it was the Earl Van Doux who decided to leave the household and move to Earth to establish their territory. Other noble demons have done so and they too wanted to participate in the unofficial vie for the title of the strongest aristocrat since that gave whoever with the title the right to decide on domain laws aside from the six Demon Lords. of course, the Van Doux faced their fall and was almost completely wiped out except for Coux who survived and took refuge in Half Moon Village.

"We're here," Lilith told Zero who was in a pensive mood thinking about the story of Coux's family history.

The sight took away his thoughts and Zero wanted to stare at them forever. The trees came in many different colours like pink, blue and purple. The flowers were more unique. Some flowers had more than one kind of colour and they sparkled. There were leaves and flowers that glowed one colour for a while and gradually changed to a different colour. Zero had never seen such a thing before and continued to stare at them, mesmerised.

Lilith dismissed the maids and butlers following them. Only Baal, Zero and Lilith remained in the crystal garden. The Succubus Queen started discussing with Baal about her arrangements to have Amon send someone to pick them up first thing tomorrow morning. Baal thought that it was a good idea. The longer Zero spent in Lilith's domain, the riskier things were for them.

Zero didn't know how long he stood there admiring the view. It was getting colder and colder so he should be standing there for at least half an hour. Behind him, Baal was sleeping at the bottom of a tree and Lilith was perched on a branch.

"Sorry to keep you both waiting," he apologised. It was just so easy to lose track of time here.

"Not at all," Lilith smiled. "It's late, someone will come to escort you to Lord Amon's domain tomorrow morning. Would you like to retire now?"

Baal rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned. "The stories can wait for tomorrow, I'm tired."

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Zero snickered. Baal was always sleepy, it wasn't anything new to him. "I think we should head to bed then," Zero smiled.

"Thank you, Lilith. I enjoyed myself today. It is a very beautiful place..."

The Succubus Queen smiled politely and called for a servant to show them back to their rooms. She stayed in the garden for a little longer, looking at the guest rooms that Zero and Baal resided in and waited until the lights were put out.

Stretching her wings, Lilith smiled wistfully. "I'm glad you think that it is beautiful... goodnight and sweet dreams, Great One."

With that, the Succubus Queen took to the night sky in search for her prey for tonight.

When Sekkin reached Lust domain, he was immediately ambushed by many promiscuous women and men. They were scantily clad or wore nothing at all, calling out to him with their alluring gazes and smiles. The spider demon felt his blood running south and promptly ripped himself away from the tangle of limbs trying to pull him indoors. It had to be magic, there was no way he would be unfaithful to Mitchnew after all they've been through! Sekkin slapped himself hard to snap out of the spell.

Once back to reality, the spider demon was able to see just how filthy and ugly the true natures of these demons were. They snarled angrily at losing their prey, their previously meek and friendly personalities gone. Many left in search for their next victim while some tried to hypnotise Sekkin again.

Familiar with hypnosis, Sekkin didn't let his guard down this time. He swiftly avoided the demons and ran towards the castle that Lilith was in. This time, he took the roof and stuck close to the shadows. Nobody approached him while Sekkin proceeded with stealth this time. He thought that the tough part of escorting Zero would be to keep the kid away from the demons. After what he experienced, Sekkin was beginning to understand why Amon sent him instead of his other subordinates. It didn't matter what species of demons they were, all single males will definitely fall prey for the honeypot trap. The warriors back in Amon's domain were also only interested in two things namely power and getting some.

"A task only I can do... he really meant it," the spider demon grimaced. It was tough on him too with all the pheromones in the air. If it weren't for his undying love for Mitchnew, he would have succumbed like any other lesser men.

After about two hours of dodging and evading the temptations along the way, Sekkin made it to Lilith's castle at the break of dawn. There wasn't anyone waiting outside to greet him and unlike the atmosphere of desire clinging onto the city, the castle had a slightly more refined air even though the sweet cloy of pheromones were stronger on the castle grounds. The spider demon had to spin himself a face mask when the smell got too overwhelming. No wonder nobody willingly entered the castle. Lilith may seem like a weak Demon Queen but just her presence over the castle was enough to make anyone who underestimated her turn back. In her palace, Lilith's power is insurmountable. It was rumoured that even the abstinent Lucifer would have difficulty thinking rationally over prolonged stay in Lilith's castle.

Sekkin thought of taking a break when he arrived but with how the powerful illusion magic in Lilith's turf threatened to pull him under her hypnosis, the spider demon decided to walk around instead. At first, he thought that the castle's design and structure were merely a happy coincidence. However, after ten minutes of walking through the stone garden, the spider demon knew that it was no coincidence. This was definitely a zen garden design created by the people back in his motherland before it got invaded by the northern barbarians.

"You arrived earlier than I expected," a sultry and husky voice purred not too far from where Sekkin was.

Startled almost to the point of jumping out of his skin, the warrior-assassin drew out his knife and got into a battle stance.

"Relax! Jeez... all you muscled guys just don't know how to kick back and have some fun. I remember telling Amon to send a decent escort of some kind, I don't remember requesting for anyone so paranoid. How is Zero suppose to relax if you keep jumping at everything?"

The lady with the sensual voice turned out to be no one other than the Demon Queen. Realising his mistake of pointing a weapon at a Demon Lord, the spider demon sheathed his weapon quickly and dropped to his knees to beg for pardon.

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Lilith rolled her eyes. Warriors and their stiff code of conduct were no fun to deal with. "Whatever, I'm not concerned. Zero and Baal will be up soon enough. Just act normal and don't let Zero realise anything going on in the town. I'm sure you have a few stories about Amon's domain to share, don't you?"

Taking a hint, Sekkin smiled and reassured the Demon Queen that Zero will be well taken care of. "Can I ask what time we will be setting off?"

Lilith yawned. She had a busy night hunting and sorting out some housekeeping matters. Who knew that the new maids she hired couldn't resist the pheromones in the castle? It must be bad if aristocrats found it difficult to resist her charm. She really needed to find a new mate ever since the last one ran away from her a few hundred years ago. Most drones don't last very long even if they were granted longevity if they signed a pact with her. Lilith sighed wistfully. Good men were hard to find and even at her age, the little girl in her still foolishly longed for the promise of true love.

"You should join them for breakfast. My servants will guide you. Also, please rest for a little while in a guest room prepared. They will wake you in time for breakfast. You've travelled far."

Knowing that there was no further room for negotiation, Sekkin bowed and took his leave. he didn't notice them earlier but there were two maids waiting for him with icy expressions by the veranda. It was no coincidence, Sekkin was convinced Lilith planned it all out. He didn't know what Lilith was planning but he knew it definitely involved Zero. Still, in his occupation as an assassin, Sekkin knew that he was a better judge of character than most people. His instincts weren't screaming at him so that gave him a peace of mind that the Demon Queen wasn't plotting to harm the young doctor.

With that, the spider demon followed the maids away, leaving Lilith some time to herself.

In the beautiful garden without anyone else around, the Demon Queen allowed herself to sigh. While teaching Zero hypnosis was something that simply happened along the way, Lilith had planned to gift Zero something without his knowledge that involved the same art. It wasn't easy gathering the resources that she needed. In fact, Lilith was half considering milking Amon of what he was worth if she didn't manage to find enough prey on time. Fortunately for Sekkin, Lilith was able to get what she needed before his timely arrival.

The Succubus Queen flapped her powerful wings twice and landed gracefully on a branch of a pink willow. The cool wind passed through the stone garden and toyed with her silky scarlet hair, creating a picturesque illusion of a Hell's angel. Lilith closed her eyes and gathered the dense mana in the garden, fusing it with some of her own to supplement the lack of refined control. The curse she wove was an ancient one but Lilith knew just how to tweak it so that it would become a blessing instead.

"Rise from the darkness, born from the void. Heed my command and gather at my summon. My name is Lilith - the almighty Queen of Lust. Upon the souls of my fallen brethren, I beseech thee once more for favours above powers of my own. For the price of a cursed soul, I shall offer a story once dear but soon to be forgotten. Bring clear mind and judgement in turbulent times, bring blessings to them in curses disguised. Bring good faith and strength in their loneliest times, bring humbleness and luck for their destined desire. Their name is Zero and Solo the same, two sides of the same coin like darkness and light. Great Spirits and Empaths who guard my bloodline, heed this Queen's selfish request without decline!"

The wind gathered around Lilith and the pressure made the stone tremble in her garden. Lilith embraced the powerful magic and had another mark appear on her skin. The new vow only contributed to her massive tattoo-like marks on her skin with the most recent one resembling a waxing moon lying on its side on her forehead. The mark glowed red painfully before fading into a dull throbbing midnight blue on her pale skin.

Once the spell was done, ghostly figures in the forms of shapely mist appeared before Lilith. They had amethyst eyes and spoke in whispers to Lilith who thanked them and offered up a part of her memories as promised. Memories of her previous lover flashed before her eyes one last time before the Empaths collected them and disappeared. Almost at once, Lilith felt a great sense of loss and grief but the proud Queen didn't give in to the sorrow. It wasn't the first time she had to sacrifice someone dear to her for someone else who had become dear to her. In her extremely long life, the Great Queen had fallen for many mortal lovers who eventually had to leave her. This time, she was sacrificing the precious memories of her latest lover in exchange for Empaths to tamper with Zero's mind in times of need when she couldn't be there. As part of Zero's secret Army, Lilith didn't want to lose to Baal's faction. After all, her enamoration for the promising medical prodigy didn't simply end with a kiss. Zero was her everything.

Zero woke up that morning to the feeling of someone whispering in his ear. The feeling was ticklish and after a good ten minutes or so trying to ignore it, he woke up. For some reason, he felt like he had company today despite being alone in the room. There was nobody in sight so Zero shrugged it off as something from his imagination.

Deciding to check the map for any invisible visitors in his room, Zero was startled to find that a friendly person had appeared on his map. Excited and curious to know who it was, Zero got out of bed, ignoring the fact that there were no markers in his room indicating the strange presences he felt earlier. As the sky got brighter, the lingering presence grew weaker. Zero brushed his teeth in haste and made a beeline for the room the new friend was residing in. Could it be Coux who was visiting?

"Good morning!" he burst into the room without reservations.

Imagine his surprise when he found a man instead of a woman in bed. Sekkin looked rather tired with dark circles beneath his eyes but Zero detected nothing out of the ordinary. He was slightly dejected when he realised he wasn't going to be able to eat any of Coux's special breakfast deluxe but then soon brushed that feeling aside. He was happy to see the spider demon after so long.

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"Sekkin!" he ran and jumped onto the assassin who caught Zero out of reflex, welcoming the short teenager into his arms as they wrestled in bed for a little. Zero's scream of surprise woke the sleeping Lord of Laziness upstairs when the warrior tickled his sides.

"No no! Stop cheati- AHAHAHA! Let go! Let go!" Zero squealed and squirmed when Sekkin mercilessly attacked his sides. The teenager laughed so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks and his stomach hurt from too much laughter. Sekkin didn't hold back and spun webs to restrain the young doctor's arms so that he couldn't defend is vulnerable spots.

The cheerful scene startled Baal who thought his friend was under attack. Zero saw his lifeline arrive and begged Baal to help him in between laughter and wheezes while trying to kick Sekkin. Naturally, the spider demon caught his legs and started tickling the sole of Zero's foot, triggering another round of high pitched laughter.

Baal contemplated for five seconds before walking over calmly. Zero screamed traitor and choked on his own spit within five seconds of the double attack.

Lilith wasn't prepared to walk in on the scene with three guys rolling around in bed having a ball. She carefully backed away before any of them could notice her and hid her heavy blush. Now that was certainly one memory she wouldn't ever be sacrificing.

After a hearty breakfast that Zero found pleasing despite the simplicity of it, the trio set off to Amon's domain. Along the way, Zero found himself getting drawn into the stories that Sekkin shared. The teenager became starry-eyed when the spider demon shared with him about the manly training regimes under Amon's tutelage. Baal was bored of such tiring details so he chose to nap instead.

Zero didn't realise it until they left Lilith's domain and sulked. He wanted to check out the town but was too distracted by Sekkin's tales that he missed it. By now, the scenery was changing to something less beautiful and more hardboiled. The lush landscape was transforming into cracked and dry soil. In fact, the climate felt hotter as they closed in on Amon's region. Zero felt sluggish under the heat and Baal's quality of sleep declined when the heat became almost unbearable in the carriage.

"How do you tolerate this heat?" Zero asked and fanned himself with his hand.

Sekkin smiled serenely. "This is mental training," he explained and Baal who had woken up deadpanned.

"Mental torture if you asked me," the Lord of Sloth sulked. Unable to take any more of this nonsense, Baal cast a magic barrier around the carriage that regulated the temperature. Zero almost let out a sigh of relief but caught himself just in time. He didn't want to appear rude in front of Sekkin who took Amon's training very seriously. Being a warrior must be tough if they had to practice under this ridiculous heat every day.

Amon's castle was nothing like Zero had imagined. If he thought Baal's castle was the worst among all the Demon Lords, he apologised after seeing the state of Amon's castle. The castle... no, the fortress was very rundown. The walls were cracked and didn't deter anyone from attacking it. Some parts of stone crumbled away so badly that a monster could easily pass through the gap. the gate was always open because the drawbridge didn't work. The moat was dried up so anyone could simply jump into it and climb up. Why the fortress even existed when nobody bothered to care for it puzzled Zero greatly.

Amon's appearance here in the castle made Zero's mind go blank. The Demon Lord was almost naked save for the loincloth he wore. He was sweating heavily under the heat and looked ten times scarier than Zero knew him to be.

"Come at me! Is that all you can do? Stop swinging the sword like a twig and do some damage for once!"

Zero cringed at the sheer volume of the hard-boiled warrior lord. Baal raised his hand perpendicular to the Demon Lord of Wrath and yawned. A mid-tier barrage of mana arrows was fired straight into Amon's direction. Zero's eyes went wide with horror. He was going to shout at Amon to duck when the warrior blew them away with a mighty swing.

The powerful swing of Amon's broadsword sent Zero flying through the air literally. The young doctor wasn't expecting for the wind to lift his feet off the ground and tumbled to the ground painfully. Baal didn't bother with a graceful landing and ended up crashing into the wall behind Zero. Sekkin was smarter and shot a rope of web to the nearest fixture, securing his foothold on top of a broken pillar.

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Amon threw his head back and laughed heartily while his guests brushed the dust from their clothes. Zero went to check on Baal who complained about a creak in his neck after the magnificent crash.

"Good sneak attack but not good enough from me! Have you finally decided to abandon the lazy ways of a mage and join me in the battle of muscles?"

Baal deadpanned. Of all the Demon Lords, Amon was the one he found most annoying to deal with. The battle hungry idiot always found a way to rub him the wrong way. Although Amon was far from dumb, the Demon Lord never bothered to exercise his intellect unless absolutely necessary. If given the option, Amon would always choose to resolve the problem with sheer force.

His motto? If something isn't working then you're not using enough force.

"No, I'm not interested. I'm only an escort this time," Baal replied monotonously.

Amon didn't take offence to the disinterested tone. Instead, he redirected his interest to the young thing beside Baal.

"So we finally have a chance for a heart to heart talk. I've heard much about your accomplishments, young Zero. Come! Let us have a good talk in the castle."

Zero couldn't refuse and gave pleading eyes to Sekkin who only shook his head and told Zero to comply if he wanted things to be easier for him. Knowing Lord Amon, they would be spending the whole afternoon talking. The spider demon decided to prepare Lord Baal and Zero's rooms while Lord Amon entertained his guests. As dilapidated as the fortress looked, there actually was a decent living quarter. Outside appearances can be deceiving especially if one didn't know the history of the fortress.

"So, tell me more about yourself. I've heard a few things from the snow woman but I'm deeply intrigued to hear them from you," Amon smiled.

Zero thought that Amon was a fairly friendly person when he wasn't battling and lowered his guard. He returned the smile and introduced himself as best as he could. Baal followed behind them without speaking. He was curious to know what Amon wanted to gift Zero. Was it a weapon or something dangerous that could harm someone? Knowing the Demon Lord who was crazy about fighting, it was highly possible. That kind of gift wouldn't sit well with Zero and the thought made Baal slightly uncomfortable.

The Lord of Wrath cackled with laughter when Zero retold how he ended up in the abyss and what had transpired thus far.

"Sometimes I think that Gugu and Jevy are fighting in my head. Also, Mii might be overworked. Bob is still growing and I can't wait to learn magic combat from Ruth!"

The smile on Amon's face never disappeared. In fact, it widened when he heard how enthusiastic Zero was about learning combat.

"How would you like to learn some non-magic combat tricks? Seeing as we don't have much time before you have to leave, how about learning one of my most powerful escape techniques?"

Zero thought about it and nodded. It wouldn't hurt to learn new things. Although he was strong, there might be people stronger than him and he might find himself needing to escape.

"Sure!" he beamed and Amon went straight into teaching mode.

Sekkin was fairly surprised to see the Demon Lord demonstrating some of the most obscene moves to the innocent teen. He was more horrified to know that Baal was observing them from the side with great interest. Knowing the lazy Demon Lord, these 'techniques' would be put to no good uses. He wanted to run over and beg Lord Amon to undo what he did but at this point, not even Isis can salvage the situation. Zero was already mimicking Amon's actions much to the spider demon's horror.

Zero was disappointed. It didn't seem like a very powerful move. How could a few shabby kicks and stabs using fingers render a person immobile for him to be able to run? Surely Amon was joking...

"Am I doing it right?"

Lord Amon looked at Zero's stance and nodded with pride. Zero was a fast learner and showed promise of becoming a great warrior. Alas, he wasn't Amon's student. If he was, the Lord of Wrath would have imparted the dirtier methods of street brawling and market scuffling.

"You're doing very well, young Zero. I am impressed by your progress. Remember, in order for this trick to work you must locate the right point."

Zero nodded. Studying acupressure points from Hua Tuo had never been more useful. However, Zero didn't know that Hua Tuo's knowledge on the humanoid anatomy was lacking. He knew that eyes and anything exposed were sensitive spots for any living creature. Zero didn't know that all humanoid males had another vulnerable place that could be exploited. It was very interesting and Baal had termed it the "nether region". The teenager couldn't understand why it was so vulnerable but he learned quickly what he was taught.

"Yes, that's the right pose. Now once you find it you must kick them hard with all your might! The harder you do it, the longer they are rendered immobile. In some cases, you might even be able to knock them out while you make your escape. Don't forget to distract them by aiming for their eyes. No, don't straighten your fingers when you try and stab them. You might break your delicate fingers if they have hard eyeballs. Curve them so that your nails will exert a greater pressure for easier penetration. That's right! It's perfect!"

Sekkin wanted to cry. What kind of creature had stones for eyeballs that Amon needed to be so vicious? Also, it was mentally traumatic to see the Demon Lord corrupt the youth with his less gentlemanly knowledge.

"Remember, in front of an enemy there are no rules. The winner takes it all so don't give them a chance to retaliate or gain an advantage over you. You need to attack any weak spots you see without holding back or you'll be in trouble. I know that you're a doctor and killing goes against your principles so I taught you the ways only to immobilise them temporarily but not permanently."

Zero nodded, unsure if he should believe Amon and practice what he was taught. Then, Amon spotted Sekkin and decided that a live demonstration would help Zero understand better. Sekkin who sensed Amon's evil thoughts paled and tried to make his escape. Unfortunately, he was three steps too slow and the Lord of Wrath dragged him over.

After the short but impactful demonstration, Zero rushed over to Sekkin immediately who was bent over in half from the excruciating pain. Although Mitchnew and he had made the decision to never want children of their own, it didn't mean he was willing to let his manhood become a sacrifice for the sake of uncouth education.

Zero was mentally shaken. He'd never seen a tough warrior, especially with such a strong will like Sekkin, contort with so much pain. Amon even went easy on him and used not even a hundredth of his full strength but the results spoke for itself. Zero was utterly convinced that this was a useful technique and stored the knowledge away for future use. He would certainly be practising it when he got back to Endow Hill.

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Sekkin felt the healing magic do its thing and the cold sweat that soaked through his clothes felt clammy on his skin. Colour slowly returned to his face and the spider demon felt as if what happened before was simply a cruel nightmare. Zero was a very talented healer and the spider demon felt better than he did before.

Amon watched the small teen weave his healing art and wondered if that book in his library would be beneficial to him. It was an ancient picture book with some very weird looking martial arts that Amon couldn't understand. He tried practising it initially but found that it wasn't very suited for him. To the Demon Lord, it felt more like a dance that was completely unsuitable for combat. Still, if it existed in the ruins, it must have been rather valuable.

The progenitors of this strange art were beastfolk shamans who could communicate with spirits from the Natural Plane. They drew very simple pictures illustrating how this strange combat worked and Amon didn't throw the book away despite how it seemed like a bunch of nonsense because he knew exactly how famous these beastfolks were when it came to combat prowess.

Most interestingly, the type of beastfolk who wrote the book were small marsupials. For the vertically challenged teen, it might be perfect. The only thing that made Amon hesitate was not knowing if Zero would practice it wrongly without a teacher to guide him for the more complicated parts at the end of the book. It involved meditation and from what he understood, Zero's meditation always brought a whole string of trouble.

Amon frowned, unsure of what he should do. Meanwhile, Baal observed the warrior with interest. He'd never seen Amon look so serious or be so quiet outside of battle. If anything, Baal would say that Amon looked troubled. Then again, it wasn't very surprising. Anything involving Zero is bound to be complicated, not because the boy was difficult to please but because of the people backing him from the shadows. He was only glad that his parting gift for Zero was not as complicated as what the other Demon Lords had prepared.

"Zero," Amon called out, interrupting Zero's practice session. The Demon Lord was visibly conflicted when Zero stared at him with clear, innocent eyes. A part of him knew that this might not be the best idea but the other part of him knew hope when he saw it. As a warrior, the saddest thing was to see a good set of martial arts and not be able to have anyone practise it.

The young doctor stopped what he was doing and trotted over. The Lord of Wrath took one look at the youth he'd already corrupted and decided that a little more filth wouldn't change anything. If the Great Gods wanted to end him, Amon wouldn't complain either. He would probably be able to have the best battle in his life if it should come to that.

"Zero, I have something in my possession that I'm conflicted about giving you..." Amon began honestly and that took Baal by surprise. He'd known Amon to be a very hot-headed Demon Lord who often ignores other people's feelings.

Zero tilted his head to a side and waited for Amon to elaborate. With so many pairs of eyes and even more pairs of ears, Amon decided to bring the conversation indoors. Sekkin led the way and Baal followed. Everyone else remained at the training grounds and resumed their training. The Lord of Wrath dismissed Sekkin after a while much to the spider demon's surprise but he didn't question it. With Lord Baal around, there was nothing to worry about.

Baal knew a thing or two about all Demon Lords. Other than their mandatory throne and castle, every Demon Lord owned an impressive library. It was how the memories of their previous lives were passed down to their future selves. Of course, apart from those kinds of books and journals were the rarer literature collections and somewhat prized possessions of every Demon Lord. Knowledge was power and in the abyss, power was everything. Baal didn't expect for Amon to lead them to his prized collection and pull out a book for Zero.

"This is a martial art manual that I chanced across at an auction. I haven't been able to practice it due to my bulky physical build but it may be suitable for you. Just a word of caution, do not practise the meditation section at the back without a mentor. This is a fighting style for marsupial beastfolks who could incorporate a strange kind of magic into their dance-like routine. Learn it well on top of the emergency combat skills I just taught you. In fact, if you master this, you would never have to use those emergency moves."

Hearing that made Zero happy. He thanked Amon from the bottom of his heart and treated the precious book with care. Amon had an odd feeling going through his chest when Zero cast some protective magic on the manual. The amount of care the teenager gave something Amon considered second-rate trash to him tugged at his conscience. It wasn't as if Amon wanted to give Zero his leftovers, he really thought this strange martial manual would benefit Zero more than him. Still, he felt uncomfortable when Zero flashed a very bright smile at him.

Baal found the way Amon was squirming highly fascinating. The seasoned Demon Lord Warrior was feeling unconfident in front of the least threatening person in all of Hell's existence. An amused snort left him and Amon glared half-heartedly.

"Ahem, in short... we hold a feast tonight. Volcano spit-roast of the Great Scorpion-Lizard Monster King slain today, don't be late!"

Amon made his hasty depart and yelled for Sekkin to show the rest of Wrath's hospitality. Baal mentally noted down Amon's hasty escape to use it as future blackmail. He had a nagging suspicion that Amon was secretly fond of cute and defenceless things. Pity there wasn't many of these in Hell. Those who were cute were often weak and the weak never lived long.

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Zero didn't know what a Great Scorpion-Lizard Monster King was but he certainly knew what a spit-roast meant. His stomach rumbled and his mouth watered. Baal heard that and sighed inwardly. Leave it to Zero to be tempted by food of all things. Even if Baal didn't understand what martial arts were, the Demon Lord knew that anything in that library would be a priceless skill capable of granting the right user with the power of taking down nations.

Zero stored the book in his inventory to read later. Mii chose not to take notice of it. She didn't need any more work added to her packed schedule and Bob didn't blame the strawcherry fairy. The Eternal Dragon chose to study it in Zero's mindscape while the teenager occupied himself with the fortress ruins.

"This used to belong to a very strong warrior king before Lord Amon decided to take over it. The King of that warrior race refused to give it up and fought Lord Amon with its full army but Lord Amon was much too powerful. Even as a single demon, he annihilated the entire kingdom full of skilled warriors."

Zero nodded. No wonder the fortress looked so battered. "He didn't fix it after he won it?"

Sekkin shook his head. "Lord Amon isn't very interested in the condition of the castle. He just needed to have a castle and establish his domain when he became a Demon Lord. He was too lazy to build one so he chose to conquer one instead. The fortress has been like this ever since and nobody dared to repair it. Lord Amon doesn't mind, he is more focussed on spending his resources on grooming a worthy opponent to battle with."

Zero nodded. "Ruth is a rather good fighter. Do you think Amon would be able to win him?"

The assassin chuckled. While the vampire was very agile, Zero was forgetting that Amon was a Demon Lord and had the strongest constitution. How could an elite warrior-mage win him? While it would be a good warm-up for Lord Amon, Ruth Roth wouldn't take any effort to subdue. The power difference was simply too great.

"Zero," Baal called out to his friend seeing Sekkin's silence. "There is a huge difference between a vampire and a Demon Lord. Ruth wouldn't even be able to win against me in a fight, much less Amon."

Zero was surprised when Baal claimed to be able to win Ruth easily. If it was Zero, the teenager knew that he didn't stand a chance. Could it be that Baal was secretly very skilful and was lazy just to hide his talent? No, that wasn't right. Baal was too lazy to do anything. Hiding would be too troublesome. Baal wouldn't even work on it because that took effort.

"I don't understand..."

Baal nodded at Sekkin who brought them to their room. He thanked the spider demon before dismissing him. It was about time to explain to Zero the unfairness of how the world was created. With his naive friend's immature mentality, it would rub many people the wrong way.

"Let's carry on this discussion in the room, shall we?"

Zero agreed and entered the room. Baal took care to cast a magic barrier around them in case anyone was eavesdropping. Zero knew that it was going to be a serious discussion of some sort. Baal wouldn't have bothered otherwise. Ever since they started on the journey to sightsee the different domains, Zero had a strange feeling. Baal was hiding something major from him but the teenager didn't know what it was.

"Baal?"

"Zero, sit and listen. For now, don't ask me any questions and simply listen."

The young doctor sat on the bed and nodded. It was rare that Baal became serious about something so Zero respected it.

Seeing that Zero was giving him his full attention, Baal started the long monologue and broke down the complex theory for Zero. he explained to the teen how the abyss came about, why Demon Lords exist and the relationship between the different life forms that exist. Baal delved a little into the theory of soul counts because the abyss was closely linked with the Purgatory and Zero soaked up the new knowledge thirstily.

Baal then sidetracked into a little bit of history about how hierarchies among demons were formed and how they were observed in each domain. Zero had burning questions when he heard about the nobles and aristocrats. While he understood the nature of Demon Lords, he couldn't accept the way these nobles were created. It was worse when Baal told Zero how the weak were treated.

"How can this be?!" Zero exploded, unable to hold back the anger in him. "Why should the weak be thrown into the wilderness as sacrifices to the miasma and monsters? Why should the strong stay within the safety of the domains and have access to so many scarce resources? This doesn't make sense... everyone could be happy if the strong battled the monsters born from the miasma while the weak resided in the domain that protected them."

Baal smiled. This was the exact reaction he thought Zero would give. "Indeed. Everyone could have lived happily ever after if they did that. However, this is not how the world works. Why should the strong choose to live the uncomfortable life for the sake of the weak? What do they gain out of it? Wouldn't it be much easier to coerce the weak to work for them and promise them protection in exchange for their servitude? They would get the same thing either way."

Zero blinked. "But the weak demons shouldn't be forced to perish in the harsh wilderness..."

"Zero, resources are scarce. As Demon Lords we can provide a stable environment in the limits of our domain. However, it's like trying to feed a hundred starving children with only one bottle of milk. We can't feed them all because everyone will die from starvation. We can only choose who to feed and save. Naturally, we would choose the ones who have the highest chance of surviving so as not to let the precious bottle of milk go to waste."

Zero felt his emotions simmer as logic sank in. A strange sense of hopelessness crept into his heart.

"Do you see it now? You may be able to save Schaf, you may be able to save Kerberos. You could save Ruth as well and even all the students in the Academy. However, you can't save the people you can't reach. Some things are simply beyond your control. It's the same with how Ruth can never win against Amon no matter how hard he practises. It's how the cycle of life works to preserve itself. If possible, nobody wants to be unhappy."

The young doctor fell silent. Mii who was working away paused at Baal's speech. Bob didn't say anything either. They knew how much truth rang in Baal's harsh life lesson but somebody had to do it. The Great Gods certainly weren't going to give Zero the lesson he needed about life. They were more content with pulling the wool over Zero's innocent eyes and whispering to his ears about how beautiful the world was. Truen wasn't going to give him the reality check either, the wood elf was more likely to hold Zero's hand and guide him throughout his adventure while paving the path before Zero's arrival with his underground network. In some ways, Bob and Mii were thankful that as Zero's guardians they were spared the trouble of giving Zero the harsh speech. However, both of them couldn't help but worry about Zero's reaction. Even the closest of friendships will be tested after such a painful slap to one's belief.

Zero's lips trembled but he held back the tears in his eyes. Baal was right. He'd been blind all along. Now that he thought about it, Zero regretted meddling with everything that happened. If he didn't insist on paring Schaf and Kerberos, the gate wouldn't have opened and Rhinestone wouldn't have succeeded. If Zero didn't introduce the cafe and mana gathering lotus, Heaven and Hell wouldn't be at constant friction with each other. Demons didn't need to live in fear and tension that the angels were going to attack again.

Sadly, Zero couldn't undo what he'd done.

"However," Baal continued after seeing how his friend was beginning to understand his mistakes. "It would be a different story if there were a hundred bottles of milk available. The abyss doesn't have a hundred bottles of milk right now but with the mana lotuses, we may be able to achieve that. Not just a hundred... maybe two or three hundred in years to come after the terraforming project. By introducing a new source of food to these demons, we need not fight amongst our kin for sustenance. We can start weeding out the demons who insist on selfishly hoarding the resources that should be shared with others and causing harm onto others for personal gains."

Zero was confused. "But I-"

"We might not be able to do it now. However, we could do it in the future. It's not possible at the moment but there will come a day that Hell will be a better place. Zero, I'm not going to say it twice so listen carefully. There is no other existence more powerful than you out there. Just like the abyss, you can choose to make it a better place or completely annihilate it with your actions. If you chose back then absorb Rhinestone's dimension into the void instead of flooding it, the time-space crack would have caused the imbalance to leak and take its toll on the already unstable abyss plane. It would have been the end of Hell. Likewise, if you didn't introduce the mana lotus flowers then we would still be fighting over the scarce resources internally. Lucifer wouldn't have made up with his soul brothers, Heaven and Hell would still be wary of each other and I may have continued to sleep for a few more hundred years while tormenting myself in the void."

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Zero didn't know what to think. One moment he was told that he was doing it wrong and the next moment, he was told that he was doing good. He didn't understand it.

"Zero, with power comes a burden called responsibility. You can create happiness as quickly as you can take it away with your actions. Don't ever forget that. That's all I want to say. That book Amon gave you is something that can give you the ability to save a thousand lives or reap them. Now let's get going, I can smell the Scorpion-Lizard. It's almost ready."

Baal's retreating figure was strangely engraved into Zero's most precious memories. He looked both weak and strong at the same time. Zero wondered if he could be the same as well, boldly choosing his own path without fear and shouldering such heavy burdens on his shoulders.

"Are you coming?"

Zero smiled and wiped the tears away. "Wait for me!"

Zero yawned and stretched. He had a great night. Volcano spit-roast definitely made its way up to the top 100 of the best things Zero has eaten thus far. He wondered why it wasn't served at the Mega Gourmet competition.

Speaking of the feast, Zero felt as if his body was still not completely awake. Certain spots in his vision were still hazy and Zero couldn't control his legs very well when he tumbled out of bed. The world spun on a strange axis and the boy felt as if it might be easier walking upside-down.

Baal was still soundly asleep when he heard a thud. He tried opening his eyes and groaned almost at once when a sharp pain hit him hard. It had been too long since he last hung out with Amon. The memories were scattered but the Demon Lord managed to piece together the fragments of what happened at the feast last night before adrenaline started pumping through his veins.

"Zero!" he called out and hopped out of the bed he shared with the teen. Zero who was meant to be sleeping beside him was not there and Baal ignored the pain. Finding Zero was more important for now. Who knew what an intoxicated Zero would do given his trouble-attracting nature?

"I'm here..." a cranky voice from somewhere in the room croaked. Baal blinked and turned around, pulling back from the door.

On the ground beside the extravagant bed was Zero with his head face-planted on the carpet and his butt sticking up in the air at a weird angle. It sure looked as if the teen had fallen out of bed. The young doctor was still trying to stand but his movements were sluggish at best. Baal watched as his friend attempted to stand on shaky legs but fell sideways and simply rolled on the floor.

Zero felt as if his head was made a tad too heavy. He was unable to remove it from the floor and wondered what kind of magic was cast on him. Last night had been a very wild experience. Zero remembered being introduced to the strange culture of ripping meat off from the chunk with his teeth and chugging a spicy liquid that burned through his nostrils. The first few mouthfuls of that strange drink were fine but after that... things became slightly disorienting.

"Zero, how do you feel? D*mned Amon!"

Baal helped his friend up and even morphed to his adult form to assist the struggling brunet. It was mandatory for every warrior to drink mead and eat meat at a feast. Baal was no stranger to alcohol but Zero was a mere child not too long ago. Amon's hospitality meant emptying barrels after barrels of that beverage until nobody was sober. Zero collapsed after his second drink but Baal held on until the sixth before managing to find an escape, dragging Zero's deadweight with him.

Zero moaned in pain and clutched at his head. The throbbing pain was dull in the background but it certainly didn't feel pleasant. He felt weak and had this strange feeling of wanting to roll around for no particular reason. Gravity didn't work normally and the young doctor wondered if there was something wrong with Amon's domain.

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"Here, drink this..." Baal helped prop Zero up in bed and had a servant bring them water. Zero accepted the water and emptied the glass within seconds. The water helped but he was still not feeling too good. His stomach disagreed with him and Zero didn't know what it wanted.

Baal studied his friend and noticed the tell-tale signs. Zero was clearly hungover. Sadly, there weren't any known remedies for the side effects of consuming too much alcohol. Demons who drank usually toughed it out until the effects were purged from the system. Still, the Demon Lord of Sloth prepared an empty bucket just in case Zero's system rejected it.

"I feel horrible... what's going on with Amon's domain?"

Baal snorted. Leave it to Zero to think that something was wrong with the domain instead of his body.

"The only thing wrong with Amon's domain is the lack of muscle-brained warriors training at the crack of dawn. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Zero frowned. "I ate and drank something weird... I don't remember a lot. What happened?"

Baal chuckled. "That drink is called mead and it is a form of alcohol. Amon and his underlings love it because of the effects when they get buzzed. Unfortunately, that means their temporary state of happiness will be replaced with a foul mood for the next twelve hours when the side effects of intoxication replace it. What you're feeling right now is called a hangover. Symptoms can range from not being able to walk normally, slurred speech, dizziness, headache and nausea. There isn't any known cure for hangovers in the abyss so I'm afraid both you and I would have to tough it out for the next few hours."

"Lucky you, Heaven has a cure."

Baal bristled. He didn't sense anyone else in the room and instantly activated his most powerful magic, striking at the intruder.

"Relax," Lucifer chuckled and deflected it. For Baal to be so careless, Amon must have really done a number on his best student. "I came here with Zero's gift because I was en route to discuss some matters with Amon."

Baal relaxed when he realised it was only Lucifer. Zero was thrilled to see the fallen angel but winced when the sudden movement made his head twinge in agony.

Lucifer came up to the bed and cast a spell that helped dismiss the aftereffects. Baal was amazed by it and Zero was immensely grateful. Lucifer then went up to Zero and grabbed his wrist before slapping it lightly with a seal that glowed momentarily before disappearing. Zero didn't know what that was and Baal panicked.

"What did you do?" the Demon Lord nearly screamed in alarm.

Lucifer rolled his eyes at Baal's near hysteria. He flicked Baal's nose and sent him flying into the door. Zero watched in horror as his friend was sent flying back before his eyes. He wanted to do something but Lucifer was still holding his wrist. Feeling as if he was in danger, Zero froze up and waited.

Lucifer took a look at the young doctor and wanted to laugh at how defenceless Zero looked at the moment. Truth be told, he was sent by Michael and Uriel to give Zero the mark of an angel so that the kid could access Heaven whenever he wanted to. It was their way of thanks and apology but Lucifer was too proud to admit to being the errand boy so he decided to do it in a roundabout fashion.

Baal was stunned but unhurt. Lucifer seemed slightly out of character for some reason. However, before he could ask anything, the elusive Lord of Pride took his leave in the form of dazzling radiance. Zero was confused. Why would Lucifer pop by and cure their hangovers without saying much then slap a seal on him and leave after sending Baal flying? Sometimes he couldn't understand what the fallen angel was thinking.

[You have new Titles, would you like to view them now?]

Zero blinked. It has been a while since he had seen the system prompt him something. Zero clicked on yes and the system showed him all of his available titles and their effects.

Inheritor of Sins

Effect: Allows titleholder to absorb all sins and convert them to a form of consumable power.

Savior of the Abyss

Effect: Titleholder naturally liked by demons and monsters, increases charisma points when dealing with demon races.

Member of the White Wings Alliance

Effect: Free entry pass to Heaven that doesn't expire.

"Oh? This didn't happen before. Did the system undergo a new upgrade?" Zero wondered to himself. Baal was still trying to trace Lucifer but the old coot has made his clean escape. Clearly, having business with Amon was a lie. He could no longer sense Lucifer's presence in Amon's territory. It was a weird way to start the day.

"What do we do now?" Zero asked Baal who had zoned out.

"Hm? Oh, yes. We should prepare to leave. I doubt Amon will be in a very welcoming mood when he wakes up. I need to send a letter to Shittomi informing her of our arrival so give me ten minutes."

"Okay!"

"One more thing," Baal paused just before he left. "You're not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages from now onwards. It's not good for you."

Zero blinked at the closed door. As a doctor, he knew that alcohol was sometimes used to sterilise wounds and equipment. He didn't know it was drinkable until last night. Judging from the horrible side effects, Zero wouldn't be doing it again. Why did Baal have to sound so serious about it? Perhaps there was more the Demon Lord wasn't telling him.

"Oh well," Zero shrugged. Now that the alcohol had left his system, the young doctor decided to take a look at the book Amon gave him. Baal's ten minutes often meant an hour.

A certain snow queen received an unexpected letter and read the contents with a small smile gracing her usually icy expression.

"Shiro, prepare rooms for our guests. They will be arriving tomorrow."

"Yes, milady," a servant from the shadow greeted before turning into a puddle of water.

The snow queen sighed tiredly and looked at the grey skies. The snow was falling gently after the blizzard storm last night. She heard many things about the boy called Zero from one of her closest friends who now can no longer return to the abyss. The gloomy weather reflected her emotional state perfectly.

Tired. Shittomi had never felt more exhausted. As one of the long-reigning Demon Lords together with Amon and Lucifer, the snow queen had never once rested. She never slept, never napped and never stopped working. She fulfilled her duty perfectly as a Demon Lord, spearheaded the success of the Hannya Investigation House and was even mentor to the younger generation of Demon Lords like Lilith and Mammon.

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Shittomi still remembered the night when Qin Yun sent a message after leaving Hell for a while. She rejoiced and agreed to help her friend when she shared her problems. Zero was someone who came in like a storm and Shittomi wasn't quite expecting to meet the person of her destiny in the manner they did. At long last, she was able to fulfil her mission as Jevy's Fragment but what next? The snow queen felt bitter at her hollowness.

She didn't have a family like Lilith. She didn't have a career or ambition like Mammon. She didn't know how to enjoy life like Baal. She wasn't able to reclaim what she had once lost like Lucifer nor enjoy the struggles of youth like Beelzebub. She couldn't even obsess over something and burn with passion like Amon, Shittomi didn't know why she continued to exist. Now that Qin Yun has chosen her path to continue as a cultivator towards the goal of becoming human and searching for her lover's reincarnated form, Shittomi was once again left behind.

"Don't worry, sister. When you meet Zero, you will receive all the answers that you have always wanted to know."

Shittomi thought back to Qin Yun's last words before she left for her new life on Earth, entrusting the rest of her village to the Demon Lord. The snow queen couldn't understand how Qin Yun was able to make such a decision so easily. Was leaving friends and family something that can be done without contemplation and second thoughts? Shittomi felt hurt and tired. The snow would never be cold to a snow ghost but tonight, the chill in her heart was colder than the temperature outside.

"Qin Yun... I will not let you go that easily. If Zero was the reason why our sisterhood was so easily sold then I shall have to test him myself to see if he is worthy."

"Zero... what are you reading?" Baal asked. They were finally in the carriage after Baal managed to snag a few warmer clothes.

Zero didn't seem to feel the cold thanks to the temperature regulating clothes he wore. Instead of that weird fashion combination, the teen decided to dress down and slipped on his tracksuit. Baal cautioned him about the thick snow and gloomy weather in Shittomi's domain. The Demon Lord also added a brief introduction to one of the older Demon Lords. Shittomi was also known as the snow queen not because her domain was perpetually winter but because of her icy demeanour.

In addition to being the first female Demon Lord, Shittomi was also the leader of the Hannya Investigation House who provided some of the best-known spies and information brokers. Lilith's information trading network was modelled after Shittomi's but according to Baal, nobody could beat Shittomi when it came to information gathering. She had eyes and ears in every corner of the abyss and beyond. When compared to the snow queen, even Lilith appeared as an amateur.

Zero didn't appear to have heard Baal the first time so Baal asked again. After all, it was quite rare to see the doctor-in-training to take interest in books when he could easily enjoy the scenery in the comfortable carriage. This got Baal curious.

"Oh, it's just something Bob helped to translate. The book that Amon gave me was a little too complex for my understanding. It looked like a series of moves that could easily be practised on my own but there was a section that contained a manual full of philosophical riddles. Bob rewrote it in a way that I could understand and these are a replica of his original notes."

Baal didn't know what to say. Didn't Amon warn him about the last section of the book? Why did Zero choose to tackle that part first without anyone to guide him? It's not that Baal didn't trust Bob. he knew that the Eternal Dragon would never do anything deliberately to out his master in harm's way. However, Zero didn't have a very good track record of listening to his mentors. Baal wasn't convinced that the teenager was able to read it without pulling off anything funny.

"What does it say?"

Zero hummed. "I don't really understand it but there are some really weird metaphors that I can't understand. 'Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water' is one of the translated notes I have problems understanding. How does becoming water help in a fight?"

Baal blinked. "Are you sure Bob translated that correctly?"

Zero nodded and passed Baal his poorly bound book. The Demon Lord looked through Zero's terrible scrawls and frowned in distaste at the horrible penmanship. The first line of that made the Demon Lord scratch his head. While he was literate, the translation made no sense. The Eternal Dragon was a wise being. Surely there had to be a reason for the cryptic message. Zero was right for once. The translated notes didn't make much sense. On the bright side, if Zero was having difficulty understanding the notes then the chances of him getting into trouble were lower.

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As the two friends debated on the meaning of becoming like water, the carriage drew closer to Shittomi's freezing territory. Baal was kind enough to cast a heat regulating magic barrier so that their coachman wouldn't freeze. It was a long journey from Amon's burning domain to Shittomi's freezing one. The Lord of Laziness didn't want to know why two extremely contrasting domains existed side by side. All he knew was that the journey back from Shittomi's domain to his would be a long trip.

"It's getting late. We should stop to get some rest for the night," Baal told Zero and the coachman demon who disappeared into the shadows at once to recuperate mana. Zero was thankful that the Scorpion-Lizard Monster King was huge and there were plenty of leftovers they could take with them. Baal complained about the cold while they ate but other than that, dinner was a quiet event.

They decided to sleep in the carriage instead of Zero's lamp after Baal cast some camouflage magic and defensive barriers around. The Demon Lord told Zero that he should experience camping out in the wild every once in a while. The teenager didn't know how sleeping in a carriage in the cold and a blizzard was considered living it the humble way. Still, he didn't complain. Zero enjoyed it when Baal snuggled up to him and they fell asleep quickly.

The blizzard had died down by the next morning. Zero and Baal decided to get into the lamp to freshen up. They were going to see a Queen after all and unkempt appearances didn't cut it. While Baal was normally sloppy around others, he knew when to show respect to a lady when he saw one.

"Change into something more appropriate," the Demon Lord told Zero as they got closer to Shittomi's ice palace.

Zero gave him a strange look but complied. He chose to go with the stiff formal suit that Baal insisted on. Baal also transformed into a young gentleman decked out in the regular aristocratic attire instead of his pyjamas.

When they arrived in the winter zone, Zero was amazed by how beautiful it looked. The demons that resided in the freezing domain had thick furs or weren't affected by the cold. Most were undead species and Zero blinked at how some ghosts just passed through walls. Of all the domains he'd been to, the Envy domain has to have the grandest sight. Initially, he thought that Mammon had the best castle with the pristine white walls, glass windows and beautiful city skyline. Then Zero visited the Academy and thought that Lucifer had one of the best designs. He then saw Lilith's unique castle build that was on par with Lucifer's Academy but Shittomi's ice palace was on a whole new plateau above Lucifer and Lilith's castles.

The walls were white, the windows had a bluish tinge to them. Everything was made up of sparkly solid ice or packed snow. There wasn't much light there but whatever little light was captured and reflected in an artistic manner that reminded Zero of Lucifer's radiant Academy. The castle build was very similar to Lilith's castle but a lot grander. The courtyard was massive and the paths never-ending. There were many smaller villas on the castle grounds as the carriage passed by them and Baal explained how Shittomi had a very strict hierarchy in her domain. The ones they saw in the outer town were commoners and refugees while the ones residing on the inner grounds of the palace were servants working for the Demon Lord. The further they were from the main palace, the lower in ranking they were.

"Does anyone live in the main palace aside from Shittomi?"

Baal shrugged. He didn't ask as it never intrigued him. "Maybe, maybe not. She's not someone easy to talk to and deal with. Shittomi is a lot older than I am. She was Lilith's mentor and often helps Lucifer from behind the scenes. The Hannya Investigation House has a long history under her leadership and they've never once failed their missions."

Zero gulped. No wonder Baal had so much respect for the Winter Queen. From Baal's introduction, Shittomi would be somewhere on the same level as Lucifer. Her importance in the abyss could never be replaced. Zero wondered what it took to get to that level. From what he understood after knowing Baal for a while now, the higher a person climbs, the lonelier it becomes. Baal still had Mammon and Lilith with the occasional interference of Lucifer but what did someone like Shittomi have? From what little Baal knew about her, Zero didn't think that Shittomi had many friends or family. Even if she did, they wouldn't be able to share her sufferings.

"We're here," he told Zero and alighted with Zero following behind him. The main palace was raised very high from the ground. There had to be at least a few thousand steps to the very top of it. Zero thought Baal would use magic to fly past the long flight of slippery stairs and was surprised when Baal proved him wrong.

The Demon Lord started climbing the long flight of stairs one step at a time. Zero was stunned and stood rooted to the spot. Baal noticed the lack of footsteps behind him after twenty-odd steps and turned around to see a dumbfounded Zero looking at him with the most confused expression.

"What are you waiting for?"

Zero blinked. "You're not going to fly or teleport?"

Baal blinked and then chuckled. "Nice one. Are you sure you want to fly and teleport within the domain of Envy full of undead? While they aren't the strongest foot soldiers, they are very skilled in soul magic. If Shittomi doesn't want to welcome anyone, they will not make it past her barrier."

Zero raised a brow. "I thought soul magic wouldn't affect you. Your soul is bound to the plane."

Baal chuckled. "I wouldn't die but it can be very uncomfortable. Besides, there's a shortcut. We're not climbing the full four thousand and seventy-eight steps to get to the main door. We're using the side entrance."

Zero didn't know how to take Baal seriously. Where was the shortcut on this long flight of never-ending stairs? Still, the young doctor followed closely. He wasn't complaining about having to climb the stairs especially if Baal was taking the initiative. The lazy Demon Lord needed exercise even if he was all-powerful and eternally healthy.

By the two-hundredth step, Zero was beginning to see no end to the climb. There was virtually no visible progress towards the top. The young doctor wondered if soul magic would affect him if he cheated a little. He shook his head to rid the thoughts quickly. Baal was influencing him way too much!

It was about a quarter of the way through that Baal suddenly vanished. Zero panicked and then remembered that it was the shortcut the Demon Lord mentioned earlier. He took the leap of faith and trusted his friend, stepping on the same spot he saw Baal disappear from. Nothing happened at first and Zero was ready to activate the party call when he felt the world turn upside-down on him.

An involuntary scream left his throat when he felt cold hands grip him from the dark. he plunged into what felt like cold water and slowly sank to the bottom, unable to move his limbs. What was going on?

[Dimension crack detected. Would you like to activate Beacon Blessing?]

Zero took a look at the system prompted notification and declined. Baal wouldn't lie to him, this must be temporary. Mii must have upgraded because the system has gotten a lot better at being proactive. Zero wondered what happened to the strawcherry fairy. He hasn't heard from her in a while now.

Zero eventually broke free of that slow fall and landed on the equally cold ground with a thump. There was something soft and slushy cushioning the impact and Zero guessed that it was snow. He opened his eyes and wasn't disappointed to find some shaved ice.

"Welcome to my castle, Zero."

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The young doctor stood up and tried to balance himself on the slippery foothold. Shittomi was as he remembered her to be with red eyes, black hair and white-bluish skin. Remembering the basic etiquette when dealing with royalty, Zero bowed and introduced himself.

"Greetings, your majesty."

Shittomi had a faint smile on her lips but it was barely visible. Zero brushed it off as a trick of the light. He had questions to ask the snow queen but held his tongue. He looked around discreetly trying to find Baal but he did not sense the Demon Lord in the same room.

"It's an honour to meet the true saviour of the abyss. Shall we head to the tea room? Your friend Baal is waiting for us."

Zero nodded, not trusting himself enough to speak in a formal manner. Little did he know what tea room meant.

The tea room was a very small room furnished with only the bare basics. It had practically nothing and no servants were allowed inside the room while the meeting was in session. Shittomi sat on the opposite end of the table while Baal sat beside Zero with his back straight, looking every ounce of regal. Zero tried to copy that posture initially but gave up after his back started hurting and opted for something less rigid but maintaining the same dignity.

"It has been some time since I last saw you, Lord Baal. You've grown."

"Indeed, it has. I owe it all to both yours and Lord Lucifer's guidance."

Zero was mentally shocked at the complete change. Was this the same sloppy Demon Lord who refused to do work and would never change out of his sleepwear? The young doctor had a hard time processing it. If meeting Solo was life-changing, Baal's perfect acting was world-changing.

Shittomi smiled as if Baal's behaviour was the norm. They waited in tense silence as the tea slowly came to a boil in a small teapot on top of the tealight candle burner. Slowly but surely the leaves in the water began to swirl and the colour of the liquid started to change. The fragrance filled the room, easing some of Zero's tension but not his guard. After what he heard about Shittomi from Baal, there was no way he would think that the snow queen only wanted to share a cup of tea with them.

"Alright, showtime's over!" Baal announced loudly startling Zero.

Shittomi then waved her arm and had tight gown completely changed into what looked like woollen sleepwear. Her waist-long hair was now pulled into a neat ponytail and there was a pair of round wire-rimmed glasses on her nose. Baal transformed back into his 'energy-conserving' form in his usual nightie.

Zero's brain couldn't process the change fast enough and gaped like a fish. Shittomi raised a brow at Zero who was now the only person dressed in formal wear. the show was over, why wasn't the kid changing? Baal followed Shittomi's line of sight and snickered at Zero's dumb expression.

"Are you going to continue and stare at blank space or change into your tracksuit?"

Baal's voice snapped the young doctor out of his thoughts. "What's going on?"

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Shittomi yawned and snuggled into the table. Ever since the introduction of kotatsus, the icy queen couldn't stay away from it for more than an hour. Baal was certainly one of her favourite guests because of it. While Shittomi was known to be a very unsociable butterfly to outsiders, the people in her inner circle knew how much of a cat she was. The ice queen loved warm places, enjoyed food and sleep more so than average people and just wanted to spend her free time lazing in bed with a good book in hand. That icy persona was built by Lucifer who thought it would benefit the snow ghost who was often easily taken advantage of. Her kindness made it easy for people to worm their way in and hurt her.

"Don't be so sulky... that was all for show. You can relax now. So, tell me more about Half Moon village. My sister left me behind so suddenly, I'm still very sad that she chose to walk the path of humanity. What did the last few centuries of sisterhood mean to her? If it wasn't because of your meddling to absorb sins, I wouldn't have to take in so many baby foxes!"

Zero didn't know what to say when Shittomi started to blabber away. He didn't know when she pulled out a bottle of alcohol but he was more stunned at the sight of Baal refilling her empty cup. What happened to the tea?

"Hic-! Qian Qiu is such a vixen... hic! What does sisterhood even mean with men in the equation? Hic! All males should simply perish... I should have a castle full of adorable girls and none of those stinky men around to taint their beauty... hic! What's so good about men anyway? There are only trash and secretly trash- hic!"

Zero didn't know how to respond to that verbal vomit. He looked to Baal for help who only shook his head and handed her a handkerchief while the snow queen cried ice balls. She didn't have anything to wipe away with how all here tears were turning into the most beautiful ice crystals. All he picked up from that was something about sisterhood and Half Moon village.

"Can I ask, who is this Qian Qiu person? Does she reside in Half Moon village? I could pass them a message if you want..."

Baal smacked his forehead literally when Zero said that. If the teen kept his mouth shut, the storm could easily have passed with just some tears, drunken drama and all would be well. Leave it to Zero to point out the elephant in the room as always.

It took Shittomi some time to process what Zero was saying and the results were priceless. The tears stopped, the gloomy weather outside cleared and there were at least five rainbows in the sky now. From the outer town, some undead had to hide indoors again. Others wondered what happened to make their queen so happy. Rumours were beginning to circulate but Zero wasn't privy to their details. He only paid attention to Baal's face that looked as if he just swallowed some fish bile.

"Do you really mean it?"

Zero was suddenly unsure if he should say yes. After two moments of hesitation, he nodded his head and Shittomi squealed before jumping over the kotatsu and launching herself into his arm, nuzzling into his neck.

Baal rolled his eyes as Zero yelped at the sudden attack. If he thought that the last visit would progress smoothly, he should've known. Shittomi was going to be a real handful and now Baal felt like he had to babysit two children.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he sighed and watched as Shittomi stuffed the half-emptied bottle of wine in Zero's mouth. At the sight of an intoxicated Zero, Baal threw his hands up and walked out. He wasn't going to deal with them until they were both drunk and out of commission.

Shiro glanced at the teenager who was the reason why their leader chose to abandon them. Hatred bloomed in her heart but she suppressed it. Queen Shittomi did say that they will be given a chance to test and torment him after all.

Baal noticed the intruder's presence but decided to pretend to be asleep. Thankfully, she had enough sense to leave without trying anything funny. He did promise Shittomi not to cause trouble for her but if anyone tried to hurt Zero, blood will be spilt.

Once the fox spirit left, Baal decided to leave the room. Shittomi was many things but a fool she was not. Most important discussions would never be held during the day, that was merely a show to fish out the traitors and those who weren't loyal.

"You're here," Shittomi greeted as Baal closed the secret wall. They were in her library and Shittomi poured Baal a cup of snow flower tea.

Baal nodded in greeting and accepted the tea gratefully. It was still freezing despite the temperature regulating magic. In the Envy domain, Shittomi's area effect was very powerful. Not even Lucifer would remain unaffected if he chose to stay in the domain for more than a week. The melancholic chill starts to seep into the soul after a while.

"What are you planning?"

Shittomi smiled. She heard a lot about Baal's special friendship with Zero. The teenager didn't appear to be much at first but after a brief tea/alcohol session, she knew could understand why Baal and Qin Yun were so charmed by him. Shittomi had to admit, Zero was the light that the Great One could never become. It was funny how fate worked.

"Nothing much. I'm just using him to sort out the mess left behind by my dear sister."

Baal felt his eyebrow twitch. He didn't like how Shittomi admitted to using Zero like a tool so easily. Of course, the snow queen meant nothing bad by it but Baal still bristled at it.

"Don't be so worked up, have some faith in the young doctor. The fox spirit village reveres Qian Qiu as their leader a lot. For her to pursue her dreams and leave them all behind can be quite the shock. I am happy for my sister and friend of many years but she could've given us more warning. While I'm not interested in the business collaboration you and Mammon have, I am keen on borrowing that connection portal to Half Moon village from time to time."

Baal rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do with the foxes? You do know that the option to travel to and fro Earth will be implemented at the later stages right? Lucifer does intend to open up options of inter-plane travelling. Zero's terraforming plan would require all the helping hands we can get. Our economy needs a severe boost."

Shittomi looked slightly offended at that. "Of course, I do! Even Amon has started training demon warrior to be more mercenary-like. I'm just training my girls to blend in with the Earthlings more. It's all coming together nicely... These foxes just need a little more easing into the dealings, you know?"

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Baal wasn't buying it but didn't call her bluff outrightly. Shittomi sulked. "You're no fun!" she declared.

"Alright, I'm only doing it because the girls want to test Zero themselves. If he passes their tests they have a favour to ask him."

"And if he doesn't?"

Shittomi shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Baal made a face but let it drop. He would find out tomorrow for himself what these girls wanted.

Zero didn't know why everyone was in a rush. Shittomi didn't explain why he had to go on an errand but complied anyway. He didn't remember much of what happened in the tea room but swore that he would never again consume any alcoholic drinks.

Baal took a short nap in the carriage while Zero was left to wonder what was going to happen. According to the snow queen, Zero was going to represent her to address some of the problems a village on the outskirts of her domain faced. He wasn't given any details but Shittomi did caution him about making promises. They were still demons and words held power.

Zero marvelled at the breathtaking white scenery. It was a very rare sight but not unwelcomed. Zero embraced the distraction and change of pace. He was sorely in need of some solitude to sort his thoughts out. It was subtle but he knew Baal as up to something. It wasn't like the Demon Lord to be so meticulous about planning trips and accompanying him on his travels. Something was definitely up but Zero couldn't figure out what Baal was planning.

It was obvious to him that all the Demon Lords were bidding farewell to him in their own ways. Some of them were very hospitable and made Zero feel at home. Some were very professional and kicked him out as soon as they were done with what they had to do, not that Zero minded in the least. Strangely, he didn't feel very lonely having to part with the Demon Lords he'd met so far with the small exception of Beelzebub. At some point of their tour, the young doctor knew that he would also have to say goodbye to Baal. He didn't know what Baal was planning but knowing his friend, Baal wouldn't go as over the top as some of the other Demon Lords had.

Still, to run an errand as a parting gift? It sounded a little strange to even Zero. Also, the name Qian Qiu sounded strangely familiar. The young doctor just couldn't put a finger to where he'd come across it. The bigger problem was understanding that strange book Amon gifted him. Zero wondered if Ruth would be able to comprehend the translated riddles. Speaking of that vampire... Zero didn't know how to feel about having to train in combat. He understood the importance of being able to defend himself if the need arose but shouldn't magic and the unique clothes the Great Gods gifted him be enough?

"What's on your mind?" Baal yawned. It was difficult to rest when he could practically hear the loud turning of gears in Zero's mind.

Zero hesitated for about a minute. Baal didn't rush him. Ever since Zero matured into a teenager, he noticed the little changes in his friend. Zero had become more observant and picked up on the things he usually would have glanced over as a child. His sixth sense was becoming more powerful as if there was something guiding his intuition. Baal also noticed how Zero would analyze with his mind more than following his emotions. It wasn't a bad change but sometimes Baal missed the naive kid he could bully for his amusement.

"Bell... you do plan on saying goodbye to me properly, right? You won't just disappear on me silently in the middle of my sleep or something... right?"

Baal blinked. "Was this worrying you the whole time?"

Zero didn't answer and Baal had to hold his laughter back. He took that back... Zero was still plenty of adorable even after becoming a teenager.

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"Don't be silly, what good would that do for me to disappear on you? I still haven't given you my gift, have I?"

Zero looked suspicious at once. "I didn't think you'd put in the effort to prepare anything as grand. For all I know, you accompanying me on the grand tour of the abyss could be my gift."

Baal looked offended but there was no bite in his tone. "The nerve of you! Brat, do you know how much you owe me? I have to clean up after your mess and you can't even be satisfied with my glorified presence? Just so you know, there isn't a better tour guide in the abyss than me so you shouldn't complain!"

Zero snorted and Baal leapt from his seat, tickling Zero into apologising.

Once the laughter died down and the two friends were huddled underneath a blanket, Baal cuddled up to Zero's side and yawned. "No, I won't disappear on you in your sleep so stop worrying about the non-existent things already. We have an errand to run. I'll give it about half an hour before we need to work again so if you want to catch up on some rest, now's a good time for some shut-eye."

Zero nodded and closed his eyes.

Not two minutes into the silence, Baal felt a heavy weight on top of his head and growled lightly. The Demon Lord shoved his friend off and scowled as Zero's head flopped from side to side with the twists and turns the carriage made. So much for getting some shut-eye now...

Zero was woken up by a grumpy Demon Lord and quickly wiped the drool at the side of his mouth. They'd arrived at the village that looked a lot more like a luxurious spa resort. Zero was intrigued by the stone garden and long flight of stone stairs that didn't seem to lead anywhere.

"Is this the entrance of the village?"

Baal nodded. He didn't seem to be too impressed with this level of illusion. Seeing Zero's troubled expression at the long flight of stairs, Baal didn't think Zero had figured it out yet. Whatever Shiro wanted to do, Baal promised Shittomi that he wouldn't interfere with the foxes' tests unless it put Zero in danger.

"Greetings," a fox demon greeted. She wore a white cloth veil over her head that covered her face so Zero couldn't make out her features. Only the bushy reddish-orange tail gave him a clue of what kind of demon she was.

"Hello! I'm Zero. Queen Shittomi sent me on an errand to this village. May I know whom I should be speaking to?"

The fox demon bowed and told the guests to follow her lead. Zero didn't ask why they weren't climbing up that flight of stone stairs and followed behind as closely as he could. hey entered a snow-covered bamboo forest that their guide wove through with no difficulty. As the got deeper into the grove, the snow got heavier and it was becoming more difficult to see. Thankfully, Baal and Zero had no problems dealing with the harsh climate. The doctor silently worried about the fox demon who wasn't as warmly dressed. He tried calling out to her but the wind was very loud and his voice simply got drowned out.

Despite the accumulating snow on the ground, the fox demon didn't slow down. Zero was having some keeping up with his feet sinking six inches into the slush. Baal had given up on walking altogether and levitated behind Zero. The brunet envied the flight ability so much and wondered if he could request for Baal to teach him how to fly as a parting gift.

It was an outright blizzard by now and Zero realised in horror that he'd lost sight of their guide. Thankfully, he still had Baal with him.

"Bell, did you see which direction she went in?"

The Demon Lord didn't answer so Zero turned around to check. He felt his heart drop when he couldn't find his friend.

"Bell?"

There was no response.

"Bell, don't do this to me... I know you're here somewhere."

Still no answer. Zero tried to think through it rationally and pulled out his map. Even if he lost track of Baal, surely he could find him on the mini-map.

If he could find him on the map...

"What's going ?" he asked but there was no response from either of his assistants. Zero tried peering into his mindscape but to his horror, he found it empty. Mii and Bob had left it completely and Zero couldn't detect their presence. While Zero could account for Bob's absence, he couldn't understand why Mii who was part of the system would also vanish without a trace.

Panic gripped the teen when he received no response. He quickly checked his contact list and reached for the intergalactic communicator. There was no signal for some reason and despite pouring in more than the required mana for operation, Zero couldn't get the device to work.

Defeated, Zero allowed his composure to crumble and sank into the piling snow in the middle of the blizzard. His mind was in a state of chaos similar to the weather. It didn't matter if the snow was piling up rapidly or if his lower half was already buried in the thick layer of white. He didn't have contact with anyone, he didn't know where he was. Zero was stranded just like the first time he was launched onto Sedna's seed planet. The same feeling of helplessness bubbled and Zero dry heaved, feeling ill.

Somewhere from outside that illusionary maze, Baal observed with tightly clenched fists as Zero suffered a panic attack. Shiro had a smug smirk on her face and a cold look in her eyes. For someone so infinitely powerful, he was unbelievably fragile. An unworthy master to serve under. She couldn't understand how their proud leader of the foxes could submit to such a weak and pathetic creature.

The fox demon observed as Zero clutched at his chest and hyperventilated in the blizzard. That puny human clearly didn't amount to much without the support of his more powerful friends. Queen Shittomi had given her word that she could test Zero to her heart's content as long as no harm would befall him. Lord Baal would not interfere unless Zero's life was in peril. Currently, all of these were happening in Zero's mind. None of it was real so Baal could only observe from the side as Zero struggled to pull himself together in the middle of the stone garden.

To Shiro's surprise, Zero closed his eyes and evened out his irregular breathing. She wasn't prepared to feel such a strong surge of mana and lost control of the illusion over the teen. Noticing Shiro's shock, Baal felt himself feeling proud of his friend. The previous Zero would've cried out for his help to sneeze an illusion away or called upon anyone to get him out of the sticky situation. He would probably have resorted to using the aces the Great Gods have given him too instead of resolving it on his own. The use of Judgement that started it all was a perfect example.

Once Shiro lost control of the illusion, Zero found himself in a very different place. The harsh blizzard was gone and he found himself sitting in the middle of a stone garden formation instead of the snowy bamboo grove. Baal and the mysterious fox demon guide were standing there less than twenty meters from him and Zero's face lit up.

"There you are! I was looking for you," Zero bounced over to his friend who had an amused look on his face.

"Is that enough evidence of his strength or would you like to continue the tests?" he asked Shiro who had an ugly expression.

Zero didn't remember doing anything to warrant such intense hate from the guide. The problem must be very deeply rooted if she was being so hostile. Remembering his mission from Queen Shittomi, Zero remembered his manners. he bowed and apologised to Shiro who didn't know how to react.

"My apologies, I must be inadequate and lost my way back there. Thank you for waiting for me and forgive my tardiness."

Shiro couldn't be mad at Zero's sincere apology. The teen did appear truly apologetic for something that wasn't his fault. Although she still hated the young doctor for robbing the village of foxes their leader, she was beginning to understand what Qin Yun saw in this promising youth. She heard a little about what Zero had done for the abyss. The terraforming project was going to benefit her village a lot and Zero's legendary healing skills who helped Lord Beelzebub against the crazy professor was enough to make Shiro put her personal dislike for the teen aside.

"Do not apologise, it wasn't your fault. Since you've passed the test I would like to ask for a favour from you on behalf of the fox village."

Zero blinked. He didn't think that the fox lady would let it go that easily. If she was given the choice, Zero was sure she would've grilled him alive.

"I'll be honoured to be of assistance," he replied simply and Shiro pulled out a letter from her sleeve pocket.

"Please pass this letter along to our leader in Half Moon village, she goes by the name of Qin Yun now. Due to circumstances, we aren't able to contact her directly..."

Zero accepted the letter with both hands and put it away in his void storage so that he wouldn't lose it. Now everything made sense! He didn't think that Qian Qiu and Qin Yun would be the same person because Zero thought the village might have been related to Coux instead. Come to think about it, he should've made the connection earlier with the fox traits.

"I understand, I will pass it to her personally. Is there anything else you would like me to relay to her? I won't be able to stay at Half Moon village for long but I can definitely pass on messages from time to time..."

Shiro blinked. "How? The connection between Hell and Earth is very limited as of now...The leader is no longer a demon and cannot return to the abyss. We cannot leave the abyss unless someone summons for us and forms a contract..."

Zero grinned and sent the startled fox demoness a friend invite. "It's called a party call. You know how to use telepathy magic right? It works in a similar way with the exception of distance not being a factor. With this, you can reach out to me at any time. I might not respond right away but I will know. Unfortunately, I do not know of a way to set up a direct line of long-range communication between planes for you and Qin Yun directly. It's something that's unique only to me at this point... sorry about it."

Shiro shook her head. "No, thank you very much. Does this mean that we can pass on messages to the leader through you from now on? How frequent can we do it?"

Zero thought about it for a while. "It could be daily if you wanted to. I do have to warn you that I don't have the ability to pass on messages without knowing them first so it would be difficult for you to pass on a message without me being privy to its contents..."

Shiro immediately told the other fox demons about the great news and before Zero knew it, he was swarmed by overly eager fox demons who wanted the same special ability.

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Baal slunk away, not wanting to be part of the mess Zero created. Maybe Zero still hasn't matured. He might be able to save himself from a pinch but his common sense was still severely lacking.

Zero spluttered and tried to run away from the sea of boobs but failed as the ladies grabbed him and tried to charm their way into having Zero add them as friends.

"B-Bell? I need some help her- Mmph!"

Baal only watched his suffering friend from a roof nearby. The Demon Lord stretched and yawned. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Baal decided that Zero wasn't going to die from it so he decided to do the second-best thing in the world and made himself comfortable.

There was no better lullaby than his best friend's desperate cries for help.

Zero was exhausted and groaned in the hot tub. Baal didn't speak about the fiasco that happened a few hours ago. He didn't think his friend would be foolish enough to accept the request of hundreds of fox spirits. Even if the Demon Lord didn't want to interfere, he eventually had to and drew the line for the overly excited vulpines.

Zero sighed through his nose and groaned as another message popped into his head. The system was very active in relaying messages and Zero wondered if he made the mistake of opening the can of worms. These girls were RELENTLESS!

"Ask for a mute function," Baal suggested after seeing his friend zone out in the tab for the umpteenth time.

Zero groaned. Mii was still working on it so the young doctor had to deal with the prompting of system messages about every new message he received. At least giving administration rights to one friend in his list was better than adding the whole village into his list. At least it was organised chaos instead of an unmanageable one.

"I can't speed up the research process, Mii is still coordinating with Steve Jobs... Apparently, even the God of Technology requires time to understand this strange magic coding that was left behind. It's not something Steve is familiar with."

Baal didn't know how the 'coding' science worked but if Steve Jobs couldn't figure it out then nobody could. "Can't you fix it with magic?" he asked.

Zero sighed and massaged his temple. The frown deepening. "No, Merlin's magic isn't more powerful than my past self. If only I could remember how I created the system..."

Baal didn't say anymore. Truth be told, there was one other solution to making that message prompt stop but Zero wouldn't like it. The two friends stewed in the bath for a little longer before Baal excused himself and got out of the hot tub. Zero waved lazily at his friend, choosing to relax a little more.

"Shittomi..."

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The Snow Queen looked up, not very surprised to see the Lord of Laziness. "How is Zero?"

"He succeeded in the mission," Baal reported and after a little hesitation, decided to give a little more details.

Shittomi couldn't hold in the peals of laughter as she listened to Baal's sardonic recount about Zero's generosity. While the young doctor was a real gem full of generosity, the vulpines were shameless demons who would use everything at their disposal to rip their victims off.

"How did he react to their enthusiasm? They didn't bother concealing their fangs and claws back there... I would have to retrain the whole lot of them before they're ready to join the ranks of my Hannya House."

Baal shrugged. Hannya House was a group of very skilful demons who collected information from their targets and reported it back to Shittomi. Many demons under Shittomi's domain had one foot in the Energy Plane. They do not always possess a physical body and if not for Shittomi's unique Domain Ability as a Demon Lord, none of these souls who had departed from their bodies could remain in the abyss. To them, the Envy Domain was a rare sanctuary. Unable to return to other Planes without escaping judgement from King Yama and unable to continue living in the abyss without being returned to the void, Shittomi's domain was the only other place they could turn to. Many of these beings had unfinished business and the only pass to other planes was to enter into a soul binding contract with Shittomi.

"Will you take in those girls? You do know that their wish to transverse to the mortal realm will only result in heartache. Qin Yun wants to become a human and by doing so, she is subjected to the cycle of reincarnation without exception."

Shittomi smiled mysteriously. "The soul contract is more complicated than you know, my boy. But to answer your question, I will not be taking these girls in until they've proven their loyalty to me. Zero's offer to play the messenger was a little out of my calculations but it doesn't put a wrench in my plans. You just need to fulfil your part in this plan and we can stop this never-ending cycle of misery. Don't let Zero's efforts go to waste, the gate hasn't been fully closed yet. We can still use it to access Earth with a more peaceful campaign."

The Demon Lord nodded. Lucifer's grand plan hasn't changed. Demons were still going to break out of the abyss. The plane was starting to reject them with the threat of the void pulling it in. Beelzebub's birth was no coincidence. The power of six Lords wasn't enough to hold it together any longer. While Zero's plan to introduce mana producing flowers and terraforming the plane was a great idea, they were running out of time.

"I will send him away first thing tomorrow morning. The portal to Half Moon will be ready soon, Hua Tuo has spoken with the villagers and they have agreed to help us guard that portal. Will you stop Qin Yun from leaving? If she stays in that village, she could live forever even as a mortal."

Shittomi was silent for a while. "As a sister, I want her to pursue her own happiness. As a Queen, losing my closest confidant is a huge tragedy. I cannot tell her what to do, I can only watch over her soul and hope for the best."

Baal didn't say anymore. He bowed and took his leave, teleporting over to the village of foxes. Zero might not like what he was about to do but comparing the importance of his friend's sleep and his anger? The answer was a no-brainer.

Zero didn't know when the noises in his head stopped but he didn't question it, very thankful that even fox demons slept. He remembered that as a child, staying past the midnight mark would be incredibly tough for him. His eyes would involuntarily close and staying up past the midnight mark in his teenage body was a whole new experience. Zero never knew how quiet and eerie the night could be. In the eyes of his child self, the night was always peaceful and calming.

The click of the door opening slowly made Zero jump a little before he felt that familiar mana and smiled.

"You're back!"

Baal nodded and climbed into bed beside Zero. For some reason, Zero and Baal decided that if the bed was big enough for two, they wouldn't sleep separately. The Demon Lord didn't know if he would be able to get reaccustomed to not having someone else sleep beside him now that he'd gotten so comfortable with Zero's warmth beside him.

"You're not asleep yet," Baal pointed out and Zero looked sheepish.

"They were noisy till a while ago but once the notifications stopped I couldn't seem to sleep in ease... have you ever thought that the night was a scary thing?"

"How so?" asked Baal. For Zero to say such a thing... Baal didn't know if he was meant to feel offended as someone who once lived in the continuous nights back in the graveyard.

Zero squirmed a little under Baal's staring. "I just feel like it's different after midnight. I don't know if that happened back in Coux's castle or even yours but it's a little strange here."

Understanding flickered in Baal's eyes and he chuckled. "You're right. It's not normal to feel this way at my place or at Coux's. Shittomi's domain is slightly special and midnight till the early hours of the morning is when things become most lively. You're just feeling the tension of the energy lingering in her domain, nothing to really worry about. Besides, I'm here. Go to sleep already, nobody will disturb us until it's time to go."

Zero didn't understand everything Baal just said but nodded anyway, too tired to care. His brain did pick on the words leaving and it made him slightly sad.

"Are we finally going to Roth Village?"

Baal nodded. "Yes. I believe your vampire will be waiting for us there. It's not very far from here so I can teleport us there in three or four tries."

Zero yawned and snuggled into the blanket. It didn't take long before he was asleep and Baal followed soon after.

The morning was cold and silent. Zero took a minute to admire the pure white view outside the window. The snow had piled up over the night and everything sparkled. It felt very tranquil and the young doctor decided to change back to his usual travelling garb complete with the fashion trainwreck.

Baal woke up to see Zero already dressed and ready for the day. Zero must have guessed that they would be leaving for Half Moon Village today with his getup. The Demon Lord chose to be oblivious to the choice of wardrobe and clambered out of bed before cleaning his teeth.

Once the two friends were presentable, they made their way down to the dining where Queen Shittomi was already waiting with a trail of servants behind her. They were all wearing veils over their faces. Zero couldn't make out their faces at all but he recognised some of the characters stitched onto the cloths covering their faces.

"Good morning, Zero."

"Good morning," Zero returned the greeting but still had his eyes stray curiously at the people waiting motionlessly behind the Queen as he dug into the food. It was a little odd eating shaved ice for breakfast but the young doctor wasn't complaining. Baal also seemed to enjoy the food so it was all good.

They ate in a light-hearted mood with Shittomi listening to Zero's stories and Baal's friendly jab at his friend's intellect. They made quick progress and it wasn't even near noon when the maids came to clear the dishes away. The mood took a turn for something more sombre after that and Zero sat a little straighter.

"Zero, thank you for your assistance with the fox village. I would also like to thank you on behalf of all the demons in the abyss that you helped save with your actions back at the Academy. Your plan to terraform Hell and the negotiations that happened with Heaven after were things that couldn't have happened if not for you. as such, there is one gift I would like you to have before you return to Earth."

With a flick of her wrist, the ten mysterious servants took a step forward and removed their face masks. Zero didn't realise it earlier but the room was cleared of other servants. Looking at the servants made Zero slightly surprise. He'd seen his fair share of different races and had no problems accepting their individual uniqueness. However, seeing ten exact same copies of the same person standing side by side just made his mind freeze.

"This is the face of the Hannya House's investigators. It doesn't matter what origin they had. When they become an investigator this is the mask they wear. Of course, what you are looking at is a physical puppet with a soul contained in it. The Hannya House has a very long history and we specialise in information trading. For the right price, there is no information we cannot gather. The price of our services is usually too steep for regular people so our customers are mostly Gods and some of the more prominent figures like King Yama and even archangels. As the saviour of Hell, although we are unable to provide information for free due to a contract, we can offer it to you for a special price. This is my gift to you."

Zero blinked at the ten 'puppets'. "Information? You can answer any questions?"

Shittomi nodded. "If it is within our capability, we will do what we can."

The young doctor didn't say anything for a good while and Baal gave Zero an anxious glance. He wasn't going to ask dumb questions now, would he?

"I have a few requests. How much do you normally charge for each request?"

Shittomi raised her brow. She didn't think Zero would cash in the favour so quickly.

"It depends on the difficulty of your request."

Zero nodded. "My first request is to locate a person or a being or soul. I'm sure as a Divine Fragment, you have some sort of connections to the Divine Entities. I'm looking for Duu."

Baal choked on his saliva when he heard that.

"Request accepted. This will take a while but it can be done. I will collect the payment from you when we know where Duu is."

Zero nodded. "My second request is to find out about Venn's story as well as his whereabouts. I need to know about his regrets."

Shittomi nodded. She knew now where Zero's requests were coming from. In fact, she owed him one free of charge seeing that her creator's wish was going to be one of Zero's requests.

"My third request is to find all the stores that Gugu and Jevy had hidden their spoils of war as well as the people they've offended or caused inconvenience to."

Shittomi nodded "I'll bear the cost for this request as this is an issue concerning my creator. It will take a long time before the list is ready, the damage of their hoarding is extensive and some records may be missing due to the destruction of the planet and witnesses."

Zero cringed hearing that. "Thank you... I'll be counting on you to do your best. And for my last request, I would like you to find the whereabouts of Solo."

Shittomi blinked and Baal froze. Solo... that was a strange thing to ask for. "Zero..." Baal started but stopped when he saw that strange clarity in his best friend's eyes.

"You do understand that you are Solo, right?" Shittomi asked, perplexed at the strange request.

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Zero shook his head. "No, I am Zero. Solo is somewhere out there. I managed to talk to Solo once, I need to talk to him again."

Both Demon Lords looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Although Hannya House was the most powerful information house, there were still many things that remained a mystery to even Gods.

"Understood, I'll see what I can find. Would it be alright to collect the payment from you only when we have solid findings for your requests?"

Zero smiled. "Thank you, it would be for the best. I understand if some of these requests are impossible to fulfil but you are the only person I could ask for help with them."

Queen Shittomi looked at the youth before her and saw the Great One's aura radiating. Her soul resonated with the pull and she lowered her head in a bow. "I shall do my best. Safe travels and may we meet again, Zero."

Not travelling by carriage made things a lot less interesting according to Zero. He couldn't take the time to enjoy the scenery and a small part of him was nagging in suspicions. Perhaps there were some things Baal didn't want him to see in the outskirts of Shittomi's territory. The stench of death in the air was strong after all.

The Demon Lord held onto Zero's hand as they teleported. If he had a choice, he would have conserved his energy and taken the carriage instead. Unfortunately, there was no way around this. The miasma around Shittomi's territory was one of the worst as the Snow Queen was the closest to the void. Although Lucifer's territory once belonged to the archangels in Heaven, Shittomi's domain was located right on the edge of the plane that was broken from Heaven. If not for the ancient Queen's power, this part of Hell would have crumbled away like melting ice to the strong pull of the void.

This was the part of the abyss that crossed borders with the Energy Plane, the Purgatory and the void. Unlike the Spring of Regeneration that was rich in mana, Shittomi's domain was full of negative energy that often drove the weak-willed insane. Spirits were corrupted, souls were lost in the void and the hostile environment claimed many lives. Knowing Zero's doctor mentality, Baal decided that the lesser Zero saw, the easier it would be for them.

Zero looked at Baal with concern when they ended up on a rocky plateau after the first teleport jump. According to Mii's map, they were a good three thousand kilometres away from Shittomi's castle and outside of her domain. The weather was still freezing but there was no snow to be seen. The scenery was grey and dead. Zero didn't see anything appearing on his map either which meant that the place was deserted. The miasma was dense and thicker than Zero remembered it to be which gave the young doctor an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Baal retrieved something from his personal storage space and drank a vial of blue potion. Zero blinked, not knowing what it was. Baal shattered the vial once he'd drained the contents and Zero dabbed the perspiration away from Baal's forehead.

"Are you alright? Don't force yourself..."

Baal was too exhausted to talk to Zero. He had Wiser work on this secretly. Although it was still a mere prototype with terrible side effects, Baal could already feel his depleted mana starting to replenish itself faster than his body could cope with. He sat down dizzily with Zero at his side, supporting his weight.

Zero was alarmed at Baal's fluctuating temperature. One moment he was as hot as coals, the next moment he was as cold as ice. The lack of strength and semi-delirious state that Baal was in made Zero worry. The Demon Lord's eyes sometimes glazed over and became unfocused. The fluctuating mana levels told Zero that the Demon Lord was fighting something internally but he couldn't identify the issue. It was something beyond medicine and Zero regretted not being able to help with mana related illnesses. He held onto Baal's hand tightly and channelled a small portion of his qi like how Hua Tuo had taught him, hoping that it would help somehow.

Baal felt as if he was getting dipped alternatingly into lava and melted ice. The potion forced his body to go into a hibernation state, allowing for miasma to attack it and shutting it off to fight the miasma collected in his body to convert it into mana before repeating the process over and over again to replenish its depleted mana supply. The miasma attached his body like parasites to a healthy host and sucking all the energy he had dry. As a defence mechanism, Baal burned in fever trying to remove the foreign impurities. At a critical level, his regeneration would kick in on hyperdrive and subdue that wild energy before converting it to his original supply. But that would mean Baal was forced into a temporary state of hibernation while he recovered. Ordinarily, he would have never resorted to such a dumb trick. Baal was completely vulnerable during his hibernation especially when he isn't in the safety of his domain and castle. Thankfully, he had faith in Zero's abilities to watch his back while he recuperated.

Zero sat there for a solid twenty minutes, not knowing what was happening to Baal. Whatever was in that potion had to be the reason for Baal's suffering now. Slowly but surely, the colour came back to Baal's face and the mysterious symptoms began to subside. Zero recognised that as Baal's regeneration ability normalising the sudden bout of illness. Whatever poison that was, Baal must have been able to neutralise it.

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"How do you feel?"

Baal smiled. "Don't worry. It's just a terrible side effect to the potion I had Wiser made. It's a mana recovery potion. Just give me about half an hour and we'll be ready for the next big jump."

Zero didn't buy that reason. What kind of mana recovery potion would render the consumer unconscious? Baal was keeping secrets again. Although Zero wasn't too happy with that response, he didn't push for answers. Baal must have his reasons for not telling Zero everything. The Demon Lord was keeping more and more secrets from him but Zero tried to not let it bother him. He had faith in his friend and believed that Baal must have some very good reasons for doing what he did. After all, Baal had proven time and again that he would do just about anything for Zero to keep him safe.

They rested for twenty minutes until Baal felt steady enough to attempt the next big jump. Zero didn't like the idea of Baal pushing himself so much but he couldn't stop him. Instead, he made Baal promise him not to drink that potion for recovery the next time.

"I can convert miasma into mana even if it isn't very effective. There are traces of chaos energy in it that I can use so please don't do that again. Until Wiser has perfected that formula to be consumed without side effects, promise me that you won't do it again."

Baal grinned. "If you say so."

"If you don't agree then I won't let you teleport us!"

Baal raised an amused brow. "Really? Then how will we get to the village?"

Zero blinked. "I'll teleport us."

"You and what sense of direction?"

There was a brief stalemate before Zero made a frustrated noise and backed off. Baal only laughed at the teenager's grumpiness.

The rest of the journey wasn't as eventful and they reached the outskirts of the Roth village ruins within an hour. Zero was finally able to see some form of life on his map and smiled. He knew that Ruth was somewhere in the area and urged Baal to hurry up. The Demon Lord rolled his eyes at the teen's childishness. Some things just never changed.

When Zero got to the village, he gasped at the sight of the neat gravestones in the centre of everything. The houses were very shabby and there were very little tools. It didn't look like too big of a village and Zero didn't think the villagers had an easy life with the lack of tools. Apart from the huge hut in the centre of the village behind the neat rows of graves, there was nothing about the village that stood out.

"You're finally here," Ruth spoke up, startling Zero a little. The vampire didn't make any noise and without the map, it was difficult to feel his presence.

Zero took a look at the vampire and saw that his eyes were sunken in more than before. His concern was obvious and Ruth felt slightly embarrassed for being seen as a weak person. The last few days hadn't been easy for him. Seeing his clan members turn into monsters slowly with the effects of the miasma had been difficult. Having to eat the ones who didn't turn into monsters was tougher. With the Strong Stomach skill, anything Ruth ate would only make him stronger. He was more like a ghoul than a vampire at this point but for the sake of continuing his clan's legacy, Ruth did as he had to. The gravestones were carved in memory of the thirty-three Roth vampires who perished.

Zero knelt by the front of the graves and closed his eyes, casting a gentle spell of tranquillity. The miasma eased up with Zero's consistent spell. Baal's eyes widened in amazement as the sky cleared up and the miasma disappeared with Zero's spell. he wasn't sure if Zero knew what he just did. The teen had just cast a minor blessing on the area. It was as good as Shittomi's sanctuary for lost souls, sending them back into the cycle of rebirth and saving them from the void.

Ruth felt blood well up in his eyes as a familiar song resonated in his head. The spirits of his ancestors were humming their warrior hymn. It was a song of farewell for when a warrior is going out with a bang. They usually sang this song for warriors who would no longer come home after their mission. Ruth hadn't had the chance to hear this before everyone else was wiped out.

Zero felt a strange surge of strength fill his veins at the strange song after the sky was clear of dark clouds and the air free from miasma. he didn't know who was singing it but he felt a strange prickling coming from Ruth who was crying blood and singing along with the song. Baal wasn't affected by the strange song. he looked over to Zero who was still trying to understand the strange phenomenon.

For some reason, Mii was unable to control the forced telepathy and Zero was able to view all of Ruth's memories about his village at that moment when the song reached its climax. The flashbacks were so fierce that Zero crumbled to his knees, clutching his head in agony at the information overload.

The Roths village was a very small, poor but close knitted community. Ruth had a sister who looked just like him. She was older than him by sixty years. That day, the village's strongest hunting team was out trying to gather food for the feast that night. It was the village chief's birthday and the village was in a celebratory mood.

The village chief was an old vampire who lived for more than a thousand years. Everyone called him Grandfather and the chief had everyone's respect. The chief was known to be the strongest warrior in their village and in the Roth village, they admired strength above all else. Unknown to the villagers, the chief was actually suffering from miasma poisoning. Due to the lack of food, the vampires often starved. The children like Ruth often end up having weak constitutions with each generation weaker than the last. The chief decided that in order to preserve the strong genetics of the Roth race, the stronger warriors will sacrifice a little and consume miasma poisoned hunts. While normal warriors still consumed regular food from time to time, the village chief never had a decent meal for the last few centuries after making that decision. He countered the poison of miasma with the mana in his body but as age caught up with him, that took a toll on his health.

Ruth and the other villagers were going on with their usual routine preparing for the feast when tragedy struck. The berserk fire coyotes trained by slave traders sniffed them out and outnumbered the villagers. Although the Roth village put up a fierce fight, with their strongest warriors gone and a poisoned chief, the vampires lost quickly. At this point of the memory, Zero frowned. The slave traders then proceeded to use a strange collar with unknown rune markings too vague in Ruth's memory to enslave the remaining vampires who couldn't put up resistance. That collar made the fiery warriors as docile as dolls.

Ruth who was out gathering materials for the campfire came back to such a scene and was horrified. Against so many powerful opponents and the rest of his villagers as hostages, he did the only logical thing and went to find the hunting team, hoping to make it back in time.

The hunters and Ruth made it back to the village and put up a great fight against the slave traders. They massacred the coyotes and half the mercenaries hired by the slave traders. However, the slave traders had another ace up their sleeves that turned the tide of the fight - the strange rune collars.

None of the warriors was prepared to be attacked by their own clan members and in an instant, more than half of the elite warriors were taken out. Ruth was protected by the chief who told him to run. Heavy-hearted, Ruth left the village. Blood rained that afternoon and the youngest vampire cursed his own weakness at not being able to save his clan members.

That night Ruth returned to see the bodies of the warriors and the village chief. All the women had been taken away and Ruth vowed to get his revenge. He followed their trail for days and nights until he ended up at an abandoned town somewhere near Baal's domain. The vampire had never been out of his village before and he was careless in town, attracting too much attention with how he behaved. The slave traders soon caught him but this time, they didn't kill him.

Zero felt sick when he witnessed how the slave traders rented him out to a self-proclaimed learned man who proceeded to run cruel experiments on Ruth. With the vampire's natural high-speed regeneration, he couldn't die and couldn't break free from lack of nutrition. Zero watched the flashbacks not knowing how to feel about it. Eventually, Ruth broke free and killed the insane scientist. He tried to locate the remaining of his clan members but found that they were in a state worse than death.

With grief, Ruth did the kindest thing he could do and put them out of their misery. He tracked every single one of his clan members and found each one to be in a situation worse than the last. Zero couldn't help but feel rage at the cruelty. What did these nomad vampires do to deserve such a fate? Furthermore, the ones responsible for cruelty were aristocratic demons. He wondered if Lucifer and Baal were aware of the underground activities of these noble demons.

Ruth's freedom didn't last long. After killing the 'toys' of many noble demons, he was eventually caught by one. Ruth fought hard and suffered tremendously in the hands of many 'owners'. Eventually, the slave traders got fed up of Ruth's behaviour and decided to sell him to Mammon's auction house. The rest was history as Zero knew it.

Baal watched Ruth and Zero go through a strange experience and frowned. The hymn faded away and the Demon Lord watched a new zone appear from the centre of the Roth village ruins. he couldn't believe it his eyes and felt his jaw drop. While Beelzebub's birth was not so much of a surprise, having a new domain in the abyss without a Demon Lord reigning over it was something unheard of.

"What's going on...?"

Mii dropped her books and Bob contacted Olaf at once. In the system status, it was written that they'd entered a dungeon zone created by Zero. The dungeon covered the entire Roth ruins and extended for the next ten kilometres in radius. The effects of Zero's first dungeon were also a little strange.

Name: Redemption Domain

Dungeon Type: Permanent

Creator: Zero

Dungeon Manager: Ruth Roth

Dungeon Effects: 200% cultivation speed

There was a beam of light going straight up to the sky and Baal recognised it to be a teleportation portal. He didn't know where it led to but he could make some clever guesses when out stepped Robo Mike.

Ruth didn't know how to react. Zero had completely transformed a part of the abyss using his village as the centre of it.

"Zero... this is...?"

The young doctor nodded in satisfaction after inspecting his handiwork. "I call this the Garden of Roth. That portal leads straight to the lotus farm in the Spring of Vitality. After hearing the prayers of your ancestors, I decided to make you the dungeon manager."

Ruth was speechless. "Dungeon manager?"

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Baal couldn't believe his ears either. "Zero, what do you think you're doing?!"

The young doctor smiled. "This is the first step to terraforming the abyss. Cultivation speed is faster here. Anyone who wishes to pursue a higher form of existence may work here at the lotus farm and repay their sins before they offer themselves to reincarnation. Robo Mike here will patrol often and preserve the peace on Ruth's behalf. Shittomi, Qin Yun and the foxes will help keep the place running for when Ruth returns. I think it's a very spectacular way to leave my mark in the abyss. Also, did I forget to mention? Coux and Mammon are going to develop this into a business capital for trading between dimensions. Now you can have the whole castle to laze in by yourself, isn't that fantastic?"

Baal was speechless. "But why?"

Zero smiled. "Just like how everyone was giving me gifts, I thought I would give everyone a gift too before I left. I have Michael and Gabriel's word that they will set up a branch office in this dungeon. Heaven will be a very tough rival so do your best not to lose out!"

Ruth felt his heart grow warm under the light. If the future of Hell were to be built in this sanctuary, the proud name of Roth would never be forgotten. Was this Zero's gift to him as well? How long has the brat been planning it? The vampire shook his head. It didn't matter. With this, it stamped out all the doubts he had about Zero. His loyalty would now belong only to this young doctor.

Zero's gift made quite the ripple throughout Hell. Every Demon Lord felt the heavy shackles on their souls lighten drastically. Mammon shuddered in his chair, Coux felt her wings twitch and Lucifer's wings starting shedding heavily to reveal a new grey undercoat.

Baal felt less sleepy and breathed a little easier. He knew that the other Demon Lords were probably experiencing something too at this moment. The pillar of light pulsed steadily for a good ten minutes or so and helped the sanctuary transform into a field with grass and growing saplings. Robo Mike started planting lotus seeds into a nearby pond that was starting to fill up again under the gentle shower.

Ruth took a look at the gravestones and wondered if fate had planned everything out for him from the massacre of his clan to his meeting with the young genius. It seemed some sick sort of plan that he had to lose his family before he could meet Zero. Still, the vampire could not find it in himself to hate his saviour. Ruth wouldn't say it was worth the pain of having to lose his clan but as a weak and powerless creature of this universe, he was thankful for the second chance to be happy again. Zero had given him new reasons to fight and will to live.

Baal took the time to marvel at Zero's newly created dungeon and asked if he was able to create a connecting portal in it to Half Moon Village.

"Ruth will be in Half Moon Village most the time, it would be easier for him to travel to and from the abyss. Also, someone needs to monitor the progress of your farm. Coux and I are a little too far from this dungeon. We'll have to travel to the Spring the normal way."

Zero wasn't a town building expert. He didn't consider many things before creating the dungeon. What surprised him more was the vast knowledge about such things Baal possessed. For the laziest demon lord who cared nought about his people's welfare, he was throwing a lot of useful advice.

"Ruth, what do you think?" the young doctor eventually redirected the heated attention onto his forcefully appointed dungeon manager.

Baal stared at the vampire with a slight disdain on his face. Zero didn't catch that but Ruth felt his skin prickle. For a Demon Lord to need the permission of a commoner was something unheard of. If it weren't for Zero's influence, Ruth was very certain he would've been sent to join his clan.

"Yes Ruth, what do you say?" Baal smiled fakely.

The vampire involuntarily stiffened and simply agreed to everything Baal suggested. Zero merely shrugged. If Ruth was alright with it, he didn't see why not. Besides, building the various teleportation gateways in one area sounded great. What better way to honour the fallen Roths than to build the teleportation station around the graves?

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In the next ten minutes, with Ruth's 'permission', Baal created a total of nine unique gates in the area. Zero wondered why there needed to be so many and Baal simply explained it as a necessity. Truth be told, it was only because he had the ability to do so and it would be very convenient for him to simply walk through gates sustained by the mana produced from the dungeon itself. He hated taking time to travel and long-distance jumps weren't his favourite methods of travelling. Even if Wiser improved the taste of mana recovery potions, Baal didn't want to spend more energy than required. Why not create gateways that he could easily access by walking?

"So there is a gateway to each of the seven other domains in Hell, one to Half Moon Village for Ruth and one for the angels. There are ten gates here and I doubt this number will be increasing any time soon in the next millennium so shall we give it a name? I vote for 'Ten-Path Crossway'."

Ruth thought that Baal's naming sense was sloppy but quickly agreed to it when Zero started getting excited about naming it.

"I know! We should call it the "Vampire Tomb Station"! Or how about "Roth Garden Elevator"... maybe even "Ten Ways to Hell Station"?"

The Demon Lord wasn't exactly surprised with Zero's lack of naming sense. For someone who named the powerful Eternal Dragon Bobbinskrier, this was considered an improvement.

"Tacky but no. Ruth gets the final word. What do you think, Dungeon Manager?"

The vampire knew that razor-sharp look in Baal's eyes daring him to disagree and this time, Zero caught on. He cuffed the smaller Demon Lord at the back of his head and chided his best friend for a good two minutes about bullying the vampire.

"Friends should be nice to each other!"

Baal wanted to point out that although the brunet was friends with the last Roth Survivor, he wasn't. Still, he held his tongue knowing that it will only open a new can of worms with Zero if he said that.

"Got it, I apologise. Now can we continue? There isn't anything much left to do in Hell and there are people who have been waiting for you since a few hours ago."

Alarmed, Zero quickly agreed and hustled Ruth through the portal before grabbing Baal's hand and jumping through it. The vampire didn't have time to protest before he was shoved through the shabbily prepared gateway to Half Moon Village. How could Zero be so sure that the coordinates of this gateway created by Baal would be accurate? Most times, teleportation gateways without properly drawn magic circles can kill a person who exits in the wrong area. One could find themselves half stuck in a quagmire or lose a limb from a gateway curiously places between slate rock cliff formations. For those who didn't have the ability to respire underwater, it would be a real killjoy.

The vampire landed gracefully on the ground and immediately felt his skin blister. Before he could find his bearings, someone dumped a large cloth over him and Ruth struggled but was held down by gravity magic.

"It's a good thing Lord Baal informed us beforehand... imagine if we didn't come with thick fur blankets for the poor child!"

Hua Tuo chuckled and cast some healing magic. Ruth must be very confused at the moment but it wasn't Hua Tuo's job to explain anything. The small welcome party waited for Zero and Baal to arrive with some small chatter and a general sense of harmony.

Zero and Baal arrived in no time. Joy reflected on Zero's face when he saw his teacher. The young doctor quickly took notice of the vampire who was still struggling. Beside Grandma Moppo was another familiar face.

"Lovina!"

"Hello kiddo, did you enjoy yourself?" the witch chuckled.

Zero smiled. "I did, thank you. Everyone loved your pancakes, I think Beelzebub is your biggest fan. Oh, it's ok now. Did you bring it?"

Grandma Moppo gave Zero a wink and pulled out a small handcrafted wooden container. "It's the salve you proposed. Hua Tuo and Cleo put in a lot of effort perfecting the formula but it isn't very stable. You'll have to reapply it every two hours."

Zero accepted the precious cream with thanks as Lovina eased up on the gravity magic. Hua Tuo also eased up on the healing magic now that the blisters were gone. Zero's approach to magic and medicine was very unique. Most people simply accepted that vampires only drink blood for sustenance, were weak to silver and sunlight as part of their bloodline traits. Zero took it a step further by considering that as a possibility of some genetic defect. The problem with the blistering under the sun was thought to be an allergic reaction so Zero devised a cream that could help block out the sun rays. Hua Tuo wasn't sure if it would work but did his best to perfect the formula anyway.

"Ruth, don't come out of that blanket just yet. The sun could still hurt you. With my teacher's help, we managed to develop a salve to help block out the harmful rays of the sun that are causing the allergic reaction with your skin. There's just a slight problem... we've never tested it on a vampire before..."

Ruth stilled under the thick fur cover. Leave it to Zero to create solutions without assurance. "Of course... why would you test it on a vampire when you can just try it out on me?"

"It's not like that..."

"It's fine. Bring it here. I just need to apply it evenly on any exposed skin right?"

Zero didn't like the biting tone Ruth was using but decided to let it slide. Naturally, having your village ruins completely transformed into a sacred zone in the abyss was a little too irresponsible on Zero's end. He should have consulted Ruth for permission before deciding that it would be alright. The young doctor felt the guilt stinging him as he passed the small container underneath the fur blanket. Ruth's cold fingers accepted the salve and they waited for him to finish applying it.

"I'm done. Can I come out now? It's getting stuffy and warm underneath this..."

Baal merely watched as Zero and Hua Tuo helped the cranky vampire. For once, the Demon Lord felt like he could sympathise with the combat mage warrior. Zero's idea of a gift was too much. While he was grateful as a Demon Lord, he didn't know how he would react having his best friend trample over his old graveyard and making it a prime spot for tourists and business. Even that necromancer would be writhing in his ash at Zero's forceful destruction of the peace.

When Ruth threw the fur blanket off, he was hit by the strong rays of the mid-noon sun. Prepared for the angry blisters to appear, Ruth was pleasantly surprised at being able to exist without suffering the wrath from the heavens for being born an undead.

"But... how? I thought the sun was created to eliminate filth from the Earth and keep the filth in the abyss... Undead who live on Earth can never step foot underneath the sun without retribution... it's the price to pay for our sins..."

Zero grinned, elated that his hypothesis was right on the money. "I knew it! It's a genetic mutation and an allergic reaction! This would explain why half-blooded vampires have reduced regenerative abilities and the ability to withstand silver and sun."

Ruth didn't understand the technical terms pouring out from Zero's mouth but the brunet seemed satisfied with the positive results.

"I'll still caution you about staying under the sun for too long... the salve and cream formula isn't very stable. There will be reactions under the sun causing it to weaken. Once the salve completely breaks down, you'd be back to blistering. Lovina had a hand in this, I'm happy to say that alchemy would be the bridge between magic and science. What should we call this salve cream?"

Lovina hummed and thought hard. Baal yawned. Seriously, was naming it so important? He just wanted to give Zero his gift and throw the teen to the villagers. Whatever they wanted from Zero would be none of his business. As a demon, meddling with the affairs of Earthlings without a contract was forbidden. Besides, Baal had more important matters to attend to now that Zero was finally away from Hell. He had a meeting with the other Demon Lords to discuss the development of the abyss plane.

"How about something simple? It blocks the sun, right? We'll call it sunblock cream." Ruth suggested.

Lovina thought that it was a great idea and Zero didn't seem to think of it as too tacky so the verdict was passed. "Good, now that we have a name I can let Coux know about it. We'll sell it to the undead who wants to do business on Earth. I heard that you've established the Central Terminal?"

Zero nodded. "Of course! It's called the Ten-Path Crossway. Baal came up with the name."

After some chit chat and catching up, the young doctor turned to his friend. "Thank you Baal, for everything. I will see you again, right?"

Baal smiled. "Of course. You've given Hell one of the best gifts even if you gave us a fair share of headaches and trouble along with it. The terraforming project will change the lives of many and with a better economy, someday demon-kind might be able to live on Earth and reunite with their families. For now, there's one last thing to do before I return to my duties..."

Zero turned solemn at once. Parting with Baal would be the hardest thing to deal with for him. They've gone through so much together and Zero didn't want their time together to come to an end.

"Channel mana to your eyes and use your Observation skill carefully, I'm only doing it once."

Zero did as he was told and marvelled at how different the world looked with mana in his eyes. They acted as some sort of filtered lens and gave him a very clear view of the mana in the area. Combined with the Observation skill, Zero was able to make out the chakra channels in Baal's body.

Knowing that Zero was watching him, Baal did it as slowly as he could so that Zero could process it. Shape-shifting wasn't a particularly difficult skill. It only required one to be able to manipulate their chakra channels in the body and assume a different physical form either by possessing a summoned creature by contract or storing their real body in a space-time dimension while creating a puppet vessel to use in the meantime. Of course, there were some exceptions like being able to rapidly regenerate cells or stop the reproduction of cells to change the actual body. However, that ability was only available to those who have beast blood in them. For folks like Zero and Baal, shape-shifting was better done using magic.

Zero watched in silence as Baal swapped places with a different body and injected his mana into that new body to control it as his own. His real body disappeared into the shadow and Zero recognised that as dark magic. The bat version of Baal fluttered around and collided clumsily into Zero's face before falling. Zero caught Baal in his hands before the poor creature hit the ground. Apparently, shape-shifting using the swapping method retained the weaknesses of the original host's body. The poor bat couldn't see in the blinding noon sun. Baal quickly shape-shifted into a spider and Zero giggled when the Demon Lord crawled all over his arm before jumping off and transforming back to his normal appearance.

"That's how you do it. Shape-shifting is a useful skill but it has two limiting factors. You must possess dark magic or have awakened beast blood in your veins before you can attempt it. It's the reason why humans cannot shape-shift and why some of us are limited to only a few forms when shape-shifting."

Zero nodded and Baal waved his hand before suppressing a yawn. "That's all from me, I've taught you what you needed to know. The rest is up to you to experiment. Just be sure to have a safe landing pad to fall on if you ever try to learn how to fly. I'm not responsible for accidental suicides."

Zero pouted at the mean but weak jab at his reckless nature but quickly pulled Baal into a teary hug. The Demon Lord allowed Zero to wrap his arms around him until he felt the coil around his neck get tighter.

"Cut it out!" he growled before Zero finally let him go.

"I'll miss you," the young doctor told Baal.

Baal merely looked into Zero's eyes before snorting and turning away with a casual wave. Zero watched Baal disappear back into the portal and continued to look at the swirling gateway even after Baal's departure.

Hua Tuo decided that after three minutes of zoning out, Zero needed a distraction. Truth be told, Half Moon Village had a proposition that he couldn't refuse.

"Ahem!" the Sage God of Medicine cleared his throat and cast a side glance to Grandma Moppo who took the hint.

"Zero darling, welcome back to the village. Goodbyes are never easy are they?"

Zero shook his head, eyes not leaving the gateway. "No, they aren't."

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"It's all good then. We would also hate to have to say goodbye to you in such a manner. I know it's a little too soon but could we have a little chat? It's about the village's sentiment after you sent Douglas away."

Slowly, Zero tore his eyes away from the portal. "I understand. I would hold no grudges no matter the outcome. However, I do want to apologise to everyone one last time formally before I have to leave."

Grandma Moppo was slightly surprised by Zero's sudden maturity. Her heart ached a little thinking about the things Zero had to go through in the abyss, causing him to grow up so quickly.

"No, it's nothing of that sort. Come, follow me."

having not many options, Ruth trudged along to follow Zero who followed Grandma Moppo. Hua Tuo walked behind his student, unable to think of what was going through Zero's mind.

Ball of Nothing

"Grandma Moppo! Zero! Welcome- who is this?"

Almost immediately a loud smack followed. "Watch your mouth, brat! Is that how you should be treating esteemed guests?"

Zero grinned. Leave it to Clowis and Louis to ease up the tension.

"Zero's back?" a shout from somewhere above the leafy canopy echoed. That was all it took before the word got around. A horn was sounded and Zero knew that was from the watchtower.

The kids came running with Zoe chasing after them. "Zero!" They yelled and tackled him in a hug. By they, it meant Leon and Jacqueline. Rima merely stood by Zoe's side with her eyes shining more than usual.

"I'm sho sowwwy!" the werecat child half hiccuped and have cried with tears and snot running amok. The mermaid descendant didn't say much and just sobbed into Zero's shirt. The young doctor was surprised by how much taller he was now. Leon was slightly below his eye level and Rima was a good head shorter when he was standing. Only Jacqueline was somewhat closer to him in terms of height now. The apprentice wondered how they were able to recognise him with how much he'd changed in appearance.

Zero had a hard time consoling the children. He didn't know what triggered the flood gates to be opened but he didn't mind.

Grandma Moppo had to give the children a stern look before they allowed Zero to leave. Clowis gave Zero an apologetic look that puzzled the brunet. Why did he look so guilty? They had every right to be mad at him for causing such troubles before. Zero had to admit, he would give his past self a tongue lashing if he could. If there was any way to make amends for his mistakes, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

However, with a clipped tone, Grandma Moppo sent the welcome party packing. Zero recognised the path that they were taking as his teacher followed behind wordlessly. Although the path was a familiar route, the atmosphere was heavy around him. When he was led down this road the first time, the village was bustling with excitement at meeting the rumoured apprentice. Now, they were looking at him with eyes full of apology. Zero knew that he wasn't entirely welcomed after his actions but being young was no excuse for making bad decisions. Even if Half Moon Village decided to ban him from ever stepping foot into their home grounds again, Zero knew he would abide by it with a heavy heart.

The half-dwarf knocked twice on the door causing it to rattle a little.

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From inside, a certain warrior chieftess sighed through her nose. So the time has come, what must be done will be done. If it were up to her, she would pass it off as the wrong doings of an innocent child. A slap on the wrist would have resolved it easily enough but the villagers weren't simple folks. With Zero's mysterious background and beyond Godly capabilities, he was no longer regarded as an ignorant child. Funny how the world worked sometimes but reality can be unforgiving even for the young.

With heavy heart, Zenobia walked over to the door to welcome the guests but froze up when she saw a strangely familiar-looking teenager behind Granda Moppo.

"Z-Zero? Is that you?"

The handsome teen smiled with that same soft innocence as he did when he was a child. "Hello, Zenobia... it's been a while, hasn't it? How are you doing?"

The Chieftess couldn't speak, too choked on emotions. Zero... he simply grew up too quickly. Although she wasn't very familiar with the abyss, she'd heard a few things about it from Lovina who was in contact with Coux. Qin Yun returned to the village appearing slightly different as well and although she was tight-lipped about what happened in the abyss, the Chieftess heard that the flow of time was different there. Zero was gone for almost a full month now and many things had changed in the village. It just never crossed her mind that the same would be the same for the doctor's apprentice.

"Well... I've been well Zero. You've... grown?"

Zero laughed in both relief and happiness that Zenobia didn't seem to hate him. In fact, he too was influenced by her emotions and teared up a little. "Yes, my lady. I've been given a new body and should be a lot stronger now. Thank you for taking care of me when I was still a weak and foolish child. I know it hasn't been all that long but I feel old enough to have lived through several lifetimes at the very least... I'm just thankful that Half Moon Village isn't chasing me away on sight with pitchforks."

Zenobia couldn't help but snort a little at that messed up sense of humour. The new Zero was charming in an odd way but she could still see the original colours of the Zero she knew and loved in this teen.

"At least that's something we agree on," she agreed with a small smile. "Come on in, have a seat. How about some dandelion tea?"

Zero smiled fondly, remembering his very first case of poisoning. Once bitten, twice shy. "Of course, that would be most lovely."

Zenobia cheered up a little and tried to offer some frog leg brownies and this time, Zero was wiser and refused them in a cute way. Hua Tuo, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. His teacher shot him a dirty look and quickly swallowed two small pills when Zenobia went to get the water boiling. Grandma Moppo quickly asked for them as well just in case and Zero was simply thankful that he knew just how to cheat now. Apparently graduating from the Morning Star Academy had its perks too.

Once tea and frog leg brownies were served, they decided to tackle the elephant in the room. Grandma Moppo didn't bother beating around the bush and Zenobia averted her gaze.

"Zero, after what you did the village have come to a consensus. You need to make a choice and you only have one chance to redeem yourself."

Zero met the steady half-dwarf's gaze and nodded. Hua Tuo sat upright stiffly. He knew what the terms were but he didn't have faith that his apprentice would agree to it. Zero might be a teen who had somewhat matured with the roller-coaster experience in Hell but a leopard doesn't change its spots. Zero was kind by nature who didn't like a lot of responsibilities. If he was anything like the Great One that Buddha often shared with him about, Zero wasn't a fan of the growing up process.

"We've had strangers forcefully thrown into our care and traitors let loose. The location of our village is compromised and with so many wanted individuals, I speak as the Village Head that your actions have consequences. As a tradition, our warriors eliminate any threat to protect the peace we have. However, I am not foolish enough to try to take down someone with the ability to use divine magic and make friends with Demon Lords. You are powerful with an upright sense of morals so this is my ordinance. Pledge your loyalty as one of us and accept the position as my successor or forever be banished to never step foot on our grounds again."

Zero didn't need to process it. The message was clear as day, become the next village leader or be forever an enemy to them. Hua Tuo closed his eyes, not wanting to see or feel anything. As a doctor who wanted to travel and see the world, it was a tough choice to make. Zero couldn't be bound to one place if he wanted to save the lives of many. Between dreams and responsibility, it was obvious which Zero would choose.

The teenager didn't respond immediately and Grandma Moppo waited with bated breath. Hua Tuo had pleaded and tried to change her mind over and over again ever since she told him of her resolution. The sturdy old lady was immensely stubborn about it. Some of the other villagers also tried to dissuade her when they knew of her intentions. Some thought that she was being too harsh on a child and sided with Zenobia. However, nobody dared to disrespect her decision.

Grandma Moppo wasn't a fool. Zero might be the world's greatest doctor who cured her knees and probably extended her lifespan for another good forty years but she knew that there will come a day when she will leave this world behind. She'd lived a long time to see the fall and rise of her home but she won't get to watch over it forever. As a half-fae, she had an unusually long lifespan but time would eventually run out for mortals and she would return to the cycle of life all over again. When that time comes, she couldn't help but worry about the people whom she would be leaving behind. Zenobia was a wonderful lady but she was too much of a warrior to be the leader spearheading the village into a more prosperous future. If Zero hadn't been here, Grandma Moppo was considering appointing the eccentric human called Wiser. Unfortunately, as a human, Grandma Moppo might just outlive him. So that left little Rima but the girl was too jaded by life to believe in hope and look at the bright side of life. So when Zero came along, she just knew that the boy would be perfect.

Zero didn't know why Grandma Moppo would choose to pass such a harsh judgement but he didn't blame her. From a business point of view, there was nothing but benefit for the village. If Zero had not received the memories of Gugu and learnt from the Demon Lords, he would have never agreed to it. To tie one's future down out of obligation... Zero could never do it. He made a promise after all that he will complete his training in two years then meet Truen and travel together.

Yet... Zero couldn't help but smile widely. It was brilliant! Half Moon Village had a conveniently located portal to the grand business central district in the abyss. The Garden of Roth will be the key driving point towards a better life for everyone in the abyss. He hasn't had the opportunity to discuss building good relations with those in Heaven but Lucifer had given him the option to do so anytime. Schaf was in the village working with Coux closely in Baal's territory and there was the world's best guard dog serving sentence for the next hundred years... he wasn't sure if he would be able to smoothly negotiate terms with the village for his preparation for his travels but with this proposition falling into his lap, there wouldn't be any negotiations required.

"I would like to know one thing before I give you my answer..."

Grandma Moppo was surprised at Zero's cautiousness but agreed.

"Would you be going into retirement immediately after you appoint me as the successor?"

The half-fae didn't know if she should be laughing or pinching that cheeky brat's cheek. "Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'll kick the bucket anything soon!" she fumed. "I'll have you know I can swing a cudgel better than those twigs you call arms!"

Zero laughed cheerfully at the outrage and Zenobia relaxed a little. Perhaps... Zero wasn't going to bid farewell after all!

"Aww..." Zero mock pouted. "I would've agreed to the first condition if you told me I'd have free reign over the village once I accepted... now I'll have to reconsider it."

Grandma Moppo froze. Was this teen being serious? "Are you sure you'll agree to be my successor if I allowed you to have total control over the village developments? You're not intending to do anything like accepting the position and then ditching responsibility by saying that you're appointing me back as the head of the village and running away, are you?"

Zero blinked. "Actually, I think that would've been a better plan. I wonder how I never thought about it but thanks for the inspiration."

"You..!"

Zero laughed at Grandma Moppo's expression in a hilarious mix of disbelief, outrage and speechlessness. Lady Zenobia couldn't help but laugh at the indignant look on the old lady's face. Hua Tuo tried to control the smile threatening to erupt and his lips twitched uncontrollably. Zero had Grandma Moppo where he wanted and it was amazing how much his student has matured. With this much sass, his worries about people bullying and hurting his disciple when he started travelling were finally laid to rest.

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Grandma Moppo eventually relented and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you win. Do whatever you want... would it have killed you to make this old lady happy one last time before she kicks the bucket?"

Zero heard Grandma Moppo's grumbling and grinned. He got up from his chair and hopped to the other side of the table before kissing the stumpy old lady on the cheek. "Don't worry, you won't regret this. I'll take very good care of the village. Did I mention that I have grand plans for it while I was still in Hell? I need to thank Coux for giving me ideas."

Grandma Moppo raised a brow. "Did she? I never knew you were interested in business too."

Zero grinned. "Not just business... magic, experiments, agriculture, technological breakthroughs and infrastructure developments. You should've been there to see it too... it was an experience of a lifetime! So many different species coming together peacefully to enjoy prosperity at the cafe. Enemies called a temporary truce over carrot cakes and bitter rivals formed alliances to grab the limited edition coupons!"

Grandma Moppo only looked at Zero with doubt on her face as he gushed on about auction houses, golems with weird names and vampires with severe allergies. She certainly hoped that naming Zero as her successor wasn't going to be the biggest mistake of her lifetime.

Ball of Nothing

Zero took a look around the cave. As usual, Zoe's food tasted fantastic! Even if Coux, Qin Yun and Amaraline were good cooks, nobody could win Zoe... maybe except for Lovina when it came to desserts. The Zashikiwarashi was blushing at the compliments everyone gave her that evening. Grandma Moppo announced that there would be a mandatory feast for all the villagers and nobody refused the invitation. Ruth and Schaf were also invited along with Hua Tuo and Zero- the main guest of the evening.

Everybody knew why there was such a grand feast. If Zero was still here by the end of the day, Grandma Moppo must have gotten her way. The feast is merely a formality to welcome Zero back into the village so nobody was expecting for Zero to stand up and give a speech while toasting juice.

"Good evening! Can I get everyone's attention for five minutes?"

The crowd settled down into a curious silence. Many had questions about the sudden growth spurt Zero went through but nobody dared approach the young doctor just yet. Grandma Moppo hasn't spoken a single word the entire evening and without her consent, Zero was not yet accepted as a member of the village. He still had the special guest treatment.

Lowis was surprised when the head of the village didn't look up from her cup of ale. Zero smiled and continued without paying heed to Grandma Moppo.

"Thank you for all gathering tonight. I have an announcement to make as the new leader of the Half Moon Village."

As expected, the cave burst into loud murmurs. The half-dwarf looked slightly annoyed at some of the whispers and glared at the room, levelling it to silence with her snapping.

"What's so surprising about it? It just happened sooner rather than later. Besides, I still want to enjoy my retirement life while I'm still in good condition!"

Mitchnew observed as Vrald bristled in what looked like a protest. She was ready to put the fool down if he dared to lay a finger on Zero. she'd heard some things from her husband who was still in the abyss. Although he didn't share everything in full detail, Mitchnew more than most of the villagers present with the exception of Qin Yun. Vrald had no right to judge Zero, the young doctor hadn't had it easy. While the village was complacently idling with its repairs after Carrabas' attack and waiting for the next attack, Zero was making grand plans to change the living quality in the abyss. Kerberos, Schaf and Ruth's appearance were part of Zero's grand plans. With Wiser, Coux, Amaraline and her husband still in the abyss, Mitchnew knew that Half Moon Village would somehow be involved in the operation of Zero's grand plan. They were quite the odd group living together so having demons accepted into their kind isn't that much of a deal.

"Thank you," Zero nodded at the curious villagers. "As you know how it happened, Baal brought me to Hell while I was unconscious. However, a lot of things have happened while I was in Hell after I recovered. I'll keep it as brief as possible because it isn't possible to tell everything there is to tell about what I've been through over the last few months in the abyss. In short, we have new guests from the abyss as some of you may know them. Schaf here is Mammon's closest student and he would have been a successor if not for the unfortunate turn of events that involved Kerberos. There was a powerful force trying to manipulate demons to opening the gate to Earth forcefully. Their plot to take over Earth and use its resources to have revenge against Heaven was foiled by me. After that, Bell and I were busy making arrangements to improve life in Hell so that history will not repeat itself. To improve the lives of demons in the abyss, an established trade route for better materials must be established. Coux is helping me with that at the moment and Schaf will assist her from the village. As many of you have guessed it, Half Moon Village will become the contact point for trade between the abyss and Earth. Our village will definitely prosper but there is one problem..."

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"Security... more people like Count Carrabas will attack us if they knew that we're doing well..." Lowis growled.

The air turned suffocating with the anger from every villager. Zero nodded. He didn't have to explain much now that everyone understood where he was coming from.

"I wouldn't be able to always be in the village. As the person who suggested this grand plan, I need to travel all over the place. I have faith in everyone's combat prowess in this village. However, we will face the same difficulties against numbers so I brought in reinforcements of my own. Kerberos is currently guarding Sleepy Cave at the foot of Endow Hill. He will be your backup, a one-dog army. Lovina will help to maintain the teleportation circle that I will create in the village central tomorrow. Also, this is Ruth my magic combat teacher and also the last survivor of the Roth Vampires. He will be a part of Half Moon Village and he is very strong. I believe that with these two guardians, Half Moon Village can take down ten times the size and power of Count Carrabas' army. However, if the situation exceeds this level of attack, there is an emergency portal set up in the village that goes straight to Bell's castle. Bell has already declared that Half Moon Village is under his protection. Queen Lilith, Queen Shittomi, Lord Mammon and Lord Beelzebub are also claiming their protection over the village. I believe that although it is unspoken, Lord Lucifer and Lord Amon will also lend their power should the situation requires it."

That was a lot to process and some, like Vrald, gave up on thinking altogether. Zero didn't know how to take the silence. He thought that such a great plan with so much consideration should at least warrant some smiles or applause but to be greeted with eerie silence? It was unexpected.

Nervous that he'd gone too far, Zero turned around to give his teacher a pleading look. Grandma Moppo was calm on the outside and that made Zero feel more discouraged. He must have made the wrong decision to introduce so much change at once. He should've learnt from Venn's experience about ruling with an iron fist... it never worked out. He should've been more diplomatic like what Lucifer suggested... he should've-

"Argh! Who cares what that means. We're under the protection of the most powerful people and given the chance to prosper without having to worry about being wanted. isn't is great! It's better than a dream come true!"

Nobody was quite expecting the outburst to come from the village's biggest fool.

Gerald smiled at his friend. Although Vrald wasn't the brightest person in the village, this was why he was once hailed a hero. He always came through when it mattered most.

"That's right!" Leon nodded vigorously. "I don't know what everything means but it's good that nobody will be coming to burn down our home, right? Also, we will be able to have more money to buy more things. It's good, no?"

Rima sighed at her friend's simplicity. By more things, Leon was probably referring to sweets. However, the spirit propagator couldn't find a flaw in that logic. One by one, the villagers begin to make up their minds and eventually everyone supported their new leader's decision even if some had their reservations about it.

"Zero, I don't want to sound disapproving but how do you know if we can trust these demons? They're not known to be the kindest species..." Soon pointed out.

Crudgel also voiced out his concerns with the lack of ability to contribute towards the business trade route that Zero talked about.

"About that," Zero smiled. "It's not a problem. You don't have to be literate or good with business like Coux to help. Wiser came up with this plan for everyone to use their best talents and contribute towards transforming Half Moon Village into a trading central with incredible security."

This made everyone curious including Hua Tuo, Zenobia and Grandma Moppo. Zero grinned and told everyone that he will explain the plan in detail tomorrow.

"For now, let us celebrate and welcome our new village members!"

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered. Ruth had a drink shoved into his hand and Shcaf was already rosy from the effects of alcohol. Someone tried to offer Zero a drink but Ruth was quick to stop them. According to Baal, Zero and alcohol should stay as far away from each other. Zero didn't seem too happy but when Leon offered him fruit punch, the teenager quickly forgot about it and joined in the rowdy tradition or boisterous eating and singing. There was a wonderful magic performance by Hyelin and a firestar demonstration by Raj. Jacqueline danced and had Qin Yun join in. Zero smiled as he watched the fox spirit enjoy herself. The letter in his inventory weighed heavily. The foxes had a message to pass her and Zero didn't want to delay it but now wasn't the time.

At the height of the feast, Zero decided that it would be the best time to let them know the rough ideas of his plans. The official meeting will happen in a few days once Zero has settled down some of the miscellaneous matters requiring his immediate attention as the new leader. Zenobia did mention that the repair works weren't going very smoothly and Lovina still wasn't able to find the right formula to help Wiser with his research for miasma convertor machines.

"Alright, I've decided. We are going to divide the duties a little differently now. We have the agriculture in charge - Cleo. Instead of just tending to the fields, we will require more help with the magic herbs, some hybrid plant experiments for medical research and mana flower growing. Latitia. Chowkah, Manny and Peter will be helping Cleo with this. Any questions?"

The two zombies exchanged looks with Soon and blinked. "Zero, we're undead by nature. Going anywhere near living things will corrupt them."

Zero grinned and waved their concerns off. "Don't worry. You'll be working with the mana lotuses at the Spring of Vitality. They are known to be good for the undead, just check with Ruth. Miasma is what you need to be careful with. In fact, if all goes well, you can cultivate to free your soul from sins at the Garden of Roth. All three of you can definitely redeem yourselves and break free from the curse of this forbidden magic."

Zero's assurance made the cave fall silent. Many of them didn't know what they were hearing anymore. The teenager took no notice and continued.

"Clowis, you're head of defence and security. Your team will be Crudgel, Titor, Camie and Mitchnew. Your job is to defend the village, look out for threats and maintain the peace within."

Lowis and Zenobia were speechless. Did Zero just put both of them out of job? As if sensing their concerns, Zero turned to them. "Lady Zenobia, I would require your assistance to become the village's representative for negotiations. Of course, you won't have to do much of the negotiating, Schaf will assist you. Lowis, you have a special role. I need you to choose people and train them to be mercenaries. Mitchnew, you're going to help out in training the best of the best from Lord Amon's reinforcements and turn them into the best one man armies."

The dark elf looked pleased and Lowis had a small smile. Indeed, this was better than guarding a wall and patrolling perimeters all day.

"For the village's progress, we will require learned people and researchers. Lovina, you're in charge of magic research. Moona, Soon, Yxaan and Xvyal are on team magic research. Although Wiser is not here, we can still contact him regularly. I don't know if I'm still a part of the lab but I hope Raj, you will continue to research on ways to improve the lives of the villagers using tools and equipment instead of destructive weapons. Tambolt, don't worry... you're not out of job. I need you to create devices capable of bridging the gap between magic and non-magic users. I don't know the details but someone will be contacting you very soon about something called mana-metal."

"Qin Yun, Roovan... you have important roles as the information centre of the village. Roovan you're in charge of stealth operations. Qin Yun, Queen Shittomi has decided to support your decision by training your girls to become socialites capable of getting information from any sources. also, this is a letter from them to their beloved leader."

Grandma Moppo was curious as Zero handed the fox spirit a thick letter that was barely sealed properly. Zero certainly matured into a very fine leader. She relaxed a little more and took another swig of her wine as Zero continued to dish out orders for everyone else present including Zoe and the children. Vrald and Gerald were genuinely surprised when Zero told them that they were in charge of travelling and raising the village's reputation by going back to their adventuring ways. the Dragon Descendants looked worried but when Zero told them that they were going to be travelling with a fellow dragon by the name of Olaf, they were stunned to silence.

In Zero's mindscape, Bob couldn't believe it. Why would Olaf decide to finally leave his treasure cave? He'd been hiding it out in Lucifer's library for centuries... that sly lizard was up to something, he just knew it!

"Aside from these changes, I would like to announce that Ruth is going to be part of this village as everyone's basic combat instructor when he isn't sending me flying to the dirt. Everyone is required to know basic self-defence skills. Karris, you will only begin yours after little Seff is born. I hope you don't mind but Ruth here will become Seff's teacher as a fellow vampire. I've already made the promise on your behalf but Ruth will only teach Seff the ways of a vampire until he can fend for himself."

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Karris looked at the young doctor with misty eyes. "Thank you, Zero. It means a lot to me... I was always worried about how my little one would cope after he was born... thank you! Thank you..."

Ruth took a look at the pregnant human and felt a small pang of shame at the actions for one of his kind. Even in the Roith village, nobody abandoned their young. The bullying of half breeds was a common thing but they were never abandoned.

"Hmm have I forgotten anything else...?"

After not being able to think of anything else, Zero ended the abrupt announcement with a grin and another toast of sparkling juice. The villagers cheered and Hua Tuo sighed. He didn't know if having such a mature student was a good thing or a bad thing. Zero as a child was already a headache to deal with. Zero as a teen was a lot sneakier and smarter. It wouldn't be as simple to fool him into staying away from certain topics. Hua Tuo just hoped that the kid wouldn't come to him for answers about the more difficult things in life that even Gods didn't have answers for.

"I need more wine," the physician groaned and helped himself to an unattended jug. If he was going to have to put up with a smartmouthed brat for another half a year, he would need a lot more of where this strong alcohol came from.

Ball of Nothing

With Zero spearheading operations, Half Moon Village was extremely busy. Nobody had any time to really rest and Hua Tuo was also roped into operations as a pair of extra hands, not that the Sage God minded. He simply felt bad sitting around and twiddling his thumbs while everyone worked. The Sage God volunteered to look after the medical herb garden as well as Karris' health. With the pregnant mother showing signs of more frequent pains lately, the physician knew it would only be a matter of time before little Seff was born.

By golly, he was right. Little Seff knew just when to pick the time too and it was at the height of the village's busiest operations that Karris collapsed in cold sweat with blood and water trickling down her thighs, soaking her dress.

Cleo was the first to find Karris collapsed on the ground in the fields. With the efficient security team, the pregnant lady was rushed into Hua Tuo's room. Zero was already working on sterilising the surgical instruments. It was going to be his first time witnessing the start of life and he was excited but nervous.

Hua Tuo remained calm and told Ruth to be on standby. They had no idea what would happen to newborn vampires, much less, half-vampires. The physician could only hope that there were no supernatural complications for that would be falling way out of his field of expertise. Zero was told to assist Hua Tuo and the teenager had a feeling his teacher didn't want him interfering unless absolutely necessary. His reason? While healing magic worked well for sick and wounded people, using it on a woman in labour will only make the body reject the baby, causing danger to both mother and child.

Zero had never felt so helpless watching Karris scream in pain as baby Seff struggled to get out. The poor lady was so pale and Zero wondered where she gained such strength to continue pushing despite the pain she was evidently going through. Many times during the eight hours of labour, Zero thought that Karris wouldn't make it. She faded in and out of consciousness and even Hua Tuo was uncertain if he should cut open her stomach and retrieve baby Seff before sewing her back.

"We need another basin of hot water," Hua Tuo told Zero and the teen scrambled to his feet, quick to comply. Although healing magic was forbidden, elemental magic wasn't. Zero tossed the dirty water out the window and conjured a ball of water before manipulating it with heat magic. The dirty towels were also quickly cleaned using fusion magic and Zero looked around to see if anything was out of place. Hua Tuo was grinding some powder and the apprentice went to check on Karris' pulse. It was feeble but stable so Zero waited for the next round of contractions to come.

"Come on, baby Seff... you can do it!" Zero whispered to the unborn child.

Nobody knew if Seff understood Zero but as soon as he said that, the half-vampire started struggling again but with more vigour this time. Karris screamed in pain and bit the tough leather that Hua Tuo provided. She gasped and grunted with Hua Tuo wiping the sweat from her brows in silent encouragement.

At the side, Ruth was completely silent. Nobody knew exactly what the vampire was thinking. As he watched the fragile human give it her all and more to bring forth the monster that would be shunned by its kind, Ruth had a strange feeling in his chest. Back in his village, strength was everything. Watching Karris struggle made the vampire think that there was something special about such a woman. Most humans were known to be weak creatures. There were some exceptions like Wiser but Karris didn't seem like the kind of human who was gifted. In fact, Ruth didn't sense anything special about her except for the child in her womb. What was giving her such courage and determination to persevere through the pain? It was unnecessary. Hua Tuo had already said that surgery was an option. She didn't have to endure such suffering.

"I can see the head!" Zero exclaimed and smiled widely. There it was, the unmistakable tuft of soft dirty blonde hair covered in blood. Karris smiled tiredly at Zero's announcement and Hua Tuo nodded in encouragement.

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"Almost there. I think little Seff will be ready in the next hour or so. How are you holding up?"

Karris closed her eyes and sighed before taking a sip of water that Zero brought over. "I can do this... thank you, doctor."

Ruth was observed the unborn half-vampire and sniffed the air. Although Seff was a half-blood, the magic of Earth Vampires ran strong in him. The darkness magic in baby Seff's blood called out to Ruth and the vampire allowed his mana to be taken. This must be baby Seff's way of feeding seeing that half-vampires do not have fangs at an early age. Truth be told, Ruth wasn't sure if Seff would take after his mother or unknown father more. Some of the half-blooded vampires in his clan did not even drink blood. They were the only exceptions who could eat cooked food and were often the weakest warriors. Perhaps the same would be for Seff too.

A groan from Karris had Zero and Hua Tuo running around again busying away until baby Seff finally decided to give his mother one hard kick enough to slip out of his cramped living space.

Karris shuddered as Hua Tuo readied the scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Zero almost wanted to stop his teacher from doing so because he sensed something akin to a soul bond breaking when the cord was cut. The teenager didn't know why but he felt sad when Seff and Karris were finally separated from each other. Hua Tuo told Zero to swathe the newborn child in warm woollen blankets and Zero complied. However, little Seff wouldn't stop fussing and the teenager looked to Ruth for help.

Hua Tuo was too busy tending to Karris but he watched his apprentice and the vampire warrior from the side of his eyes. It surprised him slightly that Ruth was good with children by how he carried Seff in his arms and rocked the hysterical infant to a soft sob. Seff took his finger and stuck it into his mouth but Ruth was quick to stop that from happening. The vampire noticed that Seff took after his unknown father more with claws and silver eyes. Baby Seff didn't have fangs when Ruth gently pried open his tiny mouth but he wasn't sure if they would grow out as Seff grew older.

"Can I hold him?" Karris asked weakly after Hua Tuo finished tending to her. She was hungry and tired but nothing was more important than being able to see the child she'd carried for about two years now. It was a long and painful wait but everything became worth it when she landed eyes on the sleepy infant.

Karris smiled. "He's beautiful... thank you."

Hua Tuo smiled tiredly. It wasn't an easy delivery but at least both mother and child are healthy. That was what mattered for now.

"I would have Ruth to give you a crash course on taking care of a vampire child but for now, go to sleep and regain your strength. Seff is safe with us."

The mother nodded and Hua Tuo tucked her in. Zero offered to stay by Karris' side for tonight and Hua Tuo agreed. Baby Seff was carried away by Ruth and he left with Hua Tuo to live in a separate building. Prior to the delivery, Ruth expressed his concerns about the safety of Karris as a human in the presence of a starving vampire child. Unlike adults, children have no control over their thirst and hunger. Many would turn into monsters and kill whoever is nearby to satiate their cravings. It wasn't uncommon to hear stories of children vampires killing their human foster parents who didn't know better.

"What do you think?" the Sage God asked in a low voice once they are far enough from Karris' home. It was currently night with no risks of sun exposure but they still took the underground route as a precaution. It was agreed that due to special circumstances, the cave would be used as a temporary home for baby Seff.

Ruth was still carrying the sleeping infant. His eyes glowed ruby in the dark and Hua Tuo was reminded of how dangerous the vampire actually was.

"He has a gift in dark magic. With proper training, he would be able to transform and fight. It's the most common type of magic undead have. I don't know if silver and sunlight will affect him or if he can stomach normal food. For now, I'm feeding him my mana. It doesn't have to be me but Seff can only feed on mana with dark magic element."

Hua Tuo nodded. Luckily, this village had a talented witch who specialises in dark magic. Rith wouldn't need to always be in the village. It would've been terrible if the vampire couldn't leave the village because of his obligations. Ruth told Hua Tuo everything about what happened in Hell that Zero failed to inform him about. The physician didn't know if he should smack that reckless disciple of his for buying a dangerous trained warrior vampire from the auction house with no money of his own or praise that moment of genius.

"I'll let Lovina know. The village can raise this child on behalf of his mother if the need arises. I will be dropping by the village more regularly to check on the progress and on Karris' health. The agreement still stands. While I am not around, you are to act as Zero's guardian in my place. Combat training only, no magic."

Ruth nodded. It was a strange request but he didn't question it. Hua Tuo must have reasons for not wanting Zero to learn any more magic than he already knew. It was obvious to anyone that Zero had a magical gift. However, the boy was a ball of unpredictableness that came with a truckload of trouble wherever he went. Sometimes it was a good thing but even Ruth wouldn't be so sure to place his faith in Zero's recklessness. Not everything will turn out well, the world never revolved around any individual no matter how powerful they were. Even Gods had to co-exist to preserve the sense of balance and harmony.

"Is there a limit to combat training that I should know beforehand?"

Hua Tuo thought about it. "As long as Zero is willing to learn, teach him all that you can teach. As an aspiring doctor, I don't think Zero wants to learn how to kill. However, it is necessary for him to learn how to protect himself. Lord Amon has given him a strange martial art manual. Perhaps you could look into that."

Ruth knew of that strange manual. He'd seen Zero reading it a few times but it was a very strange book. Normal martial arts manual would have illustrations demonstrating the moves. This book had few illustrations and if anything, sounded a lot like hogwash written by a drunken man. Ruth didn't know how to describe it or what to make of it. The vampire wasn't a very learned person but the manual sounded very flowery with its poetic description about some useless stories. How was he meant to be teaching Zero something that even he couldn't understand?

Seeing the troubled expression on Ruth's face, Hua Tuo wondered if he'd said something wrong. The vampire hasn't spoken a word about it so the physician thought it might be better to leave him alone. Unlike Seff, Ruth didn't require much sleep at all. He only ever really needed sleep once every few days and tonight, he needed no such thing.

"I'll be retiring for the night. If anything happens, you know who to look for."

Ruth nodded as Hua Tuo yawned and parted ways with him. The vampire carried baby Seff all the way to the feast cave and settled down in a corner. Vampire children usually grew very quickly until a certain age before time froze for them. He didn't know if the same was true for Seff who had human blood in him. In fact, he had too little information about anything and that made Ruth worried.

"What if I don't do a good job of raising this kid? Will he become the monsters in the legends that humans fear? What about the humans... will they accept him into their society? The snobbish vampires will never accept him as one of their kin with tainted blood..."

Uncaring about Ruth's worries, Seff slept soundly through the night.

There were still a good number of people who weren't sleeping despite it being night. Zero peered out of the window and saw that the two people he'd plotted to have them meet up tonight were staring at each other with hot faces in the herb farm. He covered his mouth to stifle a giggle as Gweshr hid the bouquet of flowers behind him. Moona looked prettier tonight under the soft moonlight and Zero was rooting for the werewolf to find the courage and finally confess to her. Qin Yun had a hand in their 'accidental' meeting after Zero told her about what he knew. The fox spirit was somewhere nearby and conjured some slippery ice beneath the hunter's feet, causing him to slip when he tried to walk away.

Zero covered his eyes with his hands shyly but still peeked through his fingers when the lovebirds tumbled onto the ground before sharing a slow kiss. The flowers were long forgotten and ruined from the fall. Moona had petals in her hair and Gweshr was sneezing at the petals that tickled his nose. That ruined the romantic moment but not the happiness after they declared feelings for each other. The fox spirit made her sneaky getaway to give them some privacy but not before giving Zero a discreet thumbs-up. Zero returned the gesture and giggled.

"That was fantastic!" he told Qin Yun using the group call.

"I know it was. It's about time too if you asked me..."

"I hear gossips. Come on, fill me in!"

"Coux?"

"Yes, Zero?" the secretary's happy tone made Zero slightly nervous.

"Wait, how are you able to join in a private conversation between Qin Yun and me?"

"Oh? You didn't know about the new update? Mii said that the system has recently upgraded to v3.0 so there are many new functions. You're not exactly private in the group call. It's an open chat system and I happened to be available to hear it. So? What's the juicy news?"

Qin Yun chuckled. "Moona and Gweshr are finally a couple."

"Really? Oh congratulations to them! But seriously... it took so many years for them to finally reach this stage. If it weren't for your meddling I guess it might have never happened."

"Don't say that.,.." Qin Yun chided. Zero only giggled and listened as the two ladies bantered lightly. He also got to hear some updates about his projects in the abyss.

"Lord Mammon was asking if you wanted anything from the Auction House. The new collection is coming soon as we have dibs."

Zero blinked. After loaning an exorbitant amount from Mammon, the Demon Lord was willing to continue treating him like an esteemed customer? Zero was surprised. He didn't even have money, what was Mammon trying to do? Certainly not ask for a favour... right?

"But I still owe him money..."

"Well... he said that he would write it all off if you agreed to attend the meeting with the angels on his behalf."

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple... couldn't he just skip that meeting?"

Coux sighed. "If only it was that simple. No, the Archangels want to discuss the mana lotuses growing in the Spring of Vitality. They want to buy some of those flowers from us on a regular basis for a strange project going on in Heaven. I'm not privy to the details."

Zero thought for a while. "I don't know... I'll be very busy with my training for the next half a year with Hua Tuo before I study magic with Merlin. Perhaps I could do that when I study with Merlin? I'm sure it's easier to make a trip to Heaven while I study magic."

"Alright. I'll inform Lord Mammon about it. Also, Olaf is on the loose. Bob might want to be on the lookout, that dragon is out to create trouble from what I heard. Lord Lucifer isn't pleased that his library is in a mess. Olaf took with him some of the most prized ancient grimoires and Lord Lucifer isn't happy about the theft."

Zero and Bob grimaced. "Thanks for the warning. I'll be heading to bed really soon. Today has been a long day and tomorrow will be a busier one. I need to set the home teleport mark in Half Moon Village and do the final round of checks on everybody's projects. Master doesn't want to stay too long in Half Moon Village. He says that we are behind schedule on my training as it is."

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"Understood. Goodnight, Zero. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight everyone..."

"Goodnight, Zero..." Qin Yun smiled. "May the Gods bless you."

With that, the group called ended and Zero decided to skip cleaning his teeth tonight. He was simply too tired.

"I'll do it tomorrow," he told himself before drifting into a dreamless slumber.

Ball of Nothing

Karris recovered quickly under the watchful and experienced care of Hua Tuo. Seff had grown very attached to Ruth and the two were almost inseparable. Not even Karris could placate her child when the vampire was away for more than two hours. Lovina had taken over feeding duties and Ruth explained the unique circumstances of baby Seff's diet to the recovering mother.

"I understand," Karris smiled and grabbed Ruth's hands. His skin felt cold to the touch much like all undead but the lady didn't mind.

"Please visit us often..."

Zero smiled at his combat tutor's awkwardness. Ruth was going to learn that there were many kinds of humans and not all of them were horrible like in the tales passed down by the elders in his village. Although the grumpy vampire didn't say it aloud, he'd grown very attached to little Seff.

"The portal is ready," Lovina announced and Zero turned his attention back to the circle drawn in the centre of the village. They decided to turn the clearing into the receiving area for guests. Cleo and Latitia did a great job of decorating it with flowers and magical flowers. It was a very beautiful place in the day and it was simply mesmerising at night. There was a small constructed pond and stream that crossed portals and dimensions. Raj was able to make a device that transferred water from the Spring of Vitality into the village.

As of now, the origin of the miraculous healing water is a well-kept village secret. Schaf certainly did not pass up the opportunity to create attention and started spreading rumours to the neighbouring kingdoms. With so many powerful people eyeing the village, there would not be another incident like Count Carrabas. Nobody would be foolish enough to wage war against a village full of powerful warriors and a rumoured Hell Hound guarding it. Moreover, Endow Hill's reputation hasn't been great... nobody wanted to anger the Dragon guardian even if nobody had heard about it for years now.

Zero didn't even bother to inspect the drawn circle and simply poured his mana into it. The formation on the ground lit up and the ground trembled slightly. Throughout the village, the same bluish-white light could be seen. The lines on the ground drawn in chalk and salt glowed in unison, humming to the same vibration of the main formula. Lovina didn't waste time and immediately started chanting. Normally, fairy circles were not very complicated to make. However, this array differed slightly from the regular ones she made all over the village. It was meant to allow Zero to control the village's terrain entirely. In other words, Half Moon Village was a transforming fortress.

Zenobia exchanged looks with Grandma Moppo. They were the selected 'keys' to activating the formation in Zero's absence. Lovina was able to create a blood-binding spell that tied their lives to the village. The array stored the mana that Zero was pouring into it and would be used when the village needed to be transformed into a fortress. Currently, a huge amount was needed to awaken the Earth beneath the village and Zero monitored his status very closely.

"Zero, it's reaching limit orange..." Mii warned. After the mana depletion incident, the system upgraded itself and implemented a safety meter that will alert Zero of falling levels of mana. Other items in Zero's void inventory will be converted to mana automatically if it falls below critical levels and Zero was in no position to disable that function. The first time that happened was when Zero had to hold open the portal to allow Raj to bring Spring Water over. He wasn't happy when Mii told him the system had forcefully converted his sand instead of seawater to sustain the mana safety levels.

"Hold on, I still need about 30% more to complete the starting phase. Please convert the seawater this time... I would still like to keep my sand for other experiments."

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Mii smirked. "Got it. We're going to convert them in the units of a thousand mana at once in about a minute from now."

Zero nodded and continued feeding the hungry array. Seriously, Lovina was a genius but this formation was a beast. If it were any other ordinary mage, they would have to gather at least a hundred of them and spend two weeks to completely activate it.

"Almost there," Lovina told Zero who was starting to shake by now. The more Earth that was converted into living plates, the heavier it becomes on Zero. They felt sticky to the array and Zero hasn't learnt any reinforcing magic to support his physical vessel. His muscles were weak and the weight was almost unbearable. He could feel his body becoming one with the village grounds and panted harshly when another huge part of the village assimilated with the array. Who knew that the underground tunnels were so extensive? It stretched all the way past the river and into the forest.

Everyone watched with bated breaths as Zero let out a scream of agony with his knees buckling. Hua Tuo immediately cast some tranquil magic to stabilise Zero's panicking state while Ruth started chanting body reinforcement spells. Lovina was sweating and her face was flushed. Soon supported the witch and held down the stabilised part of the array to take the pressure off her.

Yxaan and Xvyal jumped in to hold the collapsing portal. Magical plants started withering and the Spring of Vitality boiled. Latitia tried to hold up a barrier with Cleo but it simply broke and all their mana were eaten up by the greedy array.

"Leave them alone!" Zero yelled when he saw how disobedient the formation was becoming. Bob was ready to jump in himself to stabilise the rampaging magic circle when someone unexpected turned up from the emergency portal.

"Help has arrived!" the cheerful puppy wagged its only tail and howled in harmonies of threes. Zero didn't have time to entertain Kerberos and told the Hell Hound to hold the collapsing portal.

It was a tough battle but eventually, Zero got the array under control and decided to smack the disobedient thing with a minor Charm Blessing. Unable to resist the teen, the array gave in and became extremely complying.

The mages collapsed onto their knees, completely drained from battling Lovina's living fortress formation. Who knew that it would develop an intelligence of its own?

Zenobia and Grandma Moppo looked unsure now. "Will it be alright? What if it doesn't listen in an emergency?"

Zero grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. "It won't. I slapped it with Charmer and added it to my party. Everyone in Half Moon Village is added to a sub-category group called "Friendly" so it won't be causing any trouble. If you're in trouble, simply mark the enemies. The array will deal with them as the first level of defence. It will give everyone time to get ready for action."

Ruth didn't know what to think about such a crazy explanation. Kerberos was sulking when Zero thanked him. The Hell Hound eventually returned to his isolation and Hua Tuo looked impressed. Externally, nothing seemed to have changed. However, he could see the magic in the air and the ground that the village stood on possessed its own life signature. It contained qi energy and the Sage God wondered if it was possible to create souls. Not even Gods have understood what it took to create a soul. They could replicate the structure of a soul with refined mana but nobody has successfully made one. Was it something only the creator could accomplish after all?

"Hooray! The teleportation mark and portals are done. The emergency back up works and the fortress transformation is activated. I guess this is it for me... I'll be back from time to time so don't miss me too much, okay?"

Clowis rolled his eyes. "Nobody will be missing your du-"

Zero chuckled. For a head warrior, Clowis still had a lot to learn. Lowis glowered at his nephew and apologised. It was Clowis' bad habit of not being able to be honest but Zero didn't mind. Ever since Amaraline decided to stay in the abyss to help Coux out, the big brother had gotten a lot more sensitive when someone mentioned the possibility of Amaraline finding a lover where she worked. In a way, Clowis still blamed Zero for his sister's decision. The teenager didn't really mind. In fact, he found the sibling's affection rather adorable.

"The portals are open so there is no reason for everyone to continue staying in the village when there isn't anything to do. Mitchnew, there is a gate to Amon's territory in the Garden of Roth. I believe I've handed the talisman to Lovina for anyone who wants to visit Hell. That is Ball's personal mark of protection so I only have five. The portal here leads straight to my sanctuary so Qin Yun, feel free to cultivate there and meet up with your fellow sisters. I don't want to be constantly distracted by their messages while I'm training. Schaf, Mammon has given you a special badge to use on your business trips. If there is anything urgent, the portal to Hua Tuo's hut is always on standby. With that, we will be taking our leave. Zenobia, I leave the running of the village in your hands now."

The Chieftess nodded and placed her hand to her chest. "We will await your return, Leader. Travel safely."

"Travel safely!"

Zero took one last look at everyone and grinned before waving at them and jumping into the portal with Ruth and Hua Tuo following. Baby Seff's cries could still be heard as the vampire disappeared through the gate but he didn't look back in fear of not being able to leave the child.

Once the woozy feeling passed, Ruth found himself staring at something rather familiar looking. Compared to Half Moon Village, the solitary hut with a strange wooden device behind it reminded him of home. With Zero's love for grand things, it was difficult for the vampire to enjoy the simplicities of life. Thankfully, Hua Tuo didn't allow Zero to introduce his modifications here.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Hua Tuo smiled and briefly showed Ruth around. The vampire was surprised that he wasn't burning under the sun. The salve cream worked well but there was still discomfort here and there while they were back in Half Moon Village. Right now, it was as comfortable as night and Ruth wondered how that was possible.

Hua Tuo took them around to the fields where there were herbs growing. He also saw some drying under the strong sunlight in Hua Tuo's small workshop. The house smelled heavily of grass and plants but Ruth thought that it was better than smelling food all the time. Back in the village, Ruth had to remember that he was now able to eat regular food. He still occasionally craved blood and offered to join the hunting team when it got really bad. the smell of medicine here calmed him and Ruth found himself feeling lazy.

"Home sweet home!" Zero declared and immediately got to tidying the place. It had been some time since they were at Half Moon Village. Thankfully the fairies that helped Hua Tuo with the fields did a great job. None of the herbs had withered and some were ready for harvesting.

Hua Tuo left the cleaning up to Zero who insisted that he was the best candidate for the job with his improved cleaning magic. Ruth was then dragged to the fields to help Hua Tuo with harvesting. He worked quickly and mindlessly, cutting through the plants with his sharp nails while Hua Tuo worked with his sickle.

Time passed quickly and after gathering the herbs, Hua Tuo tasked the vampire with hunting for dinner. He chose to work on cleaning the herbs while Zero was made to revise whatever he'd learned previously.

"But I can help with making dinner..."

"No, leave that to Ruth. Those who don't work don't get to eat. Your task is to revise whatever I've taught you a few months ago as well as the basics of surgery as explained a few days before. I will test you before dinner. If you don't get everything right, you can forget about eating tonight."

Zero gasped in horror when he knew that his teacher was serious.

"No dinner?"

"No dinner."

"But I'm a growing child!"

Hua Tuo raised a brow. "Really? I thought that this body was a new vessel created by the Great Gods. No actual growing was involved. You may be bigger now physically but your mental age is still the same."

"That's not true," Zero retorted. "I'm at least four times older than I was... I gained new memories from four Divine Fragments."

Hua Tuo deadpanned. "Of the four, two behave like children, one is a jaded old man with a stubborn mentality and the other is a lazy bum. If you insist on being treated like a teenager, I would have you help with breakfast preparations and contributing to your living expenses here."

Zero thought about it and made a face before slinking back to his digital reader. Truth be told, he didn't slack off from his studies. He still remembered everything Hua Tuo taught him about acupuncture, herbs and how to identify illnesses. He wasn't lazing around in Hell. Baal might have done that but Zero was busy identifying new illnesses to treat. In fact, he learnt a great deal and wanted to talk about it with his teacher.

After ten minutes of reading through what he already knew, Zero decided to peek from his book. "Master..."

Hua Tuo sighed. He knew that his apprentice wouldn't be convinced to be quiet for too long but to think that Zero's patience was still as short as before made the Sage God wonder if Zero's growth was only in the physical aspect.

"Yes, Zero?"

"You know, the methods of diagnostics you taught me were good with humans. However, it's not very possible to use that when I was in the abyss. Many of them had no pulse or external signs of illnesses. How would you usually treat patients like that?"

Hua Tuo stirred the pot and tasted the soup before adding a little more salt. Ruth still wasn't back so the meat would have to wait.

Cutting the vegetables, Hua Tuo answered him. "The undead do not fall ill. There is no need to diagnose illnesses in the deceased. Virus and bacteria can only survive in living hosts."

Zero frowned and put the reader away. He was no cross-legged on the floor and staring at his teacher's back. "But then I discovered that the plague was still a thing! Miasma poisoning was common and vampires had sun allergies... how can we not diagnose them?"

Hua Tuo put the lid back on. It was a valid question and Zero had a point.

"Firstly, the plague is something that only affected the demons, not the undead. If we looked at demons, there should be similar signs with how it affected the werebeasts. secondly, Miasma Poisoning is not an illness that attacks the immune system. It corrupts those with chakra channels so the traditional medical diagnostics wouldn't work unless the poisoning has taken place. Lastly, I never knew sun allergy was a thing until you discovered it so I cannot tell you the best way to identify it. There are many mysteries in this world and although I am the Sage God of Medicine, I am not well versed with the magical and supernatural side of the world. Those are my limitations, Zero. I'm not almighty. Like how I taught you, the dead cannot be revived once the soul has left the body. Still, with your abilities far exceeding mine, perhaps you will find a way to do so one day."

Zero looked lost. Hua Tuo shook his head and told Zero to come over. The teen did so and found himself receiving a pat on the head. "Don't worry about all that. Not everything I teach is necessarily the right answer. You'll need to find your own answers when you travel. Ultimately, know that you are more powerful with Gods. I believe that if you truly want it, there is nothing that is impossible for you to do. We will all be rooting for you so don't be afraid to be yourself."

Zero smiled shyly. It wasn't very often that Hua Tuo acted like this. Although Hua Tuo was mostly a grumpy old man who was reluctant to try new things, Zero liked him the way he was. He didn't come to this world with a family but that was what made Zero excited about. If the Great Gods were like his older siblings and the Demon Lords his friends, then Hua Tuo felt like his grandfather.

"I'm back!" Ruth called out and Zero leapt to his feet to greet the vampire.

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"What did you catch?"

A heavy thud at the front of the door made Zero squeal with delight.

"Roasted Pygmy Boar!"

Hua Tuo shook his head at Zero's infectious excitement. His student ran to the workshop to grab the herbs and spices. Ruth raised a brow as if asking Hua Tuo if it was a common occurrence. He received his answer in the form of a sigh as the old man went back to cooking stir-fried vegetables.

For the first time since coming to Earth, Ruth felt like making a deal with Zero was worse than the devil. never in history has hyper-activity gone well with self-discipline. The vampire knew it was going to be a rough journey as Zero's combat teacher and shut those thoughts away. He needed wine, really really strong ones by the barrels to put up with the troubles Zero will no doubt cause him in the near future.

Ball of Nothing

After a good meal, everyone decided to turn in early. Hua Tuo and Ruth were exhausted. Needless to say, the teen was still bouncing with energy. He tossed and turned for a good hour or so but couldn't sleep. Ruth usually didn't sleep at night but after taking care of baby Seff for a while, the vampire needed time to recover. Hua Tuo was too used to his noisy apprentice and zoned out on the ruckus.

This made Zero unhappy. They finally returned to Endow Hill but he wasn't able to do anything. Zero was brimming with energy. He wanted to do more, learn more and prepare to absorb everything his teachers would throw at him. The young doctor couldn't wait to learn about acupuncture and surgery that Hua Tuo promised he would teach. Also, learning magic-combat from Ruth sounded a lot more fun than doing qi gong daily.

Speaking of qi gong, Zero wondered if he should include Amon's special lessons into his practice sessions. If such simple movements were able to take down strong warriors like Sekkin, Zero had no doubt that it would work on bad people like Count Carrabas. However, he didn't want to disturb his teachers so Zero took advantage of his new vessel and taller height.

Bob and Mii weren't expecting to see Zero so soon in the mindscape. The dragon also didn't expect to see his master in the magic lamp either.

"Zero, do you know what time it is?" the Eternal Dragon asked. Bob wasn't very pleased that the teenager was becoming more and more rebellious. He doesn't listen to adults or did as he was told anymore. Now, Zero was beginning to ignore curfew for bedtime too! It was inexcusable.

The young doctor didn't look apologetic in the slightest. If anything, he had the nerve to reason with Bob.

"But I am resting! I'm just in the magic lamp physically and in the mindscape mentally. I'm just not on a straw mattress but this is still a bed."

Mii didn't look like she had the energy left to argue with Zero so Bob took it upon himself to correct the cheeky creator. The dragon continued to nag at the teenager who snuggled up on the comfortable bed and patted the spot beside him.

"Join me?" he asked coyly and Bob sighed through his nose. The boy had the nerve to completely ignore his lecture and even try to entice him into slacking. Did he understand how much work Mii needs to complete thanks to his whimsical requests? Bob pitied the strawcherry fairy who looked no better than Hades, Mammon or King Yama. Truen and Coux didn't give Mii any breaks either so the strawcherry fairy continued to slog in the never-ending work looking like a zombie.

Bob rolled his eyes and refused the invitation. "You can stay but do not disturb us. We have a lot of work to complete."

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Zero nodded cheerfully, happy to have gotten his way. Truth be told, he was actually glad that Bob and Mii would be occupied. He couldn't carry out his plan back at the hut because there were two very wary people who would wake up once they felt foreign mana fluctuating around him. What better way to kill time than to talk to somebody instead?

Hence, Zero decided to bring the meditation session to his magic lamp instead. It was also a safe space to practice secretly. Even if something went wrong, Zero was confident that Mii and Bob would stop him or find the help he needed.

With his mind at ease, Zero snuggled into the pillow and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed as he returned to a familiar scene in his mind.

"Tanya?" he called out. "Tanya, are you here?"

The dark and cold void transformed into one full of lush greenery at the name. The soil beneath his feet was cooling and the forest smelled strongly of earth. There was some river in the background and the image gave a very tranquil feeling to whoever was looking at it.

Zero knew what he was looking at. It isn't very difficult to guess why the person called Tanya had brought him here using their mental connection. Although Zero didn't talk to her as often as he spoke with Baal, Tanya was a close friend he made from one of the listening sessions in the void.

"Welcome back, Zero."

The young doctor turned around quickly and his face lit up with excitement. Tanya was exactly how he remembered her to be. The Dryad Queen was easy to recognise. She had her leaf hair shaped like a tall crown from what Zero remembered and he wasn't disappointed to spot the familiar hairstyle. Apparently, it was now summer because all the leaves were a healthy shade of green. The last time he spoke to her before visiting the abyss, Tanya had red and yellow leaves. Oh, how time flies!

The young doctor also noticed how the Queen of Dryads still couldn't keep the time out of her eyes. Right now, it should be late afternoon because the sunlight in her eyes was dimmer. The young doctor found Tanya's eyes most fascinating to look into. The Dryad Queen could be a very accurate weather forecaster with the ability to reflect the sky in her eyes the literal way. On some nights there were stars, on some nights there was the moon. However, Zero found it most interesting when it was cloudy because Tanya's eyes would constantly reflect the changes.

This time, Tanya was attached to a young acorn tree. It was a long way for her to be travelling from the bamboo grove that they met at the last time. The young doctor swore that the bamboo grove was all the way on the opposite side of the plane. Perhaps the Dryad Queen was on an errand? From what he knew, Tanya never stopped searching for materials and was an enthusiastic hunter.

"It's very far from where you last were," Zero commented. "Have you been busy?"

Tanya smiled at the child and used telepathy to reply. It was the only way spirits could communicate and Zero didn't block her from invading his mind.

"I was looking for a star but I guess I found something better. How are you doing? You seem to have grown quite a bit. Are you doing well?"

Zero walked over and gave Tanya a hug even if his arms went right through her and ended up hugging the small tree instead. Tanya manipulated the branches and made them wrap around Zero slowly to return the warm gesture. The two stayed like this for a while, enjoying each others company. It had been way too long and Tanya was happy to see the bubbly brunet even though he seemed slightly different on both the outside and on the inside.

"What brings you here?" she asked when they parted. Knowing the knowledge-hungry boy, he must have come for information. She wasn't too sure about what kind of waves Zero was stirring in Hell but she knew bits and pieces from her sources. Zero would always be in the centre of all the attention and even without the ability to read the future, she knew it would be the case. The young doctor exuded a certain kind of charm that was unique and separate from Freya's blessing.

Zero grinned. "Remember when you said it was possible to create chakra and meridian channels in a wood-crafted body? Guess what? I think Gaia's new body is just the perfect material for channel crafting! I might be able to link it to my void dimension if it works out but I need your help. Can you help me create those channels?"

Tanya blinked and slowly went back into the acorn tree she was residing in, leaving Zero to feel clueless at being abandoned so suddenly. It happened so subtly that Zero couldn't quite believe it at first. He thought Tanya was merely switching bodies but the Dryad Queen had really abandoned the tree and perhaps even the vicinity. Zero couldn't see her on his mini-map.

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"Tanya?" Zero called out hoping that it was all a prank. However, the Dryad Queen did not answer back, having left entirely. Zero sulked and reflected on what he said. Was it the way he phrased things that made Tanya retreat? He was told that he was quite a straightforward person and that often made people shy away from his pushy nature. Then again, he was worse when he was a child and Tanya didn't seem to mind. The Dryad Queen always had plenty of patience that rivalled Buddha's.

Confused about why Tanya would leave without a word, Zero didn't quite know what to do. After deliberation, he decided that it would be better to wait for Tanya to return instead of giving chase in this unfamiliar dimension. Besides, even if he returned now, Zero didn't think he would be able to fall asleep either.

Tanya would be back eventually. The Dryad Queen could sometimes be peculiar. The young doctor also didn't think that his friend would abandon him alone in the middle of nowhere. Tanya was someone with a strong sense of responsibility. She was the kind of person who would take in strays to raise them as her own until they were strong enough to leave on their own.

"Don't worry," Zero told himself. "She'll be back. We just need to wait."

Luckily for Zero, the Natural Plane wasn't anything as dangerous as the abyss. It was the most peaceful plane that existed and the young doctor liked it. It was a nice break away from the crazier activities happening in his life recently.

Gaia was slightly surprised to see the unexpected guest. It was rare for anyone to visit her without prior warning and even rarer for anyone to join her in her secluded domain. The Great Goddess was curious as to what one of her children wanted. Tanya was known to be one of her most powerful and independent children. Gaia had only seen her a handful of times ever since her creation.

Still, she welcomed the Dryad Queen and listened carefully to her request. Imagine Gaia's second surprise of the day when Tanya brought up Zero's name. Being friends with Baal was possibly the work of fate. The Demon Lord of Laziness was a divine fragment after all. However, Gaia didn't know how Zero became acquainted with the Queen of the Natural Plane. Still, it was probably a good thing. They could never have too many people looking out for Zero after all. The young doctor was a powerful trouble-seeking magnet.

"Yes, I did create Zero's new vessel with a different formula. It should be perfectly safe to cultivate channels at one go. However, I don't know the risks of connecting them to the void. That is a place that does not have a limit and will absorb that comes into contact. If Zero loses control of his rationality, I'm afraid that he will end up destroying everything in his path."

Tanya nodded. She understood that Zero's existence was special. As an Empath Spirit from the Natural Plane, Tanya could see things that nobody else could see. She was able to see life particles from specks of mana. Often, the Queen Dryad will collect these intelligent scraps of life and gather them in one place so that they can fuse together and form a small soul. It's just a lot more complicated to do so when there are millions of mana matches and types that repel each other when making a soul. It's the reason why Tanya travelled far and wide. She was searching for one more last mana scrap to form another rare soul from the fallen Star Guardians. It was becoming harder to find them as time passed and Tanya wasn't very confident that there would be any more Star Guardian descendant souls to be made after this Pisces child. It was a true pity, star souls were always beautiful to look at.

On the other hand, Zero has no soul. Whenever the young doctor comes over, Tanya is immediately looking at a ball of amassed magic, energy and miscellaneous things that she was sometimes unable to understand. Ever since Zero came back from hell, Tanya was able to track him wherever he went. The plants and spirits would often report the strange sighting to her. There were small fragments of different souls inside of Zero and Tanya wasn't sure if they were part of the young doctor's original self. An ordinary body containing more than one soul would immediately experience rejection and the host often dies if one soul doesn't win control to devour the other soul fast enough. For Zero, it's like a party where all the different souls made merry and were at peace with each other, if not complimenting each other's existence.

"We could potentially replicate something similar to chakra and meridian channels for Zero. The Sage Gods were expecting this and also they made it more efficient this time by 'programming' the new vessel to process food for self-sustenance before transferring the rest into Zero's dimension. However, the system only functions if Zero has Enma's bag near him. We will use that dimensional bag to support the connection between the vessel and the void. If you can do that then I don't see why Zero cannot have chakra and meridian channels created."

Tanya was elated. Without further delay, she returned to where Zero was waiting. The Dryad Queen didn't want to keep her small friend waiting for too long. She was also excited about seeing Zero finally fulfil his dream of being able to use transformation magic to fly.

The young doctor had taken to sitting in a tall fir tree and catching bugs that resided in the barks with his magic before setting them free on the forest ground. Tanya was amused by the sight when she found him. While bugs that ate away at a tree's insides were harmful, the birds that ate these bugs were usually not as thoughtful about the damage caused to her trees when they pecked and chipped away at the poor tree. Those birds always left her tree trunks exposed to other things like moss and frost. It was frustrating but such was the way of life. Without death fertilising the plane and contributing to the unique mana, Tanya would have been long put out of her job.

"You're back!" Zero beamed and jumped off the twenty feet tall tree. Tanya cringed at the expected impact but it never came. She saw how Zero skilfully used his squirrel onesie to glide down and applauded at the trick.

Once Zero safely landed and changed back into his stuffy lab coat, Tanya didn't wait to tell him the good news.

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"Gaia says that we can finish creating your channels in one night. It might be complicated but I will guide you."

Overjoyed, the brunet readily agreed and got into position as told while Tanya called a few friends.

The Dryad Queen helped to set up a formation around the rock that Zero was told to meditate on. It didn't take very long for the six great spirits that she contacted earlier to arrive. Every great spirit that arrived represented one element and with all six great spirits in place, they were finally ready to start.

The young doctor couldn't help but be nervous and excited. Unlike his old body that was unable to recover mana or produce any of its own, doing this will let his new vessel act like a normal magician. Zero knew that in order to be able to learn magic-combat from Ruth, he had to be able to renew his mana without eating everything on Endow Hill.

Tanya and the six great elemental spirits started singing and weaving the spells while Zero did his job to focus on regulating the balance between magic and qi. Tanya's instructions were simple. He had to let go and disperse what was causing an imbalance in his body throughout the process while the spirits forcefully pumped mana and qi into his vessel.

Gaia's new vessel was able to grow in response to the things it was exposed to. Hence, the easiest way to create channels for mana and qi was to constantly expose it to both forces.

Slowly but surely, Zero felt the change. The warmth spiralled from the bottom of his stomach and spread to the tips of his fingers and toes. However, it didn't remain stagnant like the previous time. With the spirits controlling the flow, the energy circulated throughout the small branches that were created.

Zero allowed Tanya to forcefully flood his small and fragile channels, breaking them open and widening the passageways. With healing magic in the spell weaving, the broken channels constantly broke and repaired itself to become stronger. Zero didn't know if this was considered as painful while the channels developed. All he knew was that at the back of his mindscape and back in the lamp where his actual body was, things were beginning to change too.

Zero thought that he'd spent days working on dispersing all the excess mana and qi to the surroundings whenever it got too close to tipping that balance and was mentally tired. However, for the spirits weaving the spells and Tanya who was coordinating the ritual, they were all amazed by Zero's progress. The Dryad Queen thought that Zero would have requested to take a break for about two hours ago but the brunet hadn't said anything.

They were about seventy percent done with the creation of new channels. At this point, Tanya asked if Zero was tired and needed a break. The next step of linking Zero's channels to his void was critical and they couldn't afford a misstep.

"I think I need a break. I've been sitting here for days that my butt has gone numb," Zero whined and the Dryad Queen paused the ritual with amusement.

Zero opened his eyes and realised that it was already night. He marvelled at the beauty of the six great elemental spirits during his break while Tanya explained to him about the void-linking limitations.

"That's no problem," he told the great queen. If carrying Enma's bag around was all he needed to do for the convenient power, Zero was more than happy to do so. In fact, he felt more reassured that his new body wouldn't self destruct due to his natural powers.

After resting for a while more, Zero was ready to continue.

"I need you to continuously absorb the mana and qi in equal amounts to the void using King Yama's bag as the medium. Absorb it slowly but steadily, the spirits will supply you with the mana and qi required. I will sew the connection myself so any mistakes here will result in the destruction of King Yama's bag."

Zero nodded and was immediately focussed on the task at hand once the ritual resumed.

Although absorbing things was easy, Zero found maintaining it at a steady pace in small amount incredibly difficult. Usually, he tried to inhale everything in one go and felt sleepy after that but now, it's like asking a starving man to chew fifty times before swallowing a single mouthful of food. Zero was frustrated. Why couldn't he absorb everything at one go and be done with it?

Tanya sensed Zero frustration and scolded the boy.

"Patience. All good things must be waited for. Think of it as nurturing a child. Only the best quality can bring out the best results. Focus on the present, don't think about anything else."

Zero inhaled and calmed his mind once more, reminding himself over and over again in his mind like a mantra that it was only a one-time thing.

Slowly but surely, the spell was completed and the six great elemental spirits excused themselves. Tanya smiled as the sun peeked over the horizon. All in a night's work and Zero tested his new abilities out.

Back in the lamp, Bob panicked. Why wasn't Zero back yet? The dragon and the strawcherry fairy tried many ways of waking Zero up from his meditative trance to no avail. The alarm was about to go off soon but the brunet was still not back yet from his trip. Should they get Hua Tuo or Baal?

Just before Bob could bring up the suggestion, Zero blinked and his left eye turned back to the regular hazel colour instead of that eerie green. He stretched and yawned.

"That was a nice nap!" he declared and Bob gave him the stink eye. Zero was a terrible liar and everyone knew that the doctor certainly wasn't sleeping.

"What did you do?" the dragon asked but Zero was tight-lipped about it.

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"You'll find out when I have my magic-combat practice," he told his guardians who couldn't stop him when he escaped the lamp in record time.

In the hut, Hua Tuo wasn't pleased. Zero ducked his head and approached his teacher with a kicked puppy look.

"You're late!" the physician yelled. "Where have you been?"

Zero bowed in apology and simply said, "The forest."

Hua Tuo didn't question it and told the disciple to fetch water from the river later to tend to the crops as punishment for being tardy. Zero heaved a sigh of relief, happy that Hua Tuo didn't question which forest he'd been to. It would have been awkward trying to explain how he ended up in the Great Mountain Range in the Natural Plane!

Ball of Nothing

Hua Tuo wasn't too happy about Zero's tardiness. The young doctor was becoming more and more undisciplined ever since he returned from the abyss. The ways of the Demons must be rubbing off him a lot and the Sage God wondered if letting Zero stay there for such a long time was a bad idea. While Zero had indeed matured both physically, mentally and emotionally, he was becoming less obedient.

Just when Hua Tuo was thinking of what sort of punishment to give Zero, he felt something that made his old bones rattle. Behind him, he watched as Zero execute the qi gong exercise with the same fluidity but with something more this time.

"That's..." The Sage God's eyes widened in surprise and he stopped what he was doing to simply stare at his apprentice.

Impossible! The Sage God couldn't believe what he was looking at. With the destruction of the first Earth, Hua Tuo never imagined that there would be cultivators who were able to understand just how profound his qi gong was. This was something that could only be attained by thousands of years in cultivating qi.

The Sage God frowned. Only yesterday, Zero still couldn't manage to harness qi in his body and divert its flow. Today, Zero was not only able to harness qi and divert the flow, but he was also able to produce qi of his own by converting the energy in the dense magical air of Endow Hill. The medicine God took a look at Zero's channels and was surprised to see that they were not only perfectly formed but trained to the maximum potential. This level of hardening and widening would have taken even the most talented cultivators a few thousand years to achieve.

The refined qi flowing through Zero's meridians was golden like honey and smooth like silk. Not even Hua Tuo was able to attain his ideal form of cultivation. Only Buddha was able to create such pure qi because of his domain. Buddha basically can purify anything with his existence and that was a mega cheat that Hua Tuo was jealous about.

Speaking of cheats, Hua Tuo eyed his disciple suspiciously. There was also one brat who excelled at cheating too.

Could it be..?

"Zero," the Sage God called out and stopped the boy.

The apprentice was clearly not expecting to be stopped so early into the exercise. He knew that there were still three more repetitions to do before the routine ended. Why was his teacher deviating from the norm? Hua Tuo isn't someone who enjoyed a lot of changes and preferred to stick to his old ways. The man was super resistant to change and obstinate about things. For Zero to be told to stop, was the world coming to an end?

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"Come here," the old man beckoned and Zero walked over unsteadily. Sure, he wasn't able to practice much of this in the abyss because they were constantly on the move. However, Zero thought that he remembered the forms correctly. Even if his mind forgot, he didn't think that his body would forget... unless the mistakes were caused by the change in vessels with different sizes!

Zero stiffened when he approached Hua Tuo. Was his teacher going to scold him for skiving? Those were circumstances out of his control too so Zero felt like he shouldn't be blamed for it at all.

"What have you been doing in the forest last night?"

The question was simple and Zero felt his knees go weak. Has his teacher found out that he didn't follow the bedtime curfew and sneaked out?

"Do you feel anything different this morning when you're practising the qi gong?"

Zero didn't know how to answer Hua Tuo. While he felt very strong from all the qi buzzing inside of him right now, Zero didn't know if it was anything different from normal. The exercises still didn't make any sense to him.

"I don't think so?"

Hua Tuo frowned. That can't be.

"You've already broken through to the highest tier of cultivation. There isn't any real need to be practising the gathering of qi in your dantian any longer. We can move on to the next stage. You can start learning the self-defence techniques using qi to reinforce yourself."

Zero blinked. Self-defence techniques? He had some of those.

"I think Lord Amon has taught me a few neat tricks. Master, would you like to see? Amon claims that they are the most powerful techniques that can help me escape any dangerous situation."

Hearing that made the Sage God curious. he didn't think that someone would be one step ahead of him to teach the brunet self-defence arts. However, when Zero got into position and started doing strange stabbing movements to where a person's eyes would normally be, the Sage God took it all back. The abyss was a horrible influence on Zero after all! Things were only escalated to an alarming degree when Zero demonstrated the groin kick.

"I think that's good enough," Hua Tuo hurried to stop his disciple and felt cold sweat soaking his shirt. If the Great Gods ever knew what their precious creator had learnt, he was going to blame it all on Baal.

Zero didn't know why his teacher looked so pale. These techniques were extremely effective. Perhaps he was doing it the wrong way.

Hua Tuo had a hard time trying to convince his apprentice that there was nothing wrong with the way he executed those self-defensive moves. However, he couldn't tell Zero that Amon had taught him well. That Demon Lord had taught Zero a little too well that caused Hua Tuo to fear for his life. Instead of staying on that subject, the Sage God decided to demonstrate breaking rocks with his bare hands after reinforcing them with qi.

Zero watched in amazement at what Hua Tuo could accomplish. This was the power of qi and cultivation? It was so powerful! While wind magic could slice rocks, it couldn't make it shatter the way Hua Tuo did. To make things more impressive, Hua Tuo did not seem to have hurt his hand at all. The old man was still fit as a fiddle and Zero looked at his teacher with a new kind of admiration.

"What? Interested now?"

"Yes! Please teach me how to do that too!"

Hua Tuo pretended to consider. "Hmm, what should I do? My apprentice has become more disobedient lately after growing up. Maybe if he calls me 'shifu' I will teach him how to do that."

Zero didn't hesitate. After waiting for so long, there was finally something new to learn. The brunet pounced at that opportunity and called Hua Tuo shifu without regard to who was listening in the vicinity.

Hua Tuo didn't let that go to waste and recorded it. There was now leverage against a certain Wizard God and Hua Tuo felt satisfied. Wasting no time, they went through the basics of forcing qi to form a layer outside of his body.

Zero thought that it would be easy to control qi like magic. However, ten minutes into the lesson, he realised that it wasn't as simple. Unlike magic, qi was like a stubborn rubber band that snapped back into his body when Zero didn't hold onto it tight enough. That was odd.

After the fifth failure, Hua Tuo sensed that something wasn't right. Normally, those who had cultivated their qi to this level would naturally be able to control the flow and will it to encompass a shape outside of their body. It was used as an aura armour for fights between pugilists in the past. For Zero to be unable to control something as basic as this meant only two things. Either Zero did not attain the powers by himself or the body the Great Gods made for Zero is not properly calibrated to his growth. the only way to find out is to test Zero.

"Hold it. This isn't working. We will take a few steps back. Can you start by circulating your qi in the dantian? Hold it there and don't let it spread elsewhere."

Zero sat down in a meditative position before entering his inner world like how Hua Tuo had taught him. This time, the apprentice didn't visit the void. Instead, he focussed on the qi spiralling and circulating within his body.

Slowly, he pulled the qi back into his dantian like coiling a ball of threads. Hua Tuo watched this happen with understanding. If Zero was able to control the qi inside of his body and not outside, that meant Zero cheated for this ability. A few months back, Zero had proven he was naturally gifted with cultivation. However, by developing the meridian channels without practising the opening of meridian points through hard work, the boy would never be able to use the power he had attained.

Also, there was something strange that Hua Tuo spotted with his Medicine Eye. Apart from fully developed meridian channels, Zero also had a complete set of chakra channels that was compatible with all elemental magic. It was extremely rare for anyone to be compatible with all magic types and even rarer to see anyone be completely adept in all elements. Magicians usually have a stronger affinity with one and weaker affinity with the others. Not even Merlin was spared from this. However, Zero didn't have such weakness and it made Hua Tuo suspicious.

Something definitely happened last night when Zero snuck out. This development was definitely the work of some other powerful individual.

Wanting to confirm his suspicion, Hua Tuo called Ruth over to begin Zero's first magic-combat lesson.

The vampire didn't go easy on Zero at all and Hua Tuo watched as Ruth beat his disciple up. Zero healed his wounds with healing magic after the end of each sparring match round. He was told to use defensive magic to hold up and block Ruth's attacks but the vampire was way too fast! The young doctor could barely follow Ruth with his eyes. If it wasn't for the intuitive gift, Zero would have been knocked out of commission at least eight times within the first fifteen minutes.

After observing or a good half an hour, Hua Tuo told the boys to wash up while he prepared breakfast. He was slightly disappointed to know that Zero's cultivation was not a product of his own but by the assistance of some other powerful individuals. He wanted to ask Zero for some tips about how to achieve that type of pure qi but after knowing that Zero didn't do this on his own, the physician was depressed.

Until he solved the mystery of Zero's aider, Hua Tuo was determined to put all magic and cultivation training on hold. He would start with the basics of surgery and acupuncture instead. Zero should be ready for it now that he'd grown into a fine young man.

While the Sage God was confident that Zero wouldn't waver at the sight of a knife, he needed to know if Zero would be able to perform the traditional surgery without the use of healing magic. Stitching back skin and organs were sometimes required according to the traditional surgical methods. If Zero wanted to be a doctor, he needed to learn everything Hua Tuo knew. the Sage God still stubbornly believed that life should be lived without the influence of magic as much as possible. for some reason, he viewed magic as a way to disrupt a human's way of life and introduce a whole new array of problems.

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With that firm belief, he decided to send a carrier pigeon to a certain expert seamstress in Half Moon Village.

When the pigeon landed, the dark elf was pleasantly surprised that her presence was so quickly requested. After being unable to catch much of Zero after his return from the abyss with the sudden announcement of his new position of the village head, Mitchnew had been experiencing Zero-withdrawal symptoms. Her husband was also not around to ease that loneliness so when the letter came, Mitchnew packed immediately before informing Zenobia that she would be gone for a few days.

Back in Endow Hill, Hua Tuo sent a text to ask around about the mysterious individual who helped Zero to cheat with his cultivation base. It didn't take the Sage God very long to know who it was and Hua Tuo sighed when he received a reply.

The Sage God of Medicine looked wistful. It was only the first official day of Zero's return to resume his training and yet there had been so many changes. He glanced at the sky and sighed deeper this time. The sun hasn't even risen but already Hua Tuo wanted to crawl back into bed and pretend that everything was just a bad dream.

Oh, how he despised change!

Zero didn't know why he was suddenly allowed to go off and play. In fact, now that he had so much free time, the young doctor didn't know what he wanted to start with first. There was a long list of things he wanted to do by himself without the strict supervision of the adults but he looked at his assistants in the mindscape. Neither of them was free to entertain him. Zero vaguely entertained the idea of travelling back to Half Moon Village but then dismissed the idea quickly. It would be the same all over again. There would be adults and it wasn't easy for Zero to have such opportunities to be truly alone.

With that, the boy decided to let his feet take him to wherever it wanted to go. Mindlessly, Zero ambled through the familiar forest grounds of Endow Hill.

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Back in the hut, Hua Tuo and Ruth sat crossed-legged on the floor. They put their heads together to demystify the cryptic messages translated by Bob. Sure, Hua Tuo understood some of what the book was saying. After all, it came from his old world where Chinese philosophy ran strong in the blood of all Chinese. The mysterious art was a strange modified form of the old martial art called Tai Ji, fashioned after Hua Tuo's qi gong foundation.

Ruth was amazed by how quick they were able to decipher the martial arts manual with Hua Tuo's involvement. The vampire was initially sceptical about enlisting the Sage God's help because the doctor wasn't exactly a combat expert. However, he was also at a stalemate with the final puzzle at the end. The physician knew a lot of meditation so Ruth allowed Hua Tuo to join in with the decryption process.

It was strange how Hua Tuo was able to look at the translated text and match it with the moves it portrayed without even referring to the reference guide that Ruth had prepared. The Roth vampire had spent hours trying to understand which phrase of the meditation state belonged to which moves. It wasn't always very clear what the phrase was referring to. However, if Ruth had to describe it, the phrases were often captions for the movements portrayed. For example, the shifting of centrifugal force from the attacker to counter their offensive strike was captioned "Receive and transfer the received gift". The Roth vampire could understand why such a caption would be formed but for the more elusive ones like "Hiding a knife behind a smile'', the magic-combat teacher was lost.

On the other hand, Hua Tuo couldn't believe that although the Chinese from the old Earth were extinct, their teachings remained. It was even more surprising that they lived on through the teachings of weaker demons in the abyss. The marsupial demons were known to be small and weak but they never lost against the bigger and stronger opponents. Many could not understand how they did it but Hua Tuo knew. Back in those days, Hua Tuo knew how the Chinese fought against terrifying weapons made from gunpowder with their bare hands. The God of War during his time cut down enemies from horseback using his reclining moon blade spear. That terrifying human defied cannons, flaming arrows and guns without a shield. His name was Guan Yu.

That strong general instilled the bravery that weak Chinese lacked and they formed an art based on the wisdom of Confucius' teachings. Martial Arts were birthed based on philosophy. Scholars of the old were famous for both their wits and martial skills. Without both, one would only be labelled as a brute or empty-headed academic. Hua Tuo also lived through the age of pugilists where martial arts were created by different philosophies found. Some hermits created weird arts that only they could practice. Ou Yang Feng was one such renowned recluse who specialised in the philosophy of "countering poison with poison" and formed the Toad Skill martial art.

With his rich life experience, it wasn't very difficult for Hua Tuo to identify what the meditation scripture was for. While the physician hasn't seen a real martial art manual even in his earlier days, he knew that there were two types of manuals. The first type was for external arts where a person practices it according to the illustrations and become stronger physically. However, for many skilled pugilists, they were only third-rated books. The true masters were able to comprehend martial arts through their philosophy.

A good example was the Nine Yin True Classic. That was a powerful skill cultivated wrongly by Mei Chaofeng by the wrong understanding of the arts. While the practitioner was able to master the skill, the wrong application and practice with her beliefs turned it into something sinister. The original Nine Yin True Classic was a virtuous martial art built upon Budha's teachings. However, with Mei Chaofeng's hatred in her heart, she was unable to fully master the manual's true intent to balance out the nine uses of yin qi against the yang qi produced by the nature of living humans. With that, Mei Chaofeng wrongly mastered the art and turned into a fearsome cultivator who increased her powers by killing countless people. The twisted art was then known as the Nine Yin White Bone Claw.

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Hua Tuo was thankful that Zero hasn't started cultivating the manual on his own. Amon was right to advise Zero against doing so. The physician knew that his student was very wise but some of the philosophy written in the Tai Ji manual made Hua Tuo hesitate with their interpretation. The physician would require more time to understand the depth of this philosopher's mind before he could be certain of what it meant.

While Hua Tuo worked diligently, scrutinising each line for an accurate interpretation, Ruth tried the movements out and thought about his student. Zero wasn't going to be growing much taller because the vampire heard about the limitations of his created vessel from the physician. Gaia was careful to make the body stagnant. That means Zero would eternally appear like a teenager.

Standing at about five feet tall, Zero was about as tall as the marsupials who once practised the combat art with some exceptions. Those marsupials had an extra limb that Zero did not have. They included tail whips into their routine and had shorter arms with extremely powerful hind legs. The Roth vampire found it ridiculous to follow the book step by step.

"Doctor," Ruth called out as he paused at yet another move. "Can we change this move here? They're using the tail weight to shift their weights and throw the enemy off in two directions. Unless Zero grows a tail, it can't be done."

Hua Tuo looked up from his transcribing work and nodded. "What do you want to change it to? The text for this move is "Steady and firm like the roots but flexible like the branches swaying in the wind". I don't see a problem with the philosophy but you can't remove the footwork."

Ruth frowned in deep thoughts. Even with Hua Tuo's identification of the texts, Ruth still had problems comprehending the meaning behind the words. For a magic-combatant, mobility and power were what concluded the fight. Instincts and skills were other factors but that was about it. Vampires played fewer mind-games when fighting because they didn't need it. Their speed, instincts and senses were superior to a lot of other species.

Hua Tuo looked at Ruth's troubled expression and studied the diagram.

"How would it look like if you did it without the tail without modification?" he asked.

The Roth vampire put the book down and got into position. His legs were shoulder-width apart and he explained that a tail should be adding weight to the back while he bent one knee forward in a lunging position, preparing to twist his waist while grabbing two enemies attacking from both ends to throw them opposite sides.

"In some cases, the flexibility of the practitioner and the shorter height advantage allows them to bend their waist backwards like a windmill to throw their enemies in a wider circle. However, the legs will not leave this half-bent position on one knee. The tail is meant to support the lack of support on the straightened leg and pull the weight back if the attacker's force is greater than what the force of standing still is. More often than not, the weight of the enemy plays a huge factor."

Hua Tuo nodded as Ruth explained how the gravity will interfere with how the marsupials will apply this move with the following move combination.

"We have five options from here depending on how the situation plays out," he told the physician with a heavy sigh. "The tail can trip the enemies after throwing them off balance, help the marsupial swing over their enemies and use that momentum to throw them over by their necks, help them avoid a knife slash from the horizontal field by falling back onto their coiled tails making them less than a foot tall in height, use it to hit someone in the groin or go for a hind kick feint and tail whip combo."

The physician nodded. He had to hand it to the marsupial demons. They were clearly witty and had good reflexes. No wonder the larger and more powerful demons often couldn't win them. The only limitations these small demons had was stamina. From what the Sage God knew, they were wiped out in a war against a clan with larger numbers. It was truly a shame. Hua Tuo felt that if this art was taught to many, the level of martial arts will once again reach the golden age back in the days of the first Earth.

"I understand now. It is indeed frustrating. With only two hands and two legs, Zero's options are limited. You have the same number of limbs as Zero. What would you propose if it were you?"

Ruth sighed and sat down. "I don't really know. This method of fighting is very different from what I was raised with. We Roth vampires prided ourselves in instincts and speed. You could compare our fighting style with assassination. It's usually swift and precise. There are no real wasted movements or compromises. We deliver one-hit kills if possible and if it doesn't work, we edge into the enemy's space as much as possible attacking all openings. It's the reason why we are famous as close-combat fighters."

Hua Tuo took a look at the diagrams drawn. Indeed. The martial arts manual was something more for mid-range combat than close-range combat. There weren't many close-combat skills but the physician found the few skills written in the manual interesting.

"How about this?" he pointed at a different page. That was a joint locking technique and Hua Tuo was impressed by how advanced their anatomy knowledge was to create such an effective lock hold.

Ruth took a look at it and raised a brow. "How does this work? I've never done it before in my entire life. Also, the image looks complicated. How can we execute this is a high-paced brawl?"

Hua Tuo hummed. He wasn't very experienced with combat either but if it was simply getting into position, Hua Tuo would be able to demonstrate. This was something like chiropractic therapy. The art of bone setting existed long before he became a doctor. Locking techniques were rather similar.

"I could demonstrate how it should be applied if you'd like to know how it works," Hua Tuo offered.

Ruth took a look at the diagram and sighed. "Sure. I don't know what to do so you'll have to guide me."

Hua Tuo grinned. Without reservations, the physician coerced the vampire who was beginning to regret his decision.

Mitchnew arrived at the hut and was pleasantly surprised by the sight of two men playing wrestling at their age. Ruth didn't look like he was doing too well with how he was yelping in pain at that immobilising lock hold.

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"Am I interrupting something?" the dark elf asked as she put her bag down.

Hua Tuo released Ruth who immediately went slack and groaned on the floor.

"Hello Mitchnew, it's still rather early. We are not quite done with lunch preparations yet. Would you like to help Ruth with his work? We're currently exploring a new martial art book. I've put all the translated text for the meditation portion to the movements but the moves need modification before Zero can start practising them."

The ex-assassin became interested at the mention of a martial arts manual. She only heard of those books but they were usually a collector's item. For a trained fighter like her, she wanted to know how cultivators fought without magic.

"Sure," she smiled and joined Ruth as Hua Tuo excused himself to get started on lunch preparations. He didn't know where his apprentice had gone but he wasn't worried. Zero would return as soon as his stomach started protesting. The physician would bet his sanity on that.

Ball of Nothing

True to his prediction, Zero came teleporting in just as lunch was ready. The apprentice was slightly surprised to see the dark elf but didn't mind. In fact, a big smile broke out on his face. Hua Tuo left Mitchnew to entertain Zero who seemed interested in the martial arts practice.

"What is this new game?" he asked curiously.

Ruth wanted to snap at his student. Which part of this looked like a game to him? Then again, Zero it probably appeared like a game to the youth who had yet to see many things about the world.

"Get off me!" he hollered at Mitchnew who was sitting on his back, pinning him to the floor while she locked one of his arms with her knees and had his head in a tight elbow lock.

The assassin didn't look apologetic as she released her hold on the vampire. If anything, she didn't know how the Roth vampire was a respected warrior. He brought disgrace to the skilled fighters and Mitchnew was willing to bet that her husband and ex-student would easily hold his own against this young vampire. Still, she was highly interested in the strange fighting style in Lord Amon's book. Already, the ex-assassin saw potential in the weird art.

Zero caught sight of the martial arts manual and raised a brow. Was that how the martial art looked like? It seemed more like horsing around than actual fighting. He didn't know if sitting on top of his enemy would be effective. Given his small size, they would throw him off like a wild horse throwing off their inexperienced riders.

"It's a new fighting style that we're trying out. Martial art manuals sure are interesting," Mitchnew smiled and took the opportunity to glomp Zero. Although the boy had matured into a teenager, he was still the right size and height for a cuddle.

Zero struggled for a while in Mitchnew's hold but gave up as soon as he started. It wasn't very often that the lady was very forward. Compared to Qin Yun and Coux, Mitchnew was not as bad... at least she gave him space to breathe. Like most elves, Mitchnew wasn't bouncy in the front so Zero didn't mind. Her long and straight white hair was usually tied up into a high ponytail while her doll-like bangs framed her youthful face so Zero wasn't always spitting hair when he was hugged.

Ruth got himself composed and glared at the lady who was choking him earlier. If people didn't know, they would have mistaken him for her younger brother. Both of them had white hair, red eyes and never aged. The only difference was how pale Ruth was and how tanned Mitchnew was.

The vampire wasn't the only one who caught on to the similarities. Zero did too after Mitchnew allowed him to leave. As Mitchnew and Ruth bickered, the young doctor giggled to himself. They made very good siblings even if they didn't know it. Already, Zero thought that he was blessed to have Ruth and Mitchnew as his unofficial brother and sister.

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Still, the messy handwriting only pointed to one person. Zero raised a brow. Why would his shifu write poems all of a sudden? Also, most of them didn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't in his teacher's nature to word things so full of flowery language. Hua Tuo was a very straightforward person and this was more of Buddha's thing.

"Shifu, when did you pick up a new hobby? Also, this is terrible! "Attacking a snake at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail. Attacking at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head. Attacking it in the middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both." Why couldn't it be simplified to "Slapping wherever there is a spare hand"? The picture says it already... if the enemy doesn't limit all your limbs, you should use whatever is at your disposal to attack."

Ruth and Mitchnew blinked. That was technically correct. However, as fighters, they knew that it was easier said than done.

Likewise, Hua Tuo was stunned speechless.

"Zero, that doesn't work very easily in a fight. Your teachers are trying to find a good way to create a special set of martial arts for you to practice. The book Lor Amon gifted you was created by marsupial demons who had a very different body structure to you. It's not the same."

Zero didn't believe it and flipped through the book. Bob's translation made less sense than Hua Tuo's scribbles so Zero read it without comprehending the first time. After his teacher had written down the decrypted meaning of those strange stories, Zero was finally able to understand what it meant.

"Oh! I see... yes, I think I understand now. Actually, I don't think anything from this manual has to be changed. We can just practise it according to the teachings."

Mitchnew didn't know where Zero got his confidence form but she found it interesting. "Really? Can you demonstrate to us how one would use this move then?" the half-elf pointed to a picture depicting a ground rolling move that involved using the tail to whip the enemies above while spinning.

Zero studied it and the text beneath before nodding. Ruth offered to be the enemy in the position depicted and everyone watched as Zero lowered himself.

Ruth lunged in for a grabbing attack and Zero followed the instructions to duck low and spin on the ground. However, this was the end of the similarities from the book. With a quick movement, Zero did a side flip on his hands and threw his legs in a wide swing before tumbling to the ground and doing a second rolling kick with his hands supporting the weight of his upper half and his head pressed sideways into the ground.

Ruth jumped back with the extra range of the attack and Zero flipped upright again. He might not know how to fight but he'd been around Clowis and Leon to know some neat tricks. They often play wrestled and this was one of the skills he learnt. The trick to it was mastering the balance.

Mitchnew, Ruth and Hua Tuo were speechless.

"A gentleman waits for his revenge while lying low. At the sight of chance, flee like the rabbit and attack like the enraged wasps."

Zero looked smug at his ability to memorise the movement's philosophy. However, nobody was ready when Zero added his own interpretation to the meaning.

"Another way of saying this is to play possum and give one good shot at the right time before fleeing while the enemy is distracted. I did well, didn't I? Took you all by surprise by pretending to fall and then using that momentum to send kicks."

The victory sign Zero gave Ruth made the vampire laugh. "Is that what you call a fall? I saw you squatting down with your hands coming up to cover your ears. That was more like a tortoise hiding back into its shell if you asked me. Play possum? Which part of that did you play possum?"

Zero's face turned red and he glared half-heartedly at the vampire. "I didn't have enough time to plan my act! You came in too quickly before I could pretend to faint!"

Mitchnew covered her mouth to silence a laugh as Zero defended himself against Ruth's teasing. On the other side of the kitchen, Hua Tuo stirred the soup pot while staring at his apprentice. For Zero to have such an understanding of the things wise men took centuries to discover, he was truly on a different level.

Zero's wisdom wasn't one that's learnt by conventional methods. It was instinctual and Hua Tuo felt conflicted. he spent many years struggling through the muddy waters with no clear sight of the solution to his troubles. Even after attaining immortality, Hua Tuo constantly asked himself what the purpose of his existence was and what use was trying to save lives when the world was designed to be built on the cycle of souls.

Lunch was soon prepared and the four occupants enjoyed the somewhat lavish spread. They still had some leftovers from last night's dinner that Hua Tuo transformed into a flavourful broth. Mitchnew was humbled by the simple but delicious traditional cuisine Hua Tuo prepared. While Zoe was a fantastic cook, Mitchnew hardly had the chance to enjoy something simpler. this reminded her of her humble beginnings when her hands were still clean from bloodstains.

Ruth was still studying the translated text from Bob and Hua Tuo's notes. He kept eyeing Zero who burped loudly before apologising profusely for the rude mannerisms. The vampire was slightly peeved. For some reason, he didn't understand how Zero, a creature who lived many years younger than him, was able to understand something so mentally profound. This was intelligence that superseded his ability to comprehend.

Unsatisfied, Ruth decided to test Zero a little more. "Zero, what does this phrase mean? "When the enemy looks left, slap him from the right. When the enemy looks right, slap him from the left. But when the enemy looks at you, smile and ask for his name." This is the translated text from Bob without Hua Tuo's notes. how would you interpret it without the diagram?"

Zero made a face and chewed slowly as he thought about it. There were several ways to interpret it without a diagram. Ruth must be testing him to see if he could understand the strange martial art. If he was right, Sekkin told him that the marsupial demons were very small but aggressive creatures. They were not against using shameless techniques to win fights. Underhand and dirty tricks were their saving grace and with every enemy they slew, these demons learnt to be craftier. surely they won't be polite about it if they were being targeted by someone. This has to be a trick.

"I'm not sure what the right way of interpreting this is but knowing how the marsupial demons think, I would guess that it is a team formation. If a marsupial demon was up against multiple enemies or have a team of allies to work with, they would use the diversion technique to reduce the numbers. Slapping the opposite sight where the enemy looks are straightforward enough. It's common sense to attack blind spots. However, in the direct field of vision, the only blind spot to attack is from the back or from the top or bottom. Asking for someone's name and smiling is a diversion technique to throw the enemy off guard. The ally can then attack from the blind spots not accessible to the one being targeted. Also, if the marsupial demon was alone, doing this can create an opening that they require to attack and immobilise the enemy. That's how I would have done it if I were as small and weak as the marsupial demons."

Ruth compared Zero's answers to Hua Tuo's notes and was defeated. His student was a gifted philosopher and had a natural gift for martial arts. Why would Zero require him as a combat teacher now?

Mitchnew sensed the vampire's distress and decided to take pity on the poor Roth survivor. She flung a fallen piece of bean at Zero with a powerful flick and Zero caught it clumsily in the hand that wasn't occupied by the chopstick.

The dark elf smirked. "If that was a bomb or poison, you would have died," she told the brunet who blinked and simply ate the bean before sticking his tongue out.

The ex-assassin gave Ruth a meaningful side glance and almost immediately, Ruth felt better. That's right. Zero might be way ahead of him in terms of philosophy and understanding martial arts but he was still lacking in the basics of fighting. The apprentice was simply too innocent! as the combat teacher, he had a duty to pound in common sense into Zero's head.

Oblivious to the silent interaction between Mitchnew and Ruth, Hua Tuo jumped on the boat to 'quiz' Zero one of the issues that plagued him for a long time now.

"Zero, how would you interpret this saying? "Life is like a candle in the wind. Like Mayflies, they work hard to dance and sing for only but a night before extinguishing without a trace like an elusive dream". What do you think of such a thing as an aspiring doctor?"

Zero blinked. This quote was slightly different from the ones he'd read in the book. Still, he gave it careful consideration. The saying was inferring to the fragile nature of life. It wasn't easy for life to be created but at any point in time, it could be extinguished forever. Keeping something alive was harder than taking it away. Even if Zero could save someone once, an accident could easily rob that person of their opportunity to live for another day the very moment he left.

At first instance, Zero felt hopeless. What's the point in saving someone today if they were destined to visit Enma tomorrow? But then Zero remembered the look of hope on Grandma Moppo's face when he told her there was a chance for her to walk and run again. Nobody knew what would happen if it failed but Grandma Moppo had already resigned herself to not being able to ever walk again. Zero and Hua Tuo also knew that while they could cure Grandma Moppo's bad knees now, there would be a high possibility that the condition may reoccur again in the future. Still, they went ahead with the operation.

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Would Zero and Hua Tuo have decided not to do it after all? It was a huge waste of mana reserves to create new knees that were only going to go bad again in a few years. Thinking about it logically, there was no real point in doing what they did. Grandma Moppo might have been better off not going through the pain of losing her walking ability twice as well. However, this wasn't Zero and Hua Tuo's decision to make. It would make Grandma Moppo's life a lot happier in that short moment that she could regain her ability to walk without aid. It was the same as mayflies who only lived for a night. While it would be less painful to not be born at all if they were only going to die after experiencing a single day-night cycle, Zero knew that if he were a mayfly, he would still choose to be born.

The thirst for life and the hunger of happiness is strong in all living things. As a doctor, who was he to deny such strong wills? For Zero, as long as his patient fought hard to live, he would do everything he could to ensure that they lived the one given life they had to the best that they possibly could.

Hua Tuo heard Zero answer and closed his eyes, nodding slowly. Indeed, his student had already surpassed him by a long way. He couldn't keep Zero caged under his wing for much longer now. The apprentice was ready to fly.

All that was holding Zero back was Hua Tuo's delay in teaching him the ancient arts of medicine. The Sage God knew that he couldn't deny his heart any longer. He would impart everything he had including his legacy to Zero to continue his broken dreams. After Zero mastered the art of acupuncture and surgery, Hua Tuo was going back into seclusion to cultivate for a thousand years. Who knows what the world would be by then?

Finally, there was something Hua Tuo could look forward to.

Ball of Nothing

A few days passed peacefully at the foot of Endow Hill. Mitchnew enjoyed spending time with the young doctor. It brought her great joy simply chatting with the apprentice in training. Zero proved to be more intelligent than anyone else thought he would be. Despite being young and inexperienced, the teenager was able to quickly grasp difficult concepts. However, the dark-elf realised that Zero fumbled a lot around whatever involved Mathematics.

The ex-assassin took it upon herself to keep Zero occupied. Unknown to Zero, both his teachers were busy making huge preparations. They would often go behind closed doors and discuss things for hours before emerging totally worn. Zero wondered why he wasn't allowed to listen in on their discussions and Mitchnew gently explained to him that it was a teacher's thing. The young doctor simply accepted it and asked no further, respecting their privacy much to the seamstress' surprise. She thought that he might actually throw a fuss over it and demand to be kept informed.

Zero might act childishly and sometimes like a spoilt child at times but Mitchnew found out it was due to the coddling in his upbringing ever since he'd regained his consciousness. The Great Gods were slowly but surely losing Mitchnew's respect as she got to know more. In fact, the ex-assassin was wondering if having Truen around was a good idea. In comparison, she thought that Demon Lord Baal was a better guardian and friend. At least he didn't give in to Zero so easily and lectured him when the teenager was wrong.

"Ouch!" Zero quickly pulled back as the needle pricked him for the nth number of times. Although he wasn't getting any better with the fine needlework practices, Zero was slowly getting the hang of fixing his messes with automatic healing magic.

Mitchnew didn't even flinch. She didn't smell blood this time, unlike the first two hours during their very first practice. Zero had been impatient and wanted to complete the task as quickly as possible. The teen tried his best to keep to the even spacing as told when doing basic basting stitch. However, some of them were too long and others too short. Mitchnew didn't say anything about his first needlework but Zero felt bad about it. The dark elf and pat his head gently and went through the areas that Zero needed to improve on.

For the whole day, Zero meditated lightly while he worked on perfecting his basic stitches. Mitchnew taught him all six basic stitching patterns - Running Stitch, Basting Stitch, Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Blanket Stitch and Slip Stitch. Hua Tuo overheard their lessons and didn't comment on it. To be honest, Zero doesn't need to master all the fancy embroidery techniques to perform traditional surgery. It didn't matter how ugly the surgeon's needlework was, as long as they could close up the huge wound with threads that wouldn't tangle until the body can heal itself up, it was good enough. Removing the stitches would be easier than stitching cut up flesh together. However, he didn't stop the dark elf from imparting her skills. His apprentice looked very determined to perfect the craft so Hua Tuo was more than happy to allow it to occupy his student.

While Zero focussed on improving the accuracy and speed of his needlework, Mitchnew was listening to the teachers' conversation.

"I don't want him killing," Hua Tuo was firm about it.

Ruth nodded. He could understand. This was for self-defence. Although it wasn't his speciality to work on the defence, the Roth vampire was an experienced combat veteran. using the sleepless nights to practice and think, the vampire managed to pull together a style that would suit Zero greatly. Using the teen's medical knowledge and Hua Tuo's suggestion to borrow the art called Tai Ji of his previous world, Ruth finally created a style that could be fought bare-handed and with a customised weapon that was easily available anywhere.

"I looked through all your suggestions for weapons that were non-lethal. Many of them looked promising but inconvenient. You mentioned that Zero would be constantly on the move, travelling from place to place and maybe even through dimensions. As such, I wanted to use materials easily obtained from any environment to create on short notice if Zero's weapon is broken, lost or stolen in a fight. This is my weapon of choice."

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Hua Tuo took a look at the sketch made by the vampire. It wasn't easy for Ruth to understand the uses of many weapons Hua Tuo suggested. However, the physician was impressed. Although the Roth Vampires didn't really use many weapons, the Roth survivor was still able to grasp their fundamentals very easily.

The Sage God had initially recommended using a set of acupuncture needles as weapons but Ruth disagreed. Zero might be a master of poison, medicine and acupressure points but that method of fighting just proved too scary. Anything could happen during a fight and acupuncture needles weren't infinite. Ruth worried about the resources and agreed that while it was a good idea, that should never be Zero's main weapon.

If anything, the vampire thought that the staff similar to Grandma Moppo's walking staff was the best choice. However, there was a concern about the flexibility of the weapon. The staff was a mid-ranged weapon and would only prove cumbersome in a close-range battle. Ruth wanted something that was retractable. Also, he knew that Zero was a caster. They might have to talk to some people if they wanted that staff to be both a melee and magic weapon. According to Hua Tuo, Zero received something from King Yama that served the same purpose of magic channelling. Even Merlin approved of its quality so if the lab members were able to somehow fuse it into his new weapon design, Zero would have the perfect weapon.

Mii listened silently in a corner of the room. She was attending the meeting on behalf of Wiser who was tasked by the Great Gods to create Zero's weapon. So far, she found the proposal to be good. However, there was one issue.

"Where will you get the materials for such a staff? King Yama's ring is a treasure and no ordinary wood will be able to fuse with it. It has to be something like a branch from the Tree of Life or Gaia's branch."

Ruth and Hua Tuo fell silent. Mii had a good point. They stared at the drawing of a retractable tonfa that transforms into a walking stick in the non-combat mode. The concept was great but nobody had answers to it.

"If we're lucky maybe Lord Mammon has something from the auction-"

Mii sighed before Hua Tuo could complete his sentence. "If you want the tonfa to grow, it requires life magic. Do you really think that the auction house would have something like that?"

The strawcherry was feeling frustrated. She'd checked with Coux before this and Wiser. There were two main concerns about developing such a weapon. Firstly, Coux didn't have the resources to make a Godly Tiered weapon. Wiser was also unconfident about fusing the magic ring into the crafted weapon. King Yama's power was strong and that ring was something that King Yama had nurtured in the Purgatory for a very long time. Even if they had the resources, Wiser didn't know if his lab members would be able to craft such a thing. Theoretically, they could. However, there were many uncertain factors when dealing with Godly Artefacts.

Still, Hua Tuo wasn't disheartened. The physician had a thoughtful expression on his face that gave Ruth some hope.

"It might be possible. If you're talking about branches from trees of the Godly Tier, we have a few in Heaven. They're just in a little bit of trouble right now. Nobody knows where the next Tree of Life is going to be found at but the last Tree of Life was found right here on Endow Hill. If someone could revive the withered Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, that would be another good tree to use. I also think that Gaia would not mind giving us one of her branches if it is for Zero."

Mii frowned. "How do you know that it will work? Such a magic imbued weapon doesn't yet exist in this world. Magic weapons crafted by dwarven smiths are usually carved by elven mages with runes. They require prayer power to work. Magic wands are blessed branches that spirits reside in. Not much crafting is done there. Nobody has ever made a magic channelling wand on this new Earth. They were things from Merlin's world when they were still working on elements and the philosopher's stone."

Ruth didn't know what Mii was talking about but Hua Tuo understood. By creating such a thing, it would be a major technological breakthrough for this world. When that happens, there would be ambitious people who will try to challenge the higher authorities. The war between humans and Gods might happen again.

The discussion was interrupted by Zero's shout.

"I did it!" Zero whooped in joy. Ruth couldn't help but be curious. What was his student up to this time?

Mitchnew looked amused as Zero continued to draw invisible lines in the air. The needles and cloth were held up using magic and there were six different projects going on at the same time. Ruth let his jaw all open at the ridiculous sight. Just when he thought things would finally settle down into something similar to normal, Zero had to pull off another logic-shattering way of doing ordinary things.

"Oh, you're done? Check this out! I might only have two hands but with this, I can do six different kinds of training at the same time!"

Hua Tuo deadpanned. Leave it to Zero to try to automate his menial tasks. What's the point of training into the traditional way of surgery when you had a student who could simply magic up a solution? The Sage God didn't understand. Why couldn't his student simply do things the way it was normally done? Why would he ask Zero to learn to stitch if he was still suing magic in the end? Might as well tell Zero to use healing magic to heal it all up instead.

At this point, the physician didn't know who was worse. Baal might have influenced his student too much and taught Zero how to be lazy in a more creative way. It was unacceptable.

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With a resigned sigh, Hua Tuo gave up and left to prepare lunch. At least this time, Zero wasn't causing him any trouble. That was improvement already and Hua Tuo counted his blessings.

"Who wants dumpling noodles for lunch?" he asked and immediately, Zero requested for three servings and a side of extra dumplings.

Annoyed, Hua Tuo snapped at his lazy disciple to set up the waterwheel if he wanted to eat. The physician was only further triggered when he didn't see Zero move from his spot but heard the waterwheel behind being put to work.

Was there nothing that Zero would do manually now? The Sage God couldn't believe it. Still, he couldn't deny that it was extremely convenient. If he had the ability to use magic as Zero did, he would have done the same. Sadly, he could only blame his mortal body for only possessing meridian channels. If only cultivators were able to pull off such tricks, Hua Tuo would never have to hand make all his dumplings.

Mitchnew saw the dark cloud of gloom over the physician's head and decided to lend him a hand as the old man looked very lonely making dumplings by himself in the corner. Ruth had long excused himself to hunt and forage for ingredients. He might not have stayed long in this humble abode but he was already familiar with Hua Tuo's house rules. Those who didn't work didn't get to eat. Now that he had the Strong Stomach skill, he'd be damned if he missed out on any meals.

Ball of Nothing

Lately, the teenager didn't understand why his body would wake up way before it was actually time to practice qi gong. In the past, the apprentice would still be half-asleep during his practice. It took him forever to be ready for the busy day.

Ever since he had his new body and returned from the abyss, Zero could not get used to the restlessness in this new body. Luckily for him, Zero wasn't always alone whenever he woke up. Hua Tuo may still be asleep but most times, his combat teacher would already be up.

Ruth had a habit of practising his cultivation in the Garden of Roth whenever he sees that Zero is awake. The vampire would always return to help out with breakfast preparation so Hua Tuo didn't mind.

"You're up early again," the vampire commented as Zero brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face. The river water in the morning was always so cold! Zero shivered a little and changed into his tracksuit. The squirrel onesie was comfortable for sleeping but wasn't convenient for what Zero was about to do.

"Yupp! Are you going to cultivate now?"

The vampire nodded and Zero wished him all the best. Ruth disappeared in a blur and Zero decided to get started on his new morning routine.

As per usual, Zero decided to go through all the five animal forms of the qi gong exercise to warm his body up. Things felt different ever since Tanya helped him out with his new vessel. Both chakra and meridian channels flared to life at the surge of the rich life energy on Endow Hill. Zero also didn't want to disturb Mii as he cultivated. The status window was open and Zero noticed how his void inventory was now able to store mna and qi separately. It made him curious. If he cultivated in different environments, would the system be able to convert it? Sure, he had mana conversion skills to convert sin points to mana or energy. Still, Zero wondered if the miasma was something he could process. Technically, miasma was chaos energy.

Zero tried to focus on his morning routine but still could not concentrate on the unanswered question floating at the back of his mind. At this hour, if Zero was careful enough and suppressed his aura, he might be able to sneak back into the abyss. Before he did so, he contacted Sekkin who agreed to meet him at the Ten-Path Crossway.

"Good morning, Zero."

The apprentice grinned when he saw the spider demon. It hadn't been long since he last saw Amon's sparring partner but the spider demon had once again grown stronger. Zero could tell with his trained medical eye. The young doctor only hoped that Ruth wouldn't catch him.

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"Shall we go?" he asked and Sekkin nodded. They took the portal to Amon's territory and Zero was quick to cast a temperature regulating buff for the both of them.

Amon's territory was still as hostile as Zero remembered. Sekkin found them a good spot for Zero to start his meditation exercise as per normal. According to the brunet, meditating in the abyss should be safer than on Earth. Zero didn't want to meditate in the time-space lamp again after the last time. Nobody woke him up in time and he was late. Hua Tuo wasn't happy so Zero thought that it might be better to go to a dimension that has a slower flow of time to practice.

Sadly, the spider demon didn't realise that Zero had another purpose of visiting the abyss this morning. Instead of simply meditating, Zero was now pulling into the miasma from the surroundings into his body.

Sekkin was shocked and when the miasma grew thicker, the spider demon was forced to retreat further. Zero seemed fine so far but he didn't want to take any chances. Mitchnew would have his head if something happened to the boy. While the mana generating flowers were doing their job, the abyss was still plagued by a lot of chaos energy. Many weaker demons had taken to fleeing to the Redemption Zone and the newly established Gluttony domain. That was quite the relief for the spider demon who watched in sick fascination at one of the deadliest concentration of miasma ten metres away from him.

Zero continued to monitor his inventory space. There still wasn't enough chaos energy for him to test it out. According to the system, it recorded chaos energy as a new form of mana. Zero would be able to convert it to regular mana but at a huge dip in conversion rate. Other than that, there would be an unknown by-product from the conversion. Zero was actually more curious about this mysterious by-product that not even Mind's Eye knew about.

Zero hated Math so much. He knew that the numbers were increasing as he absorbed but he wished he knew how to calculate the amount of time he needed to spend here with the current rate of absorption. Enma tried to teach him the basics of this peculiar subject but Zero could never grasp it. All he knew was that the speed was too slow for his liking. There were still two more zeros behind that required number and for once, Zero hated the number zero.

Sekkin checked the special dimension converting watch. So far, they spent twenty minutes in the abyss and hardly a minute on Earth. He didn't need to see Zero's expression to know that the young doctor was impatient with the lack of progress for his experiment. He could hear the faint thumping sounds as Zero bounced one of his crossed legs up and down in irritation.

"Don't worry, it hasn't even been five minutes on Earth," he told the apprentice who calmed down a little after hearing it.

Zero exhaled slowly in the vortex of miasma clouds. He was two hours earlier today so this was good news. Perhaps he would be able to complete his little experiment. Zero never thought the day he became impressed with his ideas would come but right now, he felt really proud of himself for thinking up of a cheating method. Time was something Zero hated not having. With the dimension differences, Zero was happy to cheat for a little bit more time. He knew that Truen was almost done with his training and the doctor-in-training felt impatient.

Knowing that it will be a while before Zero would be done, Sekkin took a break and sat down but kept his eyes peeled for external threats. With this much miasma density, he doubted that any living creature will willingly approach the area. It was very similar to a crack or leak in the plane with how much miasma Zero was accumulating to one point. Usually, cases like this would be reported to Queen Shittomi who would then send someone to take care of it. However, the Ice Queen already knew about Zero's intention so Sekkin wasn't too concerned. He only wished that Zero gave him more warning to prepare a magic amulet. It was tough to keep up with the miasma despite his strong magic reserves.

Zero checked the progress bar after he complained to the strawcherry fairy who had woken up from the rude shock of something foreign in her library. the assistant created a Math formula that automatically calculated the time needed and progress for Zero to view. Right now, he was past the seventy percent mark and Zero rejoiced.

It didn't take too long for Zero to complete his collection and the miasma gradually thinned out with the slower rate of absorption. Sekkin was thankful that Zero finally stopped. He was about to call for a time out, looking very green.

The young doctor accepted the system's prompt for a conversion run. He didn't really need fifty thousand mana units at this point but he wanted to know what that mysterious by-product was. Mii was equally curious. There was something that couldn't be processed by the Great One's system and that gave the strawcherry fairy some hope. Maybe this was her salvation to be separated from the system.

[Congratulations, you have made your first orb of Solo's Sanity.]

Zero blinked at the notification. Other than receiving fifty thousand units of mana, he got something more ridiculous than the nail clippings of a Tanuki.

"Solo's sanity?" Mii asked. She was equally puzzled.

If Zero was able to gather Solo's sanity from the chaos energy, does this mean that the creator before he fell asleep wasn't sane? Suddenly, she feared for Zero who was the memory-loss version of a mad person.

Zero inspected the item and was intrigued by the description.

Item: Orb of Solo's Sanity

Description: A by-product from converting chaos energy into mana. A part of Solo's memories before he fell into the void. Can be used to create an artificial soul or be exchanged for a small amount of creation powers.

Mii nearly let her poker face crumble when she read the description. If Zero was able to create souls, does this mean that she had a chance to be separated from the system? Still, to avoid the system from detecting her abnormalities, Mii kept her intentions sealed into her secret memory storage.

On the other hand, Zero was also thrilled. Creation! He was able to exchange it for powers to create something. Zero allowed himself some time to think about all the things he would like to create. Solo had already made many wonderful things like mountains, fishes, souls, magic and humans. What was left for Zero to create that Solo hasn't already done?

Thinking about it this way, the young doctor felt his hopes sink. That's right. His past self had already created everything there was to be created. Zero wasn't fooled for a second into thinking that he was a creator or an inventor even if Hyelin was told him that he smelled like one. Zero was gifted with the powers of absorption and destruction. yet the ironic reality was how Zero continued to fight to become a doctor to save and preserve the beauty of what he had previously created. For now, Zero decided that the best thing to do was to store this orb away. Who knows, he might be able to put it to better use in the future. For now, Zero was content with what he had.

"Is it time to go back now?" he asked Sekkin who'd been silent from the start.

The spider demon checked the time. they still had a good twenty minutes before Hua Tuo woke up back on Endow Hill.

Hearing that he still had a little time left, Zero thought that he would take advantage of Sekkin's presence to practise the new self-defence moves Amon taught him. Hua Tuo didn't seem approving of him practising them so Zero wasn't too happy about it. The young doctor knew the concept very well that one's skills would become rusty after not using it for long. The concept was introduced by Raj who explained how the Sky Bridges and Pulleys needed to be constantly checked and maintained.

Sekkin paled a little when Zero suggested sparring together. Bad memories of Amon using him as a demonstration made the spider demon subconsciously press his knees together.

That little gesture didn't go unnoticed by Zero and the doctor then reassured Sekkin that he wouldn't actually kick or stab. In fact, he was against violence and encouraged Sekkin to block it as much as he could.

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Zero didn't quite know how painful that felt back then but he saw how Sekkin crumbled onto the floor, unable to move. The brunet was a doctor, he wasn't out for blood. All he wanted was to ensure that he still remembered what was taught to him accurately.

Unable to refuse Zero without a good reason, Sekkin resigned to his fate with tears in his heart.

The sparring session ended after forty minutes and Sekkin couldn't be happier when Zero said that he had to hurry back. the spider demon escorted Zero back to Ten-Path Crossway and they parted ways. True to his words, the young doctor didn't actually stab or kick. In fact, Zero had been very polite about it, giving Sekkin verbal warnings before he struck. if not for the crude intentions behind it, Sekkin would have quite enjoyed that friendly spar. Too bad, Lord Amon had already corrupted Zero beyond redemption.

The spider demon sighed. It was probably best that his wife did not find out. Knowing her, the dark elf would try to assassinate the Demon lord for teaching the young boy bad things. Either that or support Zero in perfecting the art of punishing creeps.

Sekkin left as soon as Zero disappeared. He did not want to find out what his wife would do. The further away he was from these thoughts, the better.