Chapter 112
Demon King Baal waited . Eleven very powerful individuals with one more on the way stood before him with terrifying battle auras . Baal refused to fight . He wasn't getting paid enough to do this . Besides, the illusion Zero was talking about was nowhere in sight . That wouldn't do . He loved the young child's stories so he needed to break the illusion fast .
Baal lazily glanced over the tiny army before him .
"Two undead, one summoner, one archer, a half-blood demon, Lilith's descendant, an archer, a fox, a witch and three warriors . . . I'm flattered . "
Nobody spoke . They were tense in the presence of a Demon Lord and horrified that Zero was the person who summoned it . Lovina didn't know what to do . The Demon Lord was an ancient and powerful but unpredictable one . It didn't help that the person who contacted him was Zero . What could the child possibly desire that he had to resort to making a contract with Baal?
"Zero," Lovina started . "Zero can you hear me? Whatever it is, we can help you . Please cancel the contract with this demon . "
Baal blinked . Contract?
"What are you talking about? Zero's not some cheap human with a petty desire that needs damning . There's no contract although there is an agreement . I don't know what you were expecting but I'm a busy demon . Bring that illusion Zero had trouble breaking, I need to yawn it away before I can collect my payment . "
Soon growled and became murderous . Peter and Manny became bloodthirsty too . Payment? As if they would allow such a thing . Zero might have been deceived by the crafty demon but there was no way they would allow the demon to win . Soon blamed himself . If he had been careful, Zero wouldn't be in danger .
Zenobia wasn't sure of what was happening . Zero still appeared to be himself although his personality had changed quite a bit . Vishnu came running in reporting about an intruder so she wasn't sure what was going on . One thing was clear though . . . something has taken over Zero's body and they had to get it out .
"Zero, if you can hear me please respond!" the chieftess tried .
Baal was getting irritated . "Look, the kid is fine . Just hurry up with the illusion so that I can get back . "
Both parties were at a stalemate . Baal couldn't fulfil Zero's request and the villagers couldn't hurt Baal who was in possession of Zero's body . The witch cursed . If only they had an exorcist in the village, they might stand a chance .
Just before things could blow out of proportion, Hua Tuo flew in from the window . He took a look at the villagers and then back at his apprentice . Zero's eyes were black and Hua Tuo raised a brow .
"Zero, did you meditate again?"
Baal saw the newcomer and frowned . This old man looked strangely familiar . He was also very powerful and Baal had some suspicions about his identity .
"I seem to have seen you somewhere before . . . I just don't remember it . Who are you?"
Hua Tuo paused . That wasn't Zero at all .
"I'm Hua Tuo . May I know who are you? Why are you residing in my apprentice's body?"
Demon King Baal tried to recall where he heard that name before . Then, it clicked . His eyes widened and a smile grew across his face . "I see . . . no wonder I thought you were familiar . You're the doctor from before . I'm Demon King Baal . You once cured my insomnia a few centuries ago . En wasn't lying when he said that you were the best . I still haven't thanked you for that . "
Hua Tuo blinked . Demon King Baal . . . King Yama . . . how many years ago was that again? He couldn't remember . However, he was certain that King Yama once told him about a patient who had chronic insomnia and a terrible migraine . If it weren't for Demon King Baal's bad temper from the pain and lack of sleep, Hua Tuo wouldn't have made the trip to the abyss .
"I see, I can't recall the details but I seem to remember having to make a special trip to the abyss for a patient . How has your health been?"
Baal smiled . He was fond of the Sage God . "I've been doing well . As a matter of fact, I was about to take a nap when your apprentice called upon me . He was saying something about needing my help to sneeze an illusion away but when I came to fulfil my end of the agreement, I was met with a tiny army who looked like they wanted me dead . Could you explain?"
"Agreement?" Hua Tuo was confused . "What did my apprentice agree on?"
"He agreed to tell me four stories in return for my help to break the illusion . It would be troubling for me if there is no illusion to break because I love hearing his stories . The kid is particularly amusing and a great storyteller . "
Hua Tuo didn't doubt it . Zero had a way with words and it was always a pleasure to watch him tell his tales with such expressiveness . However, that didn't explain why Zero required the aid of a demon .
Soon was confused . Did Zero really need the help of a Demon King to break his illusion? Had he really pushed the child into desperation enough to sell his soul to the abyss? Wait, that's not right . The demon lord mentioned something about stories . What's going on?
"Demon King Baal, I'm afraid there is some kind of misunderstanding . The illusion was meant as a test of sorts to understand Zero's magic capabilities in detail . He was in no real danger and there was really no need for you to personally appear . "
Baal paused . "A test?"
Soon swallowed . "Yes, a surprise test . I did tell him to find a way to escape or break the illusion . I never expected things to go so far . "
Baal went deadly silent and everyone held their breaths . Then, he threw his head back and laughed . Baal laughed so hard till he cried but didn't stop for a good number of minutes . When he finally did, he looked at Hua Tuo and smirked .
"I believe you're going to face a lot more trouble in future with this apprentice of yours . "
Hua Tuo nodded calmly . "It looks like it . I thought that taking the waterwheel apart was the worst things could get but I stand corrected . "
Baal snorted . "Oh, just you wait . He's recently gotten into contact with some really troublesome personalities out there and I'm going to enjoy the show very much . In accord to our past, I will let this go . Zero still owes me stories but I will collect them from him at a later date . You might want to set some ground rules for him . I see that he's in the hands of good company here . Lilith will be delighted to know that she still has kin on Earth . "
The Demon King looked at Coux and the half-succubus flinched . Baal smiled . "You really do look like her . "
Coux frowned . "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about . "
Baal shrugged . "Your ancestor, Succubus Queen Lilith, is a close ally of mine . You resemble her greatly although your blood has been watered down . It's still good to know that some of her kin are still alive on Earth . "
Having said what he had to, Baal yawned and rubbed his eyes . "I would love to stay to chat some more and find out how the humans are doing but it's way past my nap time . Tell Zero not to disturb me for a while, I'll leave him in your care . "
With that, the Demon Lord disappeared and Zero came back to his senses, slightly confused .
"Zero, how do you feel?" Lovina was the first to rush over .
Hua Tuo was already examining his apprentice for anything unusual and relaxed when he found none . He should really stop being surprised by what Zero could accomplish . Making friends with a Demon King? Who knew?
"You had us worried there for a second," Sekkin chuckled a tousled Zero's hair .
Seeing that it was a false alarm, Zenobia had Vishnu go back to the guard tower and had Lowis bring everyone who evacuated back to the village . She bid Zero a hasty goodbye and left to help .
Soon looked guilty and apologised to Zero .
"Oh . . . I didn't know . I was under the impression that I was to use whatever means at my disposal to break the illusion so I called a friend for help . "
Qin Yun who had returned to her human formed giggled . "It's not wrong to do that . In fact, it's nice that your friend agreed to help . We were just startled because your friend is very powerful with a rather unique reputation . "
Zero made a small 'o' with his mouth . "I understand now . Bell may seem scary and all but he's actually really lazy . Most the time things are destroyed not because he's angry but because he was clumsy . When Bell becomes sleepy he's an absolute klutz but he would never intentionally hurt anyone who doesn't hurt him first . "
Mitchnew looked doubtful and Sekkin was quick to pull her away before Zero saw it . The half dark elf had quite the personality and the last thing he wanted his wife to do was to start another fight . She didn't like demons much after they burned her village down . Sekkin found it strange how fate pulled them together . He was rescued by Mitchnew during one of her assassination jobs and trained by her . They became work partners and eventually became a couple but that was a story for another time .
Lovina was torn . On one hand, she wanted to support Zero's all-encompassing attitude and personality . However, she couldn't turn a blind eye to how easily Zero could've become victim to the Demon King . Magic was both a blessing and a curse . If used correctly, it saved lives . If used wrongly, it kills .
While Coux and Qin Yun fused over the boy, the witch pulled Hua Tuo to a side . "Does this child have a magic teacher? I'm willing to take him as my apprentice . He has a great gift but it could be dangerous without proper training . "
Hua Tuo smiled . He was glad that Lovina offered . Honestly, if Zero didn't already have such a great magic teacher, he would've agreed in a heartbeat .
"He has one already but won't be seeing them until next year . I doubt they would mind if you taught Zero some of the basics . Today's incident was quite the scare . It's my fault for neglecting his magic training and focussing too much on teaching him the ways of medicine . "
Lovina smiled and placed a comforting hand on the physician's shoulder . "It's no fault of yours . You are a doctor before a magician . Nobody can blame you . And yes, I would love to have the opportunity to teach Zero a thing or two about magic basics . He has great power and with great power comes great dangers . The child is too young and yet he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders . "
Hua Tuo wondered if that was true . "Zero doesn't want to be a hero but you could be right . We could talk more over dinner but I should rescue him now from those ladies before they decide to kidnap him . "
Lovina saw how Qin Yun and Coux were trying to smother Zero in their ample bosoms and sighed . Leave it to the two most beautiful women to traumatise the child .
"That's a great idea . I think you might need to teach him about how to deal with pushy women too . "
Hua Tuo grimaced . "I would love for someone to teach me how to deal with them too . Luckily, Zero has a pair of very fast legs . "
Lovina laughed and Hua Tuo excused himself . Zero had never been so glad to see his teacher before .
"Save me!" he mouthed to Hua Tuo who approached the vixen and succubus carefully .
"Excuse me ladies but I would require some time alone with my apprentice . "
They pouted but let Zero go reluctantly . At the first signs of freedom, Zero bolted and hid behind the physician . They exchanged pleasantries before leaving Soon's apartment, apologising for causing a mess on the way out .
Once master and apprentice reached the safety of their apartment, both of them slid down onto the floor and exhaled sighs of relief . Who knew that women could be scarier than Demon Kings?