Ball of Nothing - Chapter 175
Chapter 175
The Sage God of Medicine arrived as quickly as he could . Clearly, the man had seen better days but so has the Demon Lord .
"My Lord!" Hua Tuo exclaimed once he laid eyes on the uncharacteristically frail Demon Lord . The Queen of Lust was nursing the sickly Demon Lord to the best of her abilities although it was an almost futile attempt . Baal was translucent and Hua Tuo could see some of the rocks behind him appear through his body .
Things were more serious than he thought .
"Is he still keeping the gate open?" he asked the Demon Queen, foregoing his usual formalities .
Lilith didn't seem to notice the lack of politeness in the physician's question . She was glad that help had arrived . According to Mammon, the physician would only arrive in the evening but with Baal getting more transparent with every passing minute, she was losing hope . She contacted her descendant to inform Zero about the situation .
Zero didn't disappoint her . He sent his teacher over at once despite the hectic situation over the other end .
"How is he?" she asked .
The physician examined Baal's pale complexion and activated his Medicine God's Eye . Zero was right to send him over to check on the Demon Lord . If he had been any later, things might have gotten dire .
"It's still curable . However, he cannot open any gates for the next few days until he recovers . We might have to find another way to send the redeemed demons over . We should let Zero and King Yama know about this . . . "
"No!" Baal yelled and grabbed onto Hua Tuo's loose robe end, drenching it in the process . "Zero entrusted this to me, I won't let anyone else do it . "
That statement triggered Lilith . "Nobody is asking you to play the hero! Stop being so stubborn and rest already! Zero wouldn't be happy to know that you're killing yourself to do this for him . We can find another way to do this but it won't work if you die before anything is accomplished . "
Her words stung but Baal knew that she was right . After being friends with the Succubus Queen for such a long time, he could understand her cause of concern and the fear in her voice .
"Don't worry, I'm not going to leave anyone behind . I might fall asleep for a long time after this and won't know when I'll wake up again . Maybe by then, you'd find a nice person who you can call your second soulmate . Just remember to introduce them to me . . . " he chuckled weakly .
Lilith wanted to scream at her stubborn friend . It was true that Demon Lords do not die . They simply go into a comatose state if the body is not destroyed to regain their strength again . Their domain would fall into ruins but their soul would continue to anchor the plane . If their bodies were destroyed, their souls will immediately reincarnate into another demon, waiting to be found just like Beelzebub although the Lord of Gluttony was a special case . Even though it wasn't a permanent loss, the Succubus Queen couldn't bear the pain of parting and losing her loved ones . She knew better than anyone else how lonely it could get for Demon Lords . There was hardly anyone they could trust or depend on . Their descendants and aristocratic nobles under their rulership were almost always power hungry . Nobody truly cared for them and even if they did, the lives of those much weaker were very short .
"Ahem . . . testing! Can everyone hear me?" a familiar voice shook all three people at the spring out of their thoughts .
"Zero?" Baal was the first to answer . Knowing his friend, the apprentice was surely up to something again . "How's everything going?"
"No time for that," Zero cut his friend off . Even without Coux's report, he had a feeling that Baal was overdoing it . He wasn't wrong to send his teacher over earlier than agreed . In fact, he would be surprised if Hua Tuo came back telling him Baal was capable of holding the gates for the rest of the event by himself .
"I got the approval from Lucifer and Mammon to borrow Beelzebub for a while . Ruth and Beelzebub will be escorted outside of the domains . They're heading to Amon's outskirts with Sekkin for a special mission . Baal, we're going to continue with the plan with some tweaks . Are you still up for it?"
Baal laughed . Initially, he thought that Zero might forbid him to do anything after finding out about his current state . The young child he found had truly grown .
"You know I'm always ready for you . Now stop stalling and let us know what you have in mind . "
Lilith wasn't too happy about Zero's decision to continue including Baal in his plans . Why can't he see how suicidal Baal was? Baal was the kind who wasn't afraid of death . For the ones close to him, the Demon Lord would gamble with his life for even the slimmest chance of success . Baal wasn't afraid of disappointing the world, he was only afraid of letting down the ones he loved . Zero was the Demon Lord's one and only biggest weakness, how could the young doctor not know that? Baal would never deny Zero anything . . . even if it was his soul that the brunet wanted . Baal would deliver it to his hands without hesitation or questions .
"We will be slightly shorthanded here so I called for some support, I hope you don't mind . Here's the plan . Sekkin, Ruth and Beelzebub will head over to Amon's territory and eat miasma to convert them into mana . I will coordinate the sin absorption and mana transfer from them to you . In that way, we're merely using your ability to keep the gates open . You won't need to exert any mana for it . Focus on recovering for now . Mammon will be fully in charge of the magic contracts and Lucifer shall oversee the teleportation of people and goods . Buddha will guide the demons to the gates in Hua Tuo's place and the idle angels will come over to help with dessert distribution . Coux, Amaraline and Qin Yun will work the kitchen hard . This is the current arrangement . If you do not agree to it, we shall cancel all redemption activities . Those were Lucifer's words . "
Baal froze . He was alright with the plan except for one small detail . "Who are the idle angels you were talking about?"
Zero didn't know if he should let his friend know the truth . Raphael was the one who insisted that Zero included them into his plans . He'd spotted Baal in the Spring of Vitality by coincidence . The archangel was worried about his nephew and dragged the idle Uriel and Gabriel along for some community service .
"Will you be mad at them?" Zero asked in a small voice . Baal couldn't stay mad at Zero so he sighed .
"No, I won't . Now tell me who they are . Also, why does Lucifer have a say in this?"
Lilith didn't quite understand what was going on but she had a few guesses . "Lucifer says it's an investment and the angels are your uncles . An uncle and two friends, he said . "
Baal baulked . Things were usually never straightforward when dealing with Raphael . Although he knows that Raphael would never mean ill, there was always a catch . Furthermore, he had a very good idea about the friends Zero was referring to . There were only a few angels that Lucifer was tolerant about . The first was Uriel who hardly participated in the war . The second was Gabriel who was a regular in the Abyss . His uncle was a special exception, the Academy headmaster and Raphael shared a complicated history but it was nothing as bad as the one Lucifer had with Michael .
"I have a question," Lilith interrupted . "How can you be so sure that Baal wouldn't be using any mana to maintain the gates with this plan? I'm aware of Beelzebub's abilities . However, nobody has tried eating miasma . How do you know it can be converted into mana? Also, our power is directly related to our sins . Baal has been working too much lately, he hasn't been able to store up sins which is part of the reason for his rapidly depleting mana reserves . He usually builds his reserves through his several centuries long naps . "
"Oh, that's easy," Zero replied airily . "I had Ruth try eating some miasma contaminated food . It worked out alright . The skill Strong Stomach counters all negative effects of the miasma . From what I've heard about Beelzebub, he had been eating miasma contaminated food even before anyone knew about his existence . It will be alright . "
Hua Tuo placed a reassuring hand on Baal's shoulder . "You should accept it," he told the Demon Lord honestly .
Baal was grumpy but accepted Zero's terms . The physician had the gall to promise Zero that he will be monitoring Baal's health status with his Medicine Eye . Lilith was mightily pleased to know that there will be no risk of Baal overexerting himself and worsening his condition . Everybody but the Demon Lord of Idleness was happy with the plan . That made Baal's mood for the day darken .
"The things I would do for Zero, I swear . . . " Baal grumbled to nobody but himself . He hated being friends with Zero at this moment but hated himself more for not being able to reject their weird friendship .
The sudden call ended and Lilith decided to leave and prepare some food for the two remaining people in the spring . With some privacy, Baal decided to broach the topic that had been on Hua Tuo's mind for a while now .
"I'm sure you know about Lucifer's scheme . Are you really alright with letting your student fall in that old demon's trap?"
Hua Tuo shook his head with an amused smile . "One has to learn from experience . Not everything can be understood by merely reading . Knowledge acquired can only do so much . I'm not going to let Zero grow up into an empty-headed academic . The path of a doctor is very trying, if Zero doesn't overcome this himself then he should not pursue this profession any further . "
Baal noted how that was a low-key probe at a certain Wizard God . "An empty-headed academic huh . . . you've thought about his future a lot . "
"Of course . Zero is my one and only disciple . It is the duty of the master to become a wall that their students can climb over . Nothing would make me happier than seeing my student surpass me . In terms of saving lives, Zero has already reached a level that I cannot attain . However, he is still lacking in many other areas . My time with him is only so much, it might be a blessing in disguise for him to make a trip to the Abyss . I'm also happy that he's made such a wonderful friend here although I'm rather disappointed at the recklessness of said friend . They say stupidity is contagious and I'm starting to think the same might be true for insanity . "
Baal rolled his eyes . "Whatever . . . I'm not concerned about my image . I'm more interested to know what Zero would think when he finds out that Lucifer only 'assisted' him just to enrol him in the Academy . "
Hua Tuo didn't reply immediately . He settled down behind Baal who was dipped in the spring and crossed his legs before placing his hands on the Demon Lord's thin shoulders . The Sage God focused on gathering as much energy he could in his dantian . The Spring of Vitality was not only a place rich in mana . It was a great place for cultivation not that many cultivators could access the location . Although the physician wasn't proficient with magic, he had other aces up his sleeves . Pouring some qi energy into the Demon Lord's body, the difference could be seen immediately .
Baal was shocked and surprised when an unknown source of energy entered his body . It felt warm and his senses were sharper . For the very first time in many years, Baal felt alive . Whatever Hua Tuo was doing to him made him feel better . Although he was still low on sins and mana, the foreign energy stabilised his soul . Baal could feel it resonate with the Spring and the Demon Lord relaxed .
Seeing that the Demon Lord was feeling better, Hua Tuo decided to pick up the conversation they left off earlier . "Why does Lucifer want to enrol Zero so badly?"
Baal closed his eyes and hummed pleasantly . "There's a bunch of snot-faced punks in there who think that they can rewrite history if they enslaved humans under their forces . The war between Heaven and Hell has concluded a long time ago . Although there is bad blood, everything is now water under the bridge . They're not powerful enough to cause any real damage but it's always better to pull the weeds out at first sight . "
"Why humans?"
Baal opened one eye lazily . "Is that a real question? It should be obvious right? You were once human too . "
Hua Tuo remained silent . The humans from the first Earth were different from the humans on the second Earth . On the first Earth, humans were supreme . It was arrogance that corrupted them . Humans developed weapons and took down Gods after creating one of their own . However, as a result of the rebellion, they were wiped out . The humans on the second Earth were not supreme . Almost every other race were stronger than them . However, the same spirit remained . Humans were proud creatures, always dissatisfied with their status quo . Wars between humans and other races weren't uncommon and Hua Tuo stayed out of their fights . While humans on the second Earth were getting constantly getting stronger by polishing their wits and weapons, they were a far cry from how humans used to be on the first Earth .
"They will never succeed," he told Baal .
The Demon Lord didn't say anything . It was obvious after all . None of these cheap imitations called humans could hold a candle to the ones from the first world . They wouldn't be able to touch a demigod, much less a Great God . Unlike humans of the first world who'd almost taken down four of the six Great Gods, the humans of this world lacked ambition .
Still, it was impossible to ignore the thorn embedded in your flesh . Regardless of the plan's rate of success, rebels of the Abyss must be punished . This time, they wouldn't be having Zero's mercy . Lucifer would ensure of that . Baal also highly doubted that his friend would forgive genocide in exchange for personal gains such as power and status .
Knowing the young doctor's personality, Baal would bet his life on it . Zero was kind but he wasn't a pushover .