Ball of Nothing - Chapter 188
Chapter 188
Beel hasn't returned even once during the night . He was now hanging out at the cafeteria and Zero glanced at the box of carrot cake . It was still on the same spot . There was a pang of hurt in Zero's chest but the teenager decided to push that aside for now . He had another agenda on his list today . First, he was going to take a shower then report to Lucifer about his findings last night .
On his way to the dean's office, he overheard several students gossiping about Beel . Zero couldn't help but be curious and eavesdropped .
"Really? Someone dared make a move against a Demon Lord?"
"I don't think he would be this seriously wounded out of carelessness . It's definitely an attempt at his life . He is the weakest among all the Demon Lords after all . . . I think his days are numbered . "
Zero felt as if someone poured ice water over him without any warning . The tips of his fingers turned ice cold and Zero swallowed with difficulty . His legs took him to Lucifer's office numbly .
"You're early," Lucifer mused . he was about to tease Zero but held back when he saw the pale expression .
"What's wrong?"
Zero shook his head . "Sorry, it's nothing . I came to give you my report with the evidence I gathered last night . Kruz and Koblaq are not our targets . This is what they were up to . . . "
Lucifer accepted the magic stone and pulsed his magic through it . Zero's memories appeared in a hologram and Lucifer watched it silently .
When the memory ended, the Demon Lord nodded in satisfaction . "Very well, I will inform Beel about your findings . When will you get in contact with Rayneld?"
Zero hummed . "I'm going to the library today, there is a high chance I will get to add him to my map . He shows up at the library frequently after all . "
The dean nodded and dismissed Zero after another round of caution about Olaf . The brunet took his leave swiftly, not bothering to look back . All he wanted to do was run to the cafeteria and check up on Beelzebub .
He found the Demon Lord in the cafeteria fairly easily . Skipping the line for food, Zero zoomed in straight to the Demon Lord nonchalantly munching on what looked like the hardest bread in history while chugging down a jug of milk .
Zero skipped the pleasantries and examined the Demon Lord with a trained eye . Beelzebub didn't appreciate the scrutiny . He had a rough night after his cover was almost blown . If not for his knowledge of several secret shortcuts in the Academy, he would've been exposed . Whoever the collaborator was, they definitely had impressive combat skills . Thankfully, magic was not allowed on the campus . That gave Beelzebub the chance to slip away even if he didn't manage to escape unscathed . Ranged weapons definitely lived up to their reputation . He knew that Zero's mission last night went smoothly and he didn't need the doctor rubbing his failure into his face . It was worse when Zero was genuinely concerned about him . That made whatever shredded pride he had remaining disintegrate into ashes .
Zero chose not to make any comments . He knew that there were many pairs of eyes on him in the cafeteria . Beelzebub always attracted attention . Unknown to Zero, he was also gaining a reputation of his own . Apparently, someone had witnessed Zero casting healing magic on Kruz and Mr Spiff after gym class . The rumour started spreading after that . Some said that Zero was secretly an angel spy sent from the heavens while others thought that Zero was a demi-god apprenticing under the God of Medicine . It made things worse when someone claimed to have seen Zero hanging out with Lord Baal and Hua Tuo at the recent Trials .
Soon, the Academy had given the young doctor a nickname that would be written into the history of Morning Star Academy . Zero the Miracle-maker was his name .
"What's the Miracle-maker doing? Does he want to get smitten by the Lord of Gluttony?"
"Bets are on the Miracle-maker winning the Lord of Gluttony, any contenders?"
"Is he trying to recruit the Lord of Gluttony? I heard that he's charmed that loser Kruz last night . "
Zero filtered out all the background noises and focussed solely on his roommate .
"Let's go back," he spoke calmly .
Naturally, Beelzebub bristled . He slapped Zero's hand away with scorn on his face . The young doctor didn't take offence to it, he expected just as much . Calmly, he took hold of Beelzebub's wrist and pulled him out of his seat . The Demon Lord resisted at first but knew that he would be making a scene if he resisted any further .
With the most reluctant look on his face, he allowed himself to be dragged out of the cafeteria with the tray of unfinished food in his other hand . Zero was silently happy that despite his unwillingness, Beelzebub wasn't outrightly kicking him away . Then another thought crossed his mind that sent Zero into a semi-panicked mode . What if his roommate was too injured to fight him?
They returned to their room very quickly and Zero all but ordered the disgruntled Demon Lord to remove his shirt .
"And why would I do that?"
Zero smiled . "I could use other means to examine your injuries but it may feel more invasive . "
Beelzebub studied that angelic smile for a while . That was definitely a threat that Zero would be very willing to see through if he refused to cooperate . If there was one thing Beelzebub had learnt about Zero, it was the brunet's sheer stubbornness that rivalled Lord Baal's and his own . Zero was a doctor through and through . There was no use trying to deny a doctor his natural instinct to want and save others . Sometimes Beel wondered if doctors were worse than heroes .
Hesitatingly, the Demon Lord shrugged his blazer off followed by his shirt . Zero observed his movements carefully and noted if there were any movements that caused Beel discomfort . From what he saw, there were several bruises darkening on Beelzebub's arms and torso . They looked very much like whip marks and Zero felt the anger brewing in him .
Beelzebub noticed Zero's silence and was slightly surprised to see such a look of concentration with slight killing intent leaking from the teenager's control .
"Zero!"
Snapped out of his thoughts by Beel's call, the young doctor blushed at being caught losing focus . He apologised quickly and hovered his hands over the injured areas, pouring his healing magic over them . Beelzebub had half the mind to run . He didn't know what kind of healing magic Zero was going to use . Even though he wouldn't die from exposure to holy attributes as a Demon Lord, it would hurt a lot . He wasn't willing to subject himself to torture like this .
The comforting warmth of Zero's healing magic surprised him . The Demon Lord had never been on the receiving end of such care before . With his superior abilities to heal and regenerate, it wasn't really a necessity . Zero's earnest attitude about his well-being made Beel feel strange on the inside . This young doctor was a real enigma . He was also someone whom Beelzebub envied, hated and liked all at once .
Zero had just finished with closing up the last wound and wanted to move on to more but Beelzebub stopped him .
"Don't, the rest will heal by themselves . Thank you but that's enough for now . I have other leads to search and I think you should do the same . How many targets have you gotten in contact with?"
Zero blinked . Finally! A wide smile grew on his face when the Demon Lord was willing to open up to him about their mission .
"I only have Rayneld to find and then I would have made contact with all targets . Chitta, Kruz and Koblaq are not the suspects, I have confirmed them . "
"All in only a day of observation? These criminals have been plotting for a very long time . How can you be sure that they aren't involved? If they have been able to cover their trails for so long, they would be more cautious . You could be fooled . "
Zero shook his head . "I know that for a fact that they aren't our suspects . Lilith has confirmed that Chitta is a spy from her side . The reasons for her mission were not specified but that is good enough to rule Chitta out . I tailed Kruz and Koblaq last night . They were working together on some other personal mission . I just handed in the evidence, Lucifer has given them the clear too . "
"Personal mission?" Beelzebub raised a brow . As far as he knew, nobody understood anything about the bat demon and gargoyle . Also, together?
"Yes, they are allies of sorts . It is usually easy to miss Kruz out because he is very small when he is a bat and has a very weak presence . "
Beelzebub blinked . "How did you know when or where they were leaving? I've been tailing them for months, I never could find out . "
Zero gave him a cheeky grin with a victory sign . "I have an ability that allows me to mark out anyone by their magical energy within a certain area . It's not a very wide area yet but I think I've gotten the Academy grounds covered . "
Beelzebub paused . What the heck was this idiot talking about? Not very wide? The entire Academy grounds span around a good two hundred acres . No scout with farsight would be able to see that far or have spatial magic capable of covering the entire Academy ground . Just exactly what is Zero?
"You're not a demon, you're not a human . You're not even a demi-god but you possess insane abilities . . . just what are you?"
Zero blinked . "I'm Zero . "
The Demon Lord didn't know what to make of such a simple answer . Eventually, his brain gave up and he sighed, burying his face into one hand . That's alright . Zero can be on a whole new category on his own . Beelzebub wasn't even going to argue with that . He'd seen his fair share of strong opponents and monsters like Lucifer but Zero was in a whole new category of his own . Unlike those with power like Baal and Lucifer, Zero was as harmless as a fly . That's right, the teen may be a nuisance but he was mostly harmless . They only have to be wary of his doctor's instincts after all .
"Nevermind . Are you going to find Rayneld later?"
Zero nodded . "I'm going to visit the library because I heard that he hangs out there from time to time . "
Beelzebub wished him luck . "Try the third floor near the rose coloured window . It's his favourite spot to read even if all he does is carry a book and demon watch from that window . "
Zero thanked his mission partner and decided to take his leave .
The room was quiet once more and Beelzebub flopped onto his bed with pain on his face . Zero healed most of the external injuries but the ones and he was thankful for that . He couldn't bring himself to allow the teenager to investigate further . It would be shameful for him if Zero were to find out about his non-physical injuries . Whoever that contact was, he knew how to use spells and curses effectively .
Beelzebub clutched at his chest in agony as the curse flared once more . The Demon Lord knew exactly what kind of curse this was but there was nothing really much he could do about it . As a Demon Lord of the Gluttony domain, getting rid of such a curse would only take about a day at most while most people would have died within an hour of the curse . Beelzebub closed his eyes and was about to rest when his hand knocked over something from his bed .
The box clattered and Beelzebub caught it with his sharp reflexes before it could hit the ground . He knew that box . There was only one place in the entire Abyss that sold desserts in such fancy looking packages .
Carefully, Beelzebub opened it and was surprised to find the desert he was craving for the most of late . Did Zero know what he wanted? No, that couldn't be . It must have been a coincidence . Knowing the teenager, this must be some sort of apology or 'let's get along' gift . Still, it was a gift that Beelzebub couldn't refuse .
Digging into the slice of carrot cake, Beelzebub melted the moment he felt it on his tongue .
Bliss . Pure bliss . This shouldn't be possible but the Demon Lord didn't care . He was a Belles and Begonia's regular because they made things that soothed his cravings . It wasn't easy being the Lord of Gluttony . The chase for perfection is a struggle .
At the back of his mind, Beelzebub knew that he would forgive the young doctor with his initial attempt at his life . It was obvious that Zero didn't mean to do it . However, maybe he would keep the act up for just a little longer just so that Zero would bring him more treats like this .
Beelzebub moaned again as he shovelled the rest of the cake into his mouth . The dessert was gone all too soon but already, he felt better . Feeling lazy to take out the trash, Beelzebub stretched his jaws and swallowed the box whole . He let out a long burp before yawning once and flopping back to bed .
Nobody disturbed him for the rest of the afternoon . The same could not be said for a certain teenager running around in the library in search for their next suspect .