Ball of Nothing

Baal wasn't expecting such a crowd. Even as a Demon Lord, it was unnerving to be in the presence of so many powerful figures. Whatever Zero planned behind his back had better not be a repeat of what happened at Half Moon village. There was no way he was going to agree to what the brunet wanted. Death was the most lenient and apt punishment for a traitor. There was no chance of sparing Schaf.

Hades and King Yama sat at one end of the table. Gabriel hadn't approached the God of Death or the King of Trials regarding Kerberos or Schaf. Yet, the two most important visitors were at the table. Merlin also graced everyone with his presence, surprising even Lucifer. In addition to the Gods who attended the meeting, Shittomi and Amon decided to attend despite not being directly involved in the case.

"Now that everyone is present, let us commence the meeting. I shall read out their crimes. Please hold your objections until all their crimes have been read out," Gabriel announced. Nobody spoke but there was a unanimous silent agreement.

"Kerberos, the Guardian of Hell's Gate has hereby committed the following offences. According to the inter-dimensional treaty signed between Heaven and Hell, Kerberos has committed a first offence crime against the abyss. He threatened to annihilate the stability of the abyss plane with his amassment of magic to turn back time. His sins and punishment will be dealt with accordance to the laws of Heaven seeing that he is the direct subordinate of Hades - the God of Death."

Gabriel continued to read out sections of the clause Kerberos had broken with his scheme. Zero almost yawned listening to the lengthy speech but tried his best to remain awake.

"The second offender is Schaf, Kerberos' accomplice. By aiding Kerberos to amass magic stones for the purpose of turning back time and threatening the abyss plane's stability, Schaf has committed first-class treason against the abyss plane. His punishment is decided by the verdict passed by at least three out of six, no seven, Demon Lords. The Demon Lords Lilith, Baal, Lucifer and Mammon have decided that Schaf will be escorted to the Purgatory to have his crimes weighed and judged accordingly. There shall be no parole for his crimes before the judgement."

Zero sat up straight and gave Enma a meaningful glance. Just the night before, Zero called Hades, Enma and even Merlin to let them in on his plans. As is luck was on his side, Gabriel hasn't contacted any of them. That gave Zero the advantage he needed to win them over to his plan.

It was a very simple plan. Hades would punish Kerberos briefly and let Kerberos guard Sleepy Cave for about a hundred years until Bob was strong enough to take over the duty. This meant that Hades could instil discipline in his dog while keeping an eye on the dangerous dimensional monster. Sleepy Cave was a hazard that needed to be watched. Hua Tuo had no concerns about having a three-headed dog act as a guard. Merlin thought it was a brilliant idea. Having a powerful guard there meant that Hua Tuo was free to travel more and Merlin could free the resources he used to guard the Cave for something else.

The second part of Zero's plan involved Enma and Buddha. The God of Enlightenment will offer Schaf an olive branch to make up for his sins when Enma is judging him for the sins he'd committed. It was a good cop and bad cop strategy like what Isis had suggested. Without any better options, Schaf would surely choose the path of repentance. To sweeten the deal, Zero asked if arrangements could be made for Schaf to return to Heaven's fields after he has repaid his sins. Hades agreed out of obligation much to Zero's delight.

All that was left was for the verdict to be passed after the meeting. Bob and Mii didn't know what to think about Zero's plan. It sounded frighteningly reasonable and for a moment they wondered if Zero came up with such a plan by himself.

"Any objections?" Gabriel asked. He looked around and found that nobody looked too pleased or discontented. The Gods were wearing poker faces and the Demon Lords were expressionless. Even Zero looked completely neutral as if he was meditating.

"If there are no objections, the meeting will be concluded. Thank you for attending the meeting, the administrative team will prepare the necessary documents by tomorrow. Kerberos and Schaf will know about their sentences once the verdict is out."

The archangel bowed and excused himself but nobody else in the room moved. Once they were certain that Gabriel had left, Merlin broke into a proud smile. Enma gave Zero a look and nodded before giving the brunet a pat on his head before leaving. Hades bowed and apologised to the Demon Lords.

"I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble Kerberos has given you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make it up to you. It must have been difficult sustaining the plane with my dog causing trouble."

Lucifer was touched that a Great God would lower his head to apologise on behalf of his subordinate. "Please do not say such things, Hades. We are glad that you can finally be reunited with Kerberos. The fact that you've already decided to punish Kerberos strictly is enough for us. It was our fault for not getting to the bottom of the case sooner."

Merlin looked uncomfortable when Lucifer said that. For the wizard, it was very difficult to admit that Schaf was only able to get so far because he'd allowed laziness to get better of him. Hunting for a single document when he had an entire library to maintain was something that Merlin thought he could procrastinate on. He assumed that it had been misplaced and didn't bother to look further into it. If it weren't because of the Demon Lords' efficiency, Merlin would never have known that it was stolen. Zero raised his brow at Merlin but the Wizard God decided to look the other way. He couldn't bring himself to apologise and Zero's expectant stare was hurting him.

Eventually, the Wizard God gave up.

"I'm sorry about the stones too.... that was my fault. There, I said it. Is that enough?" he snapped at Zero who beamed.

"Thank you, teacher! You're the best!"

Baal smirked in amusement as Zero praised Merlin for admitting to a mistake he made. Seriously, was there anything this brunet couldn't do? Then again, the King of Idleness was suspicious. Why wasn't Zero throwing a tantrum about Schaf's verdict? The goat demon was basically sentenced to death. Did the brunet give upon saving his life?

Seeing that the serious mood was over, Lucifer excused himself politely. Classes were still in session and as the headmaster, Lucifer had many things to attend to. Seeing that the host has left, Merlin made his hasty escape before Zero could demand more things from him. Hades also bade Zero goodbye after a while but not without promising that he would visit soon after Kerberos has settled down.

The five Demon Lords sat at the round table and looked at Zero. Baal knew where this was going and suggested that they returned to his castle. It was a good thing that Sekkin, Coux, Qin Yun and Amaraline were out on an errand. Wiser had returned to Half Moon village after the matter was resolved. It was difficult for the human to adjust to the climate in the abyss and Baal commended the good man for enduring thus far.

Zero followed the Demon Lords back to Baal's castle. It was a quiet journey but he didn't mind. There were many things on his mind after all.

Unable to hold back, Amon demanded to know why Zero wasn't worried about Schaf.

The brunet looked at the Demon Lord of Wrath. The Demon Lord had angry but curious red eyes and no hair at all. Two horns protruded from his forehead and the frown made him look very serious. Amon's big and muscular build made Zero wonder if he was actually a gentle giant on the inside but shook that thought off. There was not an ounce of gentleness in the Demon Lord's actions. Zero highly doubted Amon knew what mercy meant.

"It's not right for me to interfere with how Hell wants to punish their wrongdoers. I can't change the rules in Hell. However, I know that En is open to many options. He helped me pardon Truen's crimes and have him repay his remaining sins in a different way. As long as the repayment and the sins match, En isn't particular about how it is done. His blessing judgement does the exact thing."

Lilith caught the drift of what Zero was saying. "What's Schaf's repayment like?"

Zero smiled. "He will work his debt off in Nirvana to cleanse his soul of the demonic energy in him. While doing so, he will work for Buddha by doing what he does best in the administrative department. After his sins have been written off and his soul purified, he can return to the green pastures of heaven just as he wished for. Of course, En says that Schaf will have to go through the reincarnation cycle to get there. It is unfair for him to keep his memories."

Shittomi thought about it. "Wouldn't that be sad? He would have to work so hard for something he cannot even remember enjoying. It would be living a completely normal life as a normal sheep in heaven after he repaid his debts."

Zero smiled. "That's right. It would be unfair for him to remember what happened after all. All the suffering he went through shouldn't be part of his memories. In the first place, it was a mistake for him to be born in Hell. I'm just righting the wrongs. What he chooses to do after he has his rightful life is up to him."

Baal didn't know what to say. In a way, this was mercy. Yet, it felt cold and cruel. The past is what shaped people's characters. To forgo one's past and start on a blank slate is akin to not having lived at all. How was this better than death? Baal held his tongue. He knew better than to point it out. After all, Zero was an example of that cruel fate. With no memories to define who he was, Zero chose to walk a path forged completely on his own. Of course, Zero was luckier in a sense because he met great companions who supported him throughout. It wasn't the same for Schaf and Baal felt slightly apologetic towards the goat demon.

Zero noticed the odd expression on Baal's face but he respected his friend's privacy. He didn't think that doing such a thing to Schaf was fair. However, it was the only right thing to do as Mii pointed out. Everything in this world had to be balanced. If something was out of balance, the world could easily collapse. Still, there was a part in Zero that disagreed. Why did the world have to be balanced? Wasn't it fine to be diverse? Everyone may have been created by the same being called the Great One but look at just how different they turned out. It was the uniqueness that made life interesting. Zero didn't like the idea of Schaf becoming one of the hundred sheep that grazed in the green pastures of heaven. He would be just another sheep there instead of Schaf. It felt sad but Zero couldn't think of a better way to save Schaf. He might have saved his life but not necessarily his soul.

During the time Zero took to fight with himself, Baal and the other Demon Lords have arrived at the castle. They shared a knowing look before alighting from the carriage. For many years, they could only dream of such a day. Slowly, their mission became more of a legend and less of a duty. Their memories about their respective Divine Entities were nothing more than just a vague dream. That was until Zero appeared in Baal's life.

Too deeply troubled by his thoughts, Zero didn't notice the intuition warning him about what was to happen until they entered Baal's study. By the time the brunet noticed where he was, the intuition was firing alarms in his head in every direction, screaming at him about the huge turning point in his life. Both Mii and Bob were already trying to break through the mental barrier separating Zero and them. The brunet looked at the Demon Lords before him and wondered what was going on.

"Zero," Baal called his name with a seriousness that the brunet didn't think he was capable of. "We need to talk."

A heavy feeling sank in Zero's stomach. He felt like he'd swallowed the asteroid that sent him plummeting into Sedna's planet. It was unpleasant. Yet something told Zero that he couldn't run away.

What a dilemma!