Ball of Nothing

Sin redemption was almost like transformation magic except that the effects were permanent. Schaf without his sins regained some of his ancestor's blood and was now a cuddly half-lamb.

"Did I do something wrong there?" Zero wondered.

For a demon, Schaf wasn't particularly scary. As a non-demon... Schaf wasn't scary at all. Beastfolks were known to have keener senses and sharper instincts than humans. However, nobody expected the ex-manager to transform into a cuddly lamb beastman. He had the most innocent looking eyes and fleece as white as snow. It didn't help that he retained his small stature because he looked a lot younger than Baal.

"I think it is working as it should," Qin Yun frowned. Schaf was currently in a state of shock after seeing his new physical condition.

"What have you done?!" he squealed in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Even furious, nobody could take the lamb seriously.

"Look on the bright side," Qin Yun smiled. "At least now, nobody would think that you're a dangerous criminal. I'm sure Zoe would be more than delighted to care for another abandoned child."

Schaf stared at her in disbelief.

"I know!" Zero's eyes sparkled. "He needs a new name. Can we call him Lambo?"

Qin Yun considered it seriously and Schaf had a bad feeling. "I think that's a good name. What do you say, Lambo?"

The ex-banker turned red in the face from humiliation. "I refuse!"

Nobody listened to him. Baal smirked and Ruth stirred the matter by chipping in on his opinion. It ended with the fox spirit dragging Lambo by the hand back to the village. Zero and Ruth waved goodbye to the struggling beastfolk and fox spirit before stepping through Baal's portal back to his castle.

They stepped in straight to Baal's study with the Demon Lord following close behind, dragging the borrowed furniture. Zero presented the vampire with the other magic contract with his signature and Baal's. The young doctor didn't suspect anything when he handed it over much to Baal's delight.

Ruth received the document, expecting it to be something similar to Schaf's. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the generosity of the terms included. Buying back a slave's freedom wasn't something heard of in the abyss. The vampire expected to work his life away earning it back but was stunned by how 'easy' it was.

That was until he reached the last line. He didn't know whose idea it was but judging from the clear intentions, it certainly wasn't something Zero would think about. Still, he didn't hesitate to sign it. The contract disintegrated quickly and Baal exchanged glances briefly before Zero distracted the warrior with his enthusiasm.

Baal let the new master and student bond and slipped out of the office quietly. He almost had the shock of his life when he found his secretary waiting just past the bend of the corridor. If Baal was any lesser demon, he might have shrieked, Instead, he clutched at his chest to still the racing heart.

"Couldn't you have appeared like any normal person or set an appointment?" the Demon Lord hissed.

The half-succubus raised an elegant brow as if to ask if Baal was truly serious about that. "What did you do?"

Baal scanned the corridor and sighed. "It's just like what Zero wants, a fair employment contract with babysitting duties. I only added what would have been good for us. With the magic contract, even a traitor could join the faction."

The Demon Lord dropped a copy of the duplicated contract in Coux's hands before disappearing to the bedroom. The secretary didn't stop him this time. It was true that Baal worked exceedingly hard for the past few days. She felt slightly guilty for not noticing the signs until it was almost too late. Deciding to let Baal off the hook for the day, Coux turned to the papers in her hands.

The terms were as what Baal mentioned. Upon signing the contract, Ruth would no longer be a slave. However, he had to commit to teaching Zero combat skills including some magic for the remaining half a year. In addition to that, Ruth will station in Half Moon village who will accommodate him for the first ten years. His other duty was to help raise the unborn half-vampire - Seff. Right at the bottom of the long list was a one-liner clause that says Ruth will be accepted as a member of Baal's Faction and all rules of the faction is bound to the terms of this contract should he accept.

For a vampire, serving ten years of his time to earn his freedom was a small price to pay. Ruth was more than delighted to know he was free. With the Strong Stomach skill, there was no need to worry about starving. Ruth had always wanted to know what lied beyond the gates. Once those ten years were up, Ruth intended to travel in order to broaden his combat horizon. There were many strong species on Earth and the vampire wanted to contend against the strongest combat masters of every species.

***

Baal wasn't surprised to find a dark shadow in his room. The shadow was a black raven with blood red eyes who looked more ghostly than ghastly. Tied to one of his legs was a message for the Demon Lord. Baal recognised at once whose familiar it was when he saw the insignia. Didn't Lucifer send the invitation a few days ago? This was highly unusual.

Baal didn't keep the avian messenger waiting for long. He untied the message and the raven merged back with the shadows after its mission was completed.

[We have a lead but no means to get close. We need a bait.]

Scowling hard, Baal burned that paper away with magic. A bait meant someone who might possibly be harmed in the plan. Baal hated being Lucifer's rag doll. However, he hated the thought of Zero being put in danger even more. His friend might be very powerful but he was too precious to be allowed any harm. Lucifer was giving him no choice in the matter and the Demon Lord felt all the fatigue leave him in favour of moodiness.

The Demon Lords have talked over this. While it wasn't a surprise that there were factions of demons who do not support their ruling in the domains, the rebels have gone too far this time. It's not a matter that they could keep their eyes closed and look the other way. With Schaf and Kerberos' matter being more pressing, they left the rebels alone. Perhaps it was a mistake to leave them alone for far too long. With the plans to open the gates foiled, these rebels were now desperate. That made things ten times more troublesome. If handled poorly, Hell might just see the end of its days.

"A gold for your thoughts?" a sultry voice greeted. Baal didn't even look up, too familiar with who she was.

"Why are you here? Your descendant is not with me."

Lilith rolled her eyes and folded her wings before hopping off the window ledge. Baal looked terribly small in his chair, his eyes heavy with burden and lack of sleep. The Succubus Queen sighed. This was about Zero again. She could feel it.

"Is it about the Academy?"

Baal didn't answer but Lilith knew it was anyway. She sat herself down in his bed without reservations and made herself comfortable there. Her carefree behaviour slightly annoyed the Demon Lord of Idleness but he kept his silence. It wasn't a secret that despite the rough competition, the six, now seven, Demon Lords worked together behind the scenes to unite the Abyss and keep the plane from disintegrating. It was challenging to put aside their personal distaste for each other at times but Baal never had a problem stepping up to it when duty calls.

"I'm not letting Zero play decoy. We will take care of those punks before anything happens."

Lilith didn't say anything. She expected just as much. Her friend used to be such a lone wolf. Not even herself or Mammon could climb over that wall around Baal's heart. It wasn't a secret that Baal had a difficult past, much more than Mammon or any other Demon Lord apart from the Prince of Hell itself. Every Demon Lord has one of the most painful pasts that anyone could possibly experience. For her, it was the curse of loving and losing everyone she cared about physically and mentally. Succubuses were demons not made for love but here she was. Compared to her tragedy, Baal had it worse. It was almost comparable to Lucifer's personal past as far as tragedy scales went.

"You shouldn't make that choice for him," Lilith advised. She'd taken a liking to the brunet and Baal's overprotective nature over the lad would only act as a wedge between their bond.

Baal didn't answer and Lilith hoped that her friend would heed her advice. She didn't want to see Zero and Baal falling out of touch over an argument like this because they couldn't see each other's point of view. Lilith didn't want her friend to go back into the shell that he was with the walls built even higher than before.

As the Succubus Queen left, Baal thought over her words. A large part of him knew that she was right. However, that small stubborn part of him refused to have Zero involved in any more of Hell's affairs. He hoped to send Zero back quickly as soon as the trials were over but the doctor had to interfere and spare the two criminals. If the two felons were executed or banished into a higher plane, the matter would have been easily resolved.

Still, Baal couldn't find it in himself to stay mad at his friend for changing the outcome. His friend's ambition vastly differed from his. If Zero wanted to save the world, Baal just wanted to watch it burn. If it weren't for Zero, he might have eliminated a few minor worlds for being such a pain. Initially, it was amusing to see how gullible Zero was when they met in the void. Who would believe that a Demon Lord would cause accidental destruction because of clumsiness and grouchiness after being woken from a nap? It was true he had sinus issues but they never destroyed any cities unless he wanted to.

Slowly, that amusement turned into something deeper. The part of him he shielded from everyone else resonated with Zero's stories. As they talked more, it became evident that Baal was fond of the lad. It was easy to know that Zero wasn't an ordinary human child. That gave Baal some kind of hope. If he had a friend as powerful as Zero, perhaps history wouldn't repeat itself. He was the second oldest Demon Lord after Lucifer. While Mammon and Lilith attended the Academy with him, they didn't enter it at the same age despite graduating together.

Baal was already close to a millennium year old before he was discovered by Lucifer who promptly hauled him to the Academy and forcefully recruited him. It was very similar to what Beelzebub was going through at the moment.

The Lazy Demon Lord sighed. Zero was maturing nicely into a teen now. Many things would change. Logically, Lilith was right. He should let Zero make his decision. However, just for a little more, Baal wished to protect that innocence. The world wasn't a pretty place. He was thankful for Mii and Bob, the Eternal Dragon reincarnate, who were always there for him. There was Truen the wood elf who started the Zero Army always watching from behind the scenes so Zero was very well cared for.

Conflicted, Baal opened a teleportation gate and retrieved a bottle of wine from it. He was going to need this badly if he had to do a lot of thinking. This wasn't solely about him, it was about Zero too. Curse Lucifer for being such a nuisance in his life.