Ball of Nothing

It didn't matter if Zero had been here before. The beautiful sight still awed him. As Morning Star Academy rolled up, the teen wondered if he looked odd. The school uniform was made of comfortable cloth but nothing as comfortable as the tracksuit he'd gotten used to wearing or the other clothes he wore. The fact that the lab coat got banned made him slightly depressed.

Baal noticed that his friend was fidgeting more frequently as they got nearer. Ever since they could see Lucifer's domain, the teen wouldn't stop checking the time. It's not as if Lucifer would punish them for being tardy. Punctualness wasn't an important factor for first impressions amongst demons. Capability on the other hand was.

"Relax," he told the apprentice who jumped at his voice.

The young doctor laughed weakly and a light blush was dusted on his cheeks at being found out. Zero thought that meditating would help. He met many people so far but the idea of meeting new people whom he could possibly become friends with made his stomach tumble in itself. The emotion was unfamiliar but Zero recognised it as a sign of apprehension or nervousness from his medical training with Hua Tuo.

There was excitement at making new friends, dread at being disliked by said potential friend candidates and worry about not knowing what to do or how to fit in with the class. Baal watched all of those emotions play out on his friend's face with interest. For someone as powerful as Zero, it was funny how he was sweating over the smaller stuff in life. Baal never showed an interest in school or in making friends. Mammon and Lilith were co-workers that stuck with him and were less annoying than the others. For Zero to get excited over meeting a bunch of strangers who may or may not wish him harm, Baal found it incredibly amusing.

The carriage pulled up on the steps of the main entrance and Zero half wondered if it was alright to be stepping on such polished marble flooring. He felt slightly bad but followed Baal quickly and hopped off the transport. Baal seemed to know where he was going so Zero decided that he should follow his friend who looked every bit like a teacher after transformation.

The Demon Lord was older now. He looked dashing in his suit that Coux ironed for him. Baal even went through the trouble of wearing a tie and a pair of glasses to complete the intellectual look as expected of a guest lecturer. Zero has never been prouder of his friend.

The walked down brightly lit hallways furnished with expensive looking carpets in silence. The glass windows were huge and Zero could see the school's courtyard from where they were. Occasionally there would be a random vase with some poisonous flower and a picture in a golden frame on the wall. Mammon once explained that interior decor reflected one's wealth here in the abyss. The Academy certainly looked like it was very rich. Nothing could compare to Mammon's humble abode but when compared to Baal's homey castle, Zero couldn't get used to the obscene amount of sparkly things. He felt like his shabby self didn't belong in such a refined place. Everyone behaved so elegantly as they walked or flew to their classes. Zero passed by a few students on the way and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Most of them looked human even if they didn't feel like one with their predatory smiles.

Baal finally halted in front of a large white double door with golden handles. Zero was beginning to wonder what the deal was with gold. Did Lucifer have a gold obsession like Mammon? Then again, Mammon wouldn't make things using gold. He preferred to keep them in his vault away from prying eyes. The Demon Lord knocked twice before twisting the handle and letting himself in.

Zero was once more blinded by the sight of shiny objects when they entered. It took him a while to adjust to it and realise that the dean was already seated at the other side of the very large wooden desk. Zero eyed the chair that looked very similar to the throne he saw Lucifer sitting on during the trials. he wondered if that was the same throne or if it was a duplicate. Lucifer was rich enough to have several duplicates of that if he really wanted to.

"Welcome to the Morning Star Academy," Lucifer greeted smoothly and offered them a seat.

Baal didn't stand on ceremony and sat right down while Zero fidgeted before following suit. Lucifer didn't waste any time and got right into it. Zero glanced through the folder that contained the profiles of several students. He wasn't quite sure why he was looking at the profiles of students but he studied them with interest anyway.

"Are they the target?"

Lucifer smiled. "Thankfully we have them narrowed down to two classes. Beelzebub is working in Class-B but there is nobody capable of monitoring the suspects in Class-A. That's where you come in Zero. We received word that they will make a move by the end of the week. It will be best to catch them before that or in the act. Cleaning up messes is always troublesome."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? What mess? Is something going on?"

Lucifer gave Baal a strange look. "You didn't tell the kid anything?"

Baal shrugged nonchalantly and Lucifer's face darkened. There was silence for a while and Zero wondered if he said anything wrong.

"Zero, do you understand what this is all about?"

The teen nodded. "I'm going to school for a week to do something for you, right? We had an agreement."

Lucifer nodded. "That's right. Do you know what the... errand is about?"

Baal closed his eyes and opted for a short nap, leaving Lucifer and Zero to talk it out. The ancient demon sighed tiredly. He should have seen it coming.

"Zero, how much do you know about the war between Heaven and Hell?"

The teen smiled. Wiser had informed him all about it and he read up more on his own. "The angels didn't agree so they fought with you leading one team and Michael leading the other. Eventually, the plane fell apart because of the damages caused and so you signed a truce with Michael and claimed the fallen plane as yours that was renamed into the Abyss. The power of the Demon Lords helped to stabilise the plane and prevent it from falling into the void. That's what I know from the books in Baal's library and Wiser."

Lucifer nodded. Those were common facts that most people knew. It wasn't far from the truth but it wasn't complete.

"That's right. I signed a truce with Michael. However, it wasn't because we stopped fighting that we called a truce. It was because there was a third party who were targeting both Heaven and Hell that we had to form an alliance to fend them off. Heaven and Hell weren't on as bad terms as depicted in history. We do business with them on a regular basis. However, there are still young demons who think that we need to regain our former glory and take those angels down. The list of students are suspects involved in doing something that would threaten both Heaven and Hell's existence. It is a crime worse than Schaf and Kerberos. Your role here would be to scout and inform us Demon Lord who is involved. Do not take any action on your own. Unlike Schaf and Kerberos, please do not interfere with how we would handle the matter. If you cannot agree to this, I would have to remove you from the mission."

Zero stared at Lucifer long and hard. The ancient demon was serious and the young doctor wanted to know what would happen to those found guilty of such a plot. His mind supplied him with a few answers but Zero didn't like them very much. Those hardened eyes told him that the answer wouldn't be too far from his suspicions so Zero let his shoulders drop. He had a promise to keep but at the same time, he didn't feel comfortable with letting people die even if they might deserve it.

"I know what I said but I won't force this on you. We can handle it on our own if you don't want to be part of it," Lucifer told the young doctor.

Zero didn't sense any malice from that and took his time to weigh his options.

"I'll do it," he looked right into Lucifer's eyes as he said it. The ancient demon was pleasantly surprised at his resolve and Baal cracked an eye open. The guest lecturer had mixed feelings but seeing how Zero had made his choice, he chose not to comment further and accepted it.

"Very well. Let's get on with the plan," Lucifer said.

For the next half an hour, Lucifer went through the details of the plan and Zero's frown became increasingly deeper. He could now see why Baal made him promise him what he promised. These people weren't just bad, they were downright evil!

"Slavery is wrong. Besides, what have humans done to them to deserve such things? Submit or be annihilated? What's wrong with these demons?"

Baal chose not to comment and Lucifer kept his lips tightly pressed together. Zero was fuming. All lives were created equally, how could these demons think of themselves as superior over those of weaker species? That's not right! Also, their desire to conquer Heaven and reign superior over this realm bothered Zero greatly. Were they intending to bother Buddha as well? That was simply a big no-no.

"Why do they want to enslave humans so badly? If they really wanted to win, they could easily set a battle match against Heaven once and for all to settle it. Why involve humans?"

Baal sighed. "A long time ago, humans were a species that somehow managed to hunt Gods down. Of course, we are talking about the humans in the original Earth. They're extinct now. The humans we now know about are less capable. They're too busy fighting over each other's territory and with other races to bother the Gods. They're less ambitious and deadly. These young demons think that by getting the humans on their side, they can take down angels easily."

Zero was speechless. The plan was a twisted but almost flawless one. He didn't know who the mastermind for this plan was but he or she would be an extremely dangerous person. Since Kerberos failed to open the gates of Hell to unwind back time and the gates were controlled by Baal with heavy security during the Redemption event, that plan was ruined. They've become more desperate in their attempts ever since. Now, in order to complete their plans of opening the gates of hell permanently and forcing demons to evacuate this plane and conquer Earth, they intend to destroy the balance and send the Abyss plummeting into the void.

That kind of selfishness wasn't something that Zero could forgive. They had to be stopped for the sake of the many other demons who were innocent.

"I understand. We must stop them," Zero nodded after listening to Lucifer. He couldn't sit by and do nothing. There were many nice people who helped him while he was in the abyss, it was about time to return the favour.

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "As you will be working closely with Beel, the two of you will share rooms for the time being. Baal will have a separate room in the staff dormitory. He'll be sieving through the employees for any possible connections."

At that, Zero turned to Baal with widened eyes. Baal looked away. He hadn't breathed a word about his mission to Zero. Knowing the worrywart that his friend was, it was better to wait till the last possible moment to do so. Now that Lucifer has let the cat out of the bag, Baal could only feign ignorance.

Zero looked at his friend disbelievingly. "Bell!"

Lucifer shoved the two out of his room before they could start their bickering. As the dean and a fairly mature demon, he didn't want to be involved in the squabbles of two children. There were more important things to tackle after all.