Ball of Nothing

Zero didn't see his mission partner the entire afternoon. He spent it with Kruz who gave him a private tour of the Academy grounds. Zero enjoyed the bat demon's company tremendously. It was vastly different from spending time with Truen or Baal. Kruz laughed alongside Zero at the funny things they saw and made jokes. It was a very new experience for the apprentice.

Zero learnt a fair bit about the bat demon too. Apparently, Kruz was a student accepted for his ability to do reconnaissance in ways that others couldn't. Kruz was able to transform into a tiny bat and had a superior sense of hearing and smell. Despite his physical disability with his eyes, a trait from the bat demon clan, Kruz was able to determine the location of things and objects through echolocation. Zero was excited to know how that ability worked because he had it too. It was tricky to use and Zero's head often hurt from listening to the multiple echoes when he used it.

After walking around for hours, they were famished.

"Let's head to the cafeteria," Zero suggested and Kruz politely declined.

"I'm sorry, Zero. It's getting late, I have some matters to attend to. You should go without me..."

Zero didn't push it although he was curious about the matters Kruz had to attend to. He headed to the cafeteria alone without questions but kept a close eye on Kruz's target mark on his map. The bat demon was heading back to the dormitory so Zero decided to check in again later. His stomach protested once more and the young doctor picked up his pace. He was curious about what happened to Jeremiah but that will have to wait till after dinner. he would find out more about what happened from Lucifer after dinner when he saw him for their daily report.

***

"You're late," the dean commented when Zero appeared from a warp portal.

In truth, Zero was only tardy by ten seconds. It wasn't anything that warranted a glare but Lucifer merely wanted to express his discontent with the brunet's actions today. He heard and saw it all from the surveillance. Baal gave him the carte blanche to chew the brunet out so Lucifer wasn't going to hold anything back.

Zero stiffened at the heavy tone of voice. That was how Baal usually sounded like when he was displeased with something Zero did. The brunet racked his memories for anything that might possibly anger the Demon Lord but couldn't find anything worth getting worked up over. He did quite a good job keeping a low profile and managed to strike off two out of five suspects from his list. Why was Lucifer so mad?

"How was your first day of school?"

The question was casual but Zero knew there was more to it than that. Carefully, he crafted his reply.

"It was interesting. I made and new friend and managed to cancel two targets from the list of suspects. I've come into contact with three out of five suspects now."

Lucifer was genuinely pleased with the rate of progress although he wasn't too pleased with the methods Zero deployed. Also, there was a different kind of headache that came in the form of a certain librarian. He didn't involve Olaf for very good reasons. That dragon demon was almost as meddlesome as Zero was.

Lucifer wasn't speaking or looking up from his work for a while and Zero was starting to wonder if the Demon Lord had heard him. The young doctor tried to peer at what Lucifer was doing and snuck up closer to the desk, inching over with his toes.

Lucifer noticed what the boy was trying to accomplish and didn't stop him. He was too lazy to deal with Zero's weird antics at this point and waited till the teenager was close enough before flicking a pen at Zero's forehead with deadly accuracy.

The force of collision caught Zero off guard and he fell backwards onto his behind with a dull thud. The spot where pen connected with skull throbbed with ache but it wasn't anything Zero couldn't fix with some healing magic. Still, that wasn't a particularly nice thing to do.

Lucifer wanted to smirk at the pout Zero was making. Served him right. Who in the right mind would try to eat poisonous fruits, compromise their cover in front of their target and tell others that they were friends with Demon Lords? Apparently not Zero. He did all of those and to add oil to the fire, now Olaf was interested to know this fluffball.

"Do you have any conclusive evidence that those two suspects you mentioned are not involved with the plot in any manner?"

Zero blinked. Evidence? "Does instinct count?"

Lucifer gave Zero the dead fish eye and Zero winced. That was right, instinct wasn't an acceptable reason for many. He completely forgot about that after hanging out with Baal for too long. Conclusive evidence huh...

"I have trackers on Jeremiah, Chitta and Kruz. At the moment, Chitta is contacting Lilith. I've also spoken directly with Lilith about Chitta's agenda. She's not the enemy's spy. Jeremiah is sleeping in his room now and Kruz is up to something. I have not confirmed what he is up to but I know for sure that Kruz isn't the spy. I will get the evidence tonight when I follow him out of the Academy."

Lucifer nodded. "Noted about Chitta and Kruz. I hope to hear some positive news. That tracker ability sure is handy. What do you think of Jeremiah?"

Zero made a face. "I don't like him."

Lucifer raised a brow. Is that really something a spy should be saying? "I'm asking for your objective observation and not your opinion."

Zero blushed and apologised. "He's still suspicious. How can he use magic in the magic restricted zone? He was trying to harm Mr Spiff, I saw it earlier."

Lucifer nodded. He saw that too. If it weren't for Beelzebub losing the fight to hold Zero back, he would have let it play out a little more to collect more damning evidence.

"That wasn't really magic. It was a bloodline ability and a curse. Beelzebub has reported it to me, so far Jeremiah is our biggest lead. Baal is still trying to sniff out the traitor in the staff ranks. You can rest assured, the traitor isn't Spiff or Olaf. Also, a word of caution before you retire for the night... don't get too close to Olaf. That guy's nothing but a nuisance. Give him a foot and don't expect him to return it."

Zero gulped. "Thanks for the warning, goodnight headmaster."

Lucifer didn't respond and Zero left the office with his heart pounding. Talking to Lucifer was always scary in some unspeakable way. Now that the report was over, Zero wanted to know what his dear new friend was up to. Kruz has been moving in a certain pattern around a specific area but not leaving the school grounds. Zero was also sensing another target in the area. If he had to guess who it was, Zero would place bets on it being the notorious yankee of the Academy.

The young doctor wasn't disappointed when his prediction was right on the mark. A certain gargoyle that blended with the dark sky came swooping down silently on the ground in front of a tree a few metres away from the dormitory building that Kruz was residing in. The bat demon was really tiny in his bat form and Zero had difficulty spotting him from this distance. If not for the map's ability, Zero wouldn't have noticed Kruz at all.

"Are you ready?" Koblaq asked as he transformed back to his human form. Zero noted how drastically difference the gargoyle was in appearance. In his demon form, the gargoyle was something born from a nightmare with a bald head, sharp eyes with horned wings all covered in black scales. In his human form, he had inky black hair that secluded his face, walked with a slouch despite his tall figure and was rather well-built.

Kruz transformed back into his human form and Zero held his breath. He didn't know if echolocation would be able to detect him from this distance or through close windows. Thankfully, Kruz wasn't able to detect Zero from this distance.

The two students left swiftly and Zero cursed the fact that he couldn't fly. Thankfully, Lucifer didn't ban him from using magic in the Academy. He would simply have to follow them using teleportation. Thank goodness Mii was an excellent navigator.

Zero was fairly surprised when they stopped at a rowdier part of town in Lucifer's domain. Baal had cautioned him time and again to avoid those shady streets. It reminded Zero about the underground city that Baal led him to, except worse.

"Where are they?" Koblaq growled and sniffed the air. Kruz transformed back into a human and sent out pulses once more.

"I sensed them here a few nights ago, they might have changed their location."

"Can you locate them?" the gargoyle asked and Zero blinked. What were they going on about?

Kruz nodded and poofed into a tiny bat before flying away quickly. The brunet held his breath and teleported into a building slightly further away so that Kruz wouldn't notice him following them. He was highly curious about what was going on. Koblaq was notorious for his reputation in the Academy. He was constantly picking fights outside of the campus and Zero didn't think this was a friendly visit. The real question was why Kruz was working with Koblaq. Who were they looking for?

The gargoyle wasted no time and entered a tavern. Zero blinked. Baal once mentioned that taverns were places where all sorts of horrible people gathered at. There were many things that could be exchanged for money there with information being the most valuable. Coux had specifically told Zero to never enter a tavern without Truen and the young doctor wasn't sure if he should wait outside or follow Koblaq in.

"Mii, is there a way to see what's going on inside without me having to enter that tavern?"

The strawcherry assistant materialised with a poof beside him. "I can go in there and give you visuals if you want."

Zero thought for a while. "It's too dangerous. I guess we'll just have to wait then."

Bob's hologram materialised beside the startled fairy and beamed. "I can do it!"

Zero looked at Bob. Bob didn't have a tangible form like Mii so that resolved one of Zero's worries. Also, the Eternal Dragon was rather smart. He was the prime candidate for such a mission.

"Alright, I'll be counting on you. Please don't get discovered. I just need conclusive evidence that Kruz and Koblaq are not on the enemy's side. Do not interfere with their matters too much, Lucifer's words."

"Roger!" the dragon replied and vanished. Zero felt the tug at their mental connection as Bob moved further away from him. Things would be a lot easier with lesser distance but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Mii monitored the map while Zero mediated, trying to concentrate on the connection he had with Bob. Kobalq was now registered as a target and he wasn't moving much. On the other hand, Kruz was running in circles in the area near the tavern Koblaq entered. Chitta was also sneaking out of the Academy but Zero told her not to worry about it.

"Zero, what about Jeremiah and Beelzebub? What should we do if they are on the move?"

Zero's eyes snapped open at once. Jeremiah was the finest lead they had. "What's that bird up to? Also, what about Beelzebub?"

Mii showed Zero the map. "Beelzebub is tailing Jeremiah. That canary is up to something for sure. Just take a look at his movements. He's sneaking into the greenhouse in the middle of the night. Why would anyone do that? It's not as if he was a fan of the plants there."

Zero hummed. "Is there possibly someone he is meeting there? The greenhouse is known to be one of the more secluded places in the Academy after all... nobody will host a tea party so late into the night. It screams fishy if he's going all the way out to do this."

Mii agreed. "Should we abandon Kruz and Koblaq here to confirm what that canary is up to?"

Zero watching the blinking dot in green. "No, I think Beel can handle it. Let's focus on this for now."

In the next fifteen minutes, Kruz circled the area wider and wider. Bob was giving feedback that Koblaq seemed to be in a fouler mood as each minute passed. then, Kruz returned and Bob made his presence disappear. Mii also returned to the mindscape and Zero readied himself to follow them.

The small bat was nestled in Koblaq's breast pocket, exhausted from flying for such a long period of time. The gargoyle took two turns into a dark alley and transformed into his grotesque appearance before taking to the night skies, using the darkness as his cover. Zero launched the pursuit and followed closely.

They left the domain entirely and Zero begin to worry as the distance between him and the Academy grew. They flew past a rock mountain and reached a dark forest full of dead trees. The miasma was very thick and Zero noticed how Kruz had entered a hibernation stage. From what he had observed, Kruz and Koblaq seemed very close. The gargoyle was rather protective of the small bat demon.

Koblaq returned to his human form and stood up straight. Without the constant slouch, Zero thought that he looked like a completely different person.

"They are surrounded," Mii told Zero through their connection and Zero studied the map. True enough, there were numerous dots appearing on the map surrounding where Koblaq was standing. The only problem was how Zero couldn't see anyone near them.

before Zero could investigate the reason for his map's malfunction, something shot up from the ground. Koblaq evaded it swiftly and stepped into the air with his wings supporting him dutifully. It happened too quickly and Zero didn't know what had transpired. Whatever just happened had left massive holes in the hardened ground. Zero was reminded about worms and shuddered to think of worms that size.

The dots gathered around Koblaq and Zero held his breath. Surely enough, whatever monster hiding underground launched themselves into the air, trying to bring Koblaq down. Zero had a good look at what the gargoyle was fighting and shuddered.

"Netherworms?"

Zero felt physically ill at the sight. Koblaq massacred them without holding back it was messy with green worm blood raining from the sky but the mountain of dead bodies was creating a horrible scenery. He read about netherworms and how dangerous they could be. These monsters mutated from absorbing the miasma in the wilderness. They would eat away at the ground beneath while making their nest, causing whole landscapes to collapse inward. They also eat unsuspecting demons and gain intelligence.

The battle lasted all of thirty minutes. Zero had already emptied all the contents of his dinner onto the ground. He was a good two miles or so away from the site but it didn't make things any easier. Now that he had his conclusive evidence of what Koblaq and Kruz were up to, he should return to make his report to Lucifer.

Still, the blinking dot on his map made him worry a little. Beelzebub and Jeremiah were still not back to their dormitory.

Shaking his head, Zero tried to reason that Beelzebub was a Demon Lord capable of taking care of himself. The box of carrot cake was still waiting on Beel's bed when he left, Zero only wished that the Demon Lord of Gluttony wouldn't stay out too late.

Freshly baked carrot cakes wouldn't taste as good if left alone for too long.