Ball of Nothing

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.