Ball of Nothing

"We can't evacuate!" Zero struggled in Olaf's hold and received a smack on his bottom that made him squirm uncomfortably.

"Yes, we can. I'm not putting up with those fluff-brains for longer than I need to," the dragon demon huffed.

"No, we can't! Beel and Baal are-"

"Beelzebub and Baal are Demon Lords, perfectly capable of surviving any kind of crisis. You should know best that even if their physical bodies were destroyed, the soul of a demon lord would never disappear. Besides, the headmaster if personally going to take care of it. I don't believe that the gate cannot be taken down with so many powerful individuals joining hands so don't worry more than you have to," Olaf huffed.

"But stil-"

"No buts," the librarian cut him off curtly with a strict look. "Any more meddling on your end will only be poking your nose into where it doesn't belong. You can help by not being anywhere near that disaster zone and giving everyone else a piece of mind."

Zero looked conflicted and highly unsure. His anger from earlier was still simmering underneath the constant waves of worry the further they got from the library. As Olaf was flying at quite an altitude, Zero could see the chaos happening below them. Students, teachers and townfolks were evacuating the domain in a hurry. Many tried to step over the slower demons who mercilessly stampeded to death. The doctor couldn't believe his eyes.

"I still want to be able to do something to help..." Zero admitted in a whisper.

Thanks to his keen sense of hearing, Olaf heard that clearly. The librarian said nothing for a while as they flew further and further from the campus. Olaf had a few hideouts near the Academy and was considering if he should do as told and keep the teenager there. It was a tough decision.

On one hand, Olaf had the duty of an adult to guide Zero who was young and naive. In addition, Baal and Lucifer would have his head should something befall upon the young doctor. He didn't know what kind of background Zero had but from Bobbinskrier's words, Zero was on very intimate terms with many Gods. Olaf might be a powerful dragon demon but his existence was as significant as a grain of sand on the beach when compared with the Great Gods.

However, the dragon could fully empathise with Zero's desire for revenge and the urge to help his friends. Olaf was convinced that revenge was less than half of Zero's true motive for wanting to join in the raffle. More than petty revenge for an overpowered existence like him, Zero was more concerned about the well-being of those dear to him.

Knowing that he would come to fully hate himself for what he was about to do, Olaf groaned and stopped mid-air. Zero looked up in surprise at the lack of momentum and his eyes brightened up in hope. Could it be that Olaf was going to turn around and let him help?

"Alright, listen up. Before we head back to the Academy, you must promise me two things."

Zero nodded eagerly and was all ears.

Olaf couldn't believe he was doing this and resigned to fate. "First," he sighed with a dramatic long pause before continuing. "You will only use defensive magic and healing magic. No attacking anything."

Zero nodded and waited for Olaf to lay his second condition. They were wasting precious time now and the teenager wanted to rush back there to get his friends to safety.

"Secondly, you will evacuate the scene once you have retrieved Baal and Beelzebub. I will remain behind to aid Lord Lucifer. Bob, I will lend you some of my powers. Open the gate for Zero, I want him to leave the abyss immediately."

Zero wanted to protest when Bob agreed. The brunet didn't want to leave the abyss just yet. There were so many people still in the abyss like Coux and Ruth! What if the abyss was really destroyed? Zero shuddered at that thought. He couldn't just leave like this, he had to do something!

"If you can't agree to my terms, we are not going back," Olaf said sternly. He bore his eyes into Zero's neither backing down.

Bob was anxious. Knowing Zero, the teenager might decide to rebel and teleport back to the Academy while sticking his nose into the heat of everything. The Eternal Dragon looked at his dragon friend with worry from Zero's mindscape. Mii seemed to be struggling with something but the dragon child didn't know how to help her. The strawcherry fairy's mana flickered like a candlelight in a strong wind.

"My other friends are still in the abyss," Zero told Olaf coldly.

The dragon demon looked at him unblinkingly. "It will be their fate if the plane collapses. Even so, they will evacuate the abyss before it collapses. The Demon Lords are ready to open the gates should anything happen."

Zero didn't look convinced. By Demon Lords, that meant Baal and Beelzebub, right? With two Demon Lords unconscious and one currently with the angels, the teenager had his worries. The last time Baal held the gate open, he fell terribly ill. Even Gods would struggle with maintaining the gate open for prolonged periods of time. With only four active Demon Lords, would they be able to open the gates long enough for everyone to escape? Not to mention, they would have to dedicate some of their strength to hold up the collapsing plane.

"I'm sorry, I can't agree to your terms. I will return to destroy that artificial gate. the only way to save the abyss is to destroy it. I promise not to do anything dangerous, I will just destroy it without magic!"

Olaf didn't believe a word Zero just said. If anything, he was more determined now to get Zero away from the danger zone.

Zero sensed that and immediately used teleportation to escape the librarian much to Olaf's frustration. The dragon demon flew back as quick as he can. Lucifer would have his head if anything happened to the kid.

***

Michael wasn't expecting the kid to reappear before him. His initial surprise soon turned into anger at the meddling brat. Of all the times he could have interfered, he chose to jump in right when the Pegasus riders were going to launch a surprise attack on the Arachne descendant. With the lost element of surprise, the battle would be drawn out longer and their chances of victory were lower than it could have been.

Merlin sensed a very familiar magical energy in the vicinity and Lucifer cursed at it. They should have known better than to hope for cooperation from Zero. The Demon Lord wanted to sigh. He hoped that Olaf would be able to keep the kid away while they worked on his curse but that proved to be wishful thinking. How could they have forgotten that Zero had powerful magic on top of his stubborn streak?

The ex-archangel turned to Zero's other teacher. Merlin sensed the heavy pressure of Lucifer's eyes on him and averted his line of sight. Lucifer wanted to laugh. Not even Zero's teacher wanted to take responsibility for his actions. For all the eccentricity and arrogance Merlin was famed for, these traits were nowhere to be found. Lucifer wanted to laugh at that. For the almighty to have fallen, it was something Lucifer would have milked its worth on another day. However, the fate of Hell was at stake now.

"Your student is interfering. As a teacher, isn't this your responsibility to teach him not to meddle in other people's affairs?"

Merlin pretended not to hear anything much to Lucifer's annoyance. He glanced worriedly in the direction of the library where Michael was battling. Zero's interference only made things more complicated. With the brunet in the middle of the chaos, how would he explain to it Baal that he couldn't stop the teenager from getting into danger's way?

Uriel trembled behind Lucifer. "He must be stopped... Hell cannot take the level of catastrophe that he will create..."

The Demon Lord looked at the angel of prophecy with a troubled expression. "Wizard, hurry up and take your student away!"

Merlin gave Lucifer a cold stare. "It's not possible. Zero will not leave until he has saved the abyss from its fate. My job is to ensure that no harm befalls him. I cannot help Zero decide what he wants to do."

Lucifer felt irritation brew in the pit of his stomach at the Wizard God's statement. Uriel's prophecy was never wrong. If Zero was the destroyer of the abyss in his visions, then it will be true. Lucifer looked at the ring of ancient words on his wrist. If this curse wasn't holding him back, he would have dived right into it and fought alongside Michael. His only other hope was Baal, his brightest student and second most powerful Demon Lord. With Baal and himself out of commission from the battle against Rhinestone, Lucifer wasn't so sure they could stop the Arachne's descendant from succeeding.

Gabriel had to hold Lucifer back from lunging at the Sage God of Magic. Raphael decided to leave and check on Michael. "I won't let any harm befall Zero while I'm there. Just find a way to break the curse and join us in the battle. We'll hold off anything potentially crazy while you do that."

Lucifer wanted to tell the Healing Angel that things weren't as straightforward with the curse but Raphael had already taken his leave. Gabriel decided to look for Buddha who might know a thing or two about the ancient language of Gods.

Back at the library, Rhinestone rejoiced. He was initially worried about the reinforcements' arrival but Zero's presence disrupted their advantage. For some reason, that frail-looking student was someone of great importance who couldn't be hurt. Rhinestone rejoiced at the appearance of the perfect hostage. If he could hold out for just a little longer to ensnare a Demon Lord, his plans would be realised. At that point, nobody can stop the fall of Hell and demons shall overrule every single plane in existence as the true superior existence.

Zero felt a chill when Rhinestone smiled at him from the warped mirror's reflection. The portal turned and suddenly, the vortex that sucked everything in it was now focussed on Zero. Michael was quick enough to have the Pegasus riders move out of the trajectory but he didn't think Zero would be caught by such an obvious ploy.

"That idiot!" he growled and swooped back to retrieve the stationary student.

Zero wasn't expecting for the target to be switched to him. He wasn't expecting to be hauled by the collar of his uniform by Michael either. Rhinestone clicked his tongue in the mirror when he saw the War Angel diving for the teenager. The ex-professor didn't give up and chased after Zero. Severed limbs rushed after the young doctor defying the gravitational attraction from the mirror. Michael struggled against the force pulling both himself and the teenager. The professor leered. Victory was in his grasp.

Snap!

Rhinestone's eyes widened when the limbs that were chasing after Zero got shot down rapidly before his eyes.

"Wha-?"

Another arrow zipped through the air from a distance and Zero's eyes widened in surprise. Michael didn't relent and continued to struggle against the pull with his powerful wings. Olaf stood at the top of the broken library's roof and notched another mana arrow on his magic bow. The dragon demon made the right decision to observe from a vantage point. After working with Rhinestone for a long time now, he knew a few things about how the sly spider worked. Of the shortcomings that existed, Rhinestone was famed for having a tunnel vision. His obsession towards his goals made him blind to his surroundings. Olaf could only chalk that up to the spider demon's lack of intelligence and experience. Thankfully, that flaw made things easier for the sly dragon demon to work around.

Lucifer watched as Olaf toyed with the infuriated ex-professor and wiped the bead of sweat rolling down his temple. Merlin didn't say anything about it and concentrated on suppressing the effects of the curse as much as possible. The only downside to this method of sealing was how fragile it was. At the tiniest flare of mana from Lucifer, the seal would be undone at once.

Olaf created another clone to distract Rhinestone while Raphael assisted Michael to rescue Zero from the stubborn game of tug and war.

Zero heard the telltale sign of doom when the fabric of his uniform began to rip at the seams. He should have worn the clothes that the Great Goddesses gifted but now it was too late. Death by poor clothing stitches giving way sounded lame and Zero was having none of it. Olaf didn't want him using any offensive magic but that didn't mean he could teleport out, right? Michael and Raphael were startled when darkness engulfed them momentarily. The next thing they knew, they were reunited with the Pegasus riders with Zero pulling another disappearing act.

Olaf lost sight of the teenager and was distracted for a second. That was all the time Rhinestone needed to open a teleportation gate and shove him through it. Although it wasn't an interdimensional gate, it took up a good amount of mana to send the nuisance away to some random place in the abyss. With Olaf out of the picture, Rhinestone could now focus on the pesky teenager with little difficulty.

The angels wouldn't be a threat for much longer, Rhinestone would see to it. he could sense the two sleeping Demon Lords somewhere in the Academy. All he needed to do was convince the Bloody Willow to sniff them out for him. It took a long time to train that stupid tree but it was worth it.

Rayneld who was guarding the two Demon Lords felt an unnatural tremor from the ground. A familiar looking thorned root came bursting through the tiles of the floor, making the manta ray demon jump in surprise. Before he could do anything, the Academy's guardian had kidnapped both Demon Lords and made her speedy escape.

Rayneld stared blankly at the betrayal. Veronica presented the two captives to Rhinestone who cackled crazily. Zero's eyes widened in horror at the sight of his friends in the professor's grasp.

"No!" he cried out and broke free from Raphael's hold, throwing himself straight in the path of Rhinestone's activated vortex.

Everyone watched in horror as the teenager got sucked into the mirror together with the two unconscious Demon Lords. Nobody breathed a word for a minute as Rhinestone struggled to understand his sudden victory.

Slowly, the surprised expression morphed into one of arrogance and triumph. Merlin paled and Lucifer felt his heart stop. Time froze and only resumed when Rhinestone's laughter broke the trance.

"Two birds and a nosy kid? Don't mind if I do. Angels and Gods! The day to make you pay this debt in blood has come. Behold! A new era is about to begin."