Chapter 131 Picking Up The Pieces 3 (1/2)
”Is everyone ready?” Coux asked.
It didn't take them two days to finalise Zero's escort party. Zenobia was very firm about who to send. Coux was in charge of the expedition and nobody disagreed. The party of five consisted of Coux, Amaraline, Qin Yun, Sekkin and Wiser. Hua Tuo was worried when Wiser volunteered to go with them. The strategist had no means of protecting himself, much less Zero. The oddball was human through and through.
”Don't worry,” Wiser smiled. ”Demon Lord Baal gave his word, nothing will happen. Besides, I don't feel like hanging out with a bunch of wussies in the village who cannot see past some flimsy stereotype.”
At that, nobody protested further. Mitchnew was unhappy that she couldn't accompany Zero to the Spring of Vitality. However, she didn't have much of a choice. Sekkin managed to convince her to stay behind to look out for threats. The half-demon was a much better candidate for the escort party for obvious reasons.
Amaraline chose to leave the village for a while for the same reasons. She couldn't put up with her brother or uncle for much longer. Lovina wanted to go but was still recuperating. The witch also had the responsibility to keep Soon and friends 'alive' so she sent the small party off with a sad wave.
Zenobia wished the small party luck and entrusted the brunet to them. Cleo tucked a small four-leaved clover in Zero's hair for good luck and blessed them before they stepped into the hell chariot. The dark horse neighed and snorted smoke before kicking off into a gallop once the party settled in the carriage behind. The familiar Baal sent sat in the coach seat and whipped he dark horse twice before the beast ran straight into the portal, leaving a trail of fire behind when the portal closed.
It was over too quickly and reality hasn't quite sunk in yet. Zenobia continued to stare at the empty spot for a little more before snapping out orders to the remaining villagers, assigning tasks for everyone to resume the rebuilding project. With Coux gone, there was little left to do. The materials the needed to continue fortifying the village would have to wait.
The chieftess sighed. It wouldn't be long before the villagers started voicing their discontent, opening the can of worms about Zero's identity. She only hoped that the matter would be resolved before the brunet returned. Leon and Clowis were especially hard to reason with and Zenobia wished she didn't have to choose between her village and the brunet who'd done no wrong.
***
As the portal closed behind them, Coux peeked from behind the blood-red velvet curtains in the carriage. The scenery changed immediately into one that she wasn't familiar with. As a trader, Coux was well-travelled but the trip to the abyss wasn't anything she could compare it to.
Firstly, the chariot was not touching any form of ground. They seemed to be moving in the direction of where the dark horse was bringing them to above the sea of darkness. The half-succubus was nervous as she peered into the never-ending pit of black. At the back of her morbid mind, she wondered how long the fall would be before they hit the ground if they fell.
Sekkin wasn't familiar with the abyss. Despite having demon blood in him, hell remained a myth to him until Zero introduced Demon King Baal to them in the most astonishing manner. In a way, this was his motherland. However, it didn't put him at ease. If anything, he was more concerned about the familiar Baal sent. The coachman and their only form of contact was a small rat demon with sinister red eyes. The coachman didn't speak common and nobody else in the chariot knew how to speak demon tongue so that was awkward.
Amaraline held Zero's hand throughout the journey. She wasn't too concerned about the darkness outside or the restlessness of her comrades. The only thing on her mind was how she could convince her brother and uncle to not see Zero any differently. After Zero had given her eyesight back, the fortune-teller had decided to dedicate her life to him. It didn't matter if Zero was a demon or god, she would stand by him. Sadly, her family didn't share the same sentiments. Clowis kept saying that they were unworthy of Zero's attention and shouldn't be disrespectful by speaking to him or bothering him in such a casual manner when he woke up. Clowis kept insisting that Zero couldn't be trusted after he revived the bastard called Douglas and let him go scot-free after betraying the village. Amaraline didn't know what to do.
Qin Yun was equally quiet. Of everyone present, she was the most relaxed. The fox demoness didn't think that she would be returning to hell so soon. In fact, she was amused by how fate worked. Grandma Moppo confided in her last night that she wanted Zero to become the next head of Half Moon village. She was even more insistent that Zero became the successor after finding out that Zero was an immortal and a powerful one who could use divine spells. The old lady begged Qin Yun to convince Zero to consider her proposal and the fox demoness couldn't say no. Being the village's second-longest occupant, Qin Yun had certain attachments to it. It would be lovely if Zero was in charge, she would love to see the things Zero would accomplish.
Wiser felt nauseous the first five minutes into their ride. He turned a deep shade of green after the dark horse lurched into a mad gallop after they entered the portal. Half of him regretted coming aboard but the other half remained stubborn. He had an argument with Tambolt and Raj about Zero's identity. Raj and Tambolt refused to recognise Zero as a lab member stating that he was too much of a magic person who shouldn't be tied down by their shabby presences. Wiser insisted that they should have Zero involve himself more with their activities for it could help them overcome the technological barrier with his magic capabilities.The djinn and dwarf kept insisting that it wasn't right to pull Zero into their crummy group and burden him with their nonsense but Wiser disagreed. Things got heated up and the strategist ended up calling them prejudiced fools with double standards. He got booted from the lab and spent his days sulking before choosing to volunteer for the escort mission.
”Wiser, are you alright? You're looking a little green,” Qin Yun commented.
The human shook his head and the fox demoness chuckled. ”Here, this is some motion-sickness medicine Hua Tuo packed for us before we left. He thought that you might need it.”
Wiser accepted it gratefully and swallowed them. As expected of Hua Tuo, the medicine worked quickly. Wiser found himself sighing in relief and was curious as to how none of the other passengers in the carriage didn't feel ill.