Chapter 162 - Child of Roth (1/2)

Frightened was an understatement. The scrawny vampire was terrified when the three extremely powerful figures got closer to his location. Vampires didn't have beating hearts but if they did, his would have popped out of its ribcage and rolled in the floor in spasms.

He could hear their voices now. One belonged to an old man, one to a young man and one to a child. The vampire didn't know who was who, he only knew that his best option was to pretend to still be asleep. Whatever they had planned for him was definitely bad news. Slave owners were sometimes worse than slave traders, he didn't want to find out the truth.

Zero entered the room followed by Baal at his side and Lucifer behind. The vampire child was still asleep so the teen decided to perform a physical check-up before he awoke. Needless to say, Baal stuck close by, ready to restrain the vampire should he suddenly attack his friend. Lucifer hung around in the room, making himself comfortable on the chair. Zero did a marvellous job treating his blindness but the stabbing pain when he first regained his sight made the old demon curse the existence of light.

Under the strict orders of his doctor, Lucifer had to close his eyes for at least a day before he could try to use them again. The old demon wasn't too happy when Zero wrapped a loose bandage around his eyes for precaution. As the proud demon and ruler of Hell, Lucifer didn't appreciate being treated like a child. However, under Zero's insistence, he relented reluctantly. It would do well, for now, to get into the brunet's good books so that he could squeeze a favour or two at a later date. Unlike Baal, Lucifer didn't play the friendship game. Zero was just someone who came along that he found useful. Nobody would suspect a weak human as the spy. It was easier to lure the pack of wolves out of their den with a lone stray sheep than with a wounded dragon.

”Bell, could you get me a glass of water? He would need it when he wakes up.”

The Demon Lord didn't seem to willing to move from Zero's side so he summoned his rat familiar to get it. ”Is there anything else you might require?”

Zero inspected the 'sleeping' vampire and hummed. ”Do you think you can ask Coux to find if there is some blood lying around somewhere? I bought a lot of things earlier, I'm sure we have some vials of blood from the auction house... They should have delivered the goods by now.”

Baal sighed. ”Zero, your vampire can drink normal blood. It could be blood from an animal or person. He doesn't need to drink the blood of a hydra or dragon or whatever you bought from the auction house. It's a waste.”

The doctor-in-training scowled hard. ”We don't have blood around and I'm not going to ask anyone to cut themselves to feed him! That's just rude.”

Lucifer grinned. ”Why don't you drain the sheep? I'm sure we will be more than willing to pardon his crimes if he donates... let's say about a barrel of blood.”

Zero shot the ancient demon a withering glare. ”He doesn't have a barrel to donate.”

Lucifer shrugged. ”I'm just throwing suggestions. Who knows... he might be able to produce a barrel of blood if you continuously heal and cut him open again.”

Zero shuddered at the image. That sounded like it would hurt a lot. In fact, Zero was quite sure that fell under the torture category.

”Don't listen to him,” Baal whispered and Lucifer frowned. It had been a very long time since his student went against him. While Baal wasn't the most obedient student he knew, the Demon Lord was smart enough to not outrightly oppose him. Mammon and Lilith would try to cover for Baal's misdeeds while they were still in the Academy but Lucifer was well aware of who the culprit was. After all, nobody else would nail flimsy planks together to create a makeshift bridge just to walk across the field of snapping lilies. Those who could fly would do so and the others would make a detour in order to get to their respective lecture halls. Baal would be the only person who would go through all the hassle to save ten minutes of his time every day. He wasn't tardy but Lucifer knew Baal had the tendency to procrastinate until the very last possible moment to get things done including waking up and getting to class. Since magic was prohibited on the campus, it didn't take a genius to figure out which audacious brat did it.

There were two things Lucifer couldn't tolerate. The first was disrespect and the second was being ignored. Baal had gone ahead to do both these things at once. Lucifer's killing intent caused the temperature in the room to plummet and Baal was on high alert at once. Killing intent radiated wave after wave and the castle shook. Baal was ready to pull everything he had to defend Zero from Lucifer's wrath. On the bed, the child of Roth shivered. He might not have the opportunity to meet a Demon Lord before but he knew better than to doubt the rumours. Once a Demon Lord loses his rationality and gives in to his emotions, there will be carnage. Nobody would live to tell the tale after tonight and the vampire child sobbed silently. He couldn't avenge his family, he couldn't escape his fate. There was absolutely nothing he could do and he hated the fact that he was born to this cruel life.

Before Lucifer and Baal could begin, Zero stepped up and pointed a finger at the ancient demon.

”Bad Luci! Stop scaring the poor child and take your fights somewhere else. My patient needs his rest!”

With that, Zero shoved both his friend and troublemaking patient out of the room before slamming the door shut in their faces.

”Did he just...” Baal asked in disbelief. Lucifer's rage had dissipated with Zero's outburst and was stunned. Never in his life had he been scolded with such a tone.

”Does he do this very often?” Lucifer asked dryly. It was hard to believe that despite his best efforts to remain neutral, the young doctor was worming his way into his non-existent heart. Ordinarily, he should be angry. No, scratch that. Ordinarily, he would be furious and the only thing to do was to chew off the heads of people who disrespected him then paint the town red so the whole world knew about it. Unfortunately, logic failed him whenever the teenager was involved.

Baal confirmed his suspicions with a nod. ”Zero sometimes has the mother-hen tendency whenever his patients are involved. There isn't a way to tell him that he was meddling in other people's affairs. His concerns can be rather stifling at times and the term 'personal space' doesn't exist in his dictionary. The brat is constantly making others worry for him as he's known to save others at the expense of his safety and happiness. Zero's just one of a kind.”

Lucifer agreed whole-heartedly with that last statement. One of a kind indeed. While the concern was endearing, Zero can sometimes drive people crazy and rub them the wrong way... Or so he liked to believe.

”I'm surprised I don't have the urge to tear him limb from limb after he blatantly yelled at me, scolded me, used a degrading nickname and threw me out. The world must be ending...”

Baal sighed. ”It very well might be. I have no idea why I continue to put up with him...”

Lucifer chuckled. ”Good luck, you'll need it. I'm not going to involve myself in the childish game of friendship. Enjoy your youth while you still can and tell him that I'm leaving for today. I'll be back after the trial to discuss his enrollment in my academy for a job.”

Baal scowled as his ex-teacher ruffled his hair and patted his head. If there was one thing more annoying about Lucifer than his narcissism, it would be how the ancient demon constantly treated Baal like a child. It didn't matter how powerful Baal had grown or how many centuries had gone by, the ancient demon would still treat him like one. Well, it wasn't as if Baal could blame him. He was in a child's body after all. Perhaps it was time to upgrade like Zero... Nah, who was he kidding? That was way too much work.

With a yawn, the Demon Lord turned and snuck back to his room careful not to get caught by his secretary. He was going to take a well-deserved nap after spending the whole day cooped in the study room with documents.

***

”You can stop pretending to be asleep now. Drink this glass of water, we can talk later. I'm sure you have a lot of questions but do not worry, I will treat everything you tell me with doctor-patient confidentiality.”

The vampire allowed his eyes to open with a heavy sigh. He'd hoped to fool the young self-proclaimed doctor for a little longer but it was useless. With the two Demon Lords out of the room, it became slightly easier to breathe. Unlike them, this teenager had the aura of someone who wouldn't hurt a fly despite being stronger than both Demon Lords in terms of mana capacity. It was very comforting and for some reason and the vampire briefly entertained the thought about trusting him.

He sniffed at the drink before downing the contents in one gulp. Zero didn't rush him or speak until he deemed the vampire ready. Lucifer's words over dinner and the subtle warning remained at the back of Zero's mind. He observed carefully for signs that he might be too hasty in approaching the vampire. He didn't want to frighten the already shaken vampire so he waited until the vampire calmed down.

For the first few minutes after accepting the drink, the child of Roth glared at Zero. His body was wound tightly like a coil, ready to strike if Zero got too close or tried anything funny. Zero didn't move from his spot and met his glare with an accepting gaze. As time dragged on, the vampire found himself relaxing a little but was still on guard. There were many questions in his mind but the predominant one was still about the teen's motive.

”Who are you and why did you buy me?” he growled lowly.

Zero smiled warmly. If the vampire was willing to talk to him, it must be a sign that he was gaining his trust.