Chapter 175 - Redemption Day (2) (1/2)

The Sage God of Medicine arrived as quickly as he could. Clearly, the man had seen better days but so has the Demon Lord.

”My Lord!” Hua Tuo exclaimed once he laid eyes on the uncharacteristically frail Demon Lord. The Queen of Lust was nursing the sickly Demon Lord to the best of her abilities although it was an almost futile attempt. Baal was translucent and Hua Tuo could see some of the rocks behind him appear through his body.

Things were more serious than he thought.

”Is he still keeping the gate open?” he asked the Demon Queen, foregoing his usual formalities.

Lilith didn't seem to notice the lack of politeness in the physician's question. She was glad that help had arrived. According to Mammon, the physician would only arrive in the evening but with Baal getting more transparent with every passing minute, she was losing hope. She contacted her descendant to inform Zero about the situation.

Zero didn't disappoint her. He sent his teacher over at once despite the hectic situation over the other end.

”How is he?” she asked.

The physician examined Baal's pale complexion and activated his Medicine God's Eye. Zero was right to send him over to check on the Demon Lord. If he had been any later, things might have gotten dire.

”It's still curable. However, he cannot open any gates for the next few days until he recovers. We might have to find another way to send the redeemed demons over. We should let Zero and King Yama know about this...”

”No!” Baal yelled and grabbed onto Hua Tuo's loose robe end, drenching it in the process. ”Zero entrusted this to me, I won't let anyone else do it.”

That statement triggered Lilith. ”Nobody is asking you to play the hero! Stop being so stubborn and rest already! Zero wouldn't be happy to know that you're killing yourself to do this for him. We can find another way to do this but it won't work if you die before anything is accomplished.”

Her words stung but Baal knew that she was right. After being friends with the Succubus Queen for such a long time, he could understand her cause of concern and the fear in her voice.

”Don't worry, I'm not going to leave anyone behind. I might fall asleep for a long time after this and won't know when I'll wake up again. Maybe by then, you'd find a nice person who you can call your second soulmate. Just remember to introduce them to me...” he chuckled weakly.

Lilith wanted to scream at her stubborn friend. It was true that Demon Lords do not die. They simply go into a comatose state if the body is not destroyed to regain their strength again. Their domain would fall into ruins but their soul would continue to anchor the plane. If their bodies were destroyed, their souls will immediately reincarnate into another demon, waiting to be found just like Beelzebub although the Lord of Gluttony was a special case. Even though it wasn't a permanent loss, the Succubus Queen couldn't bear the pain of parting and losing her loved ones. She knew better than anyone else how lonely it could get for Demon Lords. There was hardly anyone they could trust or depend on. Their descendants and aristocratic nobles under their rulership were almost always power hungry. Nobody truly cared for them and even if they did, the lives of those much weaker were very short.

”Ahem... testing! Can everyone hear me?” a familiar voice shook all three people at the spring out of their thoughts.

”Zero?” Baal was the first to answer. Knowing his friend, the apprentice was surely up to something again. ”How's everything going?”

”No time for that,” Zero cut his friend off. Even without Coux's report, he had a feeling that Baal was overdoing it. He wasn't wrong to send his teacher over earlier than agreed. In fact, he would be surprised if Hua Tuo came back telling him Baal was capable of holding the gates for the rest of the event by himself.

”I got the approval from Lucifer and Mammon to borrow Beelzebub for a while. Ruth and Beelzebub will be escorted outside of the domains. They're heading to Amon's outskirts with Sekkin for a special mission. Baal, we're going to continue with the plan with some tweaks. Are you still up for it?”

Baal laughed. Initially, he thought that Zero might forbid him to do anything after finding out about his current state. The young child he found had truly grown.

”You know I'm always ready for you. Now stop stalling and let us know what you have in mind.”

Lilith wasn't too happy about Zero's decision to continue including Baal in his plans. Why can't he see how suicidal Baal was? Baal was the kind who wasn't afraid of death. For the ones close to him, the Demon Lord would gamble with his life for even the slimmest chance of success. Baal wasn't afraid of disappointing the world, he was only afraid of letting down the ones he loved. Zero was the Demon Lord's one and only biggest weakness, how could the young doctor not know that? Baal would never deny Zero anything... even if it was his soul that the brunet wanted. Baal would deliver it to his hands without hesitation or questions.

”We will be slightly shorthanded here so I called for some support, I hope you don't mind. Here's the plan. Sekkin, Ruth and Beelzebub will head over to Amon's territory and eat miasma to convert them into mana. I will coordinate the sin absorption and mana transfer from them to you. In that way, we're merely using your ability to keep the gates open. You won't need to exert any mana for it. Focus on recovering for now. Mammon will be fully in charge of the magic contracts and Lucifer shall oversee the teleportation of people and goods. Buddha will guide the demons to the gates in Hua Tuo's place and the idle angels will come over to help with dessert distribution. Coux, Amaraline and Qin Yun will work the kitchen hard. This is the current arrangement. If you do not agree to it, we shall cancel all redemption activities. Those were Lucifer's words.”

Baal froze. He was alright with the plan except for one small detail. ”Who are the idle angels you were talking about?”

Zero didn't know if he should let his friend know the truth. Raphael was the one who insisted that Zero included them into his plans. He'd spotted Baal in the Spring of Vitality by coincidence. The archangel was worried about his nephew and dragged the idle Uriel and Gabriel along for some community service.

”Will you be mad at them?” Zero asked in a small voice. Baal couldn't stay mad at Zero so he sighed.