Chapter 186 - Agent Zero (5) (1/2)

Mr Spiff heard about Zero's special condition from the dean. He could understand why. The kid wasn't particularly strong looking and would probably be the target of bullying. Kids these days weren't the nicest, not that he expected anything less from demons. However, Zero just struck him as the odd one. The compliments he dished out weren't full of sarcasm, malice or ulterior motive. As a mirror demon, Spiff had the ability to look into a person's heart and reflect their true nature back at them. Zero's true nature blinded the professor.

”That was awesome!” Zero's voice could be heard again just as another student finished their round. His excitement was attracting odd attention within the class but Spiff simply couldn't stop him.

”Thanks,” Jeff the werewolf grinned. Zero settled in easily with the children and the mirror demon wondered if Lucifer had been wrong with his judgement. The kid might look physically frail but there was tremendous strength in his personality and the ability to gather people towards him.

”Next!” Spiff called. It was Jeremiah's turn and Zero paid closer attention now that there was a great opportunity to observe his target.

The canary demon allowed his transformation to unravel and the young doctor blinked at his demon hybrid form. Sure, the yellow streak in his hair remained but the demon now had wings instead of arms and claws instead of feet. His facial features were slightly altered to something more bird-like and Zero wondered if that was any good for combat. According to Hua Tuo, canaries are domesticated birds who no longer knew how to survive in the wild. It was also the reason for their extinction.

Mr Spiff didn't relax his stance and treated Jeremiah with the same caution he did for Kruz. Zero raised a brow. Perhaps he was wrong in his judgement. It was a purely physical combat test so nothing should happen right? Mr Spiff would be able to handle it. Still, the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach didn't go away. Why did he feel as if something terrible was going to happen again? The last time he had such a feeling was when they were fighting against Count Carrabas in Half Moon village.

The spar began at a normal pace with Jeremiah circling around Mr Spiff. It was basic common sense to size your opponent before the actual exchange. Zero didn't see anything wrong with it. Although his time with Ruth had been brief, he learnt a few tips from the vampire through their conversations.

Mr Spiff never made the first move. That was something Zero realised after paying attention to the lesson. He was slightly nervous because his turn was approaching so he didn't notice it at first when Jeremiah was playing dirty. The canary demon was whispering in a very low tone almost inaudible to the students below as they were spiralling higher in an aerial battle. Zero didn't pick it up at first but after observing that there was something strange about Mr Spiff's movements, he started paying closer attention to the details.

Mr Spiff was swaying from side to side with no control over his movements. The mirror demon was no fool, it was definitely some sort of spell. As an experienced teacher, he had certain measures to take against students like these. The Academy's safety features would kick in soon enough if it sensed magic use out of the unrestricted zone.

Zero frowned. Mr Spiff was getting more hits and it was worrying. Jeremiah wasn't landing light blows either. It stopped looking like a spar two minutes ago and Zero wasn't the only person to notice this. The mirror demon teacher was being knocked around in the air.

”Something's wrong,” Beelzebub frowned. Zero didn't respond. He was considering if he should attract attention by jumping in to help their teacher. He did make a promise to stay out of trouble and jumping in right now would not only attract trouble but attention to him.

From the corner, someone shot up into the sky and startled the young doctor from his thoughts. Mr Spiff had been badly hit and was falling out of the sky. Jeremiah's feral smile spelt trouble as he swooped after the fallen teacher. Zero didn't have much time to react to that because there was someone way faster.

Kruz was already on it. The small bat demon was hardly able to support Mr Spiff but he did his best to re-divert the mirror demon from the crazy canary demon's path. Jeremiah cursed when he missed the final strike to shatter that pocket mirror. He clicked his tongue in distaste. Instead of pursuing the gym teacher, he switched his target to the meddling bat demon.

Kruz froze when those eyes locked onto him. He couldn't see very well but he could sense that bloodlust redirected to him. With Mr Spiff still in his arms and him struggling to keep them from plummeting to the ground, Kruz didn't know what he could do.

Jeremiah lunged himself forward and Zero decided to cast consequences to the wind. He didn't like Jeremiah before but now he absolutely abhorred that demon's existence. Beelzebub saw Zero's recklessness and decided to tackle the young doctor, pinning him to the ground with everything he had. Thankfully, nobody was paying attention to them so he clasped a hand over Zero's mouth. It wouldn't do them any good if they blew their cover now. This was a perfect opportunity to confirm the traitor's identity. Beelzebub had a fairly good idea on which suspect to tail now. He caught sight of something that Zero didn't know yet and knowing how naive the teenager was, he wasn't going to share the lead.

”Stop it, idiot!” he hissed. ”You're going to blow our cover.”

Zero glared at the Demon Lord. There were people in trouble and his mission partner was only concerned about blowing their cover? Couldn't he see that Mr Spiff required medical attention? Kruz was also in a pinch. Someone had to help them and stop Jeremiah before things become dire.

Just then, there was a loud booming noise and an explosion in the sky.

Beelzebub, Zero and everyone else froze. The sky was covered in dark clouds that crackled with lightning. It didn't look natural at all and the two squabbling students forgot about the differences momentarily.

In the swirl of dark clouds, a holographic face started to form. Zero recognised it to be Lucifer and was almost relieved that the dean had great timing.

”Jeremiah,” the voice boomed. ”Come to the dean's office right now. The rest of you in Class-A and Class-B are dismissed for the day.”

After dropping that abrupt announcement, the clouds dispersed and students started chatting amongst themselves, not understanding what had transpired. Jeremiah looked pale as he descended from the sky. Kruz looked worn out but Mr Spiff who had reverted to his usual form looked worse than the small bat demon.

As the students started to disperse, Zero rushed over to Kruz and Mr. Spiff while Beelzebub left to hide in a distance, intending to tail the canary demon who glared at the teenager and the bat demon with hate.

”Heal!” Zero whispered urgently and enveloped the two demons in his magic. It was a basic recovery spell that worked quickly and effectively.

Almost instantly, Kruz felt better. He didn't feel tired and was surprised that his feelings had somewhat stabilised despite the mental shock. On the other hand, Mr Spiff didn't look any better.

”Can you help me carry him to the infirmary or my room? I'm a doctor in training, I can help,” he asked the bat demon.

Kruz blinked. He couldn't really see Zero's face but from the warm and sincere voice, the bat demon knew he was a kind person.

”Do you live in the dormitory?”