Chapter 217 - Fifth Stop - Envy (4) (1/2)
Zero was exhausted and groaned in the hot tub. Baal didn't speak about the fiasco that happened a few hours ago. He didn't think his friend would be foolish enough to accept the request of hundreds of fox spirits. Even if the Demon Lord didn't want to interfere, he eventually had to and drew the line for the overly excited vulpines.
Zero sighed through his nose and groaned as another message popped into his head. The system was very active in relaying messages and Zero wondered if he made the mistake of opening the can of worms. These girls were RELENTLESS!
”Ask for a mute function,” Baal suggested after seeing his friend zone out in the tab for the umpteenth time.
Zero groaned. Mii was still working on it so the young doctor had to deal with the prompting of system messages about every new message he received. At least giving administration rights to one friend in his list was better than adding the whole village into his list. At least it was organised chaos instead of an unmanageable one.
”I can't speed up the research process, Mii is still coordinating with Steve Jobs... Apparently, even the God of Technology requires time to understand this strange magic coding that was left behind. It's not something Steve is familiar with.”
Baal didn't know how the 'coding' science worked but if Steve Jobs couldn't figure it out then nobody could. ”Can't you fix it with magic?” he asked.
Zero sighed and massaged his temple. The frown deepening. ”No, Merlin's magic isn't more powerful than my past self. If only I could remember how I created the system...”
Baal didn't say anymore. Truth be told, there was one other solution to making that message prompt stop but Zero wouldn't like it. The two friends stewed in the bath for a little longer before Baal excused himself and got out of the hot tub. Zero waved lazily at his friend, choosing to relax a little more.
***
”Shittomi...”
The Snow Queen looked up, not very surprised to see the Lord of Laziness. ”How is Zero?”
”He succeeded in the mission,” Baal reported and after a little hesitation, decided to give a little more details.
Shittomi couldn't hold in the peals of laughter as she listened to Baal's sardonic recount about Zero's generosity. While the young doctor was a real gem full of generosity, the vulpines were shameless demons who would use everything at their disposal to rip their victims off.
”How did he react to their enthusiasm? They didn't bother concealing their fangs and claws back there... I would have to retrain the whole lot of them before they're ready to join the ranks of my Hannya House.”
Baal shrugged. Hannya House was a group of very skilful demons who collected information from their targets and reported it back to Shittomi. Many demons under Shittomi's domain had one foot in the Energy Plane. They do not always possess a physical body and if not for Shittomi's unique Domain Ability as a Demon Lord, none of these souls who had departed from their bodies could remain in the abyss. To them, the Envy Domain was a rare sanctuary. Unable to return to other Planes without escaping judgement from King Yama and unable to continue living in the abyss without being returned to the void, Shittomi's domain was the only other place they could turn to. Many of these beings had unfinished business and the only pass to other planes was to enter into a soul binding contract with Shittomi.
”Will you take in those girls? You do know that their wish to transverse to the mortal realm will only result in heartache. Qin Yun wants to become a human and by doing so, she is subjected to the cycle of reincarnation without exception.”
Shittomi smiled mysteriously. ”The soul contract is more complicated than you know, my boy. But to answer your question, I will not be taking these girls in until they've proven their loyalty to me. Zero's offer to play the messenger was a little out of my calculations but it doesn't put a wrench in my plans. You just need to fulfil your part in this plan and we can stop this never-ending cycle of misery. Don't let Zero's efforts go to waste, the gate hasn't been fully closed yet. We can still use it to access Earth with a more peaceful campaign.”
The Demon Lord nodded. Lucifer's grand plan hasn't changed. Demons were still going to break out of the abyss. The plane was starting to reject them with the threat of the void pulling it in. Beelzebub's birth was no coincidence. The power of six Lords wasn't enough to hold it together any longer. While Zero's plan to introduce mana producing flowers and terraforming the plane was a great idea, they were running out of time.
”I will send him away first thing tomorrow morning. The portal to Half Moon will be ready soon, Hua Tuo has spoken with the villagers and they have agreed to help us guard that portal. Will you stop Qin Yun from leaving? If she stays in that village, she could live forever even as a mortal.”
Shittomi was silent for a while. ”As a sister, I want her to pursue her own happiness. As a Queen, losing my closest confidant is a huge tragedy. I cannot tell her what to do, I can only watch over her soul and hope for the best.”
Baal didn't say anymore. He bowed and took his leave, teleporting over to the village of foxes. Zero might not like what he was about to do but comparing the importance of his friend's sleep and his anger? The answer was a no-brainer.
***
Zero didn't know when the noises in his head stopped but he didn't question it, very thankful that even fox demons slept. He remembered that as a child, staying past the midnight mark would be incredibly tough for him. His eyes would involuntarily close and staying up past the midnight mark in his teenage body was a whole new experience. Zero never knew how quiet and eerie the night could be. In the eyes of his child self, the night was always peaceful and calming.
The click of the door opening slowly made Zero jump a little before he felt that familiar mana and smiled.
”You're back!”
Baal nodded and climbed into bed beside Zero. For some reason, Zero and Baal decided that if the bed was big enough for two, they wouldn't sleep separately. The Demon Lord didn't know if he would be able to get reaccustomed to not having someone else sleep beside him now that he'd gotten so comfortable with Zero's warmth beside him.
”You're not asleep yet,” Baal pointed out and Zero looked sheepish.
”They were noisy till a while ago but once the notifications stopped I couldn't seem to sleep in ease... have you ever thought that the night was a scary thing?”
”How so?” asked Baal. For Zero to say such a thing... Baal didn't know if he was meant to feel offended as someone who once lived in the continuous nights back in the graveyard.
Zero squirmed a little under Baal's staring. ”I just feel like it's different after midnight. I don't know if that happened back in Coux's castle or even yours but it's a little strange here.”
Understanding flickered in Baal's eyes and he chuckled. ”You're right. It's not normal to feel this way at my place or at Coux's. Shittomi's domain is slightly special and midnight till the early hours of the morning is when things become most lively. You're just feeling the tension of the energy lingering in her domain, nothing to really worry about. Besides, I'm here. Go to sleep already, nobody will disturb us until it's time to go.”
Zero didn't understand everything Baal just said but nodded anyway, too tired to care. His brain did pick on the words leaving and it made him slightly sad.
”Are we finally going to Roth Village?”