Chapter 143 Baal“s Faction 10

It didn't take long to come to a conclusion.

"We're calling those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds down."

It was a simple statement but it had the desired impact. s.h.i.+ttomi clicked her tongue, Amon cussed and left. Baal deadpanned and Lilith rolled her eyes at how predictable everyone's reactions were. Mammon's expressions were hidden beneath his hood but it was clear that he disliked the idea as much as everyone else in the room.

"Who should we invite over? I hate Michael!" Amon declared. It wasn't a very surprising declaration. Ever since Michael cheated in the war by borrowing Uriel's flaming sword to defeat him, Amon held a bitter grudge over the warrior archangel.

"No," Lucifer agreed. "We're calling Gab over."

Baal heaved a sigh in relief. Gabriel was the only angel everyone in h.e.l.l liked enough to treat him with respect. The archangel was known to be very professional and serious about performing his duties. Mammon acknowledged that professionalism and wished more of the angels followed his att.i.tude. Besides being Heaven's busiest archangel, Gabriel was known for his pleasant smile and negotiation skills.

"Will Hades be attending the meeting?" s.h.i.+ttomi asked.

Lucifer shook his head. It was rather difficult to contact the Great G.o.ds. Usually, any matters pertaining to Heaven would be handled by the angels. The G.o.ds were often too busy managing their domains to bother with trivialities. Still, Lucifer wished the Great G.o.d could come down to collect his dog and be gone from their hair. It was uncalled for nuisance and knowing the G.o.ds, they wouldn't even bother compensating the Demon Lords for the trouble caused.

"Just a heads up, Gab will come over in two hours. We can't have the fortune-teller perform the trick again, bringing humans into h.e.l.l is against the contract after all. Baal, I'm expecting you to keep your underlings out of sight while discussions are on-going. In any case, we'll have Gab act as a witness for the crimes committed against us and have him verify our report to Enma. The goat's judgement wouldn't be light by any means. I don't know how the Purgatory handles special cases but once we drop him off there, it wouldn't be our problem. As for Kerberos..." Lucifer frowned. That was a tough one.

"To be honest, the modified Philosopher Stones are a problem too. I'd like to propose calling Merlin in for a proper investigation. Magnum Opus should be a top secret. How was it leaked? Besides, this information isn't something easily accessible to a mid-tier demon like Schaf," Lilith pointed out.

Lucifer sighed. The Demon Queen had a point.

"I'll let Gab know about that too. Merlin is an even harder G.o.d to make an appointment with. n.o.body knows what he's up to but he's always busy."

n.o.body disagreed. It was true. For the last millennium ever since the destruction of the first Earth, Merlin had been working on something big. He'd been all over the place, including the abyss, collecting books.

Baal bit on his thumb with a deep frown. Zero's cooperation would make everything a lot smoother but he highly doubted that Zero wanted to partic.i.p.ate in Schaf and Kerberos' punishments. He wouldn't even put it past the brunet to secretly free the wrongdoers just to spare them. No, Zero had to stay out of the case.

"If that's all, I suggest we head over to Lilith's castle. Amon and s.h.i.+ttomi are not required to attend the meeting as this doesn't concern your territories. However, I would highly encourage your attendance. Baal, would you require someone to look after your underlings during the meeting? I heard that there were some troublemakers who do not understand the meaning of staying out of trouble."

Baal grimaced. Has the news already travelled so far? Truth be told, it was only one person who couldn't do as told. However, that person wasn't even an underling of his. If anything, Zero owned everyone sitting in the meeting room, not that he could say it aloud. Lucifer was capable of grounding him for such an audacious statement."

"I can babysit your underlings if you need," s.h.i.+ttomi offered. Amon raised a brow. It wasn't often that the Queen of Envy offered her services. Then again, Baal did send them a secret letter some time back. Truth be told, he was curious about the special guest residing with Baal.

"I heard that you have some strong underlings. You wouldn't mind if I brought some of my best warriors over to pit them against yours, right?"

Baal snorted. Strong? They were average at best. Apart from Zero, none of his underlings would be able to win Amon's warriors. He didn't give them his covenant mark because they were strong. He gave it to them because they were loyal.

"Don't bother," he told the Lord of Fire. "They're only strong with words and numbers. It wouldn't even be a show for you. However, if you want to enjoy some delicacies from Earth, be my guest."

"Delicacies from Earth?!" s.h.i.+ttomi nearly shrieked but composed herself quickly.

Her mouth watered at the thought of eating food from Earth. It had been so long since she became a demon, she'd almost given up hope of ever tasting food from Earth again. h.e.l.l didn't have the ingredients nor the abilities to recreate the kind of food Earth had. There was no way she wouldn't take up Baal's offer.

"Do they make sweets?"

Baal smirked. "Lemon meringue tarts are one of the more popular choices."

Lucifer blinked when s.h.i.+ttomi teleported away. Amon was puzzled. "What's her hurry?"

Baal shrugged. It didn't matter. If he had someone keeping an eye on Zero, he could relax a little. Surely Zero wouldn't be able to buy his way past the icy queen, right?

***

Qin Yun recognised that magic signature. Coux was on guard when a red-eyed beauty materialised in the kitchen. She had waist-length black hair that cascaded like a waterfall. Her skin was painfully white with a tinge of blue at the tips of her fingers as if she was freezing. She didn't look healthy at all despite her ethereal beauty. While the succubus didn't know who she was looking at, Qin Yun bowed.

"Greetings, Queen s.h.i.+ttomi. It's an honour to be graced by your presence." Being a demon who lived in the colder regions of h.e.l.l, Qin Yun was familiar with the Snow Queen. Although s.h.i.+ttomi was commonly known as the Queen of Envy and the Demon Lord ruling over the Envy domain, she was also the spirit that ruled over the snow in winter.

s.h.i.+ttomi smiled. "It's good to see you again, Qian Qiu. Have you decided to join the Hannya Investigation House?"

The fox demoness returned the smile and bowed. "My apologies, lady. I'm afraid I cannot accept your n.o.ble request."

Instead of feeling down, s.h.i.+ttomi laughed it off. "As expected... I guess demons, like humans, do not change that easily. It's fine. Besides, I came here for a different purpose. Baal mentioned that there are underlings who can replicate food from Earth. I think he mentioned that the Lemon Meringue Tart is one of the most popular choices. Where is the genius chef?"

Coux blinked. Did such a powerful demon come all the way to Baal's shabby castle just for food? Then again, a potential customer was a potential customer. As a businesswoman, it was not her duty to judge. Coux would let this opportunity go to waste. If she could secure the patronage of such a powerful figure, convincing Mammon for a huge loan would be no issues.

"You've come to the right place, my lady. Please have a seat. Would you like some tea to enjoy with the tart?"

s.h.i.+ttomi was over the moon. "Yes please, that sounds delightful. It's been so long since I last had any decent food. I have high expectations."

Coux grinned. Qin Yun smiled from the side-line when Coux slipped into her business mode, bringing out desserts and recommending various types of tea. It didn't surprise the fox demoness. Baal probably sent her over to keep an eye on Zero. However, she wondered if having the Snow Queen over would be enough to stop Zero from trying anything funny. The brunet had been acting rather strangely after Baal left the castle. With her superior hearing, it wasn't difficult to hear Zero mumbling to himself. If she didn't know better, she would've thought he'd gone insane and started talking to himself.

Leaving Coux to entertain their newest guest, Qin Yun left to find Wiser. There was something that she had to ask Hua Tuo. Thanks to the communicator, she didn't have to make a trip back to the village. Zero couldn't be left alone at this point. Qin Yun wasn't taking any chances. Baal was right, the brunet was definitely up to something big and it wasn't a good sign.

***

"You're saying that Hades abandoned his dog in h.e.l.l and that dog is now trying to destroy the dimension in order to turn back time to correct the wrong that he didn't do?"

Lucifer nodded and Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "What's wrong with all the G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses? How could Hades forget such a thing? The administrative department has been looking for Kerberos for the past few thousand years without much success. We had to archive the case because of insufficient information."

Lucifer shrugged. This wasn't his problem. "Call Hades, call the investigation department or the subjugation hunters to take care of it. I don't particularly care. However, we need you to become a witness for one of the demons who's involved in the case. It's not in our abilities to issue a harsher punishment than death for such a traitor. King Yama will only accept a special request from us if there is a third party witness."

Gabriel arched his brow. "Wouldn't death be good enough?"

Mammon pursed his lips. He'd spoken about Schaf's punishment with Lucifer in secret before the meeting. If Schaf died in the abyss, he would be judged based on the sins he'd committed. Under Mammon's tutelage, Schaf had done many despicable things to increase profit. It wasn't fair to put Schaf through several lifetimes worth of poverty to repay his sins. As such, the appeal letter to King Yama was to request for memory wiping and rebirth into a peaceful time.

Lucifer grunted. "Ordinarily, it would suffice. Unfortunately, we have no intentions of making him pay for the carelessness of somebody who started this whole mess."

Gabriel sighed. He couldn't refute that logic. Hades really made a huge mess and as much as he respected the Great G.o.ds, Hades was losing Gabriel's respect points by the second.

"I understand. It may take some time to have Hades decide what he wants to do with Kerberos. h.e.l.l is responsible for presenting Kerberos alive for Hades' collection. Please do not take matters into your own hands to punish the dog. Regardless of the crimes Kerberos committed, it is Hades' responsibility."

Lucifer nodded. He knew the rules very well. It was one of the reasons why he left Heaven. Their rules were very cold and the law ruled over everything else including compa.s.sion. Michael was an archangel because of how ruthless he was. It didn't matter who Michael needed to kill, if they sinned, he would deliver punishments without question. Lucifer was different. He liked to give chances to sinners and guide them back to the right path often through questionable means. However, for once, the rules were working in his favour.

"Rest a.s.sured, we will deliver Kerberos alive. He will not be ill-treated."

If all else failed, why not continue having Kerberos to guard the abyss? Lucifer was always on the lookout for talent. Tardy students would think twice about skipping his cla.s.ses if the punishment was to groom a deadly three-headed dog.

***

"Zero is awake?" Hua Tuo felt the stone is his heart crumble away. He'd been so worried for the past few days. It was the first piece of good news in a while.

"Yes," Qin Yun smiled. She was speaking in a forgotten language that only she and Hua Tuo remembered. It was to prevent some curious eavesdropper in the room beside her from understanding their conversation.

"That's good," Hua Tuo sighed. "How is he? Will he be coming back soon? The situation in the village has somewhat settled although there are a few difficult individuals."

Qin Yun hummed. It wouldn't be long before Baal allows Zero to leave. Once the matter about Kerberos and Schaf has been decided, the Demon Lord would definitely kick Zero out. As much as the two friends were close, she could sense Baal's frustration more frequently. A bored Zero was nothing but bad news.

"He will be coming back once the matter has been resolved. However, I'm calling for a different reason. Zero has been talking to himself lately. It doesn't sound like he was talking to any of the people he met while he was meditating. In fact, he was perfectly conscious when he did so. Other than the strawcherry a.s.sistant, is there someone else that Zero would talk to?"

Hua Tuo paused. Besides Mii, who else would Zero talk to? He wasn't aware of Zero's new conversation partner. Was it Truen? He knew that the wood elf has improved a lot lately under the tutelage of Freya and Merlin but he didn't think Truen had the stamina to hold telepathic conversations with Zero who was in a different dimension.

"I'm sorry, I don't think there is anyone else that Zero could be talking to telepathically. Are you sure he's not just chatting with Mii?"

Qin Yun sighed. "He was making plans. Mii wouldn't help him devise risky plans. Whoever Zero was talking to, they were convincing him to use another divine spell. Of course, Baal and everyone present will stop him from doing that a second time. However, we still worry. It's hard to guess what Zero is planning."

Hua Tuo felt a headache coming. Only Zero was capable of worrying him this much even when he was in the care of a more powerful being.

"Right... I forgot that he has a tendency to be reckless. Please keep him on a very tight leash. It's always better to be safe than sorry."

Qin Yun smiled. That was true. "Also, do you happen to be able to contact Merlin or Hades? We have a situation that requires both of their immediate attention."

"Oh? They're not easy to get hold off but I could try to convince them. What happened?"

Qin Yun summarised the gist of the mess and Hua Tuo groaned. "I see... I'll do what I can but please don't get your hopes up. No wonder Lovina has been stressing over the funny stones."

The call ended after they exchanged a few pleasantries and Wiser gave the fox demoness a strange look.

"Yes?"

Wiser shook his head. "I just thought that it was a strange language. It sounded beautiful though."

At the genuine compliment, the fox demoness chuckled. "Thank you, I could teach you how to speak it if you want."

Wiser made a face. "Sorry, I feel as if I would trip over my tongue trying. Magic incantations are hard enough, I'll take a rain check."

Zero gasped when he heard the footsteps getting closer to the door. Without hesitating to use magic, Zero teleported back to his room. Qin Yun didn't seem to notice anything amiss as she left Wiser's room when Zero peeked from the gap between his door. He sighed in relief. That was close!

"Hey Bob, do you think Baal would agree with this idea?"

"Of course! Well, I hope it works out. I would hate to be stuck on Endow Hill after all."

"What about the sheep? You haven't told me how we can save him!"

Bobbinskrier groaned. "He's done too many bad things, it is difficult to save him. Don't worry Zero, we still have until tomorrow to think of how to save the sheep!"

Despite the baby dragon's enthusiasm, Zero could help but worry. Could they really save Schaf?