The Doctor Is In (8)

Demon King Baal waited. Eleven very powerful individuals with one more on the way stood before him with terrifying battle auras. Baal refused to fight. He wasn't getting paid enough to do this. Besides, the illusion Zero was talking about was nowhere in sight. That wouldn't do. He loved the young child's stories so he needed to break the illusion fast.

Baal lazily glanced over the tiny army before him.

"Two undead, one summoner, one archer, a half-blood demon, Lilith's descendant, an archer, a fox, a witch and three warriors... I'm flattered."

Nobody spoke. They were tense in the presence of a Demon Lord and horrified that Zero was the person who summoned it. Lovina didn't know what to do. The Demon Lord was an ancient and powerful but unpredictable one. It didn't help that the person who contacted him was Zero. What could the child possibly desire that he had to resort to making a contract with Baal?

"Zero," Lovina started. "Zero can you hear me? Whatever it is, we can help you. Please cancel the contract with this demon."

Baal blinked. Contract?

"What are you talking about? Zero's not some cheap human with a petty desire that needs damning. There's no contract although there is an agreement. I don't know what you were expecting but I'm a busy demon. Bring that illusion Zero had trouble breaking, I need to yawn it away before I can collect my payment."

Soon growled and became murderous. Peter and Manny became bloodthirsty too. Payment? As if they would allow such a thing. Zero might have been deceived by the crafty demon but there was no way they would allow the demon to win. Soon blamed himself. If he had been careful, Zero wouldn't be in danger.

Zenobia wasn't sure of what was happening. Zero still appeared to be himself although his personality had changed quite a bit. Vishnu came running in reporting about an intruder so she wasn't sure what was going on. One thing was clear though... something has taken over Zero's body and they had to get it out.

"Zero, if you can hear me please respond!" the chieftess tried.

Baal was getting irritated. "Look, the kid is fine. Just hurry up with the illusion so that I can get back."

Both parties were at a stalemate. Baal couldn't fulfil Zero's request and the villagers couldn't hurt Baal who was in possession of Zero's body. The witch cursed. If only they had an exorcist in the village, they might stand a chance.

Just before things could blow out of proportion, Hua Tuo flew in from the window. He took a look at the villagers and then back at his apprentice. Zero's eyes were black and Hua Tuo raised a brow.

"Zero, did you meditate again?"

Baal saw the newcomer and frowned. This old man looked strangely familiar. He was also very powerful and Baal had some suspicions about his identity.

"I seem to have seen you somewhere before... I just don't remember it. Who are you?"

Hua Tuo paused. That wasn't Zero at all.

"I'm Hua Tuo. May I know who are you? Why are you residing in my apprentice's body?"

Demon King Baal tried to recall where he heard that name before. Then, it clicked. His eyes widened and a smile grew across his face. "I see... no wonder I thought you were familiar. You're the doctor from before. I'm Demon King Baal. You once cured my insomnia a few centuries ago. En wasn't lying when he said that you were the best. I still haven't thanked you for that."

Hua Tuo blinked. Demon King Baal... King Yama... how many years ago was that again? He couldn't remember. However, he was certain that King Yama once told him about a patient who had chronic insomnia and a terrible migraine. If it weren't for Demon King Baal's bad temper from the pain and lack of sleep, Hua Tuo wouldn't have made the trip to the abyss.

"I see, I can't recall the details but I seem to remember having to make a special trip to the abyss for a patient. How has your health been?"

Baal smiled. He was fond of the Sage God. "I've been doing well. As a matter of fact, I was about to take a nap when your apprentice called upon me. He was saying something about needing my help to sneeze an illusion away but when I came to fulfil my end of the agreement, I was met with a tiny army who looked like they wanted me dead. Could you explain?"

"Agreement?" Hua Tuo was confused. "What did my apprentice agree on?"

"He agreed to tell me four stories in return for my help to break the illusion. It would be troubling for me if there is no illusion to break because I love hearing his stories. The kid is particularly amusing and a great storyteller."

Hua Tuo didn't doubt it. Zero had a way with words and it was always a pleasure to watch him tell his tales with such expressiveness. However, that didn't explain why Zero required the aid of a demon.

Soon was confused. Did Zero really need the help of a Demon King to break his illusion? Had he really pushed the child into desperation enough to sell his soul to the abyss? Wait, that's not right. The demon lord mentioned something about stories. What's going on?

"Demon King Baal, I'm afraid there is some kind of misunderstanding. The illusion was meant as a test of sorts to understand Zero's magic capabilities in detail. He was in no real danger and there was really no need for you to personally appear."

Baal paused. "A test?"

Soon swallowed. "Yes, a surprise test. I did tell him to find a way to escape or break the illusion. I never expected things to go so far."

Baal went deadly silent and everyone held their breaths. Then, he threw his head back and laughed. Baal laughed so hard till he cried but didn't stop for a good number of minutes. When he finally did, he looked at Hua Tuo and smirked.

"I believe you're going to face a lot more trouble in future with this apprentice of yours."

Hua Tuo nodded calmly. "It looks like it. I thought that taking the waterwheel apart was the worst things could get but I stand corrected."

Baal snorted. "Oh, just you wait. He's recently gotten into contact with some really troublesome personalities out there and I'm going to enjoy the show very much. In accord to our past, I will let this go. Zero still owes me stories but I will collect them from him at a later date. You might want to set some ground rules for him. I see that he's in the hands of good company here. Lilith will be delighted to know that she still has kin on Earth."

The Demon King looked at Coux and the half-succubus flinched. Baal smiled. "You really do look like her."

Coux frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Baal shrugged. "Your ancestor, Succubus Queen Lilith, is a close ally of mine. You resemble her greatly although your blood has been watered down. It's still good to know that some of her kin are still alive on Earth."

Having said what he had to, Baal yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I would love to stay to chat some more and find out how the humans are doing but it's way past my nap time. Tell Zero not to disturb me for a while, I'll leave him in your care."

With that, the Demon Lord disappeared and Zero came back to his senses, slightly confused.

"Zero, how do you feel?" Lovina was the first to rush over.

Hua Tuo was already examining his apprentice for anything unusual and relaxed when he found none. He should really stop being surprised by what Zero could accomplish. Making friends with a Demon King? Who knew?

"You had us worried there for a second," Sekkin chuckled a tousled Zero's hair.

Seeing that it was a false alarm, Zenobia had Vishnu go back to the guard tower and had Lowis bring everyone who evacuated back to the village. She bid Zero a hasty goodbye and left to help.

Soon looked guilty and apologised to Zero.

"Oh... I didn't know. I was under the impression that I was to use whatever means at my disposal to break the illusion so I called a friend for help."

Qin Yun who had returned to her human formed giggled. "It's not wrong to do that. In fact, it's nice that your friend agreed to help. We were just startled because your friend is very powerful with a rather unique reputation."

Zero made a small 'o' with his mouth. "I understand now. Bell may seem scary and all but he's actually really lazy. Most the time things are destroyed not because he's angry but because he was clumsy. When Bell becomes sleepy he's an absolute klutz but he would never intentionally hurt anyone who doesn't hurt him first."

Mitchnew looked doubtful and Sekkin was quick to pull her away before Zero saw it. The half dark elf had quite the personality and the last thing he wanted his wife to do was to start another fight. She didn't like demons much after they burned her village down. Sekkin found it strange how fate pulled them together. He was rescued by Mitchnew during one of her assassination jobs and trained by her. They became work partners and eventually became a couple but that was a story for another time.

Lovina was torn. On one hand, she wanted to support Zero's all-encompassing attitude and personality. However, she couldn't turn a blind eye to how easily Zero could've become victim to the Demon King. Magic was both a blessing and a curse. If used correctly, it saved lives. If used wrongly, it kills.

While Coux and Qin Yun fused over the boy, the witch pulled Hua Tuo to a side. "Does this child have a magic teacher? I'm willing to take him as my apprentice. He has a great gift but it could be dangerous without proper training."

Hua Tuo smiled. He was glad that Lovina offered. Honestly, if Zero didn't already have such a great magic teacher, he would've agreed in a heartbeat.

"He has one already but won't be seeing them until next year. I doubt they would mind if you taught Zero some of the basics. Today's incident was quite the scare. It's my fault for neglecting his magic training and focussing too much on teaching him the ways of medicine."

Lovina smiled and placed a comforting hand on the physician's shoulder. "It's no fault of yours. You are a doctor before a magician. Nobody can blame you. And yes, I would love to have the opportunity to teach Zero a thing or two about magic basics. He has great power and with great power comes great dangers. The child is too young and yet he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders."

Hua Tuo wondered if that was true. "Zero doesn't want to be a hero but you could be right. We could talk more over dinner but I should rescue him now from those ladies before they decide to kidnap him."

Lovina saw how Qin Yun and Coux were trying to smother Zero in their ample bosoms and sighed. Leave it to the two most beautiful women to traumatise the child.

"That's a great idea. I think you might need to teach him about how to deal with pushy women too."

Hua Tuo grimaced. "I would love for someone to teach me how to deal with them too. Luckily, Zero has a pair of very fast legs."

Lovina laughed and Hua Tuo excused himself. Zero had never been so glad to see his teacher before.

"Save me!" he mouthed to Hua Tuo who approached the vixen and succubus carefully.

"Excuse me ladies but I would require some time alone with my apprentice."

They pouted but let Zero go reluctantly. At the first signs of freedom, Zero bolted and hid behind the physician. They exchanged pleasantries before leaving Soon's apartment, apologising for causing a mess on the way out.

Once master and apprentice reached the safety of their apartment, both of them slid down onto the floor and exhaled sighs of relief. Who knew that women could be scarier than Demon Kings?