The Demon Lord stood in front of the hero of Enti-Isla, hate radiating off his body. His menacing form shadowed over her small frame. A dark red glow came from his eyes and one of his horns had been severed but showed signs of growing back. His arm outstretched and his fingers curled around the neck of a young man who seemed to be in immense pain.
Emi stood in shock and horror, staring at the sight before her. No matter how hard she tried she could not will her body to move, she couldn't speak, all she could do was stand by and watch the Demon Lord of Enti-Isla take one more person from her.
"He is weak and must die if the true Demon Lord is to rule again, I will have my victory hero. First he will die, then you, and then humanity." The creature of hate spoke ominously, his eyes burning with an unmatched rage.
"Why? Why does Maou have to die?!" The hero finally found her voice as tears streamed down her face. The Demon Lord laughed a sickening sound and then quickly steeled.
"As long as he lives the life of a human, I cannot live as a demon. One life must win and one must lose." With this the creature snapped Maou's neck and Emi watched his limp body collapse to the ground.
"Maou!" The hero jolted from her lying position frantically searching the room for Maou. Her heart was racing so fast that her chest hurt. When she became aware of her surroundings she soon calmed down. She was in bed and all that had happened could be chalked up to a bad dream.
"As long as he lives the life of a human, I cannot live as a demon." The Demon Lord's words echoed in her mind. Emi rested her back against the ivory headrest of her bed and hugged her pillow tight to her chest. Her eyes still watered slightly and she forced herself to accept that it was just a nightmare. But for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to her dream than met the eye.
The hero stood from her bed and walked over to her dresser. True or not after that kind of nightmare she didn't feel like closing her eyes again for a while. She never thought she would see the day when her bed didn't look welcoming. She picked out her clothes for the day and started to get dressed meanwhile letting her mind wander to the day ahead of her. Maou had asked her to accompany him to a site he believed a demon may have used to enter the human realm. After the night she had, Emi was glad that she would be spending the day with Maou. Not like she would ever let him hear her say that. If she did he would never let her hear the end of it.
It was early and she wasn't supposed to meet up with Maou until eight in the morning, so to say she had some time to kill would be a vast understatement. Emi made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal then made her way to the couch and flipped on the news. There was nothing of interest to her in the current story the reporters were talking about but the distraction was pleasant. She continued with her morning routine after she finished her breakfast and enjoyed some morning shows. Even after being up for awhile and distracting herself she still couldn't shake the feeling in her gut.
"Today is going to be fine. It's going to be good. It has to be." Emi tried reassuring herself before grabbing her phone and keys, then walking out of her apartment to meet Maou. The fall air was chilly and Emi was glad to have remembered to wear a jacket. The year was right at the tip of fall, and almost into winter which as a result left the city in a constant state of drizzle. Everything was gray and depressing. Emi never liked this time of year and it felt to her like every car that drove by was laughing at all the pour souls that had to walk in this weather.
"Insult to injury." Emi groaned as she continued through the city. Thankfully the place Maou had asked her to meet him was not too far from her apartment so she only suffered the downing walk for about ten minutes.
Finally when she arrived she saw Maou standing outside of a new cafe and her eyes lit up. She was saved! She could easily put up with ten minutes of her least favorite activity if it meant that Maou was treating her to lunch at a new cafe. It looked so warm and welcoming. Emi waited for a pause in traffic to be able to get across to the other side of the road. When she got a chance she bolted across and stopped directly in front of Maou.
"Are we going in?" Emi asked looking through the window at the wonderful atmosphere inside the cafe. 'Maou sure did pick a nice place for a date,' Emi thought to herself, 'not that this is a date!'
"The target building is a storeroom just down this alley, are you ready?" Maou had redirected his attention down the alley and missed the crushed expression his hero friend now had.
"Of course it's not the cafe, why would it be the cafe, today sucks." Emi muttered under her breath.
"What?" Maou looked genuinely confused but Emi seemed to recover quickly.
"It's nothing. Can we just get this over with?" Her voice was thick with irritation. Maou stepped into the alley to lead the way to the door of the storeroom. When he opened the door there was a rush of cold clammy air. The smell of sulfur hung in the air and it almost made Emi puke. Whatever was here it was definitely preforming dark magic. In her time with the church she had seen this kind of place many times, but it never sat with her well.
The two made their way into the building a little ways before a sickening voice cut through the thick air, a voice both Maou and Emi knew all too well.
"So the fallen Demon Lord returns, with the Hero no less. Disgusting." Ciriatto's voice dripped with anger. The tension in the room skyrocketed and Emi's sword began to materialize at her side. "That won't be necessary church dog. I did not come here for you." Every word was more condescending than the last and it made Emi's blood boil. She took a step forward then felt something shift under the weight of her foot. She looked down and saw a magic circle forming around her foot and realized the mage had played her and she had fallen for it. She looked up to warn Maou but it was too late, her body was frozen and she couldn't even will her mouth to speak.
The hero watch as Maou readied himself for a fight but that wasn't what he got. Instead the mage uttered a few words in the trio's native tongue and Maou was crippled onto the floor in excruciating pain. It felt as if every molecule of his body was being slit in half and ripped from his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth, sweat pouring from his face and tears from his eyes. Then the pain subsided. Maou opened his eyes and felt his heart stop. The first thing he saw was two hoofs which became goat legs, and as his eyes traveled farther up the being in front of him his fear grew. Ciriatto had let the devil in side him loose. The beast looked down at his helpless human form and sneered. Reaching down with one hand and wrapping it around Maou's throat, the devil lifted his thin frame off the ground. Maou searched for any magic he might still have but there was nothing, it had all been drained.
Emi stood in shock and horror, it was coming true and just like in her dream there was nothing she could do. The demon slowly turned his gaze to her ignoring Maou's struggles to free himself.
"He is weak and must die if the true Demon Lord is to rule again, I will have my victory hero. First he will die, then you, and then humanity." The creature of hate spoke ominously, his eyes burning with an unmatched rage. Again it was the same as her dream and she felt completely helpless. She felt the magic restraining her wane slightly but her bad luck only granted her speech back.
"Why? Why does Maou have to die?!" Tears streamed down her face and her heart felt like it wanted to stop working. The Demon Lord laughed a sickening sound and then quickly steeled.
"As long as he lives the life of a human, I cannot live as a demon. One life must win and one must lose." The demon's sneer quickly faded as he saw a flash of chrome and a sting in his neck that quickly grew to an excruciating throbbing sensation. His eyes widened as he tasted blood. He looked down to see a look of determination on the young mans face.
"I really hate losing." Maou's voice rang through the warehouse calm and collected. The devils grip loosened and the demon fell to his knees blood flowing freely from his mouth and throat. Maou reached for his blade and after cleaning it returned it to it's rightful place on his belt. Emi recognized the knife he had used, it was the same one she had tried to kill him with when they had first met in Tokyo. The last of the magic wore off and Emi fell to her knees in relief and emotional exhaustion.
"Do you realize what you've done!?" Ciriatto's cries of protest filled the warehouse.
"I just killed the devil king, ruler of all demons. I guess that would make me the hero of Enti-Isla." Maou's posture was confident and his voice firm. In that one moment Emi knew that she no longer had mixed feelings for the man. Instead she was fully aware that she had fallen completely and madly in love with Maou Sadou, the hero of Enti-Isla.
Ciriatto took a step forward, rage overtaking him but he quickly thought better of his actions when he noticed that Emilia was no longer restrained from his magic. He was a man of knowledge and he was smart enough to not make the same mistake his mentor had in challenging the girl. A portal opened behind him and he stepped through leaving four word for their thoughts. "We will find another."
Maou looked down to see that the devils lifeless body at his feet had already begun to dissipate, losing it's residual magic at an alarming rate. Emi and Maou both made for the door ready for today to be over but when they reached the corner Maou had other plans. He reached out and grabbed Emi's and lead her into the cafe and to a table for two by the window. The two heroes quietly enjoyed each others company for the rest of the afternoon.