Here is a little Christmas special chapter to make up for the fact that writer's block keeps my most popular story from proceeding. It is canon, taking place a little after the next two chapters (which will start immediately after the last chapter)

Read and review, would ye kindly? And happy holidays!

The Nativity

Christmas in Tokyo. A time of celebration, coming together in good will and spending time with family and loved ones.

Ente Isle did not have such a custom; the citizens, knights and demons just going about their day to day lives. Winter was treated as a time to aid your fellow neighbor, but the Church of Ente Isle lacked the stories of earth's Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza or the other special times that came around December.

So, for the former inhabitants of Ente Isle

XXXX

Sado 'Jacob' Maou was on a mission of the utmost importance. One that he could not afford to fail and would prove to be his most daring yet.

Convincing the races of darkness to follow him? Tricky but fun. Conquering the lands they wanted? Child's play. Securing his undisputed spot as Devil King? Who the hell would be stupid enough to challenge him after what he did to the Hydra-Kraken God?

They were still finding pieces ofh im throughout all of Ente Isle, last Alciel had checked.

So what could be more dangerous than that? What could possibly make Sado Maou, model employee at McRonalds, former king of his people and sorcerer supereme of Ente Isle cower in fear of not accomplishing?

Finding the perfect gift for someone he cared for more than anything else.

He had gotten most of his shopping done the month before; a dragon dolly for both his beloved Alas=Ramus and Fire(who would've thought toy stores made for such pristine combat training zones?), spa tickets for Kisaki and Laylah, some inexpensive memory for Lucifer, a membership to McRonalds and the biggest thank you card he could find for both Alciel and Rika, a rice-cooker for Suzanoo, a best of CD for each of Chiho and Aria's favorite bands and a bottle of Nord's favorite ale, which had ended up being the most expensive and cost him some of his magic when he 'convinced' the fellow to give it to him at an 80% discount.

It was Emi he was having the hardest time shopping for.

To think that barley a year had passed since they had gone from enemies to lovers. Well, not lovers in the full sense of the word; they loved each other, raised Alas=Ramus together and had kissed, but nothing beyond that….

The Demon King had never been in love before. Neither had Emi. They had both had admirers amongst their followers and crushes when they were younger, but had placed their duties to the side. And in all honesty, they had thought they would never find love.

Now that they were together, they had come to the unspoken agreement to consider thieir first Christmas their first anniversary. This added even more trouble to the process, and with the Christmas rush, McRonalds was either super busy or superdead.

So, when Emi and Rika had dragged him and Ashiaya to the mall for some last minute shopping after his Christmas Eve shift, Maou vowed to use the free time he had when not leveling bags and boxes to searching for and hopefully getting the perfect gift for Emi.

As it had been said and written before however, as brilliant as the Devil King was in terms of battle, magic and spoiling his precious daughter sweet, he was oblivious to the ways of women. In this case, how much they shopped for and what lengths they'd be willing to go to acquire what they wanted.

"TOUCH THOSE CURTAINS AND YOUR EARINGS ARE GONG SOMEWHERE YOU DON'T KNOW YOU HAD!" The former Hero of Ente Isle shouted over the mass sounds of screaming and Christmas songs.

"I GOT THEM, EMI!"

"DON'T LET GO!"

Maou was brought out of his musing by the sound and sight of Emi and Rikia fighting several other women for the bargin bin items.

Such ferocity….and bloodlust! Not just from Emi, either!

For the past few hours, Maou had felt the ever so slight negativity empower him before disappearing and the reappearing. It was annoying and not helping his worry of finding….

"Milord?"

His most trusted man and friend, who was carrying several boxes and bags next to him, temporarily distracted the former Devil King from his concern.

"Yes?"

"…Why?"

"Why what?"

"Correct me if I am wrong, but this….Christmas is supposed to be a time of togetherness, correct?"

"Indeed."

"Something that should, in all honesty, hurt us."

"Correct."

"Then why are the mortals so obsessed with presents?" The blonde demon asked. "And why is Rika so dertermined to aid Emi?"

"It's a sign of affection." Maou explained. "To give those they love something that they have wanted. It seems that the togetherness is forgotten for most of season, except in the specials and hearts of children."

"Like the Princess and Fire?"

Maou smiled at the thought of his daughter; just the other day she had made cards for her grandparents, the neighbors (even crusty old Mari couldn't help but smile at her card)

"More importantly sire, why are we here? You purchased your gifts last month, there's no need for you to be embroiled in this madness."

No, that was not too strong a word, in Alciel's opinion. Madness described this situation perfectly

"Not all of them." Maou confessed, when suddenly he caught something out of the corner of his eye:

…

Why hadn't he thought of it before? This would be the perfect gift for Emi!

"Hold these for a sec Alceiel, getting Emi's present."

The blonde demon buckled under the added weight of Emi's purchases on top of Rika's.

"A-as you command, milord!" He struggled.

"If she asks, say I went to the bathroom." Maou ordered.

"Y-yes milord…." The blond demon struggled, his attention on keeping everything from falling.

"You okay over there, Hiro?" Rika asked her boyfriend as she and Emi made their way to the cashier.

"N-nothing to worry about!" The blonde demon smiled as he tried to follow them.

"Hey, where'd Maou go?" Emi asked in spite of herself; she'd finally found the perfect gift for him and didn't want him to see it until the next day

Unbeknownst to Emi, Maou had ducked and tip-toed over to another part of the store to get a better view of his prize. When he saw that Acielel, Rika and Emi were preoccupied talking to some co-workers as they waited for a cashier, he let out a sigh of relief before taking a good look at the gift and then it's price.

"…Well, I'll have to have McRonalds take a few meals out of my pay, but hopefully it'll be worth it." He told himself.

The former Devil King actually had no problem procuring the former Hero's gift. He had it gift wrapped and slipped it into his bag before going to rejoin his fellow shoppers.

Afterwards, the two couples went their separate ways; Alciel to help Rika with her purchases and stay the night while Maou and Emi went to pick up their baby girl from Laylah and Nord.

XXX

Christmas morning came faster than the family realized, and the knocking of their door brought them from sleep.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Their company of Laylah, Nord, Aries=Ara, Iron, Alceiel and Rika (who were positively gowing), Lucifer and Suzanoo buckled inside as Maou rushed to get hot coco ready along with French Toast.

"Salutations on this most joyous occasion." The former Grand Inquistor bowed to her hosts as she tickled Alas=Ramus along with Laylah.

"Good morning, sweetheart." The angel cooed to her granddaughter and playfully shook a wrapped parcel. "Merry Christmas, look what we got for you….!"

"Present!" Alas=Ramus beamed, reaching for the wrapped boxes in her grandma's arms and then turning her attention to the ones under the small tree that her parents had set up last night due to their busy schedules.

"In a minute, sweetie." Emi cooed. "We have to eat breakfast first."

"Aw come on, Emi!" Rika beamed. "We can open these up before."

She then slyly looked at Alceiel, whose waist she took into her arms.

"Besides…Hiro already opened his present."

The Blonde demon smiled dopily at the memory of his gift and allowed himself to return the embrace before realizing Emi and Maou were glaring at him

"…We'll talk later."

"…Understood."

"It is within our energy levels." Suzanoo mused

"Peas, mama?" Alas=Ramus begged, shooting her mother with the dreadfully adorable puppy dog eyes.

Emi looked over to Maou.

"I don't see why not." The former Devil Lord smiled.

And with that, the presents were opened:

Laylah and Nord gave both of her daughters a lovely necklace, while Iron got a teddy bear and cookie he shared with Alas-Ramus. The aforementioned baby girl soon found herself surrounded by toys (including a dollhouse castle from her grandparents and Joan of arc doll from Aries=Ara), hugs and kisses, but no one doubted what her favorite present was:

"Merry Christmas, princess." Maou smiled as he handed her the dragon teddy he'd fought tooth and nail to acquire.

"Draggy!" Alas=Ramus beamed as she hugged the toy and gave her papa a cookie covered kiss. "Thank you, papa."

Rika gave Emi a framed picture from the pool fiasco with the words 'best friends forever.' Emi hugged her friend back and gave her a necklace with a locket. Rika then gave Alas=Ramus a Hello Kitty doll with a Dragon onesie, which the little girl adored

"What do you say?" Emi asked her daughter.

"Thank you, Rika."

Acies=Ara and Alceiel, being unemployed, gave everyone gift cards to their favorite shops. It was appritaited nonetheless, and Maou offered to put in a good word for them at his branch at his next shift. When Lucifer did the same, everyone glared at him for being a cheap-skate.

Suzanoo gave everyone a handmade and beautifully written poem, which brought them all to tears of joy.

Iron was happy enough with the cookie and teddy that he got, paying the little onesie Emi had got him no mind.

Nord gave Maou a pie in the face and a strongly worded letter detailing the older man's hatred for him for taking his baby girl from him. A glare from Laylah and Aries=Ara kept him civilized for the rest of the day, especially when he saw what Maou had gotten him.

"…I still hate you." The man growled. He gave his daughters some spending money and Rika a thank you card for being his daughter's friend.

Now it was Emi's turn; she gave her parents a bathrobe and blanket, Aries=Ara movie tickets, Rika a book of coupons to all their favorite restaurants, with the Curry place having a sticky tab that read 'first lunch in the new year', and for her precious daughter, a sundress and red as her hair with black highlights that matched Maou's hair, along with a hat.

"Thank you mama." Alas=Ramus smiled.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Emi smiled back.

Everyone else got a book on Russian Knock-Knock jokes…expect for the special someone in her life.

"Merry Christmas, Maou."

The former devil king's eyes sparkled at what he saw: a completely red satin cape with a hoodie and pants with a design that almost completely reassembled his battle fatigues back in Ente Isle. He dashed to the bathroom before returning in his gift

"AT LAST!" He bellowed dramatically. "I AM COMPLETE! WITH THESE GARBS I CAN TRULLY BEGIN MY…!"

A growl filled the air.

Everyone looked down at their stomachs.

The growl returned.

Hunger apparently refused to wait for dramatic monologues on the holidays.

"Well, now that presents are done, who's hungry?"

"Wait, I think we missed a present." Laylah smiled, pointing to a tiny box hidden at the back of the tree.

"Oh, that's mine!" Maou beamed as he raced back from the kitchen and slide under to grab it before anyone else. Taking it behind his back, he walked up to Emi filled with confidence and opened his mouth, only for it to shut.

His face turned red and he began to sweat.

"Uh…Maou?" Emi asked, worried.

"Papa?" Alas=Ramus asked.

All eyes now on him, Maou steeled his resolve and listened to what he felt in his gut:

"I had something planned, but it won't work here." He confessed after he handed the gift to Emi and she began to remove the carefully wrapped box. "Y-you'll get the idea."

It was indeed a small box, fitting into the palm of the hero's hand. Crushed velvet covered the box and everyone tensed.

"No way…." Rika smiled

"Way…" Aries=Ara beamed

"….I don't get it." Alceiel and Susanoo whispered together.

Nord wanted to curse under his breath, but held is tongue.

A gasp filled the air after Emi flipped open the box and the content was made clear to her.

It was a ring; A diamond ring, with little angel wings along the diamond and engraved sword like markings.

"Emi…" Maou asked as he got down on one knee. "We have had an interesting dynamic that turned into the single most important relationship of, in my eyes at least, both of our lives. We have argued, we have worked together…we've raised Alas=Ramus together. You have your goals and I have mine, but I don't want this to end ever. Emilia Justina Yusa…..Will you marry me?"

The room went silent.

Nord, Lucifer and Alciel's jaws dropped. Laylah and Rika covered their mouths with tears stinging their eyes. Aries=Ara began to pray while Alas=Ramus and Iron cutely sucked their thumbs.

For good 10 minutes, not a word came out.

"E…Emi?" Maou asked, giving the ring a look. "I-is the ring too bland? Is it a bad time? Darn it, I knew I should've waited until New Year's…!"

"Yes."

Maou looked back at the former hero, whose eyes were stinging with tears. Her lower jaw seemed to be shaking, and yet…a smile crossed her face.

"..W-what yes?" Maou asked for confirmation.

Emi smiled.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

…..

"One more time, please?" Maou asked, his eyes shining with hope.

"Yes, I'll marry you!" Emi beamed happily, making Maou smile in delight

"ONE MORE TIME!" Maou beamed and begged.

"YES!" Emi beamed back as she leapt into her new fiance's arms

Laylah, Rika and Aries=Ara began to cheer and hug Emi as loudly and happily as they could while Nord and Alciel hugged each other in comfort of this dreaded day…then smiled happily for the sake of their most precious person.

Alas=Ramus found herself being hoisted into her mother's arms in one her beloved squishy hug, giggling as her parents hugged and kissed both each other and her.

Was this cliché? Yes. But come on, that's what we love about Christmas specials. I hope you liked it. Happy Holidays and be safe. Hopefully in the New Year the creativity will return for this story.