Chapter 2: The Hero and the Devil are Actual Parents
-[2 Years Later]-
A strange woman walked amongst the empty ruins of the Devil's castle. In their arms was a toddler with black hair and scarlet highlights and a fusion of two familiar faces.
The masterless castle stood erie amongst the empty wasteland it once inhabited. Stains of battle remain but nothing more than the occasional bone and the numerous patches of blood-soaked dirt fertilising the ground. The humans ensured that every demon, even a corpse, did not remain on Ente Isla. Whether or not such measures were done on the orders of the church mattered little. To the woman in the castle, the sight signified the reasons for her actions and disturbing memories that have long been forgotten by the common folk; that same sight also gave rise to another purpose: to steer someone away and protect them from such catastrophes.
She had no time to contemplate such thoughts, however. Her steps echoed down empty halls as she approached the untouched throne room. The room had no spirit or soul remaining, with a large seat at its centre that served no purpose other than to collect the flow of time. She turned and walked upon the balcony that possessed life amongst the bare statue of a castle.
The stranger approached a single plant, raising her right hand. The plant glowed and transformed into a ball of energy. Shining brightly, she was pleased for what she had at hand.
"Where did you go wrong, I wonder?"
She asked as the ball of energy fused with the baby in her arm, a glowing crest forming on her forehead.
"Well… maybe not all wrong," She smiled looking at the sleeping child.
-[Meanwhile is Sasazuka + God knows how many wacky events]-
"Grab onto something! It's the gate!" Sadao, AKA Satan, yelled as he made sure Chiho was safe from the black hole in the sky. Saszuka was supposed to be ideal as the sun shone a rainbow of colours in the sky with the occasional cloud decorating the colourful sea. The cool wind blew away the harsh heat that plagued the day earlier. That was until a dark stain in space ripped the colours and appeared before the sextet of individuals.
The rest stood their ground until the gate closed, leaving behind a cradle and something inside. The group stood stunned, thinking the worst was about to happen. Seconds soon passed and, recognizing no immediate danger, their minds soon turned to curiousity about the unknown.
All as one, the five Ente Islans looked into the cradle to find a sleeping toddler. Gently warped in layers of blankets and sleeping as soundly as a young bunny. Her soft appearance meshed with the light blue blankets that surrounded it.
"A child?" Suzano noted, just as confused as everyone else.
A moment of silence followed between the group. Contemplation was the name of the game as they all struggled to comprehend what had just occurred and what had appeared before them.
"I could die happy now!"
Well… almost.
-[one excited Chiho later]-
The quintet of Ente Islans, plus Chiho, sat around the sleeping toddler. The light gently humming above them and the c-, I mean 'taro,' from earlier surely dead and likely a stain on Suzano's weapon. A western standoff of eyes bounced around the room as they dared to draw the gun of words into the one-room apartment that, somehow, three straight men lived in. How one survived an ordeal without bending was a question for another day, or fantasy depending on tastes.
"So… Does anybody have a clue of what just happened?" Sadao asked, drawing the first shot.
"Nope, and it's getting really late so goodnight!" Emi exclaimed, clearly hoping to escape whatever hijinks were about ensue.
"You're staying right here!" Only to be stopped by her, technically, arch-frenemy.
"Look, Bell and I have nothing to do with this mess so Baby Isekai is all yours," Emi clearly wanting to escape the situation.
Said toddler soon woke up with tired eyes and a slightly drowsy expression, sitting up and facing the 3 guys. The face seemed familiar yet new but the hair was an unmistakable black with scarlet highlights with eyes of a familiar red.
"Gowd Mowning," the little one greeted, clearly having some manners.
"You speak our language child?" Ashiya inquired, surprised with the fluency, that a two year can have, of her words.
"A widdle bit." The baby was still tired but seemed to be getting some energy back. The others watched the interaction with curiosity and caution.
"Then fill us in, what are you?" Sadao asked, somewhat insensitively.
"I'm Alas Ramus," The innocent face answered with the youthful energy of a two-year-old.
Emilia could feel something familiar about the child and a small headache was starting to rise in her mind.
She recognised some of the child's features as her own however, some of the other features seemed differently familiar.
"So is that your name?" Emilia asked, looking at the toddler with more recognition and hoping to confirm what she heard was correct.
"Yes, I'm Alas Ramus… Achoo!" The young one sneezed with a moon crest appearing on her forehead with swirls of both red, white, and violet. Sadao recognised the symbol but could tell something seemed off. The others, however, grew somewhat cautious seeing such a strange marking on the toddler.
"Well it's really nice to meet you Alas Ramus, where did you come from?" Sadao plastering a comfortable smile on his face, hoping to avoid the appearance of 'scawy.'
"I uuhhh, Down' know." Alas being clearly down with her response.
"Okay, Could you tell me who your parents are?" Sadao asked with the matching voice of an adult talking to a child.
"Pawents? Wat's that?" Alas being clearly confused with the term 'pawents.' The others find such a response to be in-line with a child of that age.
"He means your mama and your dada," Emilia answered to clarify Sadao's question, translating the words to something familiar.
"Dada is… SATAN!" the toddler exclaimed, clearly happy and cheerful to answer such a question.
"Awesome your dada is Sa- WHAT?!" Ashiya and Urushihara both looked in shock with Sadao cutting himself mid-sentence with an open mouth.
"Me?! For real?!" Sadao pointed at himself and started to panic about the upcoming consequences.
"What the?! DADA?! YOU HAVE A CHILD?!" Chiho screamed in understandable disbelief and the said consequence. A mix of betrayal was in her voice but no legal contract has been made yet.
"NO! CHI! PLEASE DON'T FREAK OUT!" Sadao hoping to douse the flames.
"YOU HAD A WIFE AND KIDS WHEN YOU WERE MISTER BIG SHOT DEVIL, THAT'S A PRETTY BIG SECRET TO KEEP!" Only to realise he poured absolutely nothing on said flames.
"CALM DOWN! I didn't have a secret family!" Sadao yelled, hoping to grab the correct bucket.
"Could this be the one sire?!" Ashiya yelled, the rest looking at him confused, Sadao realised the fire has found gasoline.
"Wha… No way Ashiya!" 'sire' waving his arms to dispel the idea.
"But it has to be! Plus the child seems to be the right age to when it happened my liege!" Sadao's eyes went wide under Ashiya's words. He looked at the child with shock.
"WH-" Sadao Interrupted Chi before she could continue, Chi now turning to a raging flaming tornado.
"CHILL! why are you all taking the toddler's word over mine?! Oh, I know, tell us who your mama is!" Sadao said, hoping he found the hose to douse the flames.
Alas Ramus looked at Satan before pointing a finger at Emi.
"Mama." Only find out that said hose being connected to a gas station.
"What a minute, are you, wait what?!" Said gas station was now starting to light on fire.
"MAMA! PAPA!" Alas cheered a finger pointing at the respective parent.
"Either the child is a liar or you some explaining to do," Suzano concluded, confusing emotions swirling inside of her about what to make of the situation as Emi paled in shock, turning whiter than snow. The gas station now has exploded.
Sadao, not knowing what to do, elected to die internally and simultaneously freeze himself as he tried to process the information only to constantly fail like a faulty computer.
"Okay miss Yusa, you tell us the kid lying any time now!" Chiho panicked as she shook the frozen hero. Urushihara and Ashiya, on the other hand, both fainted, back and forward respectively, with their souls almost leaving their bodies, or maybe they did; it was hard to tell.
"She's… not…" Emi breathed out, finally remembering who Alas Ramus was. She promptly fainted at the revelation. Landing on her side with drool dripping out and an expression that indicated her near internal death.
Chiho, on the other hand, was still shaking Emi, keeping her soul bound to the hell of the one-room apartment; this time demanding clarification.
"She's not what?!" Chiho screamed, hoping the response wasn't what it was and failing to see the signs.
Suzano, as shocked as Chiho, looked at the smiling Alas Ramus and could see the resemblance the child had to both the devil and hero. The hair is a mix of Emi's and Sadao's, the eyes and mouth of Emi, and the eyebrows and forehead of Sadao.
"Well, it seems like the latter," Suzano concluded closing her eyes and wondering if words could describe the web of emotions she had. All the while the toddler laughed at the cartoon happening around her.
-[One commercial break later]-
Emi, held Alas close her as she fell asleep. Maternal instincts clearly kicked in as she held her daughter in her arms. Sadao, on the other hand, could only feel confusion regarding the matter with Ashiya and Urushihara holding bags of ice to their heads and Suzano comforting a Chiho who had curled into a corner and sobbed, clearly in denial after Emi woke up and clarified what she meant.
"So… Explain," Suzano demanded as kept patting Chi's back, her eyes clearly determined to find out something she should have known.
"Back in Ente Isla, I decided to take part in an infiltration mission into a well-guarded village on the Western continent," Sadao started, dejected and taking a rather formal posture.
"The village had magical wards that made recon difficult so I was called in to do the infiltration myself," Sadao continued.
Suzano knew that when the news of the demon's invasion spread, many villages built defenses in hopes of holding off the demon army long enough to escape. Wards were an uncommon defence that a small percentage of villages and towns could afford, however, that was still a long list of places, and magic itself with fairly easy, the strength is determined by the one or group that cast the ward. The main problem came with maintaining the wards as they could only last a day at max, often lasting 12-18 hours regularly.
Chiho, now finished sobbing, quietly listened with Suzano oblivious to her now silent body.
"Once I reached the village in disguise, I decided to head to the local tavern and gather whatever information I could find," Suzano could understand the idea behind it, people tended to let slip information when having fun. Taverns, with some kind in every settlement on Ente Isla, were the perfect pool of slipped information for spies to scoop.
"Once I settled down, I ordered a drink to blend in and found myself talking to someone. Before I knew it… we were both hammered and I woke up beside said someone," Sadao finished. Ashiya and Urushihara were still confused about how Sadao could have gotten drunk while Suzano contemplated what Sadao said.
"Satan, if I may ask, at the time, did you know that someone was Emilia?" Suzano watched him closely as Sadao searched through his memories.
"No, I didn't wasn't really paying attention since I was annoyed about getting information," Suzano could understand the sentiment, listening in some taverns could be frustrating, especially when the atmosphere promotes boisterous activities.
"Then the only problem I have with your story is how could you get drunk? I thought alcohol didn't affect demons?" Ashiya and Urushihara's expressions gave Suzano the silent answer before Sadao did.
"We're not sure either, I think I might have to do with the strength of the illusion magic I used. My body probably mimicked a human's, and when I got drunk, my body itself got the effect, or something similar, despite being able to handle it," Alciel hypothesised with Suzano contemplating on the possibility. The theory was what Satan, Alciel, and Urushihara came up with but has never been tested outside of the one incident.
"I see, well in any case, Emilia, what were you ddoing at the Tavern?" Suzano looked toward a quiet Emilia as she held the sleeping Alas Ramus in her arms.
"Emeralda had me stop training and told me to have some fun for the day since it had the been the 32nd day I've been training in a row. I didn't know who was at the time due to the disguise," Emilia smiled at the thought of Emeralda and briefly contemplated on calling her Alas Ramus' godmother before snapping her thoughts back to the situation at hand. Suzano, on the other hand, found no fault in her answer and could easily understand how Emilia failed to see past the disguise.
"Oh, crap…" Emi suddenly had a wave of realisation hit her, scenarios ran through her head at light speed with Suzano staring in confusion.
"Emilia, what is on your mind?" Suzano asked with a now fidgety Emilia, luckily not hurting Alas Ramus.
"How am I going to explain this at work, to Rika a-and everyone else back in Ente Isla? All of them are going to think I'm some…" EmIlia began rambling on as Suzano looked concerned at the hero's growing panic. Chiho, who listened to the explanation, quietly stood up, surprising Suzano, and approached Emi.
Emi stopped her rambling and stared up in confusion as Chiho stood over her with what appeared to be cold dead eyes. Emi flinched and almost jumped as Chiho lowered herself and gave her a wide comforting hug, being careful not to disturb Alas Ramus in her sleep.
"It's fine. Remember you have the rest of us to help you," Emilia stared in confusion before realising what she meant. Emi's anxiety faded as she returned the hug the best she could.
"Thanks Chi." Emilia smiled as the other looked in surprise at the emotional turn of events, with Ashiya starting to cry at how warm the scene looked.
Sadao, on the other hand, could only feel regret about what he had done, wanting to lambast himself for events turned out. Sadao soon flinched as an escaped, and seemingly teleported Alas Ramus, hugged him, and looked at him with a sad face. Emi, realising the weight of her arms looked in surprise to see Alas Ramus beside Sadao, smiling again at the scene before her.
"Papa why awe you sad?" Sadao could only smile at the cute innocence of her face and the concern she had for her father. Not wanting such beautiful innocence, Sadao could only smile to hide the shame he felt.
"I'm sad because I missed your hug," he lied as Alas Ramus cheered up and hugged him even tighter.
The rest of them smiled at the scene, a cute daughter comforting her father in such an adorable manner…
"GUYS! HELP!" Sadao screamed as he tried to escape the grip of Alas Ramus..The rest of them panicked as Alas seemingly picked up Sadao like an overside teddy bear.
It was almost adorable.
-[The Next Day]-
As Alas Ramus and Urushihara slept quietly in the early hours of the night, Ashiya and Satan were busy around the table with one cleaning the dishes and the other cleaning a mess made by a playing Alas Ramus.
"Sire, if I may so humbly ask, can you give me that drawing?" Sadao passed him the simple drawing Alas of him, Emilia, and herself. The shapes were simple and yet the colours said it all; 'Sadao' had red eyes, Emi had red hair and Alas had both as well as a shorter height.
"Now sire, in your honest words, what do you think of this drawing?" Ashiya attached the image to the fridge with newly acquired magnets courtesy of Chiho. Sadao looked at the drawing and could only feel a well of emotions bubbling out, both good and bad.
"Happy, seeing her so joyful about the drawing and proud I helped her complete her first drawing…" Sadao paused as the bad emotions came up. Ashiya noticed it immediately.
"But?" Ashiya watched Sadao as his eyes darkened.
"I also feel regret about what I did to cause this, and mad about how I could've literally done anything else but I had to-" Sadao stopped himself as he realised how loud he was getting. Ashiya remained neutral but turned at sat at the table, he pointed his hand for Sadao to sit across from him.
"If you may, my liege," Sadao agreed by sitting down across from him. Both demons faced one another with one clearly in need of the other.
"King Satan, I could not help but notice that your attitude has been different as of late. Urushihara has noticed it as well and we've both been rather concerned with how it's affecting you." Sadao sighed as he couldn't deny that they were right about his attitude, he selected them as his close demon generals after all.
"So sire, please tell me, is this about Emilia or Alas Ramus?" Ashiya leaned slightly forward as he looked at a rather depressed Sadao. The humming of the light-filled the silence before words finally flew.
"More about Emilia or, more specifically, what I did," Sadao confessed with Ashiya leaning back and letting him explain.
"As I said, I regret what I did and I feel like I'm the one responsible for what happened to Emilia, as much as she is our enemy, there's a line you can't cross. I think I crossed that line when I got her pregnant and now I can't stop thinking about what I should've done and what she has to go through now," Sadao pressed his hands on the table harder with no sound but the friction between his skin and the surface of the tabletop, his eyes shadowed from the light under his hair. Ashiya could only give a hidden sigh at the Devil lambasting himself, Sadao had grown soft in recent years, however, Ashiya himself has also grown much in the same way. Losing their magic really humbled them and, as much of a curse as it was, blessed them with the opportunity to learn more about themselves and others.
"Sire, I understand that you regret your actions but you're missing a few things. Firstly; the event was far from purposeful so you're still staying true to your convictions, secondly; there's no point in thinking about the past, the present is here, it requires your focus and it's the only thing we can change now." Ashiya looked at a Sadao whos grip loosened and his gaze slowly rose, revealing a weak smile.
Urushihara, careful not to disturb a sleeping Alas Ramus, looked up to wonder in his thoughts. That was until "Ashiya!"
"SIRE!"
Crys of a brotherly bond echoed through the thing wall, whether or not Suzano heard it was another matter to find out. However, Urushihara only sighed at the noise, clearly use to their antics after the last time, but gave an honest smirk at the company he was in. Urushihara knew Sadao needed both of them now more than ever, despite his unwillingness to work; earning him the title of: "freeloading troglodyte;" courtesy of Ashiya, he wasn't so heartless to recognise when someone needed help. Especially one that offered to help him after the damage he had caused and gave him a heaven that was forever better than the angel realm. Well. Almost.
"How am I going to sneak in Italian Cart without Ashiya noticing… ?"