Hello lovelies! I could not end right there, especially when I had so much creative juice flowing around in my head, I didn't want that chapter to be extremely long though. Sooo BACK TO BACK CHAPTERS WOO! Well I guess this is like one extremely long chapter…. Oh whale, details, details. Back to the story.
Recap: Maou is being whiney, Ashiya and Lucifer are planning, Malacoda is relaxing that his plan is falling into place, Emi and Suzuno fell asleep in the musty torture room and both are in pretty bad condition, aaannd Chiho is at MgRonalds.
"Suzuno, wake up," a voice rang through the quiet cell. Her eyes struggled to open, a bright beam of light flowed in through the crack. It was morning. The army left. She was too late. She looked up and noticed a head of purple hair standing above her, "Good morning, sorry I had to leave you here," he awkwardly stated
"You did what you had to do," she replied, trying to hide the amount of pain she was in
"Man you look awful," he knelt down and peered into her face through the bars
"Thanks," she glared at him, "Now get us out,"
"Not a problem," he smiled. Wow, he smiled. Ashiya appeared from the stairs and together they muttered some words and a darkened haze lifted from the room. With a flying kick, the door to the cell bust open and the two were free.
"Maou," Emi half whimpered, her eyes fluttering open. Sore from last night's beating, she gently rubbed her eyes and turned to see a broken gate lying a few feet from her side.
"We have to go," Lucifer implored, "Like now. We could only buy so much time to break you two out,"
"Here is your armor, Emilia," Ashiya tossed it into the cell, politely averting his eyes at her revealing attire
"Thank you," she nodded with a serious face. With the amount of time it took for Lucifer to help Suzuno up, Emi was fully clad in her sacred Hero armor, "Let's go,"
"We have horses for you both waiting outside," he turned slightly red as he realized he was still holding Suzuno
"You aren't coming with us?" Emi asked
"We can't, we have wings so it'd be ridiculous for us to ride in on horses," Lucifer explained, "And you need to save your magic in case you run into trouble," he rolls out a map, "Here is where our forces will meet, Maou will be in the front, he's going to say a speech as the blood moon rises. He loves speeches. You cannot waste any time,"
"Thank you, Lucifer," Emi gives Lucifer a sincere look, "and thank you too, Ashiya," she politely bows
"Thank us when this is over," Ashiya butts in with a typical cliché, "I can only say I'm looking for my cape for so long," he grabs Lucifer's arm and starts to drag him up the stairs, "We'll try and stall for as long as we can!" he calls before disappearing out the door
The girls cautiously follow them and find the castle empty. Every single demon, servant and all, have gone to fight. That was both a blessing and a curse.
"Out here!" Emi called as she ran ahead of Suzuno and out the large engraved doors into the sunlight, "It's about high noon now, we have to hurry,"
They fly through the landscape, the wind dances around the girls as they ride through forests, rivers, and towns on fire.
"Did they destroy these?" Emi asks, horrified
"Yes, but all the villages from here and the main town are empty, we warned the people in enough time,"
"Why can't Lucifer and Ashiya tell Maou I'm alive?" Emi asked, the horses built up speed to a near sprint
"It's like he's under a spell. I swear Malacoda did something to him, but they can't go against him, he's too powerful, has too many allies. Ashiya and Lucifer would be dead if they dared cross his path,"
"Then why does he need Maou?"
"I'm guessing it's because Maou can rally all the demons. They need their king to call them from the depths of hell, from the shadows of the earth, and come to his aid,"
"And that's something only a Demon Lord can do," Emi finished the sentence. They raced up to another burning village where fifty or so demons were still ransacking the village and burning the empty houses. All the demons came out of the houses, devilish grins on their face hideous faces.
"Emi, go," Suzuno whispered under her breath, "I'll keep them occupied," she hopped off the horse in front of the large group of demons
"Suzuno, no!" Emi pleaded, but her mind was already made up. She pulled out her hammer and got in ready position
"Go, Emi," she turned to face the demons before yelling, "GO!" with that Emi sped off, the demons not as concerned with her as they were with the girl on the ground. Apparently they never saw the hero's face before. In the distance Emi could hear loud 'thunks' and 'whams' as what she hoped was Suzuno kicking their ass.
Dun dun duuuun
The sun was setting and the red moon was rising.
"It is almost time," Maou stopped and the troops behind him followed his command. An army of fifty thousand demons stood behind him. It wasn't as many as the last war, but he was in full power, and there was no way they were going to lose this time. The castle was a short distance from where they stood. The demons were at attention; their spears high in the air, their shields and swords at ready position, one hundred demons pushed four catapults behind the rest of the army, and the three generals stood to the side of Maou. Ashiya and Lucifer were anxiously shifting their feet, checking over the horizon in hopes of seeing a Hero. Well that was a statement they thought they would never think.
"Tonight, we rid this world of human scum!" Maou yelled
"It's speech time," Lucifer whispered under his breath
"Tonight, we will take back what should've been ours! We will not be shoved underground, we will not be forced to retreat and flee! We will fight with everything we have!" he roared, "I will not see the Hero win this time, we will triumph over this insignificant world, then we will go to Earth and destroy them as well!"
"Hm, a bit choppy," Lucifer noted
"We are demons, and this is our night to strike fear into the hearts of every man," he paused for emphasis, "every woman," pause, "and every child in this wretched world!" a roar of approval came from the army.
"Wait that was it?" Lucifer thought in panic, "That' can't be it,"
"And to our Demon Lord!" Ashiya yelled out, obviously new to this and obviously trying to stall, "May we not rest until blood runs through the street and stains our hands," his voice was shaking, "May we fight to the last demon! And may we…" his voice trailed off
"Never retreat!" Lucifer finished. Another roar of approval came from the demons, less than Maou's speech, but still enough to make it sound planned.
"Then let us march to-" Maou stopped short. His eyes were locked onto a white horse galloping closer and closer to his army, the rider's white hair danced with the wind.
"Thank god," Lucifer and Ashiya thought in unison
"It's the hero!" Malacoda shouted, pointing into the distance, "Shoot her down now!" he beckoned the archers in the second row
"No," Maou raised his hand, "Let's see what she wants first,"
"I doubt she wants tea, sire,"
"I, uh, well, then shoot, no!" he forcefully shut his eyes. Lucifer and Ashiya exchanged glances.
"You heard him, shoot!" Malacoda cried
"No!" Ashiya and Lucifer yelled, jumping onto the skeleton general.
"Enough! All of you!" Maou commanded, his voice dark and booming. The white horse was almost upon them, "Let her come. If it is not a plea for mercy, then shoot her on the spot," Lucifer and Ashiya were still on the ground, pinning Malacoda's arms down.
"Maou!" Emi cried, drawing closer and closer to the seemingly endless army of demons, "Maou, please!" she climber off her horse and ran the remaining distance to him. She collapsed at his feet, her legs sore and body aching from all the bruises and wounds. He looked down to the Hero at his feet, her head hung low, long locks of white fell around her head and pooled on the ground. She looked up and into his eyes, pleading. His eyes looked down into hers, demanding.
"What do you want, Hero?" he sneered, "Come to surrender?"
"Maou," she looked at him with horror, those eyes weren't his, "Maou it's me, Emi,"
"I know who you are," he spat, "I had mercy on you, my archers could've shot you down on the spot. Tell me why I should care about anything but your surrender?"
"Because you are being ridiculous! You're blinded by your rage and insecurities," she wobbled and tried to stand, eventually seeing almost eye to eye with the Demon Lord in front of her, "Why are you doing this, Maou?"
"We are finally going to rid the world of the disease called human," he emphasized human
"YOU were a human, Maou. That's not what I asked," she searched his eyes, "I asked why are YOU doing this?"
"Being a human was pathetic; I had no power, no castle, nothing! I am doing this because…" his eyes softened
"This isn't you, Maou," Emi got closer to his face, "Malacoda has been lying to you!"
"Kill her now!" Malacoda commanded on the ground before Lucifer shoved a handful of grass into his mouth. Maou's eyes went back to their cold demeanor.
"I'm going to kill you Hero," he took one step forward and she took one step back, "I'm going to slice you up, but just enough so that you're barely living," Step. Step, "Then, when I've had enough fun torturing you, I'm going to murder you, and you will die," Step. Step, "just like your father," Step. Punch. Maou fell hard to the ground, a bit of blood trickled from his nose, the demons went into attack position waiting for the signal, Malacoda screamed something but was muffled by dirt and grass. The Demon Lord now looked up to the hero, his eyes were a storm of rage and despair, but the clouds began to crack. She stood over him, tears falling from her eyes. They landed as tiny droplets on his jeans. He shifted his weight to get up, but felt something press against his leg in his pocket. He quickly shoved his hand into the depths of the jeans he hasn't changed out of in days and pulled out a simple golden ring.
"Emi," he mouthed, toying with the ring, "Emi," he whispered, looking inside the ring and seeing what the old man meant when he said, 'look to what's on the inside,'
Flashback
"Maou, I could stay like this forever," Emi smiled, her soft eyes looking over his face
"Forever?" he grinned, sitting up in bed so he could get a better look at the gorgeous girl lying naked beside him
"Forever," she assured, lightly blushing as his gaze traveled down her body
"I'm okay with that," he laid back down and pulled her into a warm embrace, "But won't you get hungry?"
"I guess," she laughed at the thought of them being eighty and still in this bed, "Won't you?"
"Nah," his grin stretched from ear to ear and in a low tone he breathed into her neck, "Because I have you to eat," she squealed at his boldness and started to squirm away in embarrassment, but he just held her there, laughing. He eventually found her lips and they were mid kiss when he told her, "Forever it is,"
End Flashback
'Love is Forever'
"Love is forever," he repeated to himself before looking up at the furious girl above him.
"Maou!" she yelled. She had been yelling for the past minute, but he was off in another world staring at that gold ring.
"Emi!" he yelled, scrambling to get off the floor. His once clouded eyes were now clear, his playful demeanor returned, and as what one could only describe as 'boyish' grin returned to his face.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" she tried to ask before being squeezed in a hug and wincing as he harshly gripped her whipped back
"I'm so sorry Emi," he released her and stepped back, "I don't know what came over me," muffled cries brought his attention to the cloaked skeleton still on the ground, "You," he said with such a deep and accusing tone, that everyone felt a shiver run down their spine, "You attack my girlfriend, lie to my face, lie to her, threaten war upon this land, drag me into this mess, put an enchantment on me, and try to get me to kill the woman I love?" at that the demons lightly gasp, "All for what? Power?"
"My Lord, there must be sorcery around here I swe-"
"Enough," with one wave of his hand a large bolt of dark energy shoot s out and blasts right into Malacoda's chest. Lucifer and Ashiya quickly back away as blood begins to seep out of the entry wound and down into the grass. He turns back to Emi, "You never came here to fight me, did you?" she gently shakes her head, "So you're saying I'm an over emotional idiot?" he sheepishly smiles, to which Lucifer and Ashiya join in on nodding their heads in agreement, "Then let us spill no more blood!" he addresses the demons, "We shall not be lowered to the stereotypes of demons! We shall rise above this, we shall be better than what we are told we are supposed to be! It is our own destiny to choose if we are to be good," he looks back at Emi, "or evil. It is not fate, it is not destiny, but our own hearts that controls us. We have the will to do whatever we want. Lower your weapons and let us be good for a change!" he raises his arms and waits for a response. Slowly you can hear weapons drop. One by one, shields, swords, spears, and bows fall to the grass. Soon the demons are cheering.
"He loves his speeches," Ashiya chimes in
"This one was especially cheesy," Lucifer adds
"Emi!" a voice calls out, and in rides Suzuno, covered in dried demon blood. Woops, bad timing. But nobody seems to notice as the demons head back to their shadows, their caves, their small huts, and villages. Maou, Emi, Lucifer, and Ashiya remain.
"What about the humans?" Ashiya asks, glancing at the castle walls
"I will tell them," Emi offers, "I don't think the humans will be as welcoming, even if they heard that speech," he nods in agreement and watches her and Suzuno ride to the town
"So why did you two not join along with me, I thought you hated humans?" Maou asks, suddenly extremely confused
"Eh, they've grown on me," Lucifer shrugs, "Besides, it'd be like killing our own kind,"
"I could not stand to see you so upset, my Lord, and I know killing humans would not have solved your problem," Ashiya thinks for a moment, "Love did. How cliché,"
They sit on the grass for another half hour before the two girls ride back into view.
"Ready to go back?" Maou asks with excitement
"Who's going to run the demons while you're gone?" Suzuno curiously looks at Maou
"Eh, they'll figure it out," he laughs. With enough magic from the five of them, they conjure up a large portal and walk through. Lights swirl and dance around as the dimension door closes behind them, leaving the only casualty of the cancelled war behind on the ground.
"So we still don't know how you were enchanted?" Suzuno asks, stepping out of the portal and into a random store closed for the night
"The only way anyone can enchant someone with Maou's power is if they had help from a high priest," Emi notes
"So there is still corruption on the inside," Suzuno almost groans
"There always will be, but guess what?" Emi smiles, looking back as the light from the portal fades away, "We don't have to worry about that anymore," they all let out a relieved sigh and walk out the back door of the store and into the Earthly night. Cars drive up and down the brightly lit roads, lights flicker and flash from stop lights and people's windows. The world is as it should be. Maou leaves to walk Emi home, also hoping for some alone time so he can apologize five hundred more times for ever doubting her. Ashiya, Suzuno, and Lucifer walk back to their apartments, Suzuno and Lucifer lingering in the hallway for a little while longer.
"Arigato," Suzuno bows
"For what?" Lucifer asks, trying to go back to his monotone, unimpressed self
"For helping me to save Emi,"
"Well I got you beat up, thrown in a cell, and made you face fifty demons by yourself, I don't think that calls for a thanks," he mumbles, turning a hint of pink as he looks at his demonic boots. He doesn't need to lift his head to see her walk up to him, kiss him on the cheek, and then scurry into her apartment without as much as a word leaving poor Lucifer dumbfounded and oh so very lost in his thoughts.
They were gone for three days, tops. And thankfully, nothing has changed. Maou was not fired for missing two days of work, Emi previously called in sick so she was excused, Lucifer's computer still worked, Suzuno managed to get most of the blood off of her kimono, and Ashiya was happy to see the noodles that were left on the table, are still good.
Yay! Battle is over, well lack of battle anyways. I hope I explained everything thoroughly about what happened and how it led up to those events, the last thing I want is for you guys to be ultra confused. Sorry for any typos, or grammar goofs in the last two chapters, I sort of sped through them.
These characters are pretty OOC and this world seems slightly AU to me, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Sorry (wow I say 'sorry' a lot) if their personalities aren't really "spot on" either.
Either way, you guys are the best, and I'm so happy to see this Anime/Manga/LightNovel get the attention it deserves!