Emi hardly wanted to believe it, but in her heart she knew that Maou was telling the truth. Every time that she had gotten a shallow answer, or vague orders, every time she questioned anything about the Church and its ways suddenly made sense, as if a veil had been lifted. It seemed so obvious when the veil had been removed, but before, she simply couldn't believe that the Church and its highest ranking members were the culprits.

"It's ok… to cry… Emi."

Emi turned her gaze to the King of Demons, stuck underneath her.

"It's not ok… it's not. The Hero can't cry," Emi whispered.

She heard the voices of her countless tutors.

"Get up! Try again! The Hero cannot fail!"

"The Hero is not a loser!"

"The Devil will not hold back!"

"Heroes never cry!"

But albeit all that, even though she had been trained and trained, even though she was mentally tougher than most, she cried. She wept like a child and fell forward onto Maou's chest. She balled a fist and beat it pathetically against him.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"S-Satan Jacob, I-I will never f-forgive you for the th-things you've done. But… y-you didn't kill my father-r-r. I-It was…"

Emi's tears stopped. The gaping void that was once filled with hate for Maou had momentarily emptied her after she'd learned of Maou's innocence and was suddenly filled once more.

"Olba."

Emi's eyes grew wide as she stared blindly into the face of the slumbering Demon King.

"You will help me find him… Satan. You will lead me to Olba. Then you will both pay for your evils."

Maou woke the early the following morning, so early it was still dark out. He wondered if he could sneak out but then he noticed how terribly groggy he still felt. The amount of celestial force it took to wear him down was severely diminished as he had very little power left to drain before it sapped his vitality.

"Emi."

Maou was suddenly taken by a strange urge. To apologize, to explain. He hadn't realized it when he was the King of Demons, but he had become greedy and power hungry after his army had formed and began to find victory across Ente Isla. He slowly got to his feet, leaning against walls, furniture and anything else that would keep him upright. It wasn't hard to find the only occupied bedroom in the apartment, even with its spaciousness. He was a few feet away when he heard an agonized cry coming from behind the door. Maou silently staggered along, wary of any danger he may face behind the door. Leaning against the door frame, Maou peaked in through the crack between door and its frame.

Emi wept pathetically on the bed, wearing nothing but a shirt and some underwear. She shook with each wail and sob, her eyes red and swollen.

Maou watched, very surprised and confused in his current state. He was very aware of Emi's rather revealing state of undress. Even so, he kept his stupefied gaze upon Emi's face. The pain… her pain… was deep. Maou could taste it using his demonic senses. There was a tendril of fear… fear of failure… fear of pain… there was a vine of sadness. The loss of her father, and a sharp pang of sadness for her Angelic mother's seeming disinterest in Emi. All of her negative emotions were wrapped around a core of irreplaceable loathing and hatred for Satan… Even so, there was something else… something that neither Maou nor Emi could place. It was not hatred, but it almost seemed as if she regarded Satan Jacob and Sadao Maou as two different people. Maou pushed open the door, causing Emi to turn around, her face instantly hardening. Her fists clenched and she trembled, not even realizing she was half nude.

"Maou? What are you doing in here," Emi asked loudly.

"Emi," Maou croaked. His voice broke and he spoke her name again, shuffling closer. He leaned on the door, which swung on its hinges and left Maou with no support. He crumpled to his knees, hunched over and shivering. He gagged and threatened to be sick on the carpet, his world spinning from his quick descent

"Maou!?"

Emi was by Maou's side before even she knew what she was doing. She patted his back, but when he choked and sputtered she delivered a sharp pinch to his side. The pain quickly brought him away from the brink of sickness and he began to calm. The spot where Emi touched him burned, but it filled Maou with complex human feelings and emotions. On a deep and profoundly confusing level, he found he enjoyed the contact.

Emi dragged one of Maou's arms over her shoulders and gripped his waist with the other, helping him stand. They staggered over to Emi's bed and she dropped him slowly onto it. Maou hiccupped but made no attempt to vomit on the bed. Emi sat next to Maou, looking down on him as he lay there, staring up at the dark ceiling.

"Emi. I wanted to tell you…"

"Tell me what?"

Maou's crimson eyes almost seemed to bore into Emi's green eyes.

"I wanted to explain myself… when I became the king of demons… I only wanted what was best for them to start with but… greed gets the best of humans as easily as it does demons it seems. I can't change what I've done but maybe I can atone. I wanted to offer you… a deal."

"A deal with the Devil? What kind of deal?"

"Demons are… powerful, but our power comes from negative emotions. I propose a trade… of sorts. You let me feed off of your… anger… your despair and sadness. I'll drain the pain… you'll feel better. I won't trick you, I swear… I just… this damned Celestial Force got the best of me. This will make me get better faster… please… I can't miss work."

"It wouldn't work. You need the panic of a crowd to regain your power. I don't think you'd be able to take away my pain… could you?"

"Only the strongest of us… demons… could do it. Only the most powerful have the needed precision and willpower. Please Emi… I … can't miss work…"

Tears built at the corners of Maou's eyes, and not for the first time he cursed his weakness, his frail body and his slow mind.

"I don't know…"

"What do you have to lose? I can make you feel better. I can take the pain. I doubt I could do much more than… heal myself with the petty emotions you would feed me. Please…"

Emi didn't know what to say. He was right, of course. The negativity of one person wouldn't be enough to bring back his full power, but Emi's hatred was an inferno before her feelings of fear and despair. He would certainly gain something substantial from it. Then she heard his voice… and with a start she realized something. The Devil was begging for her to help him. He had to work and he couldn't risk missing it because of Emi's failed plans.

"Emilia… please."

She looked down at the broken form before her, the once-great demon king. She noticed the tears forming on his eyes and the look of desperation on his face.

"I… will help you. But if you trick me, Suzuno will know. She will take you down."

"Thank you… so much. I can never repay you."

"No, you can't," Emi whispered to herself.

Maou had Emi prepare for the ritual. She brought out a bunch of little tea candles and lit them, covering every available surface. Next she helped Maou sit up and propped him up against some pillows. Finally, she lit some incense and got Maou something to drink and some crackers. She sat cross-legged across from him as he slowly nibbled away. After he ate and drank his fill he set them off to the side on a little bedside table. He reached out with both hands.

"What?"

"Give me your hands."

"What! Why?"

Maou rolled his eyes as Emi tightly wrapped her arms around herself.

"My powers are weak as it is. Physical contact will allow the spell to work better. Unless you like feeling all that negativity bottled up?"

Emi lowered her hands slowly and allowed Maou to grip them lightly.

"Your hands are so warm."

"Yeah, you may want to wash your hands after this," Maou said with a sinister smile.

"I don't know if what I have is contagious."

Emi pouted and Maou watched as her face turned the color of her hair.

"Just hurry up and get this over with!"

Maou blinked and nodded. He was beyond tired and this would definitely help in his recovery. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"Extractum affectibus mulier coram me, et nomen meum potentia!"

Emi heard the chant, not liking the way it sounded. She felt her emotions burn brightly as the magic took effect. Then she felt them slowly work their way down her shoulders from her heart, hot and fiery. They burned through the veins in her arms and flowed out of her fingertips and into Maou. He opened his eyes and continued his chanting. His eyes began to glow and his black shadowy aura appeared. It seemed to be getting steadily darker and thicker. Maou's eyes began to burn like coals in a fire.

"Extractum affectibus mulier coram me, et nomen meum potentia!"

The flow of emotions increased with each syllable. Emi became frightened, her fear being drained away as fast as it was replenished.

"Emi."

She looked up and met Maou's eyes. Even though they bright and glowing, she could see the dark circles under his eyes. She could hear his voice, as human as ever.

"Calm down," Maou whispered, leaning forward. "Your fear is making me strong… like really strong. Try to focus Emi. Give me the stuff you don't want. Give me your anger."

"Anger," Emi muttered.

Emi knew that particular emotion all too well. Her loathing of Satan, her hatred of the church. All of it. She was sick. Sick and tired and she needed a break. Suddenly she became furious and Maou's aura flared, growing larger and larger. The curtains in the room blew in a gentle, yet nonexistent breeze. And then she felt her anger ebb away. She felt it sucked out like poison from a wound. She felt at peace, as if he'd just extracted a tumor from her soul. And while Emi felt at peace, Maou felt powerful. To strengthen the connection Maou laced his fingers through hers. Emi didn't seem to notice as she shoved the emotions she felt onto him.

Her anger was more than he had anticipated. She had a lot bottled up for being so young. He felt the raw, hot anger pour into him like molten lead. He felt the chilling, mind numbing fear. Both of these faded and were replaced by a substantial amount of vitality. He felt strong. He felt confident… he felt ready for work tomorrow!
"Caulis aestus Hi motus animorum coniunctio discernit!"

The flow and rush of emotions dimmed and finally stopped. Emi and Maou held hands for a moment longer, both breathing heavily and sweating slightly.

"Was it good for you?"

Smack!

A hand print appeared on Maou's face. Emi had let go of Maou with one hand and dragged him closer with the other, using the free hand to land a blow on his face.

Hello again, here's another chapter for whoever the hell actually reads these aside from myself. Now, this chapter was rather fun to write, and the ending was probably my favorite scene so far.