"So, he's just some punk angel that's too big for his britches," Maou asked, looking over Urushihara, who looked like he'd been beaten pretty badly, "how'd he beat you then?"

"I don't know," Lucifer said, "but I think we have a bigger problem."

"And that is?"

"I think he's a higher up for a large company. With his kind of power and resources, we may very well see a hitman or a police set up if we don't comply with his demands," Urushihara said.

"You've been watching too many cop shows," Maou said, shrugging off Lucifer's words, "we'll find him and we'll beat him until he gives Ashiya back."

"I don't think we can-"

"Whether or not we can, we have no other choice," Maou said loudly, drowning out Urushihara's doubts, "we don't have whatever he's looking for, and he won't just accept that, will he? No, we have to fight. We have to hope we can get Ashiya back. There has to be something we can do!"

"I have a few ideas," said an unfamiliar voice.

From the door, which was hanging wide open, came the voice of a man, deep and mature, yet still in the prime of his life. He looked around at the assembled people and finally gave a polite bow, stepping into the apartment.

"Um… who are you," Emi asked, getting ready to summon her sword in case he was hostile.

"I am the Archangel Raphael, and I'm currently working with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to find and remove Bernael, who it seems is beginning to build and stockpile magical power. Even from Ente Isla, we were able to sense his malignant presence growing stronger, and we decided to investigate."

Everyone looked in awe at the man, who could've very well passed for a detective or a private investigator. He had short brown hair and his eyes were red, yet they instilled a sense of passion and warmth, rather than evil and hatefulness. He had a neatly trimmed goatee, and upon his neck was a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it. Under his tan trench coat he wore a plain suit, and judging from the bulge at his side, he was carrying a firearm.

"You're Raphael," Emi asked, raising an eyebrow, "the Archangel?"

"Yes, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Emilia Justina, and yours, Satan Jacob."

"Urushihara," Maou said quickly, "can you confirm this is-"

"Lucifer," Raphael said, eyeing Lucifer with a mixture of dislike and awe, "I heard you were missing, but I thought you'd died. It's good to see you."

"I wish I could say the same," Urushihara said, "I take it you're here to assassinate me? Or maybe to take me back to heaven for divine punishment?"

"As a matter of fact," Raphael said, stepping further inside the apartment and shutting the door behind him, "I'm not. I was sent only to investigate Bernael, and when I tailed him I saw him talking to you guys. Finally I saw him bust straight through the shop window, and I saw you, Lucifer, give chase, and suddenly I saw the Devil and the Hero as well, along with the Bailiff of the Inquisition. Official sources indicate you are all simply missing in Ente Isla."

"Hold on, you're an angel? You look more like an average cop."

"I've been here for some time, tailing Bernael, tracking his whereabouts, and the whereabouts of one of his accomplices who came here with him," Raphael explained.

"So… you're not going to take me in," Urushihara asked.

"You're not gonna try to steal my sword," Emi asked.

"You're not gonna try to kill me," Maou asked.

"Nope," Raphael said, raising an eyebrow at the three.

"Huh," Emi, Maou and Lucifer all said, their heads tilting with bewilderment. Maybe all angels weren't creepy, short stalkers that enjoyed torturing people.

"That being said, I'd like to take a statement from all of you," Raphael said quickly, pulling out a notepad and smiling like he had the best job in the world.

"Hold on a sec… you actually are a cop?!"

"Yup! Now, I'm still getting the hang of Japanese, so don't talk to fast! And then I'll need your fingerprints , too."

"What do you need fingerprints for," Suzuno asked, eyeing the large archangel with distrust.

"For my collection," he said happily, pulling out a large manila envelope from within the folds of his trench coat and showing them all a thick sheaf of papers, all of which seemed to have been copied from official police paperwork and filled out by seemingly anyone Raphael could get to participate.

"Wait, so you're not a cop," Urushihara asked.

"Oh, I'm a cop," Raphael said, "but I'm also an avid collector of fingerprints. Not sure why, the human fingerprint is just so mesmerizing and detailed, to think that you can identify individual people just by looking at one's fingerprint is astounding."

"But what about your fingerprints," Chiho asked, "why don't you admire your own?"

"I don't have any," Raphael said, "or I should say, I do, but they are… generic, I guess, manufactured so that I am not under suspicion while I'm here."

"Oh," Chiho said.

"I think we'll all pass on the fingerprints… and the statements," Maou said slowly, trying not to completely crush the large archangel's hobbies.

"Hold on a moment," Suzuno said, "you spoke of one of Bernael's accomplices? Who exactly are you talking about?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss that information with you," Raphael said, becoming serious and stony faced, though from his reaction, it was not someone to be trifled with.

"Raphael," Lucifer began, I command you to reveal-"

"I really shouldn't," Raphael said, shivering a little and looking over his shoulder, all eyes upon him.

"Give us a name, dammit," Maou said, striding forward, "one of my subordinates is in danger!"

"Demons are not my concern," Raphael said.

"Unless your superiors command it," Urushihara said, "I always thought you to be a compassionate and loving person. Wasn't it you that always spouted that life is sacred?"

"War changes people," Raphael said, looking extremely duressed by everyone's pestering.

"Ashiya could die," Maou said, looking Raphael in the eye where he knelt by the table in the center of the apartment, "I know of you, Raphael. Even during the war, you were always one of the kindest and most honorable opponents the demons faced. You took prisoners when others showed no quarter, and you delighted in learning about culture from the various demons you took captive. I know because many of them made it back alive. Now I understand you may be restricted, but if the information could save a life, then it's very important you share it with us. I tell you what, if we can beat Bernael, you can take him in and I'll get my General back. Everyone wins."

"You can't go up against Bernael," Raphael said indignantly, "he's an angel-"

"Was an angel," Urushihara corrected, sitting down at the laptop and typing as fast as he could, though Maou didn't know why.

"-was an angel, and is now a fallen angel of Darkness," Raphael finished, "and since he fell from grace, he's become more powerful than you can imagine."

"I kinda called that one," Lucifer interrupted again, still typing away madly, his fingers dancing across the small keyboard of the laptop.

"Like hell you did, you picked on him more than any of the other angels, you were horrible to him," Raphael stated.

"Yeah," Urushihara said, looking at Raphael with hard violet eyes, "because I could sense that without being shackled down by all those bastards in Heaven, he'd actually become much stronger. An angel of Darkness ,serving the light? That's like Maou trying to ingest Celestial Force, it weakens him, and that's exactly why Heaven held onto dear of Bernael for as long as possible: so that he couldn't grow stronger. Him and that one angel he was in love with-"

Urushihara broke off, his eyes wide and his hands beginning to shake.

"That's who it is," Urushihara said suddenly, looking at Raphael for confirmation, "it's his girlfriend, Beliel, she's his accomplice."

"Beliel," Maou asked, "isn't she evil?"

"Yeah," Raphael said quietly, not looking at anyone.

"She's literally the incarnation of Evil, some called her the sworn enemy of God, his true opposite. As an angel, she was in charge of finding Evil and squashing it out. She was a strong warrior, probably one of Heaven's best, but she was also ridiculed for being an angel of Evil, as such, she was also given the title of Worthlessness and Uselessness. I mean, an angel of Evil? Kinda useless, right?"

"But now she and her boy toy have fallen from grace," Maou said, crossing his arms, "and they've become much more of a threat than Heaven could've guessed they would, so they sent you, Raphael, here to wipe them out."

Raphael said nothing, but from the fearful look in his eyes, Maou had hit the nail on the head. Urushihara nodded and tilted his head, still typing away furiously.

"That's sounds about right to me," he said wearily.

"Shut up, Lucifer," Raphael said.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Urushihara's eyes bored into Raphael's, the red meeting the purple in a fierce mental battle. However, Raphael soon crumbled under Urushihara's glare.

"Listen here, Raphael, if you and yours made the mess, then why do you think we'll help you clean it up," Lucifer asked, turning his gaze back to his laptop.

"What do you mean," Raphael asked, looking around at everyone in a confused manner.

"Well, why else would you follow us here, why not just take Bernael and Beliel out by yourself? Or do you find that even you aren't a match for them anymore?"

"I came here to investigate what Bernael is after, if I can figure that out, then maybe I can stop him," Raphael said defensively, holding up his hands.

"Something called a fragment of Yesod," Maou said, waving a hand dismissively, "never heard of the thing, but that isn't the issue at hand, my friend is in danger and Bernael has taken him hostage. Emi, Suzuno, Lucifer and myself are all strong, but if what you guys say is true, Bernael and Beliel are strong too, very strong. We'll need someone to help us take them down," Maou said, looking meaningfully at Raphael, whose warm scarlet eyes met Maou's bloody crimson ones and through their connection, allowed Raphael to sense Maou's unhappiness with the situation and the compassion he had for his friend.

'Maybe this Devil isn't all that bad, it seems he truly cares for his comrades,' Raphael thought before making his decision.

"I'll help you," Raphael stated to the room, "however, we do this my way, I am the one responsible for Bernael's capture and relocation and I won't have you ruining my operation."

"Fair enough, but if I sense that Ashiya is in danger and you are not doing all within your power to help me recover my General, I will disregard any orders you give to make sure he comes home safe, understand? My only objective is my friend, and your angel is nothing more than another obstacle in my path that I intend to remove."

For a moment, Maou felt his former rank as the Demon King fall upon his brow once more, the crown heavy upon his head. Urushihara, however, did not sound very convinced of Maou's valiance.

"You may find him hard to remove, Maou," he said tiredly, looking extremely sleepy at his computer, "looks like he's much higher up than I thought. Turns out Bernael and Beliel are the CEO's of Fony Inc. I hacked into the company's database to find them, but I couldn't find any matches, all I found was a picture of them at a Christmas party a long time ago."

Urushihara turned the screen and showed Maou a picture that was clearly very old. It must have been sixty or seventy years old, but there, in the picture, was Bernael, clear as day. The photo was faded with time and deterioration, but the fallen angel's face was unmistakable. It looked like a company picture, with lots of employees, and there, in the margins, was a scrawled list of names.

"Bernie and Bel, the CEO's of Fony," Raphael read aloud, looking closely at the picture.

"This is fake, right," Maou asked, "there's no way they're that old."

"No, this is real, and I have reason to believe that they have been here much longer than we know. How else would they have managed to rise to such prestigious heads of their company? No, they have been here for years, decades, maybe even a century or two," Raphael said.

Maou took a closer look at the girl hanging on Bernael's arm. She looked young, very young, but something about the small smile on her face and the deep sadness buried within her eyes gave off a sense of age and experience, like the eyes of an ancient sage plastered upon a young woman's face. There was something eerily familiar about her to Maou and he noticed that she was quite beautiful, though the photo was in black and white, so no colors were visible. Bernael himself looked rather moody and he scowled at the camera grumpily, as if he'd rather be doing almost anything else. His sense of style was still intact, and he looked like a member of the old Yakuza gangs, with a large fedora hat and a swanky suit. Even so, he still looked just as he had only a few hours ago when he'd abducted Ashiya. Maou felt his stomach do a somersault as he thought about Bernael's face. That bastard would pay for hurting Ashiya. Maou would make sure of it, and he didn't give a crap if he crossed the line, he would wipe the floor with the Angel of Darkness and take back his friend, one way or another.

"So you're saying that Bernael might have been here a hundred years ago," Emi asked, still looking unconvinced.

"Possibly, maybe even longer than that, we aren't entirely sure what date he came here, but this is the oldest evidence I've seen of his existence, and I'm guessing that Urushihara cracked into Bernael's computer to get this picture," Raphael said, glancing at Lucifer.

"Yeah, I got it right from Bernael's personal laptop. It was the only thing I could get before they booted me off the network though," he said, exhaling.

"Hold on a sec, Urushihara, could they have traced your IP address back here," Maou asked, "or is there any evidence that you hacked into their network? I can't be held legally responsible for you hacking a company's networking system, I'll miss work!"

"Now who's been watching too many cop shows," Urushihara said with a sour face.

"Just answer my question."

"No, there's no way they could know it was me. Bernael might suspect me, but any evidence implicating me is now…gone."

Urushihara tapped quickly at the keys and vigorously hit the mousepad, a large screen popping up that said something about a system restore. Within seconds, the computer had been wiped of the last half hour's activity and no one would ever know.

"So you've deleted all the evidence," Maou said, "can't they run a key logging program to see what you've been typing though?"

"Not without probable cause, and seeing as the only thing they would be able to pick up was a recent system restore, there's no way that anything I have would prompt them to do so. We're safe, from the authorities anyway…."

"Now we just have to worry about this fallen angel," Suzuno said grimly, "I think that we should all go to meet him. I bet he'll bring his accomplice with him, just in case."

"Chiho," Maou said, looking into the corner where she sat silently, "I think you should leave."

"Are you sure," she asked quietly, looked positively petrified at the thought of leaving the apartment.

"She can't leave," Emi said quickly, "Bernael has seen her, she could be in danger at home if he decides to attack there as well. You forget that just because the police won't come for us doesn't mean he won't."

"He won't," Maou said, "if he thinks we have the Yesod, I don't think he'd risk a messy kidnapping attempt now that we are all on high alert, and just because he's seen Chi doesn't mean he knows where she lives or who she is, he might have just thought her a random bystander, a normal person with no magic! If she stays here, then she'll be in danger, but for now the safest place for her is at home."

"I'll go," Chiho said, standing and looking rather pale, "but I'll try to get a hold of you guys tomorrow or something to make sure you're alright."

"We'll be fine, trust me, we'll bring back Ashiya and deal with this angel in no time," Maou said, winking at Chi, who immediately forgot her fright and became flustered. She gathered her things with a red face and left as the sun set in the sky.

"You really shouldn't take advantage of her feelings to get her to listen to your commands," Suzuno hissed at Maou, who scowled at her with a manic fire in his eyes.

"She needed to go, I did it for her own good."

"But still-"

"Once again, the Bailiff of the Inquisition shows a lack of moral fortitude and empathy," Maou said, shaking his head, "maybe you should go to your own apartment, I'll take care of this by myself."

"First off, stop being a jackass," Emi said, striding up behind Maou and thrusting her fist into the back of his head, making him intake a sharp breath and rub the welt he was forming furiously, "second off, you both have valid points, but we need to focus on the matter at hand. Even if it seems there are no other options than combat, we should at least consider all the possibilities."

Emi sat at the table, so that it was one of them on each side and Urushihara at the computer. Aside from Lucifer, it appeared to be a somber meeting between Generals, or perhaps a council deciding the fate of the world. In reality, it was a Demon King in a young man's body, a Hero in a rather boring outfit, a small clergywoman in a kimono, and a large, muscular angel with a heart tattoo upon his neck, all deciding what to do in what seemed like a hopeless situation.

"Raphael, seeing as you are the leader of this mission, I think you should share your ideas with us first," Emi said, looking pointedly at the angel.

"I have one," Suzuno interrupted, staring daggers at Maou, "why don't we just let Maou do this all by himself. Chances are if he does, no one is getting out of that museum alive, then we can go back to Ente Isla as heroes and get rewarded for slaying the Devil when in actuality he fell victim to his own emotions and ego."

"Big talk from such a short woman," Maou sneered vehemently.

"You won't remember me as short when I crush you!"

"Bring it on, murderer!"

"Deceiver!"

"Church dog!"

"Lord of Idiots!"

"Old woman!"

"Excuse me?!"

Maou smiled, knowing he'd found chink in Suzuno's armor.

"That's right, I called you old. Just how old are you, Suzuno, hmm? Far older than Emi, I think, and yet you look so young. I must say, for a grandma you still look and act very young and naive."

"Don't talk to Suzuno like that," Urushihara said loudly, turning from his computer to face Maou.

"I'll speak to her however I like," Maou hollered imperiously.

"Suzuno is trying to help you, in her own weird way," Emi interjected loudly, "she's pointing out that you will need all the help you can get, and that distancing yourself from us isn't going to help Ashiya!"

"Everyone shut up," bellowed Raphael, causing everyone to look at the large man who was now pulsating with a bright red aura that seemed to strip away the hostility like a power washer on a decades old paintjob. Within moments, the tension in the room was forgotten, and everyone was calm once more.

"Suzuno," Maou said weakly, tears in his eyes as he thought about Ashiya, "I'm sorry, I-"

"Save it," Suzuno said, furiously wiping away her own tears upon the sleeve of her kimono, "I know you are simply worried for Ashiya. I am too, we all are. I will help you in your endeavor to bring him home."

Maou did not say it, but Suzuno's support made him feel much better, as if the chances of Ashiya's survival had doubled simply with her pledge of assistance. Maou turned to face Emi, who was looking rather strange, her eyes glittering as she stared intently at Maou, as if lost in thought. Maou cleared his throat and the faraway look in her eyes died as she came back to herself, noticing the direction of her gaze. She said nothing, but turned her attention to Raphael, not wanting to prolong her eye contact with Maou as the butterflies began to flutter violently in her navel.

"I think we should all remain calm and collected," Raphael said, "as an angel of darkness, Bernael has a very powerful sway on people, as he can look right into the darkest recesses of your being and pluck you to his tune like a guitar. What I've just done was sort of the opposite. As the angel of love, joyfulness, compassion and empathy, I can ward off Bernael's negativity."

"That's why you were selected to track him down," Lucifer said, "because how better to fight Darkness that pure love, right?"

"Bingo," Raphael said, wagging a finger at Urushihara, "precisely why I was chosen, but he's not the problem. I can, for the most part, undo any spell he creates as I am essentially his opposite. However, the variable I can't control or manipulate in any way is his girlfriend, Beliel, the Mistress of Evil."

"But how are we supposed to fight evil incarnate," Emi asked, "can't love ward off evil, too?"

"No. You see, Emilia, love cannot simply ward off evil. Evil is not a feeling, it is not a choice, is it an act or way of life that goes against someone's own moral code. Even the most morally dubious and terrible people can find love, if only in those similar to themselves. Evil can be a tough thing to identify, as some evils are necessary, or are done with every intention of being noble. With all of its intricacies, there is no way I can fully counter Beliel's power. She is the one being that angels fear… aside from the Devil, I guess."

"Thank you," Maou said, "I'm guessing that she'll be my priority, though."

"How so," Raphael asked, "I thought your powers were diminished."

"Far from it, my powers have been… growing exponentially. I can feed off of the negative emotions of humans."

Maou's eyes subconsciously made for Emi, but he willed them to return to Raphael, who was watching Maou closely, looking at him with newfound suspicion. He scratched his large, dimpled chin and raised an eyebrow, his curiosity growing. Maou felt a strange sense of trespass within his being, and he realized his positive feelings were being gone through by the angel in front of him. Maou, fearing for the safety of his secret, which was wrapped around the core of his being like a flag, quickly intercepted the internal interloper and forced him out of Maou's head, which made Raphael scowl suspiciously, but he did not make any sign of having seen Maou's secret.

"So, you are devouring negative emotions from innocent humans," Raphael replied casually, his eyes hard and calculating.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think I would be alive if I were stealing the emotions of humans without any thoughts as to what the repercussions might be? No, Emi and Suzuno would've killed me long before now; I take from those whose anger is unhealthy and ravaging. Just a few days ago I took a large helping of seething hatred from a man who got pickles on his burger when he asked for none! And I will be the one to fight Beliel, as it seems we may have no other choice but to fight fire with fire."

Emi looked at Maou closely, noting how his face betrayed no emotion. Even so, this was quite astounding, as it was the first time Maou had ever come close to admitting he was evil. Still, it was in a rather roundabout and indirect way, so no one else seemed to be quite as surprised as Emi felt. For the first time, Emi realized how much Maou had revealed to her and only her regarding his plans for a brighter future. Perhaps if more people knew of his benevolence, they wouldn't think him so evil.

"Fire with fire? Pardon my saying so, Satan, but your fire will be nothing more than a match before Beliel's inferno. Unlike you, she has been able to feed on an entire company of overworked and underpaid employees unchecked for who knows how long, her stores of power will be nigh on limitless."

"I have something she doesn't though," Maou said, "something that gives me a reason to fight."

"And what would that be," Raphael asked, "your sense of justice? Your pride in the fast food industry? Or just the life of your General?"

"All of those things," Maou said, glaring defiantly at the angel, "along with the fact that I have an entire race dependent upon my return. My General is also my friend and I…"

Maou broke off, almost letting his feelings for Emi slip off of his loose tongue. He blushed, looked away from Raphael and cleared his throat again. He felt another mental probe from Raphael but he was prepared for it and he built a wall around his mind, making it impossible for Raphael to poke around his head.

"I have things I need to do," Maou summarized lamely.

"Alright, so I will face Bernael, you will face Beliel, that leaves Emilia, Crestia Bell and Lucifer."

Everyone winced as they were called by their real names, instead of their Earthen aliases.

"Raphael," Suzuno said, "you should stop calling us by those names post haste. Anyone listening will be inclined to investigate. I am Suzuno Kamazuki, Emilia is Emi Yusa, Satan Jacob is Sadao Maou and Lucifer is Urushihara Hanzo. What is your alias?"

"They call me Raphael," the large angel said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"How incredibly… blunt," Urushihara said, still fixed upon his computer screen.

"Well, my question remains unanswered. So far, the only strategy we have is that Sata- sorry, Maou will hold off Beliel and I will face Bernael, so what are you three bringing to the table?"

"I'll obviously have to fight off Bernael with you," Lucifer said, sounding thoroughly unexcited about the prospect.

"What makes you say that," Emi asked, "and how do we know you won't turn on us?"

"If you knew how I treated Bernael back when he served under me, you'd realize how stupid that question really is. He'll never consider me a true friend, so even if I did turn on all of you, I can guarantee he'd betray me sooner or later. And as to why I am facing Bernael, I am the Lightbringer," Lucifer said simply.

"The Lightbringer?"

"Yeah, that's what my name translates too to ancient Angelic-Ente Islan. I am an angel of Light."

"That would explain your attacks, and how they're all primarily energy and light based," Emi said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that's part of the reason I was so powerful back then. A Bringer of Light? An Angel? Hand in hand job description, I had all the power I wanted and no limit to my career potential. Only way to go was up."

"Until you fell from grace," Suzuno chimed in. Urushihara grimaced and turned slowly towards Suzuno.

"Thanks for that," he said weakly, "I really needed to be reminded of it."

"Well, it's your own fault you fell," Maou said shortly, "and whatever the case, you still became one of my most trusted Generals… in fact, I believe you were there before any of the others… one of my first followers."

His gaze dulled as Maou and Urushihara both drifted back to the early days of the Demon King's life, when Maou was but a childish goblin class demon with a few followers, not yet a true king among his demon peers.

"Whatever the case, Lucifer is correct, he should be the one to help me fight Bernael. I think Emi should help Maou face Beliel," Raphael stated, "and then there's you…"

Everyone looked at Suzuno, who looked rather startled at all the attention. Still she looked at each of them with hard eyes.

"I'll retrieve and revive Ashiya," Suzuno volunteered, "I have expertise in infiltration and extraction missions."

"Can you get him out alive, though," Maou asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean," Suzuno asked indignantly.

"Well, you were primarily an assassin, maybe you should help us fight. Your talents will be invaluable in the battle," Maou said, thinking quickly to recover from his double edged question.

"I will recover Ashiya," Suzuno said, "I owe him that much, then we will join the battle afterward, provided all goes as planned."

Urushihara, who sat at the computer, felt a pang of jealousy, wishing Suzuno would regard him with the level of affection she showed to Ashiya. Still, no one seemed to have any other ideas, for without any knowledge of their foes, or of the museum itself, it made speculation far too varied for any real planning to get done. Still, they bandied about the plan for some time, making little to no adjustments to it and trying to pass the time. Eight o'clock came and went, along with the occupants of Maou's apartment, whom all trooped out of the place like soldiers marching towards battle. After a short walk to the Keio-Shin subway line, they rode in the crowded car for half an hour of intense silence, in which everyone looked rather pale and unsure. Maou felt his old battle instincts float back to the forefront of his mind, all of the days spent training with his followers and the time spent fighting against the demon chieftains and uniting them under his banner. The old bloodlust, the wonderful feeling of power as he fought his way across a battlefield, smiting his opponents with overwhelming magical might, all rotating in his head as he rode through Tokyo.

He wished that were the case now. Now he felt hungry, yet sick at the same time, and every time he tried to think about plans of attack, he found himself staring at the afterimage of Emi that had burned into his eyes. The way she looked when she slept, the way she had held his hands and blushed as they stared at each other, savoring in the pleasure they received from their mutual arrangement. Maou, however, only wished that would happen again, having not known how much he cared about Emi at the time. He desired that closeness more than ever as he wound his way towards where a bloodthirsty fallen angel was waiting for him to arrive with something he didn't have. More than ever he wanted to hold Emi to his side and tell her how much she meant to him, to ignore his responsibilities and just savor the moment with her. He wanted for her to say that Ashiya would be all right, that this was all a bad dream and that he would wake up, but he sat there silently, occasionally stealing a glance at the Hero.

From what he saw, she too was worried, or scared, or simply nervous. Her skin was rather pale, and her long mane of magenta hair stuck out. She was leaning back, twiddling her thumbs and looking down at the floor of the train car they were in. For a moment, Maou considered using his hypnosis to get everyone but the two of them to leave, to force everyone to wait in the next car down as Emi and Maou sat and talked privately.

'Geez, you are the most hopeless Demon King ever,' Maou thought to himself, 'it's never gonna happen, get over it you stupid son of a-'

"Hey Maou," Emi said quietly, "you ok?"

"Fine," Maou said in a quavering voice.

"We'll be riding this train back with Ashiya in tow," Emi said, "just wait, you'll see."

She smiled and gently took Maou's hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. No one else seemed to notice, and the contact made Maou feel like his arm had been electrocuted. Still, he did his best to remain grounded by thinking of Ashiya and giving Emi a small, sad smile in return. She smiled again then let his hand go, once more returning to her brooding state of thumb-twiddling. Maou didn't need his powers to tell him that Emi was just as concerned, if not more so, than he was, though he had no idea why.

Emi silently cursed herself as she withdrew her hand from Maou's, thinking about her nightmare with him in it. The way he was so frightening, so cruel and vicious, but in a strange way, the thought helped her. In her mind's eye, Emi saw herself standing behind the vicious Lord of Demons as he snarled at an unseen foe, defending her from attack. Somehow, the thought that she had such a menacing ally made her feel safe. Still, the thought of that fallen angel made her skin crawl as she remembered her last encounter with Sariel.

Everyone sat wrapped in their own thoughts until the train pulled to a stop in Morishita Station, where they waited a few minutes to board the Oedo line, which would take them much closer to the museum. After a much shorter ride, they alighted in Ryogoku Station, where Emi, Maou, Suzuno, Urushihara and Raphael all looked about for a map of the local attractions. After determining the cardinal directions, they found they were actually within sight of the museum. They followed a walkway that wove between a hospital and a restaurant, over the tracks and bypassing a stadium before they came to a stop in front of the museum. It was a large building, looking almost like the bridge of a large science fiction starship. They looked around nervously at all the people who were still going about their business as they neared the entrance of the obviously closed museum. Still, even when they stood right next to the doors, no one intercepted them. With a deep breath, Raphael pushed on the doors of the museum and found them unlocked. No alarms rang out; nothing made to block their path. It was almost too easy.

They entered the museum and looked around at the exhibits, most of which were large recreations of the life and times of the Edo period, while occasionally there was an artifact or replica that caught the viewer's eye. They wandered carefully across the foyer of the museum until they came across a large side chamber, uninhabited except by two short people, both of whom were dressed in black and looking very out of place in the whitewashed museum. As one, the group approached the figures, who were standing in a hall of what appeared to be display pieces of the Edo period. Upon the far wall was a glass panel with backlighting that displayed a large still-life of Edo, or early Tokyo. It was immensely detailed, and expansive. Set along the front of this was a glass case filled with more relics and display pieces.

One of the figures turned about at the sound of approaching footsteps, and there, amidst the displays, was Bernael, still in his elegant suit, as though he had no fear of being caught on camera in what was supposed to be a closed building.

"Lucy and company," he said, "perfect! Everyone, I'd like you to meet my wife, Beliel."

The figure next to Bernael turned slowly and revealed very little, as she wore a cloak with the hood pulled up. She gently removed it and cast it aside, revealing a slender frame, an ageless, yet youthful face, and sad, purple eyes that were more of a lilac hue, compared to Bernael's purplish black irises. She had long silver hair that was done up into an elegant and resplendent pile upon her head. On top of this, she wore a magenta bowler hat which was decorated with a cluster of what appeared to be roses. She was dressed in a large, frilly black dress, styled like a Victorian Era ball gown with accents that matched her hat and displayed her pale shoulders and neck.

"Hello everyone," she said, her eyes sweeping through them all with an air of boredom until they found Maou and widened considerably, "I am Beliel. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I have heard so much about you from Bernael."

Hello there, Devils, can I interest you in some fanfiction? Sorry for the wait, this chapter is rather bleak, in which several things are outlined and the plot (if there is one) is somewhat explained. I'll have you know a lot of research went into this. For example, both Bernael and Beliel were fallen angels in the Bible, and I did my best to make sure they fit their descriptions, but there isn't much to go on for Beliel, so I combined her with another angel of a similar name and viola! Also, I actually mapped out the train course between Sasazuka and the Edo Tokyo Museum, which is a real museum, and I sort of described it. If you remember how they passed a stadium of some sort... well, that was actually a sumo stadium. It's real, look it up. Like I said, lot's of dialogue, a new angel, no, two new angels, one of them fallen. Also, Raphael's reputation as a being of love and compassion was taken from some random website, can't remember which. I've never actually read the Bible, so I don't know if these profiles actually fit the descriptions I give, but that's the beauty of artistic license. Also, a side note, to those of you who have taken the time to read this story, you have officially made this my most popular fanfic! Thank you all so much, I know I don't say it all that much but you guys are great. Another note, because I just remembered, there are several nods to the future of the series here, for instance, Lucifer being one of Satan's earliest followers, right alongside the Demon Minister Kameo, the Yesod, obviously, and something else I'm currently forgetting. All well, enjoy the story and thank you all for reading!

Another quick thing: this story isn't done, I was simply thanking you all because I noticed how much more popular this was than any of my other stories. I have plans for this, I just can't update this weekend as I got a very large piece of wood stuck under my fingernail from work and typing is very hard for me at the moment. That said, I'll hopefully have the next chapter up next weekend, so this is not the end, and I do have more EmixMaou planned... why do you think I chose Raphael, the Angel of Love for the job, eh?