I really don't know what got into me…

Hear Me

They were winning. That much she could tell.

Emilia looked around her, glancing at both defeated angels and demons with grief. War was never a pretty thing to watch, much less be in the middle. But here she was again, fighting to win one.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, all the beatings she took taking its toll. Physical and mental alike.

.

It was funny how things could turn upside down with such ease. The people she fought for once, were now fighting against her. And her once sworn enemy …was now her closest ally. They were fighting for the same thing. For the same reason. For the same person. The one thing that kept her going; Alas=Ramus.

Or so she liked to believe.

Although she never voiced or admitted to herself as a matter of fact; over time, she developed another reason to fight. Another purpose to live.

A future with Sadao Maou.

She tried to deny it. Oh, how hard she tried to deny it. But deep in her heart, she knew she wanted it. A simple, normal life with Sadao Maou, the MgRonald's diligent part-timer and Alas=Ramus, their daughter.

.

A horrified yell from a voice she knew all too well, made her snap her head in the direction it came from. The devastated scream came from the scary and fearless demon general, Alciel. Emi's own fearful eyes scanned his form, looking for the fatal wound that incited the scream. But …there was none.

The next thing she saw, had her blanched form frozen where she stood.

The demon king himself was sporting the lethal wound Emi searched for, and his limp body was falling from the sky.

The world around Emi seemed to slow down, as her wide eyes focused solely on him. an eerier silence rang in her ears, and her heartbeat stopped for a moment. One second her mind was blank; and next, it was racing with incomprehensible thoughts. Suddenly …everything came crashing down on her.

"No!"

She could hear the pain and disbelief in her own voice, as she barely noticed herself fighting her way to him. Her hand stretched to reach him before he met the ground. Emi caught Maou seconds before he hit the ground and hugged him tightly to her, taking the impact. Her knees buried to the ground painfully and her side wound started to bleed again, but she didn't notice either of those things.

Emi's trembling hands cradled Maou's head gently and placed it in her lap. His heart was pierced deeply. Emi placed one hand on the wound to stop the bleeding. It was no use.

She knew it...

Shaking her head as if to clear her blurry vision, Emi hugged Maou's head to her chest. The remains of the horn she cut off long ago was digging into her side wound, but she couldn't care less. She actually welcomed it. The physical pain distracted her from the unbearable pain inside her heart. She felt like her own heart was pierced too.

"M-Maou? H-Hey…a-answer me…" she whispered softly, as if she feared her own voice would hurt him more.

.

Why? Why did she never tell him? Why did she hold back all this time? She was confused of her feelings. She was afraid of others' opinions. She was lost as to what she should do. Everything she knew changed all of a sudden. Her very purpose of becoming a hero …became a lie. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know what to believe. She didn't know who was right. She didn't know what she wanted.

But at the same time …she knew everything.

.

Suddenly, Maou stirred and opened his eyes slowly, coughing a little. Hope flared in Emi's heart when his eyes focused on her, flashing with recognition.

"H-hey…" he whispered and attempted to smile, only to wince in pain.

Emi shook her head "S-stop talking. We have to get you patched up." She made a serious face, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. But then, she noticed his sad eyes.

Of course, …he knew.

.

As she spent more and more time with the part-timer Sadao Maou, she saw more and more sides of him. After some time, she noticed she didn't hate him.

They fought, with each other and together. They had their moments, but they had fun too. Then she noticed, she didn't mind calling him a friend.

The arrival of Alas=Ramus changed their lives drastically. They were given the title of parents. They struggled together to give what was best for the little girl. And then she noticed…

.

"E-emi, l-listen to m-me…" watching his struggle to speak broke her heart even more. Biting onto her trembling lip, Emi nodded mutely. He opened his mouth to speak, but ended up coughing and spitting out blood. Emi helped him to not choke on it and wiped his mouth. She was covered in his blood. The coppery smell was disturbing her immensely …because of what it indicated.

She sniffled "H-how are y-you feeling?" was all she could ask. Maou made a face "F-fant-tastic, o-obviously" he stuttered out, barely managing a mocking smile. A wry smile crossed Emi's lips "Y-you idiot!" she sobbed out, more tears spilling onto his face.

A weak hand covered in blood reached for her face, and Emi quickly grabbed it placing it on her cheek. She saw that it was getting harder for him to breath. "I-Is everyone e-else safe?" she nodded her head, even though she was not sure "Y-yeah, w-we won…".

"A-las=Ramus?"

"Safe"

"Ah t-that's g-good"

"Y-yeah…"

Maou looked into her eyes deeply, his eyes filled with pain, regret and…

"E-Emi, I-I love y-you…"

She sobbed harder. She always wanted to say those words to him. Just as she wanted to hear him say that, she wanted him to hear her saying those words too.

"I-I love you t-too, Maou…"

But he never heard it.

Oopse…bye!