Welp, as I thought this final bit is going to be split in two. So after this, you get one more regular chapter and an epilogue.

Emi couldn't remember the last time she'd walked this far. The ache of her feet and the weight of the child being carried on her back were making their presence known. Even so, she pressed on. Sometime during their long trek, a sense of urgency had worked its way into her brain until she couldn't do anything but keep moving. Mia's children had grown tired, but even then they didn't stop. Mia had protested, but something in Emi's look had melted away the protest. Instead, the two children came to rest on their backs. She wasn't sure if the girl on her back was still awake, but it didn't matter at the moment. They pressed on in silence.

Finally, Emi slowed. The castle was finally visible in all its glory. It struck an imposing figure, hidden in shadow by the sinking sun.

"We're almost there," Mia's whispered words reached her ears, awed by the sight before her. Emi nodded.

"No time to stop," She replied, "Who knows what's out here," They hadn't encountered any troubles yet on their journey, but all she could think about were Mia's words the night before. Emi let out a sigh. Of course the demons wouldn't have stopped after their leader left. What had she expected? And what of their leader now? She knew he'd rejoined his kind. He had to have learned from his time on Earth, right? She could only hope it was true. The idea of fighting him now after having fought at his side wasn't as appealing as it had once been. But no. She'd do what she had to, no matter what.

They kept walking.

…

Satan couldn't bring himself to look back at his troops, and yet he kept moving forward. He could feel Alciel's worried looks, cast at him regularly every few minutes. Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore it.

He could see the turrets of the humans' castle towering up above everything around it. He pushed away his doubts, refusing to listen to the niggling voice in his head warning him against this. It was either this or his demons killed the humans, he reminded himself as if the reasoning behind his actions would make a difference. No. It was too late for doubts now.

The army marched on.

…

Finally Emi came before the large gates. The castle walls reached up far above her head, seemingly unyielding to everything. She steeled herself, before calling up to whoever was in charge of the gate. Emilia the Hero would finally have to be back.

"Hello!" She shouted, craning her head back to look upwards. A faintly visible silhouette leaned out, peering down at them.

"Who's there?" The man called down. Mia stepped up, responding to the man.

"Please! We're refugees from one of the nearby villages! My children need safety!" She called up to him, voice showing her desperation. The man's silhouette disappeared, and the gate in front of them cracked open. A woman stepped out, smiling spreading across her face when she saw who was there.

"Mia! Thank the gods you're alright!" The woman stepped forward, pulling Mia into a hug. Emilia stepped back, not wanting to interrupt the happy moment. "I thought I might never see you again," The whispered words reached Emilia's ears anyways, despite her distance.

Finally, the two women broke apart, and the strange woman faced Emilia, "Welcome. I think it might be best if the two of you came inside,"

"Thank you," Emilia said, and the woman turned back inside. Hesitantly, she followed behind.

The building was just as giant on the inside as on the outside. It had signs that once upon a time, it had been a magnificent palace. Now, however, the building had been run down. The walls were still strong, but it had lost its sense of grandeur. The halls, instead of being filled with expensive furnishings and tapestries, had been converted into space for mankind's last strong people. From the rooms to each side, she could help but hear the wheezing breaths or smell the scent of blood thick in the air. Her heart twisted. She'd been away too long.

"This way. The leaders have asked to see everyone new as they come in. I think they're looking for someone…" The woman said, gesturing to another branching hallway. The group continued on their way. Down this hallway there were less refugees, but it couldn't push the images from her head.

Soon after, they made a final turn into a decently sized room. A group of people stood to one side, whispering frantically. The woman let out a forced cough, and the whispers cut off.

"I believed you may have wanted to see our newest guests," She said as all attention shifted to the newcomers. One in particular let out a gasp of astonishment.

"Emilia!" The girl gasped, running forward and enveloping her in a hug, "How are you here?!"

"Emeralda, it's good to see you," She whispered, returning the girl's embrace, "Something happened on Earth. We couldn't stay," Emeralda froze, leaning back from the hug.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" She asked cautiously.

"You know who I mean," Emilia whispered, "We- we became friends. I didn't know what was happening here,"

"So the Devil's back in Ente Isla," Emeralda said, shaking her head, "Yet another problem to add to our growing list of problems," Emilia looked down. Please, please let his time on Earth be enough to make him content to just live, she thought to herself.

…

Satan watched as his army began to to set up a camp of sorts. Despite his speech that morning, the sun had began to set to the point where any sort of attempt on an attack now would be pointless. With the morning sun behind them, it would be much easier to do whatever they had to quickly. He let out a sigh. Chances were, the next day would end with bloodshed. He could only hope this wouldn't be the case. If the humans had already been pushed this far, he didn't want to shrink their numbers any further. The loss they had already suffered was enough. They'd listen, wouldn't they?

He shook his head, heading into his already prepared tent. Tomorrow. Until then, he'd try his best to push these thoughts from his head.

…

The reunion was interrupted quite suddenly. One minute, Emilia had been talking to Emeralda, the next the door had been violently flung open. A pale faced young man, almost a boy, stumbled in. Emeralda spun around, staring at the boy.

"The Demons," He whispered, eyes wide with fright, "A huge group has gathered out in the fields," Emilia stared at him with horror. Not even two days. They'd been back not even two days. It couldn't be him, could it?

"An army?" Emeralda asked, almost too calm for the situation at hand. Almost like she'd expected it.

"Yes," Emilia closed her eyes. Despite how much she wanted to deny it, the timing was too perfect. The past was the past, and there was nothing she could do about it.

This is kind of really strange for me... Within two weeks from today, I'll have finished this story for good. That just seems absurd to me... But it's the truth. Anyways. I hope to see everyone next week for the final regular chapter.