A few days after we returned from the school trip, we found ourselves in the Underworld.
Right now, we're inside a concert hall in Lucifaad, the former capital of the Underworld.
A special stage had been set up, and the seats were packed with children, their parents, and a wide range of devils, all cheering enthusiastically at the stage.
"Go, Oppai Dragon!"
"Don't give up, Boob Dragoooon!!"
Standing up to the cheers of the children, the Oppai Dragon is facing off against two enemies, and clearly struggling. One of them steps forward and speaks.
Wearing a costume that blends athletic, muscular design with lion motifs, Sairaorg Bael stands tall. On stage, he's billed as the Lion King.
"Oppai Dragon! I will avenge my people, whose homeland you destroyed! Know that this will be your final resting place!"
Behind the Lion King stands Arima Ikki, his skin magically darkened, covered in eerie, glowing blue-white markings.
His outfit shows a bit more skin than usual, likely to highlight the markings, and his overall appearance resembles Angra Mainyu from Fate/stay night. Maybe the Oppai Dragon's costume designer was picking up some odd signals again. No one knows for sure.
In the Oppai Dragon stage universe, Arima plays the part of All Evil, a true villain and executive of the evil organization that Darkness Knight Fang belongs to. While Darkness Knight Fang has a rival/anti-hero role, All Evil is a complete antagonist.
It's important to have a clearly defined villain for a children's show. Usually, All Evil operates from the shadows, occasionally appearing to spread chaos. This time, he took advantage of the Lion King's absence to destroy the town and left fake evidence behind, framing the Oppai Dragon.
He then whispered falsehoods into the grieving Lion King's ears, that the so-called hero Oppai Dragon had actually been exploiting people and causing hidden destruction for personal gain. The goal: to pit hero against hero. A truly dastardly move.
What does the writer hope will happen to this human villain? Only they know.
For the record, All Evil and Darkness Knight Fang don't get along due to their conflicting ideals. In Oppai Dragon Season 2, Darkness Knight Fang ends up siding with the hero to take on the god-tier version of All Evil, but that's a story for another time.
Suddenly, a red-haired princess appears to save the day!
"I've come, Oppai Dragon! And Lion King, I've brought someone I need you to meet!"
Rias Gremory, the heroine known here as the Switch Princess, arrives with another girl in tow.
The Lion King gasps when he sees her.
"You… you're Queen Kuisha!? What are you doing here!?"
Kuisha Abaddon, Sairaorg's Queen, appears in a maid outfit with her blonde hair styled into a high ponytail.
She plays a bit part this time, so she doesn't have a fancy title.
"Lion King-sama! The Oppai Dragon didn't attack the town! The man behind you orchestrated the entire thing… I saw him emerge from the Oppai Dragon's armor when I was out shopping!"
"Tch… I was seen? I should've changed in a less conspicuous place."
"What!? Then I… I was deceived by this man? Forgive me, Oppai Dragon. If you'll allow it, let me join you in defeating this wicked being, All Evil!"
"Of course! Everyone, let's gooo!!"
The Oppai Dragon poses, pointing both index fingers at the audience.
"Zumu-zumu iyann!"
"Zumu-zumu iyann!!" the children cheer back.
With a theatrical gesture, Oppai Dragon pretends to poke the Switch Princess's glowing chest (powered by internal lights). His jewel glows brightly (special effects by Ddraig), signaling a power-up. Now, together with the Lion King, he faces All Evil!
But All Evil isn't fazed.
"Kukukuku… As if I wouldn't have a backup plan! Feast your eyes on this!"
He snaps his fingers, and a screen appears on stage.
It shows the supposedly slain townsfolk alive, tied up and surrounded by sword-wielding henchmen.
"Everyone!? What are you planning to do with my people!?"
All Evil grins smugly.
"Isn't it obvious? They're hostages. You can't save them, you don't even know where they are. So here's the deal: Fight each other, Oppai Dragon and Lion King. Or I start executing them one by one!"
He threatens them with a radio-like transmitter in hand.
Kids in the crowd shout, "Coward!", "Fight fair!"
All Evil eats it up.
"Fwahahaha! Your hatred is delicious!!"
Honestly, this kind of over-the-top villain performance is easier than trying to act natural, it helps him dissociate and go all in.
But his moment in the spotlight doesn't last long.
[Gugyaah!!]
[Gyaaaahh!!]
The screen shows the hostages being rescued. All Evil's underlings are knocked out. Standing coolly with a sheathed sword is Yuuto Kiba, a.k.a. Darkness Knight Fang.
Despite this being a "live" villain camera feed, there are multiple cinematic zooms, obviously added for flair.
"All Evil. Taking hostages is one thing, but endangering innocent bystanders? That's not my style. I'm intervening."
"Kyaaaa! Darkness Knight Fang-sama!!" cry the moms in the crowd. They're clearly into the change of pace, nothing new, really.
"Damn you, Darkness Knight Fang! You always piss me off!!"
But he doesn't realize something: Now that the hostages are safe, the heroes are no longer holding back.
"Looks like we can finally fight you for real. Let's go, Oppai Dragon! LION PUNCH!!"
"Hell yeah! Get ready, All Evil! DRAGON KICK!!"
All Evil is blasted into the distance by their combo finisher.
He escapes at the last second, unfortunately, but Oppai Dragon and the Lion King succeed in defeating the villain and saving the day.
======
After the show, Sairaorg wipes sweat from his brow in the dressing room with me and Issei.
Even if he's in top physical shape, doing something this unfamiliar is exhausting in a different way.
(Yuuto is currently helping out at a quiz show led by Shirone, who plays Hellcat. Since fans of Darkness Knight Fang might complain if he never appears in person, he's sticking around to make them happy.)
Ravel's helping backstage, too, mostly because Shirone and I are involved. As for Kuroka? Unless there's a role that lets her goof off on stage, she's probably not coming.
"Kukuku! That was my first time doing a hero show, but the kids were cheering for me alongside Oppai Dragon… it really fired me up! I felt like I landed a punch with extra spirit!"
"Uh, Sairaorg-san… that wasn't just your imagination. If I hadn't countered your punch, most of the stage would've been blown away."
The stage isn't exactly made of reinforced steel. I had to precisely match his power to neutralize it, no small task. It worked this time, but next time? I'm not so sure.
Issei was yelling stuff like "Dohhhyyaa!!" while dodging. Pretty sure he was crying a little, too.
"Still, I didn't expect to be fighting or teaming up with you in a hero show before a Rating Game."
"Neither did I. But it wasn't bad, was it? Or are you not happy having me as an ally?"
"No way! Getting to perform alongside you was an honor! …Though facing you as a villain had me sweating buckets."
Issei says, wiping new sweat off despite already having done that earlier.
Yeah, I remember him dodging like his life depended on it. Without the audience's energy boosting him, a clean hit might've cracked his armor or launched him off stage.
After the show, we went through the usual: handshakes, acting buddy-buddy with Sairaorg in front of the staff, even if we didn't have to ham it up that much. Just as we were about to change and leave, Issei and Rias showed up and we chatted in a nearby dressing room.
"I see… so a child missed out on the signing event because they didn't know what time it was? We really haven't nailed down the logistics of incorporating human world culture…"
"Exactly. We need better promotion, flyers, radio, TV. The Oppai Dragon brand is growing; it's time to reinvest in outreach."
"Maybe even an ad board? Something digital that shows info and clips, should stand out in the Underworld."
"There wasn't anyone else around, so I signed an autograph and shook hands with that kid… I don't regret it, but maybe it was a bit careless."
The show was a success, but we were already thinking about what to improve for next time when the dressing room door opened.
Two women and a child entered.
"Rias-neesama! Sairaorg-niisama! Issei-niisama! Ikki-san! The show was amazing!!"
The cheerful red-haired boy was Millicas.
And when Rias and Sairaorg saw who came with him, they were clearly surprised.
"Millicas… and Mother and Aunt Misla too!?"
"Mother! You're here? Shouldn't you still be resting?"
"Don't worry. The doctor said I was fine. Besides, lying in bed all day has weakened me. Walking around like this is good for recovery… Oh, we haven't met, have we? I am Misla Bael, Sairaorg's mother. A pleasure."
Naturally, she didn't bring up her treatment, just offered a polite greeting.
"I-I'm Hyoudou Issei It's an honor to meet you!"
"I'm Arima Ikki. I may be a commoner, but I've had the privilege of getting along with Sairaorg-sama."
My social standing is always kind of awkward in these situations… most people here don't care much, though.
"Hehe, we're off-duty now, so no need to be formal. If I treated all of Sairaorg's friends like nobles, I'd be stiff all day."
Since she gave us the go-ahead, I relaxed my tone.
"Then when it's just us. Pleased to meet you again."
"I like a man who adjusts quickly. Please continue to be good friends with my son."
She shook hands with Issei and me, then turned back to her son.
"Now, Sairaorg. That hero show… it was wonderful. Giving children dreams, it's a beautiful thing."
"Yes, Mother! I gave the role everything I—"
"But!"
She cut him off, sternly.
"Giving it your all and going full-power are not the same! Your punches could've seriously hurt someone. If Ikki hadn't deflected your last one, you might've scared the children to tears instead of giving them hope. I was sweating just watching! I'm not telling you to hold back, just learn some moderation!"
Sairaorg hung his head in shame.
"I-I almost destroyed the kids' dreams? This means I'm still unworthy of becoming the next head… I must train to control my strength, time for a mountain retreat!"
...Okay, that escalated weirdly, but I guess we can leave it to Misla-san to keep him on track.
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