"Everyone, the grand year-end event held annually in the underworld. Yes, you've all been looking forward to it—the selection for the 'Emperor Belial's Ten Matches' has finally been decided! This year's final match will feature a game between the former Dragon King, an ultimate-class devil and dragon among dragons known for his prowess—Lord Tannin—and Emperor Belial! We also have debuts from promising rookies who've been racking up wins lately, as well as comeback matches for players who temporarily left the Rating Game due to injuries. There are plenty of featured matches! Let's all heat up for this year's final Rating Game!!"
While listening to the TV host's high-energy introduction, I gazed at the underworld channels. The day of discussion with the Emperor had finally arrived. After being brought here by Lord Mephisto, some time had passed since I'd set foot in the underworld for the second time. Since I obviously couldn't keep tagging along with Tannin-san throughout the underworld, I was to move out immediately once the meeting with the Emperor was arranged.
Currently, with nothing to do but wait for Tannin-san, I'd been watching underworld TV programs. During this season, it seemed the content was all about Rating Games. In Japan there'd be variety—Christmas, New Year's preparations, music shows, special dramas, anime—but apparently underworld TV programs weren't as numerous as in the human world.
Above all, there was virtually no anime. Even when there was something, it was live-action special effects—nothing animated. The lack of entertainment for underworld children made me genuinely grateful to have been born in the human world. No anime or games—I could totally understand Lord Ajuka's urge to frequently visit the human world to play games. Though understanding that, I simultaneously wished he'd take his Demon Lord duties seriously... Honestly, it seemed like Lord Sirzechs was the only one among the Demon Lords who seriously did Demon Lord work. The others all seemed hobbies-first. Lord Sirzechs was a sister-complex who put family first too, but he had the strongest Queen at his side. Grayfia-san's reliability was incredible.
Incidentally, I'd discovered a special anime for the children's live-action show Magical☆Levia-tan. The production quality was impressive, but I was pretty sure this used real magical effects without CG. A mountain or two had been blown away.
The content was a parade of angel and fallen angel massacre scenes that shouldn't be lumped together with Japanese magical girl shows. Hey, Demon Lord Girl, this was a children's program—there was nothing educational about it whatsoever. It was way too merciless. Though I ended up watching the whole thing because of how chaotic the content was and how amazing the realistic effects were. Was this within acceptable limits for demons? It was unpredictable and interesting, but I was worried about the future of underworld children.
"I mean, this is an underworld where 'Oppai Dragon' becomes a popular hero... The flags might already be beyond saving."
Somehow, despite being demons, everyone really liked heroes and justice. I'd thought demons would be drawn more to villains or dark heroes based on the demonic image. Thinking about it, many demons seemed to have human-like concepts of good and evil, especially centered on the younger demon generation.
Come to think of it, they'd created morning and night concepts in the underworld for reincarnated devils, and even aligned the calendar. Among the three factions, only the demon camp had humans deeply integrated into the core of society. In other words, human values might naturally be mixing with demonic values.
Speaking of demon-like demons, Diodora Astaroth topped my list, disgusting as he was. If all demons were as rationally cruel as him, toying with people's lives, demon society would definitely be heading toward collapse. By none other than the reincarnated devils' own hands.
Just because you became a demon didn't mean you could easily change your way of living or thinking as a species. Like Asia-san and Xenovia-san wanting to offer prayers even after becoming demons. In other words, even after reincarnating as demons, their mindsets remained from before reincarnation.
Not everyone could accept life as a demon over being human like Issei. With thinking like the Old Demon Lord Faction and Old Satan Faction, current demon society would definitely break down.
"If that's the case... maybe Lady Serafall is teaching underworld children human-like values of good and evil by pushing the righteous magical girl theme. To prevent clashes between demons and reincarnated devils. Well, doing it for fun as a hobby is probably the main reason."
Or maybe I was overthinking it like now. This world overflowed with absurdity, but it also broke through in equally absurd directions. Watching Lavinia, Mil-tan, and Lady Serafall, the magical girl domain might be the pinnacle of untouchable absurdity. I didn't feel like I could win against them in various ways.
"Ahh, Tannin-san, please come get me soon. Is the meeting with Diehauser-san running long? Even for killing time, I'm getting tired of just watching TV..."
When I'd first arrived in the underworld, I'd been tense about finally meeting the Emperor, but staying in a constant state of tension was impossible. However, having this waiting time had restored enough calm for me to watch TV.
Thanks to that, I'd watched the entire year-end special of Magical☆Levia-tan. Damn it, as a viewer I couldn't help but be curious about what came next. The chaos was so intense I couldn't predict the developments at all. Just when I'd thought it was a parody show, they'd hit me with surprising foreshadowing and emotional scenes when I'd let my guard down. As expected of demons, toying with people's hearts.
"Kana, you've been muttering noisily. Can't hear the news about our King."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry. ...Now that I think about it, why is there a big-screen TV in a dragon's nest? It wasn't here during summer vacation."
"When I said I wanted to cheer because our King was appearing in a game, they bought it! Our King, the clan leader—so generous!"
"Generous, generous!"
"I'm curious about that Emperor Fried Rice that was on the cooking show before."
"Milky Fire!"
"Annihilation☆"
This was bad—the pure young dragons were being heavily influenced by underworld TV. With all twelve gathered, it really was incredibly lively. However, once a program started, they'd suddenly become quiet with amazing concentration. Since Tannin-san wasn't on screen right now, they'd returned to their usual noisy state.
Still, modern technology really did properly reach even dragons. When I muttered that, I learned about the cutting edge of dragon society—apparently some Sprite Dragon nests provided information education to young dragons. Terrifying, underworld dragons. Also, the Demon Lord Girl's program really wasn't good for character education. Don't try using special moves on me. I'd die.
"Sigh. I knew the only place in the underworld where I could wait for Tannin-san was the Fire Dragon's nest I visited during summer vacation, but... I never thought I'd be reunited with you guys in just half a year."
"I wanted to see Lavinia."
"Isn't Lavinia coming?"
"Yeah, I knew it. I was painfully aware of your innocently dry attitude toward me..."
I didn't cry, but my eyes got a bit hot.
"Our King's opponent is the Emperor. I wonder who'll win?"
"Huh, that's unusual. I thought you guys would automatically say Tannin-san would win."
"We want our King to win. But we also don't want to see the Emperor lose..."
"The game is really exciting, though. It's very complicated feelings."
"Complicated feelings."
The TV effect was amazing. Compared to summer, these guys had clearly increased their vocabulary. Or rather, they were being influenced. Apparently wanting to know what this Rating Game that Tannin-san was participating in was all about, they'd watched several matches on TV. Naturally, that included footage of Emperor Diehauser-san.
For these guys who were harsh on males to acknowledge him, he must have become quite a fan of his games. He really was something, Diehauser-san. I'd become a fan too thanks to Cleria-san's evangelizing. Names of other players they were cheering for came up one after another with excitement. What was there were the figures of fans purely enjoying the games.
Watching the young dragons like this, I felt indescribable. I thought Rating Games were amazing too, and honestly found them interesting. That's why the fact of corruption and match-fixing among top rankers felt so heavy.
As Lord Ajuka had said, revealing the King Pieces to the underworld was a double-edged sword. While it would certainly deal a blow to the Old Satan Faction, it would simultaneously hurt innocent people and fans who'd been genuinely cheering. I didn't want to erase the feelings of these young dragons talking so happily. But I also couldn't think it was okay to leave things as they were.
"Bideze Abadon's techniques are brutal, huh? I'd like to try that overwhelming style once."
"Hmm. True, it's really strong. But Hole as a technique itself is a bit plain, isn't it?"
"That might bother him without him realizing. His aura shows he seems a bit displeased with flashy opponents."
"In a previous comment, he was appealing his Hole technique upgrade to the audience."
As expected, the young dragons' evaluations were harsh toward males. Though even this was generally favorable. Bideze Abadon—third place in Rating Games and a King Piece user. In the twenty volumes of original story knowledge I had, he was a demon I only vaguely knew by name.
However, the him I saw on TV had a confident face with exactly a noble atmosphere. Wasn't he written in the gossip Cleria-san collected as seemingly gentlemanly and valuing entertainment?
"What about second place, Roygun Belphegor?"
"My horns match hers!"
"Beautiful."
"Always cheering for her."
You guys, those are just impressions... Where did that harsh evaluation from earlier go? Your treatment of women really was too different.
But true, the figure I'd seen on TV was a beautiful, dignified older sister. She gave off an alluring adult woman vibe, but seemed to have quite a refreshing personality. Honestly, when I'd first seen her match, I couldn't believe this person was one of the corruption group.
What I'd watched was Diehauser-san's match against her that Cleria-san had shown me. Just by results, Roygun Belphegor had lost. But what surprised me was that while she looked frustrated—she'd seemed to be enjoying it. The game itself had been really interesting to watch.
After watching several matches from the corruption group and hearing these guys' impressions, I had a vague thought. True, by using King Pieces they'd gained power beyond their abilities and deceived the public and players genuinely enjoying the games. That was inexcusable, but I couldn't believe everything they'd done until now was false. I thought that because I'd seen their matches with my own eyes. There was so much my amateur perspective couldn't grasp, but... would Diehauser-san understand? He was the one who'd been closest to them, interacting with them the most.
The Emperor's act of revealing the King Pieces in the original story would cause not just the Old Satan Faction but the corruption group to lose their positions. For the Emperor who enjoyed games, the corruption might have been unforgivable. He must have been disappointed too. But did he truly harbor enough anger toward the corruption group to destroy everything they'd built? I didn't know since that wasn't depicted in the original.
What did the original Diehauser-san want most? At whom was he most angry? And what ending did the current him desire most? The Rating Game champion, Diehauser Belial. I had no idea how far original story knowledge would apply. Frankly, he wasn't an opponent a human child like me should be facing. I'd come this far purely wanting to save Cleria-san and the others, but I really was in an outrageous position.
"Well, as I told Lavinia, there's no point in me pondering demon problems. Yeah, I should just stick to my original purpose and do my best. I can leave difficult things to smart people and ask directly about things I don't understand!"
"Kana's saying weird things as usual."
"Same as always."
"Oh, highlights of our King's match!"
"Go! Our Kiiiing!!"
...Somehow, having these guys nearby made me feel foolish for thinking about difficult things. Way too harsh. They were truly the embodiment of freedom, dragons. Would the day come when they'd become sensible adult dragons like Tannin-san? For now, I just hoped they'd develop enough sense not to demand dragon-style play from humans. I really did nearly die from it.
"—Hm?"
My partner in my pocket reacted. With a twitch, the young dragons who'd been so noisy suddenly went quiet too. Or rather, they started getting restless. From my partner's and their reactions, I exhaled deeply—ah, so it's finally time.
I thought my tension had eased somewhat. The long-awaited encounter with the person who would definitely destroy the original story. Once I told him about this matter, the gears wouldn't stop. Besides, I couldn't afford to chicken out. After taking one deep breath, I steeled myself and stood up. Giving myself a pep talk for my trembling legs, I started walking toward the Fire Dragon nest's exit.
"Well then, young dragons. Thanks for letting me use your room. And don't watch too much TV."
"Understood!"
"Don't say stuff like the clan leader."
"See ya, Kana."
Smiling slightly at the honestly straightforward young dragons wagging their tails in farewell, I proceeded straight down the passage. Emerging from the nest, a purple dim sky spread out. There, I saw a black shadow. Despite being so high in the sky, it was large enough to be clearly visible with the naked eye. That black gradually grew more massive, and the next moment it landed before me, raising dust. The overwhelming presence radiating pressure made my skin involuntarily crawl.
"Hello, Tannin-san. Thank you for indulging my selfishness this time."
"Hmph, don't worry about it. I'm looking forward to fighting the Emperor myself. So you should prioritize your own circumstances."
"...Yes. Please take care of me!"
One of the former Six Great Dragon Kings, Blaze Meteor Dragon Tannin-san. As always, a dragon who looked cool and had a cool personality. Aside from his sadistic training methods, he really was reliable. Hahaha, next summer vacation was going to be so depressing... I could only pray he'd go easy on me.
After finishing our brief conversation, I activated my Sacred Gear's ability and used my pseudo-senjutsu to blend into Tannin-san's aura. Since Tannin-san said nothing, I'd probably succeeded. Next, I jumped onto the dragon's back using my Sacred Gear's ability and held on tight.
Since I needed to make people around think it was just Tannin-san alone, I couldn't have him put up a barrier on his back like before. I had to continuously erase wind resistance on myself, which was subtly difficult. Since complaining wouldn't help, I had to tough it out.
After confirming my preparations were complete, my body was enveloped in a floating sensation.
***
"This is the underworld's aerial city... Agares."
"Yeah, it's a major year-end event this time. This year it'll be held in this place known as the 'Holy Land of Rating Games.'"
"This is an underworld world heritage site, right? It really feels like a tourist spot."
"That's correct. However, you still have knowledge about demon society in strange places as always."
"Well, just the famous spots though."
I responded with a smile to Tannin-san's exasperated words. World heritage sites were treated as famous tourist spots in the human world too. But I vaguely understood why this became a world heritage site.
I'd seen it when entering Agares from the sky—it was beautiful enough to be called fantastical. An island floating in the sky was sufficiently fantasy-like, but the sight of multiple waterfalls dropping toward the ground was truly a natural miracle. Even I could agree with the demons who'd thought to make this a tourist spot. Demons were basically about supply and demand.
Incidentally, this was an important point where crystals necessary for creating Evil Pieces could be obtained. Furthermore, perhaps because it was an underworld world heritage site, there were only three ways to enter Agares. First was the method of flying in from the sky like now. Generally people came by vehicles like airships, but those with massive bodies like Tannin-san had a dedicated landing area in one corner of the airfield, so we'd go there. Then there was the magic circle jump only usable by VIPs or on special occasions, and the method of riding a gondola from the ground. Personally, I wanted to ride the gondola someday. It would definitely be an absolutely spectacular view.
Now, I'd known about this aerial city Agares because it was one of the important bases in the original story too. What came to mind were scenes of the Gremory household visiting for a match with Sairaorg Bael, and scenes of Rizevim raiding the crystals here to revive 666 Trihexa. This was the location of the original's final battle as far as I remembered. It was deeply moving, and I'd personally researched it.
"By the way, Tannin-san, we've come to Agares, but where are we meeting the Emperor? This is a tourist spot, and there probably aren't stores large enough for you to enter, right?"
Now that I thought about it, I asked Tannin-san about this belated problem I'd only just noticed after coming this far. A large-scale dragon easily exceeding ten meters with a massive body that made Lavinia's Sacred Gear seem child-sized. How was he supposed to enter a tourist spot full of people? Entering stores would be impossible in the first place. Surely we weren't meeting the Emperor outdoors?
"Ah, I haven't shown you before. This massive body is inconvenient in various ways. So I have proper attire for places and events like this. ...Step back a bit."
"Huh?"
Right after hearing Tannin-san's warning, purple magical power overflowed centered on him. My eyes widened and I hurriedly moved away as told. I could only stare in bewilderment as Tannin-san's massive body was enveloped in purple light.
Shortly after, an especially intense light was released throughout the area. My vision was dazzled and couldn't open for a while, but when I timidly opened my eyes to the scene... I was now dumbfounded.
"T-Tannin-san?"
"Yes, that's right. I can't exactly enter the city in my original size. Reincarnated devils with naturally massive bodies learn this kind of magical power manipulation first."
"Wow... You can become smaller than the little ones..."
Before me was a chibi dragon floating in the air, flapping its small wings. Its size might be about the same as Rassei, Asia-san's familiar. But the voice was majestic and familiar, so there was no mistaking it for Tannin-san.
Still, what incredible dissonance. Knowing the young dragons' lisping voices, the dissonance wouldn't disappear. A purple, adorable-looking chibi dragon, but with the voice of a Dragon King itself. The sense of intimidation remained too strong.
But magical power really was amazing. Unlike magical formulas, the power of imagination was great. Though Tannin-san being amazing was part of it. I'd heard that Tiamat-san, one of the Dragon Kings, could transform into human form, so dragons were surprisingly convenient.
At any rate, this way we could enter Agares city without problems. Since Tannin-san's Dragon King aura was slightly suppressed, I should just be careful not to stray from his side.
With Tannin-san flapping his wings at the lead, I also held my Sacred Gear and stepped into the aerial city visited by many demons. The tourists didn't seem to think this chibi dragon was actually that Tannin-san, so there was no commotion. Since some demons chose dragons as familiars, they might have thought he was one of those.
Still, perhaps because no one wanted to bump into even a chibi dragon, people around naturally made way. Progressing down the now easier path, I looked around with a bit of tourist spirit.
First-time sights of what seemed to be familiars, foods, tools—scenes I'd never seen in the human world spread before me. Though I'd visited the underworld for about two weeks before, I hadn't stepped into a demon city like this, so everything was fresh. While being careful not to get separated, I quickly collected pamphlets and tourist maps placed around town. Tannin-san looked exasperated, but this was fine, wasn't it? I knew we weren't here to sightsee, but I at least wanted to take the atmosphere home. Since we'd come all this way, I wanted to show Lavinia too.
"...Kanata Kuramoto."
"Huh? Yes. What is it?"
After walking through the city like this for a while, passing through a narrow alley to avoid crowds, I was suddenly called from ahead. Since there were no people around, I figured he was addressing me. I couldn't see him flying ahead, but my body tensed slightly at suddenly being called by name.
"We'll arrive at our destination soon."
"...Finally, huh."
"Yes, finally. An encounter with someone a human like you normally could never meet."
A small chuckle reached my ears. His tone held no color of looking down on me, but seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. Still, his words were quite reasonable.
"Your wish was the kind of pipe dream absolutely impossible to fulfill with your capacity. The person you're about to meet is the Emperor. And behind the scenes are the Old Satan Faction upper echelon."
"......"
"Bravery and recklessness are different. The place you're walking now, the place you're about to step into—which will it be? ...You understand, don't you?"
There was no intimidation in Tannin-san's voice. But they were quiet, heavy words. An incident I could never have done anything about alone originally. I understood that better than anyone.
"However, by some twist of fate... Mephisto, Azazel, me, and even Demon Lords behind the scenes have become involved in this matter we had no reason to be involved in originally."
"...Tannin-san."
"You couldn't have reached it alone. But your actions moved those around you. That is your power. Crystals you yourself drew in and gathered to connect this pipe dream to reality."
On Tannin-san's profile, now visible when it hadn't been before, an fearless smile floated. Along with encouragement from this always confident Dragon King...
"So don't worry about unnecessary things, be yourself and charge in as you always have. ...You've thoroughly shaken us up. Go ahead and thoroughly shake up the Emperor and demons too."
"Um, Tannin-san. I'm really happy about the encouraging words, but... why only at the end are you grinning so wickedly?"
"Because I'm a dragon, symbol of evil."
"What does that mean!?"
Saying that while laughing aloud and showing ferocious fangs, Tannin-san flew straight ahead without looking back anymore. I hurriedly chased after that back, desperately following so as not to get separated. I didn't quite get the end, but... charge in being myself, huh. He always gave me the words I needed at crucial moments. More than anything, happiness at being cheered for made my face grin a bit.
The words Tannin-san had told me during summer vacation: "Have confidence." Even now I was weak and not smart. I relied on others constantly and was pathetic. ...But still, if I didn't give up, maybe even someone like me could change things. I'd believe in and advance down the path I'd chosen. For everyone cooperating with me too.
"Now, we've arrived. This establishment has many high-proof drinks, and the food is delicious too. I'm acquainted with the staff, so arrangements have been made in the back. ...We can have an enjoyable drinking session."
"I'll mainly be doing the talking, but please don't drink too much while waiting. I'm not fond of alcohol smell."
"What good is a man weak to alcohol?"
Tannin-san smiled teasingly, as if snorting. This person really was always the same no matter the situation. His dignified appearance was reassuring just being beside him. But he was totally planning to drink plenty. This easygoing aspect really did make me think he was a magnificent dragon.
"Well then, let's go."
"...Yes!"
Following Tannin-san, I stepped forward. And so, the discussion with the Emperor finally began.
***
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