During one particularly difficult maneuver, Max deliberately stood up on the harness, balancing precariously as he addressed the remaining terrified villagers directly.
"HAHAHA! Your homes will burn! Your children will serve me! Your—"
He was cut off as the dragon performers, finally unable to maintain stability due to Max's whims stumbled awkwardly. The costume nearly collapsed, and Max had to grab onto a hanging stage decoration to keep from falling completely.
Rather than breaking character, he incorporated the mishap into his performance.
"Even my PET wants to go on a RAMPAGE!"
He swung back and forth from the decoration like a deranged acrobat before dropping back onto the dragon.
"PUNISHMENT!"
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
Max punished his disobedient pet, whipping his staff once again.
The impact and Max's punishment caused both Kent and Tyne to moan in muffled pain, but they somehow maintained the costume's general shape. The audience, unaware of the genuine struggle taking place, awed impressed by Max's ability to tame a mighty dragon!
By this point, Max's originally assembled costume had begun to crumble. The oversized robe was torn at the shoulder, the cape hung askew, and the circlet had tilted at an odd angle.
Rather than looking like a majestic Dark Lord… he now resembled the leader of a ragged cult leader, wild-eyed and dangerous…
This transformation only added to the audience's engagement.
"Barbaric!"
"It's so interesting ~"
"My, this is quite the unique performance. Uncouth, yet oddly captivating."
The opinions were mixed, but not one of them weren't engaged.
They were witnessing something completely unique from the polished performances they were accustomed to seeing.
Junior and his companions continued their pursuit, their frustration mounting as Max kept them at bay, swinging his staff like a club while guiding the increasingly uncooperative dragon around the stage. Whenever one would get close, Max would strike out with genuine force, causing them to retreat momentarily.
"JOIN ME OR BE CLUBBED! THE CHOICE IS—"
"HALT, EVIL DRAGON!"
A new voice rang out from the opposite side of the stage.
All heads turned.
The stage lights quickly flickered into action.
A golden haired man stood in a heroic pose, prop sword raised high, his face with the conviction to deliver justice.
It was the Hero Lucan.
He had returned from his wild goose chase just in time for his scripted entrance, though the scene unfolding before him was nothing like what he had rehearsed.
"Ahh???"
His mouth hung wide open in shock, but he managed to swallow his gasp.
He slowly processed the bizarre scene—a dragon with a ragged Dark Lord rider, surrounded by monstrous minions who seemed to be attacking their own master. The village, which was meant to be only partially destroyed, now appeared completely razed to the ground. The villagers, who were supposed to be cornered against the wall in time with his arrival, lay scattered across the stage in a messy heap.
He could see many of the villagers with their eyes closed pretending to be dead, but they were unable to hide the tears flowing from their eyes.
Despite everything, he recovered quickly, maintaining his prepared heroic image and following the script.
"Agra, evil dragon of cursed flames and darkness! Your reign of terror ends today!"
Wooohoo finally! Took you long enough.
"Ah! The would-be savior arrives at last!"
Max, seeing his opportunity, immediately incorporated the Hero into his improvised narrative.
"But you face not just an evil dragon, hero... you face ME—THE DARK LORD!"
Lucan hesitated for only a second before adapting.
"Then you both shall fall! I will cleanse this land of your darkness!"
The audience erupted in applause at the hero's entrance and his willingness to confront this unexpected additional villain.
Even the confused village actors forced to play dead seemed to stop their tears for a moment, believing that the performance was somehow getting back on track despite being off the rail by now.
Some of them had gone so far as to forget they were supposed to be dead and began to shout, "Hero, Hero!"
Max did not hide his wide grin from his wild expression.
This was working out even better than he'd planned. With the hero now on stage, he could proceed to the climactic confrontation and make his grand exit. All while keeping Junior and his minions from capturing the crystal.
"Come then, HERO!"
Max challenged, guiding the dragon toward Lucan.
"SHOW ME THE POWER OF YOUR PRECIOUS FLAME!"
Lucan charged forward, swinging his prop sword with surprising skill.
Whoosh!
He was clearly a trained fighter, his movements fluid and skilful even in this unexpected context.
ROARR!!
He engaged with the dragon as rehearsed, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws and sweeping tail while looking for an opening to strike.
What he hadn't rehearsed was dealing with a Dark Lord rider who kept swinging a staff at his head whenever he got close.
"Your sword against my power?"
Max taunted, bringing his staff down in an arc that Lucan barely dodged.
"Heh, stupid!"
Junior, seeing Lucan's arrival, attempted to break through the performance.
"Don't listen to him! He's not supposed to be here! He's a thief!"
Lucan, deep in his heroic persona, interpreted this as part of the improvised script. It was a minion trying to sow confusion.
"Your dark magic has twisted their minds, Dark Lord! Monsters or not—I the HERO will free them from your CONTROL!"
With that, Lucan executed a spectacular leap that was clearly part of his rehearsed choreography, landing on the dragon's side opposite Max. The move was meant to position him for striking the dragon's vulnerable spot, but now he found himself face-to-face with the unexpected Dark Lord.
Max seized the moment.
"Not bad, HERO! perhaps there is more to you than I thought!"
Whoosh!
Without warning, Max swung his staff directly at Lucan's head. The blow came with genuine force behind it. It was not enough to cause serious injury, but certainly more than stage combat called for.
Those on stage are fairly experienced with this matter…
Lucan's eyes widened in surprise as he instinctively raised his prop sword to block the attack.
CLACK!
The weapons connected with a satisfying sound that resonated through the theater.
The audience went silent.
"SHOW ME YOUR STRENGTH, HERO!"
Max brought his club down again in a vicious arc.
Lucan parried the second blow, his trained reflexes kicking in.
"Your darkness ends today, villain!"
At this point, Lucan was now fully committed to his role.
Max attacked with wild, unpredictable swings, forcing Lucan to draw on his actual combat training to defend himself. With each clash of weapons, the audience leaned forward in their seats, sucked in by the intensity of the fight that would normally only be seen in a place like the dueling arena.
It was too real to be seen as rehearsed stage combat.
And, of course, while Max was having the time of his life, it was Kent and Tyne that had to bear the brunt.
They desperately struggled to maintain the dragon costume. Their mouths gasping for breath as they tirelessly worked their bodies while their minds silently cursing every forbidden word they knew.
Although they were no longer moving across the stage, now they had another unwelcome luggage behind their backs. Their fight was like an avalanche and they had to survive the collapse.
To the audience, it appeared as though the dragon was thrashing in rage, trying to dislodge the hero who dared to challenge its master.
"My pet grows RESTLESS! IT THIRSTS FOR YOUR BLOOD!"
Lucan, stared at the villain as the staff swung towards him.
"Then I shall quench its thirst with justice!"
Clang!
The attack was blocked and followed by a powerful thrust.
The speed of the flourishing counterattack nearly caught Max off guard.
The impromptu duel continued, growing more intense with each exchange. Junior and his companions circled below, watching for an opportunity to intervene but wary of the wildly swinging weapons above them.
Max felt the dragon costume beginning to sag beneath his feet.
Doesn't seem they can last any longer.
He also felt for some time he had been hearing some dangerous whispers along the lines of "I'm going to kill you," but that was probably his imagination.
Kent and Tyne had reached their limit.
It was time for the next phase.
Max waited until a momentary pause in their exchange.
"Your skill is really not bad, Hero."
Then, lowering his voice so only Lucan could hear, he whispered:
"The dragon's done for. Get ready to slay it."
Before Lucan could process this warning, Max launched himself at the hero with renewed aggression, deliberately throwing his full weight against him. The impact sent them both tumbling from the dragon's back just as the costume finally gave way beneath them.
Kent and Tyne, completely exhausted and disoriented, lost their coordinated movement. The dragon collapsed in a spectacular fashion, its body seeming to writhe and convulse as the two performers struggled to disentangle themselves from the elaborate harness.
Lucan, quickly recovering from the fall, saw his opportunity.
This was the Hero's grand moment.
The scripted dragon-slaying that was supposed to be the performance's climax.
With spectacular timing, he raised his sword high.
"For the kingdom! For the light!"
SHIING!!
He plunged his weapon into the dragon's underbelly.
The effects team had finally seen the long moment they had been waiting for.
They triggered the death sequence.
"GGRRRRROOAAARRR!"
Lights flashed, smoke billowed, and the dragon let out a final, convincing roar before falling still.
The audience erupted in a large applause!
Max chuckled.
It's not over baby.
As the audience's attention focused on the dragon's demise, Max scrambled to his feet and reached beneath his tattered costume. From a hidden pocket, he withdrew the 'borrowed' Wind Rider's cloak he had taken earlier.
"You think this ENDS with my PET'S DEATH?"
Max roared, his voice cutting through the applause.
"STUPID HERO! MY POWER EXTENDS BEYOND THIS MORTAL REALM!"
With a dramatic flourish, he whipped the cloak around his shoulders and quickly channeled mana. The effect was almost immediate. The cloak billowed outward, carrying Max in a graceful but terrifying arc directly over the front rows of the audience.
"What in the—?"
"Kyaaaah!"
"Why is the Dark Lord here?!"
Screams and gasps filled the theater as the Dark Lord soared from the stage into the seating area.
THOOM
Max landed roughly in the third row, activating Quake Step just before his fall for a dramatic entry. He nearly tumbled into the lap of a stern-looking woman in academy robes.
Without missing a beat, Max snatched her arm and pulled her to her feet.
"A HOSTAGE! COME ANY CLOSER, HERO, AND THIS ONE PAYS THE PRICE!"
He glanced at his captive, intending to give her a reassuring wink to signal this was all part of the performance.
But before Max could, his attention was robbed as Lucan leaped from the stage into the audience, followed by Junior and his companions.
"You evil villain! Release Professor Warren!"
"Hahahaha Professor Warren…?"
Max froze and turned his head.
Professor Winry Warren.
She was one of the most notorious first-year instructors in the novel, known for her strict disciplinary approach and razor-sharp intellect.
Shit.