Ivan turned to the woman and shouted, “Just who are you?!”
“I am the evil female commander of the Black Group, Miss Dran,” the woman announced.
Liscia, who was watching at my side, stared blankly for a moment, but she soon came to her senses, turned to me, and asked, “That’s… Carla, right?”
“No. She’s the evil female commander, Miss Dran.”
“Huh…?”
“That’s the evil female commander, Miss Dran, got it?” I said.
“Oh, okay then… Yeah, you know I’m not just going to accept it like that!”
Even as Liscia throttled me, the story was moving along out in the hall.
Miss Dran spread her wings to intimidate Ivan. “If you make the children get stronger, it could get in the way of the Black Group’s plan to conquer the world. I will detain you before that happens, Ivan Juniro!”
With the highly revealing outfit, she was probably so embarrassed that desperation had taken over. There was a real, heated passion in Miss Dran’s performance.
Every time Miss Dran did one of her over-the-top actions, certain parts of her would jiggle. The video quality of the Jewel Voice Broadcast wasn’t all that good, so I didn’t think the viewers would notice, but… honestly, I wasn’t sure where to look. I mean, Liscia was right there, glaring at me.
“Don’t you think Miss Dran’s costume is a little too risque?” she demanded.
“Serina had full control over the design,” I defended. “I should mention, I did tell her to restrain herself because this is supposed to be a kids’ show, but… because I had asked her to help with producing the costume, it was hard to reject it.”
“I knew it…” Liscia sighed. “If anything, wouldn’t Serina herself have made a better evil female commander?”
“Could you say that to her face?”
“Not a chance!”
“I know, right?”
While we were talking about that, Ivan thrust a finger in Miss Dran’s general direction. “World domination?! I will never let you get away with it!”
“Hmph, you’re spirited, but what can you really do? Have at him, my minions!”
When Miss Dran gave the order, a gaggle of men dressed all in black appeared and surrounded Ivan. The key point was to have them keep a slight distance from the children, so as not to make it seem too dangerous.
Ivan fell into a fighting stance, shouting, “Bring it on!”
With that as their cue, the men in black took turns attacking Ivan. Ivan fought them all one-on-one.
Biff, bash, bam!
There was an exaggerated sound effect every time he hit one of the minions. When hit, the minions would flip through the air, or spin to the ground and collapse. It looked impressive, but the sounds came from Ivan’s ability, and them being blown away was all an act, so there was no damage being done.
Incidentally, the children were split half-and-half into those who were scared, and those whose eyes were shining with excitement as they watched Ivan fight. The sounds were pretty loud, after all. There was something to be said for not making the effects too showy.
The children who were frightened naturally huddled with Juna and Roroa, who told them, “Don’t worry, It’s going to be okay,” and, “That guy’s gonna beat ’em up, so ya don’t have to worry,” in order to calm them down.
Eventually, Ivan finished defeating all of the minions.
However, Miss Dran kept her self-assured smile. “Heh heh heh. You’re not bad, Ivan Juniro. Well, what will you do about this, then? Come forth, paper box monster, Danbox!”
“Danbooooox!…That’s me.” With those words, a monster that looked like a person made out of cardboard boxes appeared.
While it had slanted eyes made out of paper on its face… on the whole, it looked kind of lame. Its silhouette totally made it look like it was constructed out of Le** blocks, and there was a scratching sound every time its joints moved.
Liscia looked coldly at Danbox. “Isn’t that monster a little low quality compared to the rest?”
“We had passion,” I said. “What we lacked was time and budget.”
“It really is a harsh world, huh…”
I couldn’t make a full-sized kigurumi suit by myself. If I was going to order it from somewhere, that would take time. That was why, this time, I had ended up okaying that totally slapdash monster. It was a reminder of how hard things must have been for the people who made the enemy monsters in the early tokusatsu shows.
Still, while it might have looked kind of bland, Danbox was strong. When it attacked Ivan, it lifted the 180 centimeter tall, 90 kilogram man as easily as a surfer picking up a surfboard. Then, like a wrestler showing off their strength, Danbox spun in place, maintaining its pose as it did.
That ridiculous strength that defied its appearance dumbfounded Liscia. “That’s some incredible monster strength. Oh! Could it be, the person inside is…”
“Yep. It’s Aisha.”
“What’re you making your future second primary queen do…?” she groaned.
“It’s a bit late to say that when Juna and Roroa are both already in the program. You want in, too, Liscia? If you act now, the role of Ivan’s sidekick is still open.”
“Not. A. Chance.”
At that point, Ivan began to struggle. “Darn you, let me go!”
“I am Danboooox.”
“Gwah!”
Perhaps Ivan’s words had gotten through to the monster, because Danbox nodded and threw him hard towards a wall that had been prepared for just that purpose. When he slammed into it, Ivan punched through the wall.
By the way, it was made of light materials to make it easy for him to go through, so he was only a little hurt. However, Ivan acted as if he were grievously injured, groaning in pain.
“Urgh, what a powerful monster…”
“Daaaan, bo, bo, box! That’s me.” Danbox laughed (?) triumphantly.
Ivan pulled himself out of the wall, stumbling, then turned to face the children and shouted. “If this keep up, we’re going to lose. All of you good children, lend me your power!”
Roroa and Juna explained to the kids what he meant.
“All right, everyone,” Roroa said. “Go and spin the glowin’ sticks we gave ya. Shout, ‘You can do it!’”
“Let’s all send Big Brother Ivan our power,” Juna told them. “One, two…”
“““You can do it!”””
At those two’s prompting, the children started using the glowing sticks that were about the size of a piece of chalk to draw circles.
We’d handed out those sticks before the program started. They glowed faintly because lightmoss, which was used in the city’s streetlights because it absorbed light and then released it in the darkness, had been kneaded into them.
Ivan continued to act like he was in pain as he turned to the children and shouted, “It’s not enough! Not yet! Do it louder, I’m counting on you!”
It always gets kids fired up when an adult says they’re counting on them.
This time, when they cheered him on, they were louder and more serious than the last. “““You can do iiiiit!”””
“More! Even louder!”
“““You can do iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”””
The children shouted until their throats were almost raw, and in the next moment…
“All right! I’ve definitely received the kids’ energy!”
Ivan’s body was enveloped in a flash of light. Then, Ivan’s voice echoed from inside the light.
“Transform!”
When it did, a set of metallic armor, bracers, and a modified sallet helm with a full-face visor came flying from out of nowhere. Ivan stood still with his arms and legs spread wide as the pieces “automatically” put themselves on him. That cool transformation scene made the children cheer.