Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena's POV – September 8, 2008
"Cut! It stays! Everything was perfect! That was the final take! Let's finish the recording!" exclaimed the recording director as he looked at the screen in front of him. I just hummed contentedly as I watched the work. Everyone present practically started celebrating and talking animatedly among themselves.
" Yay!!" Enid and Serafall exclaimed excitedly at the same time. They both immediately approached, still fully dressed as Zoey and Rumi respectively.
"We finally finished filming the first season!" Enid squealed in front of me, a huge, satisfied smile spreading across her face as she looked at me excitedly. I smiled back warmly.
"Good job," I said to Enid gently, then placed my hand on top of her head and stroked it softly. Enid's smile only grew brighter, and I smiled back lovingly. I was about to speak when I saw Michael appear beside Enid, looking at me with an expectant smile.
I blinked slowly as I looked at Michael. His eyes kept shifting to my hand on Enid's head, and he was looking at her almost jealously, then back at me pleadingly. I could only blink in confusion, but for some reason, my other hand fell onto Michael's head, and I patted it lightly.
The change was instantaneous.
Michael's face lit up with happiness and practically began to glow, literally. Michael was so happy that he started emitting light from his halo and practically his entire body. I could only stare in disbelief before pulling my hand back; at least it wasn't holy light. Michael seemed to notice my hand had left his head. He pouted, grabbed my hand, and placed it on top of his head once more, then smiled broadly again.
I stared at him in disbelief before looking around, completely confused. I could see Sirzechs and Azazel slapping their faces with their hands while Serafall simply squealed happily. I could only sigh wearily, petting them both for a few more moments before pulling away.
Michael and Enid pouted; Michael's wasn't really effective, but Enid's was, so I just looked away from the others. I cleared my throat loudly to get their attention.
"Excellent work, everyone! Thank you all for your hard work! Filming for the first season of K-pop Demon Hunter has just wrapped!" I said happily, clapping my hands. Everyone quickly joined in, celebrating and applauding. I let them calm down before continuing. "You'll have several weeks off before we start filming the next season, so get some rest and stay tuned for the premiere!"
"I'll be coordinating with all of you to finalize a few things, but the work is practically done. Once again, great job, everyone!" I said with a smile before snapping my fingers. "Now, let's celebrate that we're done filming!" I said as several tables with food and drinks appeared around us. Everyone cheered and started moving happily.
"Serena! We're done!" Serafall exclaimed happily, bouncing on the spot. "We have to release this right away!" she added excitedly. I smiled.
"We'll stick to the plan. We already announced it would premiere after Rias and Diodora's Rating Game," I said playfully. "We still have to edit a large portion of what we filmed. While the first few episodes are already finished and it will be a weekly release, I prefer to have everything ready before it happens," I said with a smile. Serafall pouted.
"Fiinee!" Serafall complained before squealing with joy. "It's finally going to premiere!" she said happily. "I can't wait to see the devils' reaction!" Serafall said gleefully.
"And the angels, and the fallen angels, and the humans, and the other supernatural races, and everywhere we are broadcasting." I said playfully, and Serafall's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Exactly!" Serafall said cheerfully. I just shook my head in amusement.
"Try not to get too excited; it's only a few days away," I told Serafall. She just got even more excited. And yes, it was only a few days away, exactly three days.
Rias and Diodora's Rating Game will take place in two days, on Wednesday the 10th, while our series will premiere on Thursday the 11th in prime time.
Prime time in the underworld. Which, interestingly enough, we coordinated with Europe, specifically, with Italy. It shouldn't really surprise me, or maybe it should. Italy made sense; that's where the Vatican was, the headquarters of the angels and all that. I wouldn't be surprised if Sirzechs and the others adapted it for that reason.
But even so, it seemed strange to me to learn that we were on the same time zone as the Angels. I almost expected them to be opposite, like Hawaii's time zone, which is almost certainly 12 hours ahead of Italy.
Putting that aside, it had taken a lot of work to get Serafall to wait until after Rias and Diodora's Rating Game for the series to premiere—many excuses about wanting the episodes filmed and edited completely before airing, and many more.
Nonsensical excuses, obviously, because in the end, we had been using my time bubbles to be able to record as much of the time as possible, and I could finish everything that was missing the same way.
I mainly had to use time bubbles because having four of the leaders of the biblical faction here to act, dance, and sing was very complicated, especially with the whole Khaos Brigade thing and everything else, so none of them could be absent for very long, really.
And I say four, because Azazel kept coming often. The only reason he continued to assist him was because of Vali, especially after Kuroka and Bikou's attack on the party. Even though Vali hadn't been involved, they were still part of his team, so the leaders of the Bible faction were wary of Vali.
Vali barely paid them any attention. He kept coming no matter what, mainly for the fights. And he was improving by leaps and bounds, really, and without relying on his Sacred Gear, to my surprise.
And the reason I wanted to postpone the premiere until after the Rating Game is that I wanted it to happen after the Khaos Brigade attack. That way, no one would care about the Khaos Brigade attack, and no one would even dare to doubt the biblical faction's alliance.
Airing something like a television show after a terrorist attack was risky, but it was the best course of action; it was a demonstration of power, influence, and collaboration. Especially with the participation of faction leaders, it would garner far more attention than the failed attack by the Khaos Brigade.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just mention it to the devils... or maybe I could; I'm sure they already suspected the attack on the Khaos Brigade and all, but I really didn't want to go into details or create more lies about how I knew about the attack.
"Alright! But we have to beat Rias's pawn! He's becoming famous as the Oppai Dragon; we can't let that happen!" Serafall said with a competitive glint in her eyes. I snapped out of my thoughts and stopped stiffly before mentally groaning. Right, that was happening.
With Issei's tendency to constantly yell "Oppai!" and Rias and Sona's Rating Game being broadcast to the Underworld, it was virtually impossible to stop him. Especially since the situation Issei had used to unlock his Balance Breaker against Kuroka and Bikou happened right in the middle of the Rating Game. So everyone saw Issei squeezing Rias's nipples on TV to get a power-up literally. That, combined with their interview yesterday, certainly didn't help.
"I wouldn't be so sure, Serafall," Azazel said, approaching us playfully. "Sirzechs and I took advantage of the inspiration we felt while filming this series and created a song for Issei. I wrote the lyrics, and Sirzechs composed the music," Azazel said with amusement. Serafall's eyes widened.
"Did they create a song about the Oppai Dragon?" Serafall asked, unsure whether to appear offended or genuinely excited.
"Of course, and we wanted you to do the choreography," Sirzechs said with a smile. Serafall squealed with joy.
"Of course! Another project so fast?! It'll be amazing!" Serafall said happily, then turned to look at me. "Serena, you-"
"No," I said curtly. Serafall staggered back as if she hadn't expected to be rejected.
"Oh, come on, why the refusal, Serena? Don't be a spoilsport; I'm sure it'll be fun." Sirzechs said with a wide smile. I looked at him dryly.
"Is this revenge for making you bark all season?" I asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. Sirzechs' smile widened even further.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sirzechs said cheerfully. I glared at him. "We were thinking of making a series if Issei's fame increases; kids seem to like it," Sirzechs added, amused.
"My answer is no," I grumbled in annoyance. "I don't intend to associate myself with something like that," I said with a grimace. Azazel laughed amusedly.
"You touch your Peerage in public; Issei only touched Rias's nipples; there's hardly any comparison," Azazel said amusedly; my eye twitched slightly.
"I'm a succubus." I defended myself.
"It's not the defense you think it is." Azazel mocked, and I rolled my eyes.
"So what? You want me to be the villain of the series? Give me a name like Magia Baiser, and my job will be to kidnap the heroines, grope and harass them, and then Issei comes to save them?" I blurted out without thinking, with a snort. The three leaders stood still and stared at me, their eyes gleaming. "No," I snapped, glaring at them.
"Oh, come on! That's a great idea!" said Sirzechs with a huge smile.
"It's a terrible idea." I grumbled in annoyance.
"It was your idea," Serafall said, bouncing with excitement. "And a good one—every great hero needs a great villain. It's a great plot! " she added quickly.
"You can even grope different girls while you're filming, and you'll even get paid!" Azazel said with a knowing smile.
"I have my Peerage for that; I don't go around groping or harassing just anyone," I said indignantly. "I'm a decent Succubus!" I added, offended. Azazel stifled a laugh.
"The first time I've ever heard that phrase!" Azazel burst out laughing. I glared at him. Azazel just raised his hands in surrender, though he continued to laugh amusedly. "Does that mean that if you didn't have the chance, you wouldn't grope Rias? She's a very attractive young woman." Azazel said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No," I said quickly and curtly. The three of them stopped. Serafall looked confused; Azazel just blinked and gave me a strange look; Sirzechs almost looked indignant.
"You wouldn't grope Rias, would you?!" Sirzechs asked indignantly.
"You want me to grope Rias?" I snorted, raising an eyebrow. Sirzechs' face went through several expressions before he snorted and crossed his arms.
"Of course not, but I'm deeply offended that you didn't even consider it. You rejected her far too quickly!" Sirzechs growled. "Rias is a beautiful young woman! The epitome of Underworld beauty! Anyone would be lucky to be in your position!" Sirzechs said firmly. I snorted.
"Then hire someone else." I sighed as I massaged my temple.
"It wouldn't be the same! K-pop Demon Hunter will premiere soon; you'll already be labeled as the villain! We don't even need the villain to have any kind of really deep motivation for this series, I mean, beyond taking over all the heroines' breasts or whatever the plot is!" Serafall said excitedly.
"We'll even leave the musical arrangements for the villain to you. You'll have creative freedom in your role," Sirzechs said, trying to negotiate.
My eye twitched, and I definitely wouldn't tell anyone that there was one song that immediately came to mind. In fact, several. There were so many iconic songs I would have loved to use. But honestly, in my opinion, one of the best songs for a villain's introduction was Blumenkranz. Ragyo's theme song from Kill la Kill. Ragyo's introduction is iconic, and the Satsuki and Ragyo Heel clicks both made it similar. Creating a villain based on that and Baiser Magic wouldn't be difficult, really.
"No," I growled again before turning and starting to walk away from them. The three of them began to follow me, practically begging. I just groaned in frustration and kept running from them.
After dodging the three annoying ones throughout the entire celebration party while trying to talk to everyone present and say goodbye properly, Enid and I finally returned to the mansion. I could only sigh with relief, only for Dobby to immediately appear next to me.
"There are visitors at the island's entrance!" Dobby said excitedly. I sighed wearily. "Akame and Kurome." I groaned tiredly, kissing Enid on the lips before creating a portal to them.
Oh, Lucius had finally figured out a lot. And I must admit, the trap was quite easy and rather well thought out. Or rather, quite simple, but if simple works... Yes. Honest was allied with the Old Satan Faction, and in turn, with the Khaos Brigade.
They needed someone to let them onto the island from within. My defenses were more than enough to keep my island impenetrable unless they attacked it directly, and even then, I would notice and could easily counterattack. The city, though with fewer defenses, was still well enough defended to withstand a certain level of attack.
And Distracted Globe was practically indestructible unless they brought in someone of Satan-Tier power. And even then, it should have been able to withstand it.
So yes, Khaos Brigade, or rather, the faction of the ancient devils, wanted someone to breach the defenses of my island, the city, or Distracted Globe—all of them if possible. And Kurome had been sent on the job.
I mean, it was also because of her skill. Because of the Sacred Gear she possessed. She was a pure devil, so her Sacred Gear had been obtained in the same way as the others in Esdeath and Surya's group: by taking them from humans and somehow claiming them for herself.
That means that even here, she had Yatsufusa, the sword that allows her to enslave up to 8 enemies and kill them directly with her blade.
From what Lucius was able to discover, and quite impressively, Kurome had control over the corpses of some devil leaders of the pillar clans she controlled under Honest's orders. Those clans that Honest controlled from the shadows seemed to know nothing about them; they simply followed the orders of a dead man, unaware that he was truly dead.
And they definitely wanted to add me to that collection. I almost snorted mockingly. Good plan, too bad it wouldn't work for them.
Akame, on the other hand, actually belonged to the revolutionary group fighting against the old Satan faction in Luciferad, which was really interesting. Unfortunately, though, not much information could be uncovered. It wasn't a revolutionary army as such; they were smaller, more clandestine groups, but they existed.
The underworld isn't as connected to computers, at least not to the level of Cyberpunk or even the human world itself, so we couldn't hack anything truly important to get information that way.
While I've been providing tools to the Astrarium and Garden organizations, they were new to this, especially while they were getting used to their new powers.
Creating the uniforms with Narcissa had been a real success. It was difficult to find the perfect way to create threads with my body while imbuing them with different powers, so that Narcissa could use them to create the uniforms.
The easiest things were racial templates, fantastic animals, or monsters, simply because it was really easy to change my biology to fit them and create threads from there that inherently retained those traits.
The three-star uniforms made with The Light were also a success. I had been monitoring all three uniforms and was truly pleased with those creations. Maria certainly used it hardly ever, but Hood and Altair used it more often.
Even so, none of them were truly trained to find, track, and gather intelligence on a revolutionary assassination group that remained hidden even from Lucifer's own demonic pillars. So the information they uncovered was minimal.
But it was more than enough.
And after thinking about it for a while, I would simply let Khaos Brigade and the Old Satans faction in, and that's it.
I would put safeguards in place to prevent a disaster in the city and keep civilians safe. Still, with this, I would have more than enough excuse to attack Lucifaad directly, or at least, I hoped they would give me one directly.
Those idiots were hardly a problem, but I didn't want to waste any more time with them, so I'd prefer it all ended just as quickly. I just shook my head as I appeared in front of Kurome and Akame.
"I see you came." I said simply as I looked at them.
"Lady Prince, it is a pleasure to meet you once again," Kurome said immediately, bowing while grasping her skirt and greeting her properly. "I am ready to serve you with my life; allow me to swear my loyalty to you," Kurome said with ease.
"Please, my Lady, accept my oath and set my sister free. As I mentioned, it is my duty as her eldest sister," Akame said immediately, kneeling on one knee and bowing her head. Kurome shuddered slightly but said nothing. I just hummed.
"Both are accepted, come on." I said simply before turning around and starting to walk toward the island. It took them both several seconds to react, but they quickly followed me.
"Are we... are we both accepted?" Kurome asked cautiously, and I hummed.
"The house is quite empty; it turns out I need some maids to maintain it. You arrived at just the right time." I lied easily. "I'll give you a quick tour, then I'll leave you with Dobby to settle into your duties." I said effortlessly.
"Dobby?" Akame asked.
"Dobby!" I shouted, startling them both. Dobby appeared with a slight pop.
"You were calling, Miss Lady Serena?" Dobby asked cheerfully. I nodded.
"Dobby, they'll be helping you at the mansion until further notice," I said easily. Dobby froze before finally appearing conflicted. Dobby seemed about to cry and hugged my leg.
"The lady is so kind to Dobby! Giving Dobby help! Dobby will teach them both how to clean the house! The lady's house will be spotless! Dobby will make sure of it!" Dobby cried into my leg. I sighed wearily.
"Of course, Dobby, I trust you. First I'll give them a tour, then they'll all be yours." I said simply. That made Dobby cry even more.
"The lady trusts Dobby!" Dobby exclaimed, crying even louder. "Dobby won't let the lady down!" Dobby exclaimed before disappearing. I sighed wearily.
"What was that... thing?" Kurome said incredulously. I stopped before unleashing my full demonic power and murderous intent upon her. Kurome immediately knelt. Her knees slammed against the ground, nearly cracking it.
"That's Dobby. He's my butler, my servant. Until further notice, he'll be your direct superior, not some 'thing.' Is that clear?" I asked coldly. Kurome looked like she was about to faint.
"I-I understand, I-I'm sorry," Kurome moaned, almost desperate. I erased my demonic power as if it had never existed. I simply snorted as I watched Kurome breathe heavily and look at me, terrified. I just stared at her. I could see Akame's fur standing on end, looking at me in shock, and strangely, worried about Kurome. I ignored it.
"Okay, let's continue with the tour." I said easily as I turned around, not even waiting to see if they were following me. I just kept walking.