Summary: Nina wakes up in the office of Rita, a zombie doctor who works with her assistant Rocky, a zombified left hand.
Not remembering anything that happened the night before, Rita tells her that Azazel —the Rag Demon— took her with her after she reverted to her human form.
Rita then asks Nina if she's human or dragon.
In a tower in the demonic suburbs, Azazel tells Mugaro that if he had Nina's power, he could use it on behalf of his kind.
Once back with Bacchus and Hamsa, Nina writes a letter to her mother, who lives in Dragonfolk Village. In her letter, she comments that she's doing well and that, despite the fact that there are many young men in the city, she can handle everything and doesn't have any problems.
Meanwhile, at the castle, Charioce reproves Kaisar for letting the Rag Demon escape once again. Learning that he failed because of the sudden appearance of a red dragon, Charioce is very interested in this one, whom he would like to have seen.
After so many consecutive failures, Charioce suspects Kaisar and the Rag Demon are indeed acquaintances, so he entrusts the mission of catching him to the Onyx Soldiers. At the same time, he secretly asks them to keep an eye on Kaisar's movements.
The Orleans Knight Alessand is especially upset with Captain Kaisar for not asking Charioce for another chance and making the division look useless. Kaisar feels bad about it, but no doubt, he's related to Azazel, so he just tells him that he can't do anything about it, as the king is right in his actions.
At the end of her day's work, Nina is stopped by Azazel in the suburbs, and he demands that she use her power on behalf of the demons. Nina can barely pay attention to what he tells her because he's so handsome that it makes her all flustered and feel like she's going to turn into a dragon. Besides, she's unaware of the reality of the demons under Charioce's rule.
Azazel takes Nina to the slums and tells her that he hates humans because they have come to enslave demons, traffic their children, and starve and misery them. He explains to her that all this has been going on since Charioce assaulted the capital of hell, Cocytus, to take inhabitants from there and force them to work for him on the surface.
Nina is shocked by the reality, and Azazel tells her that he met Mugaro after saving him from traffickers who cut his wings and burned his throat.
Azazel does everything he can to convince her to work with him since her dragon form scares humans, but she holds off because she doesn't want to transform back. Azazel insists that she help him since she too has demon blood in her veins, but Nina doesn't understand what he means by that. The commotion is so great that Rita ends up putting an end to the matter after punching Azazel in the face. Frustrated with the result, Azazel hurries off to his job at the coliseum, where Kaisar watches him from a distance, sure that he's the Rag Demon.
Nina returns to the carriage and writes a new letter to her mother to tell her that she saw demons in a very bad state in the capital and that many things happen there that she doesn't know about. And that in addition, she was called a demon, and she doesn't understand why. But despite everything that has happened to her, not to worry about anything because she hasn't told anyone her secret that causes her to change into a dragon.
After Azazel finishes his work, he goes out at night to attack aristocrats and researchers who are holding hostage and using demons for experimentation and anatomical study.
Kaisar realizes where Azazel is and approaches him to tell him that he knows his identity and has no intention to fight him but to ask him to leave the capital before Charioce ends his life. Furthermore, he tells him that continuing to end the lives of humans won't lead the demons to the future he wants for it. However, Azazel tells him that he only kills scum who abuse innocent demon children and that he'll keep killing until he gets revenge.
Kaisar insists that his methods aren't right and will only bring more hatred. However, Azazel ignores him and treats him as the king's lapdog. He sees him as so little that he does not kill him before leaving the place.
That night, the Onyx Soldiers follow Kaisar and see how he's linked to Azazel and how he let him escape. To fulfill the mission entrusted by Charioce, the Onyx Task Force trap Azazel back in the capital. Nevertheless, he's saved by Mugaro, who possesses a special power associated with his hidden eye and which overrides the power of the Onyx armor.
Having lost the opportunity to catch him, the leader of the Onyx Task Force reports what happened to Charioce, who confirms his suspicions about Kaisar and, at the same time, is surprised to hear that there's a child capable of nullifying the power of armor. He suspects he's the so-called Holy Child, whose track was lost two years ago. Charioce gives the order to kill him together with the Rag Demon.
Style: The main idea is given through the reality of the demons and how Azazel avenges them.
Point of View: Azazel and Kaisar's opposing beliefs predominate across the episode.
Tone: Rebellious
Fixed literary devices: Those that are present throughout all the episodes.
- Transversal themes:
- Love
- Identity and Secrecy
- Transversal symbols (motifs):
- Water
- Red
Mutable literary devices: Those themes particular to an episode and not necessarily repeated every episode.
- Episode themes:
- Power and Powerlessness
- Loyalty and Obedience
- Prosperity and Misfortune
Conflict: Power vs. Powerlessness
Thematic elements:
- Power vs. Powerlessness:
- Azazel fights against the injustice practiced on his species by the humans, who have lost their fear of them and use them for their own benefit; however, he isn't able to do it alone because Charioce possesses a power before which he's weak so he asks Nina for help.
- Charioce sees the power of the Holy Child as a threat to the Onyx Soldiers, so he orders them to search for him.
- Loyalty and Obedience:
- Kaisar is loyal to the king but not entirely obedient, as he puts his principles first.
- The Onyx Task Force blindly follows Charioce's orders without a second thought, representing a big danger because they seem to have no principles like Kaisar.
- Azazel is loyal to his principles and disobeys the rules imposed by the king of humans.
- Prosperity and Misfortune:
- Humans prosper at the expense of the misfortune of the demons.
- Love:
- As in the first episode, the emphasis is on attraction, as this is what leads Nina to become the Red Dragon. Azazel being attractive makes her very flustered.
- Nina writes letters to her mom regularly to let her know that she's okay and not to worry about her well-being.
- Identity and Secrecy:
- Azazel and Rita discover that Nina can turn into a dragon.
- Nina has not told anyone about how she can turn into a dragon; however, she has discovered the Rag Demon's true identity.
Symbols:
- Water: In the Dragonfolk Village, children practice their transformation in the river. Among its many meanings throughout history, water is a symbol of change.
- Red: Once again, the color red is used to represent power. Mugaro's hidden eye is red, and it's the eye that's associated with the special power that allows him to nullify the power of the Onyx armors.
It's the same power that allows him to give a peaceful death to the war wounded in the coliseum.Red is still linked to the effect that attractive men have on Nina. - Sword: As it's tilted and resembles a cross, it represents death.
- Handcart: Symbolizes grief and sadness. It conveys Azazel's feelings since he's the one who carries it in the coliseum.
- Red room: It symbolizes sacrifice. It's the room where humans sacrifice demons to torture and dissect them.
Scenarios:
- Royal Capital of Anatae
- Royal Castle
- Demon suburbs
- Dragonfolk Village
- Hell
- Cocytus
References:
- Les Misérables (novel): Like the protagonist of Victor Hugo's novel Jean Valjean, Azazel fights against misery and injustice against his kind, having to hide his identity and escape time and again from those who want to capture him.
- Cocytus: In the vision of Hell given by Dante in his Divine Comedy, the Cocytus is an immense frozen lake, located in the ninth circle of Hell. In Roman tradition —notably in Virgil's literature— the Cocytus became the main river of Hades.
- Azazel: Biblically, he is a fallen angel and the leader of the rebellious demons. He's, also, the demon of vanity, as he taught women the use of cosmetics (hence his purple lips). His physical description includes that he has 7 snakes, 14 faces, and 12 wings. The snakes are visible in the story when Azazel attacks.
- Matera: The demon suburbs are inspired by the city of Matera, Italy.
Foreshadowing:
Elements:
- Rocky: The name of Rita's assistant hand announces that it's strong and, at the same time, a zombie hand since, in Italian, Rocky means rest.
Foreshadowing lines:
- Charioce: Confused by the sudden appearance of a red dragon, did you let the Rag Demon escape?Kaisar: Yes, majesty.Charioce: I heard that the dragon was very troublesome. I wish I could have seen it.This dialogue is of particular importance, as it foreshadows that Charioce has a particular interest in the dragon, not just because it was a dragon, but because it was troublesome. That is because he was so strong that he wiped out part of his men and destroyed the city.
- Azazel: I don't know where your confusion comes from, but I'm a demon, an enemy of mankind. I swear I'll make you all regret what you have done to us, the demons. I'll kill as many people as it takes to get it.Kaisar: You're making a mistake. Revenge brings no good. It'll only bring more hatred!This foreshadows Azazel's ruin if he continues to take revenge, and connects directly to the events of episodes 23 and 24, as it's these words, in part, that make him spare Charioce's life.
- Charioce: The Rag Demon and the Holy Child, huh? How interesting.This line gives a clue to the things that appeal to Charioce. He's not frightened by Azazel and Mugaro's power combined but sees it as the union of a demon and a demigod. Furthermore, it gives the viewer an idea that unification between the species will occur during the progress of the story.
Characters:
- New:
- Rita:General description: She's a zombie doctor who works in the demon suburbs alongside her assistant, Rocky. She's known to Azazel, as she treats his wounds.Physical description: She looks like a child but is much older than Nina. Her hair is black, her ski white, and her eyes green. She's short and expressionless.Psychological description: Mature, kind, and smart, given that she's a doctor many years of age, despite her appearance.After examining Nina and telling her that Azazel brought her to her clinic, she asks Nina if she's human or dragon.Recap & Analysis: In this episode, Rita realizes that Nina is half-dragon, although she doesn't confess it to her. Rita is the one who takes it upon herself to tell Nina how she came to her clinic and that Azazel —the Rag Demon— was the one who helped her.Rita empathizes quite a bit with Nina, whom she helps to stop Azazel from harassing her.
- Rocky:
- General Description: Rita's zombie assistant.
- Physical description: Zombified left hand, coincidentally, the hand Kaisar is missing (in fact, it is. Rita reveals it to Nina in episode 4).
- Psychological description: Rocky is an optimistic, hard-working, and friendly hand.
- Onyx Task Force Leader:
- General Description: He's the king's right-hand man, as he entrusts him with the most important and secret missions.
- Physical description: He wears an Onyx armor that's powered by a green stone. He's tall and stocky and about fifty-something years old. He has white hair and wears a black line covering his eyes to make him look even more intimidating.
- Psychological Description: Loyal to the king, he obeys and executes every mission he's given.
- Recap & Analysis: As the leader of the Onyx unit, Charioce entrusts him with difficult and secret missions.
The Orleans Knights have failed so many times to capture the Rag Demon, that Charioce reassigns the mission to him and his soldiers. In addition, he's tasked with keeping an eye on Kaisar, as Charioce senses that he knows the Rag Demon and is covering for him.
The leader and his men execute both orders, being successful in confirming Charioce's presumption regarding the captain of the Orleans Knights, and failing to catch the Rag Demon, as a child emitting a special light managed to disable the powers of his armor.
When he reports what happened to Charioce, Charioce orders him to kill the Rag Demon and the Holy Child. - Dias Bardolomew (*):
- General description: Vice Captain of the Orleans Knights.
- Physical description: Tall, muscular, brown-skinned, green-eyed, and about 40 years old.
- Psychological description: Mature and authoritative enough to inspire confidence. He trusts Kaisar and disapproves of Alessand's insolence towards him.
- Alessand (*):
- General description: He's an Orleans Knight who notoriously dislikes the Onyx Task Force and shows his dissatisfaction with Kaisar's actions by being so ineffective in performing the missions entrusted to them by Charioce, causing them to lose prestige.
- Physical description: He's a tall, brown-eyed, blond young man.
- Psychological description: He's irritable, impulsive, and not very patient.
(*): They appear in the first episode. Alessand is the one who gives the order to capture Nina on suspicion of being on the Rag Demon's side.
- Previous:
- Nina: She wakes up in Rita's clinic. Rita examines her for injuries. Nina recalls that, before she turned into a dragon, the Rag Demon held her in his arms. Rita tells her that Azazel —the Rag Demon—, took her to her clinic. Rita then asks Nina if she's a human or a dragon.After a day's work, Nina writes a letter to her mother. She tells her that Bacchus and Hamsa treat her very well; she's doing fine at work and that everyone compliments her; the inhabitants are very kind to her, and her only worry is that there are a lot of young men around her. But not to stress about it because she hasn't told anyone the secret that makes her become a dragon and that she's doing great.On her way through the demonic suburbs, Azazel is waiting for her with Mugaro. Nina doesn't recognize him at first, but seeing an attractive man in her path, she tries not to look at his face. Azazel draws her attention to him, and Nina ends up recognizing him. Azazel asks her to join him in bringing justice to the demons, but Nina doesn't understand what he's talking about. Azazel then takes her to the inner suburbs to see how the demons live under the reign of Charioce.The reality of the enslaved demon children and the conditions in which they live affects Nina, but she doesn't want to get involved with Azazel or in any conflict. At her refusal, Azazel struggles with trying to convince her, but being so insistent, Rita intervenes and beats him, labeling him a pervert, and sending him to work, as it's time for him to go show up at the coliseum.Nina thanks Rita for helping her and returns to Bacchus' chariot to write a new letter to her mother. This time, to tell her how the demons live in the capital.
- Charioce: After another failure in capturing the Rag Demon, Kaisar explains that he was unable to do so because a Red Dragon appeared and hindered his seizure. Charioce expresses that he would have liked to see the dragon.Suspecting that Kaisar is definitely linked to the Rag Demon, he tasks the Onyx soldiers with the mission to catch him. He also instructs the unit to keep an eye on Kaisar.When his suspicions are confirmed, he orders the unit's leader to keep watching him to see what other information they come up with.The sudden appearance of the Holy Child poses a threat to his army. And upon learning that he's alive, he orders the leader of the Onyx Task Force to kill him and the Rag Demon.Charioce thinks that the Holy Child and the Rag Demon working together is interesting.Thanks to Azazel, it's learned that Charioce invaded the capital of Hell, Cocytus, five years ago in order to take demons from it, demons he enslaved to work on behalf of humans on the surface.
- Azazel: He's the Rag Demon. In this episode, it's revealed that he doesn't kill humans for pleasure but because his sense of justice drives him to do so when he sees them abusing the weakest of their kind. He thirsts for revenge and wants Nina to join him at all costs, as he believes he'll be able to execute the demons if he has the power of the Red Dragon on his side. With her by his side, the demons would be invincible.He takes Nina to the suburbs to see the reality of the demon children and learn that they live like this because of Charioce, who invaded the capital of hell five years ago to take demons that he ended up enslaved to work for humans.He also tells Nina that he met Mugaro after rescuing him from slavers two years ago, who cut his wings and burned his throat so they could sell him later.Azazel detests Charioce for what he has done to his kind and wants revenge, so he enlists Nina's help to join him and use her power on behalf of the demons.When she refuses, Azazel loses his temper and is brought to his senses again after Rita hits him in the face.Later, he shows up at the coliseum with Mugaro.At night, Kaisar finds him in a facility and asks him not to kill any more humans inside. However, Azazel doesn't stop and emphasizes that he won't hesitate to keep killing humans because, among all the horrible things they do, they experiment on them, something that Kaisar didn't know.Azazel tells Kaisar that he'll take revenge on the humans and their king. He'll kill as many humans as it takes to get it. However, Kaisar tells him that revenge will only bring more hatred and that his actions are wrong. When he escapes from the place, he's seized by Onyx Task Force. Although not for long. Mugaro comes to his aid, being his power able to annul the onyx armors that grant them powers to face demons.
- Mugaro: He's the boy that Azazel rescued two years ago. He even works with him in the coliseum to give a last peaceful rest to the demons who fall in battle. He has one blue and one red eye, the red one representing the power that dwells in him and allows him to override the armor of the Onyx soldiers. He uses his power to help Azazel when he's captured by the unit.
- Kaisar: He excuses himself to Charioce for once again failing to catch the Rag Demon, arguing that he was unable to do so because of the sudden appearance of a Red Dragon. Although he says this, Kaisar hasn't done so because he doesn't want to fight Azazel.Being unable to fulfill the mission, Charioce reassigns it to the Onyx Task Force.Alessand, his second-in-command, is upset that he didn't ask the king for a new chance, but Kaisar tells him that there's nothing he can do about it since it is a fact of life that the Orleans Knights have let the Rag Demon escape countless times.Kaisar is almost certain that Azazel is the Rag Demon, so he keeps an eye on him during his workday at the coliseum until nightfall. Kaisar has an idea of where Azazel will appear. When he hears the sound of breaking glass, he heads toward an aristocratic mansion and finds him.Seeing that Azazel is killing humans, Kaisar begs him to stop, but Azazel ignores him and continues to murder the residents, as they're men who are in the business of experimenting on demons and dissecting them. Until that moment, Kaisar was unaware of this situation. He still asks Azazel to stop anyway, as his actions are wrong, and revenge will only bring more hatred. Azazel gets annoyed with him and tells him that he's no more than the king's pet and inferior to all the humans he has killed to date.
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