Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken - Yūsha Avan to Gokuen no Maō #15

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai – The Hero Avan and the Dark Lord of Flames is a spin-off manga series that serves as a prequel to the iconic Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai saga. Authored by Yusaku Shibata under the supervision of Riku Sanjo, the series explores the backstory of the mentor figure Avan, detailing his early adventures and the formative conflicts that defined his character before the events of the original 1989 manga. The series began serialization in 2020 within Shueisha's V Jump magazine as part of a larger multimedia revival of the franchise.

The artistic direction focuses on expanding the world-building of the Dragon Quest universe while maintaining the high-fantasy aesthetic established by Koji Inada in the original series. By centering the narrative on Avan’s growth as a hero, the creators intended to provide veteran fans with deeper lore while introducing new readers to the series' combat mechanics and thematic weight. This fifteenth installment represents the continued efforts to flesh out the journey of the Avan Strash technique and the tragic origins of the battle against the Dark Lord Hadlar.