After returning home and talking with his parents for a while, Issei received the news that they were going to Romania.
"What do you mean you're going to Romania?" Issei asked in shock.
"Well, my grandmother is Romanian, and she's sick," Mrs. Hyoudou said with a sigh as she looked at her son. "So your grandmother is organizing the trip so we can say goodbye to her."
"Why isn't she in Japan?" Issei became irritated. He couldn't understand what was happening.
"Well, my grandmother married my grandfather, who was a Japanese man that had gone to Romania before the war," Mrs. Hyoudou said with a sigh. "So he stayed there until the war ended. Since the countries were allies... let's not get into that."
"Wait, our family were the bad guys?" Issei asked in shock, freezing on the spot.
"Yes... but it was only your great-grandfather. He died a long time ago, and my mother came back to Japan and married my father," Mrs. Hyoudou answered honestly. "I'm just going to say goodbye to my grandmother, and we'll be back in a month. Don't cause any trouble."
"As a good husband, I'm going with your mother since I managed to save up some vacation days and never used last year's leave," Mr. Hyoudou said, looking genuinely excited. "I've never traveled outside the country."
"But what about me?" Issei whined. "That's not fair! I'm the only one staying behind!"
"You have school," Mrs. Hyoudou said, leaving no room for argument. "And you'd better go to school. If I receive any complaints, you know what happens, right?"
The look in her eyes made it clear that the punishment would be cruel if Issei didn't obey.
"Y-Yes..." Issei muttered, trembling.
And so, Issei's parents packed their bags and left.
—It makes sense that you managed to synchronize so well with my card. You have ancestry from my homeland.— Vlad said in Issei's mind in surprise.
--+--
"It seems you've picked a fight with the Phoenix Clan while I was away."
A voice suddenly spoke next to Issei's ear.
"AAAHHHHH!"
Issei fell backward in fright, and when he looked—
Scathach was sitting on the chair he had fallen from, and Morrigan was standing on top of his bed.
"Hey! Take your shoes off my bed!" Issei pointed at Morrigan indignantly.
"Ahhh, don't worry about that. They're divine shoes; they don't get dirty," Morrigan said with a smile, showing him her feet.
"How do you know about that?" Issei looked at Scathach in surprise.
"Do you really think I wasn't watching you? Be grateful that I didn't let the others see everything," Scathach replied proudly while thumping her chest. "Especially your fight against those two Fallen Angels, that dangerous ability of yours, and also the two Fallen Angels you're hiding inside a pocket dimension."
Issei's eyes widened, and he finally understood why Rias didn't know about his stake abilities.
"Thank you," Issei said honestly.
"But I heard that you lied to us about this so-called Grail," Morrigan said with a serious expression. "Imagine my surprise when I sensed two dead souls wandering the world and causing physical effects in reality."
"Sorry. I really thought the Grail had been destroyed," Issei lowered his head. "That old man said so."
"The old man clearly hid things from you," Morrigan said with an irritated sigh.
"But the main issue is that Lugh wants to meet you," Morrigan said. "And now."
"Now? Like, right now?" Issei asked in surprise. One of the big shots wanted to meet him?
"Right now," Morrigan replied.
—Damn, kid, you've caught my father's attention.— Satanta sighed. —It's been a while since I've seen the old man.
There was nostalgia and longing in Satanta's voice.
Hearing him, Issei sighed and nodded at Morrigan.
"Okay, let's go. How are we getting there? Are we flying? I don't have money for a plane ticket."
His poor-boy comment made both women laugh.
"Hey! Stop laughing at me!" Issei cursed, which only made them laugh even harder.
"No, idiot. We're teleporting there," Scathach replied, touching Issei's forehead. A magic circle appeared on the ground.
"Let's go."
The world distorted, and Issei found himself somewhere completely different.
It was a beautiful garden, covered in shining green grass and the most beautiful flowers.
In the sky there were two suns, one larger than the other.
Instead of weakening Issei because he was a Dead Apostle, they made him stronger.
His skin glowed, and his eyes turned red.
Not monstrous and shining like a vampire's eyes, but a vivid red, as if they were precious jewels.
Issei looked around and saw a man sitting at a table, drinking a can of Irish beer.
—Old man...— Satanta said emotionally inside Issei's mind.
Vlad said nothing.
In fact, his presence inside Issei's mind had become faint.
Perhaps the two suns were suppressing his existence.
"Come on," Morrigan and Scathach said, pulling Issei toward the table.
He sat in front of the man.
"Well, here we are," Lugh said with a gentle smile.
"Yes, here we are," Issei replied in the same manner, though Satanta's nostalgia made his voice tremble.
"Has my son been behaving himself over there?" Lugh smiled again.
Issei's eyes widened in surprise.
Scathach merely looked away.
"Lugh, I told you they were only echoes of Satanta inside the cards," Morrigan said, showing him the two cards.
Issei's eyes widened again.
When had Morrigan taken the cards?
Thankfully, he had hidden the rest of them well.
Otherwise, he'd have even more problems.
"It seems you've fallen for the boy's trick, Morrigan," Lugh laughed and pointed at Issei's chest. "My son's true essence is in there."
—Damn, he found out.— Satanta muttered.
"How?" Issei asked in confusion.
"The moment you entered my domain, I felt my own divinity inside you rejoice. Something like a reincarnation that merely imitates divinity is just a copy... it wouldn't react to me," Lugh replied while taking a sip of beer. "I'd offer you this Irish beer, the finest brand, but since you're underage... you can't have any, can you?"
—Damn it... Curse you, I want some!— Satanta grumbled angrily. —How dare you blackmail me with beer?!
'Shut up, you're giving everything away!' Issei shouted in his mind.
Lugh's eyes suddenly sparkled, and a smile appeared on his face.
"See? My divinity inside you reacted again," Lugh laughed, leaving both Morrigan and Issei stunned. "Tell me, is my son conscious in there?"
—Tell a half-truth,— Satanta sighed after recovering. —But tell the truth. Don't lie. The old man can tell when someone's lying.
"Sometimes, yes," Issei said, repeating the story he had told Scathach. "Today he's pretty talkative, but most of the time he communicates through dreams and occasionally shows me things during battles that I don't notice."
"I see... so he's semi-conscious, huh?" The god narrowed his eyes at Issei.
—Don't lie now,— Satanta said. —He's analyzing you.
"No. I think he's always conscious, but he only helps me when he wants to," Issei sighed while looking directly into Lugh's eyes.
Lugh remained silent for several seconds.
His golden eyes stared at Issei as though they could see through his soul.
Then, slowly, a smile appeared on his face.
"Hahaha... exactly as I thought."
Morrigan tilted her head.
"What is it?"
"My son really is conscious."
Issei swallowed.
"How do you know?"
Lugh pointed his beer can at him.
"Because you didn't try to please me."
"Huh?"
"Most people in your situation would have said something like 'I don't know' or 'maybe.' You answered directly. That means someone advised you to tell the truth."
His smile widened.
"And I know my son. He hates lying when he knows the lie will be discovered."
"Tch..."
Satanta grumbled in Issei's mind.
—Old man is too sharp.
Lugh chuckled.
"And he just complained about me, didn't he?"
Issei's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Even Morrigan looked surprised.
"You can hear him?!"
"No."
Lugh took another sip.
"But I know my son's expressions. You made exactly the same face."
Scathach covered her mouth to hide a smile.
"That's kind of scary."
"It's called being a father."
For a few moments, no one spoke.
Then Lugh placed the can on the table.
"Tell me, Issei Hyoudou."
"Yes?"
"How is he?"
The question was so simple that Issei was left speechless.
This wasn't a god asking.
This wasn't a leader.
It was simply a father.
Issei scratched his head.
"He complains about everything, calls me an idiot, and gets angry whenever I do something stupid."
"I do not get angry!" Satanta protested.
'Yes, you do.'
"But... he seems to be having fun."
Lugh remained silent.
"But... getting back to the subject," Lugh suddenly said seriously, "you didn't tell them the whole truth about this so-called Grail, did you?"
Issei stiffened and looked away, trying to think of what to say, while Morrigan was glaring at him.
"Well, I received the real cards from the magician when was a child, and he said that in ten years something big would happen and I could help him," Issei said honestly without mentioning Zelretch's name. "Then he came back after ten years and said that the evil god had caused trouble with one of the Dragon Gods."
"Ahhh, then it makes sense that you have those cards," Lugh said while looking at the cards on the table. "These are only echoes. The real ones are in your soul."
Issei stiffened again because the god had figured everything out from just a little information.
"Yes..." he answered.
"From what I can tell, there are two cards here... and one of them summons Gae Bolg. You also have an ability similar to Dracula's, creating physical shadow stakes," Lugh said thoughtfully. "So I assume you have another spirit inside you, and that spirit is Dracula."
"..."
Issei couldn't say anything.
"And if this evil god inside the Grail survived against two Dragon Gods, then he is no longer a minor god or even a chief god. He must already be at the level of a God-King," Lugh said irritably while scratching his head. "And he has the power to summon heroes from the grave whenever he wants... These magicians are a bunch of idiots."
"..."
Issei was becoming more and more shocked by Lugh's ability to deduce everything.
"I know! I'll declare you my descendant!" Lugh suddenly announced.
"Since you carry my son's soul within you and possess my identity, you can be classified as my descendant. And you have the Boosted Gear. I'm going to shock the world."
"Okay," Issei simply replied.
--++--
The next day, the announcement was made through Lugh's divine proclamation.
The sun shone brighter and more intensely, and all of the most powerful pantheons heard the voice of the fourth strongest being in the Top Ten laughing as he declared that his descendant was the current Red Dragon Emperor.
The news spread through every mythology.
Everyone wanted to know the identity of the current Red Dragon Emperor and how in the world the Celts, who had withdrawn from the stage, had suddenly returned and immediately obtained a Longinus.
"Well, Vali, it seems you're not the only special one among the two Dragon Emperors," Azazel said with a laugh to his protégé.