The new appearance of Issei's hand seemed to be enough to make him forget what I had done to him.
He raised his hand and began to admire it as if it were something surreal — because it was, in fact, surreal to him.
His hand was covered in a thick layer of scales that resembled red metal spikes. This was one of the most powerful Longinus that existed.
After admiring the new appearance of his hand for a few seconds, Issei raised his head, looked me in the eyes, and asked:
"Y-you did this to me, didn't you? Why did you do that?"
I smiled at him. "I'm sure you already know it wasn't me who gave you that."
He looked back at his hand as he admired it with his jaw dropped.
"The dreams I have... That voice I often hear calling me..." he muttered.
There was no longer any reason for him not to believe me and what I said. I had burned him with a magical flame that he obviously saw and felt was real, as it hurt more than any other superficial burn he'd ever suffered while cooking.
"That gauntlet on your hand is called Boosted Gear, and you could say it's the prison of a great being called the Welsh Dragon, or rather, Ddraig."
"Ddraig...?"
"Ddraig was a very powerful and chaotic Celestial Dragon who had a great rivalry with another Celestial Dragon named Albion. In one of the battles between the two rivals, they almost completely devastated the World of the Dead. To put an end to these chaotic battles, the Three Great Factions, composed of the Fallen Angels, the Angels of Heaven, and the Devils, joined forces for the first time to fight against the two Celestial Dragons and—"
"Wait a minute!" Issei interrupted me suddenly.
I looked at him and saw that he had a mocking smile on his face. "First, you talked about Dragons, and I can even believe that, but Angels and Devils? Haha! I'm not that stupid," he said as he laughed.
It was then that the green jewel on the back of Issei's left hand glowed brightly, and a booming voice resounded.
"The boy with the death flame abilities speaks the truth, idiot!"
My eyebrows rose in surprise at finally hearing Ddraig's voice. Issei, who was sitting on the floor, crawled backward, frightened by the terrifying voice.
"T-that voice...!"
"Hmph," Ddraig snorted. "What a pathetic vessel I have this time... At this rate, Albion will be able to kill him easily and mock me for another hundred years."
I laughed briefly at what Ddraig said. "Issei-kun, the one speaking to you is the Heavenly Dragon I told you about: Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon. He is the dragon who was imprisoned in the Boosted Gear, the Sacred Gear with which your existence was blessed."
"Ha! This boy really knows a lot!" Ddraig exclaimed, then adopted a more serious tone to speak to me: "Now tell me, bearer of the flames of death, why did you force my awakening?"
"Bearer of the flames of death? That's the second time he's said that..." I thought, but didn't say it out loud.
Questions like that and many others I had could be answered later. What I needed now was to manipulate Issei and Ddraig to make them wait until the full moon—which would be in three days.
"Ddraig, I need your help," I said as I bowed my head slightly toward Issei's left hand.
"Help?" Issei and Ddraig asked in unison.
"My name is Zagreus. I am a lesser god of the Greek Pantheon. A few months ago, my family was attacked by an impostor who took my father's place in the pantheon. I don't know how, but the power he had was enough to easily overcome my father—the real Hades — and several other Greek gods. I don't know what his intentions are behind all this, but I know I don't have enough power to fight this being... But maybe with your help, I can."
"Greek god? So that's why you're so handsome—" Issei said, but was suddenly interrupted by a shout from Ddraig.
"Shut up!" Ddraig ordered, and Issei gulped. "Hmm... Young man, you said your name is Zagreus and your father is Hades?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... A long time ago, one of my bearers personally encountered a man named Hades. He was a filthy-looking being with a long beard and a faithful three-headed dog by his side."
I widened my eyes in surprise. The fact that he didn't describe Hades as a skull-like man was surprising to me, especially since the long-bearded Hades was my father. Furthermore, he also basically described Cerberus.
Could I really have been wrong all this time? Hades and the others in my family didn't travel to another universe, as my transmigrated consciousness did. They were always here. In other words, the current Gods of Olympus in High School DxD were all imposters.
"That dirty-looking man you mentioned..." I muttered seriously. "He was my father… I'm sure of it."
"Hmph," Ddraig snorted again. "Your father seemed very powerful. How was he so easily tamed by an 'impostor'?"
"I don't know... But, Ddraig, would you help me with this? If you do, I promise to free you from Boosted Gear."
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