"...Are you okay?"
The dragon asked worriedly, looking at the boy who had stopped crying.
"Yeah... sorry about that,"
"Don't worry about it,"
"Hey..."
"What is it?"
"The people who killed my parents..."
"What's the point of knowing?"
"Huh?"
"I'll say it again. What's the point of knowing?"
The boy fell silent.
"Don't tell me you're thinking about revenge?"
The boy startled, hit right at the core of his thoughts.
"I knew it... Give it up. The way you are now, you'd get yourself killed faster than you could blink."
He tried to persuade Issei to stop, but Issei wouldn't give up.
"But!"
"Stop being such a brat!" he roared like a wild beast. "Who the hell would be happy if you went after revenge?! Besides, you're only alive because they protected you!"
"Protected...?"
"The Sacred Gear inside you is called the Divine Love Guardian."
"Divine Love Guardian?"
"This Sacred Gear is fundamentally a protective ability. It has other powers too, but the activation conditions are special."
"What kind of conditions?"
"Love."
"L...ove?"
"The stronger your feelings of love, the more powerful the Divine Love Guardian becomes."
Issei remained silent.
"Conversely, the weaker your feelings, the weaker it becomes until it has no effect at all... Do you understand? Even in death, they worried about you! Your safety! Your happiness! As a result, your Diine Love Guardian activated, and another Sacred Gear sent you to this dimensional gap that I rule, a place you never could have reached on your own!"
The moment Issei realized that his parents had been thinking of him even after death, tears began to flow silently down his cheeks.
"That power is still working now. Look behind you."
"Huh...!?"
When he turned around as told, there they were, his parents whom he should never have been able to see again. Issei was shocked and stunned.
"It's unfortunate to meet you in this form, but it's been a while" the dragon said.
""Yeah, it has been a while,""
"Dad...? Mom...? How...?"
"Issei, the Divine Love Guardian inside you has another ability," his mom explained.
"Another ability?"
"It's called The Final Gift,"
"For this Final Gift, we first decided to send you to this dimensional gap using your other Sacred Gear, Spacetime Dimensional Pathway,"
"We set it up so that if anything happened to us, a transportation magic circle would activate to bring you to the dimensional gap. And now... it's happened."
"Why? Why were you killed? Did you do something wrong?"
"We were targeted for a specific reason,"
"Why?"
"I need to tell you about myself."
His parents began to tell their story.
"Long ago, there existed a clan that possessed certain powers. That clan's name was Hyodo. Our family name. The people of Hyodo possessed extraordinary abilities, longer lifespans than normal humans, and hidden powers. Of course, your mom has those powers too. Anyone who marries into the family gains these abilities. But various beings feared this power, and we were hunted to extinction. That's what happened to us."
His dad's eyes turned distant as he remembered those times. "The surviving Hyodo spread false information about their deaths and waited for time to pass until Hyodo's name was forgotten. I hid here in this dimensional gap. I was quite surprised back then."
"After a long time passed, I thought the world had forgotten about me, so I returned to the human world from the dimensional gap. I traveled to various places, interacting with people and helping them. During my adventures, I met your mom at a certain location. We hit it off and decided to travel together. We helped people all around the world."
"Some of the people we helped became famous later on," his mom added.
"After traveling together for several months, I confessed to your mom and we got married. And then, you were born Issei."
"I see."
"When you were born, I implanted Sacred Gears in you."
"We had help from our friend over there. Sacred Gears kill you if they're removed, after all."
"But you already had a Sacred Gear. Even so, we implanted our Sacred Gears in you."
"Friend, I have a question," the crimson dragon interjected. "Why did you send this child to this dimensional gap? Couldn't you have sent him to the Mao or the Gods instead? Why here? And why specifically to the dimensional gap that I rule? If you really wanted to, there should be safer places than here. Wouldn't it have been better to send him there instead?"
The parents exchanged glances before answering together: "Because we trust you to take care of Issei."
The dragon's mouth hung open. For such a simple reason? He was exasperated, but at the same time, part of him felt happy about it.
"Friend, would that be a problem?" his dad asked worriedly.
"...Don't worry. I was planning to look after him anyway."
"What!?" Issei exclaimed, shocked by this sudden development.
"Thank you," his mom said.
"Phew… I thought you might refuse. I was worried," his dad sighed in relief.
"Wait, wait! Dad! Mom! What's going on here!?" Issei demanded an explanation as the conversation took a suspicious turn.
"Issei, can you survive on your own from now on?" his mom asked.
Issei winced. While he was intelligent and could cook at a professional level, he was still socially immature, surviving alone would be nearly impossible for him.
"Besides, if people like those attackers come after you again, you know what would happen, right?" his dad added.
Issei fell silent. Indeed, if there were still people out there capable of killing his parents, he had no way to resist or protect himself.
"So, my friend, I have a request. Is that okay?" his dad asked the dragon.
"What is it?"
"Could you let Issei live here in the dimensional gap too?"
"Wh what!?" the dragon cried out in shock. "Of course I'm surprised! This is a dimensional gap! Only beings like me and you two can survive here! Besides, this boy is still too young! He can't stay here forever!"
"It'll be fine! You're the ruler of this place, right? You can make it work somehow, can't you?"
"B but..."
"Unless..." his mom said, slowly moving her face closer with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "you wouldn't refuse to let him stay just because you don't want your freedom to swim around disturbed... would you?"
"N no, of course not...Yes..." the crimson dragon replied, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Great news, Issei!" his dad exclaimed.
"Y… yeah..." Issei muttered, thinking to himself that he was seeing a scary side of his parents for the first time.
"Issei," his dad called suddenly with a serious expression.
"Yes dad," Issei replied, straightening up as he sensed the seriousness.
"Don't ever think about revenge, okay?"
Issei remained silent.
"I'm sure you don't want to forgive the people who did this to us, and you don't want to let it go, right? We feel the same way," his mom said.
"But that doesn't mean I want you to waste your life... You understand, don't you?"
"I won't tell you not to hate them, but please stay the kind hearted person you've always been."
"If you still can't accept it, then beat the hell out of them for us too! Got it?"
"...Okay!" Issei replied brightly.
"Issei," his mom called to him. "Will you listen to our… our final wish?"
"What is it, Mom?"
"What we want is for you to be happy, no matter what form that takes."
"Your life is just beginning. Live here in the dimensional gap with our friend and live however you want."
"Like I said before, don't pursue revenge, okay?" she added, driving the point home again.
"I understand."
"Issei, come here!" his dad called.
"Okay..."
As Issei approached, his dad held out both hands as if embracing something. The moment he did, both hands began to glow brilliantly.
The light was so intense it blocked Issei's vision, and when it subsided, his dad was holding two ancient boxes.
"What are these?" Issei asked curiously.
"These are Sacred Gears that we found in certain ruins, they're called Longinus-class Sacred Gears. There are two of them. I prepared them thinking you'd be able to master them."
"But most Sacred Gears are possessed by humans, and only thirteen types of Longinus have been confirmed to exist, haven't they?" the dragon questioned.
"That's right. Sacred Gears are a system created by the God. So only humans, or those with human blood, can naturally possess Sacred Gears," his dad explained.
"Artificial Sacred Gears have been created, but creating Longinus-class ones is impossible, as you know," his mom added.
"Indeed," the dragon acknowledged.
"When we were adventuring in various places, we happened to be exploring a cave when we found ancient ruins deep inside. We found an altar in a high place deep within, and these two boxes were on top of the altar. After investigating them ourselves, we discovered they were Longinus-class Sacred Gears. But... they weren't recorded in any ancient history books or apocalyptic texts. We were amazed, there weren't thirteen types, but fifteen."
"I'm sure even people today don't know about them and have never seen or heard of them," his dad said.
"I see..." the dragon mused.
"Issei, I'm sure you'll be able to master these Longinus! Do your best!" his mom encouraged.
"Yeah! I got it mom!" Issei said, carefully receiving the letter and two ancient boxes from his parents.
"...Well, it's about time," his dad said quietly.
"...Yes," his mom agreed.
"Huh...!?" Issei gasped as light suddenly began emanating from his parents, and their bodies started becoming transparent as the light turned into particles.
"Wh… why are you disappearing!?"
"Didn't I tell you? We're dead. We can't stay in this world forever," his mom explained.
"You certainly stayed a long time for dead people..." the dragon muttered, though his comment was ignored.
"Issei. We'll always be here," his dad said, pointing at Issei's chest. "Accept this."
Glowing orbs of light emerged from both parents' chests and melted into Issei's chest.
"It's warm..." Issei whispered.
"That's our love's light. When you're sad, lonely, or going through hard times, remember this warmth. It will help you overcome anything."
"And finally, this..." both parents said, grasping each other's hands and placing them over Issei's hands, forming a circle.
They called out together as blue light flowed into Issei.
"Dad, Mom, what is this light?"
"I've made it so you can live like immortals."
"Huh?... WHAAAAAAAAT!?" Issei was stunned, then shocked when he understood what it meant.
"It's okay♪ Your body will still grow and you can adjust it too, so there's no problem!" his mom said cheerfully.
"No, no! That IS a problem! Suddenly immortal!? And seriously, what ARE you guys!?"
"It's no problem. And what are we? We're just ordinary humans you can find anywhere, and we're your parents. Well, we are kind of famous for various things. Ahaha!" his dad laughed.
"You really are famous for all sorts of things..." the dragon commented.
"Or do you..." both parents asked sadly, "...hate us for being like this?"
"I don't hate you!" Issei shouted his response.
"Then that's good. Now I can pass on peacefully..." his dad said as both parents continued to fade as light particles, their bodies becoming transparent.
"Issei, I'll say it one more time. I'll always be in your heart," his mom said.
"...Yes!" Issei replied.
"And for you, this..." his dad said, handing something to the dragon.
"What is this?"
"It contains the name and usage instructions for Issei's third Sacred Gear."
"I see. Understood," the dragon nodded.
"Friend, this will be the last time we meet, but please take care of my son."
"Please take care of him," his mom added.
"Yeah, I understand. I don't want to see him cry either. I'll raise him to be strong, so rest in peace," the dragon replied.
""Issei"" both parents called out.
"Dad... Mom..."
This was truly the final goodbye. They embraced each other tightly.
"""Goodbye...!""" all three called out together.
The Hyodo family shed quiet tears as the parents' bodies finally became particles of light that dissolved into Issei's body and disappeared. Only the crimson dragon and the tearful Issei remained in the dimensional gap.