The Moody Dragon Emperor

And here we are at last! Finally got the second chapter of this thing out. Apologies it took so long but between the holidays, work and the multiple other stories I got going it was hard to stay on top of this one. Good news, the next chapter may take a lot less time if all goes well. Naturally I'd like to thank my beta reader, Steeler Steelix, along with Pyromania101 and, surprise to me as well, Third Fang himself for helping with the editing on this. In other news, for those who haven't heard I'll be making the next chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero my last one for a while until the manga goes a little further. I do plan to continue it, of course, but right now I need to decrease the number of projects I'm working on. Lastly, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Now, with no review questions let get on to the story!

A Year Later: The Great Library of the Sitri Family

A lot happened recently, and given the usual messes I get stuck in, that's saying something.

First, I was introduced to Serafall's family, which went about as well as most girls introducing a boy to their family would go: her dad hated me. Then I was introduced to the other seventy-two noble families (or at least, those that remained of said families) who run the Underworld and their view of me was understandably mixed. Though the one who left the biggest impression was the Maou himself, Sirzechs Lucifer, the ruler of the Underworld.

I would've liked the guy, I really would've, if not for the small detail that Serafall set up a match between me and him behind my back. I put up a fight, damn did I ever, trapping him inside Unlimited Blade Works and skewering him with numerous blades of various mystical and powerful origins. It wasn't enough. While I was in there, he showed me something that few ever saw or even knew about: his True Form.

Even with my mysteries no longer being restrained by Gaia and the Counter Force, I couldn't summon enough powerful blades fast enough to deal with him. In the end, I was defeated, but I succeeded in bringing Sirzechs himself down to his knees. That accomplishment, at the very least, was more than enough to quiet any opposition to my membership of Serafall's Peerage. Although, it also wound up being the birth of a nickname that would refuse to go away: the Queen of Swords.

I guess this was the tradeoff for being able to use my powers with far fewer limits: getting embarrassed more often even when I'm doing something badass. And believe me, there were plenty of badass and embarrassing things I wound up doing. The first of which was adopting Asia Argento, a former nun-in-training, into my Peerage. To say she was a little sheltered is something of an understatement.

Then came my first big assignment: training Serafall's little sister Sona, or So-tan as she liked to call her, and her Peerage. I got the point across that they did need training (I had to get them to ask me for help since openly offering it would have caused a political mess), but it turned out that what time I thought we had was actually far shorter than any of us realized.

I showed up just in time to save not only Sona and her Peerage, but also her friend, Rias Gremory (Sirzechs' precious little sister), her Peerage, and three members of the Church who wielded (fake) Excalibur fragments, from being annihilated by the hands of the Fallen Angel, Kokabiel. In the end, I called upon Unlimited Blade Works once more along with my most treasured sword, Excalibur, to defeat the old warrior and his remaining horde.

I wound up gaining a few more members to my Peerage after that, namely one of the church girls, Xenovia, as my new Knight along with four Pawns who were basically ninja Fallen Angels (it's a thing, apparently). Of course, there were changes for more than just me after that. Sona, Rias, and every member of their respective Peerages saw something when I used Excalibur that fueled their desire to make some changes to their lives. Obviously, it wouldn't be an easy road for any of them, but letting go of past traumas to move forward and improving oneself has never been a simple path.

And speaking of things that weren't simple, Serafall, Sona, and I had recently been called down to the Underworld to attend another event which had come about as a result of the Evil Pieces system: the Rating Game. But even that would become a secondary concern as we dealt with the first problem that came with returning to the Underworld: Serafall's parents. Now before you jump to conclusions, no, Sera's parents don't hate her by any means. In fact her dad, Stheno, had to be reminded not to spoil her and Sona.

As I stated earlier, he disapproved of me. For reasons I stopped trying to decipher some time ago, but that wasn't the problem this time around. It all started after our arrival at the Sitri mansion in order to inform the family of our arrival. It was one of a number of unnecessary traditions followed by the top Devil clans where guests would go to greet the head of the household in order to be put under their protection and be registered to the Bounded Field of the estate. It also meant they wouldn't greet their daughters with hugs and kisses until the meeting was done.

I tuned most of it out as, like I said before, Serafall's dad hates me and so did her mother, Liliana. She would just ignore me while Stheno, not so discreetly, glared at me. But it was no big deal once the meeting was over and done with. All five minutes of it.

The real problem came once we turned to leave. Or at least we'd just turned to do so, and Liliana spoke up.

"Serafall dear," she said, not glancing up from the book she was reading, "I seem to be out of water. Would you be a dear and refill my glass for me?" Said empty glass was being held up in her left hand while she held her book in her right. We all looked over and quickly noted that the pitcher for refilling her water was within easy reach between her and her husband.

Whether Serafall suspected anything was amiss or not, she simply shrugged and approached with a "sure." As she was reaching for the pitcher, however, Liliana interrupted her. "No, not from there," she said as her daughter turned to her in confusion. "I'm afraid that the water in there has gotten warm. Conjure me some fresh water instead, a single glass full would do. It should be a simple enough task for you."

Immediately, I knew something was wrong. Because Serafall, the ever cheerful, fun-loving, full-of-life Maou who always seemed to have a smile on her face, mischievous or otherwise, looked like she'd just been slapped. The color drained from her face as she took a step backwards, staring at the woman who'd given birth to her as if she was a stranger. I had never seen Serafall look so genuinely startled by something as she did now.

Sona, too, looked as if she had been caught off-guard at the request with her jaw dropping and her frames sliding down her nose while she stared at her mother in shock. Even Stheno blinked twice in surprise, suspending his glaring in favor of giving his wife a questioning look. But he must've understood something because he soon turned to watch Serafall with what I could only describe as a look of anticipation on his face. The atmosphere in the room which had so far been relaxed and relatively laid back despite the formality, quickly became strained. The once cozy library became thick with tension and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why.

What was the big deal about conjuring some water?

"Mother, allow me to…" Sona began, taking a step towards her mother, only to be halted before she could take a second step.

"Be silent Sona!" Liliana barked out harshly, her voice sounding unusually loud in the silent library for how rarely she ever raised it. Her eyes never looked away from the still shell-shocked Serafall. "I was asking your sister, not you. Now," Liliana once again held out the empty glass towards her eldest daughter. "Would you be so kind as to fill the glass?"

Though she phrased it as a question, everyone knew she wasn't asking. Serafall always carried some kind of expression on her face. She was the type who wore her heart on her sleeve. You only needed to glance at her to tell what she was feeling.

Over the past year I thought I'd seen all of those expressions. I'd seen her laugh in pure happiness, smirk mischievously as she set someone up for a prank. On rare occasions, I had even seen the glimmer of cunning in her eyes, confirming what I already knew, that behind her goofy personality lay a very keen mind.

And in those rare private moments that she showed to no one else but me, I had seen her worried. Her face scrunched up with anxiety as she bared to me some of her greatest fears over her sister's safety, her family's, and even over me. Before today, I thought I had seen all there was to see.

But I was wrong. I had never seen Serafall look scared before.

She stared blankly at her mother, her face so devoid of feeling that it was startling. It was a face that was so un-Serafall that I scarcely recognized her. Blank, so stripped of emotion, so…empty that it frightened me. Her mother stared back, her eyes cold, hard and unflinching, holding the empty glass between them.

What the hell was happening? Unlike most of the occupants in the room, I was bewildered. I had no idea what was going on or even why everyone was overreacting over such a simple request. Conjuring water was elementary magic, something that even the most incompetent of Devils could cast. If it was only a glass full, then there were even kindergarten Devils that could do it.

It was such a simple spell that someone as untalented with general magic like myself could do it, hell even Xenovia had cast it just a few weeks earlier when Asia had begun teaching her how to use her magic. She'd gotten it on the first try, it was that easy and for Serafall it was even easier.

She was a Sitri by blood, a clan whose entire magic specialized in water. The Sitri Clan earned their position as one of the 72 Pillars by their water affinity. It was an affinity that was so powerful that it granted them the potential to create enough water to flood entire city blocks in the time it would take me to blink, and at a fraction of the cost in Mana it should have.

And yet, they were acting as if they had given Serafall, the most powerful female Devil of her time, an impossible task by asking her to conjure a little bit of water. Again, what the hell was going on? Why was everyone acting like this?

Well not everyone, I corrected myself: it looked like Tsubaki was just as confused as I was. Her eyes were dancing around the room as she tried to piece things together without drawing attention to herself and when she caught my questioning look she gave me a tiny, almost imperceptible shrug, telling me she had no better idea of what was happening than I did.

In the time it took me to realize all of this, Serafall had finally begun to move. It wasn't much, but some color seemed to return to her cheeks and she managed to drag her eyes away from her mother and down to the empty glass held out to her.

Time passed. A minute, then two, in which no one moved as we all watched Serafall, who continued staring at the glass. Then, just as I had decided enough was enough and was about to step in and put an end to this nonsense, I heard her.

"…Alright." The word that drifted from Serafall's lips was more whispered than spoken. She picked up her staff, the one tipped with a golden star, and held the point towards the glass. Her tongue peeked out as she licked her dried lips before she shut her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled and allowed her magic to gather, and I sensed it.

Serafall had only drawn a small amount of her Mana, a metaphoric drop in the ocean compared to what she could really do. She needed nothing more for the spell but just by pulling on her magic supply she had ended up sending a ripple through it, one that every Devil in the room had sensed. Once again I realized the ridiculous amount of raw power Serafall held in her tiny body, completely dwarfing that of my own. She then proceeded to channel the Mana she gathered up her staff, taking far more care than a spell of this level would require.

I had seen Serafall blast a hole through a solid wall just by glaring at it, turn an entire lake to ice in a heartbeat before summoning a pair of skates with a flick of her finger, yet here she was, taking more time conjuring some water than she did with all of the above while every other Devil in the room watched with bated breath. In Sona's case, she was literally holding her breath, biting her lips as she watched the staff hover over the empty glass and even Stheno sat unmoving as he observed the event. Only Liliana wasn't looking at the glass, instead choosing to watch Serafall, observing her face carefully. Then the spell was complete.

Nothing happened at first and for one heart-stopping moment I thought that Serafall had somehow blundered the simple spell, but then water came. It hovered in the air, just a few inches away from the tip of her staff. Nothing more than a tiny sphere of water, the size of a raindrop, but it soon grew. Swirling in place it expanded, swelling into the size of a marble and then into a tennis ball before, like an open faucet, water began spilling from the bottom of the sphere and into the glass beneath it.

Sona released a short, baffled laugh, quickly covering her mouth with both hands as she watched happily with wide eyes shining with tears as the simple spell took effect. Even Stheno could not contain his happiness, letting out a whoop of joy and clapped his hands once as he leaned back into his chair, a large smile threatening to split his face in two. He was even nodding happily as he turned towards me before he froze a few seconds later when he remembered he was supposed to hate me. He hastily replaced his smile with a scowl after that.

Liliana, while more subdued in expressing her reaction, was no less happy than the rest of her family. She had a tiny, satisfied smile as she pulled the glass away and held it before her face. It was nothing more than a slight upward tilt to the edge of her lips, but for the usually stoic woman it may have been the happiest I had ever seen her. "Yes," she nodded once, her eyes carefully observing the blue water before she turned to face her eldest daughter who was now wearing a self-satisfied and cocky grin on her face, all her earlier fears gone as if they were never there. "That will do. Well done…"

But before she could go any further than that, something very unexpected occurred. In between Liliana and Serafall, a red magic circle appeared.

"What in the world?" I blurted out, instinctively summoning my dual blades as the light from the circle grew brighter.

"That shouldn't be possible." Sona said in surprise. "No one should be able to cast a summoning spell without permission while we're within the mansion!"

"Oh no." Serafall chirped uneasily. "I think I may have summoned more than just water."

And whatever that something or someone was, it began to materialize as the light from the summoning circle continued to grow brighter. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the light faded along with the summoning circle.

In its place was an apparent student of Kuoh Academy, wearing the black pants and white button-up uniform of the school, but opened up with a red shirt underneath.

But that wasn't the only familiar thing about this newcomer. He was obviously of high school age with short spiky brown hair, save for the two locks tied behind his head, average height, and light brown eyes.

What was unfamiliar to me (but apparently not to everyone else) was the blue and white cloth wrapped around the stranger's right arm. It isn't the Shroud of Martin, but it does scream "holy shroud."

The newcomer looked back at us, and his eyes were roaming over us as though he were searching for a threat. Maybe he was.

It would be several moments before Sona of all people spoke up and broke the silence.

"Hyoudou...Issei?" She asked while adjusting her glasses. "You are Hyoudou Issei, correct?"

I realized that he sure does look a lot like Hyoudou Issei, but there's something waaaay off about him. Which was why I chose to keep my summoned swords in my hands as his gaze locked on Serafall.

"Damn it," he finally said after a few moments of regaining his bearings and groaned, "Again? I thought we talked about this the last time. Stop kidnapping me whenever you get plastered in another mid-life crisis and using me for your cosplay fetish slash T.V. show, Sera! You know I can't act for shit!"

"Uh…what?" Serafall replied with a confused tilt of her head.

The apparent Issei continued, clearly ignoring everyone in the room. "I understand why people find a media of cosplay-esque porn stars to be arousing when the vanilla crap can't get them hard anymore, but this isn't my kink! Cosplay Porn is too much of a pain in the ass to set up and maintain compared to most conventional setups! I excel in sex toy manufacturing and applications, not cosmetic props and costume design! You know this! For fucks sake, I go to you for primary sourcing and referencing when I do need to come up with something!"

"...What?" Sona intelligently asked, joining the confusion.

A part of me was tempted to whack him upside the head as though he were a malfunctioning T.V. set, but he hadn't done anything threatening, so I listened in bewilderment as he prattled on, completely forgetting or disregarding the fact he had been kidnapped in the first place.

"For one, the characters in most cosplay setups aren't even the real characters but are portrayed by the performers since most conventional costumes and setups are of cartoon characters with blatantly unrealistic body measurements at the best of times, with or without magic. Second, and my biggest gripe, is the bullshit costumes which would either fall apart under a slight breeze, are water soluble, or be impossible to move in at the best of times. The upkeep on the damn things is more expensive than making them half the damn time. And I'm just going to flat out ignore the horrible writing and plot armor that consist of the majority of their stories in general. Refuge in audacity can only patch so much when throwing realism and consistency out the window, not that THAT's any better some days."

"He says that while we are having a conversation within the bowels of the literal Underworld full of demons." Tsubaki pointed out dryly, though "Issei" either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her as he continued.

"At least Devils have magic and spells that maintain their anonymity. That's like half the thing that spawned this mess in the first place." The newcomer spoke as though it was obvious.

"What on Earth is he rambling about now?"

"The fact that cosplay sex videos became a thing as people realized that they could do porn while keeping their identities secret and not pretend to be a gimp or some two-dollar make-believe burglar in a ski mask." He dryly pointed out as though it was obvious.

Nobody replied that time. Partially out of the fact that in retrospect, it made sense in a twisted way, but mostly out of hope that he would shut up if they didn't say anything.

It didn't work.

"The disguises granted them the anonymity that they needed to make money on the low. It was not long after that this new category was labeled 'cosplay porn,' which spiked a rise in popularity in adult sites. Nowadays, its demand goes up every time a new movie, comic or anime comes out, spawning countless instances of civilian degenerates craving to see the kinky version of their main characters. And prompting the occasional spikes of idiots screwing around with latex for the first time, only to find out that they're actually allergic to it and nearly dying in what equates to a my first fetishwear halloween costume. Morons."

His rambling would continue on until he finally remembered that he had to breathe.

Of course by that point I'd tuned him out entirely much like everyone else, and instead focused on the strange aura that was coming from him. It reminded me way too much of another individual I had encountered recently: Hyoudou Karasuba, the current Red Dragon Emperor.

This Hyoudou Issei didn't give off the same predatory vibe as she did, but the presence of the Red Dragon Emperor was definitely there.

Rather, instead of feeling like staring down a titanic monster bent on fighting and destroying everything around it, it felt more like this monster was completely ignoring everyone there despite the situation, and was more interested in doing its own thing. So much so that it was hard to determine just how dangerous said monster was. It was an odd perspective to say the least.

"If you're quite finished," Sona said now that their "guest's" rant appeared to be over, "Perhaps you would like to explain to us how you happened to find yourself here?"

"You tell me, you're the kidnappers here." He snarked back, finally snapping out of his mindless porn-themed ranting. "Your sister probably wants to put some elf leotard getup on me and have me sit on mall Santa's lap over there for picture time. Even though she knows I'm not allowed to celebrate Christmas anymore since…the incident."

What sort of ridiculous incident would prevent someone from celebrating Christmas?

"Who are you calling a mall Santa!?" Stheno exclaimed while Liliana sighed. This was far from the first time she had heard this about her husband.

"For your information 'Hyoudou Issei,' if that's who you really are, I didn't kidnap you." Serafall explained, her tone betraying no reaction to his tirade. "I was summoning water and wound up summoning something else along with it."

"...Normally I'd call bullshit." Issei replied, looking at the Maou with a skeptical gaze. It was only then that I noticed the somewhat concerning bags under his eyes. The kind you saw on people with severe insomnia. "But you don't appear to be lying. Which means apparently a Maou fucking up simple spells equates to inter-dimensional abduction. Glad to know that's a thing now. But that still doesn't completely rule out the possibility of forcing me into another twisted cosplay."

"Why would I force you into cosplay?" The Maou shot back. "You're part of Rias' Peerage from what I hear." She suddenly reached over and dragged me into the boy's field of vision. "And even if you weren't, I have my Shi-chan here and his precious little sister. That's more than enough to keep me happy."

"Who the fuck is Shi…chan?" Issei asked before abruptly trailing off. I didn't know why but for some reason I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes as he pointed at me. "Huh. You wouldn't happen to be Shirou, as in, Emiya Shirou?"

"Yes," I replied, "I am Emiya Shirou, Serafall's Queen."

Issei looked like he was having a slight bit of trouble processing what that was supposed to mean, though it only lasted a moment before he spoke up again.

"Tell me," he began, "Do you love cooking?"

"I do." I answered back calmly, trying to see where he was going with this. "I realized recently that I'm really good at it."

"Do you have an addiction to swords?" Hyoudou questioned further.

"I wouldn't call it an addiction." I corrected. "But I do love all kinds of bladed weapons, swords especially."

"Do you have a hero complex?" Issei asked, his apparent motive to confirm my identity becoming clearer.

"I try to save as many people as I can." I said. "That is what heroes do, isn't it? Just because I'm a Devil now doesn't mean my ideals have changed that drastically."

"Do your thoughts towards sketchy priests with ridiculous mullets gravitate towards 'stabbing'?"

Okay, that one was a low hanging fruit, and I pointedly ignored the peculiar looks we both got with that one.

"I wouldn't say 'stabbing' is my first reaction, but Devils and the Church don't exactly get along to begin with. Mullets or not."

"Do you also have a big brother instinct towards strange and potentially homicidal little girls?" Issei asked with a little more enthusiasm than some of the other questions.

"I thought it was normal to feel a big brother instinct towards kids in general." I said, blatantly ignoring the homicidal bit. "After all, I do have a sister of my own so it just comes naturally."

The newcomer stood there in silence after hearing that, seeming to digest all the answers I had given him. Then, slowly, he exhaled before reaching behind his back with both hands, and then producing a pen and paper.

"Before I have a minor meltdown at my current situation, could I have your autograph, Emiya-san?" He asked in a tone that was something between deadpan and admiration at the same time.

"You want my what now?" I asked as everyone else in the room gave a "huh" look at Issei.

"The Fate/Stay Night series is one of my all-time favorites." Issei explained. "As a character, you're one of the most well-developed and complex protagonists in the history of not only visual novels but anime too."

"Wait, you haven't been watching that Unlimited Blade Works show, have you?" I asked, feeling sudden trepidation creeping up my spine. "I thought it was only broadcast in the Underworld."

"Oh, you know about your own show?" Hyoudou asked in surprise. "That must've been awkward. You've done some pretty stupid shit during the Holy Grail War at some points. Not sure what's worse, seeing it from the outside or having the world see it unconditionally."

"Not the way I would put it, but you're not exactly wrong either." I agreed, taking the paper and pen and absentmindedly scribbling my name down on the former before giving them back. "Serafall and Illya filmed the whole thing without telling me. I didn't even hear about it until she showed me the trailer."

"Wait, Sera and Illya filmed the show here?" Issei asked in confusion as he stuffed the paper into his pocket.

"Hey, only Shi-chan gets to call me Sera!" She barked. "You and I don't even know each other."

"You let me call you Sera where I come from." He said. "But that only further confirms I've been isekai'd to an alternate dimension. A 'crossover' one at that. In my world, Unlimited Blade Works was not made by the Underworld. It's official. We are allowed to blame that magic German vampire guy for this in some way shape or form."

"You sound oddly calm for someone thrown into another reality." Sona skeptically pointed out.

"I've had worse. Beats accidentally staring down an eldritch dragon goddess thing any day. And I'm not talking about Auntie O either."

"I'm going to stop asking you questions now."

"I have yet to see your counterpart at home stick to that vow. Hopefully you'll do better."

"I hate you already."

"She also says that."

"You've got my show in your world too?!" I had to stop myself from shouting, half out of frustration and half to break whatever was happening between him and Sona.

"Yeah, this is gonna be weird for you, but in my world you're a fictional character." Issei explained. "Unlimited Blade Works is part of the 'Fate' franchise that originally started out as eroge visual novels before getting adapted into actual manga, then multiple anime and even a few movies before a whole slew of branching in-and-out universe storylines started spewing out everywhere. It's borderline trying to be the Japanese equivalent of the Marvel universe at the rate it's going. Made by a company called Type-Moon no less. Take that what you will."

"So, I'm a character in a porno in your world?" I dared to ask while pointedly making every effort to not break out in a cold sweat at that bit of trivia at the end. No need to delve into dangerous territory like that for no reason.

"WRONG!" Issei exclaimed suddenly as he pointed at me dramatically before immediately moving into a thoughtful pose. "Though you do have sex with Saber in one of the main routes, Rin Tohsaka in two, and in the Heaven's Feel route you and Sakura Matou bang several times with Rider on the side once, but compared to most other eroge, it's all considered softcore at best unless one gets the full uncensored version. All in all, it was more akin to a soap opera with superpowers than anything. The oceans of hardcore fan art is a different story in its entirety. Still better than the literary mess in Tsukihime though. That poor poor chair."

"WHAAAAT?!" This time I did yell. Seriously, what was he talking about? Me have sex with Sakura, with Rin?! And SABER?! That's not what happened at all!

"Don't worry. The chair was Shiki's fuckup, not yours." This Issei completely missed the point. Did I even know anyone named Shiki to begin with?

"Shi-chan." Serafall said suddenly as she slowly turned my head to face her. "You never told me there were other girls you've been seeing."

"I haven't, honest!" I defended almost a little too quickly. "Sakura and I have just been good friends for a long time and Rin, well, sure she liked me but she knew I… you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

The magical girl Maou's serious expression turned into one of her trademark smiles before she laughed.

"I know you haven't gotten around, Shi-chan." She said before tapping my forehead. "I've seen your memories, so that's how I made the show in the first place."

"And also why you decided to turn my little sister into a magical girl." I pointed out in a deadpan tone.

"You keep saying little sister." Issei spoke up again. "I'm guessing she's the Illya you mentioned earlier? Or is that Miyu?"

"Yeah." I replied warily, hoping beyond hope this wasn't another segue into more talk about porn. "She came here with me when I became part of Sera's Peerage, but she's not a member herself. Not sure who this 'Miyu' is though."

"Illyasviel von Einzbern is here." The other world Issei said as he slowly went pale. "The silver-haired psycho murder loli is here? Please don't tell me she has Berserker on her." He paused before calming down and ignored everyone again. "Well, at least this doesn't look like the Prisma-verse. Now that would have been a nightmare and a half. That stick's almost as fucked up as I am."

"Hey, she had a bad upbringing!" I yelled defensively, again, ignoring the ramblings that made no sense. "She's actually got a chance at a happy life now, so don't go calling her psycho!"

"Murder loli it is." Again, the newcomer completely missed the point with a thumbs up, sparkle, and shameless look of understanding and confidence.

I want to punch him.

"Alright, I think that's quite enough." Liliana finally spoke up. "There are preparations to be made and little time to make them. I think it is best you all retire to your rooms for now. I'll have the servants prepare a room for Mr. Hyoudou here as well."

"Get me one next to Emiya if possible." Issei said almost instantly.

"Dare I ask why?" Serafall questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"Because despite the blatant irony regarding his skillset, he's the least likely one out of all you to stab me in the back." Hyoudou answered with narrowed eyes while I simply sighed. It seems that once again my Devil's Luck was going to make things complicated.

Later: Sitri Mansion Living Room, One of Many

"So let's see if I've got this whole convoluted mess right," Issei said as he pointed to me first, "You are Emiya Shirou from an actual Fate-verse who wound up here when your luck went apeshit and summoned a Maou of all things." He pointed to said Maou next, "And you revived Illya in exchange for his soul, which he agreed to without any hesitation whatsoever."

"Given all the things you listed off about me earlier are you really surprised?" I asked.

"Not in the slightest." Hyoudou stated with an insultingly flat tone that Rin would have envied. Honestly, I'm astounded he didn't make a jab about Archer at that moment. "I'm more surprised to learn that not only does my counterpart in this world have Twice Critical of all Sacred Gears, he's also part of the duo now trio that Enabler 2.0 still has yet to kick out of school. I was floored when it was just two of them, but how the flying fuck have you managed to avoid any class action sexual harassment lawsuits yet?"

Gratuitous amounts of magic and money was my personal bet.

"As I explained a dozen times," Sona the "Enabler" spoke up without the slightest reaction to said nickname, "I have tried my absolute hardest to expel those three but Rias Gremory blocks my every attempt. She finds their antics to be more amusing than degenerative and it frustrates me to no end. The fact that they somehow manage to keep their grades above the cutoff line only makes it more insulting."

The fact that she avoided the topic about avoiding lawsuits did not go missed.

"Did you at least patch up the hole in the wall on the outside of the girl's locker room?" Issei questioned skeptically before pausing as a thought came to mind. "...And sanitize the ground and wall on the outside of it? I wouldn't blame you if you did so with fire."

"Of course." Sona replied matter-of-factly, not at all bothering to question how he knew about said hole. She had made it a point to cleanse the area with magic just to be safe and make sure that the smell went away. "But if there's one thing that trio of perverts excels in, then it's being perverts."

"I doubt they have anywhere near the encyclopedic knowledge of porn that I do." The other-worlder remarked. "They definitely didn't in my world. Novices, the lot of them."

"Okay, let's not circle back to the porn again." I said, not even bothering to contemplate what a "professional" was supposedly like. "We have two Issei Hyoudous walking around the world right now so we can't take him back to Kuoh Academy, especially not with his other self's sister hanging around."

"My other self has a sister?" Issei asked in mild surprise, quickly fading into something far more conflicted if not borderline pained, before glancing at his left hand for a moment. "Tell me, who currently holds the Sacred Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"That's on something of a need-to-know basis." Sona replied while adjusting her glasses. "Tell me, what reason would you have for needing to know about the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"Let's just say it would be bad if I wound up running into them." Hyoudou answered with a surprisingly straight poker face for someone so expressive. "Or the White Dragon Emperor for that matter. Don't want another rampaging Assman busting down my doors again. Took me forever to beat that habit out of him...shit do I have enough cardboard boxes on me to retrain him if I have to?"

Well okay then. Not going to try and make sense out of a crazy that apparently somehow tamed Vali Lucifer.

"I'd have to make a completely new account and rapport with the Underworld shipping industry too. Odds are they're still as lax about human trafficking as back home..."

Nope. Definitely not going to try in the slightest.

"You don't have to worry about a thing." Serafall chimed in quickly, dragging the twisted teen back to reality again. "The Red Dragon Emperor is back in the human world right now. And you're right, it would be bad if two dragons happened to run into each other, especially two Ddraigs."

"How did you—" Issei started to ask before stopping himself. "You guessed, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't say 'just guessed'," the Maou replied with a slight smirk. "Shi-chan here has actually felt the aura of the Red Dragon Emperor. He happened to mention the power you flared upon your arrival was very similar to it, so I figured you must be the holder of the Red Dragon Emperor in your world. Which you just confirmed for me, by the way."

"I guess if there's anyone here that would have a knack for feeling out Y Ddraig Goch in one form or another it would be the guy that ran with King Arthur for a while. Fortunately, it looks like you're a bit more clever and self aware in this world." The now known Longinus wielder noted with a semi frustrated sigh, momentarily betraying a hint of deeper knowledge of abstract lore than most would have expected from any Hyoudou Issei. All in all though, he didn't seem too bothered by the accidental reveal. "Then again, you all seem slightly sharper here. Guess it's to be expected when this world has a Emiya Shirou in it. Keeps everyone on their toes in case his luck kicks in."

"I'd like to point out that my being here has not had that drastic of an impact on everyone's intelligence." I commented, blatantly ignoring the jab at my luck. I rip on that enough on my own time as it is. "I just helped a few people realize what they had to work on."

"The cultural differences are a bit of a whiplash at times, aren't they?" He asked with a knowing if not pitying tone.

"No comment."

I tried not to dwell on the fact that it was a copy of Hyoudou Issei of all people that would relate with me on the matter. It was disgustingly hard to prioritize and plan when Devils were around at times. There were some things that they flat out just would not give up on even if their lives and futures were on the line.

"Oh you're just too humble sometimes." Serafall cooed while wrapping her arms around my waist. "All kinds of things have shifted in the world since you arrived, Shi-chan, and I'd like to think it's all heading in a good direction."

It was only for an instant, but I noticed the slightest twitch in the newcomer's face and a flash of genuine hurt in his eyes. I had no idea what was going on in his head or why Sera's words had that reaction, but it was clear he had his own unresolved issues back home.

"Speaking of shifts in the world," Sona began, "We should be getting some rest ourselves. The ceremony for the Rating Games starts tomorrow."

"Rating Games are about to take place? Where? Did a new season start or is this another petty political shitshow being settled by smacking each other around because nobody's willing to compromise or be reasonable?" Issei asked, slightly curious at the revelation.

"The former, fortunately. It's a tournament of the new generation actually. Rias and Sona included. Down here in the Underworld." I informed him, once more pretending to ignore how he lambasted Devil politics as easy as breathing. "They got the big arena and everything. But before that is the customary ceremony where each King declares their intentions and goals. It's looking like it's going to take a bit given the large number of entrants this year. You aren't planning on entering, are you?"

"Fuck no." Hyoudou replied instantly and firmly. I doubt anyone missed how his body went rigid in an instant. "I do NOT do crowds. Nor am I a Devil. And even if I did, the thought of sitting around listening to a bunch of spoiled dickheads talk about themselves sounds less appealing than a late night circle jerk with sandpaper dildos."

Sona sighed. She didn't know what else she had been expecting from this vulgar Red Dragon Emperor. "Very well. You can stay put in the mansion, provided you don't cause any trouble, and we'll return in due time after the ceremony. Once that's out of the way, we'll work on figuring out if we can send you back to your own world."

"Just set me up with some good WiFi and food and I'll stick to my room like a good hobo." Issei replied with a lazy wave. "I'm pretty familiar with the Underworld already so I doubt I'll need a tour so long as the cities and geography aren't too different from back home. Plus, since this is the Sitri's household, nobody should complain about the water bill when I test to see if the shower-heads here are also assholes."

Wait what?

"Then that saves us all some time." Serafall spoke up. "So let's get the insane porn expert set up here and then get some rest because tomorrow is the Rating Games!"

Let the games, uh, ceremony begin! And once again sorry for the wait on this one but hopefully it proved entertaining nonetheless. And for those wondering, yes, some not so great luck is gonna be kicking in next chapter, but that's all I'll say about that for now. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Also, check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Finally, be sure to drop in next time as we learn that there is no safe place in the underworld to watch porn on your phone. 'Til then.