"He might not have known we would’ve faced us both," James muttered, clenching his jaw.
Diana turned her attention to Isaac before James could continue. Her eyes were sharp but not hostile.
"Young man, did you know you would meet us here?"
Isaac nodded without hesitation. "I did."
"That answers your question," she said flatly to her husband, then returned her focus to Isaac. "Tell me, have you married Emily already?"
Isaac hesitated. "Uh... I guess?"
Her brows drew together. "That isn’t an answer. Do you mean you haven’t had an official marriage? No ceremony?"
"There wasn’t time," Isaac admitted. "So no, we haven’t had a formal wedding yet."
Diana’s eyes narrowed, though she spoke with a soft voice,
"Young man, I hope you will take responsibility for Emily. She has already given her heart to you. I hope you understand that and won’t treat her feelings lightly."
"I’d never play with her feelings. And yes, I do plan to take responsibility. As soon as my circumstances allow, I’ll make it official."
Diana studied his face for a moment before smiling faintly. "That’s good."
James made a loud, exaggerated click of his tongue and leaned back in his seat, clearly dissatisfied.
Diana ignored him and shifted the conversation. "Now, tell me. What happened to the monster that once lived inside Emily?"
Isaac’s expression sobered.
"It’s sealed completely. For now, there’s no sign of the seal weakening," he repeated what he found from the Vice Principal.
Diana nodded slowly. "That’s reassuring. But still, be cautious. The seal should last for thousands of years, but the monster was strong. It may one day find a way to weaken its bindings. Unlike us, you must not grow careless. Watch Emily closely. If the seal begins to weaken, there will be signs."
"I’ll make sure of it," Isaac said.
"Good." Diana let out a quiet breath. "Now then, do you have any questions for us? We won’t be here for long. This is your chance."
Isaac didn’t hesitate. "Are you really Emily’s parents? Or are you something else?"
"Yes, we are her real parents, but only lingering remnants of our souls. We made a deal with the System, and watched over countless Trials.
"In exchange, if Emily ever completed her Death Trial, we would be allowed to meet her again for a short time," Diana answered.
"Why would you make such a deal?" Isaac asked.
Diana’s smile turned faintly bitter. "Because we wanted to see her again. We wanted to know if our daughter had survived, if she had grown strong.
"And more importantly, we wanted to tell her the truth.
"What happened back then wasn’t her fault. It was ours for failing to detect the monster haunting her. She hadn’t even awakened yet. How could it ever be her mistake?"
Isaac nodded slowly.
From their words, from their faces, he could tell they truly loved Emily.
Diana gently stroked Emily’s head as she slept on her lap. Her fingers moved carefully, as if trying not to wake her.
Isaac took a quiet breath and looked at James. "There’s something else I need to know. It’s about the skills above SSS rank."
"What about them?" James grunted.
"Is there a specific condition needed to obtain them?" Isaac asked.
"Why are you asking me that? You already have skills above SSS. If you didn’t, you never would’ve lasted against me in battle." James scoffed.
"James," Diana interrupted with a stern tone. "This might be our last chance to speak to our daughter and her future husband. He risked his life to protect her. Are you truly going to withhold information out of stubbornness? What if this ignorance endangers Emily later?"
James stared at her for a long moment.
His brows furrowed deeply.
Then he sighed, muttered something under his breath, and turned back to Isaac. "Fine. I’ll tell you."
Isaac waited quietly as James leaned forward.
"Before the Apocalypse descended, several of us—gods like me—gave up our godhood and descended to the mortal world."
Isaac blinked. "Why would you give up something like that?"
"Because gods cannot interfere too much with the mortal world," James replied.
His voice had lost some of its edge, replaced by a heavy seriousness. "Our hands were tied. We could only watch as the world changed. To protect it, we had to descend, even if that meant surrendering godhood."
Isaac was caught off guard.
He hadn’t expected that answer.
The idea of gods abandoning eternity to walk among mortals to protect them was something he had never imagined would be true.
James noticed his surprise and explained further.
"For countless years we watched humans live. They prayed to us, they shared their joys, their sorrows, their struggles. We watched them grow, fall in love, raise children, and pass away.
"Then their children came to us, and their children’s children. We saw cycle after cycle. To us, mortals are like our own children. It was only natural that we tried to protect them."
He exhaled heavily, his shoulders sagging slightly.
"But we failed. Miserably."
For a moment, silence lingered.
Then James straightened again. "That isn’t the point. What matters is what came after. Gods who descended lost their godhood, but we retained fragments of our essence.
"We began to be called Demigods. And our descendants carry traces of that power. They are demigods too."
His gaze sharpened and locked on Isaac.
"Only demigods can obtain skills above SSS rank."
Isaac’s eyes widened.
The words hit him harder than he expected.
James leaned back, continuing in a matter-of-fact tone. "It’s natural you didn’t know. It’s been thousands of years since those days.
"Demigods who survived blended into countless species, started families, and spread their bloodlines.
"By now, there are many people with demigod blood in their veins."
He paused, then added with a grim smile, "But don’t think that’s all it takes. Having the blood isn’t enough.
"To benefit from it, you must reach the level of an Apex species. Only then can you unlock the true potential of your bloodline."
Isaac’s thoughts spun rapidly. "The benefits of demigod blood... what are they?"
"First," James said, raising one finger, "the ability to break past the ceiling of SSS rank. To go beyond. Second..."
He raised another finger, "is luck. Demigods carry extraordinary luck."
"Luck?" Isaac repeated. "How does that even—"
He stopped himself, his mind flashing back to certain moments, certain impossible strokes of fortune that had changed everything for him.
James caught the change in his expression and smirked. "I see you’ve experienced it. That’s right.
"For example, the Lord Gacha Shop.
"When a demigod Lord uses it, the chance of drawing useful items is far higher. Ordinary people wouldn’t believe it, but we know it’s true."
Isaac fell silent, shock settling in deeper with every word.
His thoughts raced back to another he had overlooked before.
The title—[Descendant of Ancients].
Alice had received it when she reached Apex rank.
Celia had it already.
Emily had gained it recently upon reaching Apex ranks.
He had assumed it was a universal title that came with reaching that level.
But now?
His chest tightened.
Does only demigods gain that title?
He realized how huge convinced it was that all his wives carried that title.
And the System itself had chosen them, rating them above ninety-five.
He had always thought system was simply measuring talent, potential, and species rank.
But what if one of the requirements for such a high rating was demigod blood?
He thought back to what James had said.
’He said many people should have traces of the demigod bloodline by now.’
But in reality, the System reacted to only a rare few women.
Even finding someone with a potential rating above eighty-five was unusual, let alone above ninety-five.
Isaac’s pulse quickened.
’If having demigod blood is common, many women should have rating above eighty-five, even if they don’t reach ninety-five rating.’
’But that doesn’t happen.’
’That means only a few people have demigod bloodlines.’
"Whose demigod bloodline do you have?" James asked. "The name of your Physique should give you some ideas."