Four days had passed.
April 13th, 12:00 PM
Judai was walking through town, enjoying an ice cream with a rare smile on his face. The sun was out, and for the first time in what felt like ages, he had a day off from training.
"What a nice day," he said aloud, savoring the sweetness.
'I never thought Sensei would actually give me a break,' he mused.
As he strolled, he spotted a classmate up ahead, dressed for what looked like a date. It was one of the infamous pervert trio: Hyoudou Issei. Beside him walked a stunningly beautiful girl, her smile bright as she looked at him. Issei was grinning from ear to ear, radiating pure joy.
Judai shook his head. 'Even a shameless pervert can get a girlfriend, and I can't. What an unfair world.'
He continued on his way, heading toward a manga cafe, a perfect place to catch up on reading. He paid for five hours and settled in, diving into various series. Then he froze. Among the shelves was a Yu-Gi-Oh! section, featuring both the original and GX manga.
'Shit,' he thought, a cold knot forming in his stomach.
"Won't anyone who's into Yu-Gi-Oh! know about this? Looks like my advantage just vanished," he muttered under his breath.
He spent the next few hours devouring Dragon Ball, the Big Three, and Hunter x Hunter, reading with the practiced speed of a former enthusiast. But the discovery weighed on him.
When his time was up, he left with a bottle of water, taking a long, meandering route home. As he cut through a familiar passageway, his hand brushed against something invisible yet tangible, a barrier.
"Huh? What is this?"
Curiosity overrode caution. He stepped through.
The world on the other side was wrong. The sky was unnaturally dark. By the fountain where he often rested after jogs, he saw the same beautiful girl from Issei's date, now clad in a risque outfit, with black feathered wings spread behind her. Issei was on the ground, clutching a bleeding wound in his stomach.
Seeing those wings, the same as the girl who had killed him, Judai acted without thinking. He hurled his water bottle at her.
"Sorry, you were a threa—" Her mocking words cut off as the bottle struck her head. She flinched, irritation flashing across her face. Issei, on the ground, let out a weak, pained chuckle.
She turned, and her eyes locked onto Judai. He was already sprinting forward, the Duel Disk materializing on his left arm. In one fluid motion, he drew three cards, selected Endymion, summoned him, and slid the trap card Assist ★ Yummy into a Spell & Trap Zone.
"A Sacred Gear user?" she hissed, launching herself into the air. A spear of condensed light formed in her hand as she shot toward him.
Judai activated the trap. Assist ★ Yummy, a wave of debilitating energy washed over her, sapping her strength mid-flight.
Endymion appeared, took in the scene at a glance, and slammed his staff into the ground. A bubble of dense Maryoku encapsulated the winged woman. She shrieked, stabbing at the barrier with her light-spear.
"Sensei, take care of her!" Judai yelled, already rushing toward the fallen Issei.
Endymion gave a curt nod. He raised the trapped woman higher into the air with a gesture. "Towering Wall," he intoned. Two massive slabs of earth erupted behind her. "Fireball." A compact sphere of flame shot from his palm, hovering near her. "And for a finish… Double Cyclone."
A ferocious fire tornado erupted, engulfing the woman in a whirlwind of searing heat.
Meanwhile, Judai knelt beside Issei. The boy's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, but his heart was still faintly beating. There was still a chance.
Remembering Endymion's recent, grueling lessons, Judai placed his hands over the wound. "You can extend your life if you learn to absorb Maryoku and convert it into life force," his teacher had said.
Focusing every ounce of his will, Judai drew upon the ambient Maryoku and channeled his own reserves into Issei's body, willing the energy to transmute from raw power into the pure, sustaining essence of life itself. It was a desperate, untested gamble, born of a lesson he had only just begun to grasp.
He succeeded.
The bleeding stopped. Issei's shallow breaths grew steadier, color returning to his pallid face. Judai slumped back, exhausted, and looked toward his teacher.
The smoke from Endymion's fiery assault cleared, but the winged woman was gone, having fled the moment the barrier shattered.
Endymion watched her escape. 'I thought that would be enough,' he mused. He could have pursued, launched more spells, but he'd held back. Judai's healing had required precise concentration; a larger expenditure of Maryoku might have disrupted it.
Seeing the immediate danger had passed, Judai let out a heavy sigh of relief. He sat back, bracing himself with his hands on the ground behind him, and looked up as the sky began to darken with the approaching evening.
Endymion offered a faint, approving smile. Knowing they were now exposed in the open and that Judai was spent, he dissolved back into particles of light, returning to his card.
But then the air rippled again. Space twisted, and a crimson magic circle materialized on the pavement. From its center, Rias Gremory appeared.
She blinked, her eyes widening in surprise, first at Judai, then at the unconscious Issei, and finally at the faintly glowing Duel Disk still strapped to Judai's left wrist.
A Sacred Gear.
"Rias."
"Judai."
They stared at each other, the silence thick with unspoken questions.
'Now that I can sense Maryoku… what is she? Whatever's inside her feels… demonic.' Judai's mind raced. 'Is she really the heroine?'
He wanted to be ready to fight but his body was drained from healing Issei and channeling Endymion.
Rias saw the tension in his posture, the wariness in his eyes. She raised a hand, palm open. "I'm not here to fight. I came because he called for me." She nodded toward Issei, her voice calm but firm. She didn't want to fight her first friend, the one who actually talked to her about manga and anime.
Judai pushed himself to his feet, his gaze never leaving hers. "Then what are you?"
Rias met his eyes, her expression serious but open. "I'm a Devil."