When Judai opened his eyes, he was met with blinding white light. As his vision adjusted, he saw several figures leaning over him, three with crimson hair, one with flaxen hair, and others with gray, blonde, black, and white hair.
He blinked a few times, clearing the blurriness, and recognized everyone in the room. He was lying in a medical ward.
"What happened after I won?" he asked, though he already knew the outcome.
"Judai," Rias said softly, holding his hand. Behind her stood Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko.
Zeoticus and Sirzechs chuckled, while Venelana smiled warmly. Grayfia allowed a small, rare smile to touch her lips.
"You're certainly confident," Zeoticus said with a grin. "But yes, you did win, though you nearly lost yourself in the process."
"To be precise, Judai-sama," Grayfia began explaining, "you lost consciousness, and your Gryphon nearly killed Riser. Sirzechs-sama had to intervene to stop the… uproar."
"I was right about Knightmare Gryphon," Judai murmured. "I had doubts about how strong it would be… Thanks for stopping it."
Hearing the name, the others exchanged glances, now they understood the source of that overwhelming power.
"No worries. You're my little brother now," Sirzechs said warmly.
"Does that Gryphon truly suppress others' powers?" Venelana asked curiously. "And do you know if it has any other abilities?"
"Not that I know of. The power suppression… I wasn't aware it could do that," Judai admitted, aware that card effects didn't always translate literally to real abilities.
The others nodded thoughtfully.
Judai tried to sit up, but Rias placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just rest. You're still recovering."
He persisted, slowly pushing himself upright to lean against the headboard.
"And, Yuki Judai," Zeoticus announced with a happy smile, "welcome to the family. We'll hold the engagement ceremony in a few days. Rias has already agreed."
Rias smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at him, happy to have a fiancé who could share her love for anime.
Venelana glanced at her husband, then at Grayfia and Sirzechs. "We won't stay long. Get plenty of rest."
Zeoticus quickly added, "And you have to call me 'Father' from now on. You promised."
"Okay… Dad," Judai said with a small, genuine smile.
Zeoticus beamed. Venelana shot him a mock-jealous look but couldn't hide her own happiness. With that, Zeoticus and Venelana left the room.
"We shall take our leave as well," Grayfia said, giving a slight nod. "Sirzechs-sama?"
"Get plenty of rest, little brother," Sirzechs said before following Grayfia out.
Once the adults had gone, Akeno asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Next time, Judai… don't scare me like that again," Rias said, her voice soft but earnest. "But I'm glad you're safe."
"Thanks," Judai replied, returning her smile.
Kiba then spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him. "Was that Gryphon your Balance Breaker?"
"No," Judai shook his head. "It's still locked."
The room fell into a moment of stunned silence. They could only wonder how much stronger he could become.
Judai yawned, feeling exhaustion tug at him again.
"I'll let you rest. But if you want, I can stay with you," Rias offered.
"It's fine. You should rest too."
With that, Rias and the others quietly left the room.
Once alone, Judai's gaze turned inward. Before him, a translucent interface appeared, displaying his current gem count: 5,000.
A satisfied smile touched his lips. He browsed the pack selection, lingering on the Master Pack before deciding it was too much of a gamble. Instead, he focused on the All Pack, a broader, safer investment. With a mental command, he spent all his gems, watching the number drop to zero.
The cards he pulled from the packs were a diverse mix, some powerful, some situational, but overall a solid haul:
1. [Hieracosphinx (Effect Monster)]
2. [Dracotail Faimena (Effect Monster)]
3. [The Winged Dragon of Ra – Sphere Mode (Effect Monster)]
4. [The Beginning of the End (Normal Spell)]
5. [Periallis, Empress of Blossoms (Synchro Monster)]
6. [Rank-Up-Magic Magical Force (Quick-Play Spell)]
7. [Nubian Guard (Effect Monster)]
8. [Gazelle the King of Mythical Claws (Effect Monster)]
9. [Anchorbolt Hedgehog (Effect Monster)]
10. [Mekk-Knight Green Horizon (Effect Monster)]
11. [R-Genex Overseer (Effect Monster)]
12. [Hecahands Ibtel (Effect Monster)]
13. [Jade Dragon Mech (Synchro Monster)]
14. [Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin (XYZ Monster)]
15. [Behemoth the King of a Hundred Battles (Effect Monster)]
16. [Full Armored Utopic Ray Lancer (XYZ Monster)]
17. [Trickstar Bloom (Link Monster)]
18. [Nitwit Outwit (Trap Card)]
19. [Level Down!? (Quick-Play Spell)]
20. [Gora Turtle (Effect Monster)]
21. [DoomZ XIII Over – Graflario (XYZ Monster)]
22. [Endless Engine Argyro System (Normal Spell)]
23. [Painful Choice (Normal Spell)]
24. [Tindangle Acute Cerberus (Link Monster)]
25. [Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz (Fusion Monster)]
26. [Gladiator Beast Spartacus (Effect Monster)]
27. [Regenesis Command (Trap Card)]
28. [Sonic Stun (Trap Card)]
29. [Infernoble Knight Ricciardetto (Effect Monster)]
30. [Bayonet Punish (Quick-Play Spell)]
31. [Quarantine (Continuous Spell)]
32. [Switcheroroo (Trap Card)]
33. [XYZ – Dragon Cannon (Fusion Monster)]
34. [Heavy Mech Support Platform (Effect Monster)]
35. [Infernity Knight (Effect Monster)]
36. [Marshalling Field (Continuous Trap)]
37. [Neo Space Pathfinder (Effect Monster)]
38. [PSY-Framegear Beta (Effect Monster)]
39. [Shiranui Samurai (Effect Monster)]
40. [Inzektor Ant (Effect Monster)]
Looking over the results, Judai nodded in approval. He'd pulled several strong XYZ and Synchro monsters, expanding his strategic options significantly.
"I deserve a pull like this after what I went through," he murmured, a proud smirk on his lips. "If I couldn't summon something strong, I would've lost. Now I've got a lot more to work with, time to update my deck and cut the dead weight."
He glanced at [The Winged Dragon of Ra – Sphere Mode] but didn't linger. Even if he could summon it, he doubted he could handle Ra's power yet.
A more cautious thought surfaced: 'I need to be careful. I can't let what happened with Knightmare Gryphon happen again.'
First things first, he needed to recover. Judai sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to focus. He drew in the ambient life energy from the environment, refined it into magic power, then channeled it back into his body as pure life force, accelerating his natural healing.