Rias, Judai, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko left the stadium, walking toward their waiting carriage.
"Are you sure you're completely fine?" Rias asked, glancing at Judai as he stifled a yawn. He'd spent the last few hours healing, and fatigue was still evident.
"Yes, I am," Judai assured her, his tone light but firm enough to ease her worry.
When they reached the carriages, Grayfia was already standing outside, waiting. As Judai approached, her sharp eyes caught something unusual, a faint, shimmering yellow aura clinging to him. It felt familiar, resonant with the kind of divine pressure she'd sensed only in the presence of gods.
'What happened in such a short span of time?' she wondered, masking her curiosity behind her usual neutral expression.
They boarded the carriage and settled in for the ride back to Gremory Castle. Judai leaned against the wall, eyes closed as if asleep, but in truth, his mind was busy reorganizing his deck, mentally sorting through his new cards and considering strategies.
Upon their return, the castle welcomed them with familiar grandeur, a red carpet laid out, flanked by rows of maids and butlers leading up to the entrance.
Once inside, Judai excused himself and headed straight to his room, exhaustion finally catching up to him.
Before collapsing into bed, he made a quick detour to the bathroom to wash up, then changed into fresh clothes. With a deep sigh, he finally lay down and let sleep take him, his mind still faintly humming with the day's event.
. . . .
At first, everything was dark. Then the scenery shifted, Judai found himself standing on an endless sea that stretched to infinity in all directions.
He was surprised. He'd never had a dream this vivid.
"This is amazing," he murmured, smiling as he realized he was experiencing a lucid dream.
But his happiness vanished in an instant.
The sky darkened abruptly, then began to crack. A surge of dark, reddish energy poured through the fractures, spreading rapidly. Everything it touched corrupted, the endless water turned a murky reddish-black, and the sky became a bruised crimson, dominated by a single glowing red sun.
Then, something eclipsed the sun, a massive humanoid figure clad in ornate white and teal robes, its face hidden behind a golden mask with a single red eye. From its back unfurled a wing of intertwined pale hands, mirroring the hand-like fringe around its waist. Its raised left arm glowed with blue, wire-like prosthetic energy.
'Hecahands Ibtel.'
Judai recognized it immediately. He'd just added the card to his deck before sleeping.
But recognition didn't bring relief. He was frozen, unable to move his head, close his eyes, or even breathe. A paralyzing dread held him completely still.
It was like a sleep paralysis demon, but far more vivid, more real. Judai was sweating, his whole body trembling under the sheer pressure Ibtel radiated just by existing. This wasn't ordinary fear, it was primal, invasive, clinging to his mind even when he tried not to feel it.
Ibtel observed him, its single red eye fixed. It seemed… curious. Judai had summoned a lesser version of itself, after all.
Its left hand began to reach out, as if to touch Judai's very essence, to understand what he was made of.
But before Ibtel could make contact, the sky shifted again. A brilliant, celestial light pierced through the crimson gloom, and the temperature soared. The sea beneath began to boil.
Above them, a massive golden sphere now hovered, high-gloss, etched with intricate panel lines and a grid-like crown. It radiated a sharp, celestial brilliance, casting needle-like rays of energy in all directions.
The Winged Dragon of Ra – Sphere Mode.
Ibtel paused, its masked face tilting upward. It seemed… annoyed.
With Ra's presence flooding the dream, Judai felt the paralysis break. He could move again, breathe again. He looked up, relieved and grateful.
When he glanced back down, Ibtel was gone. The sea and sky had returned to normal, clear, calm, undisturbed.
He looked up again to thank Ra, but the golden orb had already vanished.
"Thanks," Judai whispered anyway.
But his mind was already racing, fixated on one thing: Hecahands Ibtel.
He'd thought it was just another powerful monster card, dangerous, but manageable. He hadn't expected this.
'What the hell is Ibtel? I get Ra invading my dream, it's a god, after all. But Ibtel… it felt… different.'
The realization slowly dawned, cold and certain.
'Eldritch.'
It finally clicked.
"Fuck," was all Judai could say aloud.
He'd just added an Eldritch god to his deck.
Judai blinked awake, staring up at the luxurious ceiling above him. He sat up slowly, his body damp with sweat. A familiar voice spoke softly beside him.
"Judai, is something wrong?"
It was Rias Gremory, lying next to him, fully uncovered, her figure beautiful and unashamed.
For a moment, Judai wanted to ask what she was doing there, but he felt too drained to question it.
"I'm going to the toilet," he muttered, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom.
Rias watched him go, surprised by his lack of reaction. She'd been smiling, expecting something else but now a hint of worry crept in. 'Did he have a nightmare?'
Her guess wasn't far off. In the bathroom, Judai splashed cold water on his face, staring into the mirror.
"What should I do now?" he whispered to himself. 'Just take it out of the deck.'
He tried mentally moving Hecahands Ibtel out of his active deck but each time he did, the card reappeared in place.
"Shit."
That was all he could say to the impossibility of it.
"I guess I have to rely on Ra's power. Now I really do need the other two gods, just to protect myself," he murmured, more to steady his nerves than anything else.
He walked out of the bathroom and headed back toward his room. In the hallway, he met Zeoticus and Venelana, who were strolling together.
"Can't sleep?" Zeoticus asked, noticing Judai's preoccupied expression.
"Kinda," Judai admitted.
"Then why don't you join us for a bit?" Venelana offered gently.
Judai nodded. He needed to take his mind off the being that had invaded his dreams without being summoned. A conversation might help.