Rating Game Field

[Apollymi]

"Starrk-san?" the girl sounded a bit confused about it, her brows furrowing as she was trying to decide if this man was way older than she thought he was and deserving of more respect, or younger and tired and thus would be offended. Regardless her ice launched crescents soon met their end in a very unorthodox way. Her eyes widened in this moment because she hadn't expected a blast from anything but the guns in his hands. "S-su-sugoi!" the girl said as her attack all but disappeared and she was soon left to deal with an offense which she had some inkling was coming given the direction of the one of the guns he wielded. Already having the time she held her sword in front of her, using it to cast several barriers in front of her all with ice woven between them. The shots that came through the first few would be slowed enough for the girl to move out of the way of the coming blasts but she was by no means a fast moving individual and found herself snagged at least a bit by this constant barrage which felt like several things all at once. The ice shell around her body cracked but didn't break completely and she found herself blue in the face exhaling ice to fix it. "Haahh... " she breathed out while dragging her sword behind her. In a moment a single thread of ice spread from where she was as if going towards him, aiming to take up place beneath him and grow into spikes, to try and keep him from shooting too much at her. "That, was a bunch of little shots right? Sugoi! They go so fast, I've never done anything like that..." she said seemingly amazed by this man's use of magic. She was of course, quite the magic nerd and it seemed to shine in moments like this, even allowing her to lose the stutter she had due to the nervousness of the moment.

"Yeah, well I don't like it thrown at me or anything, but a nice hot bath, or a hot spring... I can get into those," Eira mentioned haphazardly knowing that this was exactly the fight that Izuna was looking for, and watching as the flames around them disappeared almost instantly. Such a thing made Fennexis' eyes widen slightly she hadn't expected such a thing and had truly been content to let these two fall where they were. "You are quite rude... I really have no idea what Roxanna would have wanted with someone like you..." she said in response to Izuna's opening statement. The rest though required something a bit different. "Oh? Fox Fire huh? One has to wonder if you're trying to goad me into something..." Fennexis said seemingly amused though her next move made her step forward again, her hair bristling with power as it seemed to take on the shape of fox ears and and she gained a bit of a fox aspect to her person. 'Hmm, that's a bit too underwhelming to be cute,' Eira thought as a general assessment. Regardless Fennexis had something else to show, with this aspect of a kitsune surrounding her, she used a spell. "Mystical Fire!" it created from itself a collection of five large flames at her side and made them appear around Izuna and Eira yet again, this time turning them into a swirling raging tornado of flames of a higher strength than those used previously which would continue to burn as long as Fennexis willed them to. She full expected such a thing to cause the pair of individuals to be burned up enough to trigger the Rating Game to retire at least the Queen of Eira's Peerage. This action caused some unexpected commentary from Marceline as she watched from the stands. "Hoh? Seems like someone from Roxanna Phenex's Peerage has Eira Gremory and her Queen on the defensive? What will come of this moment... I guess we'll have to wait and see!~" the crowds attention was already switching to this and it seemed for this moment, Izuna would get his shine time.

[Bloodedge]

"I could set everything on fire and make you think it's a hot spring, if that works for you," Izuna said to Eira with a light chuckle, though his expression toward Fennexis was an aggressive one. His apparent 'rudeness' seemed to be some sort of issue for her. Interestingly enough, Izuna's issue with Fennexis was something he considered far beyond rude treatment. "I don't know what she expected from me either. I'm too much for her." In response to his commentary about Fennexis' flames, the Bishop took a new form, if it could be called that. She did indeed have the likeness of a fox, albeit only in spirit. Her mentality was a far cry from what the Kitsune he knew would deem acceptable, and the likes of something Izuna despised to his very core. He could not show kindness to such a thing. Izuna stared her down even as she used this form to produce a flame tornado around Eira and himself. His visage disappeared within this swirling fire, but his voice emerged when he heard the assertion of Marceline in the announcer's booth. "Defensive? Don't make me laugh!"

Suddenly, blue flames began swirling along with the fire produced by Fennexis, forming its own spiral within the existing tornado. This flame continued to grow until it consumed Fennexis' flame and spread out, freeing both Eira and Izuna - the latter of whom now sported an old traditional brown kimono with a red haori, fox ears and a single tail, as well as a small ponytail from a slight growth to his hair. Wisps of blue Fox Fire formed around him one after another, each one producing a powerful surge of Youki from their manifestation alone before immediately flying off toward Fennexis, boasting heat which rivaled the flames used by Dragons, and an even greater amount of force produced by virtue of being Izuna's energy. At the same time, a number of these flames appeared around Eira as if they were forming a setup akin to proper will-o-wisps to keep foreign energies at bay. "Oi, oi! You're some kind of freaky scholar with no morals, right? You wouldn't have a problem being cremated, would you!?"

[Apollymi]

Izuna's offer to set everything on fire and make Eira believe it was a hot spring made the heiress laugh just a little. "Ufufufufu~" she chuckled, though she had no interest in that sort of thing, she still realized why Izuna would have said something like that. "Iie, I'll just go to a hot spring myself. Or dream about one, if I ever manage to get to sleep..." she said happily. Still Fennexis said that she didn't know what Roxanna expected from him and he claimed he was too much for her. She managed to look at him strangely. "You might be strong and willful but I wouldn't go that far, everything has a breaking point," she said having in her own mind a good general assessment of this lad and not figuring him for much but a kitsune. Izuna even went on to challenge what the announcer said which made Eira's eyes widen just a little. "Yare yare, don't antagonize the announcers... they are just doing their jobs," she chided not at all meaning it. Marceline managed to looked shocked by the assertion but still watched in awe at the changed clothing and attitude of the Queen of Eira's Peerage. "Oh my... it seems like something strange is happening here. A change in attire, and form... and a more accurate control of fire, blue fire to be exact!!~" it seemed Marceline was interested in the development. Eira watched the entire thing with wide eyes and looked on at Izuna in his fox form with childlike glee. "Kawaii!~ I-zu-na!~" she chimed though she realized the amount of murderous intent the lad possessed.

Fennexis on the other hand was being introduced to something very different. The blue flames which dissipated her tornado did so without her intending it to happen. The power of the flames burst against her concentration almost concussively making her appear stunned for a moment. "Nani? What kind of fire is that?" she asked as if confused by its existence. She produced a wall of flames before her, using her current spiritual form to try and wall off from these fire balls flying towards her which were small and so would by her own approximation be swallowed up by a larger flame. She was wrong. Several of these balls flew straight through surprising the lass and burning her torso extensively and knocking her back with their power. The little mage stumbled and tried to intensify the heat of her own flames as she made several cursed balls of flames and launched them towards both Izuna and Eira. Again, Eira didn't seem to be bothered by anything happening around her, and instead found herself a bit mesmerized by the blue flames around her. "Sugoi!~ I haven't seen these in ages..." she murmured appreciatively. Fennexis had something else to say entirely particularly to the murderous comment aimed her way. "Iie, you are strong, I'll admit that... but cremation isn't something I'd be okay with. I really don't understand your issue with me... morals hold back proper development, you can't learn if rules stop you from delving properly into topics." she said, which made Eira roll her eyes. She knew plenty of mages who managed to learn and better themselves without sacrificing the health and safety of those around them, she had a few such beings on her peerage and in her family.

[Bloodedge]

"Heh!" was Izuna's only reaction to Fennexis' claim that everyone had a breaking point. She couldn't possibly know that he hadn't lied at all when saying he was too much for one such as Roxanna to handle. Even if he'd made it to her peerage, she had no way of controlling him the way she did her other servants. Alas, perhaps some enlightenment would come before Fennexis was retired. When Fennexis showed her confusion as to the type of fire Izuna had thrown at her, he scoffed. "It's Fox Fire. You know... from a real fox," he stated. Following Fennexis' attempt to defend against his fire, she retaliated with her own. Izuna weaved through the barrage of fireballs while floating ever closer to his enemy. In doing so, he left Eira behind, knowing the flames he formed around her were in place to form a barrier between and around themselves to shield the heiress from projectiles. "Oi. Don't talk to me about rules. All I do is break rules over, and over, and over again... but..." The expression in the Youkai's face became angrier by the moment. He'd had more than enough of this Bishop, and it showed here and now. As he made his approach, an even more powerful blue flame appeared at the tip of his tail, which began rotating like a rudder to move the flame around until he closed in on Fennexis. "Having morals is something completely different! If you're going to hurt the people around you instead of help them, who are you developing for!? You're nothing but trash who doesn't deserve power!"

As Izuna spoke, he reached a space in the air in front of Fennexis. Eyes with a mysterious glow were set on her, and the flame at his backside reached a speed which momentarily made it seem as if there were nine of them hovering around him at the rear. At the same time, one might mistakenly see something like a shadow around the Queen - one which appeared to have nine tails attached to it and leading out to each flare. This was brief however, as the flame eventually swirled itself into the form of a cyclone which radiated Izuna's Youki across the battlefield. "Hi no Uzu!" The single moving flame suddenly erupted into a horizontal cyclone of blue fire, encircling Izuna's body and traveling forward to place Fennexis within its eye as well. In moving forward however, it also filled itself in, threatening to engulf her in an inferno of immense burning power and explosive force capable of reducing nearly anything caught within it into smoldering ashes scattered along the wind.

[Apollymi]

Eira continued to stand still and watch the ongoing battle, even as flaming little balls of cursed magic were sent her way. She made no move to defend herself and Fennexis might have thought something good would come from at least a couple of them colliding with the heiress. Soon though it became apparent that the blue flaming balls surrounding Eira were also a barrier of sorts, with energy connecting between them leaving the crimson haired young woman completely at ease while Izuna moved forward after replying to a couple of Fennexis' commentaries in a very snarky way. "Sugoi!~ I always did enjoy these~" Eira said aloud. But soon something even more incredible would happen.

"Iie, morals are rules... and power dictates what rules you have to follow," this was a very common philosophy shared by those without morals who thought to abuse their positions to get their way. And beyond her general distaste for Roxanna, Eira really didn't like Fennexis' commentary either, but with it already being taken care of, she was content with watching, a smile on her face and her hands resting on her hips. 'Hm, I hope they are properly calibrated for this level of power... Izuna's mad again, and this one just keeps making it worse,' she thought absently, knowing that the loss of a piece like Fennexis would be a bit hit to the ego of one like Roxanna. The movements of Izuna were seen by Fennexis, and his words about fox fire were all but lost. She used the fire of the fox spirit within her body and it still wasn't comparable. Still she watched as his next attack was launched and tried to prepare her defense, but really there wasn't much to be done. 'Ichi, ni...' she started counting but her eyes widened as she could have sworn this lad had nine tails if only for a moment. The form of fox that his power gave off was also something utterly astounding. "BAKANA! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" she shouted as the barriers created by her fire were put in place before her only for her to see the swirling vortex coming in the form of heavy blue flames. There was nothing she could do, no where she could go, she was stunned, surely this boy couldn't be a Kyuubi. A male Kyuubi simply wasn't possible, was it? The flames of her barriers were shattered upon impact as her body spiraled out of sight, the only thing to be heard a piercing scream. Instead of the visuals of ashes blowing away on the wind... all that was left was an eerie green light which signaled the lasses' retirement. Marceline looked on at this in awe, she was sure she'd seen it too, the form of this lad for only a moment. "Alright folks I am not sure what that was, but I am pretty sure, Eira's Queen fully earned the nickname Priest of Fire. Roxanna Phenex is down a bishop, and things still look like they are just getting started. He never even broke a sweat... pretty amazing right?" she asked in a leading way for the Satan at her side, knowing this kind of power output was just up his alley.

Roxanna for her part in this, watched as Eira's Queen did away with one of her more favored Peerage Members. Her eyes widened and the sound of her screams was something which seemed to hit home for the lass. She became furious, wondering what other kind of power was hidden on this Peerage of Eira's that they could take out one of her good people. "Oi! I said find your matches when they were obvious... how long are you gonna space out like that, Shira. Go kick that Queen's ass... I'm tired of looking at her be so fucking calm out here!" Roxanna demanded, seeming to have a deep seated hatred of the kind of calm Eira maintained in this situation of pressure. Inside she faltered just a little. 'Why can't I have him? I want him! Why is it always someone like her!?' this innate malice was directed at Eira as the lass looked towards her but didn't move from where she'd posted herself in the middle of the game field. All the while, another tier of the field fell forcing these groups into ever closer quarters with one another. Hopping quietly forward was a young woman with pure white hair and a bland expression. She looked up at Roxanna with something close to distaste in her eyes as she considered what she'd been told. A small smile came to her face as she managed a reply, knowing that she couldn't be forced to do anything at all. Her white robes made her look a bit like a priestess and her presence was frighteningly powerful but pleasant as she moved. "Oh? A new day dawns when one such as Roxanna Phenex chooses to try and force my actions personally. Kitsune-dono will greet me when he is ready... I needn't rush in senselessly," she said these words calmly but the way her eyes cut to Roxanna made it obvious that she had absolutely no intention of doing as she was told in any manner so direct. But she also knew it was possible to satisfy both her own needs in this moment and her master, and did so simply by sending a pulse of her own energy across the battlefield towards Izuna as if it was an invitation. Eira would speak to Izuna in this moment with mild shock in her form. "Hoh? I wonder what that could be?" she phrased this as a question but knew Izuna would catch her meaning.

[Bloodedge]

One other individual saw this hint of eight additional tails upon Izuna's form. It wasn't a real thing in any way, but the vague shadow alone was enough. As Marceline spoke to the crowd, Szavelneas - the other person to notice - bore the widest, most maddening of grins. His eyes were nearly falling out of his head, and one could almost imagine some level of ecstasy within him at the time. 'Gremory!' he thought. Time and time again, this family shocked him with the things they managed, and Eira's acquisition of a servant so valuable was something he'd yet to see in all his centuries. "Sou ka. Eira Gremory's Queen is one of the strongest we'll find in this bracket, even though this is their first official match. However... I do wonder what sort of exciting thing we'll see here soon," he commented, having already acquired knowledge involving another Queen to be found here.

Speaking of the other Queen, Roxanna's was finally being stirred into action, if only to some minor extent. Her only choice in approach was to send forth her energy. As Izuna floated in place and sighed away his aggression from this small victory, this energy signature struck him and gave him great pause. Suddenly, his eyes widened to the same extent as Szaelneas'. He turned with great haste to see what could be producing such an energy - that which seemed almost hidden within something else - and there he saw the enemy Queen. "That's... not possible..." he said through gritted teeth, both to himself and in response to Eira's query. There was no possible way he was mistaken in what he felt. Even if he thought he could have been wrong, the fact that it was projected so blatantly towards him would have cleared away any doubts. Tense and sweating, Izuna floated slowly toward a center point between the other Queen and his starting location, staring at the former all the while. He'd take this invitation; he automatically understood that he had no other choice. Assuming this other Queen already understood such a thing when issuing her 'challenge', he decided to stop on a mushroom away from other participants of this Rating Game.

[Apollymi]

Eira experienced in the moment of Szavelneas' thought an intensive shiver up her spine. One which caused her to shake as if she had a chill and look over her shoulder as if someone had spoken to her. Of course this was soon abandoned by her as she looked towards the cause of the energy. "Careful... Izuna. I have no idea what she is but... she's definitely the biggest threat," Eira mentioned. Still that calm look remained on her face even as other things were happening around her. She looked to her left and witnessed something else entirely.

Konpaku Youmu had found one of her targets, a whip-wielding horned hell hound. Youmu bore a calm expression one blade pointed towards this being her eyes focused and seemingly without any knowledge of anything else going on in the area. But she did, she watched as a gentle step backwards was taken by the young woman before her. And Youmu pushed forward even as a lash was attempted by this particular young woman flaming hotter than anything Youmu would have expected. Instead of trying to dodge she stuck her arm out allowing this flaming whip to wrap around it taking an excessive burn and pulling this lass towards her own blade. "Sumimasen, Helga. I have more work to do... Sayonara," she mentioned as her blade gained corporeal form in a second within the chest of this young woman. Helga's eyes widened and she realized she'd lost this. "Iie. Thank you all, for everything," she thanked the other lass as she disappeared as well. Youmu was left looking at her burned arm the soul attached to her body moving itself down as the burn began to glow first blue then green. 'Hm, these flames aren't foxfire nor dragon, but this burn is intense... I am glad she had the morals to resist being part of that girl's games,' Youmu thought to herself. And then Youmu shifted her gaze to look for her next target. "Yare yare, it seems like Roxanna is also down a Knight. The senior members of Eira's Peerage are leaving their marks on the Game Field tonight. And as the collapse forces these groups closer and closer together one has to wonder who is going to benefit more from the smaller spaces..." Marceline mentioned. "And you seem way too excited for your own good, Satan Beelzebub!~" charmed this particular woman as she continued watching the match. Roxanna watched a second of her members fall, and noticed her Peerage size advantage dwindling quickly. Though Starrk and Lilynette were both taking on the ice girl, the loss of two would make the numbers a bit too close for her own liking. They only had one extra person on the field at present and that barely counted. 'Why? I want to win. I need to win. She has to know what will happen if I lose here so why? Why is she even trying? Does she think she can actually win against me?' the heiress Phenex gnashed her teeth together in a grimace as she considered what she thought to be the most ludicrous idea on the planet. An underdog like Eira Gremory topping against her, getting even more attention she didn't deserve, and costing her everything.

Meanwhile the white haired girl looked towards Izuna as he approached and smiled at him widely. "Kitsune-dono, you received my invitation then. I am sure you have questions... I'm Homuragami Shiranui. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, " she said mentioning the family name of an old family of Okami Youkai from the mountains. This girl was exceedingly respectful of this lad for whatever reason and didn't make any move to attack him. She was from a sect worshiped as gods even among the Ainu people, perhaps this lad was just as old as she was and would know what it meant. Perhaps he wasn't and nothing about her would make sense to him. Regardless, it didn't matter much as this was a fight she had to take to some extent.

[Bloodedge]

When they met, Izuna was greeted properly by Roxanna's Queen. Her introduction was one which easily gave away her knowledge of who... or rather, what he was, given how she addressed him. What made things more interesting was the moment she offered her own name. "Homura... gami..." he repeated slowly. That name was absolutely ancient. It was so ancient in fact, that either she had some connection to Izuna's own mother, or some close relative of hers did instead. "Oi, oi, oi... You're a downright relic, ain't ya? Boku wa Kagimi Izuna... Ookami-tono." With his own greeting returned, Izuna crossed his right hand over his chest and offered a slight bow. In doing so, he wore a cheeky grin, though he was quite wary of this woman's very existence. "It must take a lot to be like you and keep the Devil you're bound to from knowing," he said, understanding that Roxanna couldn't have actually known much about her Queen while also desiring him as a servant. He also took no immediate action against his opponent, though he did make an effort to shroud himself in flames to prepare for the battle he felt he had to take.

During this time, Takumi finally made his first move during this Rating Game. However, he did not move to take any opponent. He instead stepped up to Eira's side and looked out unto the battlefield, choosing to converse with the heiress as opposed to jumping into the fight. "If I'm being honest, I don't even know who to fight... or if I even need to fight anyone here. What should I do?"

[Apollymi]

The greeting Shiranui received was about what she expected given the age of everyone involved. When he mentioned that she was a relic the woman's eyes widened and she waved the lad off, having a chuckle behind one of her hands. "Yare yare, that's a little mean, Kitsune-dono. It's not nice to discuss a lady's age as such. And if you are who I think you are, I am sure you're older than me," she said with a gentle smile appearing from behind that covered hand. Of course, he went on to make an assertion about her keeping her abilities hidden for a while. "You're one to talk, Kagimi Izuna-dono," she bowed back to the lad. "I assume the Devil you are with knows better, but still, you hide just as much as I do, on your own authority..." she mentioned as her body began to glow and a ring of small fire balls was created around her person. "She's under the impression that capturing me in human form locked me into it, Hanyo desu..." she explained of how she managed to hide her real nature from Roxanna. "But I am protected from her..." there was a pause in the words spoken by Shiranui while she tried to speak semi-nicely. "Disposition. I am sure you've realized why..." she said to the man before her with a devious smile on her face. "But today is the day my goddess had me wait for, so I'll show you something she's not seen since she captured me," said Shiranui. And much like Izuna, the young woman's form changed quite a bit. She gained one white fluffy dog wolf tail, along with a full pair of wolf ears atop her head. Two crimson colored marks appeared on her face directly under her eyes and her fingers gained claws and her mouth gained fangs. "Ah... I missed this. Still, I can't show much more than this, but I am sure it will be enough for the two of us to meet properly," she mused, as she lifted two fingers towards Izuna and took a deep breath. Doing so caused those created fire balls to swirl into her own person giving her a fiery aura which she'd use to approach Izuna swiftly aiming a concise palm strike towards the center of his chest with enhanced strength and animalistic aggression. "What the hell?! How long have you been able to take that form again?" asked Roxanna of her Queen which gained her nothing but a snarl from the lass the likes of which she'd received from Izuna in the days prior.

Eira watched the exchange taking place between these people as she was soon approached by Takumi. He took Izuna's place at her side which was likely for the best considering protecting the King in such situations was a proper strategy. Even though she was quite literally drawn by the things taking place before her, Eira couldn't help but smile at the lad's question and his assertion that he didn't know what he should be doing. "Mostly what you do, depends on how the strategy evolves, Takumi. Our initial plan was a run and gun, take as many targets in the first few moments as possible. We've taken down two, and I can count on Youmu to take on another, or at the very least keep him occupied. But with Izuna busy with the..." Eira paused seeing the new form taken on by the Queen of Roxanna's Peerage. Her eyes widened immediately at the sight. 'Kawaiii!~' her mind chanted this but aloud she had something different to say. "Proper Queen of Roxanna's Peerage, I am left without someone at my side and that can't be allowed. So for now... stay with me. And you can take care of whoever approaches," she said, it was a working strategy and one which would let her enjoy the Red Dragon Emperor's company for a few moments at least, and she was almost certain she'd be attacked directly pretty soon. She also realized she hadn't really explained why she assumed something like that would happen so she clarified her thoughts a bit more. "If Roxanna starts to feel threatened, she'll likely send someone here to try me directly, while she thinks my bigger threats are too occupied to try and protect me... not that I need the protection but, it'd be an okay working strategy to try and have me maimed or injured enough that I won't be able to move forward before this part of the stage collapses. Risky though it might be..."

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm? Was it?" asked Izuna as he thought on the potential rudeness of his previous reaction. There seemed to be some amount of civility between this pair of Queens, as their conversation continued with this. "I guess it was. Don't get me wrong though, you're pretty hot regardless. You wouldn't happen to be into older, super-manly guys, would ya?" he went on, content to enjoy a bit of humorous banter with this 'Ookami' he was pitted against. Shiranui touched on her own concealment of abilities while addressing her knowledge of Izuna's. By the time she was done, she even exemplified her true powers to whatever extent she was comfortable with, which alone was nothing to shake a stick at, so to speak. It was impressive even to look at, and Izuna's tail began swaying as if he were some lesser form of canine. "Sugoi! Even back then, I never got to see one of you like this," he said. As Shiranui made her approach, he stared her down with a smile and began moving his lips to mouth his true name in silence. Considering what he was up against, he felt he owed this woman an amount of respect which went far beyond what he could manage as a Devil. Yet still, he could not truly meet her as a Youkai. Her palm thrust met his torso though, crashing into his sternum and causing his body to curl around her arm as the hand pushed against him. Then, suddenly, Izuna flew away from Shiranui with nothing but the remnants of his flames left behind. "Hrgh! Yeah, that's... about what I expected," he commented after catching himself mid-air several meters away. His hand was once again upon his chest, albeit this time because of the impact he'd taken. Something about the way this recent hit felt... was odd. He'd heard many stories about the Ookami, and for Shiranui to say she couldn't show anything more than this while producing such an outcome... didn't match up to his expectations when he thought about it more. "... No..." Whatever he was thinking, he seemed quite surprised. His free hand rose and began drawing runes in the air before him. This resulted in the sudden disappearance of Eira's Queen, followed by the appearance of six illusions of himself around Shiranui while he floated above in hiding. The illusions darted about, each four meters away from Shiranui and tossing very real balls of blue Fox Fire toward her at varying intervals. 'Could she really be...'

Eira apparently thought it was for the best if Takumi remained at her side, considering the likelihood of an assault on her in the near future. Upon hearing this, the Pawn chortled. "You're doing a lot to keep up appearances, aren't you? I can't see anybody on the other team accomplishing anything by attacking you directly, even if it's just to knock you off. That Roxanna... I felt it," he began explaining while looking into his open palm. "When I was going to hit her earlier, I felt like I could take her down somehow. I haven't been wrong about that kind of thing yet. Either way though, I've got no problem staying here while you're around."

[Apollymi]

"Hai. It was..." mentioned Shiranui without any hesitation. Of course, as their playful banter continued, it seemed that Izuna had compliments to pay in addition to his mention of her age. Another chuckle escaped the white haired lass as she managed to look a tad bit sheepish. "Super-manly? I can't say I know anyone like that..." she mused, having a fairly good time herself. "Oh, you'll make me blush saying things like that. This is just my wolf form. The one I should be in most of the time..." she stated about the form she'd shown him now. Of course, Roxanna watched this conversation take place and wondered what was going on between this set of Queens that someone wasn't already eliminated. "Oi! I said kick his ass, not flirt! What the fuck is this?" Roxanna asked angrily from her perch midfield. 'That seems like something she'd do. I should have been able to have that fox! Why isn't he mine!? I want him!' she thought again and again seeming to get more and more worked up. Shiranui for her part didn't pay any attention to the words coming out of the face of the heiress Phenex she was too busy catching the true name of a certain fox Youkai. She saw the movements of his lips and her eyes widened at the news even as she sent her arm into his person and he managed to shift it quite a bit from the hit to the sternum it had started off as. "Sou ka... The last time I hit someone like that it crushed their chest instantly," she muttered to herself only to see the lad collect himself and disappear after using a set of runes. Six illusory versions of him appeared hurling fox fire balls at the lass without discrimination. Instead of moving herself block them, a large mirror appeared at her back and it looked a bit like a shield. It began to move around towards the fireballs knocking them immediately back towards their casters with impunity. "Yare yare... tricky aren't you?"

Meanwhile Eira was content to watch the ongoing battle and continue her conversation with Takumi. He went on to speak on the idea that she was doing too much to keep up appearances and had some idea that he could at least beat Roxanna. Eira smiled at this notion, such a thought about an enemy was a good one. But also a bit of a rookie interpretation of the differences between them. "Iie, I am not keeping up an appearance. Against the rest of her Peerage, we stand a pretty good chance. Just Izuna and I have taken out more powerful people between us... but Roxanna is problematic," she mentioned casually. She saw no harm in explaining what she knew, half of winning in games of chess such as these was about knowing your enemies strengths and weaknesses and strategizing around them. "Don't take that the wrong way, I have no doubt that you could knock her out. And I enjoy that you trust your instincts on such things..." she said with that devious smirk of her bloodlust leaking into her visage. "The problem is making sure she stays down. Phenex family is aptly named after all... and she has high-regenerative abilities, and in all honesty she is practically immortal. So it is almost impossible to make the Retiring System accept that someone from her family has taken enough damage to be counted out," she stated plainly. Of course, even knowing this wouldn't stop Eira from at least trying her physically but there was much more to the way a game like this needed to be played. "We could take out every other member on the field, but if Roxanna remains with an unbroken will, then we can't win. But... if we break her mind enough that she retires herself... we win." she explained the basics of her plan to the lad with her. "Thus the long game... which is much harder to play on this particular field," she mentioned as the area behind where she was standing disappeared causing her to take a few steps forward to head to the next mushroom.