Gremory Territory

[Apollymi]

This maid known as Zekrom seemed to be enthused by Miyuki's development. And even as Miyuki launched what was to be considered to be the height of her Ice related abilities, the dragon maid kept moving forward. One lightning covered hand before her, she pushed through the entirety of the blast speaking of how she once enjoyed crushing people with this sort of strength. A smile crossed the small girl's face, as she felt good about being this sort of person for the Dragon Maid, though the raven haired woman had initially shown more apathy towards her. "Arigatou gozaimasu..." Miyuki managed this lightning covered hand aimed to make contact with the top of her head, and the girl looked up at it and blinked. It would indeed seem to make contact with it, but if Miyuki was one thing it was overly skittish. As such after speaking she exhaled creating an ice clone of herself, which if that hand pressed against, would burst on contact, in an attempt to flash freeze the woman with an attack hidden within the clones flesh, made exclusively of Miyuki's own subarctic breath. Miyuki herself would be seen a smaller distance behind this just out of range by the time the blast detonated.

Meanwhile, it seemed that Sairevil had met his match. Facing off against, Maiko with her newly enhanced abilities seemed to overwhelm the crimson haired lad. Or moreover, it seemed he was resigned to some fate unknown to everyone else. He had the choice between taking his own attack, and being smashed by the shield thrown in his direction, and he chose the shield much to Maiko's surprise. The ultimate ending of it was him being retired. Maiko was left looking wide eyed, the cold causing a shiver from the lass, which likely would have been worse if not for the sweater dress she was presently wearing. "Well damn, why'd he go taking a hit like that? We could have gone a bit l-longer..." she managed with a random shiver. 'Is that why she stutters like that?' she questioned mentally, turning her attention to the final moment in battle between Zekrom and Miyuki. She was stunned the youngest member of their peerage in appearance seemed to be fairly in control of her battle, compared to how she'd been in the moments prior when she'd doubted herself.

[Bloodedge]

After what felt like a long trek, Zekrom reached the end of the ice wave. Her hand easily reached Miyuki's head... or so she thought. Suddenly, the Miyuki she saw after passing through the wave burst, producing an additional freezing effect the moment Zekrom thought to focus her efforts on offense. Interestingly enough, she was frozen with a wider smile than she previously wore, and an overall expression that could easily be described as lecherous. Over the course of several seconds, the ice began to slowly crack under the pressure of Zekrom's rising Demonic Power... however, the retirement system claimed her just before the final shatter, not at all due to an inability to continue the fight. At that very moment, a dice roll registered from Sirtreize's side of the Rating Game. The number that appeared was no other than...

6

"And it seems we have a forced retirement of Sirtreize's Bishop," said Szavelneas, who knew exactly why this occurred. "I suppose that's all there is to it. Ladies and gentlemen, we've now seen a surprise underdog victory by Eira Gremory's Rook and Bishop. What will we see next? Sirtreize is down only two members, and Eira now has four."

[Apollymi]

At the end of her most recent evasive maneuver, Miyuki's eyes widened. The now frozen black dragon, was staring at her through ice, with a smile that unnerved the small girl just a bit. It made her grip her sword just a little tighter, like she should be preparing for something way worse than what had been previously shown. 'I don't think she's going to stay, I...' there was a pause as the cracking occurred several times and Maiko came to her side seeming to understand what was happening. "Ryuume, I can run..." Maiko had started to offer to be a bit of a diversion since it seemed Miyuki was capable enough to put up a good offense, but before the final crack would have occurred the maid disappeared. An exhale of pure cold escaped Miyuki as she shook her head, fairly happy that she didn't actually have to keep fighting that dragon. With this the pair of them went back to their hub, with Eira having watched the end of the match. She stood with her arms open for both of these young women, and Maiko and Miyuki both approached her, with Miyuki resealing her Yuki-Onna form with frozen tears falling from her eyes.

"Su...su...su....Sumimasen, Eira-nee! I got scared..." she cried her knees shaking. "Yare, yare, that was a lot for you, but you don't have to apologize. I'm really proud of you, Miyuki~" she said moving her hand from around the girl to the top of her head. "And you too Maiko~ You both did great, holding up that long against Nii-sama's peerage," she said to them. Of course, Maiko was more than a bit confused by what she saw, and she found herself questioning things. "I mean, I did alright, but... why did Sirtreize-sama, retire his Bishop? She could still fight right?" she seemed to understand at least a little. A chuckle came from Eira as she finally released the pair. "Uh... Zekrom is said to be a bit... battle thirsty. Something about becoming overly excited the stronger her opponents are... Miyuki being able to come back with stronger attacks in succession probably would have made her, scarily happy," she mentioned of Sirtreize's Bishop. "Or Nii-sama has grown impatient and is ready to see, what Takumi has going on..." Eira mentioned, technically either option was viable. Maiko accepted these answers, "I didn't know Sirtreize-sama was that interested in anything, and why does he have a battle crazed maid?" she wondered aloud and rhetorically. She obviously didn't see that similar things could have been said about her, considering how she came to be in Eira's Peerage. Regardless the crimson haired lass, made her way to the bowl and dropped her die, and surprisingly enough it rolled several times before coming to a stop.

6

A sigh came from Eira, in this moment because it was obvious to her at least that this was likely to be one of the last fights that would happen. She paused while the announcers seemed to gain a bit more happiness. "Indeed, and what an interesting showing for the pair of them as well!" she said as commentary on the last match. "But it seems there is much more excitement to be had here today, as the pair rolled a collective twelve... that opens up an entire new game for everyone present. Who's coming out next? Kings send your next choices," Elsa commented seeming to be more into this scrimmage than one would expect of a Satan. Eira looked to Takumi and smiled, "It seems like it is finally your turn, Takumi~" Eira said, she could have sent herself out, but she knew her brother wasn't trying to fight her. Nor was he interested in what she had going on as far as her own skills were concerned. Still she didn't really like the idea of sending him out alone, she knew she'd have to do it eventually.

[Bloodedge]

"Finally. She doesn't have much of a choice now. Unless... she's become that selfish," Sirtreize said, though he was doing no more than thinking aloud. He was more than satisfied by this roll, and he knew exactly who to send out in case the Red Dragon Emperor was actually being sent by Eira. "Shira... Go say hello," he said with a devious smirk the likes of which only graced Sirtreize's visage in select instances.

At the same time, Takumi was addressed by his master. At long last, his time to act had come, and yet... he was still seemingly affected by Sirtreize's spell. He rose with the same dead eyes he'd held since entering the party, but his lips were parted slightly by the time he stood erect. Once more, his eyes flashed their natural orange hue. 'Oi, Partner!' spoke a familiar voice in his head, bringing a full halt to his movements. 'Who are you?' Takumi replied through his thoughts. Numerous times now, he'd heard the call of this voice, but it had always been during critical moments where he could not properly acknowledge it. 'You don't remember? I am the Welsh Dragon Ddraig. I've been here with you all along. You've got a major challenge approaching, so I thought I'd tell you...'

'You're... my Sacred Gear? That's right. Every time this power showed up, it's been your voice I've heard in my head. But... I'm not using my power now. Why would you come to me so casually?' the boy questioned further. An audible sigh resonated throughout his head then, followed by the final response of the Dragon Ddraig. 'Because I wanted to warn you about the challenge, and tell you... to wake up!' In that very moment, Takumi's eyes properly returned to their normal state, and his expression became that of his resting face as well. "H-hai," was his response to Eira thereafter. He seemed distracted at the time, when in fact, he was. Still, the young Pawn stepped out onto the transportation platform to be taken into a battlefield designed to be a vast space with mist crawling along every inch of the floor, and nothing but a void as far as the eye could see.

[Apollymi]

"Selfish? Is this Eira you're talking about?" this was a question to Sirtreize from his wife. She didn't know Eira to be anything but giving, almost to the point of it being a fault. It seemed he was privy to information he hadn't shared about the shifting nature of his younger sister. The devious grin which spread across his face soon after his statement of sending out a certain member of his peerage, was one which let the raven haired woman know that he was up to nothing considered good. Regardless of this a young woman dressed in white rose from her seat seemingly amused. "Hai hai, I was hoping I'd be the one to get to fight him~ Lucky me~" the young woman said, with a bubbly amount of happiness which was almost contagious. When Shira as she was called stepped onto the platform, she was transported to something which looked like nothing but mists. No bushes or flowering plants dotted the landscape, this space was void other than the mist, and it was a bit disappointing. Even she waited, with long sleeves dangling in the wind shifting back and forth at her sides, until her eyes would suddenly widen at the sight of her opponent.

Meanwhile something strange was happening in the hub which belonged to Eira. It seemed that, her still hypnotized pawn was a bit slow to respond. He stood with dead eyes, but by the time he'd responded to Eira, his eyes were clear. Eira looked at this young man with considerable surprise, finding him without her brother's influence of his own accord. "Kawaii!~ Look who's back to normal! Gambatte, Takumi..." she said, with the same enthusiasm she'd offered everyone else, as she returned to her seat. Even so, Eira, seemed a bit distressed, there were several reasons for this, not least was this strange ability of Takumi's to shake the hypnotism of her brother. 'I didn't know he could properly shake him, having a dragon on peerage is going to be a strange addition...' she thought initially as she clasped her hands together in front of her. Strangely her fingers began to fidget as she watched this match beginning, she couldn't really explain it, but she rather suddenly wished that she'd taken this fight instead of sending out Takumi. It felt unfair of her to send him out on his own... she didn't want him out facing a challenge without her being able to offer him assistance. As she thought this over she didn't seem to consider how unusual this line of thought was for her. She normally had no problem letting her peerage members think things over and work through their challenges by themselves. All of them, had asked for her, wanted her help when she finally extended a hand to them. It didn't normally come without asking, even if it was something she felt she should do. So, what was so different about Takumi?

[Bloodedge]

"Hai," was all Sirtreize had to offer Cinder in response. If he intended to give the information he had, it would come at a later time. For now, he let himself be passed by the white-haired woman he'd called upon, looking toward her with that notorious grin of his until the moment she was teleported.

Takumi was moved to the battlegrounds while still stepping forward, resulting in him slowly encroaching upon his opponent by the time he appeared. As strange as this was, he couldn't stop himself from going forth. The gem that appeared on the back of his Boosted Gear showed itself on his bare hand, and it glowed as Ddraig spoke aloud to the woman. "Funny seeing you here, Chibi White One," he said. Takumi reacted to this with surprise, even going so far as to raise his hand and look at the gem atop it. "Chibi White One?" he wondered aloud. Takumi suddenly felt strange about this battle. From his own understanding of how his powers activated, and from looking at this woman's form, he was being led to believe he would not be capable of summoning his Boosted Gear. Perhaps he would have to find some other way?

[Apollymi]

The singular word answer from Sirtreize, would leave Cinder wishing he'd just explained. Still there was a problem here, and it was with the person he'd chosen to have make contact with whoever was next. His deviousness wouldn't escape the watchful eyes of those who knew better, but regardless, the woman known as Shira was now speaking, not directly with Takumi but instead, with the glowing gem in his arm. "Sugei!~ It's the Red One!~ I didn't expect to see you here either... all sealed away... in a kid. Figured you would have gone for something, a bit more... manly~" Reshiram said seeming to take a minor bit of pity on Ddraig, but it didn't last for long. "But you still call me that... I'm not so little anymore, ya' know?~" the young woman teased. Her personality was hard to place, even so, it seemed that she was very open to chatting and answer questions. "Chibi White One, is the title I have as a Dragon. You know... like your being the 'Red Dragon Emeperor', because you hold the Red One~" she said to Takumi finding him strange, and leaving out the bit about the bigger white one, which was still a bit of a sore spot for the woman. She moved forward, to Takumi and stared at his arm directly, aiming to capture him by the one with the glowing Gem on the back of it almost immediately for no real reason at all. "So, are you coming out to play, Red One?" she asked. Before it was impossible for her to have taken such a fight, but now, with him sealed, she felt she could top him, and would just for her own amusement.

[Bloodedge]

"I don't get to choose who ends up as my partner. If I did have a choice, I would still just be me," said Ddraig. True enough, the Welsh Dragon - also known as the Dragon Emperor of Domination - was only truly at home when he was in his own body, bar a few instances since being sealed in a Sacred Gear. Maybe this particular host would prove to be one capable of bringing out his power. For the moment, though, Takumi was struggling to fathom the things going on around him. "You're... a Dragon too!?" he asked of the white-haired woman. Once again, Ddraig had something to say. "A chibi one..."

Suddenly, Takumi was grabbed by his left arm. He hadn't even noticed the movements of the white Dragon in humanoid form, yet here she was, talking into his hand. "That all depends on my partner," said Ddraig. "But... I don't know how I can. She doesn't have..." he said, happening to let his sentence trail off as his gaze found the female Dragon's torso.

[Apollymi]

Some new information met the ears of Reshiram, as she discovered that Ddraig had no real control over whom he ended up with. Such a thing seemed sad, considering her own ability to mostly control what she looked like. Regardless, she'd successfully captured, Takumi by the arm and was content to look him over, finding his lack of reflexes regrettable. His astonishment at her being a Dragon was worthy of a chuckle and a good laugh, "Of course, I am..." the words of Ddraig cut off the potential boast which was come come and brought about an angrier bit of conversation. "I AM THE VAST WHITE DRAGON!!" she exclaimed. Finding it disheartening that even after so much time, this particular dragon still thought so little of her. The fight between this one, and another had been the reason she and Zekrom had begun fighting, to gain something greater, before they were ultimately defeated and made into devils, by Sirtreize Lucifer.

At the questioning of whether or not she'd be getting to face Ddraig properly the man put it off on his partner Takumi. Takumi himself seemed to have a thought about something, claiming he was unable to draw out the power for some unknown reason to the white haired woman. Still, grey eyes followed his line of sight down her torso, and her cheeks puffed up and she turned red in the face. "THIS IS A FIGHT AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE THINKING OF?!" she said seemingly outraged, so much so, that she used the arm she had grabbed as leverage and aimed to slam the boy into the ground rather suddenly. There was something rather off about the personality of this dragon, and it seemed to be set off, by the acknowledgement that she was flat-chested.

[Bloodedge]

A boast was to come from the Dragon, but it was delayed briefly by the words of Ddraig. This only resulted in the boast continuing, albeit in more of an outrage than it likely would have been without Ddraig's interjection. As for the ability of Takumi to call upon the Boosted Gear and allow these Dragons to fight in a way, he truly did not think it possible with Reshiram's lack of breasts. The woman took exception to the realization of where his attention was. "Hehe... Chibi," Ddraig chimed in again. Before he could even add his own two cents, so to speak, Takumi was crashing into the ground beneath the blanket of mist. He winced for a few moments before begrudgingly dragging himself up again.

"It's probably not a good idea to trash talk a Dragon. The little ones always have bad temperaments," Ddraig told the boy. "But I wasn't! Senpai said it was the only way to bring out my power," was Takumi's reply. Just then, if Ddraig still had a face, the expression upon it would speak for itself. "... You weren't listening. I don't want to repeat myself. Dragon Booster!" By the command of Ddraig, the Boosted Gear appeared on Takumi's left hand as it had before. Takumi was in shock, but he supposed he couldn't question the ability of his Sacred Gear to summon itself. "H-hai! Gomennasai... I can fight."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Ddraig was content to further taunt Reshiram, of course, this only served to enrage the sinister happy dragon. After she'd left Takumi in the ground she stood back her arms crossed over her chest, as she rather jealously considered the women of the world with larger breasts than hers. "I am not CHIBI!" she exclaimed stamping her foot, seeming to have locked in on that as the thing that triggered the worst mood she'd seen in centuries. After the boy managed to drag himself up, he and the dragon which spoke through his arm, had a different kind of conversation. He was given a bit of a talking to, about how best to approach dragons, and even had the gauntlet known as the boosted gear appear on his arm with a bit of prompting.

All the while, the white haired woman seemed to be trying to talk herself out of her neurosis. "I have to be good. Sirtreize will be disappointed if I fly off the handle... breathe Reshiram. Breathe," she coached herself. With Takumi now stating he could apparently fight, she sighed turning her gaze towards him and this Boosted Gear upon his arm and took a large inhale. If this boy could really fight, she'd have to see how he managed against something a bit less direct first. She soon exhaled, and a blood curdling screech escaped her, which seemed to pulse with waves of power. The force of it was concussive. It could potentially damage organs, shake the landscape and physically assault those it touched. It was exclusively a magic she performed and perfected based on the original screech she possessed as a Dragon.

While this initial exchange took place, Eira was fidgeting, in a manner most different from the way she usually carried herself. 'I really should have taken this fight. It seems like too much, too soon...' she thought, her fingers sliding over each other. Even when faced with one such as Onoko Astaroth, Eira had retained a potent calm which radiated her ever so slight murderous intent. For the duration of these matches, she'd been commentating and appreciating the work of her peerage, and noting their flaws. But right now, she felt something else, a deep sense of guilt, for throwing Takumi to another Dragon. This simple boy, who likely had no idea he had this sort of power resting in him until a couple of days prior. Still, when considering her own actions, she knew deep down, she would have made him a second time without question. It was so strange, that even one such as Maiko who was now leaned up behind her, rested her chin atop Eira's head. "Eira-sama, are you stoked about the match too? Yasukawa, against another dragon, gotta be a hell of a match!" she said which made the crimson haired woman, snap to attention and exhale a previously held breath. "Hai... it feels a bit tense, but maybe this is excitement," she managed, letting this girl take the place of Youmu who normally helped Eira regulate her stranger moods.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi clenched his fist clad in the Boosted Gear. He gazed upon Reshiram, who was going through some very strange emotional issues, as far as he was concerned. To see someone talking themselves out of a frenzy was somewhat... intimidating, to say the least, yet he had to go forth. He was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement to his declaration, but what actually came his way was a scream carrying a greater power than he'd seen in his previous altercations. Takumi's eyes widened as the force struck him, immediately pushing him back even as he braced himself. The boy's arms crossed in front of his face, with the Boosted Gear out front as he squinted. "Hrgh... This feels so different..." he groaned. "That's Dragon power, Partner. It's on a different level compared to what Devils use."

Understanding that this would be a challenge the likes of which he couldn't approach like the last, Takumi made every attempt to push against this screech. As he tried, though, he began feeling it even inside his body. "Promotion... Rook!" he declared, granting himself the defensive abilities of the Rook Evil Piece. "Boost!" the Boosted Gear declared, granting him additional capacity to press forward, yet still not enough to make much headway. "Oi, Chibi Shira. Stop throwing a tantrum on my partner."

[Apollymi]

Strangely enough the young man was pushed back by the empowered voice that Reshiram let out, as he tried to move forward through it, the call of boost and a promotion to the Rook Trait that pawns could use made it so that he could start to push back. "Urusai! I'm not a Chibi!" she said to the matter of her throwing a tantrum on Ddraig's partner she could only shake her head from left to right, signaling that she had no intention of stopping. "I am the Vast White Dragon, if you keep talking to me like that, I'll shut you up... and your 'partner' will suffer for it!"

She'd subsequently turn her voice to the air, and let out a screech which, made flaming balls of rock a couple of meters across apiece begin to fall all around the boy. She no longer cared to bring down his physical form, she intended now to distract him. However he chose to deal with the current marring of the battlefield, she'd be watching, intending to wait for a proper opening to attack directly. Though she was a Bishop of Sirtreize, this particular Dragon was still prone to more physical altercations, but only when she was certain that she wouldn't manage to get hurt in the exchange.

[Bloodedge]

"The little ones always did talk big," Ddraig said most casually while Takumi struggled. Eventually, Takumi no longer had to deal with the screech. By then, though, there was another one used for an entirely different reason. Numerous meteorites were formed overhead, forcing Takumi to raise his head and rely on something he'd only used once before. He focused his own Demonic Power on the Boosted Gear, creating an orb which he aimed up at the meteor storm. Once his aim was set, this orb released a red beam multiple times over to shatter individual meteors that were to be an immediate danger to the lad. The rest were left to tear asunder the ground around him, but even the remnants of the destroyed stones were still flaming, and therefore a problem. Takumi held his Boosted Gear over his head as if to block with his forearm, deciding his only out was to try something new. In the same way he used his own energy to create the "Dragon Shot" technique, he created a circular shield to act as an umbrella against the flaming debris. The shield flickered each time it was pummeled, until... "Boost!" The second doubling of Takumi's power gave him just enough strength to properly maintain this new barrier against the downpour.

[Apollymi]

Ddraig's words led Reshiram to believe that he was unfazed by her threats. Given their history, she knew why this was, and it still infuriated her. So much so, that she said nothing while, Takumi defended himself, she darted through the falling meteors to the area now clean immediately behind Takumi. Being here, she was able to open her mouth, not to screech but to exhale. Doing so caused a dragon breath of purple paralytic gas to escape her mouth as she aimed to stop the movements of Takumi completely that she might dismantle Ddraig without his inteference. "Take it back Red One!" she mentioned, deciding here and now if she didn't like what Ddraig said next that she fully intended to hurt Takumi, regardless of the consequences.

Eira watched this fight, biting her lip. She'd never had contact with this individual before, but she knew given what she was seeing this wouldn't go well. 'Nii-sama, why'd you do this...' she thought. For a friendly match, it seemed that this person was the least friendly they'd seen so far, Cinder Fall's impatience, Zekrom's battle thirst, even Serde's straight power, all seemed to pale in comparison as obstacle which was Reshiram's fury. "Ugh, I shouldn't have sent him out..." Eira said aloud her head falling forward into her hands. This was the least kept look she'd managed, it wasn't that she didn't think Takumi capable of getting over it. She simply thought it was an unnecessary set of challenges for someone she'd made on a whim without the normal bond she normally forged from her Peerage first.