Gremory Territory

[Bloodedge]

As Takumi guarded against debris, Reshiram moved to his rear. He didn't know what was coming, but he felt it wasn't going to be pleasant. With this in mind, Takumi turned to face the woman while holding his shield out against her. This didn't help one little bit, considering the gas-like nature of her attack, which immediately ceased any ability he had to move from how he was presently positioned. His eyes widened, but that was about all he could manage in this state. Ddraig still didn't seem fazed at all. "Why would I take anything back? What could you possibly do to me?" spoke the Dragon within Boosted Gear. Takumi could only wonder why this exchange was happening. He wasn't involved in whatever these Dragons had going on in the past, and he didn't even know about it. He had no reason whatsoever to be in the middle of this ordeal.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Ddraig thought Reshiram incapable of doing anything to him. Directly this might have been true, but the paralyzed body of Takumi could still be ravaged in a way which wouldn't be helpful to the Welsh Dragon. "Remember it's his fault..." she said to Takumi, in a moment of clarity which would likely make the white haired woman seem calm in her crazed state. Reshiram picked up Takumi by his normal arm and stared at him, she knew this boy had nothing really to do with the grudge she held against the Dragon inside him. But even so, he was able to be punished for it. She grabbed Takumi by the arm which held its Boosted Gear and attempted a two-fold attack. The first of which would be snapping it between her fingers at exactly the elbow, and beyond that she'd soon aim to rip the arm off at this point, throwing it to the side. The whole of this action would only take a few seconds if it happened, but it would leave extreme pain in its wake.

[Bloodedge]

While he was incapable of defending himself in any way, Takumi was raised by his right arm. Ddraig's attitude toward the female Dragon had not changed, and her reactions to his attitude were only getting worse by the moment. She may have been enraged by Ddraig, but her rage manifested against Takumi by association. Her first physical aggression came in the form of grasping the arm which wore Boosted Gear, and breaking it at the elbow. Everything seemed to occur in slow motion as Takumi's eyes widened, and his lips parted. Before he could even react to his arm being broken, it was torn off at the elbow. A blood-curdling scream erupted from deep within his throat while blood sprayed from the stub of his left arm. Just like that, he had nothing left. Takumi was left without his arm, and by association, without the Sacred Gear that was upon it. Or so he thought...

'Oi! Urusai!'

[Apollymi]

A blood curdling scream from Takumi once her work was complete, and as such she allowed the boy to fall from her grasp. The white-haired dragon woman was content to display smiles and happiness once more. "He finally shut up!~" she said pleased beyond what was a normal amount of reason. "Hm, you can take a straight lost limb? I figured that sort of thing would have gotten you retired, you must be used to taking punishment. I wonder what Sirtreize's little sister is like that she'd let you suffer like this without retiring you herself?~" mused the white dragon as she danced around this young man trying to decide how she wished to finish this entire thing. "Maybe, she's hateful, and decided you weren't worth the investment~" mused Reshiram. "Or maybe, she'll use the Phoenix Tears and get you, your arm back... even though doing so would leave her at a disadvantage later when she will likely face Sirtreize herself~" the white Dragon now calmed by what she'd done had plenty to say, and none of it particularly nice, though it came out in such a happy tone, you could almost question if this was really the same being. She'd finally gotten what she wanted, which was silence from the opposing Dragon. As far as she was concerned what was left before her, was simply a little human boy, and thus no real threat at all.

Her words about Eira though, were more than a little displaced. The crimson haired younger sister of Sirtreize was more than a little outraged by what she saw. In fact, she'd stood, and it'd initially been her aim to Retire Takumi after this grevious injury just so that she could have the pleasure of facing this dragon in person. She was stopped from this action by Maiko, who clamped her arms around the other woman. "Eira-sama, you have to see what he can do first. Yasukawa isn't a punk, he's not gonna let something like that stop him. Besides, it just manifests on his arm, he's still got some power. He might figure out how to use it..." she mentioned. It would be Miyuki who looked still stunned as well. "I agree Eira-nee, you could use the Phoenix Tears and give him his arm back if it doesn't work out. But just like I was out when I was scared, Taku-senpai wouldn't want to be pulled out because he's hurt," Miyuki said as she clamped onto the woman's legs. Eira retook her seat. "I really shouldn't have done this..." she said, not talking about the rating game, or even sending Takumi out to face a challenge alone. Instead the normally steadfast heiress was questioning why she'd made such a boy only to have him suffer for her sake. She wanted to see what his life would become. She'd wanted this, but she hadn't explained what such a thing would mean, and now he was facing a challenge greater than all others, at the hands of a mad Dragon because of this singular moment of selfishness Eira had let win.

[Bloodedge]

Soon after having his arm torn off, Takumi was left to fall onto the ground. He landed on his back with neither the will, nor the perceivable energy to lift himself. His understanding of the retiring system left him wondering why he'd be left in the fight at this rate, but Reshiram's words hinted at Eira's ability - and apparently lack of willingness - to take him out manually. Was she right? Was he already proving himself to be weak enough that he may as well be left to die, as he should have when falling from the roof of Kuoh Academy? If that were the case, this would be the perfect opportunity.

The one positive note Takumi could take from this was that Ddraig had not disappeared, even when Boosted Gear was taken from him. 'You're still here? Gomen. There's nothing I can do anymore. I became a Devil for no reason,' he said to the Welsh Dragon. At this point, Takumi was face-to-face with Ddraig in his own mind, looking upon the massive form of the Red Dragon with his own eyes. 'You sound weaker than you are, Partner. Where did all that fury and determination go? Didn't you say you were never going to let anyone assume your worth? Don't tell me all that talk was for nothing,' said Ddraig.

'I guess it was for nothing. I don't have a way to fight anymore. Boosted Gear was in my left hand, and it's gone... and even Devils have to bleed out... right?' Takumi's query demanded a sigh from the Welsh Dragon. He couldn't believe the companion he was living within this time could be such a pessimist. 'Where's your memory? I've seen your worth, Partner. Didn't you hear me say you'd make a better Dragon than a Devil?' he asked in rhetoric. Meanwhile, Takumi's physical body was beginning to rise from the ground with blood still pouring from his left arm.

'But... What do you mean by that?'

[Apollymi]

The musings of the Vast White Dragon would continue as she rose off the ground seeming to float above the place she'd let Takumi fall, using nothing but the over-sized sleeves attached to her outfit. "Eh? Maybe she thinks you'll learn something here... I mean it isn't likely. You aren't much like the other ones who seem overly devoted given they knew their odds coming in here..." she said seeming to find it strange that he hadn't been pulled out. More over, once his screaming stopped he was still for quite some time, it only made her wonder what he was up to. Still, her own arrogance as a Dragon wouldn't allow her to feel threatened by a one armed human teenager. Until of course, he managed to stand and at this point her eyes widened. "Ano? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Meanwhile Eira felt horrible for letting this boy experience this. But she knew her other peerage members were correct. "You're right. I just don't want him to think I'm abandoning him to this..." she said. Without pulling him out directly and with no means to communicate to the lad, she felt it could be punishing to his psyche to be forced to deal with such an injury alone. Besides, there was the looming fact that she'd created him with no prior bond. She had no idea what is motivations were, she couldn't predict his actions mentally. He was by far the most stress inducing member of her peerage to have outside of her direct supervision for extended periods of time, and it was no one's fault but her own. Knowing this she continued to fidget wondering how she could possibly make this right for the lad. "Fuck that. You wouldn't do anything like that, and if he doesn't know that already... he'll figure it out!" these were the words of Maiko who was at least a little confused by the idea that her leader seemed to be having a crisis of conscience surrounding Takumi. Miyuki also found it strange, but she also knew that Eira wouldn't abandon any of them and they all should be aware of that, even someone as new as Takumi. "Iie, he wouldn't think that... L-L-Look!" she was paused mid-sentence and drew Eira's attention back to the fight at hand in which, Takumi had managed to stand even with his arm missing. The relief that ran through Eira's body was visible in this moment though the tension of her brows remained as she gazed upon his injury, she was at least satisfied that the boy hadn't lost consciousness.

[Bloodedge]

'You want to prove your worth? Prove you're more than a Devil. Prove you have what it takes to be the Red Dragon Emperor,' was the last thing Ddraig said directly to Takumi. Ddraig was not the only one speaking to Takumi as the boy's body rose from the ground, though; Reshiram chose to question what he thought he was doing. At first glance, Takumi's eyes looked as dead as they had when he was under Sirtreize's hypnosis spell, but there was a great fire burning beneath the surface. The bleeding of his arm was ceasing as moments passed, and the hidden fire in his gaze was approaching the forefront of his expression. At the same time, a deep red mist-like energy shrouded the area where his arm was meant to be attached. "You think you have the right to assume my placement in the world?" he asked. "If even my master thinks I'm worthless... it doesn't matter. I can't let it matter. Even if I have to kill everyone who tries to determine what I'm worth, I'll do it." These exact words had been spoken by Takumi long ago, prior to his transfer to Kuoh Academy. They were the words which led to his expulsion, and nearly took the lives of those who tormented him. As his eyes locked onto Reshiram again, they had returned to their red glowing state. He was in no way under hypnosis again, but rather, he was back to a state he'd experienced in the battle against Onoko Astaroth.

[Apollymi]

Reshiram was left to stand looking stunned. She hadn't expected him to gather himself enough to stand, much less to be able to speak as if he had any hope and not a care in the world. She soon held a hand above her head creating a giant swirling mass of fire which seemed to be compressing itself steadily overtime, growing into something massive and damaging. "Aww, such a pretty speech. You want to stand for your destruction? Be my guest~" the white dragon chimed. Still she saw those glowing red eyes of his and felt something ever so close to fear. "Oooh~ Glowing eyes? Ddraig did you decide to come out for me?~" she was bemused but still there was something, the giant orb over head grew until ultimately she'd let it go to rain down a massive explosion of destruction upon Takumi, in the hopes of dispelling him before he had some kind of crazed comeback. She didn't care that he wasn't technically Ddraig, and that he was missing an arm, soon enough she'd be able to say she'd beaten the Red Dragon Emperor.

Meanwhile, Eira was still at the edge of her seat, with two female members of her peerage wrapped around her. The other two young ladies meant to offer her comfort, and see to it, that she let Takumi finish his fight. Though they had different reasons for doing this, Maiko because she understood what it meant to give a challenge your all, even if you got beat up in the middle. And Miyuki, because she'd seen Takumi's desire to be of use to Eira in their earlier Rating Game and knew he likely wouldn't disappoint if given an opportunity. Both would be surprised as Eira rather suddenly became relaxed in her seat, regaining all of the composure she'd previously lost after watching Takumi rise with glowing eyes and pure determination in his face. "Sou ka, he's like that now... I hope Nii-sama has a backup plan, I don't think he'll remain weak for very long and his little pet Dragon might end up in real trouble... Ufufufufu~" the giggle which came from Eira was one of her normal ones. Her commentary had also returned, but the other girls were left to wonder why. Eira had seen this sort of determination from Takumi and knew that nothing easy going would come from it being directed towards Reshiram.

[Bloodedge]

"My destruction? Well, I guess... if I have to destroy myself to prove myself, that's just how it'll have to be," Takumi said whilst staring this woman down. The arrogance of a Dragon was not to be understated, and Takumi had now seen it in Maiko and Miyuki's fight against Zekrom, Ddraig's interactions with Reshiram, and now first hand from Reshiram herself. Even as she faced the one-armed boy, she offered a great power intended to crush him under its burning fury. Those glowing red eyes of Takumi's looked up at this blast, and his nub of an arm rose as if there were still a hand attached to use against Reshiram's attack. When the orb reached where Takumi's hand would have been, it stopped abruptly. The red energy stemming from the boy's arm had extended to his arm's natural, full length, and even formed fingers.

From within the energy Takumi's body produced, the rest of his arm began to miraculously regenerate. Instead of growing human skin, though, it boasted the scaly form of a Dragon, complete with the additive armor of Boosted Gear. When it finished forming, Boosted Gear returned in its full glory. "Boost!" the Sacred Gear spoke. Even though his power had been doubled from its base again, Takumi should have been out of his element in holding off this level of attack. On the other hand, the boy's arm was now that of a Dragon, not a human nor a Devil. The resting power of the Pawn had been increased dramatically based solely on this fact. At the very least, his arm alone was strong enough to accomplish this feat now, and a sudden use of his Dragon Shot spell saw to it that Takumi could blast a hole through the middle of the orb, using a beam that was easily three times its previous width.

[Apollymi]

Reshiram had nothing else to say, she'd see to it that this young man ceased to stand before her like he was good. If there was one thing she saw in him in this moment, it was the arrogance that Dragons normally possessed. And she knew herself to possess more of this than the average dragon, even so, she was content to watch as her giant orb of fury swallowed up the boy.

"KAWAIII~ TA-KU-MI!~ He grew a new arm~" chimed Eira as she watched this fight. Something about this boy had drastically changed, and it looked like he'd gained a dragon arm to sport his Boosted Gear. She couldn't say she understood this very much, but she did know that the boy was willing to go too far to accomplish his goals, whatever they were. Maiko managed to be stunned, "Damnit, literally everyone is better than me now..." she said slamming her fist together. She knew her training would have to increase massively if she wished to stay on par with everyone else. "Sugoi! Taku-senpai didn't give up... I knew he wouldn't..." Miyuki said, knowing their kindred bond would lead him into doing as much as he could even in the messed up situation he was presented with.

Meanwhile, a surprised Reshiram was surprised. Her eyes widening as her orb of energy stopped progressing only to be held off by the pawn in front of her. "No, that isn't possible..." she said only to have her eyes widen greatly as a beam of energy larger than any she would have expected was fired through the orb itself. The boy had gained the arm of a dragon, and with it, he'd fired the sort of energy she couldn't avoid. Her body would be over taken by the blast and she'd fall from her hovering perch to the ground engulfed and damaged by this energy shot. "Look at it!~ So much more powerful than last time~" Eira said of the power of the strike delivered by Takumi. She was nothing but proud of this boy's developments, though she still didn't agree with herself about throwing him into such a situation, basically blind.

[Bloodedge]

"You won't be the last person to say that," Takumi said to the notion of something he did not being possible. He was virtually immobile whilst fending off Reshiram's orb, and while blasting through it, but he wasn't done yet. No, this battle was officially just getting started in the mind of Eira Gremory's only Pawn. As Reshiram lay on the ground, he stepped forward along the misty land marred by the white Dragon's earlier assaults on him. The only thing which stopped this forward movement was a hologram of Sirtreize Lucifer himself coming right between the combatants, facing Reshiram in particular.

Sirtreize wore the same grin he had when sending out his most recent choice for this Dice Figure Game. This was something he'd been waiting for: to see if the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation was worth the title, even just a little. One could say he hoped for this outcome, and waited for such a moment to speak with Reshiram. "Shira-chan... Homura," he said, all while an eerie glow overtook those entrancing eyes of his.

[Apollymi]

"Ugh..." Reshiram made this noise as she pushed her still burning self up. It was painful, she didn't often know pain. She imagined this was what Zekrom felt like before she was forcibly retired. Of course, Reshiram wasn't into people being strong so she could crush them. She simply didn't want to be beaten. Surprisingly enough a hologram of Sirtreize appeared in front of her, and her blue eyes widened and glowed at the speech of a singular word. Strangely enough her body began to gently flame, as if something was unlocked within her person. These flames were blue, at first but seemed to grow into ones which were white hot as she finally stood. "Arigatou Gozaimasu~" she said looking at Takumi afterwards seeming more unfazed than she had before. "Come on Little Red, kid gloves are off. Let's see if you can really play~" she said as she immediately aimed to rush the young man from her standing position as if she intended tackle him. She aimed to push her left shoulder into his stomach and send him flying away from her, while those white hot flames surrounding her body burned him at the contact.

Meanwhile, Eira watched this strange interaction with a hologram of Sirtreize and sighed, "Hm, I wonder what kind of restriction release that was..." she thought aloud. Still, she was more than willing to wait and witness how Takumi handled this next level of power. Obviously, he was already approaching the level of strength maintained by her senior peerage members. She could only hope the lad was able to draw out a bit more, for his own sake.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi looked into the hologram of Sirtreize with narrowed eyes. It was not his place to determine why these words were spoken to Reshiram, but as the hologram faded, the woman rose with newfound strength the likes of which she didn't previously seem capable of. Takumi didn't seem too incredibly bothered by this; the determination factor was too high by now. "Boost!" Ddraig spoke through Boosted Gear. In a moment of gambling with his own abilities, Takumi leaned in and moved forward against Reshiram's movements. The shoulder meant to make contact with his abdomen did exactly that, and Takumi's present state intended to use this to his advantage. Alas, he was instead repelled by the female Dragon's heightened strength. He skidded to a stop a few meters behind his original standing point, holding his abdomen with his right arm while staring down Reshiram with a furrowed brow. "Little Red, huh? Whatever you say," he said in a surprisingly calm tone for one who'd so recently lost and regrown an arm. At this point, he was waiting until he thought he'd been boosted enough times to face Reshiram's new power, and wishing he had a way to know for certain. "Your fire is white now. Were you holding back before?"

[Apollymi]

Whether Reshiram knew the nature of Takumi's Boosted Gear or not, it seemed she was content to answer his question. Of course, this would only occur after she was standing once more with white flames billowing from her person. She grinned really wide, enjoying the nature of her flames in this moment. The arrogance of a Dragon would allow her to not consider this boy a real threat to her. "Curious huh? Well, I guess there isn't any reason I can't tell you~" she said. "I'm sure you figured out this whole thing is pretty much a test. As such, Sirtreize-sama couldn't have us accidentally killing anyone on his beloved younger sister's peerage. So... he put seals on most of us, pretty much everyone except the ones who were going to be fighting the truly strong ones," she finished up with a curt nod. "Cinder Fall, Serde Astaroth, and Sairevil Gremory, don't have seals. So, those fights were about as fair as they could be~" she chimed finding it strange. "And now I don't have one either~ I guess he thought you could take me~" she claimed. Raising a hand above her head several individual white flames gathered around her. Being infused with dragon power they seemed to pulse in a most unnatural way until she pointed. When this occurred they flew towards Takumi and aimed to surround him, and she smiled at the young man. "I don't really feel like seeing how this goes anymore, I'm full power now... I don't have to worry~" she chimed. At this juncture she'd point down, aiming to cause all of these flames to converge upon Takumi aiming to engulf him in a white dragon fire blaze the likes of which could have incinerated a lesser creature. She didn't care much about this, and thought her victory assured enough to not have to worry about this boy any further.

[Bloodedge]

From Reshiram's story, Takumi could infer that Sirtreize meant this entire ordeal to be a fair assessment of the young Devils' abilities. He saw in this a simple desire to ensure the safety and/or well-being of a younger sibling, yet beyond that was the active issue Takumi himself had to deal with. This particular encounter was about as staged as it could get from beginning to end, likely bar the arm-ripping that came as a result of Ddraig's attitude. When it was all said and done though, Takumi took exception to Reshiram's attitude toward him. He'd have liked to call this a trait of Dragons, but Reshiram was reincarnated as a Devil, and he'd seen this demeanor in a pureblood Devil earlier this day. She said she was at full power, and thus had nothing to worry about from Takumi. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, Takumi looked into the Boosted Gear. 'Ddraig. You're the source of my power, right? If you can give me a new arm, there's one more thing I'd like from you now...'

A brief exchange occurred between Takumi and Ddraig within the former's subconscious. During this discussion, the array of white flames conjured by Reshiram surrounded the young male. At Reshiram's command, the fires closed in on Takumi, but just as impact was made... "Welsh Dragon Over Booster!" was announced. Engulfed in a mass of white inferno, Takumi's Boosted Gear underwent a change that covered his entire body in an armor styled like the Sacred Gear itself. He burst forward from the flames with nothing but scorched armor, drawing back his left arm to prepare the attack that would come when he reached Reshiram. During his approach, the voice of Ddraig continued to shout: "Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!" Over and over again, Takumi's power was amplified. This didn't stop from the moment he emerged from the flames, all the way to the moment he landed in front of Reshiram with a mighty left fist aimed for the center of her face.