Alex extended his hand to the pink haired devil and said,
"Nice to meet you Roygun, I'm the red dragon emperor, Alex. To what do I owe the pleasure?" As she shook his hand Alex could tell Roygun was sizing him up, and he could see appreciation in her eyes. From what he recalled she had a preference for younger men. She then said,
"I came at the request of Ruval, the eldest son of the Phoenix family. He asked me to deliver the game data I've recorded on jokers team to Ravel's fiancé, though I can't act as an adviser." She then snapped her figures, and a pile of papers appeared. Alex nodded and said,
"Thank you, this is very much appreciated." He then recalled what he knew about Roygun. She was one of those who were incriminated of using the king piece in the rating games, but she had only used it for fun. She then assisted with fighting and apprehending those who also used the piece, and tried to rebel after being exposed. She then smiled, and said,
"If you want to say thanks," she suddenly stepped forward so that the two were really close together, and continued,
"Then I can think of a few ways you can, especially with your cute face." Alex smiled in response, and Ravel groaned in the background at her attitude. She then glanced at the calendar nearby, displaying that there was only around a month until her next birthday, the day she and Koneko decided to stop waiting. Alex didn't notice this while he was smirking at Roygun, and said,
"Are you sure, if you let me sink my claws into you I can't guarantee of letting go." Roygun smiled at his words, but said,
"As much as I'd love to, I can't." She then stepped away from and turned to go.
"I'll be watching you red dragon, very closely." She then walked out of the front door, while swinging her hips a little. As he watched her leave, Ravel narrowed her eyes before clearing her throat.
"Ah-hem! Alex, I think this data needs to be thoroughly examined by someone on your team. Should I call Elmenhilde over?" Alex looked back at her words, and said,
"That'd be great, call Bina over as well, I'd like to get her impute too." Ravel nodded and went to get both women. Though Grayfia's current situation was known to every girl in misty manor, her being Bina wasn't. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but that it was a fact that a secret was better kept in less people knew about it. Even on his own team, the only person he told her identity to was Miss Sapphire, though he was sure pretty much everyone both in the manor and on his team suspected it was her. They then spent the rest of the night going over the data together, before turning in.
***
A few days later was the match, and Alex arrived with both Miss Sapphire and Mister Black for the first time. He only planned to reveal one of them, but the other was there in case they were needed. Both were wearing cloaks like Bina, but unlike her they didn't wear masks. As a result the audience was in an uproar, as he hadn't brought either of them out for any of his previous matches. Both teams finished walking out onto the field as they cheered, and the announcer said,
"Welcome to today's match! Today we have the trump card of heaven, vs the red dragon emperor!"
The audience got even louder at their introductions, and both Dulio and Alex raised their hands to wave at them. After a few minutes a giant roulette wheel started spinning that would determine the game that they will play. A few seconds later it stopped, and that announcer shouted out,
"What a surprise, it's Board Collapse! For those who don't know the rules of this game, it's a standard fighting match, but the sides of the arena slowly collapses until there is very little room to maneuver! Due to this the amount of room to hide, or ambush becomes even more limited and the chances of evading attackers decreases!" As the announcer explained the rules the audience got even louder, as they anticipated the fight ahead.
The two teams were soon teleported to their respective areas, and given thirty minutes to strategize. They were in a city-like landscape, and Alex's base was in the south in a library, while Dulio's was in the north at a mall, and in between them was a series of skyscrapers. Alex found a couch on the library to sit at, and started thinking how to best counter any strategies Dulio might have. The main problem he had was that he didn't know when the stage would collapse, so he couldn't plan around it, unless he removed the areas of the arena first. He looked at Mister Black, then laid out the map of the area they were provided.
***
Thirty minutes later the game started, and Alex's team spread out the way they were told to. He had stationed himself at the top of the library with only Mister Black and Miss Sapphire still with him. He waited for a while as they moved into position, then after a small wait the sounds of battle started echoing throughout the arena. Soon they faded away as Alex's team did as he instructed, and once a few seconds passed, he turned to Mister Black and said,
"It's your turn, once you do this Dulio should be drawn out and you can fight him to your hearts content. Remember, aim where I specified and try not to hit our own people." The cloaked man nodded and said,
"I understand, as long as they aren't in my way then I won't hit them." He then walked off, leaving Alex with his brow twitching in irritation. After a few seconds however an explosion rang out, and entire sections of the game field was destroyed at once. Almost immediately after it the arbitrator sounded out, then was followed by the announcer,
"Joker Dulio's rook, 2 Knights, and bishop retired."
"AMAZING, TO THINK THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER BLACK, WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE EVIL DRAGON CROM CRUACH!"
As the announcer said, the one floating there after destroying entire areas of the arena was none other than Crom Cruach after removing his robe. It had taken a while for Alex to find and convince him to join his team, but he eventually accepted in the end. As everyone tried to take in this new information, someone with ten white angel wings flew up to meet Crom Cruach. It was none other than Dulio himself.
"It appeared that in order to fight Alex, I'll have to get past you first." Crom Cruach nodded his head, and replied,
"Joker of heaven, you're one of those I always wanted to fight as well. Let's make this an interesting fight." At his words, both took a stance in front of each other, and readied themselves as the announcer shouted out once more,
"Get ready folks, as were about to see two "trump cards" duke it out. On one side we have the trump card of heaven, the joker Dulio. On the other we have one of the hidden factors in the red dragons arsenal, Crom Cruach. It was for moments like this that this tournament exists folks, as we watch these two powerhouses go at each other." As to be expected the crowd went crazy after his words, but Dulio and Crom didn't even seem to register them, as they continued staring each other down.