Sitting in one of the Misty Manor lounges, Alex and his team were watching a video on one of Rias's fights the day before they had theirs. He taking this fight quite seriously, as Rias was most likely the biggest threat to him in this tournament with how well she knew him and his team, however the reverse also applied. He then turned towards his team, and started explaining his intentions,
"First of all there's going to be a bit of a line up change for this game, both Crom and Bova are out. With Ingvild's presence I don't want to risk one of you being turned against us, even for a moment." At his words Crom seemed indifferent since there wasn't really anyone on Rias's team he specifically wanted to fight anyways. Bova on the other hand,
"Waahhhhh, I have failed as a servant! Being at risk of turning against my lord, even unwillingly, I am a disgrace!" It took several minutes for Alex and the rest to calm the currently mini dragon, and he continued explaining,
"As I was saying, Ingvild is possibly one of the biggest threats to us since her ability also applies to me. I have ways to resist her control, but there's no telling how strong she actually is now, plus there is the fact that her abilities allow her to control oceans. So, Serafall I want you to face her and try to retire her, or at least distract her. Your compatability with ice should be of use against her if we end up in a game field that favors her." Serafall nodded at his words, interested at the possibility of facing a Leviathan without trying to kill each other like with Katerea. Alex was relieved, as he had no idea how strong Ingvild actually was now, since it had been over two months since they met her. In that time she had been going back and forth to the institutes in the underworld, and training as one of Rias's teammates. He then turned towards Vasco, and said,
"And you Vasco, are going to be facing Xenovia. Though I don't doubt your strength Irina will also be standing by in case you need help, as Xenovia not only has Durandal, but all the fragments of Excalibur and possibly its sheathe. From my research regarding the sheathe's ability, it apparently grants the wielder near invulnerability. Because of this it may be impossible to actually retire Xenovia, which is why your main goal is to simply keep her occupied with you, and why Irina is going to accompany you." Hearing Alex's words, Vasco showed an expression of interest, and said,
"Hm, the wielder of Durandal, Excalibur, and it's sheathe. This old man is appreciating being part of this team more and more every day." Irina also chimed in,
"Even with all that there's no way I'll lose to Xenovia!" Alex smiled at her optimism, and turned towards Lint Sellzan next.
"Lint you'll be going against Kiba, his specialty is speed so you'll need to be at the top of your game against him." Lint nodded and said,
"Understood, I'll not let the knight guy go!" After her confirmation, Alex turned towards Roygun, saying,
"Roygun, you'll be going against Rossweisse. She's not only a master spellcaster, but she's also been learning defensive spells recently, and should also have gotten quite a powerful wand to assist her, I hope your 'crack' will be of use against her." Alex was hoping that by using her 'crack' ability Roygun would be able to break through Rosswiess's barriers and maybe even disrupt her spells. Understanding what he wanted, Roygun smiled and said with a mischievous smile,
"If I do well, would I get "rewarded" master?" Alex smiled and simply nodded, as he was also looking forward to when he would get to spend the night with her. Even though Alex could've taken advantage of the fact that he was her lord, and that she was willing, he wanted to wait until she came to him. Seeing him agree to "reward" her, Roygun smiled and anticipated the night the two would be together. She always had a thing for young men, and Alex was exactly what she had an eye for. Alex then turned his attention to Grayfia, who was currently dressed as Bina.
"As for you Bina, I want you to focus on Rias herself." He didn't need to discuss why, with her actual identity it was obvious why she was the best choice to go against Rias. Bina simply nodded as she understood his intentions. That left only Akeno, Koneko, Gasper, and Asia left, as Alex doubted Nakiri and Millarca would be present if Ingvild was around. Alex turned towards the remaining two members of his team, Elmenhilde, and since both Bova and Crom were out, Ravel.
She was taking Bova's place as a pawn, and would be assisting mostly with tactics in game since what Alex was telling them now was more of an outline. Depending on the type of game they had to do the next day, they could very well need to throw out everything Alex told them. However since the majority of the games involved directly fighting, the chances of this were slim. He then continued,
"These four may be moving with the others, or they could be moving independently. Ravel and Elmenhilde will be moving with me to prevent me being outnumbered, and the three of us will try and eliminate them. If they appeared with any of the ones you're fighting, then call us for back up." As Alex was currently acting as a 'king', he needed to take into consideration his own position. When Rias fought Sona in the novel, it was a prime example of how fighting directly didn't always determine the outcome when Issei was retired from blood loss. If he was retired, it wouldn't matter how many of his teammates were left, it would be an instant game over. With how close this group of opponents was to him, he didn't want to take any chances and had the two of them act as his backup.
He then discussed a few more things with them before calling it a night. Alex then asked Ravel to get someone for him, to which she seemed conflicted about who he asked for. Not long after. Alex was resting in his room when someone knocked on the door. He could hear the hesitation when they did, and laughed slightly before saying,
"Come in." In walked none other than Valerie, who looked extremely nervous at something. Alex smiled, and said,
"Come in and close the door, don't worry, I just want to talk."
***
The next day Alex walked onto the stadium field with his team behind him, Bina, Serafall, Vasco, Irina, Lint, Roygun, Elmenhilde, and Ravel. Opposite from him were Rias, Akeno, Asia, Gasper, Kiba, Xenovia, Koneko, Rossweise, and as Alex expected, Ingvild as her pawn. As the two approached each other, Alex and Rias shook hands as he said,
"May the best man win." Rias smiled as she replied,
"Or woman." Earning a grin from Alex. As they finished greeting each other the announcer shouted out,
"WELCOME ALL TO THIS EXCITING MATCH! LAST TIME WE HAD RIAS GREMORY WITH HER QUEEN VS HER OWN FATHER, AND ALEX VS HIS OWN TEACHER! THIS TIME WE HAVE THE TWO LOVERS FACING EACH OTHER, WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY GIRL ON RIAS GREMORY'S TEAM ALSO BEING HIS LOVER! WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE TODAY?"
Alex smiled as he waited for the rules of the match to be decided. It only took a few minutes before they were shown, a standard match. After the rules were explained the two groups were transported to the game area.
Alex took one look around and his face twitched, along with the faces of his whole team. They had appeared in what seemed to be a small village, on the edge of an island in the middle of the ocean. Alex knew this had to be planned to see the power of Ingvild, even though such things were typically left to "chance", and couldn't help but shout out,
"OH FUCK YOU TOO GAME OFFICIALS!"
While the rest of his group had similar opinions.