"That went well, really quick." Arex immediately reacted, as he was feeling a bit ecstatic, as soon as they got out of Braganza's chamber.
Leomold and Arex were both successful in their efforts to convince Braganza. It caught them by surprise that Braganza decided to join forces with them so quickly. Nevertheless, in spite of the positive outcome, Leomold was displaying a face that was indicating that he was feeling uneasy.
Arex immediately noticed it, which eventually caused him to pause to talk with Leomold. "Hey, is something the matter?" Arex asked, while looking at Leomold with a confused glare.
At some point, when Leomold looked at Arex, he eventually gave him a reluctant face, as if he suddenly appeared to be pessimistic. Until he eventually cleared himself after finally replying to Arex.
"You should know that getting Lord Braganza's approval to join forces with you for tomorrow's hunting game was just out of luck, since he isn't the type that prefers too much explanation. As long as you could get Lord Valkas to cooperate as well, we'll probably secure encouraging the others to win tomorrow against Lady Roxina." Leomold said.
As soon as he heard that, Arex found himself to be rather curious about the reason why it would appear that they have been fearing Roxina as the blind, when she happened to be so weak among the rest of them. This was especially true when Arex considered the fact that he had first encountered Roxina in the realm of the mortals.
"I've been meaning to ask you this ever since that high lord of yours announced Roxina to become the game's blind. Why does it sound like being the game's blind requires so much as the entire players to cooperate just to win up against her?" Arex finally asked.
It came as a surprise to Leomold that Arex would ask that question out of the blue, and his eyes widened slightly as a result. And in the end, Leomold responded to Arex's inquiry because he believed that it would be only acceptable for Arex to be aware of the situation.
"Well, one reason is that the high lord bestows upon the blind the eye of the future or the ability to see into the future."
Leomold then noticed the confused state in Arex's eyes. It was as though the way that Arex looked at him was eager to know more about the reason why he could have said that. "I know it's kind of ironic to actually hear that. Being called the game's blind and suddenly having the eye of the future. But it's true. Once you become blind, you are given the opportunity to see through one's future plans for how they would defeat you. All their moves, tactics and even your plans to defeat them. All of it, Arex."
"Are you serious? Then what purpose does this teaming up serve us when Roxina ends up knowing all of our plans in the end? This game is stupid!"
"Wait a moment, Arex. Let me finish." Leomold stated, wanting to convey to Arex to listen to him first before he even complained. Although the blind are given the ability to see into the future, it's an ability that can only be used on a single person at a time. That is to say, it would be absolutely pointless when all of the players work together. If this is the case, then the only solution you could possibly find would be to form a unified team to defeat the blind." Finally, Leomold provided an explanation for that, which resulted in Arex looking at him with a pretty surprised expression painted on his face.
"So, you are saying that power will not have any impact on the rest of us if we work together? If that is the situation, Braganza, you and I alone are more than enough to take her down," Arex said.
"Hmnn…I figured you'd also say that, but you shouldn't underestimate Lady Roxina. Among other lords, Lady Roxina holds a terrifying power of deception. Her scythe, known as Wisteria, has the ability to emit a dark mist that has the potential to transform all of its adversaries' nightmares into enemies of their own. And while she was at it, Lady Roxina would take advantage of the opportunity to end your life by striking you. It is not surprising that the high lord has chosen her to be the blind. Her power is perfectly suited to stand on its own against the other lords."
"O-kay, but isn't that her scythes—I mean, all of your scythes are unable to harm me?"
After that, Leomold brought his face closer to Arex, as if he wanted to make sure that only Arex could hear him say, "Don't you remember the flaws of your abilities? You become vulnerable the moment you become aware of any danger surrounding you, Arex. On the other hand, once Roxina's abilities have distracted you, you will not be able to anticipate the next move she makes. Therefore, you must continue to exercise caution."
"So how would I get out of Roxina's deception?" Arex eventually asked.
"That is a very good question; however, I do not have any answers for that at this time. To put it simply, this would be the very first time that the seven lords would actually take part in the game. The game was initially developed as a form of military examination for all of the shikaris, who were in the process of training to become real Jinnx hunters. If they are successful in passing the test, they will be given the opportunity to become a shikari in the Metropolis. Those individuals who pass away during the process would be brought back from the realm of the spirits."
Despite the fact that Arex was able to obtain this information from Leomold, he continued to ponder the question of how he could possibly escape the horrifying powers that Roxina possessed, as previously mentioned by Leomold.
"That does not provide an answer to my question. Right now, I don't even know how I could even begin to fight that woman when I meet her first thing in the morning tomorrow. I could already tell that she would definitely come after me first."
"Well, there is always the option to flee." Leomold teasingly taunted Arex. After that, he went on to ask, "Is not that what you did the last time you encountered her in the world of living?" which caused Arex to become enraged.
"Hey, how did you even find out about that, huh?" Arex inquired, feeling a mix of curiosity and annoyance at Leomold's recent statement.
"Well, that information has been included in the report that was sent to the archives. Every Lord of the Black Parade has access to these archives, so how could you think I would not know how you avoided Lady Roxina the entire time? Feel free to apply that tactic again tomorrow if you think it worked, or, if you are really perceptive, you could try to immerse yourself in Lady Roxina's deceitful abilities and figure it out from there."
Out of the blue, Arex could not help but speak out as he pondered Leomold's recent words, "Wait, are you suggesting that I risk my life to confront that woman like bait?"