BOOM!
Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Caspera, Xenovia, Kiba and Blaze ran, the small room they were in being filled with the creature that Aremic was now becoming
"We need to get out of here and alert the higher ups" Rias stated with a focused gaze as she flew through the labyrinth
"Most likely that will not work I'm afraid" Caspera said from the side "based on how Varyn was acting it seems like he had planned for this to happen and is planning to use Aremic to deal with us, as such I do not believe that he would allow us to be helped so easily"
"In that case there's only one thing to do" Xenovia interjected "we need to beat this guy ourselves"
"Agreed" Akeno nodded "the place where I was first teleported had quite a wide open space, likely intended so that one of Aremic's knights would have space to move around and avoid my attacks more easily"
"Do you remember the way? everything looks the same to me, if this was a real rating game I feel like I would be in trouble" Blaze asked as she ran, finding it much easier for her to do so due to her not being the best flier
"I was not far from Akeno and she was the first person I came across" Kiba commented from the side "and since then I started making marks on the floors to note which was we were going as although the walls are resistant to damage, the floor doesn't seem to share that same trait, it was mainly so that other members of the group would be able to find me more easily, but so long as we follow them the other way we should end up back at the room Akeno first arrived in"
"Then lead the way Kiba, you know what to look out for" Rias declared, turning back to see the beast following behind the group, it struggling to keep up due to all of its legs being different shapes sizes and even in the wrong place leading to it struggling to move properly, but adding them to its wings that seemed to be trying to push it along by force and the flying traits of some of the animals that he was made up of making him move faster than a creature such as him should be able to
The group continued to run, taking turn after turn, the labyrinth seeming to not only be complex, but also contained tricks and traps such as fake walls, pitfalls and even alarms
"How the hell were you able to find me so quickly through all of this?" Blaze asked in amazement as Kiba continued to lead the way
"It was thanks to a combination of a few things really" answered Rias "Akeno and I used our link to you to home in on which direction to go, Xenovia used both her connection to you and her instincts which somehow managed to lead us most of the way and avoid the traps along the way, and Koneko's nose helped once we got closer along with being able to sense your lifeforce due to her training"
"Well, it might not be the best time to be saying it, but thank you everyone, I'd hate to think what would have happened to me if you had got there any later" Blaze shivered
"It's our pleasure" Rias responded with a smile "you're a part of my peerage, and I don't let anything bad happen to those who are precious to me"
"Yeah, we're friends with benefits Blaze, I couldn't let anything happen to you" Xenovia agreed
"If anything had happened to you I would have been so sad" Akeno added from the side "there's so much stuff that I haven't had a chance to try with you in the bedroom"
"We're here" Kiba declared, seemingly acting in a way as to not interject into his master Rias's relationship and acting as her knight
The labyrinth opened up into a wide area, seemingly indicating that they were in the center of the labyrinth, with it most likely having been designed as a place for the two teams to fight as big groups, giving both sides ample room to work with if the rating game had come down to it
"Alright then, everyone in formation, Xenovia and Blaze will take point, Koneko and Kiba will take the rear to prevent any attacks from the rear, we don't know what kinds of abilities that Aremic might have, but given the number of cries that I could hear as we were travelling he should have a large number of species that make up his body, Akeno, Casper and I will stay in the middle and provide support and firepower at a distance" Rias ordered "is everyone ready?"
"In position" Koneko and Kiba replied
"Ready to go" Xenovia remarked, Durrandel in one hand and Zan in the other
"Balance break" Blaze called out, powering up to face Aremic as she had no idea how strong that he was in this new form "I'm ready too"
Minutes pass but Aremic never showed up
"Did he get lost?" Blaze questioned, her nerves still taut "we did follow quite the complicated path"
"Unlikely" Koneko disagreed "from the smell that I got from him her should be made of many species that would work well in this labyrinth such as snakes, hunting dogs and bats which should all be able to locate us using a variety of methods, and these are only the ones I was able to identify"
"I believe I may have also seen a minotaur's head" Xenovia added with a frown "and those things thrive in labyrinths like this, there's no way that it wouldn't be able to find us"
"Then where..." Blaze wondered before shock surfaced on her face as she realised that if Varyn had used a shadow lizards ability himself, that meant that there was most likely nothing stopping him from incorporating its DNA into Aremic, and if he combined the ability to move to a shadow with stealth capabilities
With the terrible conclusion she had reached Blaze looked around the room, her gaze finally landing on a particularly dark shadow right above Kiba and Koneko "Kiba! Koneko! get out of there" she shouted
Diving to the sides Kiba and Koneko narrowly missed being crushed underneath the hulking monster, but unfortunately not without injury, Kiba was hit by a stone in the leg that shot out when the beast landed on the floor, a sickening crack ringing out as he went down and rolled away
Koneko on the other hand was not hit by any debris, but a serpant shot out from Aremics body and managed to cut Koneko's arm before she punched it away, seemingly alright before sinking to her knees in pain
"Xenovia, get Kiba, Caspera, help Koneko" Rias ordered as Blaze moved to put herself between the rest of the group and the Chimera Aremic
"We're not off to a good start" Blaze frowned, knowing the battle had gotten off to a terrible start.