"Can I have everyone's attention please" ordered the commentator "the time that you have all been waiting for has finally arrived, it is time for the two teams who will be facing each other to finally make their appearance"
This caused the crowds to already start to cheer loudly, with the commentator continuing
"Coming out of the red gate, we have the Gremory Peerage, lead by the crimson haired ruin princess, Rias Gremory" he declared, gesturing to the archway where Rias, Blaze and everyone else was walking out
"Rias-sama, we love you, you can do this"
"We've been waiting for you, show us all what you can do"
"I'm so glad I saved up and brought a ticket for this, they're all more beautiful in person than on screen"
"You've got this"
"Wow" Blaze commented "the fans in here are a lot less direct and pervy than the ones we met outside"
"Security generally prevents those kinds of people from entering the venue, as there is no telling what some of the more fanatic demons might do if given the chance" Rias explained
"Akeno-sama, please come up here and step on me" called out a fat looking demon who was breathing heavily, only for seconds later for security to grab him by the shoulders and take him away
"Although there always seems to be one who manages to sneak in" Akeno giggled
The commentator then flung his arm in the other direction "And from the blue gate, we have the Asmodeus peerage, lead by the scientific master of beasts Aremic Asmodeus" Aremic followed by Varyn and the rest of his peerage making their way out in organised fashion
"Are the beasts ready?" Aremic asked Varyn with scientific poise
"Of course Aremic-sama, everything is ready" answered Varyn
"Go get them Aremic-sama"
"Show them that us nerds aren't to be looked down upon"
"Mommy look, it's the beast guy, I really liked his big dinosaur last time, I hope we get to see it again"
"We'll see honey, maybe if you cheer loud enough he'll bring it out for you"
"Aremic, if you don't use some kind of creature that can melt clothing I'll never forgive you, give us all a show of what the girls on the other team look like naked"
"It seems a second one got in" Blaze noted as she saw security take away another demon, this one being more muscular and intense than the last one
"Now that the two teams have arrived it's time to let you all know what kind of rating game that you are all in for, the theme for todays rating game will be.... this" declared the commentator, flinging his arm upwards
With his signal the devils that were working at the venue started using their magic to cause the blocks of the stage between the two teams to rise into the air, moving in seemingly random directions before colliding into each other in the air, forming letters that seemed to also act as walls
"It's a rating game classic, it's the Labyrinth" proclaimed the commentator, the blocks continuing to move but always remaining spelling the word Labyrinth "for those of you who have never seen a Labyrinth rating game, before her are the rules, all of our competitors will be transported into the labyrinth in random locations, from there each person must rely on their strength, their smarts, their stealth and a little bit of luck to make their way through the labyrinth to try and team up with the rest of the peerage, but obviously both teams will be doing this at the same time, so if you're unlucky you could end up running into your opponent"
"The labyrinth huh" Rias frowned "not exactly the best for us as Kiba and Akeno's combo moves will be more difficult to pull off, I won't be able to use my new Gremory skill without finding someone first, and Aremic's peerage has an advantage due to them most likely having at least a familiar each that is used for tracking, as such they will be able to team up and find us more easily"
"A labyrinth huh, I had to deal with one of these in the past when I teamed up with Irina, there was a minotaur that was causing chaos, don't worry I know how to deal with them" Xenovia smiled
"And just a reminder, the labyrinth walls have been enhanced with magic to increase their strength, even a Maou would struggle to break through these walls and of course their is a ceiling to prevent just flying over, as that would not be fun for our audience here" added the commentator
"Never mind" Xenovia slumped
"Now then, if both teams could make their way to the center of the arena, we can get this things started"
"We wish you all the best of luck in this battle" Aremic smiled, him and the rest of his peerage holding out their hands
"To you as well" replied Rias, everyone shaking hands with the person opposite them, Blaze, Koneko and Caspera shaking multiple peoples hands due to their being more pawns, rooks and bishops on Aremic's team
"Such sportsmanship from both sides, but the time for words has come to an end, it's time to battle, let the games begin" the commentator declared as the light from teleportation magic enveloped both sides
A few seconds later Blaze opened her eyes "alright time to.... wait what?"
Blaze was cuffed to a metal bed, the whole frame covered in magic circles and the room although having rock walls was filled with scientific equipment
"Perfect, everything seems to be running smoothly" declared a voice from behind Blaze
"Indeed, we can now take our experiments to the next level now that we have the source of our solution" responded a different voice
"Ah crap, this is a you turned out to be a bad guy isn't it" sighed Blaze, recognising the voices as Aremic and Varyn as they moved in front of her, both men grinning as they looked down at Blaze.