Rushing Through The Hideout

"Something is not right…" Rio murmured.

Lex and Rio were currently running through a long corridor surrounded by iron walls on both sides. It resembled the hallway one might find in a prison from older times.

"No one is coming to fight us. That's weird." Lex agreed.

More than ten minutes had passed by since the duo had entered the hideout. They encountered many hallways like the one they were running in but none of them opened into a room.

Instead, each hallway ended by splitting into multiple hallways, each leading to a new destination. Roaming around the hallways felt similar to clearing a maze.

"I think this is the trap that I was looking for. An endless set of hallways that we would never escape…" Rio clenched her fist.

"You told me that Allen's hideout is multiple kilometers away from the city, right?" Lex questioned.

"Allen's hideout is an old iron castle that was used during an old war. Afterwards, homeless families and children started living there, including Allen. He took control of the castle after mastering his abilities and began to capture regions."

"How did he connect this place with the entrance behind the city center?"

"Technology empowered with abilities can allow you do that, though its expensive. You can find cheaper replicated versions of it on the black market. Even though Allen couldn't take over the black market, he does buy stuff from there."

"I see… this black market is spread all over the region and numerous criminals must use them. What are the chances of this maze being generated by one such piece of technology?"

"Its most probable explanation."

"Hmm, stop for a minute."

Lex suddenly stopped running, forcing Rio to stop as well. She looked at him with a confused expression but remained patient.

'Elfie, what do you think?'

[ This is not a piece of technology. I can sense EE presence in your surroundings. Someone is altering the design of the hallway to create a maze. 

After a few love making sessions with Rio, Lex found out that the system scan increased to 40%. Elfie was now able to scan for EE in Lex's surroundings regardless of whether the EE belonged to a male or a female.

'Can you locate the location of the ability user?'

[ I should be able to. Place your hand on the iron wall. ]

Lex moved to the side and placed his hand on the iron wall. Elfie was able to scan any object that came in contact with Lex's hand. She could search for EE presence by doing this.

[ One floor up, thirty meters to the right. The structure of this hallway alters every time you reach its end. You both have been in running in the same hallway for the past ten minutes. ]

"Rio, can you do something for me?" Lex asked.

"Sure but I don't think this is the right time to ask me for that."

"Just listen to me once."

Lex stepped closer to Rio and whispered in her ears. The latter nodded and pointed her hand towards the ceiling.

"Lightning Disintegration!"

Lightning shot out from her hand, charging at the ceiling. Cracks spread throughout the ceiling, extending up to fifty meters.

"My turn now." Lex bent his legs to the ground and jumped up. Lex's jumping power was increased due to his ability as he directly shot towards the ceiling. He extended his hands towards the ceiling.

"Force of Destruction!"

As soon as his hands came in contact with the ceiling, a ton of force hit the cracked ceiling. It immediately broke down after his attack, causing a person to fall down.

Rio swiftly moved through the crashing ceiling and grabbed the falling person. In the blink of an eye, she disintegrated the person.

'She doesn't even hesitate while killing others.'

[ After killing people multiple times, you become like that. I don't think Rio likes killing but the circumstances forced her to get used to it. ]

'I wonder if I will become the same as her.'

Lex landed back on the floor alongside the falling rubble. Above his head, Lex saw a dimly lit room.

[ Lex, I am sensing multiple EE presences on the above floor. I think we were running in the basement of the hideout. ] 

"Rio, let's go to the floor above us. This is the basement and its empty." Lex relayed on the information to Rio.

The latter didn't ask any questions and simply grabbed Lex. She rose in the air and made her way through the broken ceiling.

"I can also fly now, you know." Lex pointed out.

"I like to carry you." Rio chuckled. "My method is faster anyway."

"Just quickly move through the crowd. We need to save our energy for the main fights." Lex reminded. "Not to mention that not everyone here is evil."

Rio didn't reply to him but she didn't stop either. Lex caught sight of numerous hooded figures but Rio ignored all of them.

The current floor didn't resemble a castle in any way. It was converted into a dormitory building with numerous rooms.

A few sign boards were also present which directed them to the eating area, meeting room and other places inside the hideout.

[ Lex, I recognize three EE presences a few meters away from us. Be careful. ] Elfie warned.

Lex saw a huge door in the distance. A sign saying 'arena' was embedded on top of the door.

"Head there, Rio. That is the place where we need to go."

"Those three are beyond that door, aren't they?"

"You guessed right."

Rio slowed down her speed and landed in front of the door. The duo exchanged a nod before Rio put her hand on the doorknob.

[ This is such a normal way to enter a fight zone. I thought we would drop down into the arena from the sky or something. ] 

Rio swung the door open, expecting to see an arena. Unfortunately, the door opened to reveal a black mist portal like the one that took Lex and Rio to the hideout.

'Are you sure that you sense EE on the other side…'

[ I am positive. Also, I sense multiple figures headed our way. You can either fight them or enter this portal. ] 

Lex stared at the portal for a few seconds before grabbing Rio's hands. Though he didn't trust the portal, Lex didn't want Rio to go on a mass murder streak.

"Wait, Lex!" Rio shouted but it was too late.

While holding hands, the duo jumped into the portal.