As soon as the start of the match was announced, Arun and Shuu launched their assault on the labyrinthine city that awaited them. They had to find the egg, but above all, they had to defeat their opponent for a chance to survive.
On the other side of the arena, once again Jigô had gone forward, Ornella sitting on the platform. She knew very well that the shark would win without easily without her help, and that she would embarrass him if she moved with him.
But it also gave her an opportunity to act behind his back.
Indeed, the wolf had been engaged by Jigô to catch the human she had seen in her visions. In the night, when she was sleeping, she often made dreams in which she saw future events. She had clairvoyance gifts that were not always right, as with Ikka, the squid that had helped Arun instead of capturing him.
When he had known that a human had appeared in the world of pets, Jigô had done everything to prepare his capture for when he would come back. He had modified all the events of the Meerkat Show for the sole purpose of catching Arun. Why ? Ornella did not really know it. Despite her gifts, she could not figure out what the shark had in his head, and what pushed him to do all that.
But even though she had agreed to help him initially, she was now looking forward to getting rid of him. The only reason that had pushed her to serve Jigô was the thing he had promised to give to her and Ikka in return... But he had hurt her friend, and in addition to that he allowed himself to kill without holding back those who stood in his way.
Arun and Shuu had no chance against Jigô. That's why she was going to help them secretly to defeat the shark. And once they will be out of danger, she will send the human and the meerkat back to their home world. She did not know how they came in, but they did not have to stay. It was dangerous for them, and for all the pets present in this world.
Arun and Shuu had begun to wander among the ruins trying to find the egg hidden inside. If they could bring it back without crossing their opponents, then they would not even need to fight !
"It's much bigger than I imagined... If we don't do this methodically we'll never find this egg." Arun said sighing, seeing the multiple corridors that opened before him, sometimes sinking even under the water. It was even more tangled than the labyrinth of pipes of the Meerkat Race...
"I'm not used to locating in places like this... I often dig galleries that are used to move around, but it doesn't work the same in such a different place..." Shuu replied who was also lost in this vastness of paths. Only one led to their final goal.
"Especially that we have to come back after ! If we had a thread or something like that, it would be simpler..." There were several methods to find your way around a labyrinth. Either using a thread that was left trailing behind, to be sure to be able to retrace your steps, or always walk along the same side of the walls. But with either solution, they would take a long time to find and bring back the egg, unless they had an incredible stroke of luck.
"Fortunately I was able to find you quickly, then." Jigô's voice echoed through one of the adjacent corridors, and the man's smile appeared before them, even more cold than usual. It had been only a few minutes since they had entered the labyrinth, how had they found them so quickly ?
"Shuu... The ampullae... They also serve the shark to find his prey even deprived of all his senses..." The vet pointed back a few steps. The scary figure of the man was right in front of them, sending the shadow of danger to their feet. They had no right to the error, and despite the plan they had built, it did not prevent the fear of settling easily in them.
"I was going to eliminate you quickly, just to end this useless competition. The only thing that interests me here is you, human." Shuu rushed forward without waiting, feeling that Jigô was going to attack first if he did not do it. The boy tried to hit the shark's face, but was swept by the back of his arm.
"You're in a hurry, little animal ! Don' disturb the king of the seas while he's taking care of his prey !" Laughed Jigô angrily as he stepped on the meerkat to tackle him and knock himto the ground. Just as he was about to finish, Arun jumped on his back and gripped him around the neck. This might be his only opportunity !
"What are you going to do, human ? Do you think you can defeat me even though you're frail and ridiculous? You go..." The shark froze immediately when Arun put his hand on his mouth, directly touching the famous ampullae of Lorenzini that were the only real weak point of the shark. The latter even fell on his knees, becoming silent.
"It's not going to last long, hurry up Shuu !" Arun shouted, still clutching their opponent, trying to keep his hand on his weak point. They only had a few seconds if they wanted to give him a fatal blow !
The meerkat got up and grabbed a piece of stone that was lying on the ground. There was a lot of debris in the corridors of the ruins, the city being in a rather degraded state. He quickly approached the shark and used his improvised weapon to hit his skull with all his strength, and Arun suddenly felt Jigô's body relax. It had worked !
"He's... I didn't kill him, huh?" Shuu asked in a flickering voice, who was afraid he'd hit a little too hard. The frightening monster had fallen at once.
"I don't think so... He seems to breathe..." Arun quickly moved away from the inert body of the shark. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead, a sign that he had been hurt in a rather serious way.
"That was hard, but... We did it !" Arun said with a big smile, approaching his partner to share his joy. However, he did not seem as enthusiastic as the vet...
"A-Arun, behind !" The threatening shadow of the king of the seas hovered behind him. He was far from dead, in the end.
"You really thought that such a shabby move could put me out of harm's way ? To stun someone, you have to hit like that !" Jigô raised his fist before shooting it right on the veterinarian's skull. This time he was really going to kill him...
Yet Arun, who had reflexively closed his eyes to prepare for the pain, did not feel it coming. Opening his eyes, he saw that their opponent was stuck with his arm still in the air, totally unable to lower it.
"What..." The expression on his face changed completely, displaying a deep anger that revealed his terrifying teeth. There was only one person who was able to stop him without touching him.
"Ornella... Besides being an incompetent, are you fighting against me ?"
The wolf had arrived at his back, staring at him severely. Stopping him from moving was difficult, and she would not last long... But it was the best she could do. She was far from having enough physical strength to compete with Jigô's.
"You lied to us, to me as to Ikka. I consider that our temporary alliance is broken. I have no obligation to help you, and I don't want to leave this human in your hands. Jigô." She said calmly, before tensing up a bit as the body of the shark began to shake. The latter was using all his strength to try to free himself from the seizure of the seer, who was not going to resist very long.
She knew Ikka ? So the cute squid was with their opponents ? Why had she helped him, then ?
"Arun, Shuu. I'm going to send you back to your world. A human has nothing to do here, all he risks is being captured by people who are ill-intentioned and being used for destruction. Your presence here is a risk to this world, so I'll ask you not to come back, no matter how you came." The wolf had her eyes set in those of the human, and not an ounce of compassion was readable in it. She did not help them. She just wanted to protect this world.
But she asked him to stop using the [Pet Pact]. And Arun had just discovered this incredible power and this world he never knew existed... Did he really want to give up everything ? It was like putting a succulent dish under the eyes of a child, asking him not to touch it.
"Fine, I won't come back here, then." Arun said, looking down. He had no choice but to accept, the situation seemed much more serious than he would have imagined. He would not have thought that his mere presence would generate so much turmoil here... And he would ask Mili for an explanation. He wanted to understand what was really happening here.
"How are you going to get rid of him ?" He asked a little worried, seeing that Jigô was about to break free. Mad with rage as he was, he was probably going to attack Ornella...
"Don't worry, I'll always find a solution. The important thing is that you can get back to your world safely, to put ours out of danger as well." She simply replied with a smile.
"Okay... Take care of Ikka for me then, I would have liked to go help her once the Meerkat Show was finished, but I have to leave you this task. And it looks like you know her more than me!" As a veterinarian, Arun could not have left the poor squid in the terrible place she was, in the darkness of her underground lake.
"Everything will be okay once you'll be gone. I wish you good luck for your veterinary career. Farewell, Arun." Ornella spoke her last words, which surprised Arun a little. She could read in her thoughts ? After all, Astera was capable to do it too, so... Yes, he would become the best vet on earth, and allow the animals to be able to return to this world whenever they want, in safety and in good health.
A light blinded the young man and his companion meerkat, and both felt their bodies become numb more and more, before finally disappearing completely.