Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

"I'm going down," Zach said after a brief moment of silence.

"Who's with me?" He asked. By now, they should have had time to process the gravity of the situation.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Dukiel looked at Zach. He knew Zach. If Zach was doing this, it meant he felt it would be possible to succeed. He would do anything to reach that possibility.

"I'm in." After everything they had been through, how could Dukiel not trust Zach?

"Me too." Nessa had only needed a slight push to give in. Much like Dukiel, she couldn't not trust Zach, especially after he returned from the twelfth Trial of the Labyrinth of Syst. He was the first person in history to do so. He was not limited to conventional thought.

Even if Maer hadn't exaggerated—even if he had underestimated the threat posed by the Underworld's machinations, Nessa believed Zach could overcome it. He even had a deity by his side. If anyone could do it, it would be him.

"...You better not let me down now, Evandiel." Surprisingly, Anerias joined them before Violina did. Usually, he was the most reluctant and hesitant when it came to things like this.

But he had grown. He would never admit it to the world, but Zach and his presence urged Anerias to improve. He had grown stronger in the Labyrinth of Jira, which he had only entered thanks to Zach.

This moment–this choice–was another opportunity for Anerias to grow.

He could refuse, stay on the surface, and hope for the principal to step up or for Zach and the others to handle it. He could even flee if neither of those happened.

But he would stagnate. He would forever be unable to overcome the wall he would have erected himself. Every time he would be faced with the opportunity to grow in the future, he would remember this moment. He would remember his choice. He would remember his weakness.

If he chose to go down with Zach and the others, however, he would either die a painful death, which was the most likely turn of events, or he would take his first step toward catching up to Zach. He would take a large step forward on his path as a summoner. He would climb upward in the world, bringing his prestige with him. He would raise his family's status.

Whether personal, spiritual, physical, or familial, the gains were immeasurable.

For his future, Anerias had to join the descending party.

Violina's future was already secured. She didn't hold as much insecurity within her as Anerias did. She might regret her decision in the future, but she would be alive. She would overcome it. Her regret would drive her forward. It would make her stronger.

She didn't need to enter the Underworld.

If anything, it might be better for her to stay on the surface since her attributes contrasted one of their main sources of power, Dukiel's lasers. Her ice also made it harder for Anerias' Blackfire Hound to let loose, even if its fires didn't melt her ice and her ice didn't put out its fires.

If she stayed on the surface, she could coordinate the other students to prepare. She could help evacuate the alchemists and other non-combatants. She could start tracking down the spy and exacting revenge.

There were so many things she could do on the surface.

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But in the Underworld, there were only two things: Die or not die.

Violina eventually sighed heavily like the air was forced out of her lungs. In all her life as a child of one of the most prestigious families and households in the Empire, this was the most pressure she had felt. It couldn't compare to when she and Anerias had taken charge of the class in the first year at the Academy during the field trip.

There was too much at stake.

"Fine," she said. "I'll come. Who's going to keep you all alive if I don't?"

With those words trying to ease the atmosphere, the matter was settled. There was no time to prepare. There wasn't anything they could do to prepare anyway. The most they could do was grab the few remaining bottles of undiluted anti-underworld energy potion and hope they would help in their battle against the Underworld's first trump card.

Zach, Dukiel, Nessa, Anerias, and Violina scurried through the city. They ignored the underworlders hiding in the buildings, street corners, and rubble. They headed straight for the sewers. The light of the talismans kept them tied together in the darkness of the underworld energy.

They hurried through the sewers like an arrow. They went straight for the tunnel where they had killed Mursoth.

Zach stopped on the edge of the tunnel to the Underworld.

They shouldn't hesitate. They had already decided to forego any hesitation when they agreed to go down. They didn't have time for it.

But there was no helping it.

If they were going to turn back, this would be their last opportunity. Their only opportunity.

No one took it. Zach took the first step. The others followed. They followed him into the darkness of the underworld energy so thick a moonless night would seem bright.

Although time was of the essence, the group couldn't help but slow down, and it had nothing to do with the size of some of their familiars. They had a vague idea of

what

to expect. They hadn't the slighted of

when

or

where

to expect it.

It was beneath the city in the tunnel leading to the Underworld.

The Underworld was deep down, the tunnel was long, and Maer had been running for his life, so he didn't know how far he ran.

It

could also be moving toward the surface as they headed deeper into the ground. They could come face to face with impending doom at any moment.

As if to taunt the young students, time slowed to a crawl as they walked, their steps thumping mutedly against the walls like heartbeats.

Slowly, they descended into the darkness. Each second, each step taking them closer.