Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

The air inside the vast underground space expanded like it had multiplied many times over in the span of a second when, in reality, it was just the underworld energy pushed away by the grey liquid escaping the prison of its bottle and spreading its effects through the air. The liquid divided various tasks among itself.

Some of it seeped into Hjugor. Some of it ran down Hjugor's body and dribbled down to the floor, which was also steeped with underworld energy. The underworld energy in the floor didn't stand a chance, and the floor weakened. It wasn't much, and the floor was too thick for such a tiny amount to do anything more than crack a bit of it.

Hjugor, on the other hand, had a sturdy body and couldn't compare to the entire floor. The large underworlder let out guttural howls in pain as the anti-underworld energy potion broke down its body and tore the underworld energy, the source of its existence, out of it.

A third part of it evaporated and mixed with the air, filtrating it from the underworld energy, effectively pushing it all out of the underground space.

The openings in the ceiling were no different from the doors, especially the one straight above Hjugor.

The heavy, dense, and thick underworld energy in the hole was not heavy, dense, or thick enough to stop the effect of the potion that spread like a cleansing shockwave through the place.

The potion pushed the underworld energy up through the hole like it was the barrel of a cannon. The high pressure cracked the ground.

A thick pillar of underworld energy was hurled out of the hole. Plumes of underworld energy spread in the air like the edges of a mushroom cloud.

Zach turned around in shock and horror. That was a lot of underworld energy. It was more than all the underworld energy already in the forest.

Far away, the principal also turned his head and looked out over the forest from his office.

"...What did that troublesome brat do this time?"

"Did he sneak explosives into the Academy?" Kami asked. That was the only thing he could think of that could explain something like that. Zach wasn't strong enough to do anything like that on his own just yet.

"Do you know how much it would take to make underworld energy move like that? No. No explosives. It's probably that Desert Witch of his." The principal smiled slightly and shook his head. He had to admit. It was impressive.

Then, he turned his head in the direction of the city.

"But he will have to fix that as soon as possible."

Kami followed the principal's gaze, and his expression darkened.

There wasn't just one large pillar of underworld energy rising into the sky. The city was also filled with rising underworld energy.

"Since you want him to fix it, should I do something about the self-proclaimed exterminators who have started getting wind of the Underworld's activity here? Although the Underworld hasn't stopped attacking the surface in other places, it seems like the exterminators aren't making much progress." Kami scowled toward the city.

They couldn't do anything on their own in the other places in the Empire. And rather than continuing to try, they hurried over to the Academy and Basilia as soon as they got wind of the students fighting against the Underworld. It was disgraceful.

They weren't fighting for the surface or for what they believed was right. They only wanted the glory, honor, and rewards of fighting an enemy that did nothing but hide.

Some of the exterminators were good. They were powerful. They were making an effort to prevent the Underworld from encroaching upon the surface. A few of them could even fight with Named underworlders on equal footing.

But most weren't. They were people who had been caught up in one of the Underworld's schemes and survived. They lived through luck but called it fate or decided it was their own abilities, overestimating themselves. Then, they decided to fight back.

They allied themselves to the Empire or nobles who were also contributing to the secret war's efforts and used those resources to live while pretending to do something.

Kami didn't like them.

The principal glanced at Kami, fully aware of what Kami was thinking. Kami had never tried to keep it a secret that he didn't like most people who claimed to be resisting the Underworld.

"No need. They won't do enough to take away this learning opportunity from our dear students. Our older kids might, though. Come up with a way to keep them busy."

"Alright. How about an expedition?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I heard that a certain student discovered a secret on the first floor of the Jira Labyrinth. I'm curious to see if our older kids can do the same." Kami smiled. From what he had heard, no one, not even Zach's sister, who had accompanied him to the rat king's castle, had managed to repeat the journey. No one managed to stay on the first floor.

Sooner or later, they would all inevitably take a step that brought them down to the second floor.

"Remember to tell them that it was a first-year student and not specifically Zach that did it. It will keep them motivated for the rest of the year. Oh, and set a secondary goal about reaching as deep as possible. Just the first floor won't be enough training."

"Got it."

With that, the principal and Kami stopped looking at the clouds of underworld energy. It was troublesome, but only for their students, not for them. The forest was already tarnished. So, that one didn't matter, even if the amount of underworld energy was shockingly overwhelming.

And the amount of underworld energy in the city was a lot less. It was almost thin enough that one could see through it from one side of the city to the other. It wasn't enough to be lethal. Well, people might still die, and that risk would only grow with each passing day that Zach and the others didn't do something about it.

But it was one of the hazards of living in such a great, flourishing, peaceful city like Basilia. It came with the occasional accident.

The principal and Kami returned to their duties.

Zach and Yanael resumed their journey back to the Academy.

And deep below ground, in the Underworld, Julius was lying on the ground after catching a door to the back of his head.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Julius heard a voice and saw feet just before the world darkened around him.