Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Nessa glanced around the room, her gaze settling on Zach for a moment before she looked at all the tall maids with frightening expressions. The silence was heavy after Mandra's words ended.

"Is there nothing we can do?" She asked. All of Zach's familiars were gathered in one room, and all of them were amazing beings that she and her familiars couldn't compare to. Yet, there was nothing none of them could do when Zach was in trouble?

It wasn't right.

Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra looked at Nessa before glancing at each other.

"Alzara, what happened to the core that Zach Extracted?" Mandra asked after a minute of silence. She was not giving up just like that.

"It's here." Alzara took out the clay-like lump. "I couldn't find anything else to match with it. And it had no effect on its own. This piece is too good for the rest of my ingredients. Oddly enough, I don't have a fully stocked workroom in the Underworld," she finished sarcastically.

Mandra inspected the lump closely before turning to the four-eyed, four-armed, six-fingered underworlder with dark grey skin.

"With the right materials, you might be able to do something?" She asked.

"Yes." Alzara nodded. "The other option would be to have Zach eat it as is and let his energy do the rest, but…"

"That won't work for obvious reasons." Soara sighed. She crossed her arms and glared at the underworlder.

He wasn't quite wearing a lab coat. But it was similar to an outfit that had once been a lab coat and then remodeled to also be used for stealth and more active activities.

"You have one, right?" Soara asked, drawing closer to the underworlder, her eyes shining with a dark light and the phantom of a robed figure reflecting in the underworlder's eyes.

"O-one what?" He couldn't help but ask. He wanted to answer since he could tell that he was about to lose his life if he didn't. But he didn't know what Soara wanted. It was a despairing situation.

"A workshop, of course," she answered with a smile.

The underworlder was clearly involved with the artificial life project, considering how he came to retrieve it. Just stealth wouldn't have been enough to know where to look or how to extract the heart without damaging it. From top to toe, he also looked like the scholarly type.

The familiars could be wrong. Maybe the underworlder was just a wimpy-looking assassin or stealthy scout with no knowledge of the artificial life project. It wasn't likely, though.

Slowly, the underworlder nodded.

He knew where to find what Alzara needed. He could even guide them there without them being discovered by any of the other underworlders. For that, he needed to be alive. As long as he served a purpose, he would live.

It was similar to before he joined the Underworld. Even after joining the Underworld, proof of usefulness was necessary if he didn't want a life worse than before changing sides. He had to fight to get what little he could.

Now, he just hoped the terrifying maids would let him go after he fulfilled his purpose. He could only hope as he waited next to the black-haired one while the others packed up the stone human and the rest.

No, they didn't pack up everything.

Nessa couldn't get the Millipede away from the Basilisk's corpse no matter what she tried. The maids could force it away, but for what? It wasn't like they needed it. In that case, it would be best to minimize the party going to the Underworld workshop for the sake of sneakiness and efficiency.

Alzara needed to go, someone to carry and protect Zach needed to go, and someone to fight offensively or keep the underworlder in check needed to go. That was three individuals.

Alzara and Yanael were as good as decided. It only remained to choose who should go between Soara and Mandra. The two were pretty interchangeable for the current tasks of accompanying the advance expedition into the Underworld or staying and keeping the other students—Zach's friends—safe.

It would have been best if they didn't need to split up, but for Zach's sake, this would be their best plan. Split up and regroup at the Basilisk or deeper down the Underworld, depending on how much trouble they ended up in.

The maids' priority was Zach's safety regardless of the situation. The other students knew that trying to kill the Great Ugor without Zach would be more impossible than it would be with him, so they didn't object to the plan.

However, they didn't like how they needed to be babysat by one of Zach's familiars. It showed how weak they were in comparison to Zach. But they understood.

They had been powerless when Soara unleashed her power.

That was part of the reason why Soara was chosen to stay behind. She was good at getting rid of many weaklings at once. She would have an easy time securing the underground space that had become the Basilisk's tomb. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire

It wasn't like Mandra would struggle with it since she was also powerful, but when they discussed who should stay and who should go, it had become apparent that Soara was the only one who had managed to squeeze out more of her strength in the current situation.

She would have an easier time overwhelming the underworlders when they swarmed the tomb again.

And Mandra was more versatile. She could deal with things that weren't alive like locked doors, traps, or fly the group up and down if necessary.

There was also the fact that Alzara and Soara were still tense. Things had gotten a little heated and needed to cool down before they could work together like a well-oiled machine. It was far from optimal, especially given the gravity of their current situation.

But there was no use crying over spilled milk. All they could do was the best with the cards on hand.

Yanael, Alzara, Mandra, and the sneaky scientist underworld took off into one of the tunnels with Zach's statue.

Nessa, Dukiel, Anerias, Violina, and Soara stayed by the Basilisk's corpse, arranging defenses and salvaging some food from the Basilisk. The situation had calmed down enough for them to eat and rest up to prepare while the underworlders figured out what to do with the intruders.