Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

The man lowered his head.

"...fuck. Fine."

Zach smiled and let go of him and let him stand up straight again. The man didn't look at Zach. He turned around and gestured for the other people, who were also wearing travel-worn and wear-resistant clothes and cloths over their faces to stand aside and let Zach and the others enter the city.

The man's face was dark and sour as he looked on when his men opened the gates and pushed the people wanting to get out deeper into the city. Zach wanted to complain, but before he could say anything, the gates closed behind them.

They were trapped in the city with a dozen sick citizens around them. Fortunately, the people were just sick and desperate to get out, not crazy. They looked at Zach's group with pity, and some excused themselves.

"What now?" Anerias asked Zach.

Zach and the others glanced around the city. Despite being the same city as one they had visited only a few days ago, it was very different. The underworld energy in the air made everything look grey. There were barely any people around, and those on the streets were lying down in pools of their own misery.

It was horrible.

"Well, I guess we have to take a look around first before we do anything. Right now, my potions will do more harm than good if we share them with the people. We should first try and make sure there isn't any more underworld energy leaking into the city. Look for all the manholes. There shouldn't be any danger in the city so split up. If something happens, just shout as loud as you can."

The others looked at the people leaning against house walls or lying on the streets with pale faces, trails of dark blood from their orifices, and dirty clothes that looked like they were several sizes too big on them. Then, they looked at Zach.

They didn't say anything. They just carried out his orders. But there might be a need to discuss things later.

The four students and their familiars split up and went around the city, studying the flow and density of the underworld energy. They checked if more was coming from the sewers. They helped the occasional citizen brave enough to ask for it, even if there wasn't much they could do.

After a while, they regrouped at the center plaza.

They assembled their findings and confirmed that there wasn't any more underworld energy on the way. But it wasn't moving away as swiftly as in the forest.

They took their investigation to the sewers, where the underworld energy was even denser.

They went around in a group. Fortunately, there was a slight flow in the underworld energy that they could follow to the source.

And when they arrived, they finally found out why they hadn't found the way down to the Underworld last time they looked for it. It wasn't anywhere beneath the city or close to the center of the sewers.

It was on the very outskirts of the sewer system, as far out as one could get by following the tunnels. There was a sloping tunnel leading into the ground. It was filled with impenetrable darkness, so it was impossible to tell more than that. But it was obvious that it was the path the underworlders had used to transport their kidnapping victims and prospective companions.

"That's irritating. So, are you going to drop another one of those potions?" Violina asked Zach. They could tell that the underworld energy was trying to flow down the tunnel and work its way back to the Underworld.

But whether it was because there was too much underworld energy or the tunnel was too narrow, it wasn't flowing smoothly. However, a potion like the one Zach had dropped into the Underworld a couple of days ago would erase any clogs in the tunnel.

"No." Zach shook his head. His answer confused the others.

"If I do that, it will only worsen the situation," Zach half-heartedly explained.

But the others realized. The potion would push the underworld energy in the sewers into the city if he dropped it in the tunnel. Even if he dropped it in the city, the potion's effects were too powerful, and it was impossible to tell if the people suffering from underworld poisoning could endure the resulting movements of the underworld energy.

To keep everyone as healthy as possible, they would have to do a slower detoxification process than before. For that, they would need something gentler than the anti-underworld potion.

"Let's go back for now. I need to work out an alternative to the potion. Meanwhile, you guys can start getting our classmates to provide help to the citizens. If those Underworld Exterminators get in your way, send them to me or get rid of them somehow. I leave the details to you guys." Zach gave his next orders as they left the sewers and headed for the city gate.

He knocked on the large wooden doors that were wide enough to let two carriages pass through at the same time with ease. If it had been before he became a summoner, his knocks wouldn't have made it to the other side. But now, the entire gate shook slightly when he used enough force.

On the other side, the man who had tried to resist Zach had gotten his arms and fists bandaged and was smirking as he looked at the gate.

"Let us out!" Zach shouted to make sure they heard him.

"What if you are infected? We can't take that risk." The man gloated. "But don't worry. We'll make sure to inform the Academy about where you are."

The man chuckled a little and was about to turn around and ignore the brats when wooden splinters flew past his face and the gates smashed open into the city walls.

Anerias wasn't known for his patience, and his Hound had learned from its master. As soon as it got the order, it tackled the gates, busting them open.

The man froze on the spot, a thin line of red appearing on his cheek from one of the splinters.

He didn't say anything as the students left.