MTLNOVEL Chapter 356: Plan
The others closed their eyes for a moment and sighed. They had temporarily forgotten about Zach's condition. Since Zach had taken the initiative to run from the Basilisk, they had just followed his lead without thinking about much more than the monster trying to eat them.
Still, they slowly turned toward Dukiel, the most reliable in terms of direction and orientation.
Dukiel sighed as he felt the others' gazes. He couldn't blame them. After all…
"I think we might currently be headed toward the Hole." He had an idea of their approximate direction.
"Perfect." Zach smiled widely. The others frowned.
"...Why?" Nessa dared to ask the question that was on everyone's minds.
"This bad boy is related to the Underworld, right? And it's likely they woke it up. In that case, wouldn't it lead us to the Underworld? Either because they control it or to take revenge, though I'm inclined to believe it's the former. But just to confirm…Soara?" Zach looked at his deity of Death.
She tore her gaze away from the Basilisk's flesh and faced Zach.
"This creature is in a state that is neither living nor dead. I am not sure about the details, but if I had to guess, it was brought back to life, most likely with the artificial life project the Underworld has been working on. The same project that you found in the swamp Locale, Master, and that created Minatio."
Zach nodded and turned to the others.
"There you have it. That also explains why we could outrun it. It is weak after being dead for who knows how long. The Underworld will want to secure and strengthen it before it dies on its own again or something else happens to it. Most likely.
"And the only way for it to enter the Underworld, where it will be safe, is through the Hole," Zach finished his explanation. The Basilisk was taking them to the Underworld through the Hole.
The others didn't share the satisfaction he had from deducing the Underworld's plans and the fact that the Basilisk belonged to them. They were much more concerned with what it meant that the Basilisk would be entering the Underworld through the Hole.
"So, in your cute little head, it's 'perfect' that this thing is bringing us straight to the depths of the Underworld?" Violina questioned. This wasn't a smiling matter.
It was a disaster. They weren't ready to go head-to-head with the forces of the Underworld that lay in wait for them at the bottom of the Underworld. They didn't know how deep the Hole went, but considering the density of the underworld energy that had come up from it previously compared to what they had seen in and under Basilia, the Hole led to the fourth layer or deeper.
That meant they were two layers from the Great Ugor at the sixth layer. It was still a bit away, but to beings on the Great Ugor's level, Jigak's level, and Monolith's level, that kind of distance had stopped mattering.
There was also the fact that they would be sandwiched between the Named powerhouses of the deeper layers and the numerous insects of the higher layers.
It wasn't 'perfect.' It wasn't even just a disaster. It was the end.
The same realization that hit Violina naturally hit her sharp comrades. They couldn't even begin to express their thoughts and feelings on the matter. There was only one person who did not look as stressed.
"Okay, guys, I know what you're feeling, but this might be an opportunity. I mean, think about it, when else are we going to get a ride straight to the target of our final exam? It might be a little ahead of time, but so what? I do not mind graduating early. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible. Can any of you earnestly say you don't feel the same?" Zach looked into the eyes of his friends and classmates who had gone through the same three years at the Academy as him.
They couldn't refute him. They wanted out. They wanted to be free of the Academy and the unreasonable burdens it and the principal asked them to carry.
"Besides, wouldn't it be a crazy feeling to stick it up the principal's…nose that we graduated two days after the start of our fourth year? We—I—have broken records all throughout the past three years. Why not end on a strong note as well?"
The others couldn't help but feel their hearts beat a little harder and faster as Zach continued to speak. Since when did he know how to deliver speeches like that? But their hearts also beat because they realized that while they had been worrying about their safety and feared their impending deaths, Zach had looked past that.
They didn't know when, but Zach had seen past the Basilisk and quickly taken it as a route straight to the Great Ugor. That wasn't the thinking of an ordinary person.
"That's great and all, but you're forgetting something, Zach," Anerias said.
"Suppose we survive the fall," he continued, "And we're lucky enough not to be surrounded by powerful Named underworlders, and find a path down to the fifth and sixth layers while avoiding those Named underworlders that we couldn't so much as scratch half a year ago…"
Anerias paused and took a breath as he looked into Zach's eyes, his hands balled into tight fists. How could he not be angry when Zach had asked them to trust him and he was right now bringing them to certain death?
"...How are we going to kill the Great Ugor?" Anerias asked, pointing out one of the many critical flaws in Zach's idealistic plan.
The Great Ugor, as the leader of this Underworld empire, would be strong, possibly far stronger than Jigak and Monolith. How were they, who couldn't even touch Monolith or Jigak, supposed to kill him?
However, Zach just smiled mischievously.
"...I have a plan," was all he said.