Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem-Chapter 503 : Error

The feeling Zach got when leaving Haven was similar to the vertigo he felt when entering the Labyrinths or traversing Jira's floors. It differed in the warmth and stability he felt. He didn't know if it was because of his connection to it or not, but leaving Haven felt like leaving home.

Zach squinted at the bright light all around him. He was standing in an area of nothing but white.

"Uhh…?" This was not the desert he left.

Zach felt the space shake for half a second before a red holographic screen appeared in front of him. It was similar to the ones from the summoning interface and the other Labyrinths.

[Error] was the first thing that flashed, but that soon disappeared almost before Zach caught it.

And then, as if trying to hide that, it corrected itself.

[Erronous method of entry detected. Administrator's permission received. Returning entrant to last known location.]

The white space disappeared around Zach. The next thing he knew, he was back in the desert in the same place as before he entered Haven. Since he had adjusted to the brightness of the white space, he didn't need to squint for the bright sunlight of the desert.

Instantly, he saw Alzara's white hair and dark maid dress sticking out like a sore thumb in the yellow sand.

Sensing the presence of another person for the first time in a while, Alzara slowly looked up. As she looked at the man with rock-solid muscles, minimum body fat, red hair, tattered clothes, and skin textured from fading burn scars, her eyes widened.

Disbelief, shock, surprise, joy, sorrow.

"Z—...Master!" She cried out, standing up in a burst of sand that had crept up on her while she sat motionless. She was about to throw herself over him and wrap him up in a hug, but she wasn't sure if he would appreciate that. If it was a mirage, she also didn't want to dispel it so soon.

But she was a Desert Witch and immune to mirages or hallucinations in the desert.

Zach opened his arms slightly.

That was all Alzara needed to cling to Zach with her tall figure.

For most people, hugging or being hugged by someone half a height taller or shorter than them would be awkward. Was Zach supposed to reach up or did Alzara bow down? If she bowed down, wouldn't she have to bend ninety degrees at the hips or something to get a good angle?

Nope.

Alzara got down on her knees to get a good position for hugging Zach tightly. Zach put his arms over and around Alzara's shoulders and returned the favor.

He might not have Ra by his side to help him carry the stone. But he did have his familiars to support and cheer him on while he carried the stone.

They hadn't been with him when he about collapsed from grief. They hadn't helped him stand up. Even if they wanted to pick up that stone and carry it for them, they couldn't. They could only support him.

Zach glanced around. There were no signs of anyone else in the desert.

He looked down at the top of Alzara's head pressed against his shoulder. It wasn't often he saw her from this angle.

He took a breath, breathing in real air and not the stale one that felt like it was made of world essence energy in Haven.

"Any signs of the others?" He asked.

Yanael, Soara, Mandra, and Visla Maura were still on the loose.

Zach was conflicted.

He was sure that going their own ways should they separate had been the right call. If they had wasted time looking for each other on the next floor, they would have been delayed, even more so if it repeated on the following floor. They would never catch up to the Child or even the Sesha. And catching up to the Evandiels was even more of a pipe dream.

But at the same time…

If he had been with the others—if they had been with the others…

Nora wouldn't have died, not like that.

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A million little things had led to Nora's death. Zach wasn't responsible for all of them, but he was for some of them.

He stopped thinking about it.

It was a hole he was not ready to enter yet. He was not going to dig into all the events and consequence chains that led to Nora's death. He knew without doing it that the only thing at the bottom of the hole was his name.

He didn't need to confirm that. Not yet. He had just started walking again. He couldn't stop, not until all the Children were dead.

Alzara shook her head. She had several questions at the top of her mind that she couldn't ask.

Did Zach ask that the moment he returned because she wasn't enough? Did he not trust her anymore? Did he even trust her in the first place? She had failed Yanael during the fight with Ugor, and now she had failed Nora.

In that case, Zach was right to ask for the others. She did not deserve his trust.

If she had been stronger, Nora wouldn't have died, after all.

Alzara blamed herself for Nora's death.

Zach was too caught up in his thoughts and blind to Alzara's mood.

"Let's go," he said.

Losing Nora had put a layer of ice on his heart. That presented itself in a tone colder than his usual warm one.

How could Alzara not misunderstand that as Zach silently blaming her? Why else would he be so cold toward her when he usually showed nothing but warmth?

With a nod and a quiet 'Yes, Master' Alzara followed Zach through the desert.

Zach didn't know how long he had spent in Haven, and Alzara hadn't bothered to keep track of time.

Without a doubt, the others would have long passed right by the nineteenth floor and proceeded downward. The only question was how far.