"What are you planning?" Holly asked for the third time in the past few hours. But just like every other time she’d asked, the lady beside her simply gave her a mysterious smile and continued walking.

Holly knew the signs that usually followed people that were about to challenge the lake and fight their way out.

The confident strut, the tinge of excitement in their eyes, and the way they never seemed to stay in one place. As if they wanted to simply barge out and fight.

And Akira had it all. But she simply wasn’t following the route that everyone else had.

If there was one thing most people usually did, it was to find the help of others. That was one thing she’d seen first hand.

Since Akira wanted to attempt breaking out, wasn’t she supposed to find supporters, rally others on the fence with her audacious plan, whatever it was, and then storm the lake?

Bull would try stopping them. With words, of course. But he’d ultimately allow them to go.

And when they’re wiped out, he’d comfort the survivors, telling them of his warning, and they’d have a few more peaceful months in the Underneath.

But now, Akira wasn’t following the script. It was clear the lady had a plan, but she was focused on doing it all on her own.

And no matter how many times Holly asked, she didn’t reveal what the plan was. All the lady had done was ask to be shown where the corpses are, and they’d spent time moving through the streets, and Akira picking them up and storing them in her spatial ring.

Soon, they arrived at their final destination.

"In there." Holly pointed.

Akira gave her a nod.

This building was falling apart, with its windows overwhelmed by thick vines.

She walked to the door, turning the knob and pushing, but after a few inches, the door was stuck.

Akira applied more force, but the door simply crumbled, the wet and moldy wood falling to the floor. Where the opening should have been was a thick web of vines.

"Maybe we should leave this one alone." Holly called out.

"No chance," Akira grinned. She needed every single corpse she could get her hands on. If she was going to do this, then she had to go big.

She retrieved [Temptation], hacking at the vines. The sword cut through them like they weren’t even there, opening up the space to Akira.

She walked inside cautiously, seeing that even though the vines grew thickly along the walls, ceiling and floor, they were sparse in the middle of the room.

The room was almost as dark as the cavern she’d arrived at, but thankfully, there was a flickering street lamp just outside, providing illumination.

Akira hummed to herself as she worked, cutting the vines and revealing three Automaton corpses in various states. She touched them all, storing them away.

There had been no human corpses available, and a part of her had been relieved. This meant there weren’t really any fatal fights around here. Or if there actually were, the people were good at hiding it.

With that done, she stepped out to join Holly. "Let’s go back."

And so they made their way back to the main building, both saying very little. As they drew near, Akira finally spoke.

"How do we hire people around here?"

Holly glanced at her with her brows raised. Was Akira finally going to recruit people to her cause?

"What do you mean?" She asked just to be sure.

"I mean if I need someone to do a job for me, can I pay them in cash or do I need to trade with an [Item] or something?" Akira asked.

"Oh." Holly blinked. "That’s what you meant."

Akira frowned in confusion. "What else would I mean?"

"Don’t worry about it." Holly shook her head, a smile appearing on her face. "And to answer your question, it depends on who you want to hire. Some people collect coins as payment, some collect [Items]. And some collect... favors."

Holly didn’t need to explain what kind of favors she meant.

"I see." Akira nodded. "I want to hire anybody that can move upside down on the ceiling for a task. I’m willing to pay cash. Can you find someone like that for me?"

"Of course," Holly nodded. "Just give me a few hours."

"Thank you." Akira nodded.

They soon arrived at the building, and Holly led her through to the left side of the room, stopping in front of a smaller tent.

"This is the tent we’ve prepared for you, Akira." Holly glanced at her. "If you don’t like it, you can dismantle it and erect your own."

"There’s no need for that," Akira said with a grin. "I won’t be staying here long anyways."

Then she gave Akira a nod before lifting the flap of the tent and stepping through.

Holly stood there for a few seconds, staring at the flap before turning away. She made her way to the center of the hall, wondering just where Akira’s confidence was coming from.

As she arrived before the center tent, Bull’s gruff voice reached her ears. "Enter."

Holly lifted the flap, walking in. As always, Bull was sitting behind his desk.

"The newcomer..." Holly started, "I think she wants to break out of here alone."

Bull looked up from what he was writing. "Explain."

And so Holly told him of how she’d explained everything at the lake to Akira, and how the woman had gone about collecting corpses, before requesting the services of someone who could move on the ceiling.

When she was done, Bull sat there with a wide smile on his face.

"Holly?" The man looked up, his eyes shining. "I think her plan could actually work."

Holly’s eyes widened. "What?"

Had their leader gone mad? How could Akira, an E-rank [Necromancer] possibly get them out of here when even him, a B-rank, hadn’t found a way through?

"I want you to keep a tight lid on this." He commanded. "No one must know of Akira’s plan, okay?"

Holly stared in disbelief. "But what about—"

"Call Erik for that. Tell him it’s a personal request from me. He’ll help Akira with whatever she needs."

Holly looked like she wanted to speak, before stopping herself. There had to be something Bull had seen that she hadn’t.

"Alright." She nodded, then she left.

Bull chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "[Corpse Explosion], huh? What a creative solution."