Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 51: Wish Upon a Star

Grave Situation - Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy

"Shit Shit Shit SHIT SHIT SHIIIIT!"

These profound screams came specifically from Razor as the entire temple around them started to crumble! With so much at stake and so little time, there was none to lose! On top of the temple, bridge, and platform, all beginning to completely collapse, the chamber suddenly started to fill with water, like the island itself had become a sinking submarine!

Most of the water fell into the abyss, and the Phantom Thieves were wondering whether it might fill up at all, but there was no way they were going to stick around long enough to find out.

The water was also bursting through the walls of the labyrinth once the team made their way through the open wall. If there was one saving grace, the walls of the maze had collapsed, which meant they no longer needed to make their way back through it or potentially get lost along the way.

But this slight glimmer of hope didn't retract from the very desperate situation of the team still being deep underground as the walls surrounding them started to collapse and the ground shook beneath their feet. When the reality set in that the labyrinth was crumbling around them and might bury them alive, panic broke out.

"We're gonna die down here! We're so gonna die down here!" Highwayman shrieked.

"Oh SHUSH!" Leprechaun spat, not waiting for them as he leaped over the crumbled stone, "We did NOT go through all this trouble just to be buried in a watery grave right at the end!"

"I can barely feel my legs anymore! My...hah...lungs feel like they're about to burst!" Mozart huffed.

Leprechaun unfortunately had no choice but to give her a reassuring pat on the back since they had absolutely no time to stop running. Had it not been for the rocky road, simply hopping into Usami's bus form would have made this so much easier, but until they all got back to the surface, they were on their own.

Usami in the rear was holding very tightly to Chiaki's hand, who, to no one's surprise, had never achieved acrobatic feats of speed on this level ever before in her life. Hajime seemed a tad more used to it, and whether that was because he still retained some experience from his time as Izuru or the fact that he seemed pretty athletic in general, no one was sure.

With quick thinking, the leading Leprechaun urged the others to follow him as they dashed across the fallen labyrinth, their hearts thumping with haste in their sprint to finish in time. They didn't falter despite the challenging, rocky, and uneven terrain they had to vault over.

The Lucky Student and his motley crew pushed themselves to the breaking point as the walls kept collapsing and debris rained down upon them, their legs hurting with every step and their lungs burning with exhaustion. They continued despite the heavy dust and the sound of stones smashing into the earth because they were desperate to get away.

When all hope appeared to be gone and their strength was almost gone, Makoto noticed a faint outline of light—a path out!

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" he cried, "COME OOOON!"

He gave them one last push forward, and finally, his companions' hearts swelled with relief as they emerged from the collapsing labyrinth and into the safety of the island beyond.

Except it wasn't.

The damage was even worse outside of the labyrinth than it was on the inside. The entire island was splitting apart like the tectonic plates beneath it were being divided apart! Several wide fissures opened up in the ground, creating more holes into the endless abyss that the Phantom Thieves had to use their acrobatic skills to leap over.