diff --git a/wizard-work/spark/verify_report.py b/wizard-work/spark/verify_report.py
index c670fb2..0b555f1 100644
--- a/wizard-work/spark/verify_report.py
+++ b/wizard-work/spark/verify_report.py
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 import json
+
+
+def _check(cond, msg="check failed"):
+    """Explicit failure path -- survives `python3 -O`, where `assert` is compiled away."""
+    if not cond:
+        raise SystemExit(f"FAIL: {msg}")
+
 report = json.load(open('/root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/validation_report.json'))
-assert report['summary']['valid_count'] == 1, "Expected 1 valid file"
-assert report['summary']['invalid_count'] == 1, "Expected 1 invalid file"
-assert report['test_passed'] == True, "Test should be marked as passed"
+_check(report['summary']['valid_count'] == 1, "Expected 1 valid file")
+_check(report['summary']['invalid_count'] == 1, "Expected 1 invalid file")
+_check(report['test_passed'] == True, "Test should be marked as passed")
 print("All assertions passed")
 exit(0)
\ No newline at end of file