The World's Ego

The Final Decision

Third Person POV

For two days, Calgurio waited for a report but he grew frustrated as no reports returned from the one hundred that were sent into the labyrinth. His heart was filled with anxiety. Enticed by his greed, he had decided to attack the labyrinth. Though he had no regrets, to ensure the safety of the army's rear, he could not ignore the Demon Lord's territory. At first, he was pleased to see the treasures that were brought out from the labyrinth, but now, he was angry at his own inadequacy, and was beginning to fear that he would be defeated by Rimuru with no way to recover from the situation.

"Damn it! Is there really no report yet?!" He yelled for the first time in the day

No one answered him, but at that moment, there were murmurs outside the tent.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

In response, a low-ranking soldier ran in, "Sir! A member of the 'Magic Tank Division' has just joined us!"

Calgurio had a bad feeling about this. Their messenger had not returned, so the war situation remained unknown. His fears slowly came true.

"I'm back..."

A beautiful female officer entered the field tent where Calgurio was staying. Misha of 'Women', one of the heads of the secret society 'Cerberus'. Under Yuuki's orders, she had been engaged in the Calgurio interception operation but her position as a general staff officer was real. For safety reasons, Calgurio had assigned Misha to the 'Magic Tank Division' instead of the main unit. Her objective was to monitor his movements under Yuuki's order, so she was dissatisfied with the arrangement, but she was not in a position to interfere, so she gave Yuuki status reports while pretending to be grateful for Calgurio's goodwill.

"Misha! You are safe!"

"Yes, Calgurio-sama."

Calgurio was relieved to see her, but he still had to ask, "So, what about the others? How soon can we join with the main group?"

"Please wait, sir. There is nothing we can do in a hurry."

"What?"

"The 'Magic Tank Division', the pride of the Empire, and a hundred of its tiger airships, have all been reduced to ashes." Misha reported the grave news

Calgurio laughed in disbelief, "You... What the hell are you talking about? ... Are you sure they're all gone?"

"Yes."

"So, you're saying that the only survivors of the Armored Corps are the ones here?" Calgurio asked again

"That is correct, sir."

Hearing this, Calgurio hung his head. Even the other staff members in the tent had a pallid look on their faces.

"What should we do?" Calgurio muttered

"... We should leave." Misha suggested

"What?"

"I have glimpsed that you have not been able to capture the labyrinth. The labyrinth is to be explored, it is not to be invaded by an army." Misha continued

"Is that what Yuuki said?"

Misha nodded, "Yes. He said that only the best should conquer the labyrinth."

"Nonsense! We were sending our best!" Calgurio shouted

"But the labyrinth is still alive and well, even though it has swallowed up the best of our army. Indeed, it is possible that the battle is still going on inside, but we can't find out what's going on and it's hard to send anymore reinforcements, isn't it?" Misha asked relentlessly