Failing to keep up with the flurry of slashes and strikes, Bernie left himself open—and the fatal blow was aimed right for that moment.
“That—?!”
I wasn’t sure if he was gonna say “That’s crazy” or whatnot, but either way, that strike hewed straight through Bernie’s torso and chopped him in half. Continuing with the same motion, he arced his sword’s trajectory upward like a curving river, separating his head from the rest of his body—hence why Bernie couldn’t finish that last voiced reaction before his death.
Man. Talk about overwhelming—Benimaru totally knocked that out of the park.
“Y’know, if you went with that momentum from the start, you could’ve won easy, couldn’t you?”
“No, if I tried to do that, I would have broken my weapon. That armor was no joke, I thought, so I tried to avoid putting too much strain on my sword. It was a very awkward way to fight for me.”
That was “awkward”? Because he sure looked pretty majestic out there. I will agree that “dynamic” suits him better than “static,” though.
Now I was absolutely sure Benimaru outclassed Hakuro by now. He was a better physical specimen to start with, but now his skill level was about the same as Harkuro’s or higher. Once he gets serious about fighting, he’s just incredible. I mean, not one minute after going on the counterattack, Bernie was dead.
Chloe, meanwhile…
(Ohhh, I knew we wouldn’t have enough energy!!)
Chronoa sounded pained as she tried to trigger the skill. But right after that:
Report. There is no problem.
That calm voice was accompanied by the sound of an agonizing “Arrrrgghh!!”—or at least it felt that way in my mind. What was up with that? I had the sneaking suspicion that might have been her, actually—in fact, I was sure of it.
Hearing it sure made me feel depressed. It was just so pathetic. I hadn’t done anything bad, exactly, but I was the one causing it. Maybe it is my fault, then? I’m gonna have to treat Chloe to some pudding and apologize to get back on her good side.
But anyway, that was the end of our energy problems. The next thing I knew, the world stopped—and Jiwu was reduced to a pile of dust.
So yeah, that was how we beat Bernie and Jiwu, but now Raphael was taking a more forlorn tone with me.
…Report. The subject Bernie and the subject Jiwu are confirmed to be alive. I had forgotten about the existence of the Resurrection Bracelets.
Huh? Ah, no biggie.
Pretty rare for Raphael to make a careless error like that, though. In fact, this may very well be the first time ever.
“Oops. I should’ve broken their bracelets while I had the chance,” I said.
“They weren’t wearing bracelets.”
“Yeah. I had my eye out for those, but they didn’t have any on.”
Oh. Guess Benimaru and Chloe were being a lot more careful than I was, remembering the bracelets and checking to see if they were there. Maybe I was the careless one here. I sincerely doubted that Raphael simply overlooked them, so I guess Bernie and Jiwu got one up on us.
“Ah, about that…”
Masayuki, who had been quietly watching this the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
“To tell the truth,” Jinrai said for him, “we all kinda saw you as the enemy, so we never really took those bracelets of yours seriously. Like, we weren’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but…”
He flipped up one of his pants legs—and amazingly, I saw him wearing a Resurrection Bracelet on his ankle.
“Um, yeah, that’s the bracelet…,” I said.
“I know. But like, whether we trusted it or not, it’s still a magical item, right? So we figured it’d work just as well no matter where you put it on. Bernie suggested it as kind of a little ‘rebel’ thing we could do.”
Apparently Bernie had anticipated this outcome enough that he took steps to address it. Benimaru was scratching his head in frustration, and Chloe was seeming pretty pouty, too—I was sure she looked disgusted under her mask.
Given the situation, I really didn’t think Raphael could’ve done anything about this. I mean, Jiwu’s barrier isolated us from the rest of the world, so we couldn’t talk to Ramiris. I think I could’ve telepathically communicated with Veldora, but I doubt I could’ve explained the situation to him with much accuracy. Besides, if you thought about how much work Raphael had to do there, it was just mind-boggling how much parallel processing it was up to. Granting Benimaru Absolute Severance, helping Chloe/Chronoa with Yog-Sothoth, maintaining my own Absolute Defense, analyzing Bernie’s and Jiwu’s abilities… The list goes on and on. Given all that, who among us could’ve predicted that a bunch of idiots would put Resurrection Bracelets on their ankles?
“Well, no helping that, I guess.”
“Indeed. Let’s just forget about it. I’ve already assessed their strengths, and I’m positive I would win a rematch. If someone like me challenges them, that might be a different story… But I’m sure we can find a way.”
That was Benimaru’s conclusion, so he and I both decided to drop the matter.
Anyway, Bernie and Jiwu were out of the picture. Not being able to off them for good was a blunder, but Benimaru, Chloe, and I promised each other we’d forget about it, so it didn’t really count, right? Masayuki and Jinrai looked pretty shocked about their friends’ betrayal, but I was sure they’d do their best to recover. I thought about this as I watched them trudge back to their jobs assuaging the vampires.
The war was still going on. I felt kinda bad for those two, but frankly, I didn’t have time to worry about them. So I decided to let Chloe take care of them, and then Benimaru and I went back to the Control Center. Now the labyrinth should be free of all hostile elements.
But just as I thought that the final ground battle was all that was left to handle, we discovered that a few people were in the room already.
“Oh! Rimuru! You sure gave me a scare, y’know! We fell out of contact!”
“Indeed you did. I was far from worried, of course, but I did want to complain to you about it a little. Ramiris insisted we come down here, too, so we hurried—I mean, we walked on over to check up on you.”
Ramiris looked concerned. Veldora was being pompous as ever. He was currently whining about how I stole his energy out of nowhere, but it was so obvious that he was seriously worried about me. He’s cute that way, isn’t he?
So, Raphael, can you at least ask for a bit of permission before borrowing Veldora’s power?
…? That is behind us now, so it is not a problem.
Behind us? You haven’t been using his energy on the sly for a while now, have you? If so, Veldora sure must be used to it—but either way, I’ve done him wrong. I’ll have to get him some snacks later, and maybe a few new manga volumes, too.
“Sorry I worried you guys. Still, Veldora, I can contact you from pretty much anywhere, so if I get in trouble, I’ll be counting on you.”
“You can, Master?”
“Oh! …Ah-hem! That’s why I told you not to worry!”
Ramiris was awestruck. Veldora, probably hiding his embarrassment, decided to act all high and mighty as he changed the subject.
“But enough about that. If you’re fine now, can you go listen to those guys for a bit?”
Following Veldora’s gaze, I found Treyni, Soei, and a suspicious-looking man tied up with rope. I noticed that the first two were there before now, but what was up with that other dude? Treyni was currently chugging some fruit juice, looking utterly exhausted but otherwise unhurt, so I let her be. Instead, I glanced toward Soei, hoping he’d clue me in.
“Well, once I reached the site Moss told me about, I found this man fighting Treyni. His name is Laplace, and he’s a nemesis of ours.”
So it was Laplace under that rope? He looked pretty beat up, but not dead, at least.
“Why is he still alive?” Benimaru asked coldly. He wasn’t even trying to hide his murderous rage, which was rare for him.
“I tried to kill him, but he kept insisting he had something important to talk to you about, Sir Rimuru.”
“That has to be a trap,” Benimaru replied, taking out his sword once more. The moment he did, the limp Laplace leaped up like a caterpillar. Pretty nimble move, as silly as it looked. I couldn’t help but let out a couple laughs.
“W-wait a minute, man! Stop laughing and keep your people away from me!”
“You’d better watch your tone…”
Now Soei was raging, too. But that was still nothing compared to Benimaru, who was moments away from cutting the guy in half. I stepped in to calm him down for the time being.
“Calm down, all right? We’re in the middle of a truce with Yuuki, remember? If you brought him all the way here, we could at least hear him out.”
Soei nodded at this. Being able to keep his moral compass straight despite his rage showed just how patient he could be. Benimaru, realizing he was wrong, put his sword away.
“So what’s your story?”
“Damn, you guys are super scary. That gal over there refuses to listen to me, and she’s gotten way stronger since last time, too. The other dude’s a little more sensible, but his eyes are just so cold, y’know? And that one—”
“Huh?”
Don’t start with that, Benimaru. You’re revealing too much of your old self there. Clearing my throat, I tried to steer us away from this gloomy atmosphere.
“So anyway, Yuuki asked me to give you a message!”
Laplace, reading the tea leaves correctly, signaled his appreciation to me as he began explaining why he was there. He could’ve just done that to begin with, I thought, but I lent him an ear anyway.
“…And that’s the long ’n’ short of it. So basically, you guys better keep an eye out for Bernie and Jiwu, got it?”
“…”
“…”
Benimaru and I looked at each other in silence.
You could’ve told me a little bit earlier, dude.
According to Laplace, Yuuki has a guy named Damrada working for him. He’s one of the head bosses of Cerberus, a secretive crime ring. After a tip from Gadora and a little investigation, it came out that Damrada was suspected of attempting to assassinate Gadora, although Yuuki hadn’t given him any such order. I say “suspected,” but it was almost certain, actually.
Having made that judgment, Yuuki reviewed Damrada’s past actions, and in the process, he discovered a few more suspicious things. This led him to believe that Masayuki’s party members, people arranged for him by Damrada, might have had some kind of ulterior motive. In a rush, he assigned Laplace—who was just back from another mission—to relay the message to me.
As Laplace’s story unfolded, Treyni began to look visibly paler over time. Now I knew full well why Laplace hadn’t told me the news earlier.
“Well, if that’s what the story is, you gotta give it to me sooner, all right?”
“I tried! I told her over and over again that it’s really important! But she was all ‘Ooh, I’d never trust you’ and all that! Never even gave me the time o’ day!”
“It’s—it’s because you’re so fishy, all right? And besides, I still bitterly recall the last time you escaped me, so I was determined not to make the same mistake again.”
“Well, you kinda used a little too much force, lady! I kept shouting at you about how this was work-related stuff, and I’m super serious about it, but it was all ‘Wah, wah, shut up, I don’t care what you say’! You didn’t listen to one word from me, did you?”
Seeing this ugly argument unfold before me answered all my questions.
“So you’ve been fighting this entire time?”
“Yeah! Like, eesh, cut me a break…”
Laplace looked seriously disgruntled. By this point, “this entire time” would’ve been a good ten days or so. I’d be a little sullen about it, too, I think.
“I— I’m so deeply sorry!!”
Realizing how badly she’d jumped to conclusions, Treyni apologized to me, her face bright red. But would any of us here blame her for it? If you asked any of us to trust Laplace a little bit more, we’d think you were out of your minds. I mean, he’s still acting all fishy. I don’t think you should judge a book by its cover, but he’s constantly up to one suspicious caper or another. You’d have serious problems if you ever trusted a villain like him.
So maybe she made an honest mistake, but I’d never blame this one on Treyni. Benimaru, inches away from lopping his head off a moment ago, looked incredibly uncomfortable, as did Soei. I’m rather surprised he put up with Laplace long enough to bring him here, actually.
“Well, what’s done is done. Let’s just stop worrying about it and let bygones be bygones, all right?”
It was in the past now, and I didn’t want to keep it on my mind. So let’s just talk our way out of this. I had a battlefield to focus on, and there was no telling what would happen up there until the end. With this in mind, we turned our attention to the big screen.
A visibly annoyed Caligulio was waiting for a report.
It had been two whole days since he dispatched a hundred of his best men and women into the labyrinth, and he was no longer hiding his frustration at the fact that he hadn’t heard from them. Well, not frustration, actually. He might’ve looked miffed on the outside, but on the inside, his heart was filled with anxiety.
He had decided to attack the labyrinth after being dazzled by visions of big money and tons of magic crystals. He still didn’t regret that. If they wanted to keep their backs protected, they couldn’t have simply ignored the demon lord’s domain. So Caligulio rejoiced as he saw all the treasure being taken out of the labyrinth, more than even he had imagined.
Looking back, however, it all seemed like the demon lord Rimuru’s trick. Caligulio realized that now, and he cursed his own cowardly ways—but at the same time, he began to fear that the demon lord would defeat him, and he’d have no way to block this.
“God dammit! Is there any report yet?!”
His staff couldn’t count the number of times he had bellowed that so far. Nobody had an answer for him, but now a murmur could be heard from outside the camp.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?!”
Caligulio’s question was answered by a private who came rushing in.
“Reporting, sir! We have just rendezvoused with troops from the Magitank Force!”
What? Caligulio thought. No matter how nimble and rugged those magitanks were, there was no way they wouldn’t hear any sounds from them before they arrived. There were no messages about this at all, so the state of their allied forces was still an enigma. Given all that, he had a bad feeling, and it was growing by the second.
And then his fears came true.
“We’re back, sir…”
The woman who entered Caligulio’s field tent was a fetching young lady who looked out of place on a battlefield. She was actually Misha the Lover, one of the three bosses of Cerberus; she was ordered by Yuuki to carry out a scheme to ensnare Caligulio, and so she was participating in this operation. She really was chief of staff for the Empire’s Armored Division, however, serving Caligulio with decent enough competence.
But she was assigned to the Magitank Force for this op, a move Caligulio made for her own safety. It wasn’t a deployment Misha was very happy with, given that her mission here was to monitor Caligulio’s movements. Unfortunately, she was in no position to protect it, so she pretended to be grateful for the favor as she kept reporting back to Yuuki. These reports, of course, included the crushing defeat of the Magitank Force, and after that took place, she carefully left the field, making sure no monsters found her, and regrouped with the main force there.
“Misha! You’re all right?”
“Yes, Sir Caligulio.”
Misha gave him a bewitching smile. Even with her stained, dirty uniform, her beauty hadn’t faded one bit. Seeing her was a relief, but Caligulio hadn’t forgotten about his duty.
“So what happened to the rest? How long will all of them rendezvous with the main force?”
He spoke quickly, peppering her with questions.
“Please, sir, just one minute. There’s no point in panicking now.”
“Huh? What do you mean—?”
“They’ve been wiped out.”
“Huh?”
“The Empire’s proud Magitank Force, along with a hundred of its elite airships, have all been reduced to ashes.”
The bewitching smile was still on her face.
“That can’t be… What the hell are you talking about?”
Caligulio smiled in disbelief. Misha remained silent—and her silence forced him to believe her.
“They’re really all wiped out?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So the only surviving members of the Armored Force are the people here right now?”
“That would be the case, sir.”
Hearing this, Caligulio hung his head. The rest of his staff followed suit, their faces pale. Their invasion was now a complete failure. Even if they managed to conquer the labyrinth here, countless thousands of soldiers had lost their lives, and there’d be no way to escape the blame for it. Emperor Ludora would never forgive Caligulio and his staff.
“What should we do?” he whispered. The staff had no answer—but then Misha spoke up.
“We should retreat.”
“What?”
“I had a quick look around earlier. It looks like you’re not having much luck in the labyrinth, either. I suppose labyrinths are meant to be explored, not invaded by vast armies.”
“Did that Yuuki boy say that?”
“Yes, sir. He said that only our elites should be unleashed into the maze.”
“Ridiculous! I’ve sent our damn elites in…!” a furious Caligulio shouted back at the calm, polite Misha.
He was right. In fact, just two days prior, he sent in the best forces he could think of, alongside all the elites in the Restructured Armor Corps, proud to be the Empire’s strongest force. There were over half a million people down there. They couldn’t have possibly hoped for anything better. All those elites would no doubt congregate in the labyrinth, and even now, they must have been marching for the bottom. Caligulio believed that. If he didn’t, his heart would’ve been gripped with fear.
Still Misha was relentless.
“But even after swallowing up the most elite members of our force, the labyrinth is alive and well. And yes, it’s possible that there’s still a battle going on inside…but we have no way of finding out what’s going on, and it’ll be difficult to send yet more reinforcements, won’t it?”
“Enough.”
“All you can do is wait for our allies to leave the labyrinth alive, right?”
“I said enough! Listen, Misha, you have nothing to worry about. The higher-ups have been given necklaces that can resurrect them. As long as you’re wearing it, if you die in the labyrinth, you’ll be resurrected outside of it. And the fact that nobody’s come out yet proves the invasion’s going just fine!”
Caligulio knew full well that this was a rather optimistic view. But as the general in charge of the full force, he had no choice but to resort to it right now. However, Misha’s pursuit didn’t end there. Unlike the other staff, Misha had enthralled Caligulio. Even if she riled him here, she was confident she’d be allowed to do whatever she wanted.
“But you haven’t confirmed that the prototype necklaces actually work yet, have you? Sir Yuuki said that if the bracelets were generated by someone’s special skill, it’d be impossible to make a copy of it.”
That silenced Caligulio. There was no way he could tell his troops to die for the sake of this experiment. Just like Misha said, he had been sending his comrades without having a firm idea if the necklaces worked. They were just meant as an insurance policy if something went awry, and Caligulio understood that. But Misha was right, and he was wrong.
You can’t lead an army division through strength alone. Strength is needed, yes, but nobody too incompetent to read the current situation correctly could ever hold that position for long. But Caligulio never believed there was such a thing as a structure that over five hundred thousand elite troops couldn’t conquer. This was a formidable force, one that could reduce multiple large cities to ashes. Even in the worst-case scenario, they should’ve been able to destroy the labyrinth and escape, he thought.
And that wasn’t all. Many people had already died, he knew. If he decided to abandon his fellow comrades inside the labyrinth, Caligulio’s name would be forever enshrined as the incompetent general who oversaw a historic defeat. He started this campaign with nine hundred thousand troops, and now it was down to below two hundred thousand. There was no way he could do something as terrifying as retreat like this.
It was only at this point that Caligulio realized he had thoroughly underestimated this demon lord. He only saw the Storm Dragon as a threat; to him, the demon lord Rimuru and his forces were nothing but an opponent to be overrun and crushed. He hadn’t spotted the enemy he was supposed to be fighting this whole time. It was a fatal blunder, but it was too early to give up. Hope in the form of Minitz was still there for him.
“Calm down. I trust Major General Minitz more than anybody else on the force, and he’s in the labyrinth now. I’m sure he’ll bring back some intelligence. We can wait for the results from him first—”
But Caligulio was unable to finish.
“No, you should withdraw immediately, sir.”
This unsolicited advice was offered by a man who had suddenly entered the tent.
“Who are you?!” one of the staffers demanded. Caligulio looked at the intruder, wondering what the guard sentry was up to. He appeared to be fine, but the blood on his uniform was troubling. Nobody in this tent had been involved in actual battle, so it was possible he was a survivor of another unit, or a—
“My name is Krishna, Imperial Guardian number seventeen and one of the force of one hundred who entered the labyrinth two days ago.”
Everyone present was astonished, Caligulio included.
“Y-you’re an Imperial Guardian?”
“Why is the emperor’s personal guard here?”
The staff were disturbed. But Caligulio lived up to his reputation, quickly regaining his composure.
“That’s not the question! Krishna, was it? Can you begin by telling us what’s going on?”
With a single shout, he calmed the situation down a notch. Krishna thanked him with a nod and hastily briefed the tent.
“The one thing I have to say is: That labyrinth’s no joke. I’m not sure this will mean anything to you, but Bazan, ranked thirty-fifth, and Reiha, ranked ninety-fourth, are dead. Major General Minitz died before my eyes, sir, and I don’t know for sure, but I think Colonel Kanzis is dead, too. There are no survivors left in the labyrinth right now; you can be assured of that!”
Everyone listened in stunned silence. Caligulio wanted to rant and rave about how much of a lie this was, but Krishna’s eyes were dead serious. His whole body indicated he was telling the truth. Besides, he was a familiar face to Caligulio; he remembered Krishna as one of the people he sent out two days ago.
So he was resurrected? Did he have a Resurrection Bracelet, then? A real one, not an imitation? Then it’s safe to assume it’s really him.
Caligulio tried to think calmly, despite the fact that he wanted to be furious.
Gadora had submitted two Resurrection Bracelets to the government. One was analyzed by their technical bureau, which helped them create replicas, while the other was presented to the emperor. Being loaned one of those replicas was probably what allowed Krishna to come back to life. It confirmed that Resurrection Bracelets actually worked—and also that their copies didn’t work at all.
In other words, every one of their men and women in the labyrinth had been wholly annihilated. Over five hundred soldiers, dead. The sheer enormity of that fact turned Caligulio pale.
But Krishna wasn’t done yet.
“Also, the one who killed me wasn’t the demon lord at all—or even one of the Big Four who serve him. It was a magic-born whose name I’ve never even heard of before. He was part of the Ten Dungeon Marvels, as he called it, but he was a level above anything I’ve ever seen.”
Anyone who was in the Marvels had fighting ability comparable to or higher than an Arch Demon. But even among all of them, the demon who called himself Zegion was on another dimension—enough so that Krishna saw full well how little chance he had to win.
“I’ll say this one more time—we have to retreat. There’s no shame in that. Please, you have to step up and make the decision that’ll save the troops we have left!”
Krishna’s ardor made the officers tense up. His words were undoubtedly true. Everybody’s gut feeling was telling them there was no time to lose.
“…Not the demon lord? They have Arch Demon–level monsters just bumping around in there? They’re that strong? How is some upstart demon lord capable of having so much power?!”
Caligulio lost his patience and began ranting. His staff officers took that cue to begin shouting as well.
“We have to retreat this instant! This isn’t only our fault. The IIB was negligent as well!”
“Exactly. We have to help the survivors escape before the demon lord Rimuru makes another move!”
Everybody was expressing their opinions now. Usually, they wasted hours arguing with each other, but on this occasion, they had unanimous agreement. Each of them instinctively knew they were in danger.
Finally, Misha spoke.
“I forgot to report this to you, sir, but it wasn’t the dragon Veldora who drove us to destruction. It was someone else’s nuclear magic that dealt the fatal blow. Twice, in fact. It was magic on a scale that could easily defeat any legion magic. The one who cast it is a threat, yes, but that’s not my point. The point is…”
Nobody needed to hear it. Everyone understood already. Veldora, the Storm Dragon, was still waiting for them ahead.
So Caligulio made his decision.
“Gather the troops! We’re changing course. For now, we have to turn around and go back to our nation!”
He called it a change of course and not a retreat mainly for his own sake. He knew it was just semantic nonsense, but if he didn’t phrase it that way, the anxiety was likely to crush him. No matter how foolish it sounded, he didn’t care, as long as it got them out of this place. His staff all agreed on this, and they were ready to carry out the order at once.
But the decision came too late. The situation was starting to evolve, soon to become a raging torrent that would sweep in and swallow them all up. The fate of the imperial army was already set in stone.
As if to cancel out Caligulio’s order, a low, clear voice echoed across the tent.
“I cannot have that. My boss says he will not allow you to retreat.”
The man put all the frenzied activity in this command tent to a halt. All eyes were on the tent entrance, where there stood a man in a foreign costume with a weapon called a katana at his waist. His white hair, speckled with gold, was pulled back and tied into a single knot, and he had a long white beard and a wrinkled face—but his sharp eyes and straight, clean posture made him seem ageless.
“Who are you?” Krishna asked, stepping forward.
“My pardons. My name is Agera, and I have been sent by my master, Lady Carrera, as her messenger.”
This was Agera. Rimuru, being the peace-loving demon lord he was, had decided to send out an envoy to hopefully accept the enemy’s surrender. Few expected the Empire to offer it—in fact, more of them were saddened to potentially lose the opportunity to kick some imperial ass. But Agera, one of the few among them with actual common sense, insisted that this was the true way of a warrior, so Geld granted his permission for it. Momiji had no objections, either, and so he was ordered to act as military envoy.
This was also, however, meant to help buy time for the Tempest army to get ready. Whether the imperial forces surrendered or made a last-ditch stand, they didn’t care much—but running away was not allowed. Everybody who participated in this invasion must be punished—that was Rimuru’s decision. Agera respected it, and so he had no intention of letting Caligulio off the hook here.
One of the staff officers spoke up to him.
“A messenger? By your ‘boss,’ do you mean Rimuru?”
Agera’s expression turned grim for a moment.
“How dare you refer to my stately leader strictly by his given name. Such arrogance! I hope you will reflect on that affront in the afterlife.”
The moment he stopped speaking, the head of the staff officer who asked the question fell to the ground. No one present realized for a moment that Agera had drawn his sword. Even Krishna, who was closest to him, couldn’t react in any way.
With his single sword, Agera now dominated the scene. As everyone fell silent, he began to list his demands in a clear voice.
“Now that it seems everyone is ready to listen to me, I will give our terms. Disarm yourselves immediately and surrender. If you do, you will be kept alive, I assure you, as our slave. If you choose to defy us, that is fine as well—we will decide your fates with our valor instead. I will wait one hour. If you wish to surrender, you may do so at any time before then.”
With that, Agera turned away.
Caligulio’s brain was working hard, trying to figure out the best plan of action. Hoping for a Hail Mary, he decided to negotiate with Agera.
“Wait! Er, I mean, excuse me. I’d like you to wait a moment.”
“Yes?” Agera stopped and looked back at Caligulio.
“Sorry. My name is Caligulio. I am the leader of this army and chief of this operation.”
“Ah. And what do you want?”
Agera’s mission here was to buy time, so he was in no hurry to go back. He wasn’t particularly interested in hearing Caligulio out, but he decided to anyway. Seeing this reaction, the commander put all his hope in reasoning with him.
“Sir Agera, you said earlier that you’d accept us as slaves if we surrendered, but could you perhaps reconsider those terms? The idea of slavery is simply too cruel to bear. I’m afraid I cannot accept that condition.”
The sudden plea startled his staff officers. But no one voiced any objection. Everyone understood how weak their position was, and everyone knew this negotiation was their best hope for the future.
Taking advantage of Agera’s silence, Caligulio continued his one-sided conversation.
“You can obtain victory for yourself without having to fight us when we’re at our most ferocious. Instead of making us slaves, would you be able to let us go for now? We’ll pay you reparations, of course, and we promise to refrain from any further invasion. No, actually, more than that! I would like to return to my homeland and appeal to the emperor to form an alliance with your nation! If you and the Empire join forces, it’d be a trivial matter to rule the world. I’m sure it’d put your leader in an advantageous position over the other demon lords, and I don’t think this is a bad offer from the demon lord Rimuru as well. Believe me, we will never forget a favor. What do you think? Could you perhaps allow us an audience with His Majesty the demon lord Rimuru?”
Caligulio was desperate. Looking at how things were right now, the invasion of Dwargon and the labyrinth were both abject failures. Everybody involved with both operations was dead. The only survivors were the less than two hundred thousand people present here. They had blown this invasion royally, no matter how you looked at it—even Caligulio had no choice but to admit that. He admitted it, and he wanted to make sure that those who were still alive could return home safely. It was the only way he could take responsibility for this now.
After having his say, Caligulio waited for Agera’s response. He knew this offer was a little convenient for his side, but it didn’t mean they had zero chance. Their numbers might be significantly culled from before, but a little under two hundred thousand is still a very large army. They couldn’t have been any smaller than the demon lord’s forces, and having them all fighting for their lives in a frenzy couldn’t have been what the demon lord Rimuru wanted. And unlike the labyrinth, on the ground, you couldn’t come back to life if you died.
That’s why this proposal, which granted them a complete victory, really should have been worthy of their consideration. At the very least, it wasn’t the kind of offer Agera could respond to right now. It’d definitely have to be conveyed to the demon lord Rimuru, and if he could be brought into the loop, that’s when the real work would begin. Maybe he wouldn’t let everyone off the hook, but at least some of their forces might have a chance to escape.
Including Caligulio, he hoped.
If they want to make slaves of us, they’re probably not intent on taking our lives. It’s rare to see such leniency from a demon lord, but maybe that’ll help us this time. We could always buy back the rank-and-file soldiers later. I’ll need to return home and inform His Majesty about this.
Caligulio wanted to save his own life… But more than that, he wanted to save as many soldiers as possible. That, and he wanted to bring accurate intelligence back to the emperor. Those were his true intentions, deep down.
He had grossly underestimated the enemy’s war power, and it led to defeat this time, but in a sense, it was totally unavoidable. With their gigantic forces, he was positive they could have seized Dwargon, Tempest, and the Western Nations, even if they had to fight all three at once. He was absolutely sure of his victory, and this was the result.
It was impossible to imagine a story as ridiculous as the demon lord Rimuru having not just one but several Disaster-grade monsters serving him. Caligulio’s downfall might be inevitable after this fiasco, but any further sacrifices could very well destroy the entire framework of the Empire. Better to retreat, then, and bet on their future reconstruction—even if it meant abandoning his pride. Caligulio may have been greedy, but he wasn’t incompetent, and that’s why he offered this proposal.
If the demon lord Rimuru wants me alive, then so be it. I’m sure somebody will bring the required intelligence back to Emperor Ludora. And once they do, this defeat will finally take on meaning…
Caligulio was prepared to sacrifice himself for this negotiation. But it was all too late.
“Do you think you are in a position to state your conditions at this point? The moment you rejected Lady Testarossa’s mercy, your fates were all sealed. Your choice is to resist or obey. Take your pick.”
That was Agera’s reply. And with nobody else able to move, he leisurely took his leave of the tent—but not before adding one more thing:
“And don’t think about running away.”
“What’ll we do?” Misha asked Caligulio, who was standing there stunned.
“…We have no choice but to fight. All our lives belong to the emperor. Perhaps we would survive longer as slaves, but we could hardly face His Majesty if we have to accept such humiliation!”
It was with a quiet determination that he made the decision.
“But we have no magitanks and no magic cancelers. It’s going to be a tough fight, don’t you think?”
“I don’t care. Survival’s no longer the goal. Our mission is to bring back all this information to the emperor. All of you have to escape this, no matter how many soldiers have to be sacrificed.”
“…?! P-please, sir, wait a minute!”
“Wh-what do you intend to do, then?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We’ll show these monsters our pride as imperial soldiers!”
The desperation finally made Caligulio abandon his selfishness. Here and now, he regained his pride as a pure, noble soldier. Seeing him change his stripes, his lieutenants and staff officers followed suit.
“Nobody would be shameless enough to leave you alone and run, sir.”
“That’s right. Nothing like a little last-ditch effort for some excitement, eh?”
“We’re not guaranteed to lose yet! Now’s when the Armored Division will show its true colors!”
They all raised their spirits, boosting their morale as they did. Misha alone heaved a sigh.
“In that case, I’m going to run away. I’m not admirable enough of a woman to go along with all of your death wishes.”
She waved her hands in the air as she did, all but relishing playing the villain. It made Caligulio smile bitterly.
“Thank you. I know you have links to that kid Yuuki. Tell the Empire just how incompetent I was. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, smiling back. Nobody was going to stop Misha. Everyone knew that getting out of there was never going to be easy for her.
“Let me appoint you guards—”
“We’ll take that role, if we could.”
Before Caligulio could finish, two figures appeared in the tent. They were Bernie and Jiwu, freshly escaped from the labyrinth.
“Single Digits…!” Krishna shouted.
“Oh, Krishna? Good to see you again. Staying here’s just gonna get you killed, you know. You wanna join us?” Bernie asked.
Everyone fell silent. A Single Digit, one of the strongest forces in the Empire, was predicting defeat for them. It spoke volumes about the severity of the battle that lay ahead.
“…No. I will stay with Lord Caligulio.”
“Oh, no? Well, I’ll tell His Majesty everything you did, then. You will die a glorious death in battle, not like some gutter rat. Give it all you’ve got. It’s bound to be worth doing.”
Bernie’s words echoed heavily across the tent. Jiwu silently agreed with him. Then, taking Misha along, they quickly withdrew from the scene.
Those who remained were prepared to die.
“There’s no need to stick to that envoy’s time limit. We’ll strike them with maximum force before the enemy’s ready!”
Caligulio’s order reached all the way down to the bottom rungs in an instant. Everyone went on the move, hurrying along, ready to give their all in the final battle.
“…Ah. They’ve decided to fight, then?”
Geld shot a respectful glance at the imperial troops who had started moving en masse. Neither he nor anyone else on his side were certain of their victory yet—on the contrary, they were at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage. Letting their guard down was out of the question. Letting anyone lose their lives against this wounded tiger was unthinkable.
The role of Geld’s Second Corps was defense. They’d take the front line and protect their firepower in the rear—that should have been enough to achieve victory. The dwarves excelled in this tactic, building a wall of forces and unleashing powerful offensive magic from beyond it. It was simple, straightforward, and perfectly suited for Geld’s team.
The Fourth Corps would be in charge of providing that firepower, and right now it was led by Momiji from the tengu.
“Victory for our master!!”
Already she was delivering a charming little pep talk to her forces. Taking this side approach in her quest for Benimaru was quite a bold strategy. In time, she thought, it’d help break the ice between them—and before he knew it, they’d be an established couple. Benimaru may very well have already lost to Momiji at the strategy phase, Geld thought—but then, maybe Benimaru didn’t mind so much. If he did, he would have done something about it long ago, or else he wouldn’t be much of a Born Leader after all.
The problem, Geld supposed, was that Benimaru had too many girls with a thing for him. Everyone knew about Alvis, of course. The competition between her and Momiji was so fierce that it had become pretty notorious among Rimuru’s staff. There was really no telling at this point if Momiji would emerge as the winner, in the end. And now Alvis was rushing in to reinforce the Tempest army, which undoubtedly left Geld at a loss over who to root for. I better keep my nose out of this, he thought. Inevitably, someone’s going to end up disappointed, so…
It was very non-warrior-like of him, but either way, he took his mind off the subject and checked again for any flaws in his forces. The rear guard was fully prepared to support the rest of the group, and their methods of attack were all at the ready. Momiji was leading the main force, with Shion commanding her own unit and Alvis overseeing the reinforcements. Coordination between them wouldn’t be a problem—not with Benimaru around.
As long as I do my part, we won’t lose.
Geld’s defense was truly ironclad. The elites of the Yellow and Orange Numbers totaled seventeen thousand in all, and these fighters were all completely protected by Geld’s unique skill Protector. On top of that, Kurobe’s and Garm’s armor had beefed up their defenses to the point that not even cannonballs could fell them.