I have to admit that at the moment I am annoyed out of my mind. Things have just been steadily getting worse since yesterday. My head aches like somebody has been hitting it with a hammer. With the people in this room, I guess I should be happy that my head is intact enough for it to ache.

  Well, to get to the point. We have managed to survive. None of us is dead at this moment. At this moment, I would say it is the only silver lining in all of this mess. I will be honest. Even at this moment, I don't know how I managed to pull off what I did yesterday. The only thing that I know is that my troop would be dead at this moment if I had not managed to do what I did.

  The damn creature had begun to cast its spell. Even as the spell was being cast, I knew that it was something deadly. I actually didn't see what spell it threw at us. The strikeforce described it to me as a spear made up of death mana. Even they did not get to see it for long, though.

  Well, I don't know how I managed to move in that moment. It almost felt like the world was in slow motion as I took control of my ship.

  The first thing I do is to check just how much mana the gathering formations had collected in all of this time. It had gathered a bit of mana. It was barely enough for a cannon shot. The shot was so weak that it was more show than anything. It wouldn't even have left behind a scratch if I had aimed it at the minotaur.

  I aimed and released my shot. It flew true to my aim as the cannon hit the enemy's shot. (You need an aim like the archer to pull off something like that.) The shot wasn't even strong enough to block the enemy's strike. It was strong enough to deflect the creature's strike, though. (Barely though) The force of the spell that the creature had was strong enough to blow a hole in the back of my ship. (That is where the redirected shot had hit.)

  The ship is going to be a nightmare to fix, I tell you. At least my fellows are still alive. Though with the way that they are blaring about, I wonder if I need to save them. I guess a couple of deaths would knock some sense into these people. (I guess that I shouldn't think like that.)

  I guess that I should try and mediate the argument happening here. After all, that is technically my job. At the moment, I am thankful that I am not able to strangle anybody. The damn idiots are busier fighting with each other when they should be making a plan.

  Even now, John and Anthony are screaming at each other like a bunch of children. The argument started with how the legion had broken their oath by leaving their rooms. That they did it despite the oaths they made.

  John is arguing back that the situation was so out of control that the guards needed their help. Now they are arguing about how Anthony was doing such a bad job of the ship's defense.

  Well, Anthony certainly did a pretty bad job. Right now, two of his teammates are stuck in their room because of how injured they are. (I don't know which two, though. That might be the case, but that doesn't stop the man from screaming his lungs out. Well, this argument has been going on for a while now.

  I have tried to stop them from arguing a couple of times. That just inflamed their arguments even more. The damn bastards are doing it to challenge my authority. I am not surprised about this. They would have normally started this much before.

  "How long do you plan to argue like this, you fools?" I snap at the two idiots. At the moment I can't bring myself to feel respect for these two. You try to listen to two people shouting at one another when your head is pounding. "At the moment, your soldiers are out there fighting against the undead. Do we really have the time to fight amongst each other like this?"

  That shuts up the two men as they stare at me. They keep staring at me for a bit. I should have screamed at them five minutes ago. I at least wouldn't have to put up with their racket. After a while, Anthony finally speaks.

  "Well, I have a question for you too, Antonio.", he speaks, a bit more calmly. With how quickly the man calms down, his anger is completely fake. (And so is that stupid screaming match.) Do they need to play politics all the time? "How in the hells did the ship crash like that? You claim that it is due to your misjudging the levels of mana in your storage. I need an explanation on how you could have failed at such a basic task."

  "This ship doesn't run on mana stones, Anthony." I reply. "With such a ship, it is easy to have an idea of how much mana you are using. You can just see how many stones are being consumed."

  "You claim that you are an expert pilot, though. Haven't you run this ship before?" the man replies. "Don't you have an idea how much mana it can hold?"

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  "Well, the mana storage is not able to replenish itself quickly enough, Anthony." I reply. I have to calm down. Now is not the time to be making enemies. "Try making a hole in your cup. Then, try to run around with it in a desert. Then you will understand my present situation."

  That shuts up the man finally. He returns to stare at John. It takes me a few moments to realize that the man is letting me speak. Why would he be doing that now? Regardless, time to get things on track.

  "Well, searcher Amelia. Didn't you have something to say about the creature?" I speak.

  The lady has been trying to speak to us ever since we crashed. They ended up ignoring the lady in this fight. That is why I had to call this meeting in the first place. This should get this discussion on the right track.

  "Yes, young master.", the lady begins. "We want to start by saying that we strongly suspect what the creature is. We think that is a minotaur."

  Well, that is certainly a surprise. I don't know much about the minotaurs. I know that they used to be some kind of demihuman. I think that I have heard my father speak of them a couple of times. I don't really remember what he told me about them, though. I also know that they supposedly existed before the elves. As I am thinking this, the lady continues her speaking.

  "They are masters of earth magic. They are especially masters of manipulating the earth to build labyrinths. Every minotaur is legendary for the labyrinth that they build.", searcher Amelia speaks. "There is no record of these creatures being capable of using death mana. This one can manipulate death about as well as an average necromancer. We don't know whether it is because of some inborn trait in this specimen. It could also be due to how the creature was raised from death."

  "Well, what use do we have to speak about the creature, searcher?" John speaks. "It is not like the creature will be attacking us again. It ran away after throwing a single spell. Whatever it is, it has no desire for a head-on confrontation."

  "Well, the minotaurs are supposed to be extremely territorial creatures, captain." The searcher replies, "We are clearly in its territory. It might have retreated right now. That is only so that it can strike us later. I assume it is gathering its forces as we speak."

  "Well, we won't be waiting here for long enough for the creatures to strike us.", Alfred speaks. "How long will the damage take to repair, captain?"

  "Well, I think that it will take about a couple of days." I reply. "The physical damage shouldn't take more than a few hours to repair. The damage to the formations will be a bit harder to repair."

  "So is that supposed to be our plan? Sit here while you patch this ship up. While the enemy has the time to plan their next attack on us.", Anthony asks me. Well, the tone with which he speaks is enough to make it clear what he thinks of this plan. Why did the idiot pick now of all times to question me?

  Just as I am about to reply, searcher Amelia speaks.

  "Well, we would also suggest that now is the best time to strike the creature.", searcher Amelia speaks. "Right now, it would be hidden in its base. While it might be stronger down there, it will also not be able to use many of its magics down there. There are plenty of records of people being sent into the labyrinth to kill the beast."

  "Well, my lady. Even if what you say is true. I would think it would be better to be patient.", I speak. "The creature would be hard to fight in its labyrinth. We would be able to escape from this place if we just waited for me to complete my work. Right now, our focus is not to hunt the creature, but to find our targets. I hope that you don't forget that."

  "I haven't forgotten that, young master. It would be best to attack the enemy base now.", she replies. "We cannot leave a sword to our throats like this. The eagles that have been chasing us have been sent by this minotaur."

  "How do you know that?" I reply. I don't really expect an answer for this, though. The scholars like to keep their secrets.

  "We confirmed it from Eric of the sentinels.", the lady replies, as she continues. "A horde of eagles was seen flying in the same area as the creature retreated to."

  "That could just be the creature prowling around a future target. It could also be that there is a nest of these creatures somewhere nearby.", I reply. "We can't waste our time attacking a place just because you think some birds are nearby."

  "Well, the records say that the minotaur is capable of enslaving beasts.", the lady replies. "As for the point about the birds. Weren't these the same birds that led to this present crash? Are you sure you want to gamble with something like that?"

  "I would say that it is a pretty safe gamble.", I reply. I can't figure out what the lady's angle is for making us attack the labyrinth. The scholars are not usually so bloodthirsty. "We are just three days away from entering a bone fort. Once we are there, the monster can send all of its underlings, and we will still be safe."

  "We have to travel for these three days, though. We also have to wait in a minotaur's territory for two days as you fix up the place.", she says. " Even ignoring all that. You don't inspire trust when your ship just drops from the sky like this. Will you assure us that you will be able to run this ship at its full speed so that we can reach our target? Can you assure us that we will be safe even if the undead were to attack?"

  I find myself unable to answer. If I were to give that guarantee, things could get really bad. I would be responsible for that decision. I should have said something, though, as I look at the people surrounding me. Even John looks like he accepts what the lady is saying.

  So does Alfred Mayfire. These two were supposed to be my main allies (of a fashion. No one here is a true ally.) in this place. I could try and fight her on this. I will more than likely win as well. It is equally likely that I will lose, though. Regardless of winning or losing, that would burn quite a bit of my goodwill among these people. They are barely listening as it is.

  "Fine, we shall attack this labyrinth.", I reply, finally giving up. "But we shall need all of the information that you have on the creature. If we are attacking, we need to have a proper plan in place."