All they did know was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2026? What are<\/em> you?! Whether you\u2019re a Primal or not, there\u2019s no way an Arch Demon can have that<\/em> much power!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis was shouting now, trying to paint over his own fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cY-yeah! You weren\u2019t this<\/em> overwhelming the last time we fought! What the hell did you do to evolve this much\u2026? Evolve?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis and Gordon looked at each other. Hearing his own cries, Gordon now understood exactly what was going on with Testarossa\u2014no matter how much he didn\u2019t want to. The same went for Davis. Incarnated, named\u2014and thanks to that, what kind of being had Testarossa, the Original White, become?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testarossa gave them a bemused look, leisurely eliminating all doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, how clever of you! That\u2019s right. Now that I have a name, I\u2019m higher level than even an Arch Demon. Have you ever heard the term Demon Peer before? It\u2019s something completely different from an Arch Demon. A pity I need to spell it out to people before they understand, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It only plunged the two of them deeper into despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cD-Demon Peer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe second coming of Guy Crimson\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only then did Davis and Gordon realize the gravity of the situation. This Primal hadn\u2019t manifested herself just for a laugh\u2014she had a firm will, and she used it to fully take root here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut didn\u2019t you lose interest in this world when you lost the princess\u2019s body\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot quite. By the time you came along back then, my contract with the girl had already been fulfilled. That\u2019s<\/em> why I left, although certainly not without my regrets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry! Were you laboring under the assumption that you could beat me? Well, silly, I think you see that\u2019s not going to happen now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>It can\u2019t be\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis could feel his own confidence shatter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI still haven\u2019t forgiven you for interrupting my meal back then, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cH-hey\u2026 Davis\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither Davis nor Gordon were able to move. Testarossa\u2019s crimson eyes bolted them to the ground, like a snake staring down a frog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Your meal?\u201d Davis repeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All he could do was keep talking to buy more time. With that precious time, he desperately tried to figure out what was happening to his body. Anything so he could have a shot at Testarossa, proud and confident in her victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s right. That beautiful lake was bathed in enough blood to turn crimson red, but that still didn\u2019t make me full, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Nearly ten thousand innocent people died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s how our deal worked. Besides, you interrupted me before I could enjoy the main course, the most important part. Now that we\u2019re all together and everything, why don\u2019t we take this opportunity to have you atone for your sins?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYouuu\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testarossa was the very one behind the Bloody Shore tragedy\u2014but to her, that regretful disaster was just a simple meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s still not enough\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis\u2019s heart seethed with rage. Flames of justice burned through the kindling of his fear. This evil, he thought, could never be left unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn evil like you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising the gleaming sword in his hand, Davis struggled to escape Testarossa\u2019s binding spell. The initial results were promising; he could feel his body regaining its strength\u2026but Davis\u2019s despair had only just begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re not gonna kill them yet, Testarossa? \u2026I don\u2019t mean to interrupt, but I think it\u2019s time to end this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A cute voice, not at all appropriate for a battlefield, was heard <\/a>from above. It belonged to a girl with bluish-purple hair in a side ponytail\u2014Ultima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Davis, ranked eleventh in his nation\u2019s hierarchy, could sense there was something unusual about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, is that you, Ultima?\u201d said Testarossa. \u201cDid I make you wait long?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMm, I\u2019ve just been taking my time with Gabil\u2019s band, so I\u2019m not one to talk\u2026but Sir Rimuru asked us to give our all, so if we don\u2019t finish this fast, he\u2019s gonna be mad, y\u2019know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI sure don\u2019t want that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just ran into some old acquaintances of mine, so we wound up chatting a bit\u2026 But you\u2019re right. Let\u2019s end this before Sir Rimuru gets angry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis couldn\u2019t understand the conversation unfolding in front of him. Or really, it\u2019s not that he couldn\u2019t\u2014he just didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, no, no, noooo!!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Testarossa and Ultima were both doubtlessly on the same level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Demon Peers\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking on just one of them was difficult enough. Having backup just sealed the deal. Davis\u2019s flames of righteousness, burning hot inside him, had been painted black before he even knew it. Black with fear. The glory of being the eleventh Imperial Guardian was meaningless in front of this duo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it was just one Arch Demon, Davis might\u2019ve been able to take care of it himself\u2014but the reality of two Demon Peers almost broke his heart. He couldn\u2019t be blamed for that; in fact, Gordon was already crouched down and sobbing. Once a quiet, reliable man, now he was behaving like a little child. Suddenly, Davis felt jealous of Balt, dying before him and all. He had passed on without even realizing the true identity of what he had been up against. How fortunate for him\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreat idea!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry to say goodbye, but I have to go. I know\u2014since we\u2019re old friends and all, why don\u2019t I show you the magic you wanted to see?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Testarossa sounded as amused as ever, speaking to the stunned Davis. He didn\u2019t know what it meant, but he did know the end was near.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the deepest darkness, a black flame was called forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The flame, condensed to the size of a fist, shone on the palm of Testarossa\u2019s hand. It was an abyss core, a notoriously hard-to-control type of hellfire, but Testarossa crushed it into her hand with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laughing to herself, Testarossa whispered in a singsong voice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Death Streak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis\u2019s eyes widened. He didn\u2019t know what this magic was. He couldn\u2019t comprehend it. No idea. But one thing was for sure\u2014it was incredibly evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you over there; you know Guy Crimson, huh? In that case, you know what this magic is, don\u2019t you? The same one Guy used when he became a demon lord\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, Davis\u2019s consciousness cut out at this point\u2014plunging into an even deeper abyss of desperation, wishing he had never known anything at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The abyss core crushed into Testarossa\u2019s hand became a black light that shone across the surroundings. It had the property of penetrating through almost all types of matter\u2014a dark light that never occurred naturally. When it passed through a living being, it directly affected their genetic sequences, forcibly rewriting their genes to kill almost anything it encountered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was deathly magic, the epitome of pure evil\u2014but according to tradition, it existed for a different purpose. The only ones who could withstand this magic were spiritual life-forms or those whose souls had memory-retention skills. Living things who could completely reconstruct their bodies after they were completely destroyed could escape this magic\u2014and nobody else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spiritual particles, the tiny matter that made up magicules, <\/a>emitted a special sort of wave. This was the light of darkness itself, difficult to counteract with magic and impossible to counteract via physical means. The only way to resist them was with other spiritual particles, and thus, the only way to resist dark light was with more dark light. No other type of protection was possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exposure to this light produced a 99.999 percent fatality rate. But not even that was 100 percent\u2014and so, extremely rarely, there were survivors. One in a million would react by turning their body into a monster and gaining new life. In other words, this magic also selected those most suitable for monster transformation, granting the victims their blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the worst, most taboo kind of spell, this nuclear-level Death Streak. Instead of destroying physically like Disintegration, it accurately bore down only on the particles that created life memory. It was the ultimate forbidden magic, one that could destroy the very souls of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so Davis, ranked eleventh in the Empire\u2014and Gordon, ranked sixty-fourth and pretty much just along for the ride\u2014became the first victims of Testarossa\u2019s Death Streak. It didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly thereafter, a ferocious rampage of death blew across the land, affecting everything within a five-hundred-yard radius. It didn\u2019t distinguish between friend or foe, killing every living thing within that range, and that\u2019s why Testarossa used Magic Sense to ensure there were no allies close by before launching it. And this was her going easy. If she had cast Death Streak with all dampers removed, everything within several miles would\u2019ve breathed their last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Death Streak was just as effective against spiritual life-forms as it was to anything else, but Testarossa had been careful to activate it in a way that wouldn\u2019t affect their souls, so it was harmless to her and Ultima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two of them casually surveyed the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cDoesn\u2019t look like there\u2019s anything alive in this whole area. By the way, you did a really good job with these, Testarossa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh? What do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese toys they call tanks, I mean. They all look in perfect shape, so we can bring them back intact and examine them more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, of course. That\u2019s why I cleaned out only the humans from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMmm. Y\u2019know, maybe I should\u2019ve cast Death Streak, too, instead of cutting corners up there. Then maybe I wouldn\u2019t have broken up all those toys in the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrue, Ult, you could say you were a bit too<\/em> flashy there. But if we can recover that first sample that crash-landed, that ought to be enough for reference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Sure. Although I sure did cause a lot more damage to them than I thought. Those toys are so<\/em> fragile! I only meant to destroy one, but I wound up breaking a whole bunch of \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, so be it. Now that Sir Rimuru named us, we\u2019re both stronger than ever. We\u2019re gonna have to be more careful from now on, Ultima.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. I feel bad about it, too. But y\u2019know, what I\u2019m really worried about is Carrera. I\u2019m not sure if she knows what the word restraint<\/em> means, and you know how much she loves flashy magic\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s why she\u2019s on standby over at our headquarters. Rimuru had the foresight to assign her to that, which I was certainly glad to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOhhh! Well, that\u2019s<\/em> a relief!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So they merrily chatted on. They may have been misreading Rimuru in a few ways, but nobody was around to point it out to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Benimaru\u2019s a real worrywart, huh? Talking about how he thinks there are people in the Empire who can harm Sir Rimuru and all. Even asking us to go easy so we can find out who it is!\u201d said Ultima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n