Great War Outbreak –The Smiling Demon–
'Impossible, how can there be such an impossible thing!'
In a place a bit distant from the battlefield, Lieutenant general Gastar groaned these words as his face turned pale.
An impossible, disastrous scene is spreads in front of his eyes.
The prided tank corps was toyed by the demon wolf type devil[1] that like a demon[1] and there's no doubt that there were already many tanks that got destroyed.
Their defeat was already decisive, but the progress speed of the war was too fast that they had lost the timing for retreating.
But, prompted by his words of reason that if the situation kept going as it is reorganization will be difficult, Lieutenant General Gastar finally decided to give an order for retreat.
However, that judgment was definitely too late.
「Ah? Certainly you wouldn't utter something like stopping, right?
I already told you so.
There will be no mercy if you went in.
I may look like this, but I'm the type that keeps my promises.
When I intruded to this world before, I would precisely fulfil the wish of the person whom summoned me.
You may feel relieved.
To you guys too, will precisely receive a retribution.」
A full smile was on her beautiful face.
However, it only sprang terror inside Gastar's heart.
「Yo, you bastard!」
「Ah? It seems you forgot about it.
What an impolite gentlemen」
With beauty to the extent of being unforgettable, and her scarlet hair that was let fluttering.
Testarossa had an expression like an affectionate mother who was looking at a child making a problem.
Repressing his fear, Gastar was going to give an attack order to his subordinate.
However,
「I don't really know what you're going to do, but your subordinates are sleeping.
They seems tired, and will not get up anymore」
So Testarossa whispered to his ear.
Her movement speed was too fast.
Even though he was not careless and he never took his eyes off of her.
Also, the most frightful matter was that he didn't even heard a sound at all.
Gastar's Unique Skill『Musician』, enables him to sense the enemy's movement from just the sound.
No matter how much of an expert someone is, they couldn't prevent making a faint sound. It's possible for him to even grasp the heartbeat sounds.
But, he didn't heard any sound at all.
And, he noticed another frightening thing at that time.
From his fallen down subordinates too, he heard no sound.
Because they were all dead.
「Yo, you….. were you the one that killed my subordinates!?」
To Gastar's shout,
「Ah? It's because I'm a bit hungry, so I only ate a bit, you know?」
Testarossa answered without being timid.
「You ate, you say? What do you eat?
「Yes, just a bit of the soul」
Gastar was enraged as she told him as lightly as this.
To vent that anger,
「Die, you damn demon! Mind Requiem (Spirit Death Funeral Tune)!!」
He scattered a killing sound to the surrounding space that has the special effect to influence the spirit and cause it to die.
It was Lieutenant general Gastar's trump card that could even kill a spiritual life form.
Despite this fact,
「Ah, a pleasant tune. It's too good to be made by a mere human.
It's unfortunate that I need to kill an amazing musician like you」
Testarossa muttered with a fascinated expression that was clouded with sadness.
There didn't seem to be any effect at all, Gastar who realized that fell into despair.
He was mislead by her beautiful appearance but the beautiful woman in front of his eyes was certainly not human.
She also was an existence of an incredible high rank.
Perhaps, she may be an even higher rank being than the currently rampaging demon wolf devil that was like a incarnation of violence.
This monster will not be the only one, so Gastar foresaw the failure of the current Empire army military operation.
Furthermore, disaster class monsters like Veldora were still not out.
「Please wait, let's make a deal!」
「Ah? What kind of deal is it?」
「I, I have a high ranking position in the empire.
I'm familiar with military operation and I also hold the confidential information.
I promise to be useful. Therefore, I only want you to spare my life!」
Gastar begs for his life by throwing away his shame and reputation.
However, there's still light in his eyes, he looked at Testarossa's appearance with carefulness.
It's because sounds of several people approaching were audible to Gastar's "Ear".
Gastar thought by intuition of the identity of the people approaching him.
Probably, it were people who sneaked in to give situation report and monitor the battlefield, the subordinates of the Empire Intelligence Bureau.
The Intelligence Bureau Staff or, so called Intelligence agent are holders of first-class combat abilities.
Although they has superior combat ability, they didn't participate in the rank deciding battle.
They belonged to the Empire Intelligence Bureau, and they wouldn't be transferred out from there.
Kondou Tatsuya, a cunning "Otherworlder".
They were the diverse people who were active under him.
If it's Kondou Tatsuya, it will be not strange that he can assume a situation like this and he might already have taken several countermeasures for it.
Therefore, Gastar intended to buy some time by doing anything even if it's begging for his life.
However, his hope was smashed.
Because all hope was used up in the moment they met Testarossa.
「Damn you demon, you revived!?」(Unknown agent 1)
Shouting so, people who belonged to the Intelligence Bureau drew near Testarossa by sneaking under the cover of the general soldier and attacked her.
Those people sealed off Testarossa's movement from three sides with the chain made from the weaved monster's fur.
It's the strongest special move formation that can suppressed high rank monster――even an Arc Demon.
The elites of the Intelligence Bureau which hunt monsters in teams of three.
'I did it!' Gastar raised a cheers inside his mind, at that time,
「Ah, oh my oh my. This is nostalgic. You guys are the one who defeated me before right?
I'm so happy.
I was not able to eat to my heart's content because I was disturbed at that time.
I haven't forgot the grudge from that time you know.
Even so…. Will you be alright?
To use the same technique once again like that time now?」
Testarossa's voice was heard with malice in it.
「Hmph, you monster! This evil presence, you're the Arc Demon of that time!」(Unknown Agent 1)
「You already revived huh. We will destroy your soul!」(Unknown Agent 2)
「This is not the right place for you. As long as we are here, we will not let you do as you like!」(Unknown Agent 3)
「Now, Gastar-dono. Leave this to us. Quickly give the retreat order!」(Unknown Agent 1)
Gastar begins to move as he came to his sense after the three people talked to him.
In panic, he was going to notify the entire army with his Unique Skill『Musician』but,
「Hey. Do you think I will allow such a thing?」
He felt the sensation of a delicate woman's hand on his neck that made his soul freezing cold.
It's Testarossa, there's no need to see.
The chain strengthened with holy silver and with monster fur woven into it, which had high performance of legend class was ineffective as it was destroyed and broken.
The three shaken people turn their eyes to Testarossa who had moved to Gastar's back.
Irritation and confusion appeared in their expression.
They didn't see it at all how Testarossa destroyed the chain and when she moved.
And then, another hardship attacked them.
They heard a cute voice that was unbecoming to the battlefield from the sky.
「Testarossa, you still haven't killed them yet?
Even though Rimuru-sama commanded us to let out all of our power, you will get scolded you know?」(Unknown Girl)
A girl with bluish purple long hair styled as a ponytail fell from the sky while saying those words.
That girls seems to be the reinforcement for the demon in front of them, and the girl's way of talking suggests that the two were equal in rank and in addition has ability close to Testarossa's level.
In a situation where even only one enemy was already hard, this kind of reinforcement was fatal.
They were the elite of the Intelligence Bureau which was the expert in killing demons.
They took pride in being able to kill an Arc Demon class even if one of the three people was going one on one with it.
Despite this, the suppression barrier, they were proud of, was broken in front of their eyes, and now another monster with horrifying presence, which seemed to be equal with the female demon appeared.
It was necessary to conclude that the situation was disadvantageous.
「Gastar-dono, pull back from this place at once」(Unknown Agent 1)
One of them began chanting Transfer Magic after notifying Gastar.
The remaining two began to move in order to rescue Gastar.
Just after that,
「I hate people that don't know true strength.
Because I met familiar faces after a long time, unconsciously it became a long talk.
Ultima, I request a memory extraction on this person」
「Ooke~. What will Testa do?」(Ultima)
「I'm still not full. So, I will have a little meal.
Because it's familiar faces from a long time ago, you see」
Testarossa had a lovely smile.
But, that smile was like a ill omen itself.
The three people felt an ominous feeling from Testarossa's smile, they gave up on Gastar's rescue and decidet to withdraw.
However――Transfer Magic was not invoked.
「Im, impossible! How come!?」(Unknown Agent)
Testarossa sneered at the trembling spell caster.
「What is strange? This is the right way of using Magic Canceller right?」
Testarossa answered the three people's question and calmly steps forward.
「What did you say? Magic Canceller!?」(Unknown Agent 1)
「No way, even reproduction by magic…...!?」(Unknown Agent 2)
Via Thought Link, the demons were sharing information.
So, using the skill reproduced from the information they obtained was like a child's play for them.
However, such a thing was a talk of an unfathomable dimension for human's common sense, it's not something that could be understood by the three Intelligence Bureau agents.
The only thing they could understand was,
「You, what the hell are you!? There's no way an Arc Demon has power to that extent!!」(Unknown Agent 1)
One of them shouts painted over by fear.
Testarossa deepened her smile as she happily heard the shout.
「Yes, it's so. I'm a higher existence than a mere Arc Demon.
Or rather, I think that my status is different than an Arc Demon's though…..
Do you want to see it yourself?
It's sad when you don't understand something without me telling you.」
The answer of their question was affirmative just like she said.
And,
「Well then, though it's regrettable, farewell」
So she announced.
The situation was already too late when the three people understood the meaning of the words.
They would reach death without understanding the true identity of the being they faced.
Or, it might be good luck.
From a profound darkness, black flame was summoned.
Testarossa condensed the black flame to size of a fist and crushed it as it is.
Testarossa (Demon) smiles,
「"Death Streak (Blessing of Death)"」
So, she whispered just like singing.
At the moment the black flame was crushed in her hand, black light diffuses to the surroundings.
That light has a property of penetrating almost all kind of substances. It's not a natural generated light.
It had the characteristic of not causing physical destruction.
When the light penetrates a living creature, it affects the genetic arrangement.
Almost all living creatures were killed forcibly because of the forced genetic rewriting.
It's the extremely evil, magic of death.
However, this light had another aim, or so says the legend that had been handed down from the past.
Only someone who has the ability to storage his soul or spiritual life forms can withstand this magic.
It's also possible for someone who can revive from a complete physical body destruction.
Even the smallest amount of the light was difficult to be defended with magic and there was no way to defend against it physically.
The only countermeasure against it was a Holy Light Barrier.
The probability of death when bathed by this light was 99,9999%.
One in a million people will get his body changed into a monster and he will get a long life.
In other words, this is actually a blessing magic that sort out suitable persons with aptitude for demonic attribute.
However, the success example of the monsterification of this magic was not existent.
Perhaps it was a story that had a moral of "The demon will lies about the hope".
Therefore this magic was the worst forbidden spell.
It was the ultimate forbidden magic with purpose only for killing living creatures which was kind of a nuclear strike magic but without any physical damage at all.
Within the radius of 500m almost everything was devastated by a great storm of ferocious death.
Testarossa has completed grasped that there was no ally within the range with『Magic Power Perception』.
For a demon like herself, they wouldn't be exempted from this magic.
Because the magic was created with the purpose of killing――Demon and Human――all living creatures alike.
The regrettable part was that it did kill any living being within the range regardless of friend or foe.
It may be expanded to a radius of 10 km if used without any restraint, but it would involve allies too.
So, it was necessary to specify the range to 500m.
「It looks like you have annihilated everything in this area.
For the information of the toy called tank, we could take home the undamaged actual thing you see!」(Ul)
「Yes, for that reason, I only swept clean the human beings.
If you annihilated them from the beginning with this magic, any surviving enemy would be finished though」(Testa)
「It can't be helped you know! Rimuru-sama said we should fight.
Even so, it was good that there was a turn for me too.
However, should I not break the toy which floats in the sky too?」(Ul)
「That's right, Ul's magic was too flashy.
The collecting of samples may be difficult because of that you see」(Testa)
「I know... I thought that I failed too.
That thing is too fragile.
I only intended to destroy only one, but a lot were broken」(Ul)
「It can't be helped. You obtained the information right?
Then, let's think that there's no problem」(Testa)
So they discussed, Testarossa and Ultima ended the conversation.
Meanwhile, the work of collecting the souls was done thoroughly.
At the same they were killed by "Death Streak", their souls were accurately reaped.
In fact, the possibility of them changing into monsters was only present when the soul was left behind.
When the reaping of the soul was done at the same time like now, the survival rate completely becomes zero.
Of course, Lieutenant general Gastar and the three people from the Intelligence Bureau too failed to resist it and were already dead.
Testarossa didn't have any deep emotions even when she sees the final moments of the people who defeated her in the past.
As they were never within Testarossa's thoughts from the start, it can be said as natural.
Thus, the victory of the Monster's Country Tempest was set into stone like this as the strategic headquarters of the Empire forces completely became silent.
However, that didn't mean the end of war, the possibility of of the Empire army surrendering disappeared completely when the strategic headquarters also disappeared.
The battlefield shifted into a war of annihilation.