"Everything said here will remain between heaven, earth, you, and me."
Ultima had grown tired of these pointless probes and laid her cards on the table.
"Indeed. Just as you said, the Twelve Guardian Saints King are indeed Lord Emperor's subjects."
"However, they are different from us. They are not beings utterly loyal to Lord Emperor."
"You should understand that."
"After all, their True Names were personally bestowed by Lord Rimuru, not Lord Emperor, weren't they?"
Ultima's final words were like a sharp bayonet, stabbing viciously into Testarossa's heart.
"Besides, you don't like them either... do you?!"
"Just like me."
Ultima slowly moved to Testarossa's side and whispered into her ear, her words filled with danger and temptation.
The moment those words were spoken, Testarossa's body stiffened. The elegance and composure that usually graced her face vanished at once, replaced by an indescribable stiffness and mechanical rigidity.
Indeed. Ultima's words had struck straight at Testarossa's heart.
It was the truth, and it was something Testarossa had buried deep within herself, something she could not speak of.
Yet today, Ultima had said it aloud—no, she had exposed it!
Just as Ultima had said, the current Twelve Guardian Saints King were indeed loyal subjects of the Demon Country Federation, servants of Lord Rimuru and Lord Emperor!
However, in Ultima and Testarossa's eyes, rather than being the shared subjects of Lord Rimuru and Lord Emperor, these so-called Twelve Guardian Saints King were more like Lord Rimuru's personal guard alone!
The Saint Demon Chaos Emperor, the Twelve Guardian Saints King!
Wasn't it already laid bare in plain sight?
And most importantly... these so-called Twelve Guardian Saints King all had one thing in common!
That was, every one of their True Names had been bestowed by Rimuru alone.
If not for the great bond known