The Seven Demon's Tamer

High above the battlefield, where the smoke of the destruction caused by the catastrophe the Falcon Guild had befallen on Red Eastern could not traverse, a massive winged creature cut through the darkening sky of the midnight. The creature's wings, each spanning nearly twenty feet, suspended the occupant in the air even without flapping.

Sitting atop this menacing familiar with the casualness of someone who owned the world was Yuki Nakamura, the orchestrator of this entire attack. His black hair ruffled in the wind as he stared at the devastation below. Beside him was Mia—the double agent of the Falcon Guild and the FSG.

They had watched the entire event unfold, and watched Kyujiro being murdered, but no one made a move.

Mia was particularly worried, hoping Yuki would give her the permission to quickly aid Kyujiro.

But even at the last moment of Kyujiro's life, even as Master Sung's hand pierced through his chest and his blood painted the ground below, Master Yuki had remained completely unfazed. His expression hadn't changed even slightly—no flicker of concern, no involuntary twitch of his fingers. He had watched his guild member's death with no remorse.

Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Mia spoke up. Her voice was carried—

"Master." The single word hung in the air momentarily before she continued.

"When are we going to make our move?" Mia questioned in a low tone, her voice carrying an undertone of urgency that she couldn't quite suppress. "Our most formidable out of all in the army that was sent had been taken down like child's play."

No response came. Mia waited for more moments, but still, no response.

Growing more desperate, Mia tried again, this time with more force behind her words. "Master, you have just lost one of your most formidable operatives in your entire guild. The Warlord you have treasured and who has won most of your battles."

"This clearly is going to take its toll on your guild," Mia continued, her voice growing more urgent with each word. "You have to do something."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, Master Yuki spoke.

"I have seven formidable members of my guild," he said, his tone as calm and smooth as if he was discussing casual conversation rather than the death of one of his most trusted operatives. "And he isn't one of them."

"He's just one of my random puppets that is to be used and disposed of," Yuki continued, his voice maintaining that same emotionless tone. "If he couldn't overpower just one black mark summoner with an average black marked familiar, then he is too weak for any privilege."

"I gave him a simple task," Yuki went on, his tone growing slightly animated, though still devoid of any real emotion. "Bring me back just one summoner alive, and he failed. The others who I ordered to attack are doing pretty well compared to him, killing Red Eastern members so quickly."

"Whether he dies or not, it won't change the fate of the Red Eastern Guild now," Yuki declared, his voice carrying confidence and arrogance. "I will unleash my trump card at the last moment, and the entire vicinity will be trampled to nothing."

He paused, letting the words sink in, before delivering what was clearly meant to be his final statement on the matter.

"I am at the higher spot of the hierarchy compared to the Red Eastern for a reason."

***

Down below, far from the aerial observations of the Falcon Guild's leadership, the strongest members of the Red Eastern Guild had gathered in a rough circle around the crater where Kyujiro's body lay.

Ryder, Mara, Brok, Leo, Akira, Mikasa, Ryomen, Zhou, Yuki, Mika, and Koji were all clustered together, their voices low as they discussed their next moves.

"To be honest, I feel like the Falcon Guild isn't worthy of their spot," Mikasa started, her voice carrying genuine confusion. "They're ranked over twenty-five levels above us in the hierarchy of world guilds."

She gestured toward the destruction around them and added, "And I can tell they must have sent one of their most formidable members to come get Ryder."

Her next gesture was toward the corpse of Kyujiro, lying twisted and broken where Master Sung had left him.

"If they call this guy formidable," she continued, "then I don't think we'll have problems taking down the other little pests accompanying him."

"Let us split toward the four cardinal points," Mikasa continued, taking charge of the tactical planning since Master Sung didn't leave them with a plan. "I will be leading Mara and Mika to the North."

"Ryomen will be leading Brok and Koji to the East. Zhou will be leading Leo and Ryder to the west for the utmost safety."

"Zhou will be leading Leo and Ryder to the west for the utmost safety."

"Master Sung ventured to the west. Yuki would be off there with her teleportation affinity. Let's split up now and keep the attackers at bay."

"You mean capture and restrain them?" Mara asked, just to be clear.

"No," Mikasa responded instantly, her voice carrying finality. "It would be impossible for red marked summoners to try to capture each other without overpowering them. Especially for few like us to try to capture more than a hundred."

The calculation was simple and brutal. They were outnumbered by a ratio of nearly twenty to one. In a situation like that, they didn't have the luxury to show mercy.

"Whoever you come across that's from the Falcon Guild, kill them," Mikasa continued, taking her running stance as she prepared to lead her team north. "Or they'll kill you."

"It is called a battle for a reason," Mikasa added, her final words before action.

*Vwoom.*

With that, she was gone, moving with incredible speed. Mara and Mika followed close behind, their footsteps creating a tapping sound that quickly faded into the distance.

Team East which was consisting of Ryomen, Brok and Koji zoomed off shortly after.

Team west which consisted of Zhou, Leo and Ryder also zoomed off.

Yuki, being the only one in team west quickly teleported away.