The Seven Demon's Tamer

Dwang Sung relaxed on his plush leather sofa as he listened to the report from his most trusted—Ming Fan.

"Two days ago, Ryder was allegedly spotted at an abandoned district, performing a strange ritual," Ming Fan reported, standing stiffly at attention. "Mo Fan spotted him first-hand and delivered this report by himself."

A smile extended on Dwang Sung's lips, a clear indication that this information had piqued his interest. Ming Fan continued, his voice steady as he reported.

"The ritual created a link between the Astral Shadow plain and our world. Mo Fan explained how the portal was orange in color, and the beasts that emerged from it were just as strong as orange-marked familiars."

"Hmmmm, go on." Dwang Sung played with his long black hair as he listened.

"Ryder wasn't alone, but there was someone with him who was none other than the blue-silver eyes non-summoner—Leo."

Dwang Sung sat up straight, all pretense of relaxation abandoned. "Leo..." The name rolled off his tongue like a curse. "So they are allies."

A wide smirk extended on his face again as a new thought flashed in his mind. 'If the silver gaze possessor is ally with the black mark contractor, then that would mean getting Ryder to join us will be killing two birds with one stone.'

"Anything else vital that you haven't told me?" Dwang Sung inquired as he adjusted his hair, returning the strands that had fallen over his face back into place.

"No," Ming Fan replied, then hesitated. "But..."

"Say no more." Master Sung tapped his shoulder in a friendly gesture that felt somehow more threatening than comforting. "We will take our hunt for Ryder to the next level. I won't be sending my members off, I will join now..."

He rose from his seat and walked to the window that overlooked the busy road of the sprawling city below. Dwang Sung pressed his palm against the cool glass and smiled at his reflection.

"When dealing with the likes of Ryder and Leo, conventional methods have proven... inadequate." He turned then, and his smile wasn't just a regular smile, it carried malicious intent behind it.

"Besides, I'm rather looking forward to meeting the infamous Leo in person. I've heard such fascinating things about those silver eyes of his."

"Prepare the Crimson Hawks," he ordered with a firm resolve. "We're going to need specialized trackers for this operation."

The Crimson Hawks, a guild they had defeated and enslaved filled with members that have familiars which focus on tracking and detecting.

Ming Fan swallowed hard. "Y—yes master—"

***

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Brok screamed like a little girl as they made a sharp turn, knocking over a slim metal pole by the side of the road before returning to the track.

The expensive vehicle—which Leo had somehow "acquired" through means he refused to tell—swerved wildly across the busy road, its engine roaring like a beast.

"PLEASE SLOW DOWN, PLEASE SLOW DOWN, PLEASE SLOW THE HELL DOWN!" Brok pleaded from the back seat, his fingers digging so deeply into Leo's shirt that the fabric began to tear.

His normally imposing frame was folded into an almost comical position, knees practically up to his chest as he tried to brace himself against the next wild turn.

The tantrum Brok was throwing from behind forced a smile on Ryder's face. 'Who would have thought such a gruff fellow like Brok could show such level of fear.'

"Take your hands off me now." Leo smiled as he turned his head around in almost a complete 360-degree rotation to stare directly at Brok who was behind, while the car drove further at full speed.

"Unless," Leo added with a wicked gleam in his silver-blue eyes, "you want me to use the turbo accelerator."

Brok gulped down hard as he finally let go of Leo.

"Sit back and enjoy," Leo grinned wickedly. "It's gonna be fine, man."

VWWWWOOOOOOM!

The car's engine screamed in protest as Leo slammed his foot against the accelerator.

"Leo..." Brok whispered from behind, his voice trembling. "I hope you know I might not survive an accident at such speed."

'I know I am a summoner, but I am not all that strong. I am nothing but a mere orange-marked summoner.'

He glanced nervously at Leo, whose manic grin hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"You have a good eye and abnormal speed which could help you save yourself. Ryder would be fine if something bad happens because he is the black devil..." Brok's voice dropped even lower.

"Even though he is not with his devil right now, but he is still strong enough to come out unscathed."

Brok took a deep breath, seeming to gather courage for his next words. "On the other hand, I don't th—"

"ENOUGH!" Leo chimed in suddenly, stomping his foot against the brake. The car screeched to a halt, throwing them all forward before the seatbelts snapped them back into place.

Turning to Ryder with an expression of exaggerated innocence, he asked, "Where exactly is this village of yours located, oh Ryder?"

"It's on the tracker," Ryder gestured at the screen in the vehicle. "The red dot at the top left corner, can't you see?"

Leo blinked. "How did you know! I've had this car for over a year now and I have no clue of how everything works up until now!"

"Huh!" Brok exclaimed from the back while Ryder simply turned to stare at him with no expression whatsoever.

The words uttered by Ryder next sounded like an insult more than anything. "Can't you read?"

To their surprise, Leo didn't respond with his usual exaggerated outburst. Instead, he offered Ryder a soft smile—genuine smile. It was so different from his typical manic expressions that both Ryder and Brok found themselves staring.

"I never told you, did I?" Said Leo as he adjusted the mirror just for Brok who was at the back seat to have a glimpse of their situation.

FSG vehicles were approaching from far behind. Out of no surprise, the FSG found out they were over-speeding and driving haphazardly, destroying properties in the process.

'He does not want Ryder to panic,' Brok realized and played along.

Leo's voice took on a quieter tone. "I am 90 percent blind in my left eye, and 95 percent in the right. I am literally blind, only not in absolute darkness—by that I mean I can see light and colors in blur."

A heavy silence filled the car as this revelation sank in. Leo pulled the gear into reverse, then forward again, pressing his foot on the accelerator while everyone processed what he had just said.

"Does that mean you cannot see my face?" Brok asked quietly, his earlier fear of Leo's driving suddenly replaced by something like wonder.

"Yeah." Leo smiled back, though his eyes weren't focused on Brok. "I can distinguish between you and Ryder through voices and aura. Till date, I don't know what your face looks like, or what my face looks like either."

Leo navigated a sharp turn with surprising precision for someone who had just admitted to being nearly blind.

"If not for this secret technique for my eyes I developed, I would have been screwed." He laughed, but it was clearly forced—hollow in a way that made no one could join in.

"In this damned planet called Terra, if one cannot contract a familiar, they are automatically regarded as trash," Leo continued, his voice loud. "Being born with a disability such as blindness makes one appear like an invaluable waste of being a living thing."

The sirens from the FSG vehicles grew louder, closing in on them, but Leo seemed unconcerned.

"Imagine being born with the worst combo—no familiar or invitation to the Astral Shadow plain as well as disability." His knuckles tightened around the steering wheel. "That is me, yet I am still fine and feared."

He jerked the wheel suddenly, sending them down a narrow side street.

"I can read and distinguish objects as well with the help of my silver gaze, but not letters crest on clothes or printed on books. I can read objects such as those crafted—like the FSG metal badges and the plate number of the FSG vehicles chasing us from behind."

A long moment of silence stretched and the only noise in Leo's car were the sirens wailing from behind. Somehow, no one in the car was nervous, no one was afraid until eventually, Brok spoke up.

"You just made a confession, I should make mine," Finally, Brok broke the silence with a confession of his own. "You know, in my entire life, this is the first time for me to have ever been driven by a vehicle as a matter of fact."

"I've always dreamed of it for more than thirty years of my existence."

Both Ryder and Leo froze up and simultaneously turned to the backseat to stare at Brok out of puzzlement.

"He is not kidding!" Ryder repeated.

Silence stretched again and simultaneously, he and Leo both burst out laughing.

Ryder wasn't exactly laughing so much, he was simply chuckling but Leo on the other hand wasn't. He was laughing hysterically with his leg in the air and his hand clutching to his ribs, completely ignoring the fact that he was driving.

"Brok, watch out!" Ryder spoke calmly but his eyes were enlarged beyond their normal size slightly as he panicked noticing the object they were speeding towards. He quickly stretched his legs and slammed it on the brake pedal on Leo's side.

The vehicle's tires screeched against the road, leaving long black marks on the gravel floor as they tried desperately to stop the car's momentum but unfortunately...

CRASH!!