The Seven Demon's Tamer

CRASH!!

The BMW sport car crashed into the massive gravel pole with the sound of crumpling metal and shattering glass, denting the car's beautiful exterior almost instantly.

The smooth, once-gleaming metallic blue paint exterior was now grotesque in appearance in the front where the collision had occurred.

Rio, a FSG agent positioned in patrolling duties, marched out of his vehicle after getting to a few yards before Leo's BMW—the same car he had been chasing.

He blew on the communication device hanging by his shirt. The small silver whistle-shaped object glowed purple at his breath, activating its transmission capabilities.

"Target vehicle located and... neutralized," he spoke in a clipped, professional tone. "Proceeding with extraction protocol Alpha-Seven."

Rio approached the driver's side window, his breath fogging the glass as he peered inside, expecting to find... possibly injured suspects. What he saw—or rather, didn't see—drained the color from his face.

The car was empty!

Not just "the suspects have fled" empty, but completely, utterly vacant.

There were no personal items, no blood from the crash, not even the usual things one would expect to find in a vehicle—no coffee cups, no candy wrappers, nothing at all. Even if they had fled, there should have been signs claiming they were in the car.

"What are the conditions of the occupants?" One of his colleagues asked as he also peered through the window.

"Empty?" The agent echoed, an eyebrow raised. "But that's impossible! We saw it driving erratically just moments ago. The trajectory detected at least one driver and potentially two passengers."

Another agent, a female this time, questioned, her dark eyes scanning the vehicle carefully, "Could they have escaped? Perhaps they jumped out before the crash?"

"One of the best guesses is that the car is AI controlled. Probably, its artificial intelligence malfunctioned." But even as he said it, Rio knew that explanation didn't hold water. Consumer AI systems, in expensive vehicles like this BMW, were limited—they could assist drivers, but not operate independently.

And certainly not with the erratic and crazed, almost human-like driving patterns they had observed all the way during the chase.

No, there was something else going on here, it could not be AI driven—the assumption was wrong.

"Secure the perimeter," his voice boomed. "We should call for backup now."

Standing on a tall distant rooftop not too far from the scene while staring at the confusion on the FSG agents' faces, Leo was trying his best not to laugh.

"Look how dumb they look, isn't it so funny?" Leo spoke, chuckling while maintaining his balance on the slick clay tiles of the rooftop. "Huh, Ryder?"

He was currently holding onto Ryder by the collar with his left hand, while his right hand clutched Brok's massive shoulder; despite their difference in size, there was no visible strain in Leo's arm differentiating the two.

He had suddenly appeared during the chase, grabbing Brok and Ryder along with him.

"I can't find what's funny in there," Ryder responded blankly like always. "You nearly got us caught by those patrolling agents."

"Yeah, I know." Leo smirked as he dropped Ryder and Brok simultaneously on the surface to stand on their feet. The release was abrupt before Leo finally remembered they weren't shopping bags.

Ryder's landing was rather smooth, like a cat that always finds its feet no matter the situation. He made sure to be careful and perfectly executed a silent landing.

THUD

The same couldn't be said for Brok. The giant man hit the roof, creating a muffled thud that made Leo wince and glance nervously at the FSG agents below.

Luckily, the sound didn't seem to carry far enough to alert them.

"Watch it, you punk!" Brok grumbled with an exaggerated expression of pain. "This isn't exactly the cushioned backseat of that fancy car, you know."

Leo grinned wickedly at Brok before turning his gaze to Ryder.

"You felt quite anxious after the accident, didn't you?" he joked, turning back to Ryder. "I know you were terrified."

"Not at all," said Ryder, while his gaze moved away from the FSG agents below to his cloak.

He brushed invisible dust from his cloak and added, "But I do wish I was terrified. That would help me confirm just how much fear I could feel."

Leo carefully watched Ryder with the corner of his eyes while keeping most of his face away from Ryder's view.

"It seems like it won't be easy to bring him back to how he was before," Leo wondered internally, his mind racing through other potential approaches and strategies he could use. "I've tried to make him feel multiple different emotions, but none were penetrating."

A shadow passed over Leo's face as he reached a clear conclusion. "Luxy truly destroyed this kid."

"You crashed our ride, Leo. Now how the hell are we gonna get to my village?" Ryder questioned with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "That village has no actual name, nor is it popular. I don't think anyone would know where it is now."

With no words spoken, Leo grabbed Brok and Ryder again, his movements so swift and decisive that Brok had no time to protest.

"We were on the last track right before the car crashed," Leo explained between controlled breaths, his voice barely affected despite the fact that he was carrying two men while hopping from one roof to another. "If we go straight ahead, we'll reach the entrance shortly."

Just as Leo said, Ryder's nose caught the smell of fresh charcoal as they closed up to their destination.

"Brace yourself," Leo alerted as he made one final leap into the air, covering the hugest distance so far. In that instant, his fingers, even though tightly gripped on their collar, began to loosen up.

The trio descended to the ground, each taking their individual grand pose.

"We are here," Ryder spoke as he stared through the holes of the towering rusting gate that marked the village entrance.

The gate must have been impressive once—tall iron bars fashioned into beautiful patterns that spoke of craftsmanship. Now, rust had claimed large portions of it, and several bars were bent or missing entirely.

"Welcome to my village."

Turning towards Brok and Leo with a slight but welcoming smile—one of the most emotion he'd shown since they began their journey—Ryder opened his mouth to say something.

Perhaps he was about to explain the village's history, or share a childhood memory or something along the line, but whatever he intended to say died on his lips the moment he saw Leo's face.

Leo was staring at the village with an unreadable expression, his eyes wide and unfocused, like someone trying to watch three movies simultaneously.

His mouth hung slightly open, and a bead of sweat had broken out and drooled down his forehead despite the cool afternoon air.

"Leo?" Brok questioned, reaching out a massive hand as if to steady the smaller man. "You okay there, buddy? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Leo didn't seem to hear him. He raised a hand, fingers splayed as if trying to touch something invisible.

Ryder and Brok exchanged glances—Brok's concerned, Ryder's slightly curious.

"I couldn't sense it from far away but up close... This entire village is covered in gamma energy like a dense cloud of fog."

***

The sound of helicopters filled the air as various of them swarmed the air, heading towards the building that was finally within sight.

By the side of each helicopter, two flying familiars were accompanying them.

On one of the familiars was Lucian, his tall, lean frame appearing surprisingly comfortable atop the creature's back—particularly a floating Serpencia that weaved through the air unsteadily. His blonde hair was pulled back as it whipped in the wind.

Lucian's six golden stars glinted under the afternoon sunlight—the mark of the elite in the FSG.

His expression was one of intense concentration, eyes narrowed against the wind as they approached the target.

"Descend all at once!" His voice carried an unmistakable authority.

"Roger that," the FSG member occupying the lead helicopter responded through their microphone. Within seconds, ladders rolled down from each helicopter, unfurling like metallic tongues reaching for the rooftop below.

Using the ladders, summoners of the FSG guild rained down from the sky in a coordinated display. Each agent moved with swiftness, their boots hitting the rooftop in synchronization.

On Lucian's signal, some breached the rooftop with a controlled explosion that sent splinters of wood flying in all directions while others breached the doors.

They poured into Leo's apartment like water finding every available crack, spreading throughout the space with tactical precision.

Each room was secured within seconds, agents communicating through hand signals and subvocal microphones to coordinate their movements.

They poured into Leo's apartment like water finding every available crack, spreading throughout the space tactically.

Each room was secured within seconds, agents communicating through hand signals and microphones to coordinate their movements.

"Turn around, your hands on your head," one of the agent's voices boomed through the apartment even before setting his eyes on any target.

More and more agents rushed into the building and spread out, searching for either Leo or Ryder, or even both of them. They moved with caution, checking closets, under furniture, behind curtains—any space that could potentially conceal a person or anything they could find interesting.

"Clear!" came the call from the kitchen.

"Bathroom clear!" echoed another agent.

"Bedroom one, clear!"

"Bedroom two, clear!"

The calls continued until the entire apartment had been searched, each room pronounced empty of their targets.

Lucian bit his lips in anger as he wondered, "What are the chances that they were aware of our arrival beforehand?"

Then, finally, someone spotted something of interest.

"Isn't that a rabbit?" he spoke as he approached. The rabbit's eyes were closed like it was asleep at a corner of the sitting room, near a curtain while its white beautiful fur stood out.

"Awwwwwwn, it's so big and so cute," another female agent added. "I wanna pet it."

She reached her hands toward the rabbit, fingers outstretched in anticipation of feeling that soft, inviting fur.

The other agents in the room had relaxed somewhat and simply scoffed, the tension in their shoulders easing at the sight of such an innocent, non-threatening pet.

After all, what harm could come from a sleeping bunny?

Suddenly, Lucian stepped into the living room, his presence immediately commanding attention as it caused all the agents who spotted him to stand at attention.

"Focus on your mission," his voice rang out. "We are not here for fun."

Despite Lucian's warning, the agent was a little too late to abort her motion.

Her fingertips had already made contact with the rabbit's fur, stroking it gently. "It's so soft," she murmured, a small smile playing on her lips.

In that instant, Luxy—who had closed his eyes in pretense sleep—smiled. It wasn't an obvious expression; merely a short grin that extended from the corner of his lips, so subtle it could barely be noticed, but Lucian saw it. And he knew exactly what it meant.

"WITHDRAW!" he bellowed, his eyes widening. "EVERYONE OUT, NOW!"

Unfortunately, it was already too late...

***

The trio were walking through the streets of the village. Brok was watching, fascinated by everything and everyone around him. Ryder watched with the corner of his eyes, and as much as he wouldn't want to admit, this was giving him flashbacks of Luxy.

On the other hand, Leo's expression was the strangest—the strangest he had ever made.

He appeared just... confused as he stared at the air, looking at what Ryder and the others couldn't see.

So far, they had moved past many crude tools and equipments, even horses tied to a cart before Leo finally spoke.

"Ryder...

Do your village by any chance have some sort of strange order or rule?"

"Hmmm." Ryder placed his finger on his jaw as he hummed out loud. They were still walking while he was taking the lead, guiding them to his former home.

"Oh, of course," he replied after a short while of thinking. "We are forbidden from using electric gadgets here or even own anything that uses or could produce electricity."

Leo snapped his finger suddenly in realization. "Now that makes sense why there's so much gamma energy in the air.

There are no other sources of energy that could compete with it," Leo voiced out. "But the big question is why."

At that moment, Ryder finally halted right before a pile of debris and wood, scattered like a structure was once present there. "Best guess is that the abnormal gamma energy you are seeing is because of the conjuring room nearby."

All the pieces finally aligned. There was a conjuring room in this vicinity! The government placed a rule that all other energy, which is electricity, to be forbidden just so that the conjuring room would have enough gamma energy to work with.

Placing his hands on Brok's and Leo's shoulders, he snapped them back to reality.

"This pile of rubble is where my home resided previously," Ryder announced.

"And this is where the lead to where my father was abducted to lies."

Brok and Leo were both confused as they listened; they just couldn't understand how Ryder was so sure of it.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Ryder sighed. "I'll break it down for you guys..."

While Ryder spoke, he was never aware of one fact—he was being watched.

The crow from the sky with red glinting eyes cried as it flew away after watching the trio below carefully for just enough time.

Caw! Caw! Caw!