The Seven Demon's Tamer

They are distorted. The climate malfunctioned. The intense presence consumed everything as the Dracogon made its way downward.

Reality itself seemed to warp and bend around the descending figure. Temperature fluctuated wildly—sweltering heat one moment, a more intense heat the next—coloring the plane in colored radiation.

Plants withered and crumbled to dust while the soil beneath cracked. The atmosphere grew thick with a raging inferno, almost viscous, and made it seem as if the plane itself was pleading for help.

Each time he flapped his wings, a gust of hot wind was sent through the entire planet, reaching everywhere—even up to Hollow, who wasn't present in the physical plane.

Those weren't mere gusts. Each time the wing flapped, it unleashed a powerful, raw force that tore the trees around from their roots, scattered boulders into pebbles, and sent lesser demons and devils present in the plane tumbling through the air like autumn leaves.

Even mountains couldn't contain the assault; their peaks eroded visibly with each successive wave. In the distant seas, tidal waves rose hundreds of feet high, crashing against coastlines and reshaping shorelines that had remained unchanged for millennia, if not even more.

I guess this is where the whole story changes. I am afraid I won't be letting you go from my grasp, even if it means battling the Dracogon. Hollow spoke inside Ryder's mind.

There was something Ryder noticed in the demon monarch's mental voice—uneasiness, perhaps even... concern?

No, that couldn't be right. Demon monarchs didn't feel concern, especially not for their hosts. If Hollow is feeling concerned, that means Hollow wants him alive, which also means—Hollow will not hurt him.

Ryder couldn't be sure about the Dracogon, since the Dracogon might probably be angry that he contracted another beast.

Hollow, who was inside Ryder's soul space, slowly disintegrated into particles and flowed away until he disappeared. It wasn't a violent disintegration. Rather, inside Ryder's soul space, it felt like frost melting under the first touch of morning sunlight—gradual and peaceful.

First, it was Hollow's fingertips, then his hands, arms, torso, and finally his face. Throughout the process, those predatory eyes of his remained fixed on Ryder; he didn't even blink. With how he acted, one would even be able to guess that a being like him could feel concern or any emotion along the line.

Each fragment of his dissipating body glowed with a faint blue luminescence as it drifted upward, creating a galaxy of tiny stars that swirled once around Ryder before disappearing into thin air.

Blue particles from a demon monarch! Ryder wondered. That doesn't feel demon-like, honestly.

Ryder felt the world around fading shortly after Hollow disappeared. The world was breaking into particles just like Hollow's body; he was clearly exiting his soul space as well.

Then, with a sensation like a stretched rubber band forcefully snapping back to shape, he was thrust back into the plane where he was. More like his consciousness, though, because his original existing body remained while he spoke to Hollow in his soul space.

Opening his eyes, he expected to see the seemingly beautiful landscape once more. The landscape with greenery, flowers, trees, and sweet, calm breeze were gone; the blue sky, the golden clouds… Everything was lost, nearly as if it had never existed.

Instead, the scene was even worse than the Dracogon plane, which already looked like a wasteland. The light reflecting across the entire plane at that moment made everything appear orange.

It was as if they stood inside an enormous blaze. The orange light didn't just illuminate the surroundings—it consumed. It devoured shadows and bathed everything in its glow, which felt as if it had emotion—the emotion of animosity towards everything.

The air shimmered with heat that dulled distant objects, making them dance and waver like an illusion. The horizon itself seemed aflame, a ring of fire encircling their world and slowly closing in.

"W-What is this presence?" Ryder stuttered. "It feels like it's calling me."

The call was wordless, yet Ryder could decipher it. It resonated with something primal within him, something that was dragging out his humanity, perhaps even his existence.

Appearing out of nowhere was Hollow.

One moment there was nothing but shimmering air; the next, Hollow stood before Ryder, his suddenly materialized form just as solid and defined as always.

Gone was his usually casual posture. He stood rigid and tense, his feet planted firmly apart, his fists clenched tightly. His jaw was set in a hard line, and his predatory eyes reflected the orange glow—not his own aura, but that of the Dracogon's flame.

Hollow nearly had no aura, and Ryder noticed this for sure.

"That is the one who helped us realize how special you are—the Dracogon. He is currently in this plane."

Hollow's voice carried no emotion. Each word was precise and heavy. His gaze never left the burning horizon, not even when addressing Ryder directly. Something about Hollow's intensity made Ryder's skin crawl.

"I never needed you to tell me that," Ryder retorted. "My body and soul can already translate our cur…"

Vwwoooooooo!

The sound was impossible to properly describe. It wasn't merely loud; it was invasive, carrying more force than the Dracogon's flapping wings that could reshape mountains.

Suddenly, right before their eyes, the entire landscape was reduced to a smooth, leveled land. The rocks, the mountains, and the buildings all disappeared in a flash, due to a sudden burst of force as the intruder approached.

The shockwave that followed knocked Ryder back three steps despite all the strength he had derived from Luxy.

He felt a nosebleed start, the warm trickle of blood toward his lips.

Just like how he felt powerless when he first met Luxy, he was feeling the same now. Back then, he knew that should have been the case, after all, he was a mere human; but now, he shouldn't have felt the same.

Now, he has the power of a devil beast running through his veins. A mere gust of wind, that wasn't even from an attack but from the appearance of the Dracogon, was already overpowering him.

The Dracogon's real body was now right within their field of view.

All the devils in the plane panicked, running around chaotically.

Lesser demons ran around disorganized in every direction, like ants whose hill had been kicked over. Some took flight into the air on mismatched wings, colliding with each other in their haste to escape. Some others who didn't possess wings clawed at the ground, attempting to dig their way to safety. This wasn't the right way to escape; the correct way is by banishment—self-banishment.

Ryder took a step backward; even Luxy hopped behind him and peeked over his legs.

"The destructive speed of this creature is like nothing I've ever seen!"

Hollow stood his ground, staring into the distance.

Unlike every other being in the vicinity, Hollow showed no fear. His posture remained perfect—spine straight, shoulders high, chin slightly raised in a forced smile that he planned to contain as he fought.

Only someone who knew him as well as Ryder did might notice the subtle tells: the almost imperceptible tightening around his eyes, the slight flaring of his nostrils, the way his fingers curled just a fraction too tensely at his sides. Even Hollow wasn't radiating such an aura, despite being a demon monarch, just like the Dracogon.

In truth, Hollow never exuded an aura of heaviness at all. He was terrifying only due to his tone, his composure, and the way he acted, not his aura.

"Come forth, fellow monarch. Let's settle this once and for all."

Vwwoooooooom!

The Dracogon, who had been barely in their field of view a second ago, suddenly stood a few tens of meters away, rage burning in his eyes like intense orange flames.

For the first time in his life, Ryder was seeing the Dracogon with his own eyes.

He knew the Dracogon would be on a different level, being a monarch, but he never expected it to have such a malicious aura and appearance.

The Dracogon stood on two feet instead of four, as Ryder had expected. Not only did he have draconic features, but he also had a demonic appearance.

Its dominant stance gave it an unsettlingly humanoid aspect that somehow made it more terrifying than a traditional dragon would have been. The fusion of draconic and demonic features resulted in a distorted form of the Dracogon.

However, the proportions of the Dracogon's humanoid form were all wrong—limbs too long, joints bending in impossible directions, symmetry perfect yet disturbingly scary. Looking at it for too long gave Ryder a sudden headache, as if his mind refused to agree with what his eyes were seeing.

Countless spikes stuck out from his body, masking his rock-hard skin. Both the spikes and his skin appeared to be made of the same material—bony in texture and rock-hard.

Its eyes were empty, with only raging flames burning without a source inside. His mouth had no tongue or organs, only teeth and an endless burning flame down its throat.

He stood as a literal giant, nearly twenty feet tall in height.

His sharp claws on his long limbs scraped the ground. Overall, his aura made it impossible for anyone in his field of view to breathe in or out.

"Hollow," the Dracogon called in an elongated, husky tone.

Hollow~~~

Hollow~~~

"Will you say something already? I'm tired of hearing my name." Hollow yawned and smacked his lips nonchalantly.

Hollow~~~

"You… You dare?" The Dracogon ignored Hollow; each syllable he uttered shook the entire plane like an earthquake. "How dare you get in my way?"

"You've got some nerve trying to steal my host."

Hollow smiled, his sharp teeth on display. "You should've said that from the start instead of calling my name over and over, dummy."

"You see, punk, no one gives a damn about anything in the Astral Shadow Plane. We take what's best for us as quickly as possible before we lose it.

"You've lived long enough to know this yourself. I can't keep lecturing you on general knowledge."

"You see that host over there? He isn't yours." Hollow pointed at Ryder, causing him to flinch.

'Damn it! You're having your conversation—don't involve me, please!' Ryder screamed inwardly.

"That host belongs to whoever lays their hands on him first, before anyone else."

'Then that should be me.' Luxy wished he could say this aloud, but he didn't dare to interfere in a conversation between two monarchs.

"You should've made a contract with him when you had the chance. After so many years that felt like eternity, you finally found a vessel that could hold a demon, and yet you wasted your precious time testing and assessing him, only to let it slip out of your grasp. How foolish, Dracogon."

"Is this all you have to say to justify not feeling like a thief?" The Dracogon spoke in his usual malicious, elongated tone. "You think you can convince me to follow your mentality, huh?"

"Unfortunately, Hollow, I think I'll have to remind you—and all the other monarchs—why they shouldn't mess with me."

The Dracogon puffed out smoke from his mouth.

"I won't sugarcoat my words, Hollow. I'll be giving you an unfriendly reminder."

Turning his head slightly, Hollow observed. Just as he had hoped, all the creatures from his plane were disappearing one after another, evacuating the plane, just like Luxy did to the Dracogon's plane—they were all using self-banishment.

Hollow nearly breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw the occupants of his plane scrambling to safety. He didn't want them to be caught up in the confrontation he was having with Dracogon.

Ever since the Dracogon had stepped into this plane, all the creatures had been alerted to his presence. In an instant, they had gone crazed, running around aimlessly and haphazardly.

The sheer might and aura radiating from the Dracogon screamed chaos.

Hollow knew this, and he knew for sure that if he and the Dracogon engaged in battle with them around, it wouldn't end well.

'More than half of the creatures in this plane have migrated to another plane,' Hollow thought inwardly as a sudden, small burst of blue, flame-like aura exploded over his hands.

"I guess I can go all out now."

The Dracogon's claws dangled as the heat pressure increased in the air.

The declaration of battle doesn't always need to be spoken. The actions of Hollow and Dracogon already made it clear that a battle of pure chaos was about to unfold.