The Seven Demon's Tamer

Chapter 8

Despite how Ryder continuously repeated to Hollow that he was not interested in his words, Hollow still paid no attention.

What Hollow was saying was quite interesting after all, so Ryder decided to listen.

'So I am the only vessel that can hold in a demon monarch.'

Ryder never knew much about how markings work until he got to this world.

From the looks of things, it is very rare for a human to be able to contract a familiar from the demon plane. The demon monarch is even the hardest.

More than the majority of the demon monarchs have never contracted a host. Every human they have ever marked never successfully cleared their trial.

Seeing that the trial is always too hard for humans to handle, they decided to cancel the trials they put in store for the humans and made the contraction process straightforward and direct.

Despite the brevity of the contraction process and the ease, there was still a decline in the human body and soul. It just was not strong enough to contain the beasts from this plane.

The moment a demon makes a contract with a human and then tries to bind and form a marking on the host's body, like Luxy did to you, success is never attained. The human soul instantly explodes and dissipates into nothing, killing the human in the process.

"I have been watching you, Ryder. Ever since I noticed that Luxy was able to bind with you successfully, I had no proof that you were special. You are special enough to hold a devil in."

"I wasn't quite sure if you would be able to hold a monarch in, but then I asked myself—will the Dracogon tell us false information or a lie?"

"No," Hollow replied to himself. "No, he wouldn't. I can trust the Dracogon's word, even though he isn't exactly... an ally."

"The Dracogon trusts that you will be able to make a successful contract with him, so then, who am I to not be able to do the same? I don't know about the Dracogon's power at the full extent, but I know I am not stronger than he is."

Ryder remained quiet on the outside, but inside screamed otherwise.

"How different do you think I am? How special do you estimate me to be!? What if that had killed me!"

Hollow tilted his head downwards while his golden eyes gleamed under the dim light of the soul realm.

"You are special enough to hold a demon monarch. That is clear to both of us, and I do not know your limit."

"I was quite intrigued to know your limit, but unfortunately, I won't. You will die by the time we discover your limit."

"For that reason, Luxy won't be coming back in. I kicked him out in order to guarantee success in our contraction process, and I do not want him back. You won't want him back either because I am plenty of ranks above him and better in every aspect."

"Ha ha, very funny," Ryder laughed dryly, unimpressed. "You are not the one who will help me make my decision. I'll decide myself, and I want Luxy back."

A malicious laugh echoed through the area as Hollow squinted his eyes.

"You think you are in the place to decide, huh, little human. No one else will be intersecting with your soul, not even the Dracogon by my will."

"You already have me, so that's enough. I am capable of transporting you out of this realm at will, and that I will do."

Ryder wanted to speak but quickly held back his words, only uttering a little sound.

For a little while, he and Hollow stared at each other with locked gazes, not breaking eye contact.

While Ryder was partially bracing himself against being teleported away, he noticed something that made him grin inwardly.

Hollow wasn't making any move; he was simply staring at him. If Hollow wanted to teleport him, he would have done it without wasting any time. The delay could only mean one thing... there is a restriction that is stopping Hollow.

Ryder stood in relief before he spoke.

"You can teleport me away, can't you? So why the delay?"

"You are just as smart as I expected," Hollow replied. "You see, Ryder, I did not bind myself with your soul; I simply forced my way through. In human terms, I'll say I am in... rent; I do not own this house."

"If I teleport you away, then I won't be able to go along with you because we haven't made an official contract," Hollow explained.

"Heh, so even the monarchs have their limits," Ryder thought inwardly.

"So, what now?" Ryder questioned with a smirk.

"You already know, don't you? You are to allow me to bind with your soul."

"No!" Ryder spoke sharply. The feeling he was getting from rejecting the offer of a demon monarch made him feel butterflies in his tummy.

"Ryder, should I tell you a secret?" Hollow asked. "The only reason why you are alive is because I see you are a vessel, my vessel, and a capable one at that."

"Other than that, if you were like the other humans that couldn't hold a mere wandering demon or devil from this plane, I wouldn't have minded taking your life the instant I saw you."

"You know where this is going, don't you, Ryder? If I find no use for you, I am not only going to kill you, but I will also punish you for wasting my time."

"So make your choice now and choose wisely," Hollow concluded.

"This creature has next to no aura radiating out from his body, and yet... it is so intimidating," Ryder thought inwardly before he started speaking out.

"Hollow, do you really think you can kill me? I guess not. Throughout your lifetime, which has probably been countless millennia, how many times have you seen a human that managed to show or possess the potential to withstand a demon in his soul?"

"How many have you seen that can withstand a monarch in his soul?! I can guess very few, or maybe none."

"Would you take the risk of killing me, a human who can withstand a demon and a monarch at the same time in his body without receiving a drawback!?"

"Tell me now, Hollow, would you be able to destroy a golden vessel like my own?"

Hollow, for the first time, was quiet. He kept his head down deep in thought before suddenly...

*Vwoom!*

A quick gust of wind swept the surface of the entire plane where they were. It traveled with such might that even Hollow, who was inside Ryder's soul realm along with Ryder, felt it.

"Speaking of 'worst-case scenario'..."

The Dracogon has arrived.