After a short pause, Alephee continued where she had left off.
'Of course, a ranker doesn't necessarily have to die for bad luck to strike. And almost anything can happen when demons and their intent-based magic are involved.
There are other extreme ways a demon can take control of a person's body under the right conditions. This is when a strong enough demon soul fully awakens the demonic individuality they had in the demon realm.
This can be considered as the next stage of demonic possession in which the demon soul fragment starts refining the ranker's soul instead of the other way around. We can call it a demonic takeover.'
Eren gulped audibly as he listened to the risks of demonic possession and demonic takeover. He always knew there had to be a catch for every power one gained using shortcuts. He just didn't know how serious the repercussions were.
'That means the majority of demon beast tamers don't have to worry about demonic possession. But what about the demonic takeover? Can't a ranker take countermeasures against something like that? Because it seems like something that can't be avoided.'
Alephee chuckled amusingly before replying quickly.
'The person doesn't even know the demons are taking over them until their consciousness just fades away into nothingness– slumbering forever. How will they respond to something like that?
Even if we take rare cases in which the ranker becomes aware that their soul is being encroached on by demons, it wouldn't necessarily help them. How can their slumbering soul fight those demons?
The demonic takeover is the most dangerous for rankers because it is an irreversible process. It allows the demon soul fragment to obtain nature, memories, and all the other aspects of being the entity whose soul it has refined.'
Eren processed the information slowly in his head. He came up with his own conjecture on the matter.
'That means…'
Alephee confirmed his conjecture quickly.
'That's right. This situation makes the entity neither a complete demon nor a complete ranker. In a way, a demon soul fragment becomes a completely different entity with a demonic takeover. One who knows the demonic ways yet retains the characteristics of the ranker whose soul it has refined.
When the demonic soul fragment assimilates with the person, the demonic takeover is complete. There's no way to separate the two anymore when that happens.
If I'm not mistaken, Demonmir's case is like that. Because there's no way he could overpower a demon soul fragment of a Demon Prince and refine it for himself. Of course, there had to be some favorable conditions for the Demon Prince's soul fragment to pull this off. But it's a strong possibility.
At this point, Eren wanted to meet with Demonmir as soon as he could to find out the truth. He had concluded that he was safe from any potential demonic possession or demonic takeover. Once his safety was no longer in doubt, he began to think about how he could use the demons' ways to his advantage in the long run.
'So can we say that the blood ritual contract is not foolproof?'
Alephee had predicted correctly, and the continent-spanning array did not generate negative feedback. So she and Eren both wanted to make use of this opportunity to discuss a few things.
'There is no such thing as foolproof anything.
Demonic loyalty comes with a condition. And demons are masters at finding loopholes in Faustian Contracts. The blood ritual the rankers perform at the time of a demon beast's breakthrough is also a form of the Faustian Contract.
The Faustian contract has something good and something bad for both parties. In case of demonic possession or takeover, the blood ritual that had kept the demon beast tamed and loyal becomes the downfall of a ranker.
This is a hidden risk of using body-strengthening or flesh-altering arts from the demon realm. Demons use this art to create better shells for their possessions in every world.
A majority of demonic rankers in other worlds use these demonic arts without ever understanding the consequences. By using demonic methods, they achieve quick success. And in the end, one wrong move and they get possessed by demons.
Being a demonic ranker isn't all rainbows and sunshine as they think it to be.'
Alephee finished drawing the runic details of her newly designed array and felt satisfied with her work. With a smile on her face, she closed her grimoire and spoke further.
'Ideally, a demon soul fragment and the demon beasts themselves would die with their masters. The body-strengthening art, however, allows the demons to still be present inside the world they have infiltrated even after their master's death.
That's why I said Wilber prepared a contingency plan. He wouldn't harm Steve himself. He doesn't have to. However, let's just say that he wouldn't be too upset if Steve died due to other factors.
Of course, this case is only applicable if you give in to the demonic whispers and follow everything they say to you. The body-strengthening art, the flesh-altering art, or any of the demonic power-ups that the demons offer anyone– one can be damn sure that the demons get something in return. That's the law of equivalent exchange observed by any Faustian Contract.'
Alephee deemed that this much information was enough for Eren to understand a few things. She came back to her original point after allowing him a chance to process everything she said.
'So the moral of the story is… Steve's body is still developing as a demonic vessel and it isn't time yet for that possibility to take place. But I thought of letting you know just in case you decide to use him for your long-term goals.
No matter the demon's rank, their nature is always inclined to stay demonic.'
Eren nodded to himself as he understood both Steve's and Demonmir's possible conditions. Demonmir had become twice as dangerous in his eyes than previously after finding out that there was a chance a Demon Prince's awakened consciousness was residing within his body.
He and Alephee also concluded that the Demon Prince had managed to keep Anfang's forces in the dark after his demonic takeover was completed.
AN: Faustian contract (general definition) is a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches.
