Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

Floyd's response was unintelligible through his pain, but Rex leaned closer as if genuinely interested in the answer.

Rex smiled, hearing the answer.

The nurses' pleas for rescue grew more desperate as Floyd's screams reached new heights of agony.

"Please! You have to do something!"

"We can't just watch him die!"

Yes, we can. And we will.

Rex lifted Floyd higher, a bored expression on his face. "You are quite boring, I'm done with you. You can go rot in hell..."

SNAP!

Rex turned his gaze back to Arthur, a smile on his face.

[00:00:14]

Fourteen seconds.

The demon gathered his massive frame and launched himself across the gap between buildings.

His trajectory was perfect, his speed something that made the security guards flinch.

One leap. Less than a second.

CRASH!

Rex landed directly in front of the shattered window, his four hands gripping the frame. The hospital floor groaned under his weight, tiles splitting beneath clawed feet that left permanent gouges in reinforced flooring.

Thirteen seconds, Arthur thought, his eyes tracking every micro-movement of the countdown timer.

"SHOOT HIM!" Arthur's command cracked through the air like a whip.

The security team raised their weapons in perfect unison, energy cells charging with the desperate hope of men facing extinction. Their training kicked in despite the terror coursing through their veins.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Brilliant photon beams lanced across the room, each shot placed with military precision. The concentrated energy that had vaporised defective demons struck Rex's crimson hide with thunderous impact.

Unfortunately, the attacks yielded nothing.

The scorch marks appeared and faded like temporary tattoos, Rex's flesh absorbing and dismissing their most advanced weaponry with indifference.

"Our best weapons are toys to this thing." One of the guards muttered grimly.

Rex's burning gaze swept over the room with amusement. His massive hand reached down, fingers closing around a chunk of concrete torn from the damaged wall. The debris compressed under impossible pressure, forming a perfect spherical projectile.

WHOOSH!

The concrete missile flew with artillery-level velocity toward the nearest security guard. Time seemed frozen as the concrete sphere traced its lethal arc through smoke-filled air.

CRACK!

The impact was devastating. The guard's head exploded like an overripe fruit, blood and brain matter painting the wall behind him in a grotesque painting.

Direct hit. Instant death.

His headless body remained upright for a heartbeat before crumpling to the floor, expensive tactical gear now nothing more than an expensive shroud.

Thud

The remaining security team watched their companion's destruction with eyes wide as dinner plates. Years of professional training evaporated in the face of overwhelming supernatural force.

Terror overrides discipline. Every time.

"FUCK THIS!" One guard screamed, his voice cracking with hysteria. "I'M NOT DYING FOR THIS!"

The photon rifle clattered to the floor as he bolted toward the corridor exit. His composure shattered like spun glass under the weight of primal survival instinct.

Clearly, he had regretted not leaving earlier.

And there goes our firepower.

The security team's retreat triggered a mass exodus. Seeing the professionals flee, the nurses abandoned their positions against the walls. Medical staff who'd sworn oaths to preserve life now trampled each other in desperate attempts to escape, and it was understandable; nobody blamed them, not even Arthur.

Mass panic. Completely predictable.

Rex observed the chaos with the detached interest of a scientist studying insects. His massive hand selected another projectile from the rubble around his feet.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Countless concrete missiles flew with machine-gun precision, each one guided by supernatural accuracy. The fleeing humans never stood a chance against projectiles moving faster than their eyes could track.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Bodies dropped like broken marionettes, their strings cut by impacts that shattered bone and flesh. The corridor became a charnel house in seconds.

Total annihilation.

Arthur watched the massacre with a cold look on his face. He could have shouted for them to stop. Could have explained about the countdown timer. Could have promised salvation was seconds away.

But they wouldn't have listened.

Fear had overridden logic, just as it always did. Besides, he had more important priorities than saving people who'd already given up.

Charlotte's room. Gates's survival. My own life.

Triage. Some people matter more than others.

Dave stood frozen beside Arthur, his knuckles white around his photon rifle's grip. The young man's lips moved in silent prayer, words lost beneath the sound of Rex's rumbling laughter.

At least someone listened to me.

Gates remained perfectly motionless, his wounded shoulder forgotten in the face of approaching doom. No shouting. No protests. Just a grim acceptance of circumstances beyond his control.

Smart. Panic gets you killed faster.

[00:00:10]

Ten seconds left...

Arthur's mind raced through final preparations. His mind ran through his experience with the demons and the possibilities that his next words were about to create.

Come on! Just ten more seconds!

Rex stepped through the window frame like a mountain forcing itself through a doorway. His massive bulk filled the corridor completely, blocking out what little light remained from the sun.

The demon's burning eyes swept across the fresh massacre with obvious satisfaction.

"Much better. I prefer my prey properly terrified and broken."

Nine seconds.

Rex's attention shifted to Arthur with interest, his burning gaze studying him with interest.

"But you... You didn't run. How delightfully curious."

Eight seconds.

Arthur stepped forward, his posture radiating defiance despite their hopeless situation.

Time to play the most dangerous game.

"Run? From something like you?" Arthur's laugh carried genuine amusement that echoed through the blood-soaked room.

"I've faced real demons. You're barely worth my attention."

Seven seconds.

Rex's burning eyes narrowed to volcanic slits, rage building like pressure in a boiler about to explode.

"What did you just say, mortal?"

Perfect. Got his complete attention. This way, he wouldn't do something unpredictable. I can't play with variables now, I need to take control.

"You heard me." Arthur's smile was razor-sharp, cutting through the oppressive aura of the demon like a blade through silk.