Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

"A true demon wouldn't need to torture helpless humans for entertainment. You're just a pathetic wannabe playing at being scary. Oh, mortals, this, mortals that. You are nothing but a pathetic demon in your realm. Why are you playing the main villain here? You are at most a third-rate villain."

Six seconds.

The insults struck Rex like an arrow. His massive body trembled with barely contained fury, claws extending involuntarily as ancient pride warred with sudden uncertainty.

"You DARE question my power? My heritage?"

Five seconds.

"Heritage?" Arthur's voice dripped with contempt.

"Heritage? You mean slaughtering defenceless people? Even apes could manage that much. I suppose that makes you one. You are just an ape with a botched tan. You are red, after all."

Four seconds.

Rex lunged forward with inhuman speed, covering the distance between them in a blur. His primary hands seized Arthur by the shoulders, lifting him off the ground with crushing force.

Here we go.

"I will break you slowly, arrogant whelp. You will beg for the mercy I showed that pathetic fool outside."

Three seconds.

Arthur felt his shoulder bones grinding under the demon's grip, cartilage compressing beyond safe limits. The pain was excruciating, shooting through nerve endings like molten metal.

I've felt worse in Armageddon, I won't give him the bliss of watching me cry out in pain.

"Is that all you've got?" Arthur's grimace transformed into a mocking smile that would have impressed his enemies.

"I've felt stronger grips from human children."

Two seconds.

Rex's secondary hands moved with more strength, claws finding Arthur's fingers and applying pressure designed to shatter bone and spirit simultaneously.

CRACK!

Arthur's index finger snapped like a dry twig, the sound unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

Pain shot up his arm like liquid fire, nerves screaming protests his brain chose to ignore.

Hurts like hell. But manageable.

His expression barely changed. A slight tightening around his silver eyes. Nothing more.

Not even a whimper.

Rex's fury intensified at Arthur's lack of reaction, confusion mixing with rage as his psychological warfare failed completely.

"You will scream for me, mortal. Before this ends, you will beg like the insect you truly are."

One second.

[00:00:01]

Arthur's countdown timer flashed its final number as Rex prepared to break another finger, claws positioned for maximum agony.

Here we go.

...

[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]

A voice thundered across the entire planet, bypassing all physical barriers to reach every human consciousness simultaneously. The sound carried weight that made mountains seem fragile, authority that made kings feel like children.

[EARTHLINGS, CONGRATULATIONS!]

Finally.

[YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY ENTERED THE UNIVERSE'S ARMAGEDDON. ALL HUMANS ARE NOW ABLE TO AWAKEN THEIR DORMANT POWER.]

The announcement echoed through hospital corridors, city streets, remote villages—every corner of human civilisation hearing the same impossible proclamation.

[AS FOR THE BETA PLAYERS, YOU ARE NOW ABLE TO USE THE POWERS YOU HAVE GATHERED WITH YOUR SOUL IN ARMAGEDDON IN PREPARATION FOR THIS MOMENT.]

I knew it, Arthur thought, satisfaction flooding through him despite Rex's crushing grip.

He'd understood from the beginning that Armageddon wasn't simply another world. The merge wasn't as basic as two realities joining together like puzzle pieces.

Armageddon is the process. The trial. The graduation from being mere mortals.

It was the universe's method of inducting worlds into the greater cosmic community, where civilisations evolved beyond their planetary limitations but also inherited enemies beyond their comprehension.

Welcome to the real game.

Rex's burning eyes remained fixed on Arthur, completely ignoring the system's announcement.

Malice overrode curiosity as he prepared to continue his torture.

"What human? Do you think you are saved just because you can awaken your dormant power? Sorry to break it to you, but even if you awaken an S-rank talent, you are still a hatchling, you will die by my hands."

Arthur felt power flowing through his body like liquid lightning.

Spatial manipulation awakened in his cells, dimensional awareness expanding beyond his earlier mortal limitations. The Shadow Monarch class integrated with his enhanced physiology, creating synergies that defied conventional understanding.

My power. Finally.

But Rex remained oblivious to the fundamental evolution occurring inches from his face. The demon's arrogance blinded him to the expression of triumph now radiating from his captive.

Arthur's broken finger began regenerating through his high vitality attribute. Pain receded as supernatural constitution repaired damage faster than Rex could inflict it.

"It's time.." Gates muttered, feeling his power coming back to him.

Still, he didn't move; he knew that Arthur wanted to exact his revenge, and he wasn't going to ruin his moment. After all, Arthur had sacrificed his fingers and placed his life on the line for this moment.

"You know what your problem is?" Arthur's voice carried new undertones, harmonics that made the air itself seem heavier.

Rex's grip tightened reflexively. "You still think you are the shit? I will break every bone—"

Arthur moved his hand slightly.

Slap.

The casual backhand connected with Rex's jaw with the force of a meteorite impact. The sound was like thunder trapped in a steel drum, reverberating through the hospital's structure.

CRACK!

Rex's massive form launched skyward, punching through the hospital's ceiling with enough force to vaporise concrete. His trajectory carried him through three floors before physics reasserted control.

Arthur flexed his fingers, marvelling at the sensation of unlimited spatial manipulation flowing through him.

Rex's confused roar echoed from somewhere above them, the sound of an apex predator suddenly discovering he was prey.

"WHAT—HOW—"

Arthur's spatial awareness locked onto Rex's position with ease. Distance became meaningless when you could fold space like origami.

Come back here.

Space compressed around Rex's falling form, gravity reversing as Arthur's will imposed new laws on local physics. The demon found himself yanked downward with irresistible force.

WHOOSH!

Rex crashed back into the hospital room, his massive frame creating crater-like impressions in reinforced flooring. Confusion and fear warred across the demon's face, which was designed for intimidation.

"Impossible! You're just a—"

Arthur's fist connected with Rex's skull before the sentence finished.

BOOM!