Ethan's fingers hovered over the holographic interface, frozen in midair like a kid caught stealing candy.
The apartment was quiet again, save for the low hum of the system panels.
The message still hovered before him, glowing, pulsing, almost alive:
[Participant 000427, please note: Demon King Zar'uth the Eternal is requesting permission to enter.]
His mouth went dry.
He swallowed, the lump in his throat too big to dislodge. "Permission… to… enter?" His voice was flat. "Enter where?"
[Press ACCEPT to authorize first summon.]
The words blinked slowly.
Each pulse of light made the small apartment feel simultaneously tiny and vast.
Dust motes shimmered in the pale morning sun filtering through the blinds.
His coffee cup trembled slightly, sliding a few cold drops onto the counter. Somewhere outside, a dog barked and a car horn honked.
The universe seemed to be holding its breath.
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay... deep breaths. Maybe this is one of those augmented reality games. Yeah. Totally. AR. Not real." His hand hovered over the ACCEPT button. "Probably."
With a resigned sigh, he jabbed the virtual panel.
The interface shuddered, tiny holographic lines cascading around him.
Panels spun in 3D space, a miniature representation of an impossible world forming above the coffee-stained carpet.
Mountains rose and fell like living things.
Rivers shimmered in impossible colors. And in the corner, a fiery red dot pulsed ominously, labeled: SSS-Rank Boss: Pending Summon.
The apartment began to shiver.
A low hum grew into a vibration that ran along the walls, the floor, the ceiling.
Ethan's chair tilted slightly, nearly toppling him.
The lights flickered, casting grotesque, dancing shadows across the walls as he grabbed the desk for balance.
"Yep. Totally fine. Absolutely fine," he muttered, the words a nervous mantra.
Then it happened.
A tear in reality opened in the center of his small backyard.
At first, it was nothing more than a distortion, a shimmer that bent the light in odd directions.
The air grew heavy and hot, so charged with power it made his lungs ache.
A faint scent of ozone and scorched metal filled the apartment. His mug of cold coffee vibrated, sliding dangerously toward the edge of the desk.
The rift widened.
Shadows coiled within it like smoke given mass, writhing and shifting as if testing the world it was about to enter.
And then, impossibly, a figure emerged.
It stepped through the rift with a grace that made the ground tremble beneath it.
Horns, black as obsidian, scraped against the air.
Jagged armor bristled with writhing runes, each line of light pulsing with a terrible, intelligent life.
Black flames licked the edges of its body, illuminating the backyard in a hellish glow.
The creature's gaze immediately settled on him.
And then…
...it knelt.
The shadowed figure lowered itself to the cracked concrete of Ethan's backyard.
The black flames dimmed, and its voice—a deep, resonant sound that seemed to vibrate in the very marrow of his bones—filled the air.
"At last… my Master."
Ethan blinked.
His mind short-circuited.
He stared at the kneeling demon, a creature straight out of a cosmic nightmare, and then his gaze fell to the small patch of dying grass it now occupied.
"Bro," he muttered under his breath, "you're kneeling on my mom's tomato patch."
The interface hummed again.
Words scrolled across the holographic panels in cascading colors:
[First Summon Complete. Boss Loyalty: 100%. Suggested Commands: Assign Territory / Offer Praise / Conduct Ritual / Feed.]
The Demon King straightened slowly, flames licking higher along the horns, eyes glowing like coals.
He was impossibly massive, radiating the kind of presence that made the streetlamp outside feel dim and fragile.
And yet, the figure waited patiently, no longer kneeling but standing as if ready for instruction.
"I… okay," Ethan muttered, pinching his nose, "maybe we should… negotiate?"
[Participant 000427, please input first command.]
Ethan stared at the blinking cursor on the interface.
The apartment was silent, save for the low, ominous hum of the system and the faint buzz of life outside.
A dog barked.
A car alarm whined.
And in his backyard, the first of 9,999 bosses awaited his orders—patient, terrifying, and absurdly obedient.
He exhaled slowly. "Well. This is… happening."