Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

The stranger stepped forward, extending his hand toward Gates's weapon. "I've got this."

He's confident. We'll see if it's justified.

Gates reluctantly handed over his photon rifle, his face pale from blood loss, but his expression grateful.

One of the medical staff that were being protected by them immediately moved to tend his shoulder wound.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked as the young man quickly familiarised himself with everything.

Knows his way around tech.

"Dave. Dave Webb."

Dave raised the photon weapon, his stance textbook perfect. His first shot took a demon through the head with surgical precision.

ZAP!

Impressive. Very impressive.

"Clean shot," Arthur noted with approval.

He has good aim, and he should be able to hold off with me.

The situation shifted as Dave integrated into their defensive formation. His weapon added steady firepower while Arthur focused on the more dangerous targets.

The demon numbers were no longer increasing; if anything, the horde seemed to be thinning.

Not dramatically, but enough to suggest their assault was reaching its planned conclusion.

They're not trying to overrun us. This was always meant to be a limited engagement.

WHOOOM! WHOOOM!

Dave's shots found their marks with precision. Each beam was placed exactly where it needed to be, no energy wasted on dramatic overkill.

This guy knows what he is doing.

Arthur's count reached five shots remaining as another demon crumpled under his concentrated fire.

Conservation critical. But the end is in sight.

The survivors huddled against the walls and watched in fascination as Arthur and Dave established a rhythm of death. Energy beams crossed the shattered room in deadly harmony.

Gates sat against the wall, his shoulder properly bandaged, but his eyes still tracking the battle. Despite his injury, he remained alert, ready to rejoin the fight if necessary.

The demon numbers dwindled steadily under their concentrated fire. What had been a desperate last stand was transforming into systematic extermination.

We're winning. Actually winning.

Dave's shots found their marks most of the time, his training evident in every movement. Arthur's shots complemented the young man's perfectly, both shooting to defend each other.

WHOOOM! WHOOOM!

Two more demons crumpled under their combined assault. The creatures' retreat was becoming more obvious—their coordination suggested planned withdrawal rather than tactical defeat.

They are slowly losing; there are only around two minutes left until the merge. Then...everything becomes better.

One of the security personnel—the woman with cybernetic arm modifications—tracked a demon attempting to flank their position. Her weapon hummed as energy cells charged for discharge.

Click.

Nothing.

Click. Click.

Still nothing.

Shit.

"Shit, why is it not working?" She frowned at her photon rifle, fingers working desperately across diagnostic panels.

She had encountered equipment failure at the worst possible timing. These were the only weapons able to deal damage to the demons, yet hers was malfunctioning.

"Cover!" she called out, dropping behind an overturned medical cart. "Weapon malfunction!"

There is a gap in our defensive line.

Arthur's perception caught movement in his peripheral vision—a demon exploiting the momentary weakness. The creature moved with intelligence, using the distraction to slip through their perimeter.

Arthur tracked the flanking demon while simultaneously engaging his primary target. His photon weapon discharged, an energy beam carving through the demon directly in front of him.

ZAP!

Three shots left.

But the flanking creature was already moving, its claws extended toward the struggling operative. Arthur's aim shifted, trying to acquire the new target.

Damn it, I'm too slow, there is not enough time to shoot.

"Watch out!" Arthur shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

The operative's head snapped up from her weapon diagnostics.

'It's fixed,' she thought with relief, her finger moving toward the trigger.

But Arthur's warning penetrated her focus, drawing her attention to the approaching threat.

She turned just as razor-sharp claws reached her position.

Too late.

The demon's talons shredded through her helmet's faceplate like tissue paper, finding the flesh beneath with ease. Blood sprayed across the medical equipment as her scream cut off abruptly.

CRACK!

Her body hit the floor, lifeless.

The cybernetic enhancements on her body were sparking from the damaged neural connections.

That's our first casualty, and at this rate, it won't be the last.

The survivors pressed against the walls and erupted into panic. Screams echoed through the confined space as civilians witnessed death at close range.

"OH GOD!"

"SHE'S DEAD!"

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

All the civilians who had taken shelter in the hospital started screaming, and panic was spreading faster than fire.

Dave's weapon immediately tracked the killing demon.

ZAP!

The concentrated energy beam vaporised the creature's head in a spray of black ichor.

But the damage was done. Their formation had been breached, their numbers reduced, and panic threatened to destroy what little order remained.

The business-suited man Arthur had kicked earlier saw an opportunity in the chaos. While everyone focused on the fallen operative, he moved with stealth, as nobody focused on him, too busy focusing on the demons.

'I need something to protect myself with. Can't stay at their mercy...'

His eyes fixed on the photon rifle lying beside the dead woman's hand. Advanced technology that could mean the difference between life and death.

He crept forward, using the crowd's panic as cover. His fingers closed around the weapon's grip, energy cells still warm from recent use.

'This is mine now.' He thought a large grin forming on his face as he studied the weapon in hand.

The crosshair flashed across his retina, making him jump in surprise. 'That's so cool! It's like a VR sight!'

Arthur's peripheral vision caught the thief, but demons pressed their advantage against the weakened defensive line.

I will deal with him later.

The man retreated to his previous position, the photon rifle clutched protectively against his chest. Unlike the trained operators, he held the weapon awkwardly; clearly, he had never touched a gun in his life.

Gates noticed the theft immediately.

He is dangerous.... An untrained civilian with a weapon with such massive power...is not good. I need to grab it from him.