Summoning the Dark Lord
[Dark Lord] "Ow ow... my butt hurts..."
The woman sat up, scratching her rear. Min-su's mind went blank at the sight.
What the hell? Am I seriously dreaming? Why did a person pop out from my summoning?
No summoning ability on record had ever called forth a human. According to renowned scholars of otherworldly studies, summoners could only bring forth beings of equivalent rank—but never of the same species. He'd skimmed the boring, pretentious explanations without fully grasping them, but one thing was crystal clear: summoning another human was impossible. Every recorded summon had been goblins or orcs, monsters through and through, or spiritual beasts like dragons.
So Min-su struggled to accept the scene before him.
I saw her tear through space, so she has to be my summon... but...
She wasn't a goblin or an orc. And definitely not a dragon. Was she some unreported humanoid monster? A doppelganger...? No, not that either.
While Min-su floundered in confusion, the woman stretched her stiff back with a groan.
"Ughhh!"
How long had it been since she'd straightened up like that? At least ten years, she figured.
Her eyes turned to Min-su.
"You."
"...Pardon?"
"You called me. Right?"
"!!!"
What the—? She talks! She's not a monster?
Min-su's confusion deepened. Even monster summons obeyed the player's commands. Communication was spotty at best, but they followed orders without question. Spiritual beast summons used something like telepathy for proper conversation. But a summon that chatted casually like this? Unheard of.
"Answer me."
While Min-su was lost in thought, she'd sidled right up to him. Her scent hit him—a sweet, sacred fragrance that stirred awe, despite her grubby appearance suggesting she hadn't bathed in ages. No stench, just reverence-inducing allure.
"Y-Yes! That's right!"
Her intensity compelled him to respond.
"Figured. So why'd you call me? Sorry, but I don't take apostles anymore."
What is she, to make me feel like this?
Min-su shook off his daze. Why am I so scared? I'm the summoner. She's my summon. No way she's human. At worst, a spiritual beast. Even players who'd summoned dragons never got attacked by them. Time to man up!
"Who... are you?"
"...Huh? You called me without knowing?"
Her smooth brow furrowed.
"Weren't you trying to apostle-contract with me?"
"Apostle contract? I just tested my summoning ability for the first time."
"..."
The woman silently scanned him from head to toe, then glanced around.
"...Where's this?"
"My room."
"..."
Something felt off. A nagging dissonance. After a long pause, she pinpointed it.
"This isn't a contract space...?"
Ten years ago, after losing her apostle, she'd secluded herself in her domain and refused every contract since. She'd assumed someone had summoned her for one. But...
"Your room...? Wait, this isn't the Tower?!"
"The Tower...? This is just my normal room."
Only then did she notice the mana density was worlds apart from the Tower's.
"Earth...!"
She wasn't in the Tower anymore, nor the celestial realms for constellations. She stood on Earth—the mortal world, the mid-plane.
How was this possible? Those who'd ascended beyond mortal rank to the heavens couldn't descend again. They could only peer down via the Tower or their apostles. Yet here she was, [Dark Lord] in full, on the ground.
"What are you...?"
The ability to summon a god!
She grabbed his shoulders, eyes wide. Min-su couldn't speak, his earlier resolve crumbling. No ordinary human could withstand a god's presence head-on.
"What scheme brought me here? What do you want from me?!"
I don't even know who you are!
She shook him, but his mouth stayed sealed, like it was glued shut. Nausea surged; disaster loomed.
Gurgle.
A rumble echoed from the goddess's stomach. She froze mid-shake.
"...Wanna eat something first?"
She nodded silently.
* * *
Slurp. Gulp. "So you awakened, then used your summoning ability right away?"
"Yeah. I don't even know who you are. You can't predict who'll come out when you summon."
Slurp! "No way that's possible!"
"That's what I wanna know. More importantly, who are you?"
The woman devoured the ramen Min-su had boiled for her like a beast.
She looks like a goddess beyond celebrities, but acts just like my little sister.
Her otherworldly beauty clashed with her crude manners—no elegance whatsoever.
Smack, slurp. She tilted the pot to her mouth, slurping noodles and broth in one go. She might as well have been his roommate gorilla.
"Ahh! So this is ramen! Better than I imagined!"
"First time trying it?"
She knew of it but had never tasted it. What the hell is she?
"Yeah, we can't interfere with earthly matter. So we just heard about it. Thought it'd be tasty, but wow—didn't expect this good."
He'd thought summoning pulled from the Tower's otherworlders... So was she from the Tower too?
"No wonder that guy looked so blissful scarfing it down. Makes sense with a taste like this."
She paused mid-bite, then set the pot down.
"Sigh... Shame. If he were here, I'd tell him how it tastes. Give him a knuckle for eating it all alone."
Her eyes grew wistful, gazing upward.
...What? Sad backstory?
She'd been chowing down happily, then just stopped. Min-su peeked into the pot—spotless, not a noodle scrap left.
"So, who are you?"
"Hoo... Don't freak out. I'm the bright star seated in a corner of the lofty heavens—the [Dark Lord]."
With a noodle strand on her lip, she crossed her arms in what she thought was a cool pose, expecting him to topple in shock.
But Min-su's reaction fell short.
"...That's it?"
He'd expected details on her race and origins. Dark Lord? What middle-school edgelord nickname is that? A title or something?
The [Dark Lord] faltered at his nonchalance.
"...Huh? You don't know me?"
Impossible. Even after ten inactive years, her name shouldn't be forgotten.
Of course Min-su knew the [Dark Lord]. Constellations—real gods granting players immense power and boons—drew massive attention from norms too.
But this woman? No way.
"You know... the '[Dark Lord] you absolutely must not oppose in the darkness'?"
Whoa... She's saying the cringiest stuff with a straight face. Even peak middle-schoolers wouldn't go there.
She tried explaining, but Min-su didn't connect the dots.
"Argh! Enough!"
The [Dark Lord] snapped. Time for her usual show of force.
Rumble!
"E-Earthquake?!"
Space warped; Min-su's room shook violently.
Hummm!
Divine energy radiated from her, black aura flooding the area to form her domain—a secondary space utterly divorced from reality: the [Dark Realm].
"How's that? This is me, the [Dark Lord]."
Satisfied by his shock, she struck her pose again, chest puffed—noodle still dangling from her mouth.