Arched windows let rays of light inside the hallway. Blue, red and yellow painted a mosaic on the carpet stretched along the chiseled stone floor. From one end of the passage, marching steps echoed through the walls. It announced the arrival of The Hero, advancing towards the Royal Chamber where The Demon Queen awaited. For every step, his heavy gear cried a fierce clang. A large sword hung on his back radiating an enlightened aura.

“Come on! Go faster!”

Flint fixed his eyes on the monitor as his leg bounced on the wooden floor. Images of internet gaming articles printed in his ambitious head. Their title read Gaming legend defeats the impossible boss. With his triumph, Fame and Glory would follow.

“Agh! Why are you so slow?!”

Sadly, shouting at his monitor didn’t speed up The Hero. The bulky equipment burdened his back and metal covered every inch of his body. Even the underwear had steel plates attached. After three minutes, an eternity for him, The Hero finally reached his goal. Pushing the king-sized doors, he opened the gates that would seal his fate. All went black: Time for a cutscene.

The colors from the Royal Chamber filled the screen. Colossal described the size of the room. In the middle of it, a single golden throne stood cushioned with red leather. The sunset invaded through the tall rectangular windows. Its crimson bright revealed the ivory walls surrounding the little seat.

A red carpet crossed the polished floor with a gallery of steps staining its tattered fabric. The Hero strode forward, printing another collection of dirty soles. The Demon Queen remained on her throne. Furrowing her brows, she stared at his unpleasant arrival.

The armored man stopped before her and gallantly raised the sword from his back. Pointing its edge at the throne, he protruded his chest and held his chin high.

“Demon Queen! I, the Hero of Light, have come for your head! Stand up and fight!”

Her amber eyes rolled, that man was nothing but a mosquito whose arrogance would soon follow death. Caressing her silver-lavender hair, she stood up from the seat. Two horns rooted on the sides of her skull. She wasn’t called a demon for naught.

The Honorable Hero who confronts The Evil Dark Lord. This premise had been repeatedly exploited throughout modern history. Nothing original was added, but being a video-game, it could be forgiven. Fortunately, this wasn’t a novel.

The boy readied his hands over the mouse and keyboard, soon the battle would start. The Demon Queen crossed her arms with a bloodthirsty gaze. After breathing in, she declared:

“I ate some pudding…”

Flint raised his brow.

She continued, “… honey baked apples can’t even compare.” Gesturing with her hands, she casually spat about the newfound dessert. “I can’t believe I never tasted pudding before, so much time wasted.”

Not reacting to her awkward behavior, The Hero stood still in his dueling pose. A minute passed, and they both just looked at each other in complete silence.

“What’s wrong with this scene?” Flint scratched his head. “When will the fight start?”

The anticipated boss battle became a weird skit. Tired of waiting, The Queen walked up to The Hero, who kept frozen in his pose. Being one arm away from him, her eyes scanned the big armored man from head to toes.

“Oy!” she said. “You dead?”

Odd… He became a statue. Inquired by this phenomenon, the woman allowed herself some liberties: She took the sword from his hands and tossed it aside. Then, she toyed around with his arms and moved them like a mannequin. Tack! His right shoulder dislocated.

She winced. “Uh! My bad.” Then laughed.

After having his shoulder trashed, The Hero didn’t even flinch. She leaned towards him and at the top of her lungs yelled, “Snap out of it!” But her efforts to bring him to life were for naught.

Since he wouldn’t complain, a harsher measure was required. Such idea twisted her mouth into a devilish grin. She stepped back and slightly bent her knees. After loading her lungs with fresh air, a clenched fist shot to his head. The impact produced a satisfying chime. A single strike didn’t seem enough. In sequence, a barrage of precise punches covered his helmet. Blow after blow, the blue skin from her knuckles reddened in pain.

She stopped. “I… should take out his helmet first.”

The Queen forcefully pulled the headpiece, revealing the identity of the man behind all that metal. Her curious eyes stumbled through his facial appeal, but a bit of his body odor reached her nose.

“Your face is annoying… and you stink,” she said.

“Sorry about that,” Flint muttered.

The boy had no patience to customize a handsome protagonist. Instead, he hopped in the game with one of the default avatars: A bland human male who wore the face of a middle-aged office worker.

The Queen adjusted the black dress covering her smooth blue skin and got back in her punching stance. “Alright… Round two.”

Minutes passed as the resounding spanks on his face echoed through the walls of The Royal Chamber. “Why won’t you wake up?” Eventually, she gave in. No amount of punches could revive that man. The blue woman relaxed her shoulders and sighed in defeat, despite the fact The Hero was the one who got a swollen face.

Flint sneered. “Is that why she is impossible? That’s bull.”

The demon returned to her throne while caressing her sore knuckles. But before her ass could touch the cushion from the seat, a glimpse of light on the ceiling caught her attention. A bright floating lamp hovered around the chamber. She looked at it, puzzled by what that strange element could be.

Back to Flint’s perspective, The Demon Queen gazed him through the screen, similar to how a portrait stares back at its admirer.

A pair of wings grew from her back and then propelled her upwards. Quickly approaching the camera of the scene, the woman onscreen flew towards the boy, like a bird who breaks its neck on a glass window.

Would she try to come out of the game? “Neat,” Flint said. “She is breaking the fourth wall–”

However, the only thing that broke was the display from his monitor. A blue hand crossed the sixteen inches frame, almost reaching his neck. Out of reflex, he kicked the desk and fell backward with his chair. “What the hell!” After hitting his nape on the floor, the boy raised his head and tried to register the scene.

An eerie hand with sharp black nails came out of his monitor. It swung around and knocked the keyboard out. Whoever planned this ridiculous prank had gone too far.

“Cut that out!” he shouted.

The hand gripped one end of the desk, then, a woman’s head passed through the screen. Flint and The Demon Queen, their eyes met. Though not quite like in romance story.

She scowled. “You! What are you doing in there?” Her voice was loud as thunder.

Did his computer turn into a portal connecting both of their worlds? This couldn’t be a prank anymore. Flint realized it was too elaborate to be one, so he crawled to the opposite side of the room.

“Get back here!” The Demon Queen struggled to leave that sixteen inches frame.

How ironic, the boy always wished he had a bigger display, but it was that plastic square that kept her from completely leaving the game. For now at least.

Backing against the wall with trembling legs, Flint bared his teeth. “G-get away!” His heart banged against the walls from his ribcage.

Her shoulders and torso squished through. The demon was half-way to freedom. Continuing her struggle, she pushed and pulled, but her bottom didn’t come out. The monitor was too small for her waist.

She slammed the desk, “Just wait until I get you!”

What should he do? In fantasy games, whenever a foe appears, four options are usually displayed.

Fight. Use Item. Defend. Flee.

Number four appealed to him, but leaving through the door meant going past the desk. That angry blue thing would kill him before he reached the handle. Well, he could leave through the window, if he wished to spend the rest of the days in comatose, that is. Option four out.

Maybe he should fight? Not a chance. Flint had a lean body and never punched someone for real. She would break his limbs before his knuckles touched her face.

As for number two, plenty of items could be thrown at her. But to what end? Worsening her anger wasn’t a smart move. He had nothing that could be used as a weapon, and his cellphone was over the desk, so he couldn’t call for help. Only option three remained. The boy just had to wait and stand in his guard. The monitor was doing a great job of locking her in place…

But he panicked.

The fear scrambled his mind and forced him to choose number two. He started to throw anything his hands could grab at The Demon Queen. First were his pillows, hitting her head.

“Stop!” she said.

Then he launched several female anatomy books, followed by many pens and pencils.

“I said stop!”

He continued to attack her with countless junks, and in turn, she shielded herself with her arms. The Queen kept still until one projectile slipped past her defenses and hit her face.

“What is this?” She grabbed whatever landed on her nose. “NO!”

It was Flint’s – Prized – Stinky Underwear. The sour stench burned her nasal cavity. Disgust mixed with anger. The expression she wore twisted as her teeth gritted. “You asked for it!” Her eyes that once were amber now brimmed in red: A subtle signal of danger.

She said, “Isatu…”

At that moment, Flint recalled that in-game wizards cast magic by saying specific power words. Isatu meant Fire. She was about to attack with a flame spell!

“Shit!” he backed against the wall.

“… Ariru…”

She chanted again, a second word meant a more complex spell.

“Flint? What’s up with all the noise?” Mother’s voice came from downstairs, “You’ll annoy the neighbors!”

“… Qassu!”

The Queen finished with a third word. A high-level charge to not only kill, but also pulverize his body. It would melt him together with his room, his home, and his neighbors. He recoiled in a corner and waited for the blow to finish him.

That same burning sensation from the middle of summer, all would burn into a crisp…

Yet… Nothing happened.

No fire. No magic. Nothing.

What went wrong? Flint looked at The Demon Queen in the eyes. They said “Huh?” simultaneously and, for a whole minute, quietly stared at each other. Their silence allowed muffled footsteps to pass through the door gap. Someone was coming.

“Flint? Are you okay?” Mother said.

The boy had to find a way to banish that blue woman from his bedroom. Knowing his mother, she would probably die of a heart attack seeing a demon coming out of the screen to grab her little boy.

“Urk!” Flint gasped as he grabbed his chair by the backrest and lifted it. Shaking off his fear, he charged towards the desk pointing the chair legs forward. That demon would return to her world by force.

“Go back in the screen! Now!”

But instead, the woman just smirked at his attempt to get rid of her. With a single slap, she made the chair fly at full speed against the wall before it could reach her. Flint dropped his chin, her strength was incredible if not terrifying.

“I’m done!” She said. “You’re coming in!”

Now that he was close to her, The Demon Queen grabbed the boy by the ankle and dived back in the screen.

“W-wait!” he said, “Mom! Mom!”

Too late. His cries for help were cut short the moment he crossed the gate to the other world. The screen went black, and the door abruptly opened.

“What’s wrong with you? All this noise!” A troubled mother barged into the room. “Flint?” Her eyes stumbled across the floor. “All this mess! What happened?” Her head turned left and right. “Where’s that boy?”