SSS-Ranked Awakening: I Can Only Summon Mythical Beasts

The hallway was still as Arielle leaned her back against the wall, her arms crossed.

The air between her and Damien felt heavier now, not from tension, but something older. Something that had never needed to be said out loud between them.

She didn’t speak right away.

Damien waited, eyes steady.

Then finally, she exhaled.

“I’m going to meet them,” she said.

Damien’s brow twitched. “The others?”

She nodded once. “What’s left of them.”

His jaw tensed. “So they’re alive?”

“Some are,” she said. “Zeke and Lira didn’t go into much detail yet, but they gave me a location. It’s not far. A day out, maybe less.”

Damien didn’t blink. “And you’re just going to walk back into the arms of a group you haven’t seen in years?”

Arielle looked down at her boots for a moment. “It’s not about walking into their arms. It’s about giving them closure. Or… finding it for myself. Once I’ve confirmed they’re doing okay, I’ll be on my way back.”

His tone sharpened. “Are they trustworthy?”

Arielle looked up, eyes meeting his. “I would’ve given my life for theirs.”

“That was in the past,” Damien said. “What about now?”

Her silence answered for her.

A moment passed. Then she said, “I can handle myself.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed just slightly, not in anger—concern, perhaps. His silence now was louder than any accusation.

“I’m not going to ask you to come,” Arielle added, softer this time. “I know your path. I respect it.”

He folded his arms. “This mission is too convenient. Too sudden.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But if there’s even a chance to reconnect, to understand why they scattered, to explain why I had to run in the first place… I have to take it.”

Damien looked past her, into the hallway beyond, where the soft light of the guild flickered along stone walls.

“Wait here,” he said.

Then he turned, his coat catching the breeze as he moved toward the exit.

Outside, the night had cooled further. Moonlight bathed the rooftops of Greshan in silver sheen, and the streets had finally emptied, save for a few lantern-lit guards and the distant sounds of the sleeping city.

Damien stepped into the clearing just beyond the guild walls and raised his right hand.

“Summon Aquila.”

The air cracked open like a ripple across water. Blue light spiraled into being, and with a sharp rush of wind, the griffin burst from the portal with silent grace. Talons gripped stone as it landed lightly, folding its wings with practiced elegance.

She—the griffin, Damien reminded himself, had always been female in presence if not in voice—lowered her head in acknowledgment.

“Activate Transformation for it.” Damien commanded and seconds later, he felt a large potion of magic essence flowing out of him toward the Griffin in front of him.

Aquila shimmered instantly as the first wave of magic essence touched it.

Feathers retracted, wings dissolved into arcs of mana, and her body shifted with a pulse of magic.

In a heartbeat, the great beast was gone—replaced by a tall woman with long platinum hair tied loosely behind her head, feathers still woven into strands near the crown.

Her eyes were sharp, gold-ringed, predatory, but wise. She wore a sleek cloak that shimmered like a folded sky, and boots designed for swift travel.

Aquila blinked slowly, then spoke, voice calm and resonant. “Where are we going?”

Damien met her gaze. “You’re not.”

He turned.

“You’re going with her.”

When he returned, Arielle was still waiting by the door. Zeke and Lira stood farther down the hallway, talking quietly between themselves, giving the two space.

Behind Damien, Aquila walked silently—her steps too light for someone her size, her eyes scanning every corner of the space with a natural predator’s caution.

Arielle stared for a second.

Then blinked. “Is that…?”

Damien nodded. “Aquila.”

“In that form?” Arielle asked, surprised.

“She’s never done it before.”

Aquila nodded. “Until now, only when it mattered.”

Arielle raised an eyebrow. “I suppose I should be flattered.”

“She’s fond of you,” Damien said plainly. “And if anything goes wrong out there, she’ll be faster than anyone else to bring you back alive.”

Arielle turned to Aquila. “Do I need to issue commands, or…?”

“She’ll decide when to act,” Damien answered for her. “But if she does… trust her.”

Aquila offered a small bow of her head.

The moment lingered.

Then Damien stepped forward and looked at Arielle—properly this time. Not with the calculated detachment he showed others. But with the quiet clarity he rarely showed anyone at all.

“Be careful,” he said.

Arielle gave a crooked smile. “Worried?”

“I’m not the one running into the ghosts of their past.”

“I’ll be back by this time tomorrow.”

“Don’t miss that deadline or I might come looking for you.”

She glanced toward Zeke and Lira, then back to him. “You still could come with us, you know.”

Damien shook his head. “My direction is set. We follow the origin of the demons. One detour is enough.”

“Fair,” she said.

Then, quietly, “Thank you. For the escort.”

He nodded once. “Get going.”

Without another word, Arielle turned toward the others.

Zeke and Lira greeted her with silent understanding. Aquila joined them, falling into step beside Arielle without being told.

The four of them left the building together, moving through the streets of Greshan with quiet footsteps. The lanterns flickered as they passed. The wind rose slightly, and the moonlight followed them like a trail of light across the rooftops.

Aquila said nothing.

But she didn’t need to.

Her presence alone kept watch.

And Damien, standing in the entrance of their lodge, watched them go with unreadable eyes.

Back inside, Lyone was lounging in a chair, flipping a gold coin in the air and catching it.

He looked up as Damien re-entered.

“She’s gone?”

“Yes.”

“She’ll be okay,” Lyone said. “She’s… kinda scary. Not you-level scary, but like, dagger-in-your-ribs-and-you-won’t-even-know scary.”

Damien gave a tired breath. “She’s more than capable.”

“But you still sent backup.”

Damien didn’t answer.

Instead, he moved toward the table and began reorganizing his mental notes—about demons, movement patterns, mana-beast activity on the western rim.

He wasn’t standing still.

He was waiting.

And when Arielle returned—if she returned—they would begin again.

They had a war to get ahead of.

And too many pieces still hidden in the dark that he had to bring to light.

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