SSS-Ranked Awakening: I Can Only Summon Mythical Beasts

Chapter 431: I Can Feel It Through My Summon

The morning mist hung low over Delwig’s outer walls, pale and silvery, curling around the fortress like smoke from an unseen fire.

The city or at least some people from the city hadn’t yet shaken off the echoes of last night’s discovery — the revelation that the guards had been impostors, infiltrators wearing human faces.

The whole garrison was uneasy, moving with the wary rhythm of people who’d learned their walls could bleed.

Arielle stood in the courtyard beside Lyone, the both of them ready for departure. The air smelled of wet earth and iron, faint from the rain that had swept through before dawn.

“I still can’t believe we’re being sent out again,” Lyone muttered, adjusting the straps of his pack. “Feels like we just got back.”

Arielle smirked faintly. “That’s because you’re still thinking like a civilian. In the field, there’s no such thing as rest.”

Lyone groaned softly. “Then I’m starting to think I picked the wrong big brother to follow.”

She glanced sideways at him. “You probably did.”

Before Lyone could reply, the shadow of broad wings swept across the courtyard. The sudden gust of wind made dust rise from the cobblestones.

Aquila descended gracefully, her talons striking the ground with a metallic click. The griffin shook her wings once, sending droplets scattering from her silver feathers. She looked magnificent — regal, almost — with eyes that gleamed like molten gold.

Behind her, Damien approached with Captain Apnoch. He looked more composed than he had the night before, though there was still something unreadable in his expression — calm, but distant, like his mind was already three steps ahead.

“Leaving already?” Damien asked, his tone light but his gaze sharp.

Arielle gave a small nod. “Ivaan said we’re to survey the outer forest ridge, near the eastern cliffs. The other captain will join us there.”

Damien looked past her — toward the eastern horizon, where the mist swallowed the faint green line of trees. “If the network’s spreading, that’s most likely where they’ll move next. Good call.”

Then, to her surprise, he smiled and nodded to Aquila. The griffin gave a soft trill and immediately nudged Arielle’s shoulder affectionately.

Arielle blinked, momentarily thrown off. “You’re… leaving her with me?”

Damien smiled faintly. “I think she listens to you better than she listens to me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is,” he said. “Besides, you’ll need her more than I will. I’ve got Fenrir and Luton with me. Aquila will watch your backs out there.”

The griffin puffed its chest proudly as if confirming the statement. Arielle placed a hand on her feathery neck, feeling the warmth pulsing beneath. “Thank you,” she said softly.

Damien’s eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than usual. Then he turned to Lyone. “And you,” he said, “don’t try to play hero. Protect Arielle. Let her lead. She knows what she’s doing.”

Lyone straightened immediately. “I will.”

“Good.”

A brief silence followed — one filled with the low hum of mana from Aquila’s wings and the distant clatter of soldiers preparing for their morning drills.

Captain Apnoch cleared his throat. “General Ivaan’s orders stand. Arielle’s team is to track any residual demonic essence or tunnel markings outside the eastern perimeter. My squad will remain with Damien to handle internal inspections.”

Damien nodded once. “We’ll keep things tight on our end.”

Arielle gave him a small, confident smile. “And we’ll keep things loud on ours.”

He chuckled quietly at that — the sound rare and fleeting. “Try not to blow up half the countryside while you’re at it.”

“If anyone’s blowing things up, we all know who it is.” She turned away, but he caught the faint curve of amusement at the corner of her mouth. Of course he was the bomber.

Then, with a steadying breath, Arielle climbed onto Aquila’s back. Lyone followed after, settling himself just behind her. The griffin shifted its wings, feathers rustling like silk in the wind.

Damien stepped back. “Stay sharp. They’re adapting. They’ll be expecting us to look outside — which means whatever you find out there might be bait.”

Arielle looked down at him. “And if it is?”

“Then bite back harder. That’s what Aquila is for.”

Their eyes met — a fleeting, silent exchange of trust that needed no more words.

Aquila spread her wings, the gust forcing Apnoch to raise an arm over his face as the griffin launched into the air, powerful strokes lifting them above Delwig’s walls. Arielle’s hair whipped in the wind as the city fell away beneath them.

Lyone leaned forward, shouting over the rush of air. “Do you think he’ll be all right without us?”

Arielle smiled faintly, though her eyes stayed on the horizon. “He’s Damien. He’s always all right.”

But the truth was — she wasn’t so sure.

Down below, Damien and Apnoch stood watching until the griffin vanished beyond the mist.

Apnoch exhaled. “You really think sending them out now is wise? The city’s still unstable.”

Damien folded his arms. “It’s exactly why it’s the right move. The enemy’s shifting patterns. They won’t expect a countersearch so soon. And Aquila’s the best sensor-type we have. She can detect essence trails before they fade completely.”

Apnoch grunted. “Still. You trust them a lot.”

“I do.”

“Even the kid?”

Damien’s lips twitched. “Especially the kid. He reminds me of someone who didn’t know when to quit. Someone who had to grow stronger to survive.”

Apnoch’s brow rose slightly. “You?”

Damien gave no answer, just turned toward the fortress steps.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ve got work. Ivaan wants every section of Delwig’s guard checked for sigils. If those infiltrators slipped in once, they’ll try again.”

Apnoch fell into step beside him. “You think there are more?”

“I know there are.”

Damien’s tone left no room for doubt.

Meanwhile, far beyond the city walls, Aquila soared above a vast green stretch of forest. The world below was still waking — mist rising off the treetops, the sound of distant birds carried by the wind.

Arielle closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the mana currents shift as they flew. Something about the air felt wrong — faint distortions, like ripples beneath the surface of a calm lake.

She opened her eyes, tightening her grip on Aquila’s feathers.

“We’re close,” she murmured.

Lyone peered over her shoulder. “To what?”

“Trouble.”

She could feel it — a faint demonic residue, old but not fading, clinging to the earth like a scar. The same kind she’d sensed near the destroyed base Damien had collapsed days earlier.

“Looks like your big brother was right,” she said under her breath.

Lyone frowned. “About what?”

“That this isn’t over.”

Although she’d been the one to begin this movement in search of demonic origins, Damien was adapting faster and was slowly surpassing her.

Aquila tilted her wings slightly, beginning a slow descent toward the forest below — toward the next trace of the enemy’s hidden trail.

And somewhere back in Delwig, as Damien crossed through the fortress halls beside Captain Apnoch, he stopped mid-step, eyes narrowing.

For the briefest instant, a chill rippled through his mana sense — faint, distant, yet unmistakable. Aquila’s essence flared, bright and sharp like a beacon.

He exhaled slowly. “They’ve found something already.”

Apnoch looked at him. “You sure?”

Damien’s smirk returned, faint and dangerous. “I don’t need to be sure. I can feel it through my summon.”