SSS-Ranked Summoner: Only I Summon All Heroes And Heroines Of Legend-Chapter 31: We Are Not Alone

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Altair’s feet pounded against the path.

His lungs burned and his legs ached, but he didn’t slow down.

Delilah’s mana signature had vanished from the eastern wing of the Academy grounds far away from the student area, infact this part of the school didn’t exist on the school map. Yet this was last place he’d felt her presence before it winked out entirely.

"Altair! Wait up!"

Finn’s voice called out from somewhere behind him, growing more distant with each passing second. He was trying to keep pace, but his body was still recovering. He lagged further and further behind.

Altair didn’t stop.

He couldn’t.

His mind raced through possibilities. Delilah had been captured, sealed, possibly worse. And if Master Oz had her, then everything Altair suspected was true.

The path curved ahead, and as Altair went through.

There, it was.

Master Oz’s residence.

The black stone building loomed ahead, its castle-like architecture casting long shadows in the fading evening light. Every window was dark, like the whole place had been abandoned.

But Altair knew better.

He skidded to a stop in front of the entrance, his hand already on his summoning seal.

"Hear me, King Arthur!"

Golden light erupted around him, carving a summoning circle into the ground. The air shimmered, and Arthur materialized in full plate armor, Excalibur drawn and gleaming in his hand.

The knight took one look at the building and nodded grimly.

"Breach?" Arthur asked.

"Breach."

Arthur stepped forward, raising his sword. Holy light gathered along the blade’s edge, preparing to cut through whatever wards protected the door.

But before he could strike—

The door swung open.

Unlocked.

Arthur froze mid-swing.

Altair’s eyes narrowed. was this a trap?, or an invitation.

Arthur glanced back at him waiting for his confirmation.

Altair nodded once and, they entered.

---

The interior was dark.

Not pitch black, but dim enough that the distant floating candles lining the hallway cast more shadow than light. The air smelled rather odd, faintly of old parchment, burning incense, and aged wood.

Altair moved cautiously down the hall, Arthur held his blade firmly at his side, having sheathed it, he remained on high alert.

They passed through the sitting room and entered the kitchen it was empty. Then they proceeded to the study.

Still, it was empty.

"!!"

Altair gave a sharp turn, he’d noticed something.

The rug in the study had been moved aside. The trapdoor beneath it remained close. But Altair kept feeling the hostile energy that permeated from beneath.

He was about to move toward it, when a voice spoke from behind them.

"I thought you might come."

Altair turned around.

Master Oz stood in the doorway of the study, with both hands clasped behind his back. He looked calm. A little too calm. Like he’d been expecting this exact scenario.

"Please," Oz said, gesturing toward a pair of chairs near the hearth. "Sit. Can I offer you a drink?"

"Where is she?" Altair asked without moving an inch.

Oz tilted his head slightly. "Ah. So she’s yours, isn’t she. Hmm, I thought as much."

He stepped further into the room with his robes sweeping the floor.

"Although, I must say I am amazed by your audacity, and concerned. Is this bravery?, or just plain stupidity?."

He paused again, stroking his chin gently.

" You see the thing is, Altair, infiltrating the home of one of the Academy’s councilmen carries grave punishment. expulsion at minimum or imprisonment at worst, and that is, if we’re going by the books."

"I don’t care" Altair said flatly. "Now, where is she?!" His tone shifted

And Arthur responded by adjusting his stance, tightening his grip on Excalibur. A clear warning.

Oz raised both hands in a sarcastic gesture of surrender. "Calm yourself Altair Elfender. I assure you, she’s fine. She’s only resting."

Altair’s expression remained hardened . "What do you want from me?" he asked

Oz let out a short, humorless laugh. "What do I want from, you?. You had your summon ransack my office, break into my home, violate my privacy. And here you are, asking what I want from *you*?"

"Let’s not play games," Altair shot back. "Our abduction wasn’t random. And the Herald’s appearance... I know you’re connected to it somehow."

Oz studied him for a long moment.

Then his expression shifted, the sarcasm fading.

"In as much as I was beginning to enjoy this, I do agree that we need not play games"

"Especially, since we will have to ally against the same foe".

Confusion slowly creeped on Altair’s expression. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"You see Altair, you were right to smell foul play, in your abduction" Oz said quietly. "But, concluding I was behind it is where you missed your step."

He turned toward the open trapdoor.

"Come with me."

---

The underground chamber was even larger than the main house was. And in the center of the room, bound by multiple revolving spell circles, was Delilah.

She was unconscious, her body suspended a few inches off the ground by the magic holding her in place. Her hands and feet were wrapped in glowing bindings concentrated with containment energy.

"What have you done to her?" Altair’s voice sparked.

"Simple binding spells nothing more," Oz said calmly.

He snapped his fingers.

The spell circles shattered like glass, and Delilah dropped to the ground in a heap.

She gasped, her eyes snapping open red with rage. But when she tried to stand, her legs trembled. Her body was weak as jelly.

Altair rushed to her side, catching her before she could fall. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine," she muttered, gripping the edge of a nearby table for support.

She turned her glare on Master Oz.

"But he..." She pointed an accusing finger at him. "He knows everything."

Master Oz stood with both hands crossed behind his back. His eyes glowed faintly in the candlelight as he turned to face them fully.

"Indeed I do."

He stepped forward, his presence filling the room despite his calm demeanor.

"Now let me tell you a bit about myself, Altair Elfender."

---

Oz moved to one of the tables and rested his hand on a stack of ancient texts.

"The name Oz, is not my first name you see. I am the last of the Oz clan," he began. "A bloodline that has remotely observed and preserved the world of magic in all its forms for over a thousand years. Summoners, Enchanters, Arcanists. We watched, and recorded all their histories. We maintained the balance within the magical world."

He paused, almost as if reliving his glory days, then continued.

"Being the last one meant I inherited everything. Every duty, every principle, and every tradition. I upheld them all without question."

His fingers traced the edge of one of the books.

"But then... I began to question."

Altair stayed silent, listening.

"Certain knowledge encouraged more curiosity," Oz continued. "Blips in history that didn’t make sense. Classified occurrences that were buried too quickly, but these created patterns that suggested something larger at work."

He turned to face Altair directly.

"My greatest research stemmed from a place of such questioning. I started digging, searching for answers to questions no one else was asking."

He gestured around the underground chamber.

"And what I found..." His voice dropped. "...changed everything."

Oz walked slowly toward one of the walls, where a massive map of intersecting planes was pinned. Lines connected them all.

"The summoning system, the contracts. And even the ancient tradition of the Summoner’s War. None of it is what we’ve been told."

He tapped one finger against the map.

"The traditions I was meant to uphold? They were built on lies. Convenient narratives designed to keep us ignorant."

Altair’s pulse quickened. "Ignorant of what?"

Oz turned back to him, his eyes glowing brighter now.

"That we are not alone."

The words hung in the air like a blade, diverse reactions spawned from each of them, but all showed surprise and caution.

Arthur’s stood composed, but his grip on Excalibur tightened. Delilah pushed herself upright, leaning heavily against the table. Altair loudly swallowed his saliva.

Oz stepped closer, his voice quiet but carrying absolute certainty.

"There are forces beyond our world. Beyond our planes. Entities that existed long before the first summoner ever drew a contract circle. And they have been watching us. Feigning to guide us. But in reality, using us."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

"The herald you encountered? They are not the architects of this conspiracy."

Oz’s eyes locked onto Altair’s.

"They are merely the servants."

Silence brewed.

Complete, suffocating silence.

Altair’s mind raced through everything. The herald’s abduction, the watchers he spoke about. And now, the Summoner’s War he’d heard so much about.

It was all connected?.

Altair’s experience and the words of the herald made this all the more believable.

And whatever Master Oz had discovered...

...it was only the beginning.

---