SSS-RANK SUMMONING WEAPON SYSTEM-Chapter 42: Seliora

Xavier’s eyes opened slowly, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on him like chains.

"Shit," He muttered. "Where am I?"

He wasn’t in the cavern anymore. The smell of blood, smoke, and goblin rot was gone. Instead, he lay on a bed—firm but clean, draped in linen that smelled faintly of herbs. A soft glow of lanterns lit the room, their light dancing across polished stone walls etched with strange runes.

For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. His chest burned, his ribs ached, and his body was wrapped in bandages. He tried to sit up, but pain lanced through him, forcing a groan from his throat.

"Easy, Master " a voice said.

Aria sat beside him, her silver aura dim but steady, her eyes sharp yet softened with relief. "You’re alive, master. Barely."

Xavier’s gaze flicked around the chamber. Lyra was curled in a corner, trembling, her madness drowned by exhaustion. And then he saw her—the woman who had intervened.

She stood near the doorway, tall, commanding, her skin dark as midnight, her eyes sharp as blades. The strange device she had used rested on a table beside her, its runes pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. She was beautiful, her eyes the colour of soil, her hair was braided with dark thread, and she wore a unique black armor that seemed heavy on her.

Xavier’s voice was hoarse, ragged. "Where... am I?"

The woman stepped forward, her presence heavy, suffocating. "Safe. For now."

Xavier frowned through the pain. "That’s not what I asked, did I?"

The woman stared at him for a moment before she chuckled. "Look," she spoke. "I just need you to rest then I will tell you everything you need to know."

"I’ve rested enough," Xavier replied. "I’m not going to stay in a place with someone whose agenda is unclear to me. Unless you start talking, I won’t hesitate to leave. It won’t hurt you, will it?"

"Very well." The woman replied, then sat down in a wooden chair. "I should introduce myself. My name is Seliora, and as you can see, I’m black, and part of the Black Race, and I happened to chance on you in Mayfair."

"And?"

"I was shocked. I should have been aware if another black human had been given a mission too. So I followed you, and then I saved you from the Higher Demaranian Darakos."

"You know who he is?"

"Of course. He’s the Demaranian that rules Mayfair from the shadows. Baron Thomas made a pact with him; he exchanged his blood to elevate Mayfair into the Higher stage."

Xavier swallowed saliva, his throat sore. "Then why did you save me?"

"I can’t allow a fellow black human like me to be killed," Seliora replied, smiling. "Now it’s my time to ask questions. Who are you?"

Xavier stared at her for a moment, then he turned to Lyra, who was still, trembling in a corner."Knock that crazy bitch out first."

Lyra flinched. "What?!"

Seliora blinked. "I thought she was your partner."

"No," Xavier replied. "Her partner is dead. Darakos killed him. Both he and Lyra wanted to kill me. Something about my eyes."

Seliora frowned after hearing the last sentence. She got up and walked over to where Lyra was cowering.

The latter, sensing what she was trying to do, tried to open her mouth to scream or protest, but she was met with a quick hand chop that led her unconscious.

"So," Seliora spoke, resuming her seat. "Please tell me who you are."

"I’m not from this world" Xavier began. " I was summoned to be a hero but I awakened as an F-rank. I got banished to Carragis which I escaped from."

Seliora looked surprised. "You were summoned as a hero? Then the goddess must be getting desperate by the minute."

"So, where are we?" Xavier asked, looking around.

"This is a tent on the outskirts of Jenwood Forest," Seliora replied. "I can’t tell you about my mission, but all I can say is that it has to do with the baron."

"That doesn’t concern me," Xavier replied, his voice clipped. "Do I need to start wearing a mask to hide the fact that I’m black, because I’m tired of getting all this attention?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"You will have to do that," Seliora replied. "Your appearance in Mayfair has gained a whole lot of attention. I know the Demaranians will start looking for you, Darakos is one of them."

"Why did the Black Racr disappear, Seliora. " Xavier asked. "Someone told me that you guys believed you were better than us and you needed to separate."

"That’s a lie!" Seliora barked. "It’s because of them, that’s why we moved."

"The blacks lived in all of the five kingdoms. Most people believed that every black person has a special ability that we use our eyes."

"What do you mean our eyes?"

"Some blacks, when feeling strong emotion or close to death point, unlock the Astral Eyes. It’s an ocular ability that helps to read people’s emotions and truth detection, fighting styles, and also a physical or mental ability which also helps us."

"But the truth is," Seliora continued. "Not every black possess Astril Eyes. Only a handful do. And those handful are called Blackborns."

"The kingdom didn’t know about that, but they craved for our eyes, thinking they could be transplanted for the whites. One day, a town named Dirko that was mostly full of blacks was massacred. Their eyes were surgically removed. No one survived at all on ghat town. It was known as the Dirko Massacre."

"After that, our people had enough. We rallied ourselves and every black living in any of the five kingdoms immigrated to a safe land where we live all together. Basically, we wiped ourselves off the map, but we’re still aware and deep in the kingdoms. Some have missions in other kingdoms but we’ve been secretive."

Xavier listened intently. He hadn’t expected what he was hearing, but it finally made sense. He was a fool to even think blacks were equal in this world than in his former one.

Seliora got up, walked over to the unconscious Lyra, and proceeded to drag her out of the tent while saying. "You should rest." She said as she walked out. "We’ll talk in the morning."

Aria also took her leave, leaving Xavier alone to his bearings and Xavier knew that this world was becoming more strange by the minute.