S-Rank Adventurer Betrayed by His Fiancée in the Hero’s Party Sets Off on a Journey to Heal His Broken Heart ~The Strongest Betrayed Adventurer Ends Up Forming a Harem Party~ - Chapter 59: The Azure Lifeline Carries Pride – Part 2

Chapter 59: The Azure Lifeline Carries Pride – Part 2

Marine-type monsters weren’t limited to creatures that could only live in water.

Plenty of them could breathe just fine outside the sea, not just through gills.

That was exactly why adventurers had gathered—to stop those things from crawling onto land.

And among those monsters… there were some that the mind simply refused to accept.

“So, uh… what exactly is this thing? A fish with legs? What kind of life choices led to that evolution…?”

As we crossed the frozen plains, I muttered complaints while cutting down the occasional legged tuna that charged at us.

A tuna sprinting straight at you at absurd speed on ridiculously muscular legs was… honestly hard to describe.

『Don’t be rude now. I’m sure it dreamed of life on land. …Though if that’s the case, I’d like to tell it to start by fixing its shape. If it could understand me, anyway』

“Pff—!”

Granny Crim’s offhand remark hit Maria right in the funny bone. She clapped a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried not to laugh.

With Granny Crim in her flying dragon form at the center, we advanced across the frozen sea, cutting down monsters as they attacked.

『I couldn’t just trap all the monsters under the ice, you see. So I made openings here and there—vents, basically—so anything coming up can be dealt with gradually』

“If all of them burst out at once when the ice melted, that wouldn’t be funny at all. This really helps~”

Because of the thick ice, the monsters could only surface through narrow holes.

Thanks to Granny Crim’s consideration, this hadn’t turned into a full-blown stampede.

By now, adventurers along the shoreline were probably fighting as well.

“So, how are you holding up? Feeling okay…?”

『I’m not in pain or anything, but… my strength’s just not there. I don’t think I can fight anymore. Even that simple spell earlier drained me pretty badly. My mana control’s already at its limit』

“That’s fine. So all I need to do is cut down anyone who comes after you, right?”

『Yeah. Until the time comes… I’m counting on you』

“But about your granddaughter… Carina, was it? Just how strong is she?”

With the legged tuna finally dying down, Elmie sheathed her sword and brought up Carina, as if she’d just thought of it.

“Hm… well… at the very least, it’d be better if you three didn’t fight her.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“It’s hard to explain, but… I think she’s still too dangerous for you.”

“But we finally ended up in the same party, and we can’t even fight together…?”

“I appreciate you saying that, but… even one hit from her would be bad news for the three of you.”

“One hit?”

Elmie tilted her head at my words.

I knew exactly how strong the three of them were—but putting it into words was tricky…

“With the amount of mana that girl has, even a casual attack would be lethal. The odds of survival are just way too low.”

As I struggled to explain, Raynare chimed in, reeling in the threads she’d been using to shred monsters.

“If it were Abel or me, we could handle it somehow. But for you three, even defending would be tough. …I get wanting to fight side by side, but this time, leave it to others.”

“…We’re not weak, you know? And yet you’re saying we’d die instantly…”

“I’m the one who trained you. I know exactly how strong you are. Still—accept it this time.”

Hearing that from Raynare herself—the one who had trained them—Elmie and the others reluctantly gave in.

…It was frustrating, yeah—being told you weren’t strong enough.

But with the talent they had, I knew they’d reach the next stage soon enough.

“Then at least tell us—how strong do we need to be before we can handle it?”

“Hm… let’s see… Well, you’ll find out soon enough anyway—oh.”

As I struggled to answer Frey’s question, I suddenly looked up.

“Yeah. Something about that level of attack.”

“That level…? Huh!?”

When they followed my gaze skyward—

—They saw a violent blizzard swirling through the clear blue sky, staining it white.

The sheer scale of it kept expanding, doubling, tripling as it swallowed the heavens and dimmed the light around us.

“W-Wait, Abel! Don’t tell me that’s—!? That’s Carina’s magic—!”

“No way to dodge it! Get down!”

“So she’s starting by blasting everything around Granny Crim out of the way…! Elmie, Frey, Maria—don’t you dare separate!”

I drew the Piercing Wind Sword Breathslate with my left hand, and the Blazing Flame Sword Heedrise with my right, pouring mana into both.

This was going to be a fight big enough to shake heaven and earth.

Time to get fired up…!

“Hm. Then I’ll leave that wild granddaughter to you.”

“Yeah. Raynare’s got… ah, looks like she’s got company too. I’m counting on you—”

We didn’t even have time to finish that exchange.

The raging blizzard overhead slammed straight into the frozen sea.

A blast of freezing air and violent winds hit like an explosion, scattering us in every direction—

―And then.

“…I was hoping to quickly sweep aside the annoying bugs so I could spend some final moments with my grandma.”

“Too bad for you—I’ve got ways to deal with wind and heat.”

『You look lively as ever, Carina. Still cute today, too. Getting to see my granddaughter on a day like this makes this old lady very happy』

“Grandma! I’m happy too! I want to talk with you no matter what the situation is!”

After the storm passed.

Standing there were me—having barely deflected the blizzard—and Granny Crim, who hadn’t budged an inch, as if a gentle breeze had brushed past her.

From the sky, a woman in a dress, complete with wings and a tail, drifted down softly.

She shot sharp, murderous intent straight at me—completely at odds with her beautiful appearance—

But toward Granny Crim, she was practically wagging her tail in excitement.

Hey, easy there—your dragon tail’s scraping ice off the ground.

Granny Crim, who hadn’t looked bothered in the slightest by that blizzard, spoke calmly to her granddaughter.

『Same here. I’d love nothing more than to chat with my granddaughter. …But tell me—once I die, you plan to take my mana, don’t you?』

“Yes. If I want to become like you, Grandma, then taking your mana is the fastest way!”

『Sorry, but even if I have to smack some sense into you, I can’t give you my mana. …It’s a day like this. Can’t you just stay peaceful and see me off without making things violent?』

“You’re joking. I can’t just give up on your mana. And besides… you’re planning to give it to that human, aren’t you? If that’s the case, then why can’t I have it instead!”

With her shout, an enormous wave of freezing mana burst out of Carina.

Sadly, the sight was less “majestic dragon” and more like a child throwing a tantrum.

For one of the strongest beings alive, it was honestly embarrassing.

『Haa… you really do remind me of myself when I was young—hot-blooded to a fault』

Granny Crim sighed and shook her head.

Looks like there was nothing left to say.

Thinking that, I stepped forward.

“So yeah—that’s the wish of someone I owe my life to. Even if I have to beat you down, I’m not letting you have that mana.”

“A mere human dares to resist…? Well, you’ve already forced yourself into my memory. And once I remember something—I crush it.”

“You really look down on humans, huh? You know… there are some among us—absolute monsters.”

There were eleven beings in this world recognized as true monsters.

And by some twist of fate, I happened to be one of them.

Since she was Granny Crim’s granddaughter, I figured I’d teach her something.

That even among weak humans—

There were those with fangs.

“I’ll clear out the annoying human first, then enjoy my time with Grandma. So hurry up and disappear!”

“Bring it on, dragon!!! I’ve handled plenty of wild brats before!”

I’d already been through dragon-slaying once.

With magic swords in both hands and mana surging through my entire body, I stepped forward without hesitation.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・

“Ugh…! A-Are you two okay!?”

“Somehow, yeah!”

“That blizzard was insane… So this is a dragon’s power…!”

Far from where they’d started, Elmie, Frey, and Maria checked on each other.

Luckily, they’d been holding hands, so they hadn’t been separated—and they’d managed to land without crashing.

“We’re way too far from Abel now… But maybe we can regroup—”

“No. We don’t,” Frey said firmly, stopping Elmie.

Elmie looked back toward where Abel was, clearly reluctant.

“We did get to form a party with Abel. But the gap in strength is huge… It hurts to admit it, but against that—Carina—we’d only get in the way.”

“…Tch!”

Even after all the training with Raynare, seeing Carina’s magic made the truth unavoidable.

…That stage was still far beyond them.

“Let’s do what we can do for now—but someday, we’ll definitely catch up.”

“Yeah…!”

Back then, they were the ones cheering Abel on.

Now, they couldn’t even help him.

Swallowing that frustration, Elmie lifted her head.

“Alright then—let’s move.”

When they turned around, a massive shadow was crawling out from one of the holes in the frozen sea.

And it wasn’t alone—beneath the ice, an entire swarm was swimming closer.

To support the battlefield in whatever way they could,

The A-rank party Oathsworn Radiant Swords broke into a run.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・

“Hahaha! To think a woman this fine would just drop in front of me! Huge chest, huge ass—now this is my lucky day!”

“…I sensed a large mana source besides that little girl and came to check it out. A fire dragon, huh? And a young one at that.”

High above the frozen sea.

Raynare had deliberately let the blizzard buffet her, following the signal caught by her mana detection.

There, she found another dragon—separate from Carina.

Floating in the air on bat wings formed through Transformation,

She looked at the man flying freely with blazing red dragon wings.

(Not on that brat’s level… but still too much for those girls to handle, huh.)

Young, lacking both mana and experience—but a dragon was still a dragon.

Judging the gap between him and Elmie’s group, Raynare decided this one was hers to deal with.

And just as she reached that conclusion,

The fire dragon called out to her in a casual, almost playful tone.

“So, were you planning to snatch the old lady’s mana—or maybe siphon it off that weakened Carina? Either way, lucky me. Hey, lady—how about becoming my mate?”

“No thanks. I’ve already got a prior engagement.”

“A prior engagement? With that human? C’mon, I’m way better than him! I’m a dragon—stronger than any human! And when I’m in human form, I’m crazy popular with women, y’know?”

The young dragon started thrusting his hips awkwardly.

Young or not, as a man, he was completely lacking in class.

That alone was enough for Raynare to decide—

There was no way she was letting Elmie and the others handle this.

“Hmph. He’s a better man than you in every sense—strength included. As a male, you don’t even compare. Go train some more, red lizard.”

“Lizard~? Haha, I’m a dragon, actually~. Guess unruly women like you need to be taught a lesson!”

Heat shimmered around the fire dragon as he entered a combat stance.

Even facing a dragon ready for battle, The Progenitor only smirked, blood-forged Wire Blood threads coiling around both her hands.

“‘Teach a lesson,’ huh? More like discipline. I’ll train you till you’re crying my name beneath me, little lady!”

“Try it, you greenhorn. I’m not as soft as Abel—I won’t forgive that smart mouth from a brat whose ass is still wet behind the ears.”

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

And so—

Each battlefield’s decisive fight began.

Thank you for reading.
If this matched your tastes even a little, I’d be happy if you left a ♡, ☆, or a comment!