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 63 & 64

Chapter 63: The Azure Lifeline Carries Pride – Part 4

[Side: Betrayed Adventurer]

The back-and-forth between me and Carina kept going.

It seemed she decided close combat was too risky—switching to blasting magic from a distance instead.

“Ice—!”

“Those flimsy pillars really enough for you!? Even the ice treats they sell in town are harder than this!”

Dozens of ice pillars came flying at me—

But I cut them down one after another, throwing in some taunts along the way.

“Losing to human sweets? That’s just embarrassing for a dragon!”

“Don’t mess with me!”

Okay, yeah—saying “ice treat is harder” was definitely an exaggeration.

From what I could tell, the pillars were actually a bit tougher.

…Though seriously, why was that ice treat even comparable to attack magic in hardness? That thing was way past normal food.

“—Tch, not the time to get distracted…!”

Shaking it off, I kept slicing through the relentless barrage of ice.

Even when I managed to counterattack, she just healed immediately.

At this rate, her attacks would only keep getting worse.

“What, just gonna keep shooting from afar? Granny Crim’s granddaughter a coward or something?”

“Ghh… you’re just trying to lure me in, aren’t you?”

Oh—she held back.

So she caught on.

Even while looking down on me, she was still watching carefully.

Guess being Granny Crim’s granddaughter wasn’t just for show.

“I’ve been watching—you’ve only been cutting from a distance with water and wind. That red one can’t reach me from afar, can it?”

“—Tch.”

She was right.

Out of all my options, Heedrise barely had any way to hit from long range.

And the Piercing Wind Sword and Azure Ice Sword didn’t have enough power to deal serious damage.

“The only one that actually hurts is that red sword! Grandma’s power and that green stick barely do anything to me! So all I have to do is watch out for that!”

Which meant—

Carina had no reason to come any closer.

“I’ll just wear you down like this…!”

…This was bad.

I had more long-range options than most swordsmen, sure—

But my real strength was still close combat.

As I let out a sigh, Granny Crim—focused on controlling her mana behind me—spoke up.

『Doing alright, Abel-boy? Think you can complete the request? My granddaughter’s strong, isn’t she?』

“Yeah, I can tell—and I don’t like it, Granny Crim. Save the worrying and the bragging for later.”

For a dragon, she had sharp analysis too.

Seriously, her granddaughter had way too much battle sense.

Kind of jealous.

『Carina’s really grown strong. As her grandmother, I’m proud.』

“Grandma… yes! A mere human like him can barely even scratch me!”

Hey—could you not praise her like that?

You’re just boosting her morale.

“Something like you—I’ll crush you in an instant!”

“…Whoa. That’s huge.”

As Carina raised her arm into the sky, an enormous mass of ice—larger than any mountain around—spread out above us.

So she was going to crush everything in one go.

The moment she swung her arm down, that mountain came falling.

“Haha… it’s like a meteor.”

A force of destruction that could wipe out everything in the surrounding area.

That’s what it looked like.

A massive chunk of ice, falling to crush what she saw as nothing more than a bug.

And against that—

“—Black Blade, Chronovale.”

For the first time in this battle, I drew the black sword.

The magic blade at my left hip—its pitch-black edge, with a double-edged tip.

“…? What do you think you can do with a skinny little stick like that!?”

Ignoring Carina, I poured mana into the blade—

And a dark aura spilled out.

Even in broad daylight, it carried a darkness deeper than night itself.

Wrapping Chronovale in that shadow, I quietly pointed it toward the falling mass of ice.

And just like that—

The entire thing scattered into fine ice particles and vanished.

“…!?”

“…Phew.”

Letting out a breath, I lowered the blade while staring at Carina, whose eyes were wide in shock.

“What… was that…?”

“Surprised? First time seeing it, right—magic disappearing like that.”

What just happened wasn’t deflection or cancellation.

—It was the erasure of magic.

Something that simply shouldn’t exist.

“What… exactly did you just do…?”

“It’s the power of this sword.”

So she could see it clearly, I raised the black blade overhead.

The young dragon stared at it—

And almost instantly, her face twisted in shock.

“What is that sword…? Why is it leaking… miasma…!?”

“Haha, even dragons get scared of miasma, huh.”

In this world, there existed a strange energy—something completely different from mana.

With one rare exception, neither humans nor monsters could use it.

A tainted power—

Miasma.

The negative emotions of all living things. Especially the grudges, resentment, and hatred of the dead.

That corruption distorted the world itself—

Draining mana from nature and life alike, and eventually even consuming life force.

One of the disasters of this world.

“This thing—I picked it up in the ‘Valley of Death—Endnoa Valley,’ where tens of thousands met tragic deaths during the war against the Demon King. It’s a cursed magic sword.”

A cursed valley in the northern continent.

A place where anyone who stepped in would quickly meet their end.

Deep within that place—

This blade had been lying there.

An old, ordinary sword that had been soaked in miasma for years, turning into a magic blade.

That was the true nature of Chronovale.

The more mana it absorbed, the more miasma it produced.

Out of all my weapons—

This was the most dangerous one.

“Control miasma…? Even dragons can be corroded by it! There’s no way a weak human like you could handle something like that—”

“I can. And I’ve been using it just fine.”

Maybe it was because it was still a sword.

To me, it was no different from the other magic blades—I could handle it the same way.

…Well, sometimes the miasma leaked out and messed with my mood, but still.

It was worth using.

The black blade, filled with activated miasma, scattered mana itself.

Which meant—

“Any magic cut by Chronovale loses its mana and disperses. That’s the trick behind what you just saw.”

“Wha—!?”

No matter how powerful the spell, once its mana was drained, it couldn’t maintain its form.

And that didn’t just apply to defense.

“《Various Thrust》!!!”

“—!?”

I sheathed Chronovale, then poured as much mana as Breathslate could handle—

And launched myself forward with a burst of wind.

“W-Wait—ice—!”

“Too slow.”

As Carina tried to cast a spell in panic, I hurled the flame-cloaked magic sword at her.

“This is—!?”

She dodged the throw—

But her attention was completely drawn to it.

Heedrise.

The very red blade she had been most wary of.

She avoided it—thinking the danger had passed.

That single moment of hesitation—

“Yeah… you’re still inexperienced when it comes to this kind of mind game.”

“Y-You—!?”

In that instant, I was already right in front of her—

My hand on Chronovale.

“Black Blade Slash—《Clear Sever》.”

“Ka—…!”

Miasma devoured mana and scattered it.

Chronovale was a one-of-a-kind blade—it cut through magic and nullified defenses made of mana.

The drawn black slash—

Sliced through the dragon’s mana-based defense like paper, and tore open her abdomen.

・　・　・　・　・

“…So I broke through more than just a scratch.”

“Gah…! —ghh…!”

Carina crashed to the ground, clutching her stomach, coughing up blood.

I pointed Chronovale straight at her throat.

“Against Chronovale, mana-based defenses mean nothing. Even for dragons.”

For dragons who reinforced their bodies with mana, this was a direct counter.

If she moved even a little, the black blade would slice her neck.

Hardening herself wouldn’t help.

It was like a reaper’s scythe resting on her throat.

For a dragon, this had to shatter her pride.

“This is over. You’ve lost. Give up on Granny Crim’s mana.”

Please… just give up.

Let this end here.

I kept that thought hidden, speaking in a cold, merciless tone.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Carina lowered her head, her expression hidden, but she sounded like she was agreeing.

For a moment, a small bit of hope rose—

But—

“You’re strong. I admit that. …But—”

At that instant, an overwhelming surge of mana burst out from her—

And the temperature around us dropped below freezing.

“——!!”

“『Even so… you’re nowhere near a dragon.』”

The sudden drop in temperature made my body tremble—

But even now, with Chronovale, I could’ve cut through the cold… and taken her head.

Still—

I couldn’t bring myself to cut down Granny Crim’s granddaughter right in front of her.

So instead, I rode the surge of mana and pulled away from Carina.

“…Haa. Guess that didn’t work.”

Honestly, I never planned to fight her to the end.

Carina looked down on humans.

I figured she wouldn’t use her true form at first—

So my plan was to beat her down in that state, break her pride, and make her give up.

—Because my Sword Arts wouldn’t work well against a dragon fighting seriously.

“…You’ve gotten a lot bigger, huh.”

I landed after being blown back and looked toward where she had been—

『I’m serious now. I’m going to kill you.』

—A dragon stood there.

Her upper body resembled a massive bird of prey.

Huge ice wings spread wide, and her lower body—thicker than Granny Crim’s—extended into massive legs and a long tail.

Her head, shaped like a bird’s beak, held both dignity and beauty—

And embedded in the center of her chest was a Dragon Core, nearly as large as Granny Crim’s.

—Dragonkind, the Crystalia Dragon.

“Damn… that pressure is insane. Dragons really are a pain.”

The sheer presence was on a completely different level.

Just facing her felt like being stared down by a predator far above me.

—Then, Carina opened her mouth.

“G—ahhh!?!?”

—And in the next instant, my body was blown away.

A breath attack… no, not even a proper one—more like a crude version of it!

The ice she fired slammed into me faster than sound!

I threw up both arms to block on instinct—

But the impact shattered my guard and sent me flying.

Just how much mana was she packing into that shot…!?

Groaning through the pain, I started healing my broken arms midair—

And raised Chronovale as the dragon closed in.

“You—damn it…!”

I swung the black blade straight toward her beak—

But—

“Tough… as hell…!”

It didn’t cut.

Forget mana—her raw toughness alone was too much to slice through without proper footing!

She shook her head and knocked me away, then spread her massive wings toward me.

Each shimmering feather—

Looked as sharp as a dagger.

『Die…!』

“Like hell I will—!?”

In midair, with no way to dodge or defend—

Even my strongest body-hardening technique, 《Diamond Body》, was easily sliced through.

Blood sprayed everywhere—

As I was slammed far out into the frozen sea.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

[Author’s Note]

Carina’s dragon form looks something like this—

A crystal dragon with thick legs and a heavy tail like Godzilla—combined with the massive upper body of a giant bird of prey.

…Yeah, kind of like a golden Necrozma vibe.

Dragons are almost always S-rank monsters.

Normally, monster ranks are based on the idea of “a party of the recommended rank can handle it.”

But S-rank is different—

It basically means, “you need S-rank just to stand a chance.”

Even then, it’s still a fight against an equal-level monster, so the risk is high.

And since S-rank just means “above a certain threshold,”

There’s a huge range within it—from the lower end to the absolute monsters.

Chapter 64: Showing the Proof of Our Growth [Oathsworn Radiant Swords Side]

[Side: Pure-Hearted Sword Saint]

“Fuu… done.”

After finishing off the Kraken, I made sure it wasn’t moving anymore.

Some monsters liked to play dead, after all. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

This new fighting style suited me really well.

I still wasn’t fully used to 《Rebound》 yet, but I had plenty of stamina left—so I’d call that a pass.

“The Kraken’s completely down. Now, where are the other two…”

After confirming it was dead, I started looking for Frey and Maria.

“—Ah, there.”

Not too far from where I’d been fighting, I spotted—

“《Counter Burst》!”

Maria, deflecting the charge of the A-rank Flying Shark with its airborne fins.

She didn’t need help.

If anything, jumping in would probably just get in her way.

“—Phew…!”

Maria exhaled.

Around her, the Flying Shark darted through the air at insane speeds—almost like it was swimming.

It glided with its fins, then used water magic to create “paths of water in the sky,” accelerating even further.

Faster than a galloping horse—

With its tough hide, sharp fangs, and crushing jaws, it tore its prey apart.

And right now, all of that killing intent was focused on Maria.

Facing it, Maria held a shield in her left hand—

And in her right, a segmented blade that moved like a whip.

“I wish you’d stop zipping around like that~ I’m not as fast as Elmie, you know—”

Even as she said that—

In the very next moment—

“That means I just have to wait for you. 《Bolt Mine》.”

The Flying Shark dodged her shield and rushed in from behind—

Right into the trap she had set.

An explosive burst of lightning swallowed it whole.

She had deliberately left an opening in her stance—just to lure it in from behind.

“If it’s got any brains, it’ll want to avoid what just hurt it. Which means—”

Come to think of it, Raynare’s advice to Maria hadn’t been anything flashy.

Unlike with me, she didn’t give her something new—

It was more like she helped her see things differently.

—“Maria, your strength is being able to stack multiple skills at once. If you can layer attack skills, then use enhancement skills the same way.”

“—《Buster Soul: Blaze Bolt》.”

Yellow mana surged around Maria—

Along with a second, red aura.

The enhancement skill 《Buster Soul》 of a Magic Warrior—

It granted different buffs depending on the element. I’d heard that from Maria before.

…And Raynare had said those effects could be stacked.

—“The characteristics change depending on the element. You’ve been relying too much on lightning magic because it’s so strong… but don’t lean too far into one thing. You’ve got talent for a wide range of magic.”

Lightning boosted burst speed and added electric force to her strikes.

So then—

Fire would be…

“Take the massive power of fire—and launch it with the speed of lightning—!”

Mana flowed from Maria’s body into her segmented sword, now back in its standard blade form.

Wrapped in both lightning and flame—

Her strike crashed down on the staggering beast.

“—《Element Buster》!!!”

The Flying Shark couldn’t withstand the combined heat and lightning—

And collapsed onto the frozen sea, lifeless.

“Phew~ that wraps it up!”

“—Yes! You did it, Maria! That training really paid off!”

“Elmie! You’re safe—and it doesn’t look like you’re hurt either. Thank goodness.”

“Of course. We were trained by that Progenitor, remember? No way we’re losing to just an A-rank.”

I rushed over to Maria, practically jumping into her.

That training—no, that brutal beating from Raynare—

The results were showing clearly.

We had definitely gotten stronger.

Realizing that, we both broke into smiles.

“That just leaves Frey… but yeah, she doesn’t need help.”

“Right. I mean—”

We both turned toward the direction where loud crashes had been echoing nonstop.

“Out of all of us, the one who got the strongest from Raynare’s training… is probably my sister.”

Over there—

Was the Fortress Whale, its tough head armor now covered in cracks—

And Frey, swinging her halberd with overwhelming force.

・　・　・　・　・

Compared to the other two, Raynare didn’t teach Frey much.

“There’s only one thing I’m going to teach you.”

“Ehh~? Ray, that’s stingy~!”

“Hey, don’t cling to me. Your close-combat technique is already solid, Frey. From here on, you’ll get stronger just by training and gaining experience. I’ve known an Enchanter who was stronger than you. Well… not the type to fight on the front lines, though.”

“So, more of a support specialist?”

Most Enchanters Frey had met stayed in the back, and many of them couldn’t maintain continuous support.

Because of that, she had always believed she was superior—not just in combat, but in support as well.

…But—

“Yeah. Still, as an Enchanter, they were clearly above you.”

“—!?”

“Being an Enchanter is tricky. The strength of a single buff is fixed, so the only way to increase its effect is by stacking them with ‘Multi-Apply.’”

“…That’s true.”

“That person couldn’t fight—but they found a way to break past that limitation. If you can use it, you’ll reach the next level. …Frey, I’m only teaching you one thing. The skill used by that Enchanter who fought on the front lines… the one stronger than you.”

“A skill…? Not a new buff?”

“Yeah. It’s similar to Multi-Apply. The skill that Enchanter used was—”

“—《Connect》.”

And just like that—

One Enchanter stepped up to the next stage.

[Side: Siscon Twin (Big Sister)]

“You’re seriously tough, you know.”

Swinging my halberd, I looked up at the whale gliding through the sky like it was swimming.

Every time it dropped toward the ground, it slammed its tail into the ice and launched itself back into the air—the Fortress Whale.

“Its strongest attack is a headbutt. With that size and raw strength alone, it’s already a threat—and it can use magic too… But it’s not an opponent I can’t beat anymore.”

The Fortress Whale’s head armor was famous for being as tough as a castle wall.

And after actually striking it… yeah, it was ridiculously hard.

But—

That same armor was now riddled with cracks.

Through repeated clashes, I had managed to leave deep wounds even on its toughest part.

“Hehe… I can feel it. I’m definitely getting stronger…!”

I thought I had already reached my peak—

But realizing I could still grow even further?

There was no way that wouldn’t get me excited!

“—QWOOOOOO—!!!”

“《Boost》: 《Force》!”

The enraged Fortress Whale charged straight at me.

I enhanced my body within manageable limits—

And ran straight toward the flying fortress in the sky.

“The skill Ray taught me…! It’s frustrating, but whoever came up with this really was a genius!”

Skills were something you acquired through ideas.

Just like how you learned a powerful slash by “swinging a sword”—

An Enchanter’s skills came from thinking, “What if I could enhance things like this?”

But the boost from a single buff had its limits.

To break past that wall, I had been stacking them—layering buffs to make them stronger.

And what Ray showed me…

Was exactly the method I had been searching for!

“Connecting skills to make them stronger… I never thought of that! —《Second Connect》!”

The skill 《Connect》—

It allowed buffs to combine with each other.

For example—

You take 《Boost》, which enhances abilities—

And apply it onto another buff like 《Saber》.

The blade of light becomes stronger.

Sharper.

Evolving into a weapon that can cut through anything—!

“—《Blazer》!!!”

The intensified blade of light carved deep into the Fortress Whale’s body.

Blood burst out, and the massive creature twisted violently in pain.

“Fufufu… ahahaha! I’m not letting up now!”

No way I’d let this chance slip!

Step—step—

Using the thrashing whale as a foothold, I leapt high above it.

“Finishing blow—《Burst》!!!”

Stacking 《Boost》… onto another 《Boost》.

Instead of the usual additive increase, the enhancement multiplied all at once—

A body buff that far surpassed even the double-edged 《Fifth》.

And then—

“Maybe I can’t break your head, but your body’s a different story! —〈Crush and Pierce〉!”

A technique that shattered tough armor with the halberd’s blade—

Then pierced through with the spear tip.

A precise, high-speed two-hit strike.

All my power condensed into a single thrust—

Driving deep into the Fortress Whale’s back.

“Gwoo… ooooonn…—!”

The impact slammed its massive body down to the ground—

And just like that, our fight was over.

[Side: Pure-Hearted Sword Saint]

“Frey!”

“Big sis!”

After watching Frey win, we climbed onto the fallen Fortress Whale.

The one who had taken down the strongest monster among us—

“Thaaaat huuuurts—!!! The backlash from 《Burst》 feels like my body’s splitting apart—!!!”

…Was rolling around on top of the whale with her halberd still stuck in it.

“Well, you were already struggling with 《Fifth》… of course something stronger would hit you like that…”

“Honestly, sis… hold still, I’ll heal you.”

“I-I got carried away—!!!”

As Frey writhed in pain from the backlash, her kind little sister began healing her with recovery magic.

She might’ve become the strongest—

But yeah… she still had trouble handling it properly.

“Still… it’s not like Maria and I have fully mastered our new powers yet either…”

Even in this fight, I had to be careful—but I still ended up using a lot of mana.

And Maria, using enhancement skills so much, burned through both stamina and mana even faster.

“Strength and mana… they don’t grow overnight. We can only move forward little by little.”

“Elmie…”

“Hehe. But you know, we’re definitely getting closer to Abel.”

“…Yeah!”

That person we once thought was so far away—

Little by little, we were closing the gap.

Thinking that, we smiled at each other and took a short break.

—And far off in the distance, Abel was still fighting an opponent overflowing with overwhelming mana.

…He’d be okay, right?