The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
A cold silence settled over the frozen city.
“Hah.”
Seria let out a quiet chuckle, gently touching the cheek where Lanez had struck her.
“My daughter, you’ve developed quite the bad habit while I wasn’t looking.”
“......”
“I’m sorry. It’s because your mother hasn’t been by your side, isn’t it?”
Lanez bit her lip hard and glared at Seria.
“...Wake up, Mom.”
“Oh my? Wake up? I’m perfectly fine right now.”
“No.”
Lanez shook her head firmly, recalling old memories.
Memories that were now fading.
A past growing dim and distant.
“You weren’t like this before, Mom.”
Even if they were blurred, even if they had lost their color—
She remembered.
She recalled.
The image of her mother smiling gently, patting her back, the warmth of their touch.
“I don’t know what happened to make you like this....”
Tears slid down her cheeks, gathering at her chin.
“Please... please, come back... Mom.”
“......”
For a moment—
A flicker of light danced in the emptiness of Seria’s eyes.
But only for a moment.
Seria suddenly burst into laughter, her hollow eyes glimmering with amusement.
“Now, look at me, Lanez.”
She spread her arms wide, beaming brightly.
“I’m already here, aren’t I?”
“......”
Lanez clenched her eyes shut.
“...Yeah, I see.”
She forced a faint, fragile smile and nodded.
She understood now.
The mother she longed for no longer existed.
The warmth of that day would never return.
Now, she knew.
She hadn’t wanted to, but she did.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
A radiant glow burst from Lanez’ Stigma.
The swirling blizzard converged in the air, blooming into white snowflakes.
“Oh my.”
Seria’s eyes widened as she gazed at the delicate snowflakes forming in the air.
“You really... can’t deny blood, can you?”
She had never taught her how to use such power.
Yet, Lanez wielded a force eerily similar to her own Frost magic.
A quiet laugh escaped her lips.
“But.”
Seria slowly gathered her demonic energy.
Frost whirled violently around her, coating the ground in ice.
“You’re still a long way from catching up to your mother.”
CRACK!
Snowflakes and frost clashed with explosive force.
The ground around them froze solid, and a chilling cold swept through the air, sharp enough to slice through flesh.
A mere breath would be enough to freeze an ordinary person’s lungs solid in this merciless cold.
“Haaahp!”
Lanez moved first.
She let out a sharp cry and thrust her arms forward.
From the snowflakes in the air, hundreds of ice shards formed and shot toward Seria.
“Hmph.”
Seria narrowed her eyes as she watched the storm of ice rushing toward her.
Both of them wielded cold, but—
“My daughter... You were born with a blessing, weren’t you?”
Lanez’ power was fundamentally different from Seria’s cold magic.
Unlike standard magic, which followed strict principles, theory, and training, Lanez’ cold was something more instinctual.
“This is almost enough to make me jealous.”
Seria’s gaze turned sharp.
Just as humans don’t consciously calculate each breath they take—
Those born with divine blessings wielded their abilities as naturally as breathing, mastering techniques that others spent a lifetime struggling to achieve.
Regardless, that didn’t mean—
Seria’s magic was something mere talent could surpass.
CRASH!
SHATTER!
“Aagh!”
The hundreds of ice shards meant for Seria were obliterated.
The shattered fragments rained down on Lanez, slicing into her flesh.
Transparent ice shards, stained crimson with blood, embedded themselves into her body.
“Lanez!”
I had been standing back, recovering from the side effects of using my avatar state, but I rushed toward her in alarm.
I wasn’t fully healed yet, but I couldn’t just let Lanez fight a Archbishop of the Demonic Church alone—especially one of the strongest, the Frost Archbishop.
Just as I was about to step forward with my sword—
“...Dale, stay back.”
Lanez grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her.
“Lanez?”
“Please.”
She bit her lip and fixed her gaze on Seria.
“This is something I have to do.”
“......”
Why?
I knew, logically, that I shouldn’t let her fight alone—
But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to stop her.
“...If it gets dangerous, I’m stepping in.”
“Hehe. Thanks, Dale.”
Lanez gave me a bright smile and turned back toward Seria.
“Ugh....”
Even just meeting her mother’s gaze made the nightmares from sixteen years ago surge back, sending tremors through her entire body.
I can do this... No, I have to.
Yes.
For herself.
And for her mother.
“Oh my....”
Seria curved her lips into a deep smile, watching Lanez approach despite her trembling legs.
“My daughter has grown up quite a bit while I wasn’t looking, hasn’t she?”
She had expected her to tremble in fear, too afraid to move.
Yet here she was, standing tall—no, standing as a full-fledged hero, blocking her path.
“This is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.”
“...Mom.”
Lanez clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath.
WOOOOOM!
Her Stigma flared with a brilliant light.
Amid the intensifying blizzard, Lanez reached out.
"I’ll make sure you can rest soon."
White snowflakes bloomed in the air.
No, not just one—dozens.
"Haa, haa!"
Dozens of snowflakes filled the sky.
Lanez, breathing heavily, swung her outstretched hand toward Seria.
"Blossom!"
KWAJAZAJAJAK!
The snowflakes burst forward toward Seria.
"Hmm. Thanks for the thought, La... I appreciate the sentiment."
Seria smirked as she extended her arms toward the oncoming snowflakes.
"But isn’t it a little too soon to be resting when I’ve only just come back to life?"
KWAJAZAJAK!
Once again, frost and snow collided.
Unlike the first clash, where Lanez had been easily overwhelmed, this time, neither side seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
"Oh?"
Seria’s expression shifted to one of surprise as she looked at Lanez, who wasn’t being pushed back.
"My daughter... just how powerful of a blessing did you awaken?"
Even with a divine blessing, Seria had expected to subdue Lanez without difficulty.
But the power Lanez was now displaying far exceeded her expectations.
"Haa, haa! Who do you think I take after...? Of course, I have to be at least this strong!"
"Ahaha! Of course! My daughter should be this strong!"
Seria burst into laughter and raised her magic even further.
"Ugh...!"
Lanez began to be pushed back.
The power of the Frost Blessing itself was still strong, but—
‘If I push my power any further...’
She’d exceed the limits of what she could control.
"Ugh...."
Lanez groaned in pain, stepping back little by little.
‘What should I do?’
If she pushed her power any further, the Frost Blessing might go berserk like before.
But if she didn’t, there was no way she could stand against Seria.
KWAJAZAJAJAK!
"Kyaaah!"
As she hesitated, Seria’s storm of frost finally tore through the dozens of snowflakes Lanez had created and engulfed her.
The storm wrapped around her body.
A cold so intense it felt like her very soul was freezing took hold of her.
"Agh, ugh...."
Crack, crack, crack.
Lanez clutched her body and trembled violently.
So cold.
As if she had been submerged in a bathtub filled with ice.
As if frozen shards of ice were flowing through her veins.
Unbearably cold.
‘Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold....’
Her thoughts slowed.
Time itself seemed to freeze, making everything move sluggishly.
"It’s enough now, Lanez."
Then—
A warm touch on her shoulder.
‘It’s... enough?’
No.
Nothing had been resolved yet.
"Dale."
Lanez straightened from her curled-up position.
She forced herself to resist the warmth that threatened to lull her into comfort.
And she stepped forward into the frost.
"Say the Courage Spell for me, will you?"
"What?"
I frowned at Lanez’s sudden request.
She turned to me with a faint smile.
"You know, the one from the training ground."
"Ah."
Was she talking about that roleplay we did back then?
"Please."
"......."
Alright.
If that’s what Lanez needed right now.
"Lanez, there’s something I never told you."
"...Yeah?"
"Remember when I went to the Empire? Actually, the Empress confessed to me then. She asked me to be her consort."
"What?"
Lanez’s eyes widened.
The Empress had confessed to Dale?
This was the first she had heard of it.
"I’d heard a lot about how beautiful Empress Camellia was, but seeing her in person... she was even more stunning than the rumors said."
"......."
"Her platinum hair gleamed like molten gold, and her sleepy gaze was incredibly alluring."
And her figure... well. Even now, thinking about it—wow.
"W-Wait, Dale! That’s not part of the scenario, is it?"
"They say imitation is the mother of creativity."
"So...."
Lanez’s eyes gradually lost their light.
"Are you saying... you were actually confessed to? By the Empress?"
"Yeah."
"......."
Grrrrr...
A terrifying surge of magic erupted from Lanez’s body.
"Heh. I... I see. So... it wasn’t just... an act... huh?"
Crack, crack, crack.
She anxiously bit her nails.
Blood welled up from the torn skin.
"I... I really believed you."
Her eyes lost their focus.
Her hollow gaze darkened, surpassing even Seria’s.
"I believed you... believed you... believed you...!!!"
KUGUGUNG!
GRRRRUMBLE, CRASH!
Buildings that had barely withstood sixteen years of relentless frost finally crumbled.
"Y-You... womanizer...!"
A violent storm of energy erupted from Lanez.
"......."
Seria, watching all of this unfold, turned to look at me and Lanez with an incredulous expression.
"What... are you two even doing right now?"
"What else? I’m casting a courage spell on your daughter."
Yeah.
To outsiders, this might seem ridiculous.
But as you can see—
It was an extremely effective courage spell, tailored just for Lanez.
"Ugh, I-I need to finish off Mom quickly... and then deal with Dale...."
"......."
Though—
‘Did I go too far?’
Something definitely felt off about this.

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