Episode 170. Blessing of Frost (3)

Whooosh!

A pure white blizzard rages.

Trees, rocks, and the ground freeze instantly upon contact with the blizzard.

“Da, Dale!”

“Mr. Dale!”

Iris and Yuren called out to me with urgent expressions.

“Ugh…!”

I tried to approach Lanes, but the blizzard swirling around her pushed me back.

‘This is insane.’

The Blessing of Frost, which in a past life turned half the continent into a frozen wasteland.

Its power was so immense that even I, who now harbored the Primordial Flame within me, could barely withstand it.

Crackle!

Ice shards formed in mid-air and shot toward me.

“Dale!”

Clang!

Yuren drew his sword and deflected the ice shards aimed at me.

“Wh-what’s going on all of a sudden?!”

“It’s a long story!”

I dodged the indiscriminate ice shards and stepped back.

Gritting my teeth, I looked at Lanes at the center of the blizzard.

“I’ll be abandoned, I’ll be abandoned, I’ll be abandoned…”

Lanes, crouched and repeating the words like a broken machine.

‘She’s completely lost her sanity.’

It was clear at a glance that she was beyond reason.

“Let’s subdue Lanes first.”

“…How?”

Yuren frowned as he looked at the blizzard swirling around Lanes.

Having recently risen in strength, he could feel it more clearly.

Each snowflake carried an overwhelming power.

“We’ll have to figure it out.”

I gritted my teeth and summoned my magic power.

“Bloom.”

Whoosh!

Burning Ash Fire.

Gray smoke flowed from my pores and wrapped around my body.

“Mr. Dale! I’ll try to block the blizzard, so get close to Lanes in the meantime!”

Iris’s eyes turned rainbow-colored, and a white aura burst forth like an explosion.

“O seven gods! Protect your child!”

The white aura spread like a curtain, blocking the raging blizzard.

‘This is…’

To be able to erect a barrier strong enough to block the Blessing of Frost.

‘It wasn’t just Yurina who grew rapidly.’

Iris, being a support type, hadn’t shown her growth as noticeably until now.

But seeing her barrier withstand the blizzard, it was clear she had achieved as much as Yurina.

“Ugh…! Mr. Dale! I can’t hold it for long!”

But no matter how much she had achieved, her opponent was the Witch of the Night, who in a past life had frozen half the world.

The barrier wouldn’t last much longer.

“Just hold on a little longer!”

I charged forward, cloaked in Ash Fire.

“No, no, no…!”

Crackle!

Lanes screamed, tearing at her hair.

Ice pillars erupted from the frozen ground.

“Hah!”

Ash Fire Sword 2nd Form.

Fire Blade.

I unleashed a blazing sword energy, shattering the rising ice pillars.

Scattered ice fragments. A chilling cold enveloped my body.

Grit.

Enduring the cold, I took another step forward.

Lanes, who had been crouched and tearing at her hair, slowly raised her head.

Her empty eyes turned toward me.

“Ah, uh.”

Whoooosh!

The blizzard intensified.

“Ugh… Mr. Dale! I can’t…!”

Crack! Clang!

Iris’s barrier, barely holding against the blizzard, shattered into pieces.

The blizzard surged like a tidal wave.

Like a giant monster made of snow opening its mouth, the blizzard spread wide and engulfed me.

“Dale! Be careful!”

Yuren shouted urgently and charged.

He swung his sword to block the blizzard’s tidal wave, but…

Crack! Clang!

“Ugh!”

His sword was knocked away by the blizzard.

In the brief clash, less than a second, his hand turned purple from frostbite.

His hand, trembling from the cold.

Yuren bit his lip as he looked at his purple hand.

“This little thing…!”

Yuren threw off the pendant around his neck.

Whoooosh!

With a brilliant light, his golden hair turned silver.

Yurina, back in her original form, gripped the sword hilt with her frostbitten hand.

“Haaah!”

Explosive magic power erupted from the Holy Mark on her left chest, enveloping her body in a silver aura.

The silver aura spread like wings.

Dozens, hundreds of sword energies swam through the air like a school of fish, forming a circle.

It was like a full moon rising in broad daylight.

“I’ll protect Dale!”

Crack!

The full moon split the blizzard’s tidal wave.

“Well done, Yurina!”

I threw myself through the gap in the blizzard.

Whoosh!

With a hand burning with Ash Fire, I grabbed Lanes’s shoulder.

“Lanes!”

Did my voice reach her?

“…Dale?”

A light appeared in Lanes’s empty eyes.

“I… what’s happening now…”

Lanes trembled with a confused expression.

She looked at my body, bleeding from the ice fragments, and her eyes widened.

“I… I hurt Dale…”

Lanes stepped back, her face pale.

Just as the light in her eyes was about to fade again.

“Snap out of it!”

I grabbed Lanes’s shoulders with both hands and shook her roughly.

The light in Lanes’s eyes reignited.

“Ah, uh.”

She bit her lip and stared at the blizzard swirling around her.

“Come back…”

Lanes reached out toward the blizzard.

“Please… I beg you…”

Her voice trembled with desperation.

Tears streamed down Lanes’s cheeks.

“I… I don’t want to hurt Dale.”

Whoooosh.

Did her command work?

The raging blizzard gradually subsided and flowed back into Lanes’s body.

“Ah…!”

Lanes winced in pain as the blizzard receded.

As Lanes staggered, the blizzard inside her body began to rage again.

I pulled Lanes’s shoulder and patted her back like comforting a crying child.

“It’s okay. I’ll never abandon you… don’t worry.”

“Ah.”

Ripples formed in Lanes’s eyes.

She clenched her teeth and turned her gaze toward the turbulent blizzard.

“Come back.”

Not a fragile, trembling voice, but a firm voice like a queen commanding her subjects.

The raging blizzard instantly calmed and was completely absorbed into her body.

“Haa, haa, haa!”

Lanes, having absorbed the blizzard, collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

“What just happened…”

Lanes, trembling, looked down at her body, then suddenly raised her head as if remembering something.

“Da, Dale! Are you okay… Ah!”

Lanes tried to get up but lost her balance and staggered.

I grabbed Lanes’s hand and helped her up.

“It’s okay.”

“I… I don’t know what happened…”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it now, just rest.”

“…Dale.”

Lanes’s eyes trembled.

She bowed her head and sobbed.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. Dale… you saved me… but I…”

As I patted Lanes’s back while she cried.

“…Mr. Dale. What just happened?”

“That blizzard… it came from Lanes, right?”

Iris and Yurina approached me.

Both were looking at Lanes with wary eyes, unlike before.

“Sorry. I’ll explain later. About Lanes… don’t worry.”

“Ha. Okay.”

“If Dale says so… I’ll trust you.”

Iris and Yurina nodded reluctantly.

Lanes, who had been crying with her head bowed, bowed to Iris and Yurina.

“I’m, I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened either… but I, I never meant to hurt you! Really!”

“……”

Lanes bowed her head, tears streaming down.

Iris, who had been glaring at her fiercely, sighed and placed a hand on Lanes’s trembling shoulder.

“It’s okay, so lift your head.”

“Sniff… I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

Lanes wiped her tears and turned her gaze to Yurina.

“Yuren, I’m sorry too… huh?”

Lanes’s eyes widened as she looked at Yurina.

“Yuren… is a girl?”

“Ah.”

Yurina seemed to realize she wasn’t in her ‘Yuren’ form and swallowed hard.

“Well… since Dale trusts you, I’ll tell you.”

Yurina revealed her true identity to Lanes.

As Yurina’s story continued, Lanes’s eyes grew wider.

“So all this time… you’ve been pretending to be a man with a Disguise Magical Tool?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“……”

Lanes looked at Yurina with sad eyes after hearing her story.

“It must have been… hard for you.”

She knew well the pain of hiding one’s true identity.

Yurina shook her head at Lanes’s sad voice.

“No, it’s okay. I have Dale.”

Yurina smiled brightly as she looked at me.

“Dale… is with you?”

Perhaps sensing something from Yurina’s smile.

Lanes looked back and forth between Iris and Yurina and stammered.

“W-wait. Don’t tell me… both of you are dating Dale?”

A chill ran down my spine at Lanes’s question.

‘No!’

If it got out that I was dating two women at the same time, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue.

I quickly moved to stop Yurina from speaking, but…

“Yes, that’s right. I’m also dating Dale.”

Yurina glanced at Iris and declared boldly.

Lanes’s mouth fell open in shock.

“So Dale… has two girlfriends?”

Lanes muttered in a dazed voice.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes tightly.

‘I’m screwed.’

Earlier, I was lucky enough to snap her out of it, but if the Blessing of Frost went berserk again, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

In the worst-case scenario.

I might have to end Lanes’s life with my own hands.

“Ha, haha.”

Laughter escaped Lanes’s lips.

I steeled myself and slowly opened my eyes.

What I saw was…

“Ahahaha! So, so? That’s how it is? So Dale… isn’t just dating one person?”

Lanes’s face was filled with happiness.

‘Huh?’

What’s this?

Why is she happy?

“Ehehe. That’s a relief…”

Lanes smiled brightly at me.

A faint voice muttered, ‘So there’s a chance for me too.’

“……”

Now I finally understood why Lanes had gone berserk earlier.

‘It wasn’t because I had a lover that she went berserk… but because she thought she might be abandoned because of it.’

Now that she knew I had more than one lover, she felt reassured that she could become the ‘third.’

‘So… summing up the situation.’

Thanks to me having two lovers, I managed to stop the witch’s awakening.

“……”

What is this feeling?

I clearly just prevented half the world from freezing with my own hands.

I saved tens, hundreds of thousands of lives.

‘Why do I feel like such a scumbag?’