Ice Partner and Peaceful Days: A Banished Summoner's Life with a Lone Knight
Glenn, a 30-year-old summoner, is expelled from his B-rank party 'Crimson Fang' for only being able to summon a single Living Armor. Their leader, Zex, dismisses him coldly: 'Your summon can't hold the front line.' Glenn simply says, 'I see,' and leaves without a fight.
However, the Living Armor he poured all his magic into for fifteen years has secretly evolved into a higher being with its own will—a 'Living Knight.' Glenn himself, through relentless training, possesses three times the magic c
Ice Partner and Peaceful Days: A Banished Summoner's Life with a Lone Knight - Roar of the Azure Evolution
Beyond the Klaagen Mineshaft lay a place of profound silence.
The lantern light held aloft by the survey team's adventurers crept across the dark walls like a licking tongue. The illumination magic of their torches revealed walls assembled from stone blocks so massive no human hands could ever have stacked them. The gaps between the stones were packed tight with some black substance, and even after a thousand years, not a single crack had formed.
Glen stared at the eerie sight over the shoulder of the expedition leader walking at the front.
Just behind him, the Living Knight followed in silence. The footsteps of the dark-blue heavy armor were swallowed by the stone floor, barely echoing at all. Anyone not accustomed to it would never even notice the armored soldier standing over two meters tall right behind them.
"Incredible... so this is the third stratum."
Someone murmured, breathless with awe.
Glen, too, repeated the same words in his heart.
*(So this is an uncharted domain.)*
The air was different. Chillingly cold, faintly sweet, yet unlike the scent of decaying leaves — too pure, too clean. The sensation of it reaching deep into his lungs stirred his wariness more than anything else.
"Everyone, steel yourselves. From here on, anything can happen."
The leader's sharp voice tightened the formation.
Twelve people in total. A survey team composed of C-rank and B-rank adventurers. Among them, Glen was the only one personally appointed by Mutual Aid Association Branch Chief Dolg as a defense and obstruction specialist. All of them wore tense expressions, clutching heavy survey equipment.
Glen tightened his grip on his staff just a little.
*(Well, whatever.)*
He murmured it quietly in his heart, as always.
His job was to support the front line. Nothing more, nothing less.
—But.
That was when it happened.
The moment they stepped into what seemed to be the deepest chamber — a vast, dome-shaped space.
*Rumble rumble rumble rumble...*
A heavy, dull vibration, as if rising from the depths of the earth, shook the entire ruin.
"W-What the—!?"
"An earthquake!? The mineshaft's going to collapse!"
Screams erupted.
Glen stopped in his tracks and took in the sight before him.
The colossal wall statue that had loomed at the center of the chamber — it was moving.
It easily exceeded eight meters in height. Modeled after a human form, it was a golem made of stone and steel, possessing many times the mass of a person. Its arms were thick as logs, each individual finger as thick as a child's torso. Those hands slowly rose.
A Guardian Golem.
An ancient protector, created to guard these ruins.
Its lightless eye sockets fixed on the survey team — with perfect accuracy.
"............"
It spoke no words.
It simply took one step forward with its colossal body.
*DOOM!!*
The floor caved in, stone paving tiles flipping upward. The shockwave alone made the formation stagger.
"E-Eeeek!"
"R-Run!"
"Idiots! Don't turn your backs! We fight back!"
The leader's furious roar rang out, but the screaming didn't stop.
And then, the golem's right arm swung down with brutal indifference.
—At that moment.
*CLANG!!!!*
A deafening metallic shriek of iron crashing against stone echoed through the entire chamber.
What stopped the golem's fist was a greatshield of dark blue.
The Living Knight had planted itself directly in front of Glen and the survey team. The heavy knight's entire frame, over two meters tall, groaned and creaked. Beyond the shield absorbing the impact, the golem's fist continued to press down relentlessly.
"......!"
Glen clenched his teeth and drove his staff into the ground.
In an instant, the floor beneath the Living Knight's feet froze white. Ice crystals anchored the knight's legs to the floor, dispersing the impact into the earth. It was a defensive assist using his ice magic, "Domain Freeze."
"Now! Regroup!"
At Glen's voice, the expedition leader snapped back to his senses.
"Y-You heard him! Mages, supporting fire from the rear! Vanguard, spread out left and right! Leave the shield work to Glen!"
The adventurers scrambled into motion.
But.
A cold sweat traced its way down Glen's forehead.
*(Heavy.)*
Every time the fist was blocked, he could feel his own mana and the Living Knight's being carved away in chunks. The golem's mass-driven attacks — each and every blow was lethal. Even when blocked by the shield, the shock reverberated through the body of Glen, the caster.
*DOGON!!*
The left fist slammed into the shield from the side.
*DOGAN!!*
The right fist hammered down on the top of the shield like a piledriver.
The Living Knight simply endured in silence.
But — Glen's eyes caught the fine cracks spiderwebbing across the surface of its armor. The blue magical light had begun to flicker unsteadily.
"Th-This is bad...! The shield can't hold...!"
"Our attacks aren't doing anything! Magic and swords just bounce right off!"
Panic spread through the ranks.
Feeling the golem's arm movements transmitted through the Living Knight, Glen bit down on his back teeth.
*(I can't hold out much longer.)*
His mana reserves weren't empty yet. But if he poured too much mana into defense, the Living Knight's operational limit would come that much sooner. And more than anything—
—*GWOOOOOOOON!!!*
The golem arched its massive body backward, as if drawing in a breath.
Then, a straight right punch, thrown with every ounce of its power, caught the Living Knight's greatshield head-on.
*CRACK!!*
A sickening sound rang out.
A portion of the Living Knight's greatshield had shattered. Particles of blue magical energy scattered into the air like fragments. The Living Knight dropped to one knee from the impact, the magical light across its entire body nearly extinguishing.
"Uwaaaah! The shield!"
"It's over! Retreat——!!"
The word "retreat" tore through the air.
That was when it happened.
"————"
Unconsciously, Glen screamed.
It wasn't a word.
It was the name of the partner with whom he had spent fifteen long years.
In that instant.
The world was dyed blue.
A dazzling light enveloped the Living Knight's entire body. The armor that had been down on one knee slowly rose within the light. The fragments of the shattered shield floated into the air, turning into particles of light and being absorbed into the armor. The armor pulsed as if it were a living thing, its mass increasing — once, then twice over.
Exquisite decorations glowing pale blue raced across the armor's surface. A pair of horn-like ornaments, like a crown honoring an ancient hero, sprouted from both sides of the helm.
It was no longer a mere "armored soldier."
It was a higher being that dominated the battlefield itself—
A Living General.
"Wh-What... what is that...!"
Even the golem froze for a single moment at this unforeseen phenomenon.
And then, the evolved General raised its hand.
In that instant, four silhouettes materialized from the void.
Living Armors clad in silver. Autonomous lower-ranking soldiers, summoned by the General's own power, albeit for a short duration.
"F-Four of them...!? It summoned them in an instant!?"
The Living General, without a word, made a slight movement with the battle axe in its hand.
Just that.
The four Living Armors displayed perfect coordination. Two instantly dashed forward, forming a defensive line with their shields firmly set. The remaining two, wielding spear and sword, spread out to the left and right, taking up offensive stances.
"Impossible... it's like an entire battalion...!"
The golem brought its fist down once more.
But this time, the two shield-bearing Living Armors caught the fist in a crossed formation. The stone floor beneath their feet shattered from the impact. Yet — they did not fall.
And seizing that opening, the two with spear and sword moved.
The spear-wielding armor aimed precisely for the joint of the golem's right knee and delivered an accurate thrust. The sword-wielding armor circled around to the seam of the left shoulder and drove its blade into the gap.
As if prying open the joints of stone and steel, the two soldiers locked down the golem's movements.
*GWOOOOOO...!*
The golem's colossal body lost its balance.
Its joints destroyed, it could no longer move.
Before that now-defenseless giant body — the Living General slowly strode forward.
Silence.
The surrounding adventurers held their breath.
Everyone simply stared at that single moment.
The Living General gripped its battle axe with both hands. Blue magical energy condensed toward the tip of the blade. Moisture in the air froze, and countless white crystals danced.
Absolute Zero.
The battle axe, swung through with full force, caught the golem's core — the massive magic stone embedded in the center of its chest — in a horizontal sweep.
—A flash of light.
*SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH!!!!*
Sound vanished.
A wave of cold exploded outward, freezing the golem's entire body in an instant. Thick ice crystals clung heavily to the surface of the giant form exceeding eight meters in height.
The next moment—
*CRAAAAAASH!!!*
The frozen giant body shattered into pieces from the inside out.
Countless shards of ice and fragments of stone and steel rained down like a waterfall. It was a sight both beautiful and terrifying, as if pale blue snow were dancing within the ruins.
The aftermath of the battle sent frost racing across the ruin's walls, and icicles hung down from the ceiling.
The adventurers of the survey team could only stand with their mouths agape, staring up at the heavens, overwhelmed by the sheer destructive power.
The Living General slowly lowered its battle axe. As the blue magical light dwelling within its body glowed quietly, it silently turned back toward its master, Glen.
"...Yeah."
Without realizing it, Glen let out a small murmur.
Maybe he should have said something clever. But no such words came to mind. It was simply that the partner who had walked beside him for fifteen years had evolved to take yet another step alongside him.
That fact alone — he could feel a gentle warmth spreading deep in his chest.
—.
—The next day.
The town of Heldine had been in a festive uproar since morning.
"Did you hear! They finally conquered the third stratum of the Klaagen Mineshaft!"
"They say that summoner, Glen, took down the ancient ruin's golem all by himself!"
"Not by himself — with that huge armor of his. And get this, the armor suddenly evolved and summoned four soldiers of its own!"
The tavern "Ragna's Horn" was suffocating from the heat of the adventurers' excitement since morning.
At the end of the counter, a heavy warrior who seemed to have been drinking continuously since yesterday through to this morning sat with a flushed face, emptying a beer mug.
"You're drinking way too much for this early in the morning, Gald."
When the tavern owner Ragna called out to him with an exasperated look, Gald slammed his mug down on the counter.
"Shut it. Let me drink as much as I damn well please."
Ragna shrugged and went back to tending to other customers.
Gald stared at the ale in his glass, its foam long gone.
He'd heard yesterday's rumors so many times his ears were calloused.
The Living Armor evolved into a higher being.
It summoned four soldiers.
It pulverized the ancient guardian in a single blow.
The man's name was flooding the town so much he wanted to plug his ears.
"He was on a different level from us from the very start, huh."
He muttered it low, to no one in particular.
The heavy warrior who had once held the front line alongside Glen's Living Armor in the party "Crimson Fang." Now, he no longer stood behind that shield.
*(What were we even looking at?)*
Zex had dismissed him as "lacking firepower." Had openly berated him as a liability to the party.
But now, everyone in town knew just how foolish those words had been.
"...You're fine on your own, aren't you."
He stared at his own face reflecte
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