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 team 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 the unexplored region.)* 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. *Rrrrrrrrumble...* A heavy, dull vibration, as if rising from the depths of the earth, shook the entire ruin. " W-What the hell?!" "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 carving that had loomed at the center of the chamber — it had moved. 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 precision. " ............" It spoke no words. It simply took one step forward with its colossal body. *DOOOOM!!* The floor caved in, stone paving tiles flipping upward. The shockwave alone sent the formation staggering. " E-Eeeeek!" "R-Run for it!" " You fools! Don't turn your backs! We fight back!" The leader's roar rang out, but the screaming didn't stop. And then, the golem's right arm swung down with brutal indifference. —At that moment. *CLAAAAANG!!!* A deafening metallic shriek of iron colliding with 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 body, 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 defensive support from his ice magic, "Domain Freeze." " Now, while you can — get into position!" At Glen's voice, the team 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 felt 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 impact reverberated through the caster, through Glen's own body. *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, *crack-crack*, spidering across the surface of its armor. The blue mana light had begun to flicker unsteadily. " Th-This is bad...! The shield can't hold out...!" "Our attacks aren't doing a damn thing! Magic and swords just bounce right off!" Panic spread through the ranks. Feeling the golem's arm movements transmitted through the Living Knight, Glen ground his back teeth. *(It won't last much longer.)* His mana hadn't run dry yet. But if he poured too much into defense, the Living Knight's operational limit would come all the sooner. And more than anything— —*GWOOOOOOOON!!!* The golem arched its massive body back, as if drawing in a breath. Then, a straight right punch, packed with every ounce of its strength, 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 mana scattered into the air like fragments. The Living Knight dropped to one knee from the impact, the mana light across its entire body nearly extinguishing. " Aaaaaah! The shield!" "It's over! Retreat—!!" The word "retreat" tore through the air. That was when it happened. "————" Glen, without realizing it, had shouted. It wasn't a word. It was the name of the partner he had spent fifteen long years with. 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 helmet. 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 paused its movements for a moment at this unforeseen phenomenon. And then, the evolved General raised its hand. In that instant, four figures 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 army corps...!" The golem swung 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 spear and sword wielders moved. The spear armor aimed precisely for the joint of the golem's right knee, delivering an accurate thrust. The sword armor circled around to the seam of the left shoulder, wedging its blade into the gap. As if prying open the joints between 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 approached. 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 mana condensed toward the tip of the blade. Moisture in the air froze, sending countless white crystals dancing. Absolute Zero. The battle axe, swung through, caught the golem's core — the massive magic stone embedded in the center of its chest — in a horizontal sweep. —A flash of light. *SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!* 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, over eight meters tall. The next moment— *SHATTER!!!* The frozen giant body burst apart from the inside, crumbling into countless pieces. A cascade of innumerable ice shards 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 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 sky, overwhelmed by the sheer power. The Living General slowly lowered its battle axe. Quietly radiating the blue mana light dwelling within it, it silently turned back toward its master, Glen. "...Yeah." Glen let out a small voice without even realizing it. Maybe he should have said something clever. But no such words came to mind. The partner he had walked alongside for fifteen years had evolved to take another step beside him. Just that fact alone — he felt a gentle warmth spreading deep in his chest. — —The next day. The town of Heldain 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 — he had that huge armor with him. And get this, the armor suddenly evolved and summoned four soldiers of its own!" The tavern "Ragna's Horn" was sweltering with the heat of adventurers from the morning on. At the end of the counter, a heavy warrior who seemed to have been drinking continuously since yesterday sat with a flushed face, emptying a beer mug. " You're drinking way too much for this early in the morning, Gald." When the 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, the 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 to the point 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." Publicly reviled 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 reflected in the mug in his hand. The old scar on his left cheek looked redder than usual from the alcohol.

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Episode 6

Name: Ice Partner and Peaceful Days: A Banished Summoner's Life with a Lone Knight
Author: Novelia

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