The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

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Chapter 196: The Witch’s Resolve (3)

Valhalla City.

The large city built in front of the Hero Academy was bustling with people from the Three Nations, even in the early morning.

“There are… so many people here.”

Lanez shivered slightly as she gazed at the crowded streets.

Her timid personality made her feel dizzy just from being in a place with so many people.

‘Even so… I have to go.’

It was inevitable.

She hadn’t formally submitted her withdrawal application or been officially released from the school.

After all, withdrawing from the Hero Academy was far more difficult than most would imagine.

‘You can only leave after signing an oath never to engage in heroic activities again and wearing several monitoring magic tools for life.’

Those who withdraw—candidates who do not possess an official hero license but still bear a Stigma—must live under strict surveillance for the rest of their lives.

This is because heroes without official licenses often end up engaging in illegal activities.

Lanez, however, had bypassed all those complicated procedures, submitting only a single withdrawal application before secretly scaling the school walls.

In other words, according to Hero Academy regulations, she had committed an act considered a major crime, equivalent to assault or theft: unauthorized withdrawal.

In military terms, it was akin to desertion.

‘A pursuit team will follow me soon.’

While unauthorized withdrawal wasn’t common, meaning the response might not be immediate, it wouldn’t be long before a pursuit team, led by several professors, would be formed to track her down.

‘Until then, I need to get as far away as possible.’

Using warp gates was out of the question.

The travel records would lead her pursuers straight to her.

“……”

As she wandered aimlessly through the streets, Lanez recalled the events of the previous day.

Her comrades, who had gathered out of concern for her.

The warm moments she shared with them—something she could never have imagined before meeting Dale.

“…Ah.”

It had only been a few hours since she left the school, yet she was already overwhelmed with longing.

She wondered if she should just go back.

Conflict and regret weighed heavily on her.

‘No.’

Clenching her eyes shut, she shook her head.

‘Until I master the blessing of frost… I must stay far away.’

When she learned about her past life,

When she discovered the future where she would become the "Witch of the Night" and massacre countless people,

Lanez made a decision.

‘I can’t stay with them.’

She had to distance herself from Dale… and from her other comrades.

‘I’m just a ticking time bomb.’

The moment she failed to control the power of her blessing, countless lives could be lost.

“Heh… If I’d only ever known Dale, I wouldn’t even be thinking like this.”

Though she had never seen it herself, Dale was said to possess the Blessing of Revival, allowing him to return even after death.

‘But.’

What about her other comrades?

What if she lost control of her blessing’s power and ended up hurting the people she cherished?

‘Cherished people…’

A smile spread across Lanez’s lips.

Before meeting Dale, the concept of cherished people didn’t exist in her life.

The world was brutally cold and suffocatingly lonely.

But in that life, a warm flame had ignited.

She now had cherished people—or rather, cherished friends.

‘Sophia, Iris, Yurina, Berald, Professor Elisha…’

And others she had gotten to know during the recent school trip, like Camilla, Juliet, and Albert.

The number of people she had grown close to was unimaginable to her former self.

She now lived in a world where no one called her a “witch.”

That’s why…

‘I don’t want to ruin this.’

She didn’t want to hurt them with her own hands.

She didn’t want to extinguish the warm flame she had finally kindled with a cold breath.

“…Let’s go.”

Lanez took a heavy step forward and pressed on.

After walking for several hours, she finally left Valhalla City and began pondering her next destination.

“The east is the Republic, the west is the Empire, and the north is the Holy Kingdom…”

But no matter where she went, the pursuit team would find her.

The Hero Academy had strong ties with all three nations.

“Which leaves only…”

Lanez turned her gaze southward.

To the south of the continent lay the demon city of Gehenna City.

A sparsely populated region, it would minimize the damage even if the blessing of frost went berserk.

‘I’ll head south.’

Recalling what she had learned during a mentoring class, Lanez decided to head to the southern part of the continent.

It was no coincidence that the area was called the Demonic Realm.

The road to the south was eerily quiet, with not a soul in sight.

“…I miss Dale.”

Lanez trudged along the deserted path, looking at photos of Dale saved on her Hero Watch.

“I wish I had a photo of him after the hot springs…”

She recalled the picture Iris had taken but hadn’t gotten a chance to receive.

As she walked the lonely road, she suddenly heard a foreboding sound.

Swish, swish.

Her head snapped toward the source of the noise, suspecting it might be a monster.

“…Who are you?”

Before her stood a man wearing a wolf-shaped half-mask.

Judging by the sharp jawline visible beneath the mask, he was likely a man.

“Lanez Malam, correct?”

“……”

She didn’t respond, but the wolf-masked man seemed certain of her identity.

In a low, monotone voice, he continued speaking.

“Come with me. He wants you.”

“‘He’…? Who’s that?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The man’s dry voice was devoid of emotion, sending a chill down her spine.

Lanez frowned warily and shook her head.

“No.”

“Well, I thought as much.”

As if expecting her refusal, the wolf-masked man nodded slightly.

“In that case, there’s no choice.”

Shing!

The man drew a massive sword from the sheath on his back.

Vwoooom!

The Stigma on his body glowed, and aura began to envelop the blade.

“…Huh?”

Lanez’s eyes widened as she stared at the aura.

Judging by his suspicious appearance, she had assumed the wolf-masked man was a demon.

But…

‘A hero?’

There was no trace of demonic energy, the hallmark of demons, coming from the man.

“Will you just stand there?”

“Ugh…!”

Before Lanez’s question could fully escape her lips, the man launched himself at her with a powerful step.

A wolf mask, wielding a massive greatsword that looked impossible to lift even with both hands, swung it effortlessly with one.

A chilling, eerie whoosh echoed in her ears.

“Haah!”

Whoosh!

Lanez let out a short cry and thrust both hands forward, summoning a wall of pure white snow in midair.

Clang!

The greatsword bounced off the wall.

“Freeze solid!”

Lanez drew even more strength from her blessing, launching snowballs at the wolf mask.

A fierce blizzard swirled around her, firing dozens of snowballs that all targeted the wolf mask.

“Hmph!”

The wolf mask evaded the onslaught of snowballs with agile movements.

Where the snowballs struck, the ground instantly froze, leaving the surrounding terrain covered in ice.

“Nowhere to run!”

Lanez extended her hand toward the retreating wolf mask.

Whoosh!

The swirling snowstorm coalesced into a sharp, spear-like icicle that aimed directly at him.

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The wolf mask quickly tried to dodge upon seeing the icy spear, but—

Crack!

“Hm?”

Ice surged from the frozen ground where the snowballs had hit, trapping his feet in place.

Thud.

The icy spear pierced through the wolf mask’s abdomen.

“Oh-ho.”

A spark of intrigue flashed in the wolf mask’s eyes.

“So this is the power of the Frost Blessing.”

He nodded, seemingly impressed.

Blood poured from the wound as his abdomen, pierced by the icy spear, began to necrotize rapidly.

“But…”

Crack.

The wolf mask grabbed the spear embedded in his abdomen and yanked it out.

“You’re still clumsy.”

The gaping wound in his abdomen healed at an astonishing speed.

“How… How is that possible?”

Lanez’s face twisted in shock as she watched the wolf mask’s wound heal before her eyes.

He hadn’t used healing magic, nor had he taken a recovery potion.

And yet, his wound—one where the tissue had been completely necrotized by frost—was regenerating.

“Is the show over?”

The wolf mask’s eyes glinted ominously.

Boom!

With a powerful step, he dashed toward Lanez, his greatsword cloaked in blazing aura, aiming straight for her.

“Ugh!”

Lanez tried to summon another snow wall to deflect his sword.

“Ack, no…!”

The raging blizzard around her began to spiral out of control, slipping from her grasp.

“Hmph.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The wolf mask halted his swing as he watched the uncontrollable blizzard swirling around her.

“As expected, you still can’t control your blessing.”

“Huff, huff! S-shut… up!”

Lanez bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood, and stretched her hand toward him.

Whoosh!

The raging snowstorm converged into an icy spear.

But—

“Ack!”

Shatter!

The spear disintegrated into countless shards of ice.

“Aaaah!”

The shards tore into Lanez, slashing her body.

Blood trickled from the wounds left by the jagged ice.

“Ah… Ugh… Hic…”

Lanez fell to her knees, sobbing.

Not only had she failed to fight her opponent, but she had also ended up hurting herself.

Pathetic.

The overwhelming self-loathing brought tears streaming down her face.

“Do you want to control your blessing?”

The wolf mask asked in a dry tone, looking down at her.

Instead of waiting for an answer, he pulled a green, shimmering magic stone from his cloak and tossed it at her.

Thud.

The stone rolled across the ground and touched her hand.

“…Huh?”

The raging blizzard abruptly calmed.

Lanez stared wide-eyed at the green stone in her grasp.

“What… What is this?”

It didn’t simply suppress or erase the power of her Frost Blessing.

The moment she held the green stone, she could control the blessing.

Whoosh!

The blizzard obeyed her will, moving freely.

Clang!

The icy spear she had failed to form earlier now appeared in perfect form, floating in the air.

Not just one, but dozens.

“It’s a stone infused with His power.”

“……”

“With it, you can control your blessing.”

Lanez stared blankly at the stone in her hand.

The Frost Blessing that had caused her so much suffering…

Could now be controlled so easily, so effortlessly.

“Follow me.”

The low voice echoed in her ears.

Though devoid of emotion, the dry tone sounded unbearably sweet to her.

“Then all your struggles will be resolved with ease.”

There was no reason to doubt his words.

Simply holding the stone had made controlling her Frost Blessing effortless.

“……”

Lanez remained silent, staring down at the green stone in her hand.

“Is there any need to hesitate? Your goal was to control your blessing, wasn’t it?”

Yes.

The wolf mask was right.

The reason she had run away from school, even risking expulsion, was to gain control over her Frost Blessing.

With this stone…

She wouldn’t have to become a witch.

She could stay with Dale and her precious companions.

“You’re right.”

Lanez stood up slowly, clutching the stone in her hand.

Her hesitation didn’t last long.

“I…”

Lanez channeled all her power into her blessing.

And then—

Crack!!!

She focused it all on the stone in her hand, shattering it.

“What the…!”

The wolf mask’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Whoooosh!

The blessing’s power surged wildly once more as the stone broke.

“I… won’t follow you.”

Amidst the raging blizzard, the witch voiced her resolve.

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