Chapter 451: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Ezra Ashenlocke Vs Fatima Drakes

"Ahhh..."

Bale bent down slowly inside the upper floor of the Arena.

He was currently inside one of the large halls reserved for the powerful people of Britannia, a place where they could enter to relax and eat the meals prepared by the Royal Chefs while waiting for the next important matches.

Several tables had been arranged throughout the hall.

Servants and Royal Academy staff moved around quietly, carrying trays and replacing empty dishes as the guests spoke among themselves.

Bale, however, seemed more focused on the person he should root for in front of him.

"You are just overeating."

Keith replied while looking at Bale with his usual lazy expression.

He had been allowed to enter the hall thanks to Bale asking his stepmother to instruct the Royal Guards stationed at the entrance to let him in.

Keith wasn’t supposed to be in this section considering his family’s Noble rank.

But apparently, Bale had simply decided to bring him along.

"So, who are you rooting for?"

Bale asked.

He still looked as though he was sulking over who to choose.

Keith didn’t even need a moment to think.

"Obviously Big- Bro Ezra, of course."

He answered without hesitation.

Bale narrowed his eyes.

"Did you tell Michelle the same thing, in that same tone?"

Keith slowly turned toward him.

"Just because I’m dating Fatima’s younger sister doesn’t mean I’m going to support a member of House Drakes, especially when she’s fighting one of my favorite Ashenlockes."

Keith placed his hands together.

Then his lazy expression changed as he acted like a damsel in love.

"Oh, Sir Ezra Ashenlocke."

He blinked his eyes while still maintaining the strange expression.

Bale looked at him with an irritated expression.

He was already regretting allowing Keith inside.

"Plus, my dear friend Bale."

Keith lazily rested an arm over Bale’s shoulder.

"You know you can’t openly cheer for a Drakes, right?"

His voice remained relaxed.

"You saw what Mr. Gareth did to the Drakes member he fought in his own match. You also saw how Lyra beat the shit out of the Non-Noble whose family is aligned with the Drakes."

Keith rolled one of his fingers against Bale’s chest.

"And don’t even get me started on Our Fay’s fight with that Evergrey girl."

He spoke in the same lazy tone, as though he was simply reminding Bale about something obvious.

"Yeah..."

Bale looked downward.

"They were all beating the hell out of them. I actually began feeling bad for the Drakes people and Evergrey girl."

His expression became slightly stiff.

Then...

Slap!

Bale knocked Keith’s finger away from his chest.

At that exact moment...

"The next match!"

Patrick’s voice rang loudly through the Holographic Screens inside the hall.

Keith immediately removed his arm from Bale’s shoulder.

"Well, I have to go."

He stepped backward smoothly.

His legs slid on the polished marble ground of the hall.

"Also, remember... Big Sis Vera will murder you badly if you openly cheer against your future brother-in-law."

A smirk appeared on his face.

Then he turned fluidly and left the banquet hall.

Bale watched his figure disappear with a helpless smile.

He shook his head.

After that, he turned around and left to watch the fight.

Back at the fighting platform inside the Arena...

"Lady Fatima Drakes!!!"

Patrick’s voice boomed through the entire Arena.

"Vs Ezra Ashenlocke!!"

Noise immediately rose from the crowd as the two students stepped onto the fighting platform.

The reaction was louder than many of the earlier matches.

People had been waiting for this.

Fatima stood on one side of the platform.

Ezra stood on the other.

The two young Alchemists faced one another as the enormous Arena surrounding them continued to roar.

"Who would have expected me to fight my lover’s close friend?"

Fatima said calmly in a low tone as she looked at Ezra.

"Is that so."

Ezra replied dryly.

He was already beginning to observe Fatima carefully as he usually does when his about to fight.

"THREE!"

The countdown began.

"Ezra."

Fatima called his name calmly.

"Yes."

Ezra looked at her with his plain black eyes.

He could already guess what she was about to tell him.

"I was told to beat you badly."

Fatima spoke in that same low voice, making sure that only Ezra could hear her.

"TWO!"

The crowd’s voice echoed excitedly throughout the entire Arena.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Ezra replied plainly.

"I honestly don’t know... but."

Fatima looked directly at him.

Her expression became serious.

"I’m definitely going to go all out, because I know you aren’t someone I should underestimate."

She spoke in a firm tone, while her fist tightened slightly.

"ONE!"

The countdown reached its peak.

"Fair enough."

Ezra faintly nodded his head as he saw the determination in Fatima’s eyes.

"BEGIN!!!!"

The crowd shouted the final word with even greater excitement.

Fatima’s hand moved.

So did Ezra’s.

Both young Alchemists reacted at the same time.

Ezra’s hand moved into his Space Bag.

While...

Clap!

Fatima brought her hands together.

To the knowledge of everyone inside the Arena...

The Earth Alchemist had a luckier advantage in this round.

And it was always one of the advantages Earth Alchemists possessed when fighting in certain environments.

Earth was almost always around them.

So, basically...

They didn’t usually need to carry much material to perform their Earth Alchemy.

You could even say it was a cheat code for them, and the Royal Academy should have prevented something like that from happening.

But then...

How could you call yourself a strong Alchemist if you couldn’t even win in situations like this?

Or use the situation around you to your own advantage?

The moment Ezra took out his Kel-Tec PMR-30...

Was also the exact moment Fatima’s hands, which already held the formed Earth Alchemy Circle, slammed against the ground.

Slam!

The Alchemy Circle in her hands immediately flashed in its brilliance.

At the same time...

Ezra raised the Kel-Tec PMR-30.

His eyes remained fixed on Fatima’s upper body.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Ezra fired several gunshots in rapid succession.

The sharp sound of the Kel-Tec echoed throughout the fighting platform as the bullets tore through the air one after another, travelling toward Fatima before the crowd could even properly react to the sudden exchange.

Immediately...

Fatima’s Alchemy took effect.

The ground beneath her feet shook slightly.

Cracks spread across the surface of the fighting platform as the rock beneath her answered her Alchemy, rising rapidly from the ground.

A thick wall made directly from the platform’s rock grew in front of her.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The bullets struck the newly formed Earth Wall.

However, none of them fell onto the ground afterward.

Fatima remained behind her defense.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

The Earth Wall was directly connected to her Alchemy, allowing her to sense the changes occurring within it.

And when she sensed where the bullets had entered...

Her expression changed slightly.

The moment he realized I was going to shield myself with my Earth Alchemy Wall... he deliberately fired toward the same area, aiming for my shoulder.

Fatima thought to herself.

Ezra hadn’t simply fired randomly at the Earth Wall.

The position of the bullets had already revealed his original target.

He had pictured where she stood.

And before the Earth Wall could completely rise, covering her body...

He had already directed his shots toward the area where he believed her shoulder would be.

Fatima could sense the bullets buried inside the wall.

They were literally gummed together.

Almost as if Ezra had deliberately tried to force every shot through the same point.

"Tsk."

Ezra clicked his tongue.

His eyes remained fixed on the Earth Wall.

The Kel-Tec PMR-30 in his hand lowered slightly as his expression became faintly dissatisfied.

I should have picked the Desert Eagle or the Glock 40. Even the Glock 20 would have worked.

He thought to himself.

The Kel-Tec’s bullets had been fast enough to reach Fatima before she could react.

However, when facing a thick defensive structure like an Earth Alchemy Wall and the fact it was already at the time he picked the Kel...

The problem became obvious.

His current handgun simply didn’t have the level of stopping power he wanted for breaking through that amount of compressed earth.

Ezra moved forward.

His steps remained quick as he approached the Earth Wall.

Then...

Boom!

The Earth Wall suddenly burst apart.

Pieces of rock scattered outward.

Fatima shot out from behind it with speed.

She had clearly understood that remaining behind the defensive wall would only allow Ezra to control the fight from a distance.

So, instead of waiting for him to attack again...

She chose to take the initiative.

Ezra’s eyes moved.

His hand holding the Kel-Tec PMR-30 immediately shifted.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

He fired sharply.

The bullets travelled toward Fatima one after another.

Fatima swung the heavy sword she was now holding in her hand with unnatural speed.

The weapon itself was enormous.

Its length even appeared taller than her body, making it seem far too large for someone her size to swing so freely.

Yet the sword didn’t appear to slow her movements.

Her arm moved.

The heavy blade followed.

Clang!

The first bullet was struck away.

Clang!

The second bullet was cut from its path.

Clang!

The final bullet met the edge of the heavy sword.

Sparks ignited.

The three bullets were deflected away from Fatima’s body, flying toward different sections of the fighting platform as the crowd watched the exchange with widened eyes.

Fatima’s movements didn’t stop after deflecting the shots.

Her leg landed heavily against the ground.

Boom!

Cognis immediately passed through her body and gathered within her legs.

Her muscles tightened.

Then...

With an immense pushing force...

Fatima launched herself toward Ezra.

Her entire body shot forward.

But...

Instead of weaving away from her incoming attack...

Ezra placed his free hand into his Space Bag.

His eyes remained fixed on Fatima.

His hand searched through the items inside the Space Bag.

Then...

The Glock 20 appeared in his grasp.

Ezra pulled it out while continuing to run directly toward Fatima.

He wasn’t planning on retreating or evading.

He was moving closer with intent within his dull black eyes.

Fatima’s eyes narrowed.

The veins on the hand gripping her heavy sword tightened.

She had already reached the distance where the length and weight of her weapon could properly be used.

So, she didn’t hesitate.

Her arm moved.

The heavy sword was raised.

Then...

She swung it downward.

A powerful Vertical Slash descended toward Ezra.

The weight of the sword was enough to make the movement appear dangerous even before the blade reached him.

The air itself seemed to split beneath its descent.

At that moment...

Ezra moved the hand holding the Glock 20.

However...

The position of the handgun was completely unnatural for someone holding a gun.

The upper part of the handgun was turned toward the side.

Its barrel wasn’t facing Fatima.

Ezra wasn’t preparing to shoot.

Instead...

He moved the Glock 20 directly toward the path of Fatima’s descending blade.

The heavy sword reached him.

Sparksssssssssssss!

The blade scraped across the surface of the Glock 20.

Ezra didn’t try to stop the full force of Fatima’s attack.

Instead, he moved his hand alongside the direction of the slash, allowing the blade to slide against the handgun’s surface as he redirected the sword away from his body.

The movement happened in an instant.

The sword’s path shifted.

Fatima’s heavy slash missed Ezra.

The redirected momentum continued carrying the blade downward.

BOOM!

The heavy sword slammed hard against the ground.

The impact broke through a deep section of the fighting platform as pieces of rock rose from the point of impact.

Fatima’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected Ezra to handle her attack like that.

Before she could immediately recover from the redirected strike...

The muzzle of the Glock 20 was already positioned directly in front of her face.

The distance between them was almost nonexistent.

Ezra’s hand remained comfortably wrapped around the grip.

His finger rested against the trigger.

Even though he was holding the Glock 20 in an unnatural position...

The gun was still aimed directly at her.