Chapter 485: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Crimson Flower of Derlis

"Lady Willow Derlis!"

"The Crimson Flower!!!"

"My Dearest Lady of Derlis!!!"

"Nina Ashenlocke, you can do this!!"

"Lady Willow Derlis will definitely win!!"

The crowd continued cheering for their favorite young Alchemist.

The voices came from every direction of the Arena, mixing together until it became difficult to tell where one cheer ended and another began. Some spectators had stood from their seats, raising their hands toward the fight platform, while others remained seated and shouted at the top of their lungs.

The supporters of Willow Derlis were clearly the louder side.

Her name continued to travel through the Arena, followed by cheers for the Crimson Flower of Derlis.

Nina had supporters as well, particularly among the Ashenlocke section, but the difference in volume was obvious.

Patrick West stared at the two ladies facing each other quietly before looking up at the crowd sitting around the Arena.

He allowed the noise to continue for a few moments before raising his microphone again.

"Let’s begin the countdown!"

He shouted brightly.

The announcement immediately drew another wave of excitement from the spectators.

After finishing his speech, Patrick West bowed politely toward the two ladies about to fight before taking his leave from the stage and walking toward the commentator’s section.

Immediately after he left the stage, the crowd took over.

"THREE!!"

The countdown began with energetic voices that sounded throughout the entire Arena and even reached the areas outside.

The huge Holographic Screens positioned around the Arena displayed the countdown as the spectators joined together.

"Ahhhh..."

Nina sighed softly.

She looked down at the stone floor of the fight platform for a moment before raising her head and looking back at Willow Derlis.

The stone beneath her boots felt solid.

There was nowhere to hide on the platform.

No crowd could help her once the fight began.

"You don’t need to be afraid, Nina Ashenlocke."

Willow said calmly while continuing to look at Nina with an observant gaze.

Her crimson-red eyes didn’t carry any mockery.

She simply just watched the young Alchemist of Ash.

"I’m..."

Nina wanted to talk, but she stopped.

Her lips parted slightly before closing again as she looked at Willow hesitantly.

The expression Nina wore wasn’t the type of expression of composure she usually displayed toward Nobles of higher status than her.

Nina was normally confident.

She had never been the type to back down simply because someone carried a greater title or came from a more powerful family.

She had always been willing to mess with nobles above her status, and she rarely cared about the trouble that could come afterward.

But there were certain people she could never approach in the same way.

Willow Derlis was one of those major Nobles.

Even without the overwhelming noise of the crowd cheering Willow’s name, Nina had always been a little uncomfortable whenever she was around her.

It wasn’t simply because Willow was a Duke’s daughter.

There was something else.

Nina had watched Willow fight before.

She had seen the calm way she observed her opponents, the way her eyes seemed to catch every small movement, and the way she could remain still while everyone else was already preparing to attack.

That alone made Nina feel pressure.

Plus, Willow’s overall presence whenever she and Vera spoke, either during academic time, or study session or just random moments where Vera and Willow hanged around while Nina followed behind, or the times Nina meet Willow during Royal social gatherings.

Nina always felt that Willow was similar in that cold and serious composure Vera usually displays, but Willow’s own was scarier due to her no-nonsense attitude and Nina, not being close to her.

Basically...

Willow Derlis was a scary person in Nina’s view.

"TWO!"

The crowd continued shouting the countdown.

"Why does it have to be you of all people?"

Nina muttered to herself while looking a little tense.

Her fingers moved slightly.

She took a slow breath and adjusted her footing.

Willow tilted her head slightly to the left while looking calmly at Nina.

Even though she looks tense...

Nina is still taking a proper stance.

Meaning she’s not letting the tense feeling get to her.

Willow thought quietly to herself.

Her eyes moved from Nina’s shoulders to her legs, then toward the hand that was gradually moving closer to her Space Bag.

After observing Nina’s fights, as well as all the Ashenlockes’ fights, Willow had noticed something that appeared again and again.

They all always tended to display resilience to its fullest.

A resilience that should only belong to those Alchemists who had faced death countless times.

Willow’s crimson-red eyes locked onto Nina.

Nina shifted her feet slightly again.

Her weight moved from one leg to the other as she prepared her body.

Her hand moved toward her Space Bag.

"ONE!"

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Arena shouted loudly.

The sound shook through the stone structure.

The four big Holographic Screens hovering around the Arena displayed the word BEGIN in bold letters as the countdown reached its end.

Nina fully settled into her fighting stance.

Her breathing became steady.

Her eyes remained fixed on Willow.

Willow, on the other hand, still stood calmly while holding her walking stick with both hands.

She didn’t lower herself.

She didn’t rush forward.

She simply waited.

If I’m even going to have a chance at beating Lady Willow...

I will have to put all my Cognis into this and start this fight at the peak of my Alchemist rank.

Nina thought to herself.

"BEGIN!!!"

The crowd shouted the word together, announcing the commencement of the first match of the Seventh Round.

A burst of Cognis immediately flowed through Nina’s body.

The Cognis moved through her muscles and limbs, reinforcing her body as she pushed herself forward.

She dashed toward Willow.

She didn’t move a few steps back first.

Nor did she think of creating distance between her and Willow.

Instead...

Nina chose to move straight toward Willow Derlis.

The sudden acceleration caused dust to shift beneath her boots.

Then, as she closed in...

Nina suddenly dashed to the side.

Willow hadn’t made any movement yet.

Her crimson-red eyes simply followed Nina’s sudden change in direction.

Nina didn’t stop.

Her body leaned as she accelerated again, changing direction while keeping her momentum.

She began dashing around Willow in a circular motion.

Her speed was fast enough that the wind around her path began to move violently.

The air and falling snow twisted behind her.

A gust formed around the fight platform as Nina continued running.

Her footsteps struck the stone again and again, each impact carrying a small burst of dust away from her boots.

The crowd looked at the fight stage with even more excitement.

Some spectators leaned forward in their seats.

Others began shouting Nina’s name after realizing what she was attempting.

Willow’s crimson-red eyes continued following Nina’s figure as she ran past her from the front and sides, but not from behind.

Willow remained in the same position, still holding the walking stick.

She didn’t turn her body to chase Nina.

Only her eyes moved.

"So, that’s how you are beginning this fight, Nina Ashenlocke."

Willow muttered to herself calmly.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The first shots rang through the Arena.

Bullets moved out rapidly from the tornado-like gust caused by Nina’s running speed.

And more kept coming.

The gunfire didn’t come from a single direction.

The bullets came from different angles.

All of them were aimed at one person.

Willow Derlis.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets flowed out from the tornado like streaks of light.

The sound of gunfire overlapped with Nina’s rapid footsteps, creating a constant series of sharp reports across the Arena.

Some spectators instinctively leaned away from the screens as the bullets appeared from different directions.

Others stared without blinking.

Nina continued moving.

She didn’t slow down.

She understood that right now her greatest advantage was her speed, and she was using it from the very beginning.

The wind around her body grew stronger as she ran.

Willow, however, remained still.

Thud!

Willow gently slammed her walking stick against the ground.

The sound was quiet compared to the gunfire.

Yet something changed.

Inside her mind, a wave of Crimson Cognis flowed outward like a ripple moving across water.

The Cognis spread through the entire fight platform.

The moment it reached her senses, the world in Willow’s view seemed to slow down.

The bullets became clear.

She could see them coming toward her from different angles.

Almost all the bullets appeared to be aimed directly at her.

Some were moving toward vital parts of her body.

Others were heading toward areas that would not kill her from one or two shots, but would still cause considerable pain if they struck.

Willow’s eyes followed them one after another.

Then she noticed something else.

Some bullets were hiding behind other bullets.

They were traveling along paths that were partially concealed by the shots in front of them.

Which meant Nina wasn’t just using one gun to fire at her.

Willow’s senses became clearer.

She could sense the blood flow of Nina.

She could sense the blood flow of the people in the crowd who were Non-Alchemists, lower-ranked Alchemists, and those around the same Alchemist rank as herself.

The information entered her mind as she continued observing the battlefield.

An AK-47.

No...

Two AK-47s.

Willow thought to herself while analyzing the situation.

There is another on the right, directly in front of her, in the air.

Her attention shifted toward the third firearm.

Then she noticed the new firearm.

That’s the Colt 1911.

Nina was using multiple weapons while moving at high speed, making her attack pattern much harder to follow.

To utilize your Cognis enhancement all over your body to the maximum while also firing with accuracy and pure precision...

Willow understood what Nina was doing.

She also understood the cost.

She knew how easy it would be for Nina to become exhausted if she continued using her Cognis at this level.

Yet Nina had still chosen to go this route.

She had decided that the best way to win was to push herself from the very beginning.

Willow paused her thoughts.

"The Ashenlockes are true monsters of resilience."

She said calmly with a serious expression.

Thud!

Willow slammed her walking stick against the ground again.

This time, the action was different.

Crimson Cognis flowed through the veins of her body before traveling toward her arms.

Then the Cognis passed through her hands and entered the walking stick.

The Crimson Gem attached to the head of the walking stick began glowing brighter.

Its red light reflected across Willow’s fingers covered with her crimson and black glove.

Once the bottom of the stick touched the ground, the reaction began.

Willow’s Space Bag opened.

Numerous blood bags emerged from inside, floating around her body as though caught in an invisible current.

They circled her.

The High-ranking Alchemist amongst the crowd noticed them almost immediately.

While some them from the Derlis section who had been cheering moments earlier became quiet.

They recognized the sight.

The blood bags began bursting one after another in the air.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

Blood spread through the air around Willow, suspended for a moment before being drawn into the forming Alchemy.

Beneath her feet, a Blood Alchemy Circle formed.

The circle appeared against the stone platform and began expanding outward.

Crimson lines spread across the ground while the surrounding air seemed to grow heavier.

Willow tightened her grip around the walking stick.

Her crimson-red eyes remained fixed on Nina, who was still moving around her at high speed.

"I will have to go strong from the very beginning."

Willow said with a serious expression.

The Blood Alchemy Circle glowed crimson beneath her.

The light grew stronger.

The blood surrounding her began responding to the Alchemy Circle.

Mass Alchemy was about to ignite.