Chapter 525: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Troublesome Fight

"Winner!"

Professor Natasha Clause’s voice echoed through the Arena speakers.

"Miss Lyra Ashburn."

For a moment, the announcement seemed to hang in the air.

Then Lyra raised the hand holding her scythe, while the Colt 1911 remained in her other hand, bringing both weapons close to her face as a very visible pleased smile spread across her lips.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

Her voice carried through the nearby area.

"The excitement..."

She took a breath, her shoulders rising slightly as the excitement of the fight still remained in her body.

"The feeling of breaking through something solid..."

She let out another long breath.

"Ahhhhh... I can’t wait to face the stronger ones in the next round..."

Her eyes shone with excitement.

Then Lyra suddenly laughed.

"Muhaha..."

Her shoulders began shaking.

"Muahaha...Muahaha!"

The laughter continued as she stood in the middle of the slightly damaged platform, apparently far too pleased with herself.

"Wooooooaaaaahhhh!"

"The Wild Gun of Ash with an incredible win!!"

"That was really wild!!"

"Miss Lyra Ashburn!!"

"Can I get a picture with you?!"

The spectators immediately erupted into cheers.

Some people waved their banners above their heads, while others leaned over the railings of their sections and shouted Lyra’s name. A few younger spectators were even jumping in place, trying to get a better look at the girl who had ended the match within only a few seconds.

At the First-Year section, however, the reaction was somewhat different.

"Was Lyra this strong?"

Zack asked while blinking three times.

His glasses had slipped slightly down his nose, and he pushed them back into place as he looked toward Nina.

Nina was also staring at the platform with a confused expression.

She had watched the fight.

She had seen Lyra break through Gin’s Earth Wall, use the chain of her scythe to pull Gin into position, and land the double kick.

But there was still something about the entire exchange that made the result feel too sudden.

Vera, who was sitting nearby, didn’t appear surprised at all.

"Her leg bone is broken."

She said it flatly, lazily pointing toward Lyra as though the answer should have been obvious.

Zack and Nina immediately leaned forward.

Their attention shifted toward Lyra’s legs.

On the platform, Lyra was still waving brightly toward the crowd.

However, once they actually looked closely, the problem became obvious.

Blood had soaked through part of the training cloth around one of her legs.

Drops of blood slowly traveled down her leg before falling toward the platform.

Lyra didn’t seem bothered or maybe she didn’t notice, they couldn’t tell.

She continued smiling and waving as if nothing had happened.

"Oh."

Nina gave a helpless shake of her head.

She looked at Lyra for a few seconds before sighing.

"That was a very risky stunt she pulled off. If Gin didn’t get caught off guard and managed to stop herself from falling out of the platform like a rage doll, she could have used that chance to win the fight easily."

Zack adjusted his glasses as he spoke, trying to make sense of the exchange from what he had seen.

"Glasses boy, think better."

Vera said, her dull black eyes never leaving the platform.

Zack froze for a moment.

Vera continued speaking without even turning her attention fully toward him.

"The force of Lyra’s double kick packed enough impact to knock out anyone in the same rank as her, especially if the person is caught off guard."

Her gaze remained on Lyra.

"The reason the Drakes’s girl couldn’t stop her tumbling movement is because she couldn’t."

Vera’s voice remained casual and quick, as though she were explaining something obvious.

"The chain had already caught her from behind, and the Earth Wall was between them. Once Lyra used the wall as the point of impact and drove both legs through it, Gin had almost nowhere to move."

Zack listened carefully.

Vera finally glanced toward him.

"Do you now understand, Glasses boy?"

Her dull black eyes met his.

"Y-Yes, My Lady."

Zack answered a little louder than usual.

His normally calm voice had suddenly become noticeably awkward.

He quickly turned his attention back toward the platform and adjusted his glasses again, using one hand to partly cover the red blush that had appeared on his cheeks.

Nina noticed.

She slowly side-eyed him.

Zack felt her gaze and became even more awkward.

He pretended not to notice and kept staring toward the platform.

Back on the platform...

The Medic staff had already arrived.

The Craft-Based Royal Academy Staff entered from the side as well, carrying the equipment needed to repair the damaged area.

Several staff members moved toward the broken sections of the platform while the medics focused on the two fighters.

Gin was carefully placed onto a stretcher.

Although she was conscious, the impact from being thrown outside the platform had left her in no condition to simply stand up and walk away.

At the same time, two Medic Staff members assisted Lyra.

Lyra tried to put weight on her injured leg.

The moment she did, her expression changed.

"Ah."

Her body tilted.

The male medic immediately caught her before she could fall.

He then lifted her into his arms and carried her away from the damaged platform.

"Miss Lyra, how many times have we told you to take care of your body?"

The male medic frowned as he spoke.

Lyra looked at him.

"But if I didn’t go bam on the wall she created, I wouldn’t have been able to break through."

She explained while moving one hand through the air, demonstrating the movement she had made during the fight.

The medic’s expression became more annoyed.

"You could have evaded the Earth Wall!"

The other Medic Staff member shouted.

She was holding a white towel, placing it around Lyra’s injured leg, carefully keeping the dripping blood from reaching the floor.

Lyra lowered her head.

"Mmph..."

Her two index fingers touched each other.

Her shoulders also sank slightly.

The excitement from earlier disappeared from her face, replaced by the expression of someone who had just been scolded and knew she had no good argument left.

She looked genuinely sad.

The male medic noticed her expression and sighed.

"Haha... At least you won the fight. Just be careful with how you use your body."

His tone softened.

"Remember, sustaining too much injury to your bones or organs can have an effect even after you are fully healed."

Lyra quietly listened.

"You might be an Alchemist, which makes you completely different from normal humans, but that doesn’t mean your body can’t fail you at one point."

The medic gave her a serious look.

Lyra remained quiet for a moment.

Then she nodded.

"Yes."

Her voice was low.

The medic continued carrying her while the other staff member kept the towel pressed around her injured leg.

Around them, the Craft-Based Academy workers had already begun repairing the fight platform.

Broken earth was gathered and removed, damaged sections were replaced, and the area where Gin had crashed outside the platform was also repaired.

The Arena gradually returned to its usual state.

The spectators continued talking about the previous fight while they watched the workers move around the platform.

Some were still discussing Lyra’s strange fighting style.

Others were talking about Gin’s failed attempt to use the Earth Wall to sweep Lyra out of the platform.

Before long, the damaged areas were repaired enough for the next match.

Patrick’s voice soon echoed through the Arena.

"Welcoming the next fighters!"

His excited voice immediately drew the spectators’ attention back toward the entrances.

"The second match ended so fast, so I wonder what this match will give us."

Professor Natasha added calmly.

The four Holographic Screens above the Arena changed once again.

"Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

Patrick shouted Cyrus’s name with energy.

The response from the crowd came almost immediately.

"Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

"You can do it!"

"Good Luck, Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

"Let’s go, Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

People who had slowly become Cyrus fans from watching all his fights since the Combat Festival began were now cheering his name brightly.

Some waved banners with his name printed across them, while others raised merchandise above their heads.

Cyrus stepped out from the entrance.

He raised one hand and waved toward the crowd.

An awkward smile rested on his face.

He continued walking toward the platform while looking from one section to another.

Since when did I become this famous?

He thought.

His smile became slightly more uncomfortable.

This feels so unnatural.

Cyrus sighed as he climbed the steps toward the platform.

"Kyaaaa! Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

"He really looks cool!"

A few groups of young ladies shouted from the audience.

Their voices carried clearly enough for Cyrus to hear.

He stopped for a brief moment, then he slowly glanced toward them, not to make the movement so obvious.

His eyes widened.

He looked genuinely surprised.

Then the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.

"I could actually get used to this."

He muttered to himself.

A faint pleased smile remained on his face as he continued forward.

Patrick’s voice then rose again.

"Vs... The boy who has shocked the entire Britannia, someone who we all wrote off because of his potential origins!"

The crowd became louder.

"Maxwell!"

Patrick called his name brightly.

"Mr. Maxwell!"

"Good Luck, Mr. Maxwell!"

"Give us a good display of strength!"

The spectators who had also grown to like Maxwell cheered brightly.

Maxwell walked out from the other Arena entrance.

He waved toward the crowd, although his expression was much more nervous than Cyrus’s had been.

"I really can’t get used to this cheering."

He said to himself.

He scratched his cheek as he climbed the stairs toward the platform.

"Mr. Maxwell, look at me!"

"Marry me, and your life will be filled with luxury!"

"Maxwell!"

The voices of several young ladies echoed across the Arena as they cheered excitedly.

Maxwell’s steps slowed.

He looked toward them with an embarrassed expression.

"I’m not even that handsome."

He said while scratching the back of his head.

Maxwell thought of the faces of Ravenor, Veda, Desmond, Gill, Ezra, Prince Charles, and many more of the handsome classmates of his.

He could feel the inferiority complex building within him.

"You can say that again."

Cyrus muttered.

He seemed to have reached almost the exact same conclusion.

Maxwell finally stepped onto the platform.

He moved toward his position on the left side and calmly looked at Cyrus Burnwick.

Cyrus, meanwhile, looked as though he really didn’t want to be standing there.

"Tch, why do I have to be here?"

He clicked his tongue and muttered again.

Maxwell raised his hand and waved at him.

Cyrus looked at the waving hand for a moment.

Then he waved back with a fake smile.

"Let’s have a good match."

Maxwell said with a bright smile.

Cyrus’s expression immediately became troubled.

"Ugh... Ugh... I don’t want to fight you."

He shook his head.

Maxwell laughed lightly.

Patrick raised his voice.

"Let the countdown begin!"

The four Holographic Screens displayed the countdown numbers.

"THREE!!"

The crowd began counting brightly.

Maxwell looked at Cyrus.

"But I actually want to..."

He said with an excited tone.

His expression had changed from the nervous smile he had worn earlier.

"I saw what you did in this Combat Festival, and also around the time when we went on our mission to hunt an Adult Yeti in the academy Black Zone."

He gave Cyrus a small smirk.

"You are definitely not someone to underestimate."

Maxwell’s fist tightened slowly at his side, while his golden eyes brightened with excitement.

"So, I really look forward to this fight."

Cyrus stared at him.

For a moment, he simply looked bewildered.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly as he realized what Maxwell meant.

Why would a monster that hasn’t used his Alchemy not even once, beating all his opponents with fist alone want to fight me!!!

Maxwell screamed in his mind in panic.

Well, this looks really troublesome.