Chapter 527: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Annoying Win II

Andraver’s only disciple...

The creator of the most powerful Alchemy Path in all of Britannia.

Sun Alchemy.

That Andraver person was even an Alchemist Sage.

So, why the hell do people think he’s dead...

Cyrus looked at Maxwell again, who was already taking his fighting stance as the Crowd was about to shout the word to commence the fight.

Maxwell definitely has the answer.

But is that why he hasn’t used his Sun Alchemy all this time?

Because he’s afraid of the people who would come after him for his Master’s Alchemy Path?

His eyes darted towards the people of power and high power.

Ravenor did say Maxwell already has hidden protection from the Royal Alchemist Solar Branch and the King of the kingdom himself.

Speaking about the King...

Why haven’t I seen the King since our second coming-of-age?

Cyrus thought to himself.

"BEGIN!!!"

The crowd shouted the word, with more cheers echoing through the whole Arena.

Hundreds of thousands of voices overlapped as cheers echoed from one section to another.

Cyrus’s thoughts immediately disappeared.

A gust of wind blew violently against his face.

His scarlet hair moved backward from the sudden pressure.

At the same time, his scarlet eyes caught a shadow spreading across the platform.

The afternoon sun had been blocked.

Cyrus looked upward.

Then his eyes widened.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

He muttered.

Maxwell was already moving.

His speed was far greater than Cyrus had expected from the moment the match began.

The boy’s body crossed the distance between them with frightening speed.

"I’m not going to hold back when facing you, Cyrus."

Maxwell said with an excited smile.

His right fist was already moving toward Cyrus’s right cheek.

The fist hadn’t reached him yet, but Cyrus could already feel the air being pushed aside by its movement.

The pressure struck his face.

Cyrus immediately raised his right forearm.

At the same time, Cognis flowed through his body and gathered around the raised arm.

He reinforced the muscles and bones of his forearm just before the fist arrived.

BAM!!!!

Maxwell’s fist slammed into Cyrus’s raised forearm.

The impact was heavy.

Cyrus felt the force travel through his arm and into his shoulder.

His body was pushed sideways.

His feet left the ground.

The force sent him flying across the platform.

A violent gust of wind followed the punch, sweeping loose snow and dust away from the point of impact.

The ground beneath the two boys cracked slightly from the force of their movements.

Cyrus gritted his teeth.

He had expected Maxwell to be strong.

He hadn’t expected this much physical force from the very first punch.

Yet even while his body was being thrown sideways, Cyrus didn’t panic.

His hands came together.

Clap!

He twisted his body while still moving through the air.

His movement resembled a rough somersault as he tried to turn the uncontrolled momentum into something he could use.

His legs finally touched the ground, but he couldn’t stop himself properly.

His boots slipped against the platform.

His balance disappeared.

Cyrus fell onto his back.

For anyone watching, it would have looked like he had completely lost control.

But Cyrus used the fall.

Instead of allowing his back to remain against the ground, he rolled with the momentum.

His shoulders touched first.

His body curled.

Then he pushed against the platform and threw himself back upward.

After that motion...

Slam!

Cyrus had already completed his Alchemy Circle.

The Flame Alchemy Circle formed completely despite the awkward movement.

Normally, an Alchemist attempting to form a Circle while being thrown through the air, slipping across the ground, and rolling back onto his feet would risk losing focus and cancelling the formation entirely.

But Cyrus didn’t.

The scarlet glow appeared beneath him.

Maxwell stared.

His golden eyes widened slightly.

He was still able to execute his Alchemy?

The thought came with genuine surprise.

Amazing.

His eyes followed the scarlet Cognis.

It moved like lightning away from Cyrus.

Only then did Maxwell notice the glass bottles scattered across the floor.

Several bottles had been dropped around the platform during Cyrus’s movement.

They contained Draconium Lacrimal Extracts.

Maxwell’s expression changed.

"This boy..."

He muttered.

The scarlet Cognis reached the bottles.

Then...

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The first explosions erupted.

The bottles ignited almost instantly as Cyrus’s Scarlet Cognis passed through them like lightning.

The flames began small.

Then several more bottles ignited almost together.

BOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosions rapidly grew.

Fire spread across the platform as the Draconium Lacrimal Extracts reacted to the Cognis.

Smoke rose into the air.

Heat rushed across the battlefield.

The blast forced Maxwell backward for a moment.

The crowd erupted.

"Wooooooaaaaahhhh!!"

"Come on, Sir Cyrus Burnwick! You can do this!"

"You’ve got this, Sir Cyrus Burnwick!"

"I’m cheering for you!"

The spectators who had gradually become Cyrus fans shouted even louder.

Some raised banners.

Others waved their hands above their heads.

A few spectators who had been expecting Maxwell to dominate the match now leaned forward with renewed interest.

At the First-Year seating section...

Sasha Burnwick was one of the loudest.

"YEAHHHHHH!!!!"

She raised a flag with Cyrus’s picture printed across it.

"BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM!!!!"

She waved the flag wildly.

In her other hand was a speaker, which made her already loud cheering even harder to ignore.

Ravenor sat beside her.

And as usual, he acted as though he had absolutely no association with her.

He pulled the scarlet scarf higher over his face.

He had mainly brought the scarf because he already knew something like this would happen.

Sasha continued waving the flag.

Ravenor remained silent.

He probably considered pretending he didn’t know her to be the safest option.

Back on the fight platform...

The flames and smoke suddenly shifted.

Maxwell dashed out of the burning area.

His movement was so fast that the smoke seemed to split around his body.

Cyrus’s eyes widened when he saw him.

"You don’t even look hurt in the slightest."

Cyrus said in disbelief.

Maxwell didn’t slow down.

He jumped.

His right fist tightened as he rose above Cyrus.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Maxwell shouted as he brought his fist down.

Cyrus immediately jumped away from his position.

Maxwell’s fist struck the platform.

BOOM!

The ground cracked hard beneath the impact.

Snow and broken pieces of rock were thrown into the air.

Several fragments bounced across the platform before falling still.

Cyrus landed a short distance away.

He barely had enough time to regain his balance, then something changed.

His heat-signature sensory detected danger.

He didn’t even need to look.

Maxwell had disappeared from the place where he had just landed.

Cyrus’s body reacted before his eyes could find him.

Maxwell’s fist was already coming toward his head.

Cyrus immediately brought his hands together.

Clap!

The Flame Alchemy Circle formed.

This time, there was no hesitation.

The scarlet Circle appeared beneath the two of them.

It was an Adept-rank Alchemy Circle.

Maxwell’s golden eyes immediately darted downward.

He saw the scarlet glow.

He also noticed something else.

A large glass jar containing Draconium Lacrimal Extract was lying directly between them.

Maxwell’s expression changed.

"You are really crazy, Cyrus."

Cold sweat appeared along the side of his face.

His fist was already descending.

He had completely committed to the attack. So, there was no time to pull it back.

Cyrus looked at him slightly.

"I’m even wondering if I should go to the physiocratic hospital after this."

His voice carried a sarcastic edge, then the Alchemy ignited.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The entire position where Cyrus and Maxwell stood exploded.

Flames surged outward.

Wind blasted across the platform.

Broken rocks and snow were thrown away from the center of the explosion as the shock wave raced across the Arena.

The Force Field protecting the spectators shook from the impact.

Several people instinctively leaned backward.

Some covered their faces.

Others grabbed the railings in front of them as the force of the explosion reached the edge of the protected area.

The fire consumed almost the entire platform.

"Isn’t that very dangerous?"

"Sir Cyrus!"

"I hope he’s okay!"

"Mr. Maxwell should be fine, right?"

"Mr. Maxwell!"

Worried voices spread through the Arena.

The cheers had slowly disappeared.

The spectators were now staring at the burning platform.

At the commentator’s section...

Patrick West remained standing, with a faint trace of worry appearing on his face as he stared at the explosion.

He turned toward Professor Natasha.

She was watching the battlefield calmly.

She didn’t appear worried.

Patrick noticed that.

And that alone helped him relax slightly.

If Professor Natasha wasn’t concerned, then there was probably no reason for him to panic yet.

Then...

From inside the burning area came a voice.

"Bend under my will..."

The voice was calm.

"...Law of Magnetism."

CRRRRRRRREEEEEEEKKKK!!!!

A sharp cracking sound echoed through the Arena.

It sounded almost like lightning splitting the sky.

The spectators froze.

The sound had come from the main point where the two young Alchemists had been standing before the explosion.

Then the flames moved.

Not randomly.

They began turning in one direction.

The smoke followed.

The fire twisted through the air as if an invisible force had taken hold of it.

The burning smoke began gathering together.

Two different streams of flames and smoke formed.

They twisted like small tornados.

And both moved toward two different hands.

The massive cloud of fire slowly opened.

Cyrus’s body became visible.

He was still standing.

"Cough! Cough!"

He coughed out smoke.

His chest rose as he inhaled deeply, trying to clear his lungs.

His scarlet eyes moved toward the direction in which the smoke and flames were being pulled.

His scarlet hair was blown violently by the movement.

The edges of his training cloth also moved in the strange wind created by the shifting fire and smoke.

Cyrus stared.

His expression had completely changed.

The casual annoyance from earlier was gone.

So was the small confidence he had shown when setting up his counterattack.

What remained was confusion.

And disbelief.

"This..."

He muttered.

His eyes stayed fixed on the strange movement of the flames.

"This is beyond just being a hidden disciple of a Sun Alchemist."

Cyrus swallowed.

He didn’t know what else to say.

The flames continued twisting toward the unseen force.

The smoke followed the same path.

Nothing about the movement looked natural anymore.

Cyrus slowly tightened his fist.

"This is on another level entirely."