Chapter 530: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Gentle Gale Vs the Jewel of Ash II

"Home Wrecker?"

Selena asked herself, looking at Vera with confusion at first.

Her Emerald eyes blinked once behind the open fan in her hand.

She had already expected Vera to say something strange.

That was normal for Vera.

But this particular name wasn’t something Selena had expected to hear from her.

Then she remembered a name.

Ezra.

"Huh?!"

Selena finally understood what Vera meant.

Her eyes widened slightly as the meaning behind the nickname finally connected in her mind.

And by that time...

DOOOOOOM!!

The Wind Alchemy Circle expanded so greatly that it came within only a few meters of reaching the height of the Arena.

The enormous emerald Alchemy Circle spread across the fight platform, its rotating Alchemy symbols shining through the violent currents of wind that were now being pulled toward Selena.

The air above the platform began to twist.

Snow that had remained scattered across the ground was lifted from the surface and thrown into the air, mixing with the streams of wind before being carried around the battlefield.

Click.

Selena closed her hand fan.

Her fingers wrapped around its handle as she looked at Vera with faint annoyance.

Her elegant expression remained in place, however, keeping the small irritation hidden from most of the spectators.

Not that everyone could even see her face.

Only the High-ranking Alchemists among the spectators could properly see through the gusts of wind covering the whole fight area.

For everyone else, Selena and Vera were partly hidden behind the constant movement of air.

"I’m not a Home Wrecker, Vera."

Selena said, her Emerald eyes remaining on Vera, who still hadn’t moved.

Vera simply held her two mysterious handguns.

Her dull black eyes observed Selena’s Mass Alchemy without the slightest sign of panic.

She didn’t rush.

She didn’t attack.

She didn’t even appear interested in interrupting Selena’s preparation.

It was almost as if Vera wanted to know exactly what type of Mass Alchemy Selena was going to use.

Or maybe it was something else entirely.

Who could know the way Vera’s mind worked?

Selena had spent enough time around Vera to understand that trying to predict every thought inside that weird girl’s head was an exercise that would probably end with a headache.

Selena placed one hand forward, pointing the tip of her closed hand fan toward the ground.

The Wind Alchemy Circle glowed brighter.

Its emerald light spread across the Arena, illuminating the fight platform and the surrounding air with a green glow.

The Alchemy Symbols inside the Circle rotated faster.

The wind became stronger.

Some of the spectators, especially the Non-Alchemists sitting close to the platform, raised their hands to cover their eyes from the brightness.

Others squinted and leaned back.

The High-ranking Alchemists didn’t need to do the same.

Their enhanced sight allowed them to see through the storm of wind and the emerald light.

Vera still kept looking at Selena calmly.

Then...

She felt it.

The sensation was almost impossible to notice.

It was almost like the violent wind that had been blowing across the platform suddenly stopped.

Not completely.

Only for a moment.

For a single millisecond, it felt as if the streams of wind moving in different directions had stopped moving at all.

The change was so brief that a Non-Alchemist couldn’t even sense or feel the sudden phenomenon.

They continued watching the battlefield, unaware that anything had changed.

The Low-ranking Alchemists among the spectators did notice it, however.

Some felt the slight change in the air and frowned.

Others looked toward the platform, wondering if they had imagined it.

As for the High-ranking Alchemists...

It was very clear, and obvious.

They could see the change.

They understood what was about to happen.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

Vera’s knee bent down slightly.

The entire air around the fight area suddenly moved downward with immense pressure.

The force struck her body from above.

Her black hair was pushed down.

The edges of her clothes pressed against her body.

Her boots dug into the platform.

The sudden pressure was so great that the ground beneath her boots cracked almost immediately.

Crack!

Thin fractures spread outward from beneath her feet.

Yet even the broken rocks and snow that should have been lifted from the ground by the force remained firmly in place.

The wind pressure was pressing everything downward.

It covered almost the entire fight area.

Vera remained standing in the middle of it.

Her body was being forced down, but she didn’t fall.

She simply remained there with both mysterious handguns in her hands.

"A-Amazing Mass Alchemy from Lady Selena Galehart!!!"

Patrick West shouted in amazement.

"The whole fight area is filled with wind pressure coming down on Lady Vera Ashenlocke!"

A Low-ranking Alchemist Young Nobleman’s voice echoed from the stands.

"No! My Lady is in trouble!"

"Let’s go, Lady Selena Galehart!!!"

"She might just be the Best Flower!"

"In your dreams! I’m sure Lady Vera Ashenlocke will break through!"

"Can’t you see the strength of that wind pressure?! She’s basically using all of her Cognis to keep herself from falling!"

"You can do it, Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!"

The crowd erupted even louder.

Cheers and arguments spread through the spectator sections as the fans of both Flowers tried to prove which side had the advantage.

Selena’s supporters shouted that her decision was smart.

Vera’s supporters insisted that the Jewel of Ash would break through the Wind Mass Alchemy without much trouble.

Some spectators stood.

Others gripped the railings in front of their seats.

The High-ranking Alchemists, however, watched the fight with much more serious expressions.

They understood the real problem.

This wasn’t simply a Mass Alchemy flowing wind.

Selena had created a field of pressure that forced Vera to spend Cognis simply to remain standing.

Back on the fight platform...

"Why would you even call me a Home Wrecker? It’s not like you and..."

Selena paused.

Her Emerald eyes shifted toward the crowd.

More specifically, they moved toward the First-Year seating section where Ezra Ashenlocke should have been seated.

But he wasn’t on his seat.

Her eyes searched the section for another moment.

Nothing.

Selena’s fingers tightened slightly around her closed fan.

She continued feeding Cognis into the Mass Alchemy.

The Cognis flowed from her veins, through her arm, into the hand holding the fan.

The closed fan became the point through which she maintained the wind pressure descending on Vera.

"Ehnnn."

Vera looked at the visible wind pressure covering almost all of the fight area.

"So, this is what you were planning."

She said it casually, her dull black eyes calmly following the currents of wind pressing down around her.

The pressure continued to crack the ground beneath her boots, yet Vera only shifted her weight slightly before returning her attention to Selena.

Selena had expected Vera to at least react a bit differently after seeing the scale of her Mass Alchemy.

Instead, Vera looked as though she had merely confirmed something she had already suspected.

"It’s the only way I could think of to beat you, especially with your speed in consideration."

Selena replied calmly.

Her elegant expression remained in place.

The wind continued to pull at her hair and clothes, but she maintained her posture without difficulty.

"And how does this mean you would win, Home Wrecker?"

Vera asked plainly.

Selena’s eyebrow twitched.

"An Elegant Lady shouldn’t be saying mean things like this, Vera. How many times will I have to say this to you?"

Selena said with a serious tone, although the graceful smile on her face remained.

"You keep making people see us Flowers as unethical Ladies of Britannia, when we should be role models to the younger girls and even older ladies in the Kingdom."

She spoke calmly.

Her light voice carried through the wind.

"Now... about how I will win..."

Selena raised her other hand and pointed it toward Vera.

"By using this wind pressure to hold you down from moving your body. Even now..."

Her eyes sharpened.

"...You are focusing your Cognis on keeping yourself from falling to your knees because of your pride."

Selena’s lips curved slightly.

"You don’t want anyone to see you on your knees before me."

She covered the lower half of her face with her hand to hide the proud smile that had appeared.

Kyaaa!

I don’t know why, but I kind of feel sooo cool right now, standing in front of Vera.

Her eyes remained focused on Vera.

If Sir Ezra saw this, would he be mesmerized by the fact I got Vera in place like this?

Selena’s smile almost grew wider, then she immediately stopped herself.

No... No... No... Selena.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

It’s Vera Ashenlocke we are dealing with.

I have to remain heavily focused.

Selena’s Emerald eyes sharpened with renewed focus.

She continued feeding Cognis into her Mass Alchemy.

The wind pressure didn’t weaken in the slightest.

The Alchemy symbols within the massive Wind Alchemy Circle continued turning as Selena maintained the technique.

Yet through all of this, her expression still held the elegance she always displayed.

Vera looked at her.

"You do know I know that you can’t move your body either, right?"

She said it casually, her dull black eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at Selena.

Selena’s eyes flinched faintly.

"I know."

She replied calmly.

"You are feeding a lot of your Cognis to keep the Mass Alchemy stronger, so you are going for who would run low on Cognis first..."

Vera continued.

"Whether it would be me, who is using my Cognis to keep myself from falling to my knees, or you, who is feeding Cognis to your Mass Alchemy..."

Vera explained everything Selena had already planned.

Her tone remained casual from beginning to end, and her dull black eyes stayed on Selena without showing any concern, as though figuring out the plan had been nothing more than an ordinary observation.

Selena gave her a warm smile.

"That’s true. As expected of a genius like you, Vera..."

She already knew Vera could easily see through her schemes.

But...

Selena raised her free hand forward again.

Cognis flowed from the veins in her upper arm toward her hand.

The emerald light of Cognis gathered around her palm.

A Novice-rank Wind Alchemy Circle began to form.

The small Circle appeared between her fingers, its Alchemy Symbols slowly locking into place.

"It’s also obvious that I will be the one to run out of Cognis before you."

Selena’s smile became brighter.

"So before then... I should be able to knock you out of this platform."

She said happily.

Selena had wondered hard about how she was going to defeat a monster like Vera Ashenlocke.

Especially because of Vera’s speed.

Selena didn’t have the physical stats necessary to keep up with Vera in the slightest, even though Selena thought the two were in the same Alchemist Rank.

If the fight had become a simple evade, attack, and defend battle, Selena would have lost the moment the match began.

There was no point pretending otherwise.

Vera’s speed was simply too difficult to handle.

That was why Selena had chosen the best option she could think of.

Mass Wind Pressure.

A Wind Alchemy technique that followed the principle of gravitational force.

By forcing the wind downward onto Vera, Selena could prevent her from moving freely.

Even breathing was becoming difficult under the pressure.

And Vera was using Cognis Enhancement throughout her body just to keep herself from falling down.

Selena only needed to maintain the pressure.

If she could successfully pull off this second Wind Alchemy attack, her chances of winning would just jump straight to seventy percent.

At least, that was what many of the High-ranking Alchemists could see.

They understood what Selena was attempting.

The first Mass Alchemy had restricted Vera’s movement.

The second Alchemy would determine whether Selena could make use of that opening before her Cognis ran out.

But there was just one problem.

Vera Ashenlocke was still standing.

And the look in her dull black eyes hadn’t changed at all.