Chapter 533: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: New Interest II

"THREE!!"

The crowd began shouting the countdown as the four Holographic Screens displayed the enormous number above the Arena.

The sound rolled across the seats in a single wave, with hundreds of thousands of voices joining together as the next fight approached.

Ezra stood quietly on one side of the platform.

His plain black eyes remained fixed on Willow.

He was observing her in much the same way she had been observing him since they stepped onto the stage.

Neither of them appeared interested in wasting movement.

Neither looked nervous.

They simply watched.

"Two!!"

The crowd shouted the next number even louder.

"THREE!"

Few of the spectators laughed after realizing they had shouted the previous number again, while others immediately joined the correct countdown.

"TWO!!"

The four Holographic Screens changed with the countdown.

Willow’s crimson eyes remained locked on Ezra.

"You have good observative eyes, Ezra Ashenlocke."

She said calmly.

Her hands rested on the top of her walking stick, which stood in front of her body.

The tip of the stick remained against the platform while her fingers rested around the handle.

Ezra gave her a plain look.

"Thank you."

He replied.

There was no change in his expression.

He didn’t move much either.

His hands remained at his sides while he stood there calmly, his posture loose enough that it didn’t look like he was preparing for a fight that could change in an instant.

"ONE!!"

The crowd shouted the final number.

The atmosphere inside the Arena immediately became heavier.

The four Holographic Screens changed from the countdown display.

The word BEGIN appeared across all four screens.

The moment it appeared, the Cognis flow around Willow changed.

It wasn’t a large change.

So, most people wouldn’t have noticed it.

The Crimson Cognis moving through her body became calmer, its flow no longer carrying the same outward tension it had during the countdown.

Ezra sensed it immediately.

His perception had already reached a level where even a faint change in the flow state of Cognis inside another Alchemist could be noticed.

His eyes remained on Willow.

Her Cognis flow changed.

He recognized the shift without needing to think about it for long.

Willow also noticed Ezra’s reaction.

She immediately added it to the growing list of things she had already observed about him.

His eyes.

His movement.

His reaction speed.

His ability to notice Cognis.

His ability to use things that shouldn’t have anything to do with Gun Alchemy during combat.

The main problem is the fact that he uses those gadgets that don’t even relate to Gun Alchemy to fight.

Willow thought herself calmly.

There was still a moment before either of them moved.

Then...

"BEGIN!!!"

Patrick’s voice exploded through the Arena.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators immediately erupted into cheers.

The sound was so loud that it seemed to shake the seats beneath them.

At the same time, the live chat on Skynet began rolling rapidly, with messages appearing one after another from people watching the match throughout different parts of Britannia.

The moment the match began, everyone wanted to see what would happen between the two.

Willow looked directly at Ezra.

"Let’s have a good match, Ezra Ashenlocke."

She said calmly.

Thud!

Her walking stick struck the ground.

The sound itself was soft compared with the loud cheering of the crowd, but the moment the stick touched the platform, Crimson Cognis sparked beneath it.

Two blood bags flew out of Willow’s Space Bag.

They appeared beside her almost instantly.

The bags were already prepared for use, and the Crimson Cognis moving through Willow’s body immediately extended toward them.

Within milliseconds...

Alchemy Symbols appeared beneath Willow’s walking stick and boots.

The Alchemy symbols connected one after another, forming a Blood Alchemy Circle beneath her.

The Crimson lines of the Alchemy Circle glowed beneath her feet.

Pop!

Pop!

The two blood bags burst at the same instant.

Crimson Cognis moved through the blood as though it had been waiting for the bags to open.

The blood was pulled toward the Blood Alchemy Circle, flowing downward before twisting together above the symbols.

It didn’t simply fall.

The liquid rotated.

It compressed.

The mass of blood became denser and denser until it formed a medium-sized blood ball.

The ball rose fast from the Blood Alchemy Circle.

Its surface trembled.

The blood inside it vibrated violently, as though the entire mass could burst apart at any moment.

Ezra’s eyes remained on it.

Her Alchemy ignition is quick.

His hand was already moving toward his Space Bag.

The time it takes to move my hand into my Space Bag is just as the time she needed to perform a Novice-rank Blood Alchemy.

He didn’t waste another moment.

Boom!

The blood ball suddenly burst apart.

Thick blood needles shot out from every direction.

They moved toward Ezra at high speed, each needle carrying enough force to become dangerous if it struck him directly.

At the same time...

Bang!

Bang!

Gunfire erupted from Ezra’s side.

His hand came out of his Space Bag holding the Glock 40.

The handgun was already aimed.

His first bullet struck one of the incoming blood needles.

Clank!

The needle was knocked aside.

Another bullet followed.

Bang!

Ezra shifted his wrist slightly.

Instead of shooting directly into another needle, he fired toward its side.

The bullet struck at an angle.

The thick blood needle changed direction.

It spun through the air and collided with another needle approaching from a different angle.

Clank!

Both were knocked away.

Ezra continued firing.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Each shot was controlled.

He didn’t simply destroy every needle individually.

When possible, he used one bullet to redirect a blood needle into another.

When several needles approached from different angles, he adjusted his aim between them, using the collision of his bullets and the blood attacks to reduce the number of projectiles coming toward him.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The thick blood needles and bullets finally fell onto the platform.

Some struck the ground point-first and remained embedded in the stone.

Others bounced once before rolling away.

Ezra had taken down the first wave without leaving the same position her stood on.

Willow’s crimson eyes followed the entire exchange.

She immediately sensed another change.

The moment Ezra finished firing, Cognis flowed rapidly into the hand holding the Glock 40.

It passed through his arm and entered the circuit system integrated into his black glove.

The Circuit activated.

The Black Magnetic Glove’s magnetic function came alive.

The magnetic force of attraction activated.

Willow’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He already activated his Black Magnetic Gloves even before that.

Her gaze moved toward Ezra’s Space Bag.

A thin black thread could already be seen extending from it.

The thread moved.

It retracted toward Ezra’s hand, pulling something out of the Space Bag.

The object emerged rapidly.

The AWM .338 Lapua sniper rifle appeared.

Ezra caught the rifle perfectly with his other hand.

The movement was so fast that Willow had to enhance her eyesight.

She also increased her sensory perception of Ezra’s blood flow to properly follow the rapid draw.

Even then, she barely caught every detail.

Ezra held the AWM .338 Lapua in one hand.

He didn’t even take the time to look through the Schmidt & Bender PM II 5–25×56 scope.

Bang!

The rifle fired.

The recoil moved through his arm, but his grip remained steady.

The bullet tore through the air toward Willow.

Clank!

Willow immediately moved her walking stick.

The weapon came across her body with the motion of a sword.

The tip of the stick struck the incoming bullet.

The bullet changed direction and flew away.

Ezra watched her walking stick.

"So, there is more to that walking stick. Huh."

He said calmly.

"Yes, there is."

Willow simply replied.

Her left hand adjusted around the walking stick.

At the same time, Cognis moved downward through her body and into her legs.

Her posture changed.

She lowered her center of gravity.

Then...

Boom!

Willow dashed forward.

The sudden acceleration cracked the ground beneath her boot.

Small pieces of stone jumped from the platform as she pushed herself forward.

Ezra’s plain black eyes followed her movement.

He didn’t miss a single part of her acceleration.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Four blood bags flew out of Willow’s Space Bag.

She controlled them while continuing her advance toward Ezra.

Ezra now held the AWM .338 Lapua in a more comfortable position.

The Glock 40 remained near the ground, connected to the black thread.

The thread stayed attached to the magazine through the polarity lock of the Black Magnetic Glove, keeping the connection firm even as the handgun moved.

Willow continued advancing.

The four blood bags moved with her.

Ezra raised the sniper rifle.

His eye aligned with the Schmidt & Bender PM II 5–25×56 scope.

This time, he looked through it.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Four shots left the rifle in rapid succession.

Each bullet was aimed toward Willow’s shoulders and the sides of her body.

Willow reacted immediately.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Sparks burst from the side of her walking stick as she swung it repeatedly with her left hand.

The weapon moved like a sword.

One bullet was struck away.

Then another.

She turned her wrist and caught the third.

The fourth came toward her knee.

Willow’s walking stick moved down.

Clank!

The bullet was deflected.

She continued moving forward without losing her momentum.

The four bullets had all been redirected.

None had reached her body.

Willow’s expression became slightly more impressed.

Ezra’s accuracy was even better and terrifying than she had expected.

The timing was especially troublesome.

She had to move her walking stick at precise moments while simultaneously controlling her movement and the four blood bags.

If Ezra’s shots had been even slightly less accurate, she wouldn’t have needed to react with such speed.

But he hadn’t missed.

Not once.

Willow finished deflecting the bullets.

Then she jumped.

Her legs pushed against the platform, and Cognis enhanced the force of her movement.

Her body rose into the air.

The four blood bags followed her.

They moved upward with her as though connected to her movement.

Clap!

Willow’s hands came together.

The Alchemy Symbols appeared again.

They connected rapidly beneath her.

The Blood Alchemy Circle formed.

Crimson light spread across the symbols.

The Blood Alchemy attack ignited.

At the same time, Willow spun her body in the air.

Her crimson eyes remained focused.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The created dense blood balls exploded simultaneously.

Then...

Fwish!

Fwish!

Fwish!

Fwish!

More blood needles erupted from the Blood Alchemy Circle.

They scattered through the air before changing direction toward Ezra.

The number of needles was far greater than the first attack.

They descended like a heavy rain, except each drop had been replaced by a sharp blood projectile.

Fwish!

Fwish!

Fwish!

Fwish!

The barrage filled Ezra’s vision.

From his position on the platform, he could see the needles spreading across the space around him.

They weren’t coming from one direction.

They were coming from several.

Ezra immediately moved.

His body shifted away from his original position while his hand moved toward the Glock 40.

The movement resembled someone pulling a yo-yo back toward their hand.

At the same time, the AWM .338 Lapua moved behind his back.

The strap settled across his shoulder, keeping the sniper rifle secured against his body.

The Glock 40 returned toward his hand.

Ezra caught it.

His body turned sharply.

His eyes tracked the approaching blood needles.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The Glock 40 fired.

Each shot was controlled.

Ezra didn’t waste bullets.

He targeted the blood needles that were heading toward his main position, using the bullets to scatter the barrage before it could surround him completely.

One blood needle was struck directly.

Another was redirected.

A third collided with a bullet and spun away.

Ezra adjusted his aim again.

Bang!

Another needle shattered apart.

Bang!

A second one changed direction and struck the ground.

The remaining needles passed through the spaces Ezra had already vacated.

Willow watched from above.

Her body continued rotating elegantly before she began descending.

Ezra continued firing.

Bang!

Bang!

The final blood needles were knocked away.

The attack that had appeared capable of covering the entire area had been reduced by Ezra’s precise shooting.

Willow landed on the platform.

Her boots touched the ground firmly.

The blood bags settled around her.

The AWM remained strapped behind Ezra.

The Glock 40 was still held in his hand.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The crimson glow around Willow and the faint Cognis flowing around Ezra remained visible between them.

Then their eyes met.

Crimson sharp eyes.

Plain black eyes.

Both stared at each other.

Neither needed to say anything.

They had already understood the same thing.

This fight is really going to be hard for me.