Chapter 567: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The New Sun Alchemist of Britannia

"That's a lot of fire power."

Vera said it while wearing her black shades, her attention fixed on the already fading Golden light covering the fight platform.

The enormous glow that had filled the arena only moments ago was slowly disappearing, leaving behind waves of heat that still distorted the air above the damaged platform. The Force Field surrounding the battle area had already stopped trembling, but faint traces of golden light remained scattered across the surface below.

Vera rested her cheek against one hand as she watched the battlefield.

Beside her, Diane finally moved.

"So, he had all that power and chose not to use it."

Diane said with a frown.

Her voice still carried the tiredness of someone who had only just awakened.

Vera turned her head slightly.

"Ara, you are awake."

"The heat woke me up."

Diane replied tiredly.

The eye cover remained over her eyes, hiding them completely, while her head was still resting comfortably against Vera's shoulder. She had apparently found no reason to move even after the enormous explosion had spread across the platform.

Vera glanced at her for a moment.

Then her attention returned to the battlefield.

"And people complain about why I gave up."

Cyrus said to himself while shaking his head.

His shoulders lowered slightly as he watched the remains of the battlefield, clearly remembering his own decision to stop fighting instead of continuing against an opponent whose strength had already become unreasonable.

Sasha reached over and placed a hand on Cyrus's shoulder.

"You did well, my dear brother. You don't need to mind what people say. It is always good to be a coward when things get tough."

She smiled while delivering the words.

Cyrus slowly turned his head toward her.

His scarlet eyes narrowed.

"Are you trying to console me or add to my wounds?"

Sasha's smile became slightly wider.

She didn't answer immediately.

There was something about the way she had placed the word coward inside what was supposed to be encouragement that made Cyrus's expression become even more helpless.

The other first-years sitting around them continued watching the fight platform, where the last traces of Golden Flames were fading away.

The noise of the arena hadn't completely returned to normal.

Many spectators were still talking in confusion about what Maxwell had just done.

Some were pointing toward the platform.

Others were looking toward the giant holographic screens, replaying the attack from different angles.

The scene of the Golden Flames spreading across the platform had already become the focus of the entire arena.

Ezra remained quiet.

He placed his right hand against his chin while his black blank eyes continued observing the aftermath of the battlefield.

The destruction below wasn't something he could ignore.

So, this is the power output of an Alchemy of the Sun in the Meister rank.

Ezra thought to himself.

His eyes moved slowly across the platform.

The surface had been damaged badly.

Some areas were still covered in faint smoke, while the heat rising from the ground caused the air above it to shimmer. Pieces of broken stone were scattered across the now smooth platform, and several sections had remained damaged enough that the Royal Academy staff would eventually need to repair them.

This isn't good.

His fingers pressed lightly against his chin.

But I wonder what Lyra and the Young Lord of Burnwick can do.

His eyes focused more.

This was the best time to observe.

Not simply to watch a fight, but to see whether what he had read in the book of Andraver about the Alchemy Path of the Sun was true.

Maxwell had finally revealed his Path.

And now Ezra wanted to see what the other two could do against it.

Vera noticed Ezra's attention.

Her head turned slightly toward him.

She could tell from his expression that his attention was completely focused on Maxwell.

She didn't interrupt him.

Instead, she quietly returned her gaze toward the platform.

Back on the fight platform…

The golden glow finally weakened enough for the figures of the three Young Alchemists to become visible again.

Maxwell stood several long steps away from the position where Ravenor's Flame Barrier had been struck by the Golden Flames.

He adjusted the glove on his right hand.

Then he began walking forward.

His steps were steady.

His golden eyes remained fixed on the scarlet Flame Barrier ahead of him.

"Wow, you really blocked that."

The Flame Barrier was still burning.

However, it was no longer perfect.

Several holes had appeared across its surface.

Some parts of the scarlet flames were thinner than others, and a few sections flickered as Ravenor continued feeding Cognis into them.

Maxwell's gaze followed those damaged sections.

Ravenor stood inside the barrier.

He looked at it for a moment.

"Interesting."

His voice remained calm.

He could already see what the Golden Flames had done.

They had managed to absorb portions of his flames.

If Ravenor had simply allowed the Golden Flames to continue eating away at the Flame Barrier, the entire defense would eventually have disappeared.

So, he had maintained control over every portion of the barrier.

Cognis continued flowing through the scarlet flames.

Ravenor adjusted the output carefully, preventing the Golden Flames from consuming everything at once.

At the same time, he continued feeding additional Cognis into the damaged areas.

The holes began closing.

The scarlet flames thickened.

The Flame Barrier stabilized.

It was not an easy task.

Ravenor had to maintain precise control over the Cognis flowing through the entire barrier while repairing the sections that had been absorbed.

But he remained composed.

His eyes stayed on Maxwell.

And during that process, he had already figured out a way to deal with Maxwell's Sun Alchemy.

The only problem was that he had only seen a portion of what the philosophy of Sun Alchemy contained.

He hadn't seen everything.

Ravenor finally stepped forward.

One foot moved out from behind the Flame Barrier.

Then the other.

The barrier remained behind him for a moment before its flames gradually disappeared.

Maxwell continued walking toward him.

Cognis began surging from both of their bodies.

The invisible pressure around them became easier for the surrounding Alchemists to sense.

Thud.

Maxwell's boot struck the damaged platform.

Thud.

Ravenor's foot followed.

Thud.

Another step.

Thud.

The two Young Alchemists continued walking toward each other.

Neither rushed.

Neither stopped.

The distance between them gradually became smaller.

Ravenor's scarlet eyes remained fixed on Maxwell.

Maxwell's golden eyes stayed on Ravenor.

The surrounding crowd became quieter.

The two were no longer standing on opposite sides of the platform.

They were steadily approaching the same section of the battlefield.

"So, this is the power of the Sun, Maxwell."

Ravenor said.

There was a faint change in his expression.

A small trace of excitement appeared on his face.

It wasn't loud or dramatic.

But it was there.

Maxwell noticed it.

"You already know about Sun Alchemy?"

Maxwell asked, clearly surprised that Ravenor already knew the name.

Ravenor continued walking.

"Only the name and that your master is the creator of the Path, but I will soon know more about it now."

He said it calmly.

His eyes never left Maxwell.

Maxwell's expression remained composed.

"Is that so."

The distance between them became even smaller.

Their footsteps stopped.

For a brief moment, both Young Alchemists stood facing one another.

The wind moved across the platform.

Their clothes shifted slightly.

Loose pieces of smoke drifted between them before being carried away.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The two figures vanished.

The crowd barely had time to react.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The damaged platform shook beneath their feet.

Ravenor and Maxwell reappeared in the middle of the battlefield.

Their fists collided.

The impact sent a shockwave across the surface.

Maxwell stepped forward with his right foot while driving his fist toward Ravenor's upper body.

Ravenor shifted his body to the side.

His shoulder turned away from the attack as Maxwell's fist passed close to him.

Ravenor immediately answered with a punch of his own.

Maxwell raised his left forearm.

BOOM!

The two limbs collided.

Maxwell's boots slid slightly across the smooth surface.

He planted his foot again.

Ravenor moved around him.

Their positions changed rapidly.

Neither remained in one place for more than a moment.

A punch came from Maxwell's right.

Ravenor moved outside its path, then answered with his left.

Maxwell leaned backward.

The fist passed in front of his face.

He immediately stepped back in.

Their fists collided again.

The sound echoed through the arena.

The top surface of the platform had already been destroyed by Maxwell's previous Golden Flames.

A new clean surface had replaced much of the destroyed ground, leaving it surprisingly smooth in several areas with only small broken pieces of rocks there.

It was smooth enough that, under the arena lights, a person could almost see their own reflection on it.

However, the older damage hadn't completely disappeared.

Large cracks created by earlier clashes remained.

The places where Ravenor's Instant Flame Bursts had struck were also still damaged.

Now the two Young Alchemists were adding more destruction to the same battlefield.

Ravenor suddenly stepped forward.

He threw two punches almost simultaneously.

One came toward Maxwell's face.

The second moved toward his ribs.

Maxwell reacted immediately.

He raised both forearms.

BOOM!

The first punch struck his left forearm.

BOOM!

The second hit his right.

Maxwell absorbed both impacts.

His feet remained planted.

But Ravenor was already moving.

He shifted toward Maxwell's right side.

His body passed outside Maxwell's shoulder.

At the same time, his right leg moved around toward Maxwell's knee.

Ravenor was going for a back kick.

Maxwell's eyes shifted.

He hadn't expected Ravenor to change his position that quickly after the two punches.

"Tsk."

Maxwell immediately jumped forward.

His body left the ground before Ravenor's kick could connect.

The attack passed behind his legs.

Maxwell pushed himself upward and forward, using the movement to escape the position Ravenor had tried to trap him in.

Ravenor's leg continued through.

BOOM!

His foot slammed into the ground.

The platform cracked beneath the impact.

The force sent loose rocks and pieces of the damaged surface upward.

Snow that had settled again around the damaged areas was also thrown into the air.

Small white pieces mixed with gray stone before scattering across the battlefield.

Maxwell was already landing several steps away.

His boots touched the ground.

He lowered his center of gravity.

But Ravenor was already there.

The Young Lord of Burnwick had used the moment Maxwell spent recovering his footing to close the distance again.

Whoosh!

Ravenor's right fist came toward Maxwell.

The punch was faster than Maxwell expected.

His pupils tightened.

"Isn't that?"

Maxwell muttered.

Something about Ravenor's movement reminded him of someone he had seen moving at a similar instant speed.

He didn't have enough time to think about it.

Maxwell immediately raised both arms.

He tried to bring his forearms together to block the incoming punch.

But Ravenor's fist reached him first.

BOOM!

The punch slammed into Maxwell's stomach.

"Argh."

Maxwell's body folded slightly from the impact.

The force did not stop there.

The ground beneath his feet cracked violently.

The shock traveled through his body before sending him backward.

Maxwell was launched away from Ravenor like a missile.

His boots left the ground.

His body flew backward across the platform.

BOOM!

His back struck the ground.

BOOM!

His shoulder bounced.

BOOM!

His side hit again.

BOOM!

His body rolled.

BOOM!

He continued tumbling across the platform.

For several moments, Maxwell could do nothing but let his body follow the momentum of Ravenor's punch.

His body finally slowed.

Then he reacted.

Both hands struck the ground.

His fingers dug into the surface.

At the same time, he forced both boots down.

His hands and boots dragged across the ground.

Krrrkkk…

Rocks split beneath his palms.

The smooth surface scraped under his boots as he fought against the remaining momentum.

His arms shook slightly from the force.

His boots continued sliding.

Then finally…

He stopped.

Maxwell remained low to the ground.

His hands were planted in front of him.

His boots had carved short trails through the damaged surface.

He lifted his head.

And Ravenor was already there.

Right in front of him.

Not standing.

In the air.

Ravenor had closed the entire distance while Maxwell was still recovering.

The two looked at one another.

For that brief instant, neither needed to say anything.

It was almost as if both had already understood what the other intended to do.

KZZRAK!!!!

KZZRAK!!!!

Two loud sounds of Alchemy Circle execution echoed across the platform.

Both of them performed their Alchemy without clapping their hands.

At almost the same time, both began controlling their Alchemy Materials.

Ravenor's hand shifted while he was still airborne.

Another lighter was controlled by his Alchemy Levitation.

The lighter floated into the air near him.

At the same time, the other lighter that had already been used earlier was pulled toward it.

The two pieces of Alchemy Material moved toward one another.

On the opposite side, Maxwell's space bag opened.

A small piece of Novarite flew out.

The small stone moved directly toward him.

Maxwell also used Alchemy Levitation to control the material as it emerged from the space bag.

The two materials were now positioned in front of the two Young Alchemists.

Neither needed to physically reach for them.

They controlled the materials through Cognis.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The materials exploded within a millisecond of being brought out.

The blasts occurred almost together.

The explosions pushed wind across the battlefield.

Broken rocks and smaller pieces of debris were lifted from the platform and thrown away from the center.

Yet neither Ravenor nor Maxwell stopped.

Their Alchemy Circles had already formed.

A Scarlet Flame Alchemy Circle appeared in the air inches above Ravenor's right hand.

Ravenor positioned his hands like an arrow.

His fingers aligned.

His arms tightened.

The scarlet flames began gathering toward the Alchemy Circle.

At the same time, a Golden Sun Alchemy Circle formed beneath Maxwell's right hand.

The Circle was positioned against the ground.

Golden Alchemy Symbols spread across the surface.

The two different Paths were now preparing their attacks at almost the same time.

The explosions from their Alchemy Materials sent another wave of wind through the area.

Large and small broken rocks were pushed away.

Dust and pieces of debris scattered across the platform.

Scarlet flames gathered rapidly into Ravenor's Alchemy Circle.

Golden flames flowed into Maxwell's Circle.

The two colors became more concentrated.

The air between them seemed to grow heavier.

Then…

Crack!

Maxwell's Sun Alchemy ignited first.

The ground beneath his hand cracked only slightly.

For a brief moment, nothing else happened.

Then the crack deepened.

BOOM!

The ground broke apart.

A large Sun Lance erupted from beneath the platform.

It did not simply appear above the ground.

It tore its way out.

Stone broke apart around it as the golden attack pushed upward.

A clean hole was left behind where the Sun Lance had emerged.

The golden weapon continued forward.

Its tip moved directly toward Ravenor.

Ravenor watched it approach.

The Sun Lance crossed the space between them rapidly.

Ravenor's scarlet eyes remained fixed on its movement.

The distance between the attack and his body disappeared.

At that moment…

His Flame Alchemy ignited.

A large flame bow formed around his hand.

But it was different from the one he had used against Vera.

This time, the flames were not simply gathered loosely around the weapon.

A large amount of firepower was concentrated into the arrow.

The scarlet flames compressed.

They gathered tighter.

The heat became denser.

The fire condensed into a harder body.

Ravenor pulled the flame arrow back.

His body remained positioned behind the attack while he was still airborne.

His arms were steady.

The Sun Lance was almost upon him.

Ravenor released the arrow.

The Flame Arrow shot forward.

The two attacks traveled directly toward one another.

One came from the ground through Maxwell's Sun Alchemy.

The other traveled through the air downward from Ravenor's Flame Alchemy.

Neither changed direction.

Neither slowed.

The golden Sun Lance and the scarlet Flame Arrow closed the remaining distance between them.

They collided.

KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…

The sound of the two different Alchemy Paths crashing into each other spread across the arena.

The scarlet and golden lights met at the center of the air space between the descending Ravenor and the grounded Maxwell.

For one brief moment, neither attack gave way.

…BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The two different Flame Alchemy attacks exploded against each other.

Golden light and scarlet fire burst outward from the point of impact.

The force of the collision rushed across the damaged platform, sending loose rocks and dust flying away from the center.

The air itself seemed to shake.

And the entire arena was once again swallowed by the sound of two opposing Alchemy Paths colliding.