Chapter 568: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The New Sun Alchemist of Britannia II

The Force Field protecting the spectators was completely covered by violent wind, rocks, dust, and pieces of broken ground.

The entire barrier looked as though a storm had been trapped against it.

Large rocks struck the transparent surface and bounced away, while smaller pieces of debris were carried around by the wind before disappearing into the thick cloud that had spread across the fight platform. Snow that had been falling and melting around the edges of the arena was caught up with everything else, mixing with the dust until even the colour of the battlefield became difficult to make out.

No ordinary spectator could see what was happening anymore.

Even some of the weaker Alchemists had trouble following the battle.

Only the High-ranking Alchemists could still make out what was happening through the chaos, and some even had to rely on their enhanced senses and while others just chose to use the information displayed by the Holographic Screens.

The screens had already slowed down and replayed portions of the previous clash.

That was where many of the important people had turned their attention.

At the seating section reserved for the High Powers of the Kingdom…

Duchess Regina stared at the screen with a bewildered expression.

Her eyes remained fixed on the replay.

She could no longer see what was happening directly on the fight platform, but her mind was no longer focused on the battle itself.

It was focused on the Alchemy Path she had just witnessed.

The golden flames.

The way the attack had spread across the platform.

The overwhelming output.

And most importantly…

The Path itself.

"How is this possible?"

Duchess Regina muttered.

Her fingers rested against the armrest of her seat as she continued staring at the Holographic Screen.

She still couldn't completely accept what she had seen.

An Alchemy Path that was supposed to be extinct was being used by a child who had appeared almost out of nowhere.

Not only was it being used.

The power it had displayed was enough to make the people sitting in this section pay attention.

"This is the third time you have said those same words, First Duchess of Ash."

The Duchess of Drakes spoke from nearby.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at Duchess Regina, while a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You are speaking like you already knew about this before now."

Duchess Regina turned toward her.

Her brows lowered.

The expression on her face made it obvious that she wasn't amused by the comment.

The Duchess of Drakes only shrugged.

"It's no one's fault that the Ashenlockes are quite slow."

She said it with a small smirk.

Regina's eyes narrowed further.

Before she could respond, another voice entered the conversation.

"Can we all relax?"

Duchess Hailey spoke.

She had remained composed while the others discussed what they had seen.

Her gaze shifted from Regina toward the Holographic Screen, where another slowed replay of Maxwell's Golden Flames was being displayed.

"Finding out the Sun Alchemy Path still exists and is being used by a child must mean that Elder Andraver finally picked a disciple."

She spoke calmly.

There was no fear in her voice.

Instead, there was a sense of understanding.

"We should be happy about this."

Duchess Hailey then turned her head toward the area where the Queen was seated.

"Am I not right, Your Majesty?"

She smiled simply.

The Queen turned toward her.

"You are right, my dear Hailey, but…"

Her smile remained.

However, her eyes changed.

They moved across the other High Powers seated around her and then toward the sides where the Dukes and the Duchess of Derlis were seated.

The Queen's voice remained calm when she continued.

"No one is to make contact with that child until the Grand Meeting of Britannia is held."

The words were not shouted.

They didn't need to be.

The people around her understood the weight behind them.

The Queen continued smiling innocently as though she had merely asked everyone to wait for a meeting.

But the order itself was clear.

No one was to approach Maxwell.

Not yet.

The Duke of Bergwyn looked toward the Queen.

He rested the side of his head against his left hand, which was supported by the armrest of his seat.

His expression remained calm.

"So, I should take it that you are protecting the boy, and you also knew about his existence."

The Duke of Bergwyn said.

His eyes remained on the Queen for a moment.

Then his attention shifted slightly.

"Especially you, Elder Godwin."

He lazily raised his right hand and pointed toward the Vice Headmaster of the Royal Academy.

Godwin Fraser looked back at him.

"I hope that isn't a problem, Lord Duke of Berg."

His tone remained even.

The Duke of Bergwyn gave a small response.

"I have no issue with it. I will voice my thoughts during the meeting."

He then turned his head back toward the fight platform.

The battlefield was beginning to clear.

The dust cloud had started thinning.

The Duchess of Derlis, Duke Aldous Burnwick, and the Duke of Galehart all remained quiet.

Their eyes moved between the fight platform and the people around them.

None of them spoke immediately.

The Queen's order had been understood.

"We will obey the Queen's order."

They all replied calmly.

One after another, they lowered their heads before returning their attention to the ongoing Best Loser's Match.

The Queen then shifted her gaze.

"Alister."

Her voice immediately caught the attention of the Head of the Solar Royal Alchemist Branch.

Alister turned toward her.

"Send one of your men to inform this order to the other dear important guests."

She said.

Her smile remained simple.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Alister immediately stood.

He lowered his head before turning toward one of his subordinates.

The subordinate understood without needing further explanation.

She immediately lowered herself onto one knee.

Then she stood and left.

Her footsteps disappeared into the area behind the seating section.

Alister returned to his seat.

The conversation ended there.

Everyone's attention gradually returned to the fight.

The battle was still continuing.

And whatever happened next would determine whether Maxwell's sudden display of power was enough to change the direction of the match.

Back on the fight platform…

The smoke, wind, dust, and melting snow water were still mixed together.

The cloud had spread across most of the battlefield, but it was finally beginning to thin.

The Force Field remained between the spectators and the destruction.

Through the clearing cloud, a few ordinary spectators finally managed to see something.

A figure.

Someone was lying on the ground.

As more of the smoke moved away, Maxwell became visible.

He was lying against the damaged surface of the platform.

His clothes had collected dust.

Small pieces of stone were scattered around him.

His body had clearly been affected by the explosion.

Maxwell slowly moved one arm.

Then he pushed himself upward.

"Cough!"

He covered his mouth.

A small amount of blood had escaped from his lips.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

The injury was not severe.

The explosion had hurt him, but it hadn't done enough to become a serious problem.

Maxwell straightened himself.

His golden eyes immediately moved across the battlefield.

He was looking for one person.

Ravenor Burnwick.

The explosion had launched the Young Lord of Burnwick into the air and much farther across the arena.

Maxwell raised his head.

There.

High above the fight platform.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Cognis flowed through his body and enhanced his sight.

The distant figure became clearer.

"He's really up in the air."

Maxwell watched Ravenor's position.

Ravenor was still airborne.

His body had been thrown high enough that there was a noticeable distance between him and the platform.

Maxwell stared upward for another moment.

"Will I now have to wait for him to get down…"

He paused.

A thought entered his mind.

The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Or I could just go and meet him up there myself."

His eyes brightened with excitement.

Maxwell shifted his weight.

His body was already preparing to move.

But then…

He sensed something.

The air behind him changed.

A faint movement passed through the space at his back.

Maxwell's expression changed.

Whoosh!

He immediately bent down.

At the same time, he turned sharply around.

His golden eyes moved toward the source of the movement.

And his expression changed slightly.

An E-V 26 MK.II was aimed directly at him.

Lyra stood behind him.

She was still standing.

For a moment, the sight was surprising.

The first explosion Maxwell had caused had been strong enough to make it look as though Lyra had already been removed from the match.

But she was still there.

Her training clothes remained on her body.

Her white Cognis flowed around her faintly.

Her scythe was in her hands.

The weapon was glowing red from the heat it had absorbed during the first explosion.

The metal had become so hot that a faint shimmer appeared around its edge.

Lyra had attacked from behind Maxwell with that hot scythe, but he evaded it easily, then she had used the motion of the weapon to assist herself in shifting the E-V 26 MK.II into position.

The scythe was held at an angle beside her.

The E-V 26 MK.II rested against it as she steadied the firearm.

Her posture was controlled.

"I can fire once, but I will make it count."

Lyra said.

Her finger moved toward the trigger.

But it wasn't only her finger that moved.

White Cognis immediately flowed through her arm.

It entered the body of the E-V 26 MK.II.

The firearm reacted.

The internal system began receiving more Cognis than it normally used.

The weapon entered its Overload state.

The white glow around the firearm became stronger.

Lyra's grip tightened.

Then she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The sound exploded across the battlefield.

The blast from the E-V 26 MK.II pushed more smoke and dust away from Lyra's position.

The spectators reacted immediately.

Many eyes widened.

Some people who had already assumed Lyra was out of the match suddenly leaned forward.

"She's still there!"

"Lady Lyra Asheburn!"

"She fired!"

The attention of the arena shifted toward her immediately.

But…

Maxwell did not panic.

The pellets were already traveling toward him.

They were moving faster than normal.

They were also stronger because of the Overload state.

Maxwell's golden eyes tracked their approach.

The pellets were spread across his upper body.

He had only a short moment to react.

His right hand moved slightly to the side.

That was all.

KZZRAK!!!!

A lightning-like sound echoed across the platform.

Alchemy Symbols began appearing above Maxwell's right palm.

They connected one after another.

A Sun Alchemy Circle began forming.

The Circle rotated slightly as its structure completed.

Maxwell didn't use ordinary flames as materials for his alchemy ignition.

Instead, the heat around the battlefield began moving.

The surrounding air distorted.

Heat waves were pulled toward the Sun Alchemy Circle.

The temperature around Maxwell rose.

The heat gathering into the Circle became denser.

The incoming pellets continued moving.

They were now only a short distance away.

Then the Sun Alchemy Circle completed.

Golden light filled its structure.

Immediately…

Golden flames ignited.

They didn't explode outward.

They spiraled.

The flames rotated around one another as they gathered into a focused stream.

Then the entire mass of golden energy shot forward.

A Sun Beam.

It moved directly toward the incoming pellets.

The two attacks met in the space between Maxwell and Lyra.

The Sun Beam struck the first pellet.

The golden heat disintegrated it.

The pellet disappeared.

The Beam continued.

It struck another.

Then another.

The pellets were destroyed one after another as the Sun Beam continued forward.

The Overloaded E-V 26 MK.II had fired a powerful shot.

But Maxwell's Sun Alchemy was already consuming the attack.

The Beam didn't stop after destroying the pellets.

It continued toward Lyra.

Lyra's eyes widened slightly.

The golden light reflected across her white and purple eyes.

She could see the Beam coming straight toward her.

There was almost no time left to move.

The light reached her position.

BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!

A loud explosion echoed across the arena.

The spectators reacted to the sound.

Some flinched.

Others raised their hands instinctively.

But the explosion was not caused by the Sun Beam suddenly releasing its full power.

The sound came after the Sun Beam struck the Force Field protecting the spectators.

The barrier trembled.

Ripples spread across its surface.

The transparent wall shook under the impact before stabilizing again.

Nothing more happened.

The Force Field held.

The Sun Beam continued for a short moment before finally stopping.

The golden light faded.

The battlefield became visible again.

The people watching the platform stared.

Then they saw Lyra.

She was no longer standing on the fight platform.

She was outside it.

Her body lay flat against the ground.

Her back rested against the surface while her face pointed toward the sky.

For a moment, she simply remained there.

Her chest rose and fell.

"Ah…"

Her breath came out unevenly.

"Ah…Ah…"

Lyra panted.

The heat had left her breathing hard.

She continued staring upward.

The sky above the arena was visible from where she lay.

The cold air felt different against her face after the heat of the Sun Beam.

Lyra slowly moved one arm.

She didn't immediately try to stand.

"That was really hot."

She said to herself.

Her voice carried a tired edge.

She remained on her back for another moment, staring at the sky.

The place where the Sun Beam had traveled across the platform told the story of what had happened.

The ground had been marked by disintegration.

A long path had been carved across the surface.

The material that had stood in the Beam's path had not simply been pushed aside.

It had been destroyed.

Even the damaged platform now carried another mark from Maxwell's Sun Alchemy.

Smoke slowly rose from the scorched path.

Small pieces of broken rock rested around the edges.

The heat continued to linger in the air.

And across the arena, the spectators stared at the battlefield, slowly realizing what they had just witnessed.

Lyra had remained in the match.

She had fired an Overloaded E-V 26 MK.II at Maxwell.

Maxwell had answered with Sun Alchemy.

And in a single exchange, the Sun Beam had destroyed the incoming pellets before reaching Lyra and forcing her outside the fight platform.

Above the battlefield, the Holographic Screens captured the aftermath.

Maxwell remained on the platform.

Ravenor was still somewhere above the arena, recovering from the earlier explosion.

And Lyra lay outside the platform, breathing heavily beneath the open sky.

The Best Loser's Match was still going.