Chapter 587: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The End of the First Semifinal Match

Vera had lost almost all of her firearms during her clash with Diane.

But she still had two of her strongest sets of firearms.

And she had purposely kept them unused for this exact moment.

A moment when Diane would finally decide to utilize her Mass Alchemy for a wider attack.

The remaining RPG-2s and BAR M1918s were already lined up behind Vera in the air.

Their barrels pointed directly toward Diane.

One by one, white Cognis continued to flow into the firearms.

The Cognis moved rapidly through their bodies, gathering around their mechanisms and reinforcing every part of the weapons as the white glow grew stronger.

Then the firearms entered the state of Overload.

The air around them seemed to become heavier from the amount of Cognis gathered in such a small space.

Vera stood beneath the formation of firearms, her dull black eyes fixed on Diane.

Across the damaged platform, Diane and her remaining Ice Clones continued glowing.

The temperature around the fight arena dropped more.

Cold air began flowing rapidly toward Diane’s right palm.

It moved from every direction.

The fog around the platform was pulled toward her.

Small pieces of ice scattered across the ground also lifted slightly before being drawn toward the growing mass of cold air.

Then the Ice Clones began moving.

One after another, they were sucked toward the condensed ice ball forming above Diane’s palm.

Their bodies dissolved into the attack.

The Ice Clones disappeared into the mass of frozen energy, adding their own Frost Alchemy to the growing attack.

The ball kept condensing.

And condensing.

The large mass of ice became smaller.

The smaller it became, the denser it grew.

What had once been a large ball gradually compressed into something much smaller, yet the pressure coming from it continued increasing.

Diane’s half-closed light-blue eyes remained locked on Vera.

Vera’s dull black eyes remained locked on Diane.

Neither girl looked away.

The spectators could feel that something had changed again.

The arena had become strangely quiet despite the enormous amount of Cognis gathering between them.

Then...

"AHHHHH!!!"

"AHHHHH!!!"

Both girls stretched their hands forward.

Their powerful attacks ignited.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The firearms fired almost at the same time.

The remaining RPG-2s launched their grenades.

Even the two RPG-2s Vera was standing on fired.

The recoil shook the air beneath her.

The force of the launch pushed against Vera’s training clothes, causing them to flutter violently for a moment.

The BAR M1918s fired rapidly.

Their barrels shook from the repeated gunfire as bullet after bullet was released within milliseconds.

Hundreds of rounds moved toward Diane.

The sky above the damaged platform seemed to fill with bullets.

The sound of the gunfire merged together until it became one continuous roar.

Meanwhile, Diane blew out a large mass of light-blue ice from her right hand.

The attack surged forward.

It was not simply cold air.

The ice moved like a massive frozen wave, freezing everything it touched.

The ground beneath it whitened.

The remaining moisture in the air froze as the attack passed.

Pieces of broken stone became covered in frost.

The light-blue attack and Vera’s white barrage moved toward each other rapidly.

The distance between them disappeared.

Many of the spectators who were still seated stood up.

Some watched the holographic screens.

Others stared directly at the actual battlefield, even though the force field and the enormous attacks made it difficult to see everything clearly.

White.

Light-blue.

The two attacks met.

BOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!

The entire arena shook.

The RPG-2 grenades exploded loudly.

Smoke and fire erupted around the point of impact while the bullets crashed into the ice beam.

Thousands of impacts occurred almost at once.

Bullets struck the condensed ice.

The ice swallowed some of them.

Others broke through.

The force of the collision sent cold wind across the entire fight arena.

The two Cognis lights pushed against each other, spreading across the battlefield and blocking parts of the spectators’ view.

The force field surrounding the platform trembled violently.

The protective barrier rippled.

For a moment, it looked as though the entire wall might buckle from the pressure.

But it held firmly.

The Royal Academy’s defensive systems continued to absorb the force.

Several seconds passed before the fight area began clearing.

The temperature had dropped sharply.

Cold air now filled the entire battlefield.

A thin layer of fog drifted across the platform.

The remains of broken ice lay everywhere.

Spent bullets were scattered across the ground.

Smoke from the RPG-2 explosions slowly disappeared.

"Ahh... Ahh... Ahh... Ahh..."

Vera breathed heavily.

She finally dropped down from the two RPG-2s she had been standing on.

Her boots touched the ground.

The two RPG-2s fell behind her.

Their damaged bodies hit the platform and crumbled into dust.

The same thing had happened to all of her remaining firearms.

The hundreds of weapons she had relied on throughout the battle were now gone.

Vera slowly looked around.

The fight platform was half-frozen.

Large portions of the stone surface were covered in ice, while other sections had been cracked apart by the earlier explosions and attacks.

She breathed out once before looking forward.

"That ice beam was dangerous."

Vera said casually.

There was no complaint in her voice.

She simply acknowledged the attack while looking toward Diane.

Diane was walking toward her.

Both girls looked like a mess.

Their clothes had been damaged from the fight.

Their bodies carried small cuts and marks from the attacks they had exchanged.

Diane’s right hand looked slightly frozen.

The pale skin was covered with a thin layer of ice.

It didn’t seem to bother her.

She raised the hand slightly.

Crack.

Diane cracked her right hand.

The ice covering it broke apart and fell to the ground in small pieces.

Blood was still dripping from the small cuts she had received earlier.

Some of those cuts had already frozen over, stopping the bleeding.

Diane looked down at her hand for only a moment before lowering it.

Vera also had several cuts across her body.

Small freezing marks covered parts of her skin.

Her breathing remained heavy, but her expression had not changed much.

"Ahhhhh."

She exhaled loudly and dryly.

Then Vera started walking toward Diane.

Her pace was slow.

Diane also continued walking.

Neither girl rushed.

Their previous attacks had destroyed most of the distance between them and left the platform in ruins, but now the two Flowers were approaching the center of the training ground on foot.

With every step, their boots pressed against the frozen surface.

The sound was faint compared to the explosions from moments ago.

For a brief moment, Vera’s mind returned to another time.

The memory of the two of them walking toward the center of a training ground came back to her.

They had been little children then.

Only ten years old.

And now...

They had grown into fifteen-year-olds.

Years had passed.

New things had been learned.

New skills had been developed.

Their bodies had grown stronger.

Their understanding of Alchemy had expanded.

And their strength had reached a point where they were considered the strongest of their year, while also standing above many adult Alchemists.

The two girls continued walking toward each other.

The Jewel of Ash.

Against.

The Ice Giant of Berg.

The names echoed through the minds of the spectators who had watched their journey throughout the Combat Festival.

Then...

Boom! Boom!

The two figures disappeared.

They flashed toward each other.

The distance between them closed within milliseconds.

Diane moved first.

Her right fist shot forward.

The air parted around her arm as the punch traveled toward Vera’s face.

Vera raised her left hand.

She did not block the punch directly.

Instead, her palm touched Diane’s right hand and pushed it slightly to the side.

She used the momentum redirection Martial Art Ezra had taught her.

Diane’s fist moved past Vera’s face.

At the same moment, Vera’s right hand moved.

Her fingers closed.

Her fist tightened.

She immediately punched toward Diane’s head.

Diane reacted.

Instead of moving away, she moved her head forward.

Her own movement brought her directly toward Vera’s fist.

But she didn’t feel anything.

Diane’s half-closed eyes shifted.

Vera’s fist was suspended in front of her face.

It had stopped before reaching her.

Diane immediately understood.

The punch had never been the true attack.

Her eyes moved sharply.

Vera’s left elbow was already coming toward her.

Whoosh.

Diane bent down.

Her body folded beneath the incoming elbow with surprising flexibility.

Vera’s elbow stopped just above Diane’s head.

Diane remained bent for only an instant before immediately turning toward her left.

She moved away as Vera’s right knee rose toward the space where Diane’s body had been.

Vera had made her think for a second that the elbow was the real attack.

But she had actually been preparing the knee.

Diane’s instincts reacted quickly enough to avoid it.

She turned her body.

Her feet touched the ground.

She immediately faced Vera again.

But there was no Vera standing directly in front of her.

Only an afterimage remained.

Diane’s eyes shifted.

She turned her face toward Vera’s actual position.

Her senses suddenly screamed.

The air around Vera had changed.

Vera’s legs shifted apart.

Her feet grounded firmly against the frozen platform.

Her entire weight settled onto one leg.

Then the stored natural force began moving upward.

From her leg.

Through her body.

Into her right arm.

And finally...

Into her fist.

Diane recognized the stance.

This was the same strike Veda had once used against Ravenor during their match in the eighth round of the Combat Festival.

The powerful counterattack of the Steel Dragon Arts.

But this time, Diane was the one standing in front of it.

Vera was about to use that heavy punch against her.

Diane’s expression sharpened.

Her own right fist tightened.

She shifted one leg backward.

Her body lowered slightly.

Then she positioned herself to use the best move of the Titan Arts of her family.

Diane launched her own powerful strike.

Her hand moved like a missile.

Vera’s fist moved at almost the same time.

Both fists traveled toward each other.

The air between them compressed.

***

Instant Force.

It was a technique Vera had created herself after studying both the Steel Dragon Arts and the Steel Snake Arts.

Normally, within the Ashenlocke Household, a child was only expected to learn one of the Martial Arts within the Steel Sutra.

Since the Martial Arts were meant to support their Gun Alchemy Combat skills.

But Vera wanted something that fit her.

Something that worked with the way she fought.

An Art that blended with her ability to know what would happen next before it happened.

An Art that matched her manipulation during combat.

An Art that allowed her to change her attacks instantly in real time.

Vera could create afterimages by instantly increasing the force of her current speed.

That alone made it difficult for many Young Alchemists to fight her at close range.

But Diane was different.

She had the physical ability to keep up.

And her battle instincts were so natural and fast enough to respond to Vera’s sudden changes and create counters of her own.

Just like the battle between them when they were young.

But there was another question.

What would happen if Diane’s battle instincts were not fast enough to react to a sudden change of attack, even if she was already aware of the attack?

***

WHOOOSH!!!!!!

The air moved rapidly across Vera’s cheek.

A thin cut appeared.

Blood immediately dripped from it.

Diane’s half-closed eyes widened.

She had missed.

She didn’t hit Vera with her right hand.

She had thought she would.

But the fist in front of her had not been the real attack.

Diane’s eyes shifted toward Vera’s left hand.

It was only inches from her face.

The same force that had been gathered in Vera’s right hand had been completely transferred to her left.

Vera had changed the attack at the final moment.

She had redirected the force from one hand to the other.

Diane’s eyes remained fixed on that hand.

Vera looked at her.

Her expression remained plain.

"This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you."

Vera said flatly.

Then...

BOOM!

The punch landed directly against Diane’s face.

The impact exploded outward.

Diane’s head was thrown back.

Crack.

At the same time, another sharp sound came from Vera’s hand.

BOOM!

The force of the collision was immense.

The bones in Vera’s left hand cracked hard from the impact of striking Diane’s face.

But that didn’t stop the force of Vera’s punch traveling strongly.

The ground beneath both girls cracked heavily.

And...

The punch sent Diane flying away from the platform.

Her body was launched through the air.

She rolled once.

Then again.

Her body finally slammed into the force field.

BOOM!

A ripple spread across the protective wall from the point of impact.

Diane spat out a small amount of blood.

"Argh!"

Her body slid down the force field.

She landed on her knees outside the platform.

For a moment, she remained there.

Her head lowered.

Her breathing was rough.

The arena had fallen strangely quiet.

Diane looked at the ground beneath her.

Then she remembered the words Vera had spoken before the match even began.

I will repay you back with the same punch.

Diane’s fingers tightened slightly against the ground.

She had never been the type to remember every word someone said to her.

Most words simply passed through her mind and disappeared.

But Vera was different.

Diane never forgot the important things Vera said.

At least, not when they truly mattered.

And those words mattered.

Diane slowly raised her head.

Across the battlefield, Vera was still standing.

Her left hand hung slightly lower because of the damage to its bones, but her dull black eyes remained fixed on Diane.

The first semifinal had finally reached its end.

The two Flowers had fought until almost everything around them had been destroyed.

And now, only one of them remained on the platform.