Chapter 590: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Sun vs The Gun II

Is it because of the difficulty of this fight?

Ezra thought to himself.

His eyes remained fixed on Maxwell as the memory of his time in the Sterling House continued to linger at the edge of his mind.

He still couldn’t understand why that memory had surfaced now.

There was nothing about the present situation that should have reminded him of it.

At least, not directly.

Then Maxwell’s voice came from very close to him.

"You do know the fight has started, right?"

Ezra’s plain black eyes immediately shifted toward the incoming fist.

Maxwell’s right fist was already in front of him.

Whoosh!

Ezra moved both legs and tilted his body toward the left, shifting just enough for Maxwell’s punch to pass cleanly beside him.

The fist missed his face by only a small distance.

The wind produced by the attack violently pushed against Ezra’s clothes.

His training clothes fluttered from the force packed into Maxwell’s punch, while Ezra’s hair moved across his forehead.

Maxwell did not pause.

The moment his right fist passed Ezra, his left fist came across in a cross punch.

Ezra adjusted his posture in the same motion.

His body shifted toward the opposite side.

The punch passed only inches from his training clothes.

Maxwell’s eyes followed him.

His right leg immediately rose.

The air parted around his leg as he turned the movement into a push kick aimed directly at Ezra’s chest.

Ezra stepped backward several times.

Then he suddenly lowered his body and performed a side somersault toward his right.

Maxwell’s left leg swept through the space where Ezra had been a moment earlier.

A hook kick.

Ezra completed the rotation.

His boot touched the ground.

At that moment...

"AHHHHH!!!"

Maxwell was already slightly above the platform.

His right fist tightened.

Cognis rushed through his arm and gathered around his fist.

The muscles in his arm tensed as he prepared to drive the attack downward.

Ezra’s eyes narrowed slightly, then he jumped backward.

BOOM!

Maxwell’s fist slammed into the platform.

The stone cracked heavily beneath him.

The impact sent broken pieces of rock flying into the air, and even loose snow from the edges of the battlefield was thrown upward by the shockwave.

Ezra landed several meters away.

His boots slid slightly across the platform before he steadied himself.

His eyes never left Maxwell.

Like Cyrus said.

He’s fast.

And really strong.

Ezra looked at Maxwell as the young Sun Alchemist slowly raised himself from the crater he had created.

Although, he’s not stronger than Diane.

Ezra’s gaze moved across Maxwell’s stance.

I can see him being stronger than the Young Lord, though, which makes him difficult to face in close combat.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

But that’s just it.

I already realized Maxwell’s weakness.

Ezra calmly raised his arms.

His feet shifted.

His body settled into a Tai Chi stance.

His visible weakness is his combat ability seems only oriented at facing Monsters not humans who properly knows how to use martial art.

The movement was smooth and controlled, with one hand positioned forward while the other remained closer to his body.

Maxwell looked at him with slight confusion.

He rolled his right shoulder once.

"I’ve never seen a stance like that."

His eyes remained on Ezra.

"Isn’t that the same stance you used when you faced Desmond and Lady Willow Derlis?"

An excited smile appeared on Maxwell’s face.

"Let’s see what this stance is abo—"

Before Maxwell could finish speaking...

Ezra disappeared and appeared directly in front of him.

Maxwell’s eyes widened.

Was he always this fast?

The thought barely formed before his body reacted.

His right fist moved forward in a cross punch.

Ezra saw the attack coming directly toward his face.

He didn’t panic.

He simply leaned slightly to the side.

The punch passed beside his face.

At the same time, Ezra’s right hand moved upward.

His fingers caught Maxwell’s wrist.

Grab.

Ezra held it firmly.

Before Maxwell could react, Ezra rose from his lowered position and twisted his body.

The movement pulled Maxwell’s right arm along with him.

The redirection was quick.

There was no wasted motion.

Ezra used Maxwell’s own momentum to turn his body.

At the same time...

Ezra’s right knee rose toward Maxwell’s face.

Bam!

Maxwell immediately raised his left hand.

His palm caught Ezra’s knee before it could reach his face.

For a brief moment, Maxwell tried to grab Ezra’s leg.

But Ezra moved his knee downward before Maxwell could secure his grip.

The moment Ezra’s right boot touched the ground, he released Maxwell’s twisted arm.

He jumped upward.

His body moved slightly as he drove his left elbow toward the side of Maxwell’s neck.

The elbow connected as Ezra landed.

"Argh!"

Maxwell’s body nearly collapsed from the impact.

His legs, however, held firm.

The pain spread through the side of his neck.

He barely had time to register it.

The air shifted.

Maxwell’s instincts reacted.

He turned his body forward while raising his right hand.

BAM!

Ezra’s right knee struck directly against Maxwell’s palm.

The force pushed Maxwell backward.

He took several steps before straightening his body.

But Ezra was already moving.

Whoosh!

Ezra appeared in front of him.

Thud!

His boot stepped directly onto Maxwell’s right boot.

Maxwell’s eyes widened slightly.

It was not simply Ezra’s speed.

The way Ezra grounded Maxwell’s leg while moving made it difficult for Maxwell to shift his stance.

His balance was being controlled.

Then...

BOOM!

Ezra’s fist struck Maxwell’s stomach.

Maxwell’s body bent slightly from the impact.

He gritted his teeth.

His golden eyes sharpened.

Ezra’s other fist came in.

Maxwell raised his left arm.

BAM!

He blocked it.

Ezra attacked again.

Maxwell raised his right arm.

BAM!

Another block.

The two moved rapidly at close range.

Ezra’s fists came from different angles.

Maxwell’s arms shifted constantly as he blocked each attack.

Their feet moved across the platform in short steps.

Neither allowed the other to establish a comfortable position.

Ezra’s left hand suddenly moved away from Maxwell’s boot.

His right leg followed.

He kicked toward the side of Maxwell’s leg.

Maxwell reacted quickly.

He planted his foot firmly against the ground and absorbed the kick without allowing his leg to collapse.

He immediately retaliated.

His right fist moved forward with greater force.

Ezra’s left hand rose.

He did not block the fist.

Instead, his palm gently touched the outer edge of Maxwell’s right fist.

Then he redirected it.

The punch moved farther toward the left side.

Maxwell’s eyes followed his own fist.

Before he could correct his balance...

Whoosh!

The world suddenly turned upside down.

Maxwell didn’t even realize when Ezra had guided his entire body into a rotation.

His feet left the ground.

His body turned through the air.

His golden eyes widened as the platform suddenly appeared above him.

Then he saw something else.

A handgun.

It was already floating beside Ezra.

The weapon rotated rapidly in the air.

"Tsk."

Maxwell clicked his tongue.

His right hand rose immediately.

KZZRAK!

The sound of Alchemy execution echoed from Maxwell’s side.

Golden Cognis gathered around his palm.

A Sun Alchemy Circle began forming.

The Alchemy Symbols appeared one after another around the structure, glowing with golden light as the Circle took shape.

A small piece of Novarite stone flew out from Maxwell’s space bag.

It moved directly toward the forming Sun Alchemy Circle.

At almost the same moment, Ezra caught the handgun, which had been controlled out of his space bag through Alchemy Levitation.

Ezra’s hand closed around the weapon.

He stretched his arm forward.

The muzzle of the Desert Eagle pointed accurately toward Maxwell’s shoulder.

His plain black eyes remained steady.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Ezra fired rapidly.

The bullets left the Desert Eagle one after another.

They traveled toward Maxwell while he remained upside down in the air.

The distance between the bullets and Maxwell disappeared quickly.

BOOM!

The small Novarite exploded.

The Sun Alchemy Circle had finally completed.

Golden flames burst out from the tiny Novarite.

Despite coming from such a small source, the flames expanded in a huge mass before flowing into the Sun Alchemy Circle.

The Alchemy Symbols brightened.

They began rotating rapidly.

Golden light spread across the Circle.

Maxwell remained upside down in the air.

He moved his hand backward.

The Golden Flames flowing from the Sun Alchemy Circle gathered around his fist.

They wrapped around his hand.

Heat spread through the surrounding air.

Maxwell’s expression tightened.

"AHHHH!"

He punched forward.

BOOM!

The air parted violently.

A Solar Beam exploded from his fist.

It moved forward with incredible speed.

The incoming bullets from the Desert Eagle entered its path.

The Solar Beam instantly melted them.

The bullets disappeared before they could reach Maxwell.

The beam continued forward.

Now it was coming directly toward Ezra.

The platform beneath it was only a few inches away.

Yet the stone began disintegrating from the heat.

A narrow section of the ground disappeared as the Solar Beam moved over it.

Ezra’s plain black eyes stared at the incoming attack.

His expression remained unchanged.

His mind, however, was already processing what he was seeing.

From the Book of Memories, and also from the little information I found about the study of the Realm of Stars...

The Sun is basically a ball of plasma made up of seventy-three to seventy-four percent Hydrogen, twenty-four to twenty-five percent Helium, and other elements such as oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.

His eyes remained fixed on the incoming Solar Beam.

Although, the Alchemy of the Sun takes these properties to triple the level...

The heat distortion around the beam continued approaching.

Maxwell is still in the Meister Alchemist rank.

Ezra’s gaze lowered slightly toward the attack.

And thankfully...

I’m in the Adept Alchemist rank.

His other hand began moving.

Spark!!!

A sharp, lightning-like sound erupted from Ezra’s hand.

Cognis rapidly flowed into it.

White Cognis spread across his fingers and palm, moving around his hand like thin streaks of lightning.

The white Cognis met the incoming Solar Beam.

The two forces collided.

The air between them, distorted.

The heat pushed against Ezra’s body.

His clothes were blown backward by the pressure.

His boots pressed firmly against the platform as he held his ground.

Then...

BOOM!