Chapter 603: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Final III

One of the busy streets in a large city around the Metallica Region had become crowded with people who had stopped whatever they were doing just to watch the final match of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.

A Broadcaster stood among the crowd with a microphone in his hand, his voice carrying over the noise of the street as the large Holographic Screen in front of him displayed the ongoing battle between Vera Ashenlocke and Maxwell.

"The Finals of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival have begun!!"

"Wooooaahhhh!!!"

"Yeahhhhhh!!!"

"Let’s go!!"

"Come on, Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!"

The people standing around shouted excitedly while keeping their eyes on the screen.

Some had left their work behind.

Others had stopped in the middle of their journey after hearing the broadcast.

Even people who had originally intended to continue walking had now gathered around the Holographic Screen, unwilling to miss the opening moments of the final.

The street was packed.

And this was not the only place where the final had taken over the day.

Similar scenes were unfolding throughout Britannia.

In another large city within the region of Ravenshire, a different group of people had gathered inside a luxurious theater house.

"The Final has just started, and Lady Vera Ashenlocke, the Jewel of Ash, has already taken a dominating stance! She is also using a new firearm that we of Britannia have never seen before!!!"

The Broadcaster’s excited voice echoed through the theater.

Several Nobles and non-Nobles sat around well-arranged tables and chairs, their attention fixed on the enormous Holographic Screen mounted at the front.

The room itself was luxurious, with polished floors, large windows, and tables prepared with food and drinks.

Some people quietly drank tea.

Others ate while keeping their eyes on the screen.

A few had stopped speaking altogether because they did not want to miss a single movement from either finalist.

Only the voices of the two Broadcasters filled the theater house.

The excitement had spread through almost the whole of Britannia.

Whether they were watching from a crowded street, a Noble residence, a restaurant, a theater, or their own homes, people were following the same battle.

Vera Ashenlocke against Maxwell.

Back at the Royal Academy Main Administrative Center, on the Arena’s fight platform, the attention was much more focused.

The moment Vera had taken out the mysterious firearm, the Elders of Ash and the members of the High Board immediately became more attentive.

Their eyes followed the weapon.

Vera had already revealed several unusual things throughout the Combat Festival.

Now she had brought out another one.

Elder Ivanhoe’s eyes sparkled with interest.

He leaned slightly forward in his seat, his attention fixed entirely on the firearm in Vera’s hand.

He wanted to see what it could do.

Maxwell did not give her much time.

More Cognis surged out from his body.

His muscles tightened as he pushed himself forward.

His foot struck the ground, and his body shot across the platform.

Only a moment earlier, he had been standing on the opposite side of the fight platform, still recovering from the punches Vera had landed on him.

Now he was already in front of her.

Vera had only just taken the mysterious firearm into her hand.

KZZRAK!

The sound of Alchemy execution rang through the battlefield as Maxwell formed his Sun Alchemy while closing the distance.

Golden Cognis gathered around his body, then rushed toward his hand as an Alchemy Circle formed.

"Even if you have something that makes you faster, I just have to improve the way I approach this fight."

Maxwell’s voice remained focused as he moved.

"I will learn a lot from this and grow stronger."

A small piece of Novarite stone appeared from his Space Bag under the control of Alchemy Levitation.

The Novarite floated beside him for a moment before he sent it upward, then it exploded.

Golden flames burned up in the air for a brief moment, before it all flowed rapidly into the Sun Alchemy Circle already formed.

His Sun Alchemy Circle ignited.

A concentrated Sun Lance formed within it.

Maxwell immediately thrust his arm forward.

The Sun Lance shot toward Vera.

Whoosh!

Vera bent down at the exact moment the attack passed over her.

The heat and wind from the Lance swept violently across her back, causing her black hair and clothes to flutter.

Maxwell’s eyes shifted toward the mysterious firearm in her left hand.

I don’t know what that firearm is about, but I’m not going to allow this weakness of mine to let anyone dominate me again.

His body continued moving.

Then...

BOOM!

A loud explosion erupted above Vera and Maxwell.

The sound came from the air overhead.

Vera did not need to look.

She already knew that another Novarite had exploded above them.

While Maxwell dashed towards her executing his Sun Alchemy, he actually controlled two Novarite from his space bag up in the air.

The blast pushed hot air downward and sent a brief shockwave across the platform.

KZZRAK!

A sparking sound came from Maxwell’s left hand.

Cognis rapidly gathered around his palm, forming another Sun Alchemy Circle while his other hand still controlled the first Sun Lance.

At almost the same moment, Vera turned her body sharply.

Maxwell swung the Sun Lance in his other hand.

The condensed Golden Flames cut through the air toward her.

KLANG!

Metal collided with the burning weapon.

Sparks scattered across the platform.

Vera had blocked the attack with her firearm.

The impact pushed her arm backward slightly, but she immediately adjusted her stance and held her ground.

The clash sent another wave of wind outward.

The temperature around them rapidly increased as Maxwell continued his second Alchemy.

His Sun Alchemy Circle absorbed the Golden Flames gathering around him.

The glow intensified.

Then the Circle ignited.

The light spread upward, and small Sun Spears began forming high above the battlefield.

Several of them fell almost immediately.

BOOM!

Another crashed into the platform.

BOOM!

A second struck only a short distance away.

Vera’s figure faded from where she stood as another Small Sun Spear slammed into the ground.

The attack shattered stone and sent pieces of debris outward.

Vera reappeared several steps away, her feet touching the platform lightly.

She did not stop.

She moved again.

Another Small Sun Spear descended.

Then another.

Then several more.

They crashed into the platform in rapid succession, each impact leaving another mark behind.

The rhythm was almost like rapid shots from a BAR M1918.

Maxwell had not forgotten his battle against Ezra.

After nearly losing in the tenth round, he had used the remaining break to train one particular thing.

The speed of his Alchemy attacks.

He had worked on increasing the speed at which some of his Sun Alchemy attacks could move so that it could imitate the rhythm of a rapid-firing Gun.

It was not enough to simply have powerful Alchemy.

If he could not bring that power attack faster into a fight quick enough, someone faster could control the pace before he had a chance to use it.

Now he was using that training.

The Small Sun Spears continued falling.

Vera moved left.

Then right.

She shifted her weight backward before stepping forward again, each movement taking her just outside the path of another spear.

Her legs moved swiftly beneath her as she continued avoiding the attacks.

Several Small Sun Spears pierced neatly into the ground behind her.

One struck close enough that hot air brushed across her cheek.

Vera did not turn her head.

She simply continued moving.

Maxwell watched her carefully.

If there is one thing, I realized from facing Ezra...

His eyes followed Vera’s movements.

It’s that Gun Alchemists like Ezra and Vera fight with the mind.

They did not simply attack.

They controlled the rhythm of the battle.

They forced their opponents to react.

And among everyone Maxwell had watched during the Combat Festival, Vera had displayed that ability more clearly than anyone else.

She had controlled the rhythm of almost every match she had fought.

She had moved in ways that made people believe she could see the future.

Vera continued moving.

Left.

Right.

Backward.

Forward.

The Small Sun Spears continued falling around her.

Maxwell suddenly changed his approach.

He released the Sun Lance in his hand.

Instead of letting it fall, he used Alchemy Levitation to suspend it in the air beside him.

His hand then came down toward the platform.

Cognis surged from his body.

A Sun Alchemy Circle rapidly formed beneath his palm.

The suspended Sun Lance immediately moved toward it.

The moment it touched the Circle, it was absorbed.

The Alchemy Circle brightened.

Then a concentrated Sun Ball emerged from its center.

Maxwell pushed his hand forward.

The Sun Ball shot toward Vera.

It moved much faster than the Small Sun Spears.

The surrounding air shook from its speed.

Vera’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She raised her right hand.

Her index and middle fingers moved upward.

Ten Repeater Sword Rifles immediately flew out from her Space Bag.

The firearms moved through the air and quickly joined together, forming a layered barrier directly in front of her.

The Sun Ball struck them.

BOOM!

The explosion spread across the platform.

The Repeater Sword Rifles absorbed the first impact.

Vera’s boots dragged against the ground.

She was pushed backward.

Her heels carved two short lines into the damaged stone as the force of the Sun Blast continued pressing against the firearms.

The rifles shook under the pressure.

Metal groaned.

Vera’s body leaned backward for a moment before she lowered her center of gravity and held her position.

Then...

KZZT!

A sound like a burst of lightning echoed from Vera’s side.

Cognis flowed into the mysterious firearm in her left hand.

The weapon was long and slim, almost like a metal rod.

Its handle was different from ordinary firearms.

Rather than having the usual shape designed around a conventional grip, it allowed Vera to hold the weapon almost as naturally as she would hold a rod.

The change began immediately after her Cognis entered it.

The first section of the firearm, a part with a circular marking around its body, began rotating rapidly.

KRRRRR...

The mechanical rotation became faster.

Small sparks jumped from the rotating section.

Then blue lightning ignited around it.

The faint blue light reflected against Vera’s face.

Her eyes remained fixed on Maxwell.

The Sun Blast continued pressing against the ten Repeater Sword Rifles.

The weapons began to shake harder.

Vera knew they would not hold for much longer.

She moved.

Her body slipped away from the position she had occupied.

At that exact moment, the Sun Blast finally broke through the joint defense of the Repeater Sword Rifles.

BOOM!

The blast crashed through the opening.

The remaining force slammed into the Force Field surrounding the Arena.

A loud explosion followed as the golden attack struck the barrier.

The Force Field rippled visibly.

A powerful gust spread across the platform.

Vera’s long black hair was blown backward as she landed several meters away.

Her training clothes moved with the wind.

She dropped into a kneeling shooting posture.

The mysterious firearm was now held with both hands.

The mechanical rotation within the weapon continued.

More blue lightning gathered around its circular section.

The sound of the mechanism grew louder as the weapon built up more energy.

Vera raised it.

Her eye moved toward the scope attached to the firearm.

She looked through it.

The world immediately changed.

The distance between herself and Maxwell seemed to collapse through the scope.

She could see him clearly.

Maxwell was already moving toward her.

His right hand stretched forward.

His body leaned into the attack as he closed the distance.

At the same time, several Small Sun Spears moved through the air under his control.

Vera’s eye remained behind the scope.

She saw everything.

Maxwell’s movement.

The position of his arm.

The direction of the Small Sun Spears.

The distance between them.

The mechanical rotation of the strange firearm beneath her hands.

And the blue lightning that continued building inside it.

Vera’s expression remained calm.

She simply waited for the right moment to fire.