Chapter 606: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Final VI

Earlier, before the present moment...

At the seating section where the Elders and High Board members of the Duke Houses sat, the atmosphere had become much heavier than it had been at the beginning of the final match.

The people sitting there were used to seeing powerful Alchemy.

Some of them had watched wars.

Some had witnessed high-ranking Alchemists fight across battlefields where entire sections of land were destroyed.

Others had lived during the period when Andraver stood at the height of Britannia’s Alchemy world and had personally witnessed the overwhelming power of the Sun Alchemy Path.

Yet even they found it difficult to ignore what was happening on the fight platform.

Sparks of golden light and white light continued to flash across the battlefield.

Explosions followed one after another.

The sound of gunshots repeatedly pierced through the arena, sometimes disappearing beneath the roar of Maxwell’s Alchemy before returning a moment later.

Clouds of hot steam covered large parts of the fight platform, while waves of heat moved through the arena and caused the air itself to tremble.

"SEE!"

Elder Fredricks suddenly stood from his seat.

He pointed toward the fight platform with one hand, his face carrying a proud smile as though he had personally created the spectacle taking place below.

"This is the power of Ashenlocke’s Jewel of Ash!"

His voice carried across the seating area.

He looked toward the Elders and High Board members of the other Duke Houses, clearly enjoying their reactions.

A few of them turned toward him with annoyed expressions.

One Elder slowly rubbed his forehead.

Another simply looked away.

Most ignored him altogether.

Fredricks, however, did not seem bothered.

He continued looking at the battlefield with the same pride.

The area was already filled with conversations.

People were discussing the fight, the strange firearm Vera had revealed, Maxwell’s Sun Alchemy, and the level of power being displayed by both young Alchemists.

The power Maxwell had shown still kept many of the Elders and High-board members who had already watched him display the same power in the previous matches, speechless and amazed.

For those who had been alive when Andraver was still around, the sight always carried that strange familiarity.

It was not the same.

Of course, it was not.

What Maxwell was displaying was only a fragment of the destructive power and dominance Andraver had once shown through Sun Alchemy.

Still, watching Maxwell fight against one of the most promising young geniuses of his generation made one thing difficult to deny.

The boy was far above most of the other young Alchemists of his age.

And he was still growing.

"Tsk!"

The Fourth Elder of Burnwick, one of the eight Elders of the Duke House, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

At the Burnwick seating area...

Some of the Burnwicks wore displeased expressions.

Others looked amused by the situation.

A few simply watched the fight with serious faces.

Fredricks’ proud voice continued to echo from nearby, making the Fourth Elder’s expression grow even more unpleasant.

"We should have control of this power, yet we are just allowing a Commoner to have his way with something so powerful."

The Fourth Elder shook his head.

His eyes remained fixed on Maxwell.

There was clear displeasure in his voice.

"We should have control of this power."

He repeated the thought more quietly, his fingers tightening against the armrest.

"The Sun Alchemy Path has always been connected to the Flame Alchemy Path in one way or another. If that boy truly inherited Andraver’s Path, then allowing him to remain outside the control of a Duke House is..."

"How sure are you that the Maxwell child is of Commoner blood?"

The Second Elder of Burnwick interrupted him.

She was the mother of the current Duke of Burnwick, and unlike the Fourth Elder, her expression remained calm.

Her question made the Fourth Elder look toward her.

"He doesn’t have a surname, and his blood is unknown."

He answered with confidence, as though the conclusion required no further discussion.

"And you know the result of our research on his background."

A High Board member added calmly.

The Fourth Elder’s eyes narrowed on the Second Elder.

The subject had already been investigated.

They had looked into Maxwell’s background.

They had searched for connections.

They had searched for family.

They had searched for anything that could explain why a boy with no known noble surname possessed an Alchemy Path that should have been lost with Andraver.

The results had not given them the answer they wanted.

Maxwell was truly just a commoner, nothing special.

"His luck is that the Royal Family is protecting him, and especially Alister."

The Fourth Elder tightened his right hand.

"Or else I would have gone up to the child since he revealed the Path."

He glanced toward the fight platform again.

"We of the Burnwick deserve to know the truth behind the Sun Alchemy Path. That Path aligns with our Flame Alchemy Path."

A few of the Burnwick High Board members nodded.

They understood his reasoning.

The appearance of a new Sun Alchemist was not a small matter.

For a Duke House whose Alchemy Path was closely tied to flames, the existence of such a person could not simply be ignored.

But before the Fourth Elder could continue...

"Quiet down, Rufus."

The Sixth Elder of Burnwick frowned.

Her eyes turned toward him.

"We have had this conversation time and time again."

Her voice remained controlled, but the irritation behind it was obvious.

"The order we received from Lord Aldous was that any thoughts about the Disciple of Andraver should be spoken during the Grand Meeting, not here or even now."

She stared directly at Rufus.

Elder Rufus Burnwick met her gaze.

Around him, the other Elders also looked displeased.

He could tell from their faces that they had no intention of continuing the argument.

The Third Elder finally spoke.

"If you continue like this, you will sound more like Fredricks over there."

He pointed toward Fredricks at the Ashenlocke seating area.

Fredricks was still speaking loudly, apparently making mocking comments toward the other Elders and High Board members of the Duke Houses.

Rufus’ expression immediately became more unpleasant.

Being compared to Fredricks seemed to annoy him more than the previous criticism.

An Elder of Drakes, who had apparently grown tired of Fredricks’ mouth running without stopping, eventually made a few comments toward him.

He pointed out that while Fredricks was busy boasting, Vera was still struggling against Maxwell in their ongoing battle.

That comment immediately made Fredricks irritated.

The Burnwick seating section slowly returned its attention to the fight.

The conversations continued, but they became more focused on the battle itself.

Maxwell’s Sun Alchemy remained the main subject.

So did Vera’s ability to continue fighting against him.

Many were trying to understand how a young Gun Alchemist could remain on equal ground with someone displaying such destructive Alchemy.

Others revisited the Tenth-Round match between Ezra and Maxwell.

They discussed how Ezra had used Alchemy Levitation with an impressive level of control for an Adept Alchemist.

Then there were the firearms.

The weapons Ezra had used had already surprised many of them.

Now Vera had revealed another firearm.

A weapon capable of firing blue lightning.

Another strange creation from the Ashenlocke House.

There were simply too many shocking things happening before their eyes.

And for the Ashenlocke House, those things could become the wings they needed to restore their influence.

That was what many of the Elders and High Board members of Ash were thinking.

They understood the value of what they were seeing.

Ezra had already demonstrated what a Gun Alchemist could accomplish.

Vera was now showing something different.

She was fighting against the new Sun Alchemist of Britannia while revealing yet another weapon that none of them had seen before.

If the Ashenlocke children continued to develop at this rate, the position of their House could change greatly.

Still, most of the Ashenlockes did not show as much reaction as Elder Fredricks.

They could not celebrate yet.

The battle between their Lady of Ash and the new Sun Alchemist was still ongoing.

There was no point in celebrating before the result had been decided.

So, they waited.

They watched.

And they hoped Vera would somehow pull off something miraculous and win the Combat Festival.

The battlefield was still covered by heat and steam.

Every few seconds, flashes of golden light or white Cognis appeared through the haze.

Even from this distance, the High Board members could tell that neither side had given up.

The final result remained uncertain.

At the seating section of the High Powers of Britannia, the atmosphere was much quieter.

Compared with the other sections around the arena, almost no one was speaking.

All the present Dukes and Duchesses, the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches, and the Vice Headmaster of the Royal Academy remained seated.

They watched the battle quietly and attentively.

There was no need for loud discussion here.

Everyone already understood that the battle below was important.

A few of the Duchesses who were lower-ranking Alchemists watched through the Holographic Screens.

Their eyes followed the screens because their own perception was not enough to properly catch every movement occurring on the platform.

The Queen was doing the same.

Her eyes remained fixed on the Holographic Screen.

Her grip tightened slightly around the Vera merchandise hand fan she was holding.

To the servants and guard positions in different corners of the place.

The sight was rather amusing considering her position.

The Queen of Britannia was sitting among the most powerful people in the Kingdom, yet she was holding a Vera fan like an ordinary supporter who had already decided which side she wanted to win.

The Duchesses of Ash and the Young Lord of Ash had been allowed to sit close to the Queen, near where the other Flowers of Britannia were seated.

Bale Ashenlocke and Byron Ashenlocke had also been allowed to sit with the Duchesses of Ash.

Both Veda and Bale were watching the battle.

Their eyes remained fixed on Vera.

The worry in their expressions was difficult to hide.

Veda’s hands were held together near his chest.

Bale leaned forward slightly, his eyes following the flashes of golden and white light across the Holographic Screen.

The two of them knew how strong Vera was.

They also knew how stubborn she could be.

But Maxwell’s power had reached a level that even they could not ignore.

"Little Vera is really doing her best."

The Queen spoke with a pleased smile.

Her eyes remained on the Holographic Screen.

"She has always been one to never show panic in the face of trouble."

Duchess Hailey Ashenlocke smiled as she watched the battle.

Her tone carried clear approval.

"But I can’t even understand what is going on, so I’m just going to assume Vera is controlling the battle the way she always does."

She spoke with an unserious expression.

The Queen glanced toward her.

For a moment, neither woman said anything.

Another explosion flashed across the Holographic Screen.

Golden light swallowed part of the image before the screen adjusted.

"A firearm which shoots out blue lightning, huh."

The Queen’s attention shifted toward the displayed image.

The Holographic Screen had focused on the V-01 VOLT Rifle.

For a moment, the weapon filled the screen.

The strange firearm was held firmly in Vera’s hands, while blue electricity crawled around its mechanical section.

The Queen watched the weapon with interest.

The sight of a Gun Alchemist creating something new was hardly surprising anymore.

But the fact that Vera had created a firearm capable of producing that kind of attack was worth the notice.

"By the way."

The Queen turned her head.

Her eyes moved toward Willow Derlis.

"How is little Diane?"

She asked calmly.

The question came naturally, almost as if she had only just remembered the other young genius who had fought earlier in the Combat Festival.

Willow turned her attention away from the Holographic Screen and toward the Queen.

Around them, the battle continued to unfold.

Golden light flashed.

Gunshots echoed.

The arena shook faintly beneath another distant explosion.

Yet within the Royal seating area, the question hung calmly between them, waiting for Willow’s answer.