Last Gun Alchemist

Lime, Bobby, and Ezra stared at Aliya as she continued covering her face in embarrassment.

Her shoulders trembled, her ears were still red.

”We should go,” Ezra said calmly, turning forward as if nothing had happened.

Lime and Bobby followed behind him.

”Ah...” Aliya lowered her hands slowly and saw the three boys already walking away.

”Wait for me!” she quickly dusted her skirt and hurried after them.

The tunnel ahead was long and dim. Their footsteps echoed against the stone walls. The air felt dry, and the faint smell of metal still lingered from the earlier trials.

”So, Lime,” Bobby said, tapping him lightly.

”Yeah?” Lime looked sideways.

”What did you dream about?”

Lime narrowed his eyes at him. ”Why would I tell you?”

Bobby froze for a second, thinking maybe he had crossed a line.

Then Lime suddenly smiled. ”Why the tense face? I was joking.”

He scratched his nose.

”It was about my family.”

”Oh.” Bobby let out a breath. ”I dreamt about mine too.”

The two boys laughed quietly. The laughter felt forced, but it helped.

”You guys must have finished the fifth stage earlier than me, right?” Ezra asked without turning around.

”Ah!” Bobby raised a finger. ”I think I came out first, I guess. When I came out I was immediately caught in the illusion so, I couldn’t tell who was first.”

”The stage was easy for me though,” Lime said, rubbing his nose proudly and lifting his chest slightly.

”At first, I thought I was screwed when I saw a shadow that looked exactly like me. But when we started fighting, I could tell right away... it wasn’t the same. It copied me, but it used my past moves.”

His eyes shifted forward as he remembered the fight.

Back then, he didn’t panic, he didn’t throw his Cognis around recklessly, he conserved it and moved only when necessary. He remembered Ezra’s voice in his head — Don’t waste it. Rotate it. Focus it.

For the first time, he felt like he had actually improved.

”Yeah,” Bobby added quickly, not wanting to fall behind. ”Mine was easy too.”

He scratched the back of his neck.

”The funny thing was, my shadow used the exact same strategy I used against that Highline girl. Same movements, same boosting pill timing. I almost laughed.”

But he hadn’t laughed then.

Because seeing himself fight like that... showed him something.

He had been predictable.

”Mine was harder,” Aliya said, brushing her hair back with her fingers as if she didn’t care much. ”But I ended it with style.”

She lifted her chin slightly.

But beneath the pride, she remembered clearly how the fight had started. The hesitation. The stiffness in her stance. The shadow exposing every weakness she didn’t even realize she still had.

As they walked, silence slowly fell between them.

Each of them had faced their own reflection and each of them had seen it.

We were really weak.

The thought settled heavily in their chests.

The three sighed almost at the same time.

Memories surfaced one after another.

Bobby remembered how Ezra beat him without mercy during training. Punches landing square on his guard, kicks striking his ribs when he lowered them, getting knocked down and forced to stand up again and again.

Ezra hadn’t treated him gently.

He struck his face, his stomach and his arms. Every mistake was punished until Bobby learned to block properly while under the effect of his strength-boost pill. He learned timing, he learned defense first before offense and he learned that boosting power meant nothing if his mind lagged behind.

Lime remembered the scolding.

He remembered failing to draw the alchemy circle for bullet creation properly. His lines shaky. His angles off.

He remembered the flicks to his forehead every time he failed to concentrate his Cognis to one point instead of spreading it like a leaking barrel.

The sting and the embarrassment.

And Aliya...

She shook her head lightly as she walked, remembering losing. Over and over again.

She remembered charging confidently only to get disarmed. She remembered trying to strike fast and getting countered before she even finished her swing. She remembered sparring sessions where she couldn’t land even one clean hit.

But she learned.

She learned how to split her staff smoothly, rotating from spear form into rod-and-gun stance without freezing. She still wasn’t perfect, but she could now perform gun alchemy without her staff slowing her down.

The three unconsciously rubbed their shoulders.

A chill crawled over their skin.

”Hard times,” they muttered together.

They continued walking until the tunnel widened.

At the far end stood a massive metal door engraved with mechanical patterns.

Gears embedded in the walls began to rotate.

** Welcome, Candidates **

** And congratulations on reaching the final stage of the Fourth Trial – Hell Maze **

The mechanical voice echoed loudly.

The door groaned as it split open, gears grinding until they finally locked into place.

Lime and Bobby clenched their fists tightly, their faces brightening.

We’re finally close to the end.

** Your task is to find the key for the exit of the Maze **

”Find the key?” Lime muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

** There are a few keys scattered around this part of the Maze **

** One key allows only four people to pass the exit **

** Good luck **

Silence returned.

The air felt heavier.

”Multiple keys are scattered around the Maze,” Aliya repeated, folding her arms. ”That means we just need to find one quickly, locate the exit, and leave safely.”

”No,” Ezra said calmly.

Aliya puffed her cheeks and looked away. ”Humph!”

”Why?” Bobby asked cautiously.

Ezra stepped slightly forward, staring into the dark passage beyond the door.

”This is the final part of the Maze,” he said. ”And it said there are multiple keys, but it didn’t say there are multiple exits.”

He paused, letting them think.

”In a maze, there’s usually one true exit. There can be many entrances, but only one way out.”

His gaze sharpened.

”That means every group that makes it this far will be placed in the same final section.”

The three of them slowly understood.

Every group, same area and same objective.

Only four allowed per key.

Bloodshed was inevitable.

”Ahhh...” Lime scratched the back of his head. ”So, we either protect our key... or steal one.”

”And protect it from being stolen,” Bobby added quietly.

”Should we wait?” Bobby raised his hand slightly. ”We could observe. Let other groups search and fight first. Then we ambush whoever is with a key near the exit.”

”That sounds nice,” Aliya nodded.

”Yeah,” Lime agreed. ”Damn Bobby, I didn’t know you had that kind of brain.” He tapped Bobby’s back with a grin.

”It’s a good idea,” Ezra said.

Bobby’s smile widened proudly.

”But it won’t be ideal,” Ezra added calmly.

Bobby’s proud smile slowly collapsed into a frown.

”First and most importantly, we don’t have time on our side,” Ezra said, tapping lightly on his wrist as if wearing an invisible watch.

”Huh? How do you know that?” Aliya stepped closer, staring at his face carefully as he stood in front of the open door.

”I’ve been counting the time since before we entered the Maze,” Ezra replied.

All three of them froze.

”Wait... what? How?” Lime blinked repeatedly, shaking his head.

”I just kept track mentally,” Ezra said. ”It’s not perfect. I lost count during some dangerous moments in the earlier stages, but I was able to keep tabs on what I could assume.”

He didn’t look proud, he just stated it like it was normal.

”So how much time do we have left?” Bobby asked, his voice lowering slightly.

”About one week,” Ezra answered. ”Maybe less. I don’t know the exact number of days. That’s the problem.”

He folded his arms.

”If we sit around waiting for other groups to find keys so we can ambush them, we might waste too much time. And if things go wrong, we’ll lose more of it.”

The weight of his words settled in.

”Okay,” Aliya said after a moment, folding her arms. ”Then we move quickly. We find a key fast and head straight for the exit before meeting other groups.”

”There’s still something else,” Ezra said.

Aliya looked at him sharply. ”What now?”

”This stage gives people the perfect opportunity to go after long-standing targets.”

His voice was steady.

Aliya’s expression changed. ”Are you saying Lady Pamela might come after you here?”

”I don’t know,” Ezra replied. ”And I wasn’t only referring to her. Anyone with a grudge could use this stage to settle it.”

Silence lingered, no more jokes.

”Let’s move,” Ezra said finally, stepping through the door.

Aliya followed closely behind him. Bobby and Lime exchanged a quick look before going in after her.

The door shut behind them with a heavy metallic thud.

***

Elsewhere in the Maze

”Sir Veda, I still can’t believe we might be the first to make it out of the Maze,” the only girl in his group said happily as they walked. Her steps were lighter now. The end was close.

”Yeah,” one of the boys added, stretching his arms over his head. ”I thought we’d fall behind after how slow we cleared the first stage.”

”It was thanks to Sir Veda,” the other boy said. ”We passed the second trial quickly because of him.”

”I was worried when I saw him injured,” the girl continued, clasping her hands together. ”He fought two Ground Apes alone. Two.”

Her eyes sparkled with admiration.

”He was amazing in the third stage too,” she went on. ”Helping that other group cross the terrains area.”

”We should also give that group credit too,” the boy on her left said. ”They let us pass the fourth stage without forcing a confrontation.”

”They had to,” she replied confidently. ”After Sir Veda helped them.”

They continued walking behind him, praising him openly.

These guys...

Veda glanced back slightly, feeling awkward.

I can hear everything.

He exhaled quietly.

Then...

His eyes sharpened.

Danger.

Bang!

A bullet ripped through the air, aimed directly at the boy on the right side of the girl.

Veda reacted instantly.

His hand moved faster than thought. A dagger flashed out from his space bag.

Clang!

Metal collided with metal.

The bullet was deflected sideways.

Before anyone could process what happened...

Lyra appeared from Veda’s left like a shadow breaking from the wall.

Her scythe sliced through the air toward the other boy.

Clang!

Veda intercepted again. Sparks flew as blade met blade.

Lyra laughed lightly and flipped backward, landing several meters away.

Standing behind her were Felix and his group.

Freed raised his revolver calmly, aiming at Veda.

”It seems you never learn, Veda,” Felix said with a smirk. His hands rested casually in his pockets.

”You’re still dragging dead weight around.” He laughed.

On his left stood Freed, steady and focused, revolver aimed.

Behind Felix stood the extra boy – Matthey, he had added to his team.

On his right was Lyra, resting her scythe lazily on her shoulder, her hood casting a shadow over her eyes.

”Felix,” Veda said coldly.

His grip tightened slightly on his dagger.

”What an unpleasant surprise.”

The air between the two groups grew heavy.

The Maze had stopped being quiet.