Last Gun Alchemist

A Day Before the Fourth Trial.

Felix and his group occupied their usual corner at the far-left edge of the hall.

They arranged themselves in an arc, forming a half-circle wall. The outer members stood like guards, while the stronger ones remained closer to the center. At the heart of it all sat Felix, legs crossed, one foot resting casually on the back of a kneeling boy who acted as his human stool.

The atmosphere around them was relaxed. Too relaxed.

Then...

”Make way for my Lady, you losers.”

A clear female voice echoed from behind them.

Page frowned. ”That voice...”

She leaned slightly to see past the crowd.

”Isn’t that Nina?”

Felix’s expression darkened the moment he heard Nina’s name.

Wherever Nina appeared...One person always followed.

”That means Lady Vera is here,” Lyra whispered, and for once, her usual playful smirk disappeared.

Even Gareth tilted his head slightly.

Why would Vera come here?

The boys and girls forming the arc parted slowly, one by one, as Nina walked through with proud steps, her chin raised. Behind her came Vera.

The murmurs began.

”It’s really Lady Vera...”

”What is she doing here?”

”She looks graceful as always...”

Vera walked without haste, her posture straight, movements smooth, like someone who expected the world to move aside for her.

Felix did not stand.

He crossed his legs tighter, keeping his foot on the kneeling boy as if to show he was unmoved.

”What brings you here, Vera?” he asked lazily. ”You’re in the middle of my group and acting all smug.”

He smirked. ”Who’s giving you that confidence?”

Vera tilted her head slightly. ”Felix boy.”

Her voice was soft, too soft.

”Who gave you permission to call me by my name?”

Her gaze settled on him. Calm and unblinking.

Felix felt it.

That subtle pressure.

He flinched almost invisibly.

”You’re the one standing in my territory,” he replied, forcing himself not to look away.

Vera blinked, then smiled.

”Oh?” She placed a finger gently against her lips.

”I didn’t know the Felix boy had grown into such a big boy.”

Around them, several members stiffened.

Shouldn’t it be ’big man’?

No one dared correct her.

”You’ve even developed a hobby.”

Her eyes shifted to the kneeling boy.

”Using boys as furniture.”

She clapped lightly.

”Everyone, let’s applaud your leader. For his growth. And his fascinating human stool fetish.”

She smiled sweetly.

No one moved, no one could clap.

The air became tight and awkward.

Nina broke the silence.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Fast, loud and sharp.

”That’s my Lady!” Nina grinned before turning her glare on the rest. ”Are you all deaf? My Lady said clap.”

Lyra joined in immediately, laughing.

”Hehehe, congratulations, Felix. You’ve grown.”

Slowly, unwillingly, a few hands tapped together.

Freed, Matthey, and two others covered their faces in silent embarrassment.

Felix’s jaw tightened.

”Why does it sound like you’re mocking him?” Page muttered.

”Because I am,” Vera answered calmly.

The clapping stopped instantly.

Felix stood up abruptly and kicked the kneeling boy aside. The boy fell, groaning, clutching his mouth.

”My mistake, Lady,” Felix said coldly, signaling someone to bring Vera a proper chair.

”But what brings you here?”

Vera looked at him with exaggerated innocence.

”Can’t I greet you?”

Felix rubbed his forehead.

Why is she always like this?

”Lady Vera,” Gareth stepped forward and bowed slightly, ”it’s good to see you well.”

”Oh, Gareth,” Vera sighed lightly, blowing on her nails. ”I never understood why you followed him when you could follow me.”

Gareth chuckled but said nothing while Felix clenched his fists but kept his composure.

Out of everyone he dealt with...She was the most exhausting.

”Felix boy,” Vera said suddenly.

Her tone changed.

”I want you to stall or attack my younger brother during the Fourth Trial.”

Silence dropped heavily.

Felix blinked. ”Bale?”

Vera’s gaze sharpened instantly.

”You want to die?”

A wave of killing intent rolled out.

Felix, Page, Lyra, Freed, and Gareth all took a small step back.

Others retreated further.

”Oh...you mean Veda,” Felix corrected quickly, sweat forming at his temple.

Vera smiled again, as if the previous pressure never existed.

”Yes.”

Felix stared at her in disbelief. ”Okay. I’ll do it.”

No argument, no question.

”Good.”

Vera stood and turned away.

”That’s why you’re a good boy.”

Nina followed her, sticking out her tongue at Felix.

”Boo.”

When they left, the entire hall felt lighter.

***

Back to the Present

Felix, Lyra, Freed, and Matthey stood face to face with Veda’s group.

The air between them felt tense, like something was about to snap.

Felix narrowed his eyes.

Well... it’s not like I never planned on attacking Veda at some point.

But openly? Especially on her request?

He felt irritated just thinking about it.

She really asked me to attack her own brother like it meant nothing.

Felix clicked his tongue quietly.

”That bitch,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. ”She wants us to waste time fighting while she finishes first and gains more points to climb the ranking list.”

”Tsk, tsk.”

But even as he complained, he remembered what happened earlier.

Everything had already been in her hands.

His group had reached the exit of the Maze before anyone else.

They could have left, they should have left.

Instead, they waited.

They waited specifically for Veda.

When Vera’s team appeared, Felix allowed them to pass through the exit, but Vera didn’t leave with them.

She turned around and walked back into the Maze, alone. For reasons Felix couldn’t understand.

He frowned slightly.

”What she does isn’t my concern,” he muttered.

A malicious smile slowly formed on his face.

”Once I handle Veda, I’ll leave immediately and secure my first place.”

He lifted his chin.

”Sorry, Veda.”

His voice carried mock pity. ”But today might just be your death day.”

He flicked his fingers lightly.

Lyra and Freed moved at once

Veda stepped slightly forward and spread his arms behind him, blocking his group instinctively.

”You guys, run back. Now!” he shouted.

His voice was sharp.

His teammates didn’t hesitate.

Fear pushed them faster than pride ever could, they turned and ran.

Bang!

Bang!

A storm of thin needles shot toward their backs.

In a flash, Veda disappeared from the front line and reappeared behind his fleeing teammates.

His coat came off mid-step.

Cognis surged from his body into the fabric. The coat stiffened instantly, threads glowing faintly as it hardened.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The needles struck the reinforced coat and fell uselessly to the floor.

Freed calmly adjusted his glasses.

”Sir Veda,” he said, reloading the two Acu-Vector Mk.I. pistols in his hands with practiced precision, ”I admire your chivalry.”

His tone sounded polite.

”But a leader should know when to abandon burdens and when to carry them.”

He finished reloading.

”That is why I prefer Sir Felix over you.”

Veda slowly turned his head toward him.

”To yourself, you probably sound wise,” Veda said coldly. ”But generally, you just sound stupid beyond redemption.”

Freed’s smile stiffened.

At that instant...

Lyra appeared at Veda’s right side.

Her scythe sliced down through the air in a sharp arc.

Veda twisted his body smoothly, the blade missing him by inches. In the same motion, he drove a kick forward with controlled power.

Lyra blocked with the shaft of her scythe.

Boom.

The force pushed her backward several meters, her boots scraping loudly across the ground as she almost collided with the stone wall.

She steadied herself and licked her lips slowly.

”That physical strength without even using Cognis...” she murmured, eyes shining with fascination.

”That’s Sir Veda for you.” She tilted her head.

”The one who was meant to be overshadowed by Lady Vera...the Jewel of Ash.”

Her gaze lingered on him with amusement.

”The sunless twin.”

She smiled wider.

”The dim light born only to be outshined by his other half.”

She laughed softly.

But there was something in her eyes.

Excitement.

Because the dim light in front of her didn’t look so dim anymore.

***

In Britannia, among the great Alchemist families, a strange belief had circulated for generations.

It was about twins.

The symbolic meaning behind their birth.

Usually, twins were nothing special. Other families had twins before, and nothing unusual happened.

Yet the belief never disappeared.

It said that when twins were born...One would inherit overwhelming talent.

And the other...

Would lose theirs.

As if one star drained the brilliance from the other.

The favored twin would combine the potential of both and rise as a genius among geniuses.

The other would become nothing more than a shadow.

A presence without light.

A twin whose talent had been taken before it could bloom.

That was the shadow cast over Veda’s life.

Before he even understood what it meant...The world had already decided which twin would shine.

When the twins were first born, life in the Ashenlocke house was peaceful. There were whispers about how weak the family had become over the years, but those worries belonged to the elders. The twins had no reason to think about such things. Their only task was simple; grow, train, and become worthy children of Ash.

But everything changed the moment Vera awakened.

She was only ten, not twelve, not thirteen, but ten.

Without an elixir and with only small preparation.

In the history of Ashenlocke, she was the first to awaken Cognis that early. In the whole of Britannia, she was only the fifth person ever recorded to do so.

The children of noble families were normally taught meditation at twelve or thirteen in hopes of awakening their Cognis.

Vera didn’t wait.

She awakened it on the spot and even formed a particle of her first star immediately.

15.8%.

That number echoed through the mansion like thunder.

After that incident...

Everything became clear to everyone.

Veda was the trash twin and Vera was the gem.

And just like that, his hell began.

His uncles and aunties stopped speaking to him unless necessary. They walked past him as if he were air. His father still appeared in the mansion, but no longer for both twins. He came only for Vera.

Praise for her, advice for her, time for her.

Veda stood nearby, invisible.

In his own house, he became lower than a servant.

The children in the family followed the elders’ example.

They mocked him., they pushed him, they laughed at him openly.

Then came the incident that burned into his memory.

He had been beaten badly by another noble child. When his personal maid tried to defend him, she was accused of raising her hands against a noble’s child.

As punishment...She was executed.

The accusation was false, but truth did not matter.

What could Veda do?

He was weak, he was already labeled useless.

A child destined never to rise.

His potential was declared nonexistent before he could even prove otherwise.

His twin sister, who once stayed glued to him, calling him ”elder brother” with bright eyes, was taken away for advanced training.

He lost her warmth and his mother’s attention.

He lost the small circle of kindness that once surrounded him.

And he stood alone, but when they turned eleven...

Another incident occurred.

One that changed everything.

Veda left the comfort of his home.

He went to Val Ashenlocke.

Val was a name spoken carefully within the family. A man most avoided standing near unless necessary. Only seasoned Alchemists could handle his presence comfortably.

And on the day, Veda begged, day after day.

Without proper food and without rest.

He endured the crushing pressure of Val’s presence until his body trembled.

He collapsed eventually, fainting from hunger and exhaustion.

Yet even then...

He did not step back and Val saw it. The hunger for power and finally, he agreed to take him as a disciple.

Veda left with him to Stonefall Territory.

A land ruled by the Drakes—Earth Alchemists.

A place crawling with monsters taller than buildings, strong enough to threaten cities if left unchecked.

It was the Drakes’ duty to control those creatures and it was there, Veda trained.

Not in comfort, not in safety.

He trained in the presence of monsters.

He fought, he endured, he survived.

One year later, he returned, and the mansion felt different.

Because he was different.

He was no longer sunless.

He was now a dim light that refused to be swallowed.

He burned quietly and steadily.

And for the first time...

The Jewel of Ash did not shine alone.

Even Vera had to squint against the light that rose to challenge her.

The twin who was once called trash...

Had become the most feared child of Ash.