Last Gun Alchemist

Fay and her group walked ahead, leading the way through the forest path, their steps careful but steady, while the girl from the medic team followed just behind them, occasionally glancing back. Veda walked a little ahead of Ezra, keeping his pace measured, while Ezra remained behind him, moving at a slower but controlled rhythm.

”Do you really think it’s okay for someone blindfolded to be going on a journey like this, Sir Veda?” the medic girl asked quietly, lowering her voice as she walked, her eyes shifting between Veda and Ezra.

Veda turned his head slightly, his gaze settled on Ezra.

Ezra was walking carefully, but not blindly.

He stepped past exposed roots, adjusted his path before reaching low branches, and avoided rocks that lay scattered along the ground, his movements slow but accurate enough to keep up with the group without causing delay.

”He’s fine,” Veda said with a small smile. ”Can’t you see how well he’s walking with us? He’s not even using his Cognis to enhance his hearing.”

”What?”

The girl froze for a moment.

Her eyes widened slightly as she turned fully toward Ezra, watching him more closely now.

At first, she had assumed he must be relying on Cognis.

There was no other explanation, even moving with enhanced hearing alone, moving would already be difficult, but without Cognis?

That was something else entirely.

She stayed quiet after that; her gaze lingered on him.

He must have really good control over his Cognis...

She thought to herself, admiration slowly building as she stole a few more glances in his direction.

”I think... I’m getting the hang of this now...”

Ezra whispered to himself.

The wind brushed against his face as he focused, listening to the slight shift in air when it touched a branch, the faint break in flow when it passed around a tree trunk, the dull interruption caused by a rock or a raised root.

Each one, created a pattern, a signal.

Not clear, not perfect, but enough that he could begin to tell where things were.

He could almost see them, not with his eyes, but in his mind.

With every step...It became clearer and better.

He adjusted his pace slightly, increasing his speed just a little.

Closing the distance between himself and Veda.

”Hey, Veda.”

He called.

”What’s the issue, Ezra?” Veda turned, slowing down to match his pace.

”You didn’t tell me how you guys were able to handle the Ground Apes’ corpses.”

”Oh, that...”

Veda slipped his hands into his pockets as he continued walking.

”Let me start from the rankings of the second wave then.”

His tone shifted slightly.

”The last position... which I’m sure you already guessed... was my little brother’s group.”

He sighed softly and expression dimmed.

Ezra couldn’t see it, but he heard it from his voice.

”How long?” Ezra asked.

”They took one day, ten hours, nine minutes, and thirty seconds.”

The words settled heavily.

Ahead, Fay and her group grew slightly quiet, their shoulders stiffened, they had heard Veda and Ezra’s conversation and they weren’t happy because they knew there wasn’t much they could have done.

Their numbers were low, their strength too, lower.

If not for the small increase in members after merging with another faction following the second trial, Bale’s group might not have survived the second wave at all.

”The second-to-last position was Priscilla’s group,” Veda continued. ”Which was surprising... but the difference was very small.”

He paused briefly, stepping over a root.

”They took one day, two hours, three minutes, and eight seconds... while Henry’s group finished just above them in one day, two hours, three minutes, and three seconds.”

He let out a small breath.

”Very close.”

He bent slightly to pass under a low branch.

Ezra followed right after him, his hand lifting instinctively to hold the branch as he lowered his body, moving smoothly before letting it go.

”The top three...”

Veda raised a finger.

”In third place was Vera’s group...one day, one hour, thirty minutes, forty seconds.”

He raised another.

”We came second... one day, one hour, twenty-seven minutes, fifty-five seconds.”

A slight pause.

”And Felix’s group took first... one day, one hour, twenty minutes, forty-nine seconds.”

The numbers spoke for themselves.

”After that, the virtual market updated.”

Veda continued.

”New equipment became available, including Zyphoric Acid, which is made from a high concentration of purified sulfuric acid.”

His tone carried a bit more energy now.

”The moment I saw it, I knew we had to buy it to clear out the corpses. The cost was manageable, and we diluted it with water to increase the amount we could use.”

”So that’s why I couldn’t smell the stench of the Ground Apes,” Ezra said. ”You know how fast their corpses start to rot.”

”Exactly.”

After that, silence returned, only the sound of footsteps, moving branches and wind, echoed through the forest.

Time passed.

Hours.

They moved steadily through the forest, not rushing due to Ezra’s condition, which slowed the overall pace, but still maintaining consistent progress.

Eventually, they arrived at Bale’s castle.

As Fay and her group stepped out first, followed by Veda, Ezra, and the medic girl, the scene before them unfolded in layers of sound and motion.

People moved everywhere.

Dragging, lifting and throwing.

Broken parts of the castle were being cleared away; the remains of structures scattered across the ground as members worked together to clean the area.

Some were using Zyphoric Acid mixed with water, pouring it over piles of corpses, the liquid hissing as it reacted, breaking down flesh and bone.

Others carried the remains of Lesser Ground Apes out of the castle.

While stronger members, enhancing their bodies with Cognis, pulled the massive bodies of Giant Ground Apes out of the castle entrance using thick ropes, their feet digging into the ground as they strained.

Ezra couldn’t see any of it, but he heard everything. The dragging, splashing, hissing and he smelt something sharp and dangerous.

”Fay!”

A member spotted her and ran over quickly.

Fay and the others who had returned with her immediately began coughing as the smell reached them.

”What’s...cough...cough...going on?” she asked, covering her nose and mouth.

”Wear this.”

The girl handed out nose masks quickly, passing them one by one, then she looked up.

”Sir Veda?”

Veda had already taken out his own mask, placing it over his face, while the medic girl did the same.

Ezra covered his nose briefly with his cloth quickly, feeling the sting of the acid smell.

”Take this.”

The medic girl handed him a mask.

He accepted it and wore it, his breathing steadied.

”The smell is dangerous,” the medic girl said quietly.

”That’s why masks were added as an option in the market,” Veda replied.

”What’s going on?” Fay asked, now able to speak clearly. ”I thought we lost access to the virtual market after using all three energy fields.”

”Well...”

The girl laughed awkwardly.

”After you all left, Lady Vera came.”

Fay froze.

”She brought a lot of equipment... and even helped us clean up a bit. She gave us a stock of FN FAL battle rifles, another GPMG to add to the one she gave us after the first wave, Zyphoric Acid, and ten alchemy scrolls for producing Springfield M1903A4 rifles.”

She spoke quickly and excitedly.

”Wow...” Fay’s expression brightened. ”That’s really amazing.”

The others behind her reacted the same way, relief showing clearly now.

”So that’s why she didn’t come to the meeting...”

Veda muttered, watching the group.

”Or maybe she just didn’t want to see your face.”

Ezra walked forward slightly as he said it.

Veda smiled awkwardly, because that was exactly what Zack had said.

”Alright, it’s getting late.”

Veda clapped his hands lightly, cutting through the cheerful chatter.

”I’m sorry, Sir Veda.” Fay spoke quickly. ”We got carried away.”

”No need to apologize,” Veda replied calmly. ”I wasn’t actually scolding you guys.”

The girl who had brought the masks paused for a brief moment, her eyes shifting from the medic girl standing behind Veda to Ezra at his side, her brows drawing together slightly as confusion flickered across her face.

A blindfold boy? In a situation like this.

It didn’t make sense to her, but she didn’t dwell on it.

There was too much going on, too much to handle for her.

”Let me quickly lead you to Sir Bale,” she said, her voice steady as she turned, already beginning to move.

The group that followed Fay to the meeting split from them.

They moved off to rejoin the others, returning to the work of clearing debris, carrying bodies, and restoring what little they could.

Fay stayed, following closely behind the girl.

Veda walked just behind them, Ezra followed and the medic girl stayed near him.

Quiet and observing the place.

They entered the castle and the difference was immediate.

The inner sections were much worse than what could be seen from outside.

Walls were cracked, some completely broken.

Parts of the structure had collapsed inward, leaving gaps where there should have been solid stone.

Outside the inner pathways... people rested.

Injured.

Some lay flat on the ground, others sat with their backs against what remained of the walls.

Bandages were everywhere.

Wrapped around arms, legs, heads and some had cloth covering one side of their face, hiding injuries near their eyes.

The air felt heavy, not just from the smell, but from the silence.

The kind that came after something bad.

Some of the members worked, scrubbing.

Trying to remove the dark stains of blood from the stone floor, their movements slow but steady, their faces blank as if they had stopped thinking about it.

Then...

They reached the back of the castle.

A large section of the wall had been destroyed completely, leaving the area open, the broken edges jagged and uneven, pieces of stone scattered across the ground.

Beyond that, the grass. Freshly disturbed, turned over and there...They saw him.

Bale.

Sitting on the ground, alone.

His body slightly hunched forward; his gaze fixed ahead, at the graves.

Dug for the members of his group who had died.

”Bale...”

Veda called his name, softly.

Bale heard him but didn’t turn and didn’t respond.

His hand tightened, gripping the side of his shirt hard.

Veda saw it and understood immediately.

He didn’t need to see Bale’s face.

The way his body was, the silence...It was enough.

He’s crying...And he doesn’t want me to see him like this...

Veda exhaled slowly, then stepped forward slightly.

”Please... can you all leave me alone with my brother for a few minutes?”

He brought his hands together slightly, not as a command, but a request.

The girl nodded immediately.

”Yes.”

Fay followed right after.

”Please... spend some time with him.”

Her voice softened.

She turned, already stepping away.

”I’ll show you guys around,” Fay added, glancing back briefly at Ezra and the medic girl, who had also begun to turn, giving space leaving the two brothers alone with the silence and the graves.