Last Gun Alchemist

Helen stared at March’s dead body, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

The sound of the gunshot still echoed faintly inside her head.

For a few moments, she couldn’t even process what had happened.

”What’s going on?”

Her voice came out shaky as she looked toward Ezra with terrified eyes.

”Why would you kill him? Why? Why? Why?”

Helen dropped to her knees beside March and grabbed his hand desperately.

The hand was already losing its warmth.

”Enough of the whining, Helen.”

Zavier spoke coldly.

He turned around to look at Ezra, who was already pointing the handgun directly at him.

”What is going on, Zavier?”

Helen asked again, still unable to understand the situation unfolding before her eyes.

”Why am I hearing burning noises? And what about my maid... where is she?”

Her voice trembled more and more.

Confusion filled her face.

Outside the office, distant sounds of collapsing structures and crackling flames occasionally echoed through the mansion.

Yet Helen still couldn’t piece everything together.

”This boy is here to kill us all.”

Zavier looked toward his wife with a strange smirk on his face.

A smirk that felt completely wrong.

”Huh? Kill us?”

Helen slowly turned her head back toward Ezra.

Her eyes moved upward.

From the blood-covered boots.

To the dark clothes.

To the chest stained with blood and soot.

And finally...

To his face.

Most of it was covered in blood.

The lighting inside the office was poor because part of the ceiling had already cracked open.

Yet despite that, Helen immediately recognized him.

The shape of his face.

The outline of his hair.

The eyes.

”Ah...”

Her hand slowly covered her mouth.

Tears streamed down her face.

”Ahh... Ahh... Ahh...”

Her lips trembled violently.

Her breathing became uneven.

”You don’t have anything to say, boy?”

Zavier asked as he stared at Ezra.

Ezra didn’t reply.

He simply looked back at him with those cold black eyes.

Silent.

Steady and Expressionless.

The atmosphere inside the office gradually became heavier.

”I finally agree.”

Zavier nodded lightly.

”You are strong. So strong that you were able to make it all the way here.”

Even though Ezra had ignored him completely, Zavier continued speaking.

”But...”

His smug expression disappeared.

The confidence remained

The arrogance remained.

But the amusement vanished completely.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ezra fired without hesitation.

The moment Zavier’s expression changed; he had already pulled the trigger.

The muzzle flashes illuminated the office repeatedly.

The bullets rushed forward.

But...

Grab!

Zavier moved.

To Helen, it looked as though he had vanished.

To Ezra, it looked like a blur.

Zavier flashed forward while weaving through every bullet with terrifying speed.

The next moment, his hand locked around Ezra’s wrist.

The hand holding the Kel-Tec PMR-30 was forced upward.

”I’m a Meister Rank Alchemist.”

Zavier tightened his grip.

Crack.

The pressure immediately increased.

”Argh!”

Pain shot through Ezra’s arm.

The strength difference between them was overwhelming.

It felt as though his bones were being squeezed apart.

Yet Ezra didn’t panic.

His free hand immediately moved toward his space bag.

But Zavier was already faster.

A second hand shot forward.

Grab!

His fingers wrapped around Ezra’s neck.

Then...

Boom!

With nothing but raw physical strength, Zavier slammed Ezra into the polished tiled floor of the office.

The impact shook the entire room.

The floor cracked instantly beneath Ezra’s body.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

The furniture rattled violently.

”Argh!”

Blood escaped from Ezra’s mouth.

His vision shook briefly from the impact.

Yet his hand had already completed its movement.

Zavier looked down.

A dagger was buried in the arm he used to hold Ezra.

”Tsk...”

He clicked his tongue.

Without hesitation, he pulled the dagger out and threw it aside.

The weapon spun through the air before embedding itself into a nearby wall.

”YOU BRAT!”

Zavier roared.

The veins on his forehead bulged.

Cognis surged through his body and gathered into the arm that had been stabbed.

The wound visibly began recovering.

”I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW YOUR LEVEL!”

His fist descended.

The air itself seemed to split apart.

Ezra’s instincts screamed.

Without thinking, he grabbed his coat and poured Cognis into it.

The hardening effect activated instantly.

BOOM!

The punch landed.

The reinforced coat barely blocked the direct impact.

Even then, the force transferred through it.

The already cracked floor beneath Ezra spread outward like a giant spider web.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Then the entire floor gave way and the office collapsed.

Ezra fell.

Zavier fell.

The floor that had supported the office for years finally gave up under the pressure of a Meister Rank Alchemist’s strength and the continuous impacts shaking the building apart.

Chunks of stone, shattered tiles, broken furniture, and splintered wood followed them downward.

Helen, who was still frozen beside March’s corpse, didn’t even realize what was happening until the ground beneath her disappeared.

Her body dropped together with March’s lifeless body.

The entire office was destroyed just like that.

Yet Zavier never stopped attacking.

Not even for a second.

While they were still airborne amidst the collapsing debris, Zavier twisted his body and launched another heavy punch.

The veins on his arm bulged as Cognis surged through them.

The fist crashed into Ezra’s body.

BOOM!

The impact sent Ezra flying downward like a cannonball.

His body smashed through the next floor with terrifying force.

The wood shattered.

Tiles exploded.

Dust filled the air.

BOOM!

Ezra crashed hard onto the floor below.

Pain shot through his entire body.

However, before Zavier could follow up, Ezra sharply twisted his waist and pushed himself backward using both hands and feet.

Almost immediately...

BOOM!

Zavier landed where Ezra had been.

The floor shattered beneath him.

Large cracks spread across the ground like a spider web, extending through the walls and pillars around them.

The entire mansion trembled.

Ezra landed on one knee.

”Cough...!”

Blood spilled from his mouth.

His chest hurt.

His ribs felt like they were being crushed with every breath he took.

Above them, the destruction of the mansion was becoming worse.

Several water pipes hidden inside the walls had burst apart during the collapse.

Water sprayed aimlessly from different directions.

Some streams poured from broken ceilings.

Others sprayed from cracked walls.

The water mixed with burning flames that had spread through sections of the mansion.

Steam rose into the air.

The smell of smoke, dust, blood, and burning wood filled the surroundings.

Ezra breathed heavily.

His wet hair stuck slightly to his forehead.

Tsk... my clothes are getting wet.

He clicked his tongue.

The cold immediately began biting into his skin.

The broken walls allowed freezing wind to rush into the mansion from outside.

Normally, that level of cold would have affected him much more.

Fortunately, the burning sections of the building released enough heat to lessen the effect.

Even then...

The pain from the cold remained.

His body wasn’t comfortable at all.

Suddenly...

Whoosh!

Ezra bent down instantly.

A massive wooden plank flew over his head.

The object spun violently through the air before smashing into a wall behind him.

Bang!

The wall caved inward from the impact.

Before Ezra could fully rise...

He jumped.

Rolling sharply to the right.

At almost the same moment, Zavier flashed into the position he had just left.

BOOM!

His fist blasted through the floor.

Stone fragments scattered everywhere.

A huge hole appeared instantly.

”You are one slippery brat!”

Zavier turned sharply toward Ezra.

His eyes were bloodshot, His expression had become increasingly unhinged.

Cognis surged around his body continuously.

He no longer looked like a Baron.

He looked like a beast.

A beast that had locked onto its prey.

Zavier rushed forward again, his footsteps crushing everything beneath them.

Walls.

Tables.

Bookshelves.

Decorations.

Nothing remained intact wherever he passed.

Wood exploded, stone cracked and furniture shattered.

Meanwhile, Ezra continued evading.

His eyes moved constantly.

Watching.

Observing.

Calculating.

Every movement.

Every shift in muscle.

Every twitch of Zavier’s shoulders.

Because Ezra knew one thing very clearly.

If even one punch landed... or if even one kick connected...

His bones would shatter.

”Is this the Rank Sixth of the Trial of Steel?!”

Zavier laughed loudly.

The laughter echoed through the collapsing mansion, almost sounding mad.

”I’M GOING TO BREAK EVERY PART OF YOUR BODY!”

He accelerated again.

This time he finally reached Ezra.

Close range.

Too close.

”You are dead!”

His right fist shot forward fast and violently.

Filled with Cognis.

Ezra bent down.

The punch missed his face by barely an inch.

The violent air pressure brushed past his hair.

Before Ezra could recover...

Zavier drove his knee forward.

A direct knee strike aimed at Ezra’s chest.

Ezra leaned backward.

The attack narrowly missed him again.

The distance between success and failure was no more than a finger’s width.

But Zavier wasn’t finished.

The moment his knee missed, he twisted his waist and launched another punch.

This time even more Cognis flowed into his arm.

The surrounding air trembled, the pressure alone pushed Ezra’s hair backward.

Yet...

In that exact moment...

Ezra’s hand moved into his space bag.

A stick grenade appeared, then he threw it directly toward the incoming punch.

At the same time, he wrapped his coat around himself and poured Cognis into the fabric.

The hardening effect activated instantly.

Zavier’s eyes widened.

His fist had already committed to the attack.

He couldn’t stop nor could he change direction.

His knuckles touched the stick grenade.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted.

Flames burst outward.

The room exploded apart.

The already weakened structure could no longer support itself.

The walls collapsed.

Pillars cracked.

The floor beneath them shattered completely.

Both of them fell once again.

This time...

Into the underground prison chambers.

BOOM!

Ezra crashed onto the stone surface below, the impact created a crater beneath him.

Cracks spread across the prison floor.

”Cough... cough...”

Blood spilled from his mouth again.

His entire body hurt.

His coat was covered in burn marks with several new cuts that had appeared across the fabric, his forehead bled, burns covered sections of his arms and bruises spread across his body.

Yet he still forced his eyes open.

Above him...

Burning debris continued falling.

Chunks of wood.

Pieces of stone.

Broken metal bars.

Everything rained downward.

Ezra immediately rolled to the side.

Crash!

A burning beam smashed into the spot where his head had been.

He rolled again.

Another piece of debris crashed down.

Then, in one smooth motion, he pushed himself back onto his feet.

His Cognis circulated through his body.

The familiar warmth spread through his veins.

Small wounds began healing.

Bruises slowly faded.

The bleeding reduced.

”Thanks to the Alchemy accessories, I still have some Cognis left before I run low.”

Ezra spoke while catching his breath.

His gaze briefly moved toward the gloves on his hands, which an Alchemy Circle was engraved into them.

The earring with the crystal gem he wore also functioned as an additional Cognis bank.

Without those preparations, his Cognis would have already been dangerously low by now.

Then he lifted his head.

His black eyes locked onto the dust cloud ahead.

Waiting for Zavier to emerge once again.

Boom!

A massive crash shook the stone floor of the underground prison chambers.

Dust exploded into the air as a large figure landed heavily amidst the broken debris, cracks spreading beneath his feet from the force alone.

”EZRA!”

Zavier shouted, waving his hand aggressively as his voice echoed through the damaged prison.

The fist he had used to punch the stick grenade was badly burned. The skin had been torn away in several places, exposing flesh underneath. Most of his clothes had been burned almost completely, leaving charred fabric hanging from his body. Burn marks covered parts of his face and chest.

Yet despite those injuries, Cognis continued flowing through his body.

The wounds were visibly healing.

The exposed flesh slowly knitted together.

The burns were fading.

The recovery speed was faster than Ezra’s.

Ezra narrowed his eyes.

He’s not even heavily injured?

He sighed quietly.

Is this how Vera felt when she faced Veda?

The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Back during the Trial of Steel, Vera looked in a way annoyed when she fought Veda, yet she never seemed surprised by the difference between them.

Now Ezra was beginning to understand.

Facing someone several levels above you was incredibly irritating.

Especially when your attacks actually landed.

Yet somehow, they still weren’t enough.

Ezra shook his head.

Thinking about that now was pointless.

He slowly exhaled, forcing his breathing to stabilize.

His feet shifted.

His shoulders relaxed.

He lowered his center of gravity and entered his fighting stance.

The prison chambers were becoming increasingly chaotic.

Several broken pipes continued spraying water from the walls and ceiling.

Streams of water poured onto the stone floor.

At the same time, flames from the upper floors had spread downward through the collapsed sections of the mansion.

Water.

Fire.

Smoke.

Steam.

Everything mixed together.

The entire place looked like a battlefield.

I don’t have much Cognis left to perform numerous gun alchemies.

Ezra flexed his fingers.

So, I have to rely on my already-made guns and combat ability.

His black eyes locked onto Zavier.

They seemed darker than before.

Calmer and sharper.

Analyzing.

Observing and calculating any information he could gather from looking at Zavier.

Even though he’s a Meister Rank, he’s very lousy at hand-to-hand combat.

Although not terribly bad.

His strength is massive though, but his speed is lacking.

Ezra re-pictured every movement Zavier made.

The way he shifted his weight.

The way he breathed.

The way his shoulders moved before attacking.

His Cognis control is also poor.

That’s if I compare him to Meister Rank Veda.

The difference is obvious.

I guess life as an office-working Baron must have dulled his battle proficiency.

He’s also not a Full Alchemist.

And not to forget...

Ezra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He’s very hot-headed and arrogant.

In all that information...

Zavier is beatable.

His hands relaxed.

His shoulders loosened.

His body remained ready to move at any moment.

Across from him, Zavier continued staring.

He looked at Ezra.

Looked at the boy who still refused to back down despite standing before a Meister Rank Alchemist.

He looked at the son who should have been afraid.

The son who should have been begging.

Yet he wasn’t.

”Those eyes...”

Zavier rubbed his forehead aggressively, his expression twisting.

”Those eyes that keep looking at me...”

The veins on his forehead bulged.

His breathing became heavier.

His fingers trembled slightly.

The more Ezra stared at him calmly, the angrier he became.

”DON’T YOU FEAR ME?!”

Boom!

More Cognis exploded from his body.

The pressure spread violently through the prison chambers.

The water spraying from the broken pipes scattered in every direction.

Loose debris rolled across the ground.

”DON’T YOU FEAR DEATH?!”

His voice echoed loudly.

The surrounding air trembled.

”I’M YOUR FATHER!”

He pointed directly at Ezra.

”I’M THE ONE WHO MADE YOU!”

His voice became louder.

”I’M THE ONE WHO DECIDED YOUR DEATH!”

Spit flew from his mouth.

”YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED TO PLEASE ME!”

The Cognis around him surged even harder.

”YOU SHOULD FEAR ME! YOU SHOULD OBEY ME! YOU CHILD THAT WANTS TO RUIN MY LIFE! YOU BASTARD CHILD! YOU TRASH!”

His face twisted completely.

”HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME WITH THOSE EYES?!”

Without waiting for a reply, Zavier reached into his space bag.

Numerous black steel bars flew out.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The bars scattered across the wet stone floor.

Mass Alchemy?!

Ezra’s mind raced.

His eyes immediately moved across the bars.

Calculating.

Analyzing.

Trying to predict what Zavier intended to create.

Clap!

Zavier slammed both hands together.

Gray Cognis flowed into his palms.

An Alchemy Circle formed instantly.

The moment Ezra saw it...

He moved while placing his hand into his space bag.

The AA-12 appeared in his hands.

He wasted no time.

His feet exploded forward.

The distance between them rapidly shortened.

If I let him finish...

Bang! Bang!

Ezra fired the shotgun.

The recoil slammed into his shoulder, yet Cognis reinforced his entire body making his footing remain firm.

The shells rushed toward Zavier.

But Zavier had already acted.

Boom!

Both palms slammed onto the ground.

The Alchemy Circle widened.

Gray lightning-like Cognis surged outward.

It spread through every black steel bar scattered across the floor.

The bars melted instantly.

Their shapes, distorted.

Merged.

Extended and reshaped.

All at incredible speed.

Bang! Bang!

Ezra fired again.

The prison chamber echoed with shotgun blasts.

Yet Zavier had already grabbed the weapon created by his alchemy.

A long spear.

Sharp and thin.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

The spear moved rapidly, cutting the incoming bullets apart before they reach him.

Boom! Boom!

The shotgun pellets exploded everywhere.

Fragments struck walls.

Ceilings.

Floors.

Stone debris flew in all directions.

Smoke filled the chamber.

When it finally settled...

Ezra could clearly see the result.

Thirty-nine long, thin spears stood planted across the ground.

Each one gleamed under the flickering firelight.

The tips looked sharp enough to pierce straight through steel.

Zavier held one spear in his hand.

Blood dripped from his nose, which he casually wiped it away with the back of his hand.

Then he smiled.

A smug cruel smile.

The smile of someone who believed he had already won.

”You are going to die painfully, trash son.”

His voice came out cold.

Cold enough to make ordinary people shiver.

But Ezra’s expression didn’t change.

Not even slightly.

He simply adjusted his grip on the AA-12.

Then replied in the same flat tone.

”I’m already disowned.” His dark eyes remained fixed on Zavier. ”Remember?”