Last Gun Alchemist

Ezra tilted his head slightly as he looked at Diane.

His dull black eyes remained on her face, but his expression didn’t change. From the outside, he looked as though he was simply listening to what she had said.

Inside his mind, however, a realization had begun to form.

He had already thought about his body’s condition several times.

The harmony between his Life Essence and Death Essence was becoming unstable. And his failing body was slowly losing its balance, while the Death Essence within him seemed to be growing stronger as his condition continued to worsen.

But now...

Was the reason for his condition because he was, in a sense, someone who had escaped death?

Ezra lowered his eyes slightly.

From what Diane said, it almost sounds like every blessing comes with a curse.

The thought appeared quietly in his mind.

Could that be why I was born like this?

For a brief moment, the idea seemed to fit.

Then Ezra immediately rejected it.

It leaned too far into superstition.

He had always been more interested in practical explanations and logical answers. Simply deciding that his condition was some kind of curse wouldn’t actually explain anything.

There was still too much he didn’t understand.

Especially Essence.

If he could truly understand what Essence was and why it existed, perhaps he could finally understand his own body.

But that path of understanding might take longer than he could imagine.

He might even spend his entire life searching for the answer and still fail to find it.

Ezra didn’t dwell on the thought any further.

He simply placed it somewhere in his mind, keeping it there in case he ever needed to return to it.

”Yawn.”

Diane suddenly covered her mouth as she yawned.

Her light-blue eyes narrowed until they were almost completely closed.

”There is a scientific explanation for my condition, but that’s what I believe. And it’s not harmful to me, since I already know how to handle myself.”

She spoke in the same soft, tired voice.

Ezra looked at her.

”I see.”

”You also seem to be going through the same type of state as me.”

Diane’s voice became quieter.

Her eyes closed completely.

”Your cold intolerance.”

She said those words and promptly fell asleep.

Ezra blinked.

For the first time since their conversation had started, a faint trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

It wasn’t that he had been hiding his condition particularly well.

He simply hadn’t shown anyone that the cold was bothering him.

Emily wore a scarf just like him.

Hugh also wore one.

Everyone in the group had long coats and gloves, making his behavior look normal.

Ezra had also taken his Heat-Stimulating Pills inside his tent rather than allowing anyone to see him use them.

So, Diane realizing that he had a problem with the cold was rather surprising.

He looked at the sleeping girl.

”Maybe she can sense heat signals like Cyrus.”

Ezra muttered quietly.

Diane didn’t answer.

She was already completely asleep.

The sun had begun descending by then, and the light between the trees was slowly becoming weaker.

Night was approaching.

Ezra looked toward the forest.

With the survival instincts of Young Ghost Crawlers, they wouldn’t openly approach them if they encountered the bodies of their kind.

Especially after seeing the ease with which Ezra and Diane had killed the other Young Ghost Crawlers.

That made their resting period easier.

Ezra stood up.

He took his now-dried clothes and carried them into his tent.

After arranging them inside, he came back outside carrying the thin string of bells.

He crouched down around the camp and began tying the string around several trees, creating a simple security line around their resting area.

The small bells were positioned at different points along the string.

If something passed through it, the sound would wake them.

Ezra finished tying the final section and stood up.

He was walking back toward his tent when he noticed Diane was still in the same spot.

She hadn’t moved, since she was fast asleep.

Ezra stopped.

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then he remembered something that had happened before they left for the Black Zone with the group.

Hermione had begged him to take care of her mistress.

She had said that Ezra was probably the only person Diane was at least somewhat close to, considering how much of a loner her mistress was.

Ezra hadn’t given her an answer at the time.

He hadn’t thought there was any reason to.

But perhaps Diane’s explanation about her condition and the realization he had because of it, had changed that slightly.

He walked over and crouched beside her.

Then he carefully picked her up.

Diane’s body was lighter than he expected.

She’s also light, just like Vera and Selena.

Ezra thought plainly.

Diane shifted slightly in his arms.

Her head moved against his chest, but she didn’t wake.

Ezra looked down at her for a moment.

There was no particular emotion on his face.

He simply carried her back into her tent and placed her down carefully.

After making sure she was comfortable, he left and returned to his own tent.

He had originally planned to watch the camp without sleeping.

But remaining outside for the entire night would allow the falling snow to soak into his clothes again, and he didn’t want to waste another dose of heat-stimulating medicine simply because he refused to rest.

So, Ezra entered his tent.

The night passed peacefully.

Nothing happened.

No bells rang.

No monsters approached.

No strange sounds came from the forest.

By morning, both Ezra and Diane stepped out of their tents almost at the same time.

The first thing Ezra noticed about Diane was the same thing he had noticed the previous day.

There was a small water droplet on her face.

She had cleaned herself before coming outside.

Ezra also had done the same.

He didn’t like feeling dirty, even during a mission in the forest.

It had always been part of his routine.

Even during the Trial of Steel, when he had been forced to stay in forest areas for long periods, he had found a way to clean himself.

He would boil water, use soap water to clean his entire body, rinse himself with hot water, take his Heat-Stimulating Pill, and then change into clean, dried clothes for the next day.

It was a simple routine.

But Ezra preferred keeping it that way.

After preparing themselves, Ezra and Diane resumed their advancement.

They were now entering a more dangerous part of the territory.

The two began climbing a mountain.

Their movements became more careful.

They concealed their Presence with Cognis while keeping their movements quiet.

The reason was simple.

This mountain was the nest of the Whitecrest Eagles.

”KREEEEEEEEEEEEE...RAAAAAAA!”

”KREEEEEEEEEEEEE...RAAAAAAA!”

The cries echoed across the mountain.

Ezra stopped for a moment.

Diane also looked upward.

A large shadow moved across the snow-covered ground.

Neither of them looked up for too long.

They immediately moved toward a rocky section of the mountain and concealed themselves behind it.

The Whitecrest Eagles were one of the natural enemies of Ghost Crawlers.

However, they weren’t always the winning side when fighting a Mature Ghost Crawler.

The size of a Mature Ghost Crawler and the numbers of its kind could make such a battle difficult.

But the Whitecrest Eagles possessed one advantage that made them especially dangerous to Ghost Crawlers.

Their sharp blue eyes could see through the illusions created by the Ghost Crawlers.

Their vision allowed them to identify the real body instead of attacking an illusion.

Once they found their target, their claws and beaks were strong enough to break through the armored bodies of Ghost Crawlers.

That was even more dangerous when dealing with the younger ones.

The Whitecrest Eagles could see through their illusions.

And the Ghost Crawlers couldn’t simply hide behind their ability.

This was one of the reasons the Ghost Crawlers had developed their deep underground tunnel system.

Moving through the tunnels would have been a faster way for Ezra and Diane to reach the Young Ghost Crawlers.

But it would also have been much more dangerous.

The tunnels were their territory.

And Ezra had no intention of entering a place where the enemy had every advantage unless he had no other choice.

Above them, shadows moved across the sky.

The sound of beating wings grew louder.

Ezra and Diane moved deeper behind the rocks.

They kept their Cognis concealed.

A Whitecrest Eagle flew over the mountain.

Its sharp blue eyes moved across the rocky surface.

For a moment, Ezra remained completely still.

The Eagle’s gaze passed over the place where they were hiding.

It should have been able to see them if they were standing in the open.

But the rocks blocked its line of sight.

The Eagle circled once.

Then it flew away.

Ezra waited.

Diane waited.

Neither moved until the sound of its wings had disappeared.

Only then did they continue.

They moved around the mountain and began descending from the rocky area.

They had almost reached the other side when...

Boom!

Boom!

The sound of something striking the ground echoed through the mountain.

”KRRRRAAAAAAA!”

”KRRRRAAAAAAA!”

”KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

The cries of Whitecrest Eagles filled the sky.

Ezra and Diane stopped.

They looked upward.

Several Whitecrest Eagles were diving toward something below them.

The birds moved with surprising speed.

Their wings folded slightly against their bodies as they descended.

Their sharp blue eyes remained fixed on their target.

Ezra enhanced his vision with Cognis.

The scene became clearer.

Webs had wrapped around one of the Whitecrest Eagles.

The web tightened around its body and dragged it downward.

The Eagle struggled.

Its wings beat violently as it tried to escape.

Its claws tore against the webbing, but the strands refused to break.

Another Whitecrest Eagle descended from above.

Two Young Ghost Crawlers were clinging to its legs.

The Eagle’s body twisted as it tried to shake them off.

The Young Ghost Crawlers held on.

Their small bodies were covered in webs, and their movements looked almost unnatural as they remained attached to the Eagle.

Another Eagle struck the ground.

Snow exploded outward.

The forest echoed with the cries of the creatures.

Ezra and Diane remained where they were.

Neither moved there since it wasn’t their concern.

This was simply another battle taking place within the Black Zone.

Predator against prey.

Prey against predator.

The cycle continued whether they were watching or not.

Ezra lowered his enhanced vision.

”We should keep moving.”

Diane nodded.

The two continued down the mountain.

Behind them, the cries of the Whitecrest Eagles continued to echo across the rocky slopes.

But Ezra didn’t look back.

They had finally crossed the mountain.

And ahead of them was the territory they had been searching for.

The main territory of the Elder Ghost Crawler.