Last Gun Alchemist

”KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

The Elder Ghost Crawler screamed aggressively as it kicked its coxa legs and femur legs against the ice binding its body.

The frozen blocks cracked under the force.

Crack!

A piece of ice broke away from one of its legs.

Diane immediately pressed more Cognis into her Frost Alchemy while still holding the Ice Sword with both hands.

The light-blue Cognis flowing through her arms became denser.

The Frost Alchemy Circle beneath the Ice Sword brightened.

More ice began growing around the Elder Ghost Crawler’s legs, spreading over the limbs that were trying to break free.

The creature pulled again.

”KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Its enormous body shook.

The ice cracked further, but Diane refused to release her position.

”Lady Diane!”

Hugh shouted in a panicked tone.

His expression changed when he looked toward Diane.

She was now surrounded by charging Young Ghost Crawlers.

The creatures had clearly noticed that Diane was the main reason their mother was screaming in rage.

Their violet eyes were now fixed on her as they rushed forward.

”Kik-kik-kik-kik!”

”Kik-kik-kik-kik!”

”Kik-kik-kik-kik!”

Their clicking cries echoed through the cave as their many legs scraped across the stone.

Diane couldn’t move.

She was using both her Frost Alchemy and her Ice Sword to keep the Elder Ghost Crawler restrained and prevent it from disappearing into its Illusion again.

If she released her position, the ice would weaken.

The Elder Ghost Crawler would have another chance to escape.

Hugh, Agnes, and Samuel all gritted their teeth.

They immediately tried to move toward Diane.

But they were too far away.

The Young Ghost Crawlers had already surrounded her.

There was no way they could reach her in time.

At least...

Not for him.

Ezra reached into his Space Bag while descending from the high position of the cave.

His body moved through the air.

His eyes were already locked onto Diane’s position.

His hand came out of the Space Bag with several throwing daggers.

These weren’t normal daggers sold in weapon stores.

Each one had circuits imprinted into its inner parts.

They were Circuit type weapons designed to perform a specific command once Cognis was passed through their circuits.

White Cognis flowed into the daggers.

The energy traveled through the engraved lines while the weapons spun through the air.

Ezra released them one after another.

The daggers flew downward.

At almost the same moment, the Young Ghost Crawlers opened their mouths.

Webs shot toward Diane.

The white strands spread through the air, covering her from different directions.

Ezra’s daggers changed course.

They flew directly toward the incoming webs.

The first dagger struck.

BOOM!

The web exploded apart.

Another dagger collided with a second web.

BOOM!

The strands were torn apart by the small explosion.

A third dagger followed.

BOOM!

Then another.

BOOM!

Several small explosions echoed throughout the cave.

Smoke spread across the area where the Young Ghost Crawlers had been charging from, while small flames flickered across the broken webs.

The creatures stumbled through the smoke.

Some were forced backward by the explosions.

Ezra continued descending.

He shifted his body in midair.

Instead of allowing himself to land where he had originally been heading, he changed his fall and moved directly toward Diane’s position.

BAM!

Ezra landed in front of Diane.

His boots struck the stone floor hard enough to scatter small pieces of ice around him.

He immediately straightened his body.

The Elder Ghost Crawler noticed him.

”KRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Its roar became even louder.

The sound shook the entire cave.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Small pieces of stone dropped around them.

The roar was so powerful that the sound could even be heard faintly outside the underground cave.

Then the Elder Ghost Crawler moved.

Its entire body twisted with force.

CRACK!

The ice around its legs shattered.

It broke free with one powerful movement.

Diane immediately released one hand from her Ice Sword.

She brought her palms together.

Clap!

Her Frost Alchemy ignited.

The Elder Ghost Crawler opened its mouth.

A massive amount of venomous saliva gathered between its jaws before it was violently spat toward the two of them.

Diane had already expected it.

She knew that once the creature broke free, its first reaction would be to attack them.

Her next Frost Alchemy Circle was already forming.

Slam!

Diane’s hand struck the ground.

The Frost Alchemy Circle beneath her Ice Sword reacted immediately.

The Ice Sword began melting.

The solid ice spread outward across the ground and expanded under Diane’s control.

Its shape changed.

The long sword widened.

The blade grew larger.

Within moments, it had transformed into a broad Ice Wall.

The wall rose between Ezra, Diane, and the incoming venomous saliva.

SPLASH!

The venom struck the Ice Wall.

Sssssss...

Acidic smoke spread across the surface as the venom began eating through the ice.

Diane immediately continued feeding Cognis into the Frost Alchemy.

The damaged sections of the wall began freezing over again.

She was repairing it while the Elder Ghost Crawler continued spitting more venom.

It did not stop.

Ezra, meanwhile, had already reached into his Space Bag.

When his hand came back out, he was holding a particular sniper rifle.

The Barrett M107.

He immediately removed the current magazine.

Then he took out another magazine from his Space Bag.

Ezra looked at the rifle for a moment.

Because of the level of destruction the Barrett M107 could cause, using it normally against the Elder Ghost Crawler could ruin their chance of capturing the creature cleanly.

A normal powerful round could blow a visible hole through its body.

That wasn’t what Ezra wanted.

So, he finally decided to use a bullet he had once thought he would never need.

A bullet he had created during his first seclusion during the Trial of Steel.

Back then, Ezra still didn’t want to kill the other candidates during the battle of survival in the Trials.

He had believed he would never have a reason to use those bullets, since his mindset had changed since then.

But he had still kept them.

He had created them just in case he needed something with immense firepower to knock out the Elder Ghost Crawler powerful enough to threaten the group during the moment he discovered they were actually going to face an Elder Ghost Crawler, he had already thought about the possibility.

During their first camp, while waiting for his turn at night watch, Ezra had spent his time creating the rubber bullets.

Now...

He needed one.

Click!

Ezra slammed the magazine into the Barrett M107.

He lowered his body and positioned the large sniper rifle in a kneeling stance.

Diane glanced toward the weapon.

A faint hint of surprise appeared in her light-blue eyes.

She had seen different sniper rifles before.

Her family had requested sniper rifles from the Ashenlockes on several occasions, and Diane had been shown the different types available in Britannia simply for sightseeing.

The Barrett M107 did resemble some of the sniper rifles she had seen before.

But at the same time, there was something different about it.

Something about its shape and size made it feel much more destructive.

Diane didn’t have time to keep looking.

Her attention returned to the Ice Wall.

The Elder Ghost Crawler continued spitting venomous saliva toward them.

The Ice Wall was slowly being eaten away.

Diane continued repairing it with her Frost Alchemy.

Ezra lowered his head.

His eye moved behind the scope of the Barrett M107.

The world inside his field of view became clearer.

The Ice Wall was still between him and the Elder Ghost Crawler.

But it didn’t matter.

It didn’t affect his aim.

Ezra’s finger rested against the trigger.

He breathed slowly.

Then he pulled it.

White Cognis flowed into the Barrett through its circuit lines.

The energy moved through the weapon like water filling a series of pipes.

One circuit connected to another.

The white Cognis continued flowing.

The lines brightened one after another until the entire circuit system was connected.

The energy finally reached the section where the rubber bullet was waiting to be fired.

Ezra’s eyes remained fixed through the scope.

The Barrett M107 was already prepared.

He squeezed the trigger completely.

BOOM!

The gunshot exploded through the cave.

The recoil pushed against Ezra’s shoulder, the ground beneath cracked visibly from the travelling impact.

The rubber bullet flew from the muzzle with immense force.

The bullet tore through the Ice Wall.

BAM!

The sound of its impact echoed through the underground chamber.

Agnes, Samuel, and Hugh were still making their way toward Ezra and Diane when they heard the gunshot.

They all looked toward the source.

The rubber bullet had already broken through the Ice Wall.

It struck the underside of the Elder Ghost Crawler’s head.

BAM!

The impact forced its head upward as though it had been struck by an enormous uppercut.

Its mouth snapped shut.

The venomous saliva that had been gathering inside splashed toward different sides instead of reaching Ezra and Diane.

The Elder Ghost Crawler’s enormous body was thrown backward slightly.

Its eight violet eyes moved wildly.

Diane immediately continued repairing the Ice Wall, keeping it between herself and Ezra and the creature.

Ezra lowered the Barrett slightly.

For a moment, it looked as though his attack had worked perfectly.

But the Elder Ghost Crawler wasn’t completely knocked out.

Its body remained upright.

Its legs shook.

Its head hung slightly to one side.

The creature was in a concussed state.

But it was still conscious.

And that meant they hadn’t completely solved their biggest problem.

At the same time, another voice echoed through the cave.

”Guys!!”

Emily shouted.

Her voice was filled with panic.

”I can’t hold on much longer!”

She continued pouring Cognis into her Storm Field, but the navy-blue lightning surrounding her was already becoming unstable.

The storm flickered.

The wind weakened for a moment before Emily forced more Cognis into it.

”And Senior Jeremy isn’t doing any better.”

Emily looked toward Jeremy.

Her worried expression became even more serious.

Blood was already running heavily from his nose, eyes, and ears.

Dark-purple glowing light had begun appearing visibly across his arms, neck, and face.

His body trembled under the strain.

Yet Jeremy continued pressing his Cognis into the Illusion Alchemy Circle.

He hadn’t stopped.

Not even now.