Last Gun Alchemist

Logan gritted his teeth as he watched Lyra from across the fighting platform.

The last of the sniper shots had finally stopped.

Lyra lowered the Springfield M1903A slightly and glanced at the rifle in her hands. After counting the shots she had fired and the number of Sniper rifles she changed to keep shooting, she realized that the ammunition of this new sniper rifle had run out.

”Ah.”

She looked at the rifle for a moment before casually speaking to herself.

”My bullet is finished and I have run out of loaded Springfields.”

Her voice carried no frustration. If anything, she sounded almost amused by the situation.

Logan’s expression, however, was completely different.

”This BITCH!”

His shout echoed across the platform.

His eyes were filled with anger as he stared at Lyra.

”I’m stronger than you!!”

He could no longer hide his irritation.

He had spent the fight blocking her shots, chasing her around the platform, and watching her escape attacks that should have forced her into a corner. Now that her sniper ammunition and stocks of loaded Springfield M1903A had run out, Logan finally felt that the situation had returned to where it should have been.

He was the stronger Alchemist.

He had a larger Cognis Pool.

He possessed the advantage of Earth Alchemy on a battlefield made almost entirely of earth and stone.

He wasn’t going to allow Lyra to continue humiliating him.

Clap!

His hands came together.

An Earth Alchemy Circle formed between his palms, and the brown formation began to glow as Cognis rushed through his body.

”So, just go down!”

Logan slammed his hand against the ground.

Slam!

The moment his palm struck the platform, the Earth Alchemy ignited.

A surge of Cognis spread through the ground, causing the air around Logan to move violently from the sudden release of power.

Lyra reacted immediately.

She released the Springfield M1903A.

The rifle dropped toward the platform as her hand reached toward her Space Bag.

Several black steel bars appeared in her grasp.

She had already decided to perform her own Gun Alchemy.

But Logan was faster.

The ground beneath them moved.

A large mass of earth suddenly rose from the platform and twisted forward, forming a thick pillar that moved with surprising speed.

It wasn’t simply growing upward.

It was moving.

The pillar curved through the air like a giant earth snake, its thick body rushing directly toward Lyra while she was still bringing her hands together around the black steel bars.

Lyra’s palms touched her Gun Alchemy materials.

The formation began to take shape.

A Repeater Sword Rifle formed in her hands.

But the weapon had only just appeared when the earth pillar reached her.

BOOM!

The pillar slammed directly into Lyra’s stomach.

Her body bent around the impact.

”Argh!”

Blood and spit escaped from her mouth as the force of the blow lifted her from the ground.

The pillar continued moving without slowing down.

It struck her with enough force to push her backward and carried her toward the final line of the fighting platform.

The pillar wasn’t as large as the one Fatima had previously used against Ezra to carry far into the sky, but because Logan continued pouring Cognis into it, the earth remained firm even as it moved.

Lyra’s back was being pushed closer and closer toward the edge.

Yet she didn’t release the Repeater Sword Rifle or her scythe.

Her fingers remained wrapped around the weapon.

Logan saw her struggling against the attack and shouted.

”I’m going to crush your bones!!!”

His voice was full of rage as more Cognis poured into the Earth Alchemy.

The pillar extended farther.

Its front continued pressing against Lyra’s body while Logan controlled its movement from a distance.

Lyra was getting closer to the edge.

She could feel the force pushing against her stomach, and her body was already beginning to lose its position.

Lyra placed her Scythe into her space bag quickly then she reached out and gripped the side of the moving earth with one hand.

Her fingers dug into the surface with Cognis enhancing her nails and fingers.

Blood dripped from her fingers as she pressed harder.

Lyra immediately transferred Cognis into that arm.

The muscles in her arm tightened.

Then she pushed.

Instead of trying to stop the pillar, she used its movement to her advantage.

Lyra pulled herself upward with the enhanced strength in her arm and shifted her body onto the moving surface.

The pillar continued rushing forward.

Lyra allowed herself to move with it for a moment before using the change in momentum to push away.

Her hand slipped from the rapidly moving earth.

Few of her fingers snapped because of this.

Her body dropped.

She hit the platform.

Thud!

Lyra rolled across the ground before quickly stopping herself.

Blood mixed with saliva at the corner of her mouth.

She wiped it away with the back of her hand while her broken fingers began to heal slowly because of the Cognis she passed through the fingers.

But Logan didn’t give her time to recover.

”Do you think you can just escape!”

His hand moved.

The earth pillar suddenly curved around.

Its massive body changed direction and came rushing toward Lyra again.

Lyra looked at it.

”Ahhh...”

She exhaled slowly.

The pillar reached her.

She bent her body backward.

Her palms nearly touched the ground as her spine curved, allowing the thick earth pillar to pass over her.

The wind produced by its movement swept across her face.

The attack missed.

”Tsk!”

Logan clicked his tongue.

His frustration was becoming more obvious.

He immediately redirected the pillar.

It swung around again, chasing Lyra from another angle.

Lyra pushed herself off the ground.

She performed a Kip-Up, using the strength in her legs and core to spring from the ground and return to her feet without placing her hands against the platform.

The moment she landed, she turned sharply.

The earth pillar rushed past her again.

Lyra twisted her body and performed a diagonal somersault, allowing the moving pillar to pass beside her while she rotated through the air.

She landed with her feet beneath her.

The attack had missed again.

Logan’s eyes widened slightly.

”This resilient bitch!”

Lyra didn’t answer.

She simply smiled, then she dashed forward.

Her legs pushed against the platform with enough force to make her body blur as she rushed toward Logan.

The distance between them disappeared quickly.

Logan immediately pulled the earth pillar back toward himself.

Lyra raised the Repeater Sword Rifle.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The rifle fired several shots in rapid succession.

The bullets travelled directly toward Logan, but the earth pillar swept across his front and took the shots instead.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The bullets struck the dense earth and were stopped.

Logan immediately sent the pillar forward again.

Lyra jumped.

The earth passed underneath her.

She rotated her body while still holding the Repeater Sword Rifle, and during that movement, her free hand while her fingers were still healing, went into the space bag and released the scythe out.

The weapon left her grasp and spun through the air.

The curved blade flew directly toward Logan.

Logan’s eyes widened.

He quickly controlled the earth pillar and brought it across his body, expecting it to block the incoming weapon.

But the scythe’s trajectory changed slightly as it travelled.

Logan moved his body to the side.

The blade passed him by only inches.

BAM!

The scythe slammed into the ground behind him.

The impact sent a strong burst of air across his body.

Logan felt the force of the strike even though the blade had missed.

He had barely avoided it.

Then he heard Lyra’s voice.

”Isn’t this exciting.”

Logan’s brown eyes shifted forward.

Lyra was already standing directly in front of him.

The Repeater Sword Rifle was pointed at the side of his shoulder.

The distance between them was almost nothing.

To many people watching the fight, it looked like Lyra had finally achieved checkmate.

She had gotten past his earth pillar.

His defensive position had been broken.

Her rifle was already aimed at him.

One pull of the trigger should have been enough.

But Lyra’s eyes suddenly moved downward.

She noticed something.

Cognis was fluctuating between Logan’s hands.

An Earth Alchemy Circle was already forming there.

He already performed an Earth Alchemy.

Lyra understood it immediately.

Logan had been preparing another technique while she focused on reaching him.

His hands came together, while he lowered his body.

Bang!

Lyra pulled the trigger.

The bullet fired toward him.

But Logan had dropped down quickly enough for the shot to pass over him.

His palms struck the ground.

Slam!

The Earth Alchemy ignited.

Something rose directly beneath Lyra.

At first, it looked like another ordinary Earth Wall.

Then Lyra realized what was different.

The wall didn’t simply rise in front of her.

It formed around her extended arm.

A hole appeared in the earth at the exact position of her hand, and the surrounding material closed around her arm like a lock.

Her arm was trapped.

Lyra pulled.

The earth didn’t move.

She tried to shift her body.

The wall held her arm in place.

For the first time, she had nowhere to go.

To the spectators...

The situation had completely changed.

Logan had turned what looked like Lyra’s victory into his own checkmate.

”I’m not yet down, bitch of Ash... hahah.”

Logan laughed.

His face was filled with satisfaction.

He had finally caught her.

His hands came together again.

Another Earth Alchemy Circle formed.

He slammed both palms against the ground.

Everything happened within only a few seconds.

The formation ignited.

The earth wall gripping Lyra’s arm moved downward with tremendous force.

Logan’s intention was obvious.

He wanted to slam the trapped arm into the ground.

With the strength behind the technique, Lyra’s arm would be broken.

The impact wouldn’t simply just hurt.

It would crush the arm against the platform.

”Hahaha!”

Logan smiled.

He believed he had finally won.

Blood splashed across his body.

For a moment, Logan didn’t understand what had happened.

More blood spread across the fighting platform.

Even the spectators closest to the front of the Arena reacted in shock.

Several high-ranking Alchemists immediately widened their eyes.

They had seen what happened.

Lyra had made a decision that most people would never consider making.

She had sacrificed her own arm.

While Logan’s Earth Wall had locked her arm in place, Lyra had already reached for the scythe that had fallen nearby.

She had no way to pull the arm free.

She couldn’t stop Logan’s second Alchemy.

And she knew that if she allowed the earth wall to slam her arm into the ground, the attack would break it anyway while also sending her body crashing down.

So, she chose another option.

Lyra cut through her own arm.

Using the scythe moved with one clean motion.

Blood poured from the severed limb.

But Lyra was already moving.

She used the momentum of the cut to twist her body into the air.

Her remaining hand still held the scythe.

Her body spun in the air.

Logan’s eyes widened.

”She...”

He barely managed to speak.

BAM!

The back of the scythe slammed directly into Logan’s head.

The blunt side of the weapon struck with enough force to send him crashing into the ground.

BOOM!

His body hit the platform.

The impact shook the earth beneath him.

”Argh!”

That was the only sound Logan managed to make before his eyes rolled upward and his consciousness disappeared.

His body went completely limp.

Lyra landed on the platform with both feet in a bent posture.

Her breathing was heavier now.

Blood continued flowing from the arm she had sacrificed, spreading across the ground near her feet.

She looked at Logan.

He was unconscious.

The Earth Wall that had trapped her arm was already back into the ground.

Lyra looked down at herself.

Then she raised her remaining hand.

”Victory.”

She said it with a bright smile.

Her eyes moved toward the section of the audience where Vera was seated.

The smile on her face became even wider when she found Vera.

Immediately...

”WOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”

The crowd erupted.

The sound shook the entire Arena.

”She’s so crazy!”

”That was amazing!”

”Are all the Ashenlocke’s this badass?!”

”Isn’t this the third time an Ashenlocke has beaten a Drakes?!”

”The Ashenlocke’s are really on the rise!”

”What the hell was the Trial of Steel even about to create monsters like this?!”

The spectators continued shouting over one another.

Some were standing.

Others had both hands raised.

Even people who had been supporting Logan were staring at Lyra in disbelief.

The battle had ended in a way almost nobody had expected.

Logan had believed he had finally trapped Lyra.

For a brief moment, it had looked as though he really had.

But Lyra had been willing to pay a price that he never expected her to pay.

She had chosen to lose an arm rather than lose the fight.

Patrick’s voice finally echoed through the Arena after the officials finished checking Logan and confirming that he was truly unconscious.

”Winner!”

The crowd slowly quieted enough for his voice to be heard clearly.

Patrick raised his microphone.

”Lyra Ashburn.”