Last Gun Alchemist

Grace’s eyes were fixed on Vera’s position.

She didn’t blink.

Her grey eyes followed the girl standing across the platform, trying to catch even the smallest movement in her shoulders, arms, legs, or eyes. The moment the fight had begun, Grace had already pushed Cognis through her body and sharpened her senses, yet still...Vera had given her nothing useful to read.

Bam!

Grace’s head snapped backward.

Pain shot through her nose before she even understood what had happened.

Her vision shook for an instant, and her body instinctively moved back from the impact.

Vera stood directly in front of her.

Her hand was already swinging back from the punch.

For a brief moment, Grace’s mind went completely blank.

Huh?

She had been watching Vera.

She had been looking directly at her.

And yet Vera had somehow crossed the distance between them without Grace seeing the movement.

Grace took a few hurried steps backward, her boots scraping against the platform, but she immediately forced herself to regain control.

She couldn’t allow herself to freeze.

Not against Vera.

Not even for a second.

”Tsk.”

Grace clicked her tongue as she moved her hands back toward her Space Bag.

Her fingers disappeared inside.

Vera, meanwhile, stood calmly in front of her and moved her punching hand slightly, as though checking the feeling left behind from the strike.

There was no excitement on her face.

No satisfaction.

She simply looked at Grace.

Grace smirked slightly.

If Vera wanted to fight at close range, then Grace would make sure she paid for approaching her.

Grace lowered herself into a kneeling position.

Her hand came out of her Space Bag holding the weapon she had prepared.

An RPG-2 Launcher.

BANG!

She fired immediately.

There was no time wasted on careful aiming.

The RPG shot forward from the launcher, cutting through the air toward Vera.

The projectile moved rapidly across the short distance between them.

Vera simply stared at the incoming RPG.

She didn’t immediately move.

BOOM!

A large explosion erupted from Vera’s position.

Flame burst outward, followed by a thick wave of smoke that spread across the platform. Pieces of broken stone were thrown through the smoke while the force of the explosion pushed loose snow away from the impact point.

The crowd reacted at once.

Some spectators stood from their seats, while others leaned forward to see through the smoke.

Grace didn’t wait.

She immediately passed Cognis through her sensory system.

Her eyes sharpened.

Her hearing became more sensitive.

Even the movement of air around her body became easier to recognize.

She already knew one RPG attack wasn’t going to hurt Vera.

There was no way Vera would simply stand there and get defeated by an attack that obvious.

Grace’s hand immediately moved toward her Space Bag again.

Then she felt the air shift beside her face.

The change was so slight that she barely noticed it.

Bam!

Grace’s head snapped sideways.

A kick had struck her.

Vera was standing beside her.

Her leg had already returned to the ground after the strike, and the motion looked almost as casual as someone kicking a ball across a field.

Grace’s body lost balance from the impact.

She tumbled across the platform, but she didn’t release her RPG-2 Launcher.

Even while tumbling, her hands continued moving.

She reloaded the launcher during the motion.

Her body rolled once.

Then again.

She planted one knee against the platform and pushed herself upright into a kneeling shooting stance.

Her breathing had become rougher.

Her nose hurt.

But she still had her weapon.

She raised the RPG-2.

Before she could fire...

Grab!

Vera’s hand seized the barrel of the launcher.

Grace’s eyes widened.

Vera raised the weapon upward with one hand.

Grace’s finger was already on the trigger.

BANG!

The RPG launched.

Instead of flying toward Vera, it shot upward toward the Force Field covering the entire fighting area.

Grace watched it disappear above them.

A moment later...

BOOM!

The RPG collided with the Force Field.

A large explosion spread across the top of the Arena’s fighting zone, briefly illuminating the falling snow and the surrounding air. The Force Field trembled from the impact, but it held firmly in place.

Vera looked back at Grace.

”You actually passed this much Cognis through all your body parts, Second rate.”

She said it plainly.

Her dull black eyes met Grace’s grey ones. She tilted her head slightly, studying Grace as though she had only just noticed something worth mentioning.

”Tsk.”

Grace clicked her tongue.

Her other hand moved.

A dagger slipped from the sleeve of her training cloth and appeared between her fingers.

She thrust it toward Vera.

The attack was quick.

Vera’s right hand moved.

Smack!

She struck Grace’s hand to the side.

The movement was sudden but gentle in appearance, yet the force behind it was enough to knock the dagger completely out of Grace’s grip.

The dagger spun through the air before falling onto the platform.

Grace barely had time to react.

Grab!

Vera’s right hand moved directly to Grace’s neck.

Both girls were still in a kneeling position.

Vera’s other hand firmly held the RPG-2 Launcher while her grip around Grace’s neck tightened enough to weaken Grace’s control over her arms.

”Urgh... Urgh... Ur...”

Grace choked.

Her face twisted from the pressure around her neck as she tried to pull Vera’s hand away.

It didn’t move.

Vera slowly stood.

She lifted Grace with her.

Grace’s knees left the platform, and her boots almost lost contact with the ground completely.

The sight immediately changed the atmosphere of the Arena.

The crowd had been cheering only moments ago.

Now, the noise began to disappear.

People stared at the two girls on the platform.

Vera was standing normally, but Grace was hanging from her grip.

”To think you Evergreys wouldn’t only try to go against us Ashenlockes...”

Vera looked at Grace.

”...like that wasn’t enough for you second rates.”

Her voice remained casual as she tilted her head slightly again.

”You actually went for my Dancer?”

Vera’s expression barely changed, but her grip around Grace’s neck tightened.

”Obviously, nothing can escape my sight, but you did all that openly to gain what?”

Grace’s boots moved hurriedly as she tried to find enough ground to push herself away.

The spectators remained silent.

This was far beyond what most of them had expected.

They all already knew just how strong Vera Ashenlocke is.

What she did to Gareth Ashenlocke was a perfect example of her strength.

They had watched her movements in the previous rounds.

But the speed at which she had taken control of this fight was still difficult to accept.

Grace had barely managed to attack before Vera was already beside her.

And now she was being held by the neck.

”Inviting Ezra to your club.”

Vera narrowed her eyes.

”Ur... Ur... Ur...”

Grace’s voice cracked.

What the hell is going on?

Her thoughts became increasingly frantic.

This is way beyond holding for a while.

How is she able to move like a ghost?

I couldn’t even see or sense her movement.

And the strikes hurt as well, even though I’m using Cognis for multitasking.

Her body was receiving several enhancements at once.

Strength.

Speed.

Hardening.

And more.

She was doing all of this at the same time.

Yet Vera’s physical attacks still felt heavy.

Grace gritted her teeth.

The grip around her neck became more suffocating.

Her lungs struggled to draw enough air.

I can’t do this...

Her grey eyes met Vera’s dull black eyes.

There was no hatred in them.

No excitement.

They simply looked back at her.

I really can’t do this.

The little confidence she had possessed at the beginning of the match was beginning to disappear.

Her eyelids grew heavier.

Her vision became blurry around the edges.

Her body was beginning to weaken.

Grab!

NO!!!!

Cognis suddenly surged through Grace’s body.

She forced one hand upward.

Her fingers wrapped around Vera’s hand.

Vera’s eyes shifted down.

She glanced at the hand gripping her own.

Grace’s fingers tightened.

Her entire body strained.

”AHHHHHHH!!!”

Grace forced one of her legs to move.

Her knee shot upward toward Vera’s stomach.

The attack almost connected.

But Vera immediately released Grace’s neck and stepped backward several times, evading the knee by inches.

Grace dropped toward the platform.

”Cough! Cough! Cough!”

She coughed violently.

Small amounts of saliva escaped from her mouth as she bent forward and tried to pull air into her lungs.

Her hand quickly reached into her Space Bag.

She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth before forcing herself to stand.

Her grey eyes glared at Vera.

Cognis continued surging through her body.

The flow was stronger than before.

Vera watched her.

”Eh...”

Her head tilted slightly to the other side.

”The Second rate has the will.”

There was a faint trace of teasing in her voice, but Vera’s expression remained unchanged. She looked at Grace for another moment before giving a small, almost indifferent tilt of her head yet again, as though Grace’s resistance had only made the fight slightly less boring.

”Joke all you want, Ashenlocke.”

Grace spoke while still holding her neck.

Her breathing remained heavy, but she forced herself to stand properly.

”I’m not going down without a proper fight.”

She reached into her space bag pulling out her trump card.

Vera’s dull eyes immediately moved toward the gun in Grace’s hand.

”You’re already taking out your trump card this early?”

Vera asked casually.

”Wasn’t the plan to hold out until I let my guard down?”

Her tone made it sound as though she had been the one who suggested the strategy to Grace.

Grace’s expression twitched.

This bitch.

She already had a good guess that Vera had been aware of the trump card since the beginning of the match.

So, what was the point of hiding it?

A surprise attack couldn’t exist when the opponent already knew about the gun.

Grace tightened her grip.

The weapon in her hands was no ordinary firearm.

The Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 rested firmly in her hands.

Its large frame made it look different from the weapons she had used earlier.

The weight of the weapon was obvious even from the way Grace held it, but her stance had become steadier.

She had more resolution now than she had at the beginning of the match.

She had already been overwhelmed once.

She had nearly lost consciousness.

Yet she was still standing.

Her grey eyes remained fixed on Vera.

The crowd slowly began to realize that the fight had changed again.

Vera had dominated the opening.

Grace had been forced into a corner almost immediately.

But now she had finally brought out the weapon she had been hiding.

Vera stared at the Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 for a moment.

Then her lips moved slightly.

”This is good...”

She said plainly.

For the first time since the fight began, there was a faint change in Vera’s dull eyes.

Not fear.

Not surprise.

Something closer to interest.

As if the weapon had finally become worth watching.