Last Gun Alchemist

Lyra sensed the shift in the air.

Her danger sense screamed at her before her eyes could even catch what was happening, and her body reacted almost on instinct as she quickly turned around.

”AHHHHH!!!”

She jumped slightly into the air while twisting her body sharply, bringing her scythe around at the same time. The weapon rotated in her hands, the long blade cutting through the cold air as she tried to place it between herself and the incoming gunshots.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The bullets crashed against the metal blade one after another.

Sparks scattered across the air.

Lyra’s wrists shifted with every impact, her arms moving in small but precise adjustments as she used the scythe to block Ezra’s shots. She did not simply hold the weapon in front of herself and hope that the bullets would hit it. Each shot came from a slightly different angle, forcing her to rotate the scythe again and again while her body continued moving through the air.

The sharp sound of metal striking metal rang across the platform.

Lyra’s eyes followed the flashes of the bullets as best as she could.

”Argh.”

A small groan escaped her.

One of the bullets had grazed her on the side of her arm.

Then another on the side of her leg.

And another on the side of her left shoulder.

Thin cuts appeared across parts of her training cloth, with small traces of blood following behind them.

The problem wasn’t that Lyra lacked the speed to swing her scythe.

The problem was Ezra’s accuracy.

His bullets were not being fired randomly. Each shot was placed in a position that made her next movement more difficult, and because the firing sequence continued without giving her a proper opening, even a slight mistake in the movement of her scythe meant that a bullet could slip past the blade.

She couldn’t block every shot perfectly.

Yet Lyra did not stop.

Not even for a moment.

Her feet hadn’t even touched the ground before her body was already preparing for the next movement.

Boom!

Lyra dashed forward.

Cognis rushed through the veins of her right upper arm, traveled through her forearm, and finally entered her hand. Her fingers tightened around the scythe’s handle as the Cognis moved through her body.

Her acceleration increased.

The snow scattered beneath her feet, and the sudden force of her movement pushed a thin gust of wind behind her, sending loose snow across the platform.

White Cognis entered the Circuit system of her scythe.

The weapon responded immediately.

Its metal edge gave off a faint glow as the Circuit accepted the Cognis flowing through it, allowing Lyra to put more force behind each movement without slowing herself down.

Ahead of her, Ezra remained in place.

He did not rush toward her.

He did not retreat.

He simply changed his aim.

His arms moved with enough precision that his body barely seemed to participate in the motion.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

He fired another series of accurate shots.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed.

She immediately swung her scythe.

The first bullet came toward her.

Clank!

Her blade knocked it aside.

She shifted her grip and raised the scythe vertically.

Clank!

The next bullet struck the blade.

Then Lyra twisted her wrists and moved the weapon diagonally.

Clank!

The third bullet was sliced aside.

Her movements became smoother as she continued running, her scythe moving from one angle to another as though she were drawing a pattern through the air.

But Ezra did not stop firing the Glock 20.

The gunshots continued.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Lyra’s expression became more excited rather than frightened.

She swung the scythe upward, then immediately brought it down at another angle to intercept another bullet.

Clank!

She turned her shoulders.

Another bullet passed beside her.

She rotated the scythe.

Clank!

Another shot was deflected.

Yet the firing sequence was too consistent, and the angles were becoming harder to cover.

Lyra realized she couldn’t continue running in the same direction.

Her feet changed direction.

She dashed toward Ezra’s right side instead, her body turning while her scythe spun around her.

More bullets came.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The blade caught several of them.

One slipped past.

Another grazed her shoulder.

A third cut across her side.

Blood splashed from the small wounds.

Lyra did not even slow down.

”Ahhh... You really are one strong Alchemist, Ezra...”

Her lips stretched into a wide smile.

”Hahahaha.”

Her laughter carried through the arena.

More blood slipped from the cuts across her body, but the pain seemed to excite her instead of discouraging her.

The sight of Ezra standing there, continuing to fire without showing any sign of panic, only made the expression on her face brighter.

Then Lyra suddenly jumped.

Her body rose into the air and began spinning.

The scythe left her hands.

The thin chain attached to the weapon’s head immediately began extending, following the motion of the thrown weapon as it flew toward Ezra.

The scythe spun through the air.

Ezra shifted.

He only needed a few steps.

His body moved just enough for the blade to pass by him.

The edge missed him by inches.

Boom!

The scythe crashed into the platform.

The impact cracked the ground slightly, sending a few pieces of stone and snow upward.

But Ezra’s attention had left Lyra for only a few milliseconds.

That was enough.

Thud!

His right boot touched the ground.

The moment it did, his inner world spread outward.

The familiar black-and-white sketch of the world appeared within his perception.

The arena.

The platform.

The spectators.

Their movements.

The cheering crowd.

Everything appeared inside that strange inner world.

The spectators were still moving.

Their cheers hadn’t even finished leaving their mouths.

Some had their arms raised.

Some were leaning forward.

Others were standing from their seats.

And among all of those movements, Ezra saw Lyra.

She was already reaching into her Space Bag.

His eyes focused.

Lyra pulled out the E.V 26 MK.II.

Her finger was already moving toward the trigger.

Bang!

The shotgun fired.

The pellets spread outward almost immediately.

Ezra understood what had happened.

He had turned his physical perception away from Lyra for only a few milliseconds.

That was all she needed to enter his blind spot and fire.

His black dead fish eyes flinched.

SHRRRRRING!

KLANG!

KLANG!

KLANG!

Numerous sparks flew across the platform.

The pellets struck the ground around him, tearing small marks into the stone and sending tiny pieces of debris outward.

But none of them had struck Ezra.

Lyra’s white eyes, shaded faintly with purple, widened.

She stared at the weapon rotating behind Ezra.

For a brief moment, she couldn’t understand what she was seeing.

The rifle she had assumed was the Springfield M1903A sniper rifle had moved on its own.

The AWM .338 Lapua that Ezra had controlled with Alchemy Levitation was spinning rapidly behind him.

The rifle rotated through the air at just the right angle, placing its body between Ezra and the incoming pellets.

It had blocked the entire attack.

Lyra’s eyes widened even further.

Then her body suddenly moved.

She was pulled toward the right.

Ezra had caught the chain attached to her scythe.

His hand tightened around it.

With a sharp pull, he changed the direction of the chain.

Lyra was still airborne when the force reached her.

”AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Her body was thrown sideways.

Yet there was strangely little panic in her voice.

Instead...

”HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!”

Lyra laughed, as her body spun through the air like a rag doll as Ezra continued controlling the chain.

He didn’t simply pull her in a straight line.

His second hand moved.

The chain suddenly changed from its rotation motion.

By pressing the chain downward, Ezra redirected the force traveling through it, causing Lyra’s body which was spinning around in a circular motion.

”Whoa!”

Her voice came out almost cheerfully.

Then the direction changed, moving in a downward motion.

Lyra was thrown toward the ground.

Boom!

She crashed down hard.

The platform shook beneath her.

However, she reacted before the impact could fully transfer through her body.

Both hands touched the ground first.

Then both knees followed.

She used her arms and legs to absorb part of the fall instead of allowing her entire body to hit the platform at once.

Even so, the impact was heavy.

Cracks spread beneath her.

Her body dug slightly into the damaged stone.

Snow scattered around her hands.

Lyra immediately raised her head.

Her sense of danger screamed again.

She leaned her body sharply to the side.

Whoosh!!

The head of the scythe passed only inches from her face.

The blade moved so close that Lyra could see the sunlight reflected across its metal surface.

Her eyes followed it.

For one brief moment, she was completely focused on her own weapon.

And that was when she realized something.

Ezra was already beside her.

Her eyes were still following the scythe.

Ezra was not.

”Wow...”

The word slipped from Lyra’s mouth.

There was genuine amazement in her voice.

Before she could finish the thought, Ezra moved.

His hand grabbed hers.

He twisted her arm swiftly, controlling the position of her wrist before placing his other hand against the back of her head.

Lyra’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t even finished turning toward him.

BOOM!

Ezra slammed her head against the ground.

The impact sent another crack through the platform.

”Argh!”

A small amount of blood escaped Lyra’s mouth and nose.

Ezra did not waste time.

He controlled his Cognis into his space bag.

A dagger emerged.

The weapon shot into the air while spinning rapidly.

At the same time, Ezra released the hand that had been twisting Lyra’s arm and caught the dagger in the air.

”AHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Lyra suddenly screamed.

Her left hand slammed against the platform.

Hard.

Massive amounts of Cognis rushed into her left arm.

BOOMMMM!

The ground exploded beneath her palm.

The platform rose slightly from the force of the impact as more cracks spread outward.

Pieces of stone jumped into the air.

Snow scattered in every direction.

The sudden destruction forced Ezra to move away.

The crowd erupted.

”WOOOOOOOAHHHHHHH!!!”

The roar from the Arena became almost deafening.

”GO SIR EZRA ASHENLOCKE!!!”

Several of Ezra’s fans rose from their seats.

Some raised their hands.

Others shouted his name while pointing toward the damaged platform.

The exchange had happened too quickly for many of them to properly understand every movement, but they had seen enough to know that Ezra had controlled the fight through his weapons, his movement, and his Alchemy Levitation.

Patrick’s voice soon echoed across the Arena.

”Wow, what an amazing display of Alchemy Levitation!”

Even Patrick sounded genuinely impressed.

His eyes remained fixed on the platform as he watched the firearms and dagger Ezra had controlled with such precision.

”I didn’t know he was that good in Alchemy Levitation...”

Professor Kent spoke from his seat.

His face carried a mock-serious expression, as though he was trying very hard not to look impressed.

”Why are all these students of mine just showing glimpses of their Alchemy abilities? Who even taught them?”

He leaned back on his seat and placed both hands behind his head lazily.

”Why do they keep doing this?”

”Ha-ha...”

Patrick gave an awkward laugh.

He glanced toward Kent.

You are their main Instructor, though.

The thought remained inside his head.

Before he could say anything else, the dust surrounding the platform began to clear.

Patrick’s eyes suddenly widened.

He leaned forward.

”MISS LYRA STILL STANDS!!!!!”

His voice echoed through the Arena.

The crowd’s attention immediately returned to Lyra.

She was still there.

Lyra slowly moved her head, cracking the stiffness in her neck after Ezra had pinned her against the ground.

Her breathing was heavier now.

Her training cloth had been torn in several places.

Her right hand was bleeding heavily.

The dagger Ezra had caught was now stabbed into her hand.

Lyra looked down at it.

”Ahh... He still managed to stab my hand.”

She sighed for a long moment.

The pain was obvious from the way her fingers trembled slightly, but her face didn’t show much of it.

Instead, she simply looked at the dagger as if it were an annoying inconvenience.

Then she pulled her gaze back toward Ezra.

”Come on, Wild Gun of Ash!!!!”

”You got this, Wild Gun!!”

”Fight on, Miss Lyra Ashburn!!”

The spectators supporting Lyra finally found their voices again.

Some stood.

Others waved their hands.

Several shouted her title repeatedly as they watched her remain on her feet despite the injuries she had suffered.

Lyra did not look like someone who was ready to stop.

If anything, she looked as though she had just found another reason to continue.

The dust finally cleared completely.

Ezra became visible.

He stood calmly across from her, his black eyes carrying their usual dead-fish expression.

There was no dramatic pose.

No unnecessary movement.

He simply watched Lyra.

Lyra’s breathing became rougher.

She could feel her body struggling.

Her muscles were beginning to lose some of their strength, and the pain from her injuries was becoming harder to ignore.

But she still smiled.

”All these monsters of this year...”

She spoke while forcing herself to remain steady.

Her legs trembled faintly beneath her.

She tightened her grip.

”You might think you aren’t like the rest, but you are one of them...”

Her eyes remained fixed on Ezra.

”Ezra Ashenlocke, maybe not now...”

Her voice became more excited.

”But you will surely be a Monster like those Four Ahead of the others.”

Her eyes sparkled.

The excitement inside them had not disappeared.

Instead, it seemed to have grown.

”And the more of a monster you are, the more exciting it feels giving my all... Hahaha... Hahaha...”

Lyra laughed again.

More Cognis flowed out from her body.

It was faint compared to earlier.

Her body was battered, and blood continued to run from her injured hand and the small cuts left by Ezra’s bullets.

Yet she continued standing.

She continued smiling.

She continued looking at Ezra as though the injuries were only another part of the fight.

Lyra Ashburn had never been the type to let being battered slow her down.

If her body could still move, she would keep moving.

If her hands could still hold a gun or scythe, she would keep fighting.

She would continue until her body finally refused to obey her.

Because fighting was the one thing, she had understood from the moment she first held a gun and a scythe when she was little.

It was the thing that made her feel most alive.

Lyra Ashburn was born to fight.

And she would keep fighting until she died.