Last Gun Alchemist

Back in the First-Year seating section...

Ezra glanced toward Veda.

Something about him was different.

Veda was sitting in his usual posture, but he didn’t look as relaxed as he normally did. His hands were together in front of him, his fingers occasionally shifting against each other while his eyes remained fixed on the fight platform.

Ezra noticed it.

But he didn’t immediately ask about it, since he’s not the type of person to prey on others’ concerns.

But this time, it was Veda.

Veda wasn’t someone who usually looked nervous, especially after everything that had happened to him when he went train with his master and in the Trial of steel. He had already fought several difficult opponents, survived moments where things could have gone badly, Became the Young Lord of Ash, and even reached the point where people throughout Britannia now recognized him as the Young Lord of Ash properly.

Yet he was nervous now.

Ezra could make a good guess as to why.

”What did Vera tell you before she went to the waiting room?”

Ezra asked calmly, his eyes still focused on the fight platform.

The Craft-Based Royal Academy staff were still working there.

The damaged stone had been repaired in several places, and more staff members were moving across the platform while Earth Alchemy restored the remaining cracks. The sounds of stone shifting and tools moving across the surface could occasionally be heard beneath the conversations of the spectators.

”Eh?”

Veda turned toward Ezra.

For a moment, he looked surprised that Ezra had asked him something like this.

Ezra finally turned his head and looked at him.

Veda hesitated before answering.

”Well, she told me to watch how a big sister takes revenge on the person who bullied her younger brother.”

A helpless smile appeared on Veda’s face.

There was no need to ask who Vera had been talking about.

Obviously, the younger brother she meant wasn’t Bale.

It was Veda.

He knew that and Ezra knew that.

Anyone who knew how Vera interacted with her twin would probably have known it too.

Veda’s helpless smile remained for another moment before fading slightly.

”The issue is that I’m worried for her.”

His voice became lower.

His hands came together more tightly as he looked back toward the platform.

”The Wild Rumors never stopped, you know...”

His fingers shifted against one another.

”And even though she shows she doesn’t care about it...”

Veda paused.

His expression became more serious.

”I’m really worried about what would happen if she loses to Ravenor.”

The concern in his voice wasn’t the kind that came from being afraid of losing a match.

It was the concern of an older brother who didn’t want to see his sister suffer again.

Veda knew Vera.

He had grown up with her.

He is also her twin brother.

He had seen her act as though nothing could bother her, even when something clearly did.

He had seen her remain expressionless when other people expected anger, laugh at things that should have annoyed her, and dismiss problems that would have caused most people to lose sleep.

But that didn’t mean Veda believed she was incapable of being hurt.

He remembered what had happened when Vera lost to Diane when they were younger.

The loss itself had been enough.

People had talked.

Some had mocked her.

Others had questioned her ability.

There were even people who had started treating that one defeat as proof that Vera was not as invincible as everyone had believed.

Veda hated all of it.

”I don’t care if it’s me who loses in front of everyone...”

He lowered his gaze slightly.

”But I don’t want to see her suffer another loss like she did when she lost to Diane.”

His eyebrow tightened.

There was a small crease between his brows now.

The thought of seeing Vera experience that again clearly bothered him more than anything else.

Ezra looked at him in silence.

His expression didn’t change.

For a brief moment, he simply watched Veda.

Then he spoke.

”It’s good to worry, Young Lord.”

His voice remained as plain as ever.

”That is why you are you.”

Veda slowly raised his eyes.

Ezra continued.

”That is why you should raise your head and watch the fight properly with that brotherly love of yours.”

His black eyes remained steady.

”And make sure to be with her if she cracks.”

Veda stared at him.

Ezra’s voice hadn’t changed.

He didn’t sound emotional.

He didn’t speak like someone giving a grand speech.

He simply said the words as though he were explaining something obvious.

”I mean...”

Ezra lifted one hand and pointed toward Veda.

”Isn’t that what a brother is supposed to do?”

He said it calmly.

Then Ezra turned his attention back toward the newly repaired fight platform.

Veda remained silent.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at Ezra’s side profile.

”Ha... haha...”

A small laugh escaped him.

His shoulders relaxed slightly.

Your plain voice makes it hard for me to even think you are trying to cheer me up, Ezra.

Veda smiled to himself.

It was strange.

Very strange.

Ezra’s expression had barely changed while saying those words, and his tone had been so plain that someone unfamiliar with him might have thought he was simply making an observation.

But Veda knew what Ezra had meant.

He had been trying to reassure him.

In his own way.

Veda laughed a little more.

He really does have a strange way of saying things.

Then another thought came to him.

But he does have a knack for saying things that touch people’s minds.

Veda remembered something.

He remembered when Ezra had spoken to Aliya’s parents and her brother.

The way Ezra had spoken back then had been similar.

There had been no dramatic speech.

No attempt to force people to feel better.

He had simply said what he believed needed to be said.

Yet somehow, those words had remained with them.

Veda looked toward the fight platform again.

His expression had become calmer.

”If only you were more cheerful.”

He muttered the words quietly to himself.

Ezra heard him but didn’t respond.

The noise in the Arena began increasing again.

The staff were almost finished repairing the platform.

The spectators who had been discussing Ezra and Lyra now started shifting their attention toward the next match.

The atmosphere itself seemed to change.

The previous match had ended.

But the next one wasn’t an ordinary fight.

The excitement spreading through the Arena became stronger with every passing second.

Then Patrick’s voice suddenly echoed through the Arena speakers.

”My Britannians, are you ready for the next match!!!!”

”YESSSSS!!!!”

Hundreds of thousands of voices answered him.

The sound shook the Arena.

Even the people who had been talking among themselves stopped for a moment to listen.

”Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!!”

”Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!!”

The two enormous fan bases responded almost immediately.

Voices supporting Vera and Ravenor echoed through the Arena, overlapping with one another.

”It’s time for the showdown between our Kingdom’s Young Genius Alchemists, who have displayed dominance throughout every match they have had to face!”

Patrick’s voice became louder as he built the anticipation.

The four Holographic Screens hanging above the Arena changed.

Images of Vera’s previous matches appeared.

Then Ravenor’s matches appeared beside them.

The screens displayed their battles from the First Round all the way to the Eighth Round.

The audience watched the highlights.

Vera’s unnatural speed appeared across the screens.

Her opponents would often lose track of her movement before she suddenly appeared somewhere else.

The replay showed the strange afterimages that followed her movements, making it difficult for even experienced Low-rank Alchemists to understand exactly how she moved so quickly.

Then the screens changed to Ravenor.

Flames erupted.

Alchemy Circles formed.

His movements appeared again.

Ravenor had already shown impressive speed in Flame Alchemy ignition, and his ability to copy the Alchemy abilities and Combat Arts of other Alchemists had become one of the biggest reasons people were so interested in him since he was a child.

The audience had seen enough from both of them to understand why this match had attracted so much attention.

Vera had her speed.

Ravenor had his copying ability.

Vera possessed the strange calmness that made it difficult to understand what she was thinking.

Ravenor possessed the battle experience of an Adult Alchemist and adaptability to respond to abilities he had never seen before.

Neither had simply walked through the Combat Festival because of one trick.

Both had repeatedly shown why they were considered geniuses of their respective Duke Houses.

”This is truly the first match where so many people’s minds are working hard to decide who will actually win!”

Patrick continued.

The Holographic Screens showed Vera and Ravenor side by side.

Vera’s dull black eyes stared ahead.

Ravenor stood with his usual calm expression.

The Arena seemed to grow louder.

”This is the fight everyone has been waiting for!”

The four screens displayed their faces.

Vera and Ravenor had even been used together on the main posters for the Ninth Round advertisements.

Their faces had appeared across the Royal Academy’s promotional material, on public screens, on festival advertisements, and in the hands of people who had come specifically to watch the two Young Alchemists.

Now the match was finally about to begin.

”Welcoming the fighters for this match!!!”

Patrick’s voice echoed through the Arena.

The crowd cheered louder.

”Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!!!”

Patrick shouted the name of the first student.

Ravenor immediately walked out from the entrance.

He was completely calm.

His steps were steady.

He didn’t rush.

He didn’t look nervous.

His hands remained relaxed as he walked toward the platform.

”KYYYYAAAAAAA!!!!!”

The voices of many young ladies suddenly rose above the rest of the crowd.

”Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!”

”I love you, Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!”

”You got this, Young Lord of Burnwick!!!”

”The Copy Genius of Burnwick!!!”

”Burnwick all the way!!!”

”Make us Burnwick proud!!!!”

”That’s our Young Lord!!”

”He’s so handsome!!!”

”I love you, Sir Ravenor Burnwick!!”

The cheers continued.

They came from different parts of the Arena, overlapping until it became difficult to separate one voice from another.

Ravenor didn’t even wave his hand and the cheering only became louder.

Some of his supporters raised banners.

Others shouted his title.

Several young ladies were practically screaming his name.

Ravenor continued walking as though none of it bothered him.

He finally stepped onto the platform.

The moment he did, his image appeared on all four Holographic Screens.

His calm face became enormous above the Arena.

The cheers continued.

Patrick waited.

He allowed the excitement surrounding Ravenor to continue for a few moments before his voice changed.

”And finally...”

His voice became lower than it had been earlier.

The Ravenor supporters were still cheering.

But the fans supporting Vera began adjusting their throats.

Some raised their hands.

Others leaned forward in their seats.

Patrick continued slowly.

”Facing the Young Lord of Burnwick...”

He dragged out the words.

The suspense in the Arena increased.

The Holographic Screens changed.

Vera’s face appeared.

”The Jewel of Ash...”

Patrick paused.

Then his voice suddenly rose.

”LADY VERA ASHENLOCKE!!!!”

The Arena erupted.

”LADY VERA ASHENLOCKE!!!”

”The Jewel of Ash!!!”

”Beat his ass!!!”

”Do it for the Ashenlockes!!”

”My Black Queen!!!!”

”No one is stopping you, My LADY!!!!”

”You got this, Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!”

”She’s so graceful!!!”

”Lady Vera Ashenlocke!!”

The voices clashed with the cheers supporting Ravenor.

For a few seconds, it almost seemed as though the Arena had become divided into two sides.

One side shouted for Burnwick.

The other shouted for Ashenlocke.

Then Vera appeared from the opposite entrance.

She walked toward the platform without hurry.

Her black hair moved slightly with each step, and the Arena lights caught the dark strands as she moved.

She raised her right hand.

The wave was lazy.

Barely enthusiastic.

It was the sort of wave that looked more like she was acknowledging the existence of the crowd rather than trying to excite them.

The response was immediate anyway.

Her supporters screamed even louder.

Vera continued walking.

She stepped onto the platform.

Her dull black eyes immediately landed on Ravenor.

He was still standing there calmly.

His hands were inside his coat pockets.

The two Young Alchemists looked at each other.

Neither moved.

The crowd continued roaring around them.

Vera’s expression remained the same emotionless gaze.

She simply stared at Ravenor.

Ravenor returned the gaze.

The noise of the Arena continued around them, but neither seemed interested in reacting to it.

Their eyes remained locked.

Two Young Alchemists.

Two Duke Houses.

Two different Alchemy Paths.

Two people who had already made it through eight rounds of the Combat Festival.

Now they were standing across from each other.

Patrick raised his microphone.

”Let’s begin the countdown!!”

The four Holographic Screens changed.

The previous images disappeared.

Large numbers appeared across all four screens.

The crowd immediately became quieter.

”THREE!!!”

Hundreds of thousands of voices shouted the number together.

The sound echoed throughout the Arena.

Vera didn’t move.

Ravenor didn’t move.

And neither spoke.

They simply continued looking at each other.

Their expressions remained calm as they weighed the person standing opposite them.

The spectators could only guess what was going through their minds.

The excitement continued building.

”TWO!!!”

The crowd shouted again.

The second number appeared across the Holographic Screens.

Vera’s dull black eyes remained fixed on Ravenor.

Ravenor’s gaze remained steady.

Neither lowered their eyes.

Neither changed their stance.

The entire Arena seemed to be waiting for the smallest movement.

Then the Holographic Screens changed again.

The final number appeared.

”ONE!!!”

The crowd shouted.

The sound was louder than before.

The anticipation reached its peak.

The four screens changed once more.

The countdown disappeared.

The word appeared across all four screens.

BEGIN.

For one brief moment, Vera and Ravenor remained still.

Then...

”BEGIN!!!!”