BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ledakan-ledakan kecil menyala berurutan saat peluru Vera bertempur dengan Bola Api Merah Ravenor.
Setiap tabrakan menghasilkan meletupan api singkat di tengah medan tempur yang penuh kabut asap. Beberapa peluru tersedot oleh api, sementara yang lain menghancurkan bola merah itu sebelum potongan api yang tersisa melanjutkan perjalanannya.
Suara tembak-menembak dan ledakan telah menjadi hal yang normal di dalam arena itu.
Kerumunan masih memberi sorak ria yang ria, meski banyak dari mereka hampir tidak dapat melihat apa pun yang terjadi.
Empat Layar Hologram di atas arena kini menampilkan warna Cognis dari dua Alkemis Muda itu, memungkinkan penonton yang tidak dapat melihat melalui kabut asap dan ledakan ledakan untuk setidaknya mengikuti gerakan pertarungan.
Gambar di layar juga dipercepat lambat.
Kecepatan kedua Alkemis Muda itu dikurangi hingga tingkat yang benar-benar dapat dilihat oleh penonton biasa.
Putih Cognis melintasi layar.
Merah Cognis menyusul.
Penonton akhirnya dapat melihat sepotong pertukaran yang mata telescopnya sebelumnya tidak tertangkap.
Beberapa penonton condong mendekat.
Yang lain menunjuk ke layar saat posisi Vera muncul sejenak sebelum menghilang kembali.
Meskipun ditampilkan dalam lambat, gerakannya tetap cepat.
Perbedaannya hanyalah bahwa sekarang penonton dapat memahami apa yang mereka lihat.
Kembali di atas pangung pertarungan...
Vera terus menembakkan bola api merah itu ke bumi.
Dua Colt 1911-nya dengan magazine perpanjang tetap di tangannya saat ia menembak berulang kali, recoil hampir tidak terasa di pergelangan tangannya.
BANG! BANG!
Sebuah bola api merah lainnya hancur.
BANG! BANG!
Satu lagi melembat.
Mata Vera tetap tajam fokus.
Dia tidak berhenti bergerak.
Kakinya menghantarkan dirinya di atas medan tempur yang rusak sementara tangannya terus menembak, dan pada sa yang sama, Alchemy Levitasi-nya bergerak melalui kabut asap.
Dia sudah bersiap untuk senjata berikutnya.
Kedua pistol misterius yang ia gunakan melawan Grace Evergrey di ronde ketujuh muncul dari Space Bag-nya.
Mereka adalah bagian dari model baru seri Acu-Vector yang Vera buat sendiri.
Acu-Vector Mk.IV.
Kedua senjata itu mengapung di belakangnya sejenak, dikelilingi oleh jejak tipis putih Cognis.
CRACK.
CRACK.
Vera melepaskan pegangannya dari kedua Colt 1911.
Senjata itu hanya mengapung sejenak sebelum strukturnya mulai retak.
Potongan kecil terpisah dari senjata sebelum seluruhnya berubah menjadi debu halus dan tersebar dalam kabut asap.
Vera tidak melihat ke belakang.
Ia mengubah posturnya menjadi posisi lari.
Bahu atasnya sedikit menurun.
Satu kaki bergerak ke depan.
Berat badannya bergeser.
Pada saat itu, bola api merah lainnya datang menghampirinya dalam jumlah banyak.
Mereka muncul melalui kabut asap satu per satu, permukaan yang terbakar menerangi medan tempur saat mereka bergerak.
Otot-otot Vera ketat sedikit.
Terutama yang ada di kakinya.
Lalu...
WHOOSH!
Angin bergerak dengan ribut.
Vera berlari ke depan.
Kecepatan gerakannya begitu tiba-tiba sehingga kabut asap di sekitarnya terdorong ke samping.
Namun, platform di bawah sepatu bootnya hampir tidak terdegradasi.
Tidak ada retakan masif.
Tidak ada crater.
Ia hanya menghilang dari posisi di mana ia sedang berdiri.
Vera bergerak seperti setan melalui kabut asap dan api, menuju posisi sebenarnya Ravenor.
Ravenor juga kehilangan sensasinya terhadap Vera sejenak.
Mata merahnya beralih.
Medan tempur dipenuhi dengan kabut asap, api, sisa-sisa peluru yang hancur, dan Cognis yang melekat dari kedua Alkemis.
Namun, Vera telah menghilang dari setiap sensasinya.
Ekspresi Ravenor berubah.
Ia segera memperluas kemampuan sensorinya.
Metode yang sama yang ia gunakan saat menghadapi Pangeran Charles Aethelmont, saat ia perlu mendeteksi cahaya pedang yang tersembunyi dalam sinar pagi.
Cognis-nya menyebar ke luar.
Bola Cognis merah membesar dari tubuhnya, menyebar di seluruh platform tempur.
Bola merah itu terus membesar.
Lintasi medan tempur.
Menyentuh hampir di luar batas area pertarungan sebenarnya.
Rentang sensor Ravenor menjangkaui segalanya di sekitarnya.
Matanya merahnya sedikit karena gemetar.
Ekspresi seriusnya yang sudah ada semakin serius, karena ia melihat mereka.
Tujuh belas jarum tipis menghantol menuju depannya.
Hampir mustahil untuk terlihat di bawah kondisi normal.
Pada sa yang sama, sosokan Vera muncul di sisi kirinya.
Ia sudah sampai padanya.
Kedua Acu-Vector Mk.IV-nya mengarah langsung ke arahnya.
Mata Ravenor beralih ke arahnya.
Jarak antara mereka telah menghilang jauh lebih cepat dari yang ia duga.
Kabut asap di antara mereka masih bergerak ketika jari-jari Vera bersiap untuk menarik picisan.
Ravenor memahami sesuatu di saat itu.
Ledakan-ledakan itu membuat sulit baginya mendengar suara tembakan pistol Vera.
Ia tidak bisa mengandalkan pendengarannya lagi.
Kebisingan ledakan membuat sulit bagiku mendengar suara senjata yang ditembaki.
Ravenor berkata dengan tenang dalam hatinya.
Tangan kanannya bergerak ke depan.
Lingkaran Alchemy Api mengapung hanya beberapa inci dari telapak tangannya.
Putih Cognis mengalir melalui Simbol-simbol Alchemy.
Formasi itu selesai.
Sebuah Bola Api Merah meluncur dari Lingkaran Alchemy itu terus-menerus seperti senjata mesin.
Ravenor segera membatalkan Lingkaran Alchemy-nya.
Ia tidak menunggu serangan untuk selesai.
Badannya beralih cepat sehingga bisa menghadap Vera, yang kini berada di sisi kirinya dan sudah siap menarik picisan.
KZZRAK!
Bunga Cognis merah meledak dari tangan kanannya.
Lingkaran Alchemy lainnya mulai terbentuk dengan cepat.
Simbol-simbol itu muncul di sekitar tangannya, dan saat Lingkaran itu selesai terbentuk, api yang membakar di tanah yang rusak mulai bergerak ke arahnya.
Api ditarik dari platform yang rusak.
Api yang telah membakar di tanah yang pecah berputar melalui udara dan mengumpulkan di sekitar Ravenor.
Tujuh belas jarum tipis itu sudah menghantol.
Ravenor tidak menunggu.
Api yang terkumpul melonjak melingkari tubuhnya.
WHOOSH!
Barrier Api terbentuk.
Api merah membungkusnya tepat ketika jarum tipis itu tiba.
BRRATATATATAT! BRRATATATATAT!
Vera menekan picisan pada kedua tangannya.
Acu-Vector Mk.IV-nya menembak dengan sistem tembakan mirip senjata mesin.
Suaranya sangat berbeda dari tembakan yang lebih lambat dari Colt 1911.
Jarum tipis itu meluncur dari keluarnya kecil di mulut senjata itu dengan cepat berturut-turut.
Mereka kecil.
Cepat.
Dan sulit untuk dilihat.
Biasanya, tak ada Alkemis pun yang dapat dengan mudah merasakan jarum tipis itu.
Mirip dengan apa yang terjadi dengan Grace Evergrey.
Hanya Alkemis di atas peringkat Alchemist yang dapat dengan benar merasakan peluru Acu-Vector Mk.IV.
Tapi Ravenor berbeda.
Kemampuan sensor Cognis-nya telah menyebar ke seluruh medan tempur.
Jadi, ia bisa merasakan mereka.
Dan tidak hanya itu saja.
Ia bisa bereaksi terhadap mereka.
Jarum tipis itu menyerang Barrier Api.
TING!
TING!
TING!
Satu meleleh.
Satu lagi mengetuk barrier itu dan menghilang ke dalam api.
Beberapa lagi masuk ke dalam barrier sebelum panas menengahnya.
Mata Ravenor mengikuti gerakan setiap jarum yang bisa dia rasakan.
Barrier Api terus membakar di sekitar badannya.
Pada sa yang sama, tangan kanannya bergerak, mengaktifkan Alchemy Levitasi-nya.
Ia menangkap pedang api yang ia lempar ke Vera tadi.
Jari-jarinya membungkuk di sekitar gagangnya.
Lingkaran Alchemy Api-nya masih menyala.
Api di sekitar bilah terus membakar.
Kaki Ravenor bergeser, lalu ia bergerak.
Karena Vera juga bergerak.
Jarak antara mereka kembali menyempit.
Bunga-bunga karena kedua Alkemis muda itu bergerak tajam, masing-masing memblokir serangan satu sama lain.
Medan tempur tiba-tiba menjadi sekuel putih dan merah.
Vera menggunakan senapan yang masih mengapung di sekitarnya.
Alchemy Levitasinya mengendalikan mereka sementara mereka menyerang.
Satu senapan bergerak ke depan.
Pedang Ravenor memukulnya pergi.
Satu lagi senapan datang dari sisi Ravenor.
Ia berputar dengan pedangnya dan memblokirnya.
Vera terus menembak dengan Acu-Vector Mk.IV di antara gerakan senapannya, memaksa Ravenor untuk membagi perhatiannya antara jarum tipis dan senjata yang datang.
Ravenor menjawab dengan pedang api-nya.
Bilah itu bergerak melalui kabut asap, meninggalkan jejak pendek api setelah setiap ayunan.
KLANG!
Logam bertemu logam.
KLANG!
Senapan lain terpental.
Slash Api melintasi platform.
Vera menggeser badannya dan menghindar.
Serangan itu terus berlanjut melewati dirinya sebelum menyerjak Barker ke dalam medan energi di sekitar kursi penonton.
BOOM!
Medan perlindungan bergetar.
Seluruh medan tempur kini dipenuhi dengan suara logam yang bertabrakan dan Slash Api yang meluas dari platform dan menyerang medan perlindungan.
Putih Cognis dan Merah Cognis beralih tajam di dalam awan kabut asap.
Kabut asap mulai jernih di beberapa tempat karena angin ribut yang diciptakan oleh gerakan kedua Alkemis Muda itu.
Tapi sebelum satu bagian medan dapat menjadi jernih, ledakan lain akan mengisinya lagi.
Vera bergerak melalui kabut asap.
Ravenor mengikuti.
Dia mengendalikan senapannya.
Dia melayangkan pedangnya.
Dia menembak.
Dia memblokir.
Pertukaran ini berlangsung begitu cepat bahwa bahkan Layar Hologram yang dipercepat lambat kesulitan untuk menampilkan setiap gerakan sekaligus.
Lalu...
Sebelum salah seorang penonton biasa atau Alkemis peringkat rendah dapat menyadari apa yang terjadi...
BOOM!
Ledakan keras lain terdengar.
Ledakan itu mendorong kabut asap dan menghilangkan sebagian besar platform.
Suaranya mengguncang seluruh arena.
Mata Patrick melebar.
"Oh, para sarjanku."
Ia terdengar benar-benar Terkejut.
Platform pertarungan hampir sepenuhnya hancur.
Bagian-bagian besar tanah telah terpecah.
Retak menyebar di sebagian yang tersisa, sementara api masih membakar di banyak tempat di platform.
Kabut asap naik dari tanah yang rusak.
Beberapa potongan batu masih jatuh dari langit.
Penonton yang telah memberi dorongan kepada Alkemis Muda favorit mereka teriak
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Small explosions ignited one after another as Vera’s bullets clashed with Ravenor’s Scarlet Flame Balls.
Every collision produced a brief burst of fire in the middle of the smoke-filled battlefield. Some bullets were swallowed by the flames, while others struck the scarlet balls hard enough to break them apart before the remaining pieces of fire continued forward.
The sound of gunfire and explosions had already become normal inside the arena.
The crowd was still cheering loudly, even though many of them could barely see what was happening.
The four Holographic Screens above the arena were now displaying the Cognis colors of the two Young Alchemists, allowing the spectators who couldn’t see through the smoke and constant explosions to at least follow the movements of the fight.
The images on the screens were also slowed down.
The speed of the two Young Alchemists was being reduced to a level that ordinary spectators could actually perceive.
White Cognis moved across the screen.
Scarlet Cognis followed.
The audience could finally see pieces of the exchange that their own eyes had missed.
Some spectators leaned forward.
Others pointed toward the screens as Vera’s position appeared for a moment before disappearing again.
Even with the slowed display, the movements were still fast.
The difference was simply that the audience could now understand what they were looking at.
Back on the actual fight platform...
Vera continued shooting down the scarlet flame balls.
Her two Colt 1911s with extended magazines remained in her hands as she fired repeatedly, the recoil barely affecting her wrists.
BANG! BANG!
Another scarlet flame ball was destroyed.
BANG! BANG!
Another one burst apart.
Vera’s eyes remained focused.
She didn’t stop moving.
Her feet carried her across the damaged battlefield while her hands continued firing, and at the same time, her Alchemy Levitation moved through the smoke.
She was already preparing her next weapons.
The two mysterious handguns which she used against Grace Evergrey in the seventh round emerged from her Space Bag.
They were part of the new model of the Acu-Vector Mk series that Vera herself had created.
The Acu-Vector Mk.IV.
The two firearms floated behind her for a moment, surrounded by faint traces of white Cognis.
CRACK.
CRACK.
Vera removed her grip from the two Colt 1911s.
The weapons remained in the air for only a brief moment before their bodies began breaking apart.
Their metal structures cracked.
Small pieces separated from the guns before the entire weapons turned into fine dust and scattered through the smoke.
Vera didn’t look back at them.
She shifted her body into a running posture.
Her upper body lowered slightly.
One foot moved forward.
Her weight shifted.
At that moment, more scarlet flame balls came toward her in numerous numbers.
They appeared through the smoke one after another, their burning surfaces illuminating the battlefield as they moved.
Vera’s muscles tightened slightly.
Especially those in her legs.
Then...
WHOOSH!
The wind moved violently.
Vera dashed forward.
The speed of her movement was so sudden that the smoke around her was pushed apart.
Yet the platform beneath her boots remained almost untouched.
There was no massive crack.
No crater.
She simply disappeared from the position she had been standing in.
Vera moved almost ghost-like through the smoke and flames, heading toward Ravenor’s actual position.
Ravenor also stopped sensing Vera for a moment.
His scarlet eyes shifted.
The battlefield was filled with smoke, flames, the remains of destroyed bullets, and the lingering Cognis of both Alchemists.
Yet Vera had vanished from his senses.
Ravenor’s expression changed.
He immediately expanded his sensory ability.
It was the same method he had used when facing Prince Charles Aethelmont, when he had needed to sense the hidden light blades that blended into the morning sunlight.
His Cognis spread outward.
A ball of scarlet Cognis expanded from his body, moving across the entire fight platform.
The scarlet sphere continued expanding.
It passed through the battlefield.
It moved almost beyond the boundaries of the actual fighting area.
Ravenor’s sensory range covered everything around him.
His scarlet eyes flinched slightly.
His already serious expression became even more serious, because he saw them.
Seventeen thin needles were closing toward his front.
They were almost impossible to notice under normal circumstances.
At the same time, Vera’s figure appeared at his left side.
She had already reached him.
The two Acu-Vector Mk.IVs were pointed directly toward him.
Ravenor’s eyes moved toward her.
The distance between them had disappeared far faster than he had expected.
The smoke between them was still moving when Vera’s fingers prepared to pull the triggers.
Ravenor understood something at that moment.
The explosions had made it difficult for him to sense the sound of Vera firing those handguns.
He couldn’t rely on hearing anymore.
The noise of the explosions made it hard for me to sense the sounds of gun being fired.
Ravenor thought to himself calmly.
His right hand moved forward.
A Flame Alchemy Circle hovered only inches away from his palm.
Scarlet Cognis moved through the Alchemy Symbols.
The formation, completed.
A Scarlet Flame Ball flew out from the Alchemy Circle continually like a rapid firing gun.
Ravenor immediately canceled the Flame Alchemy Circle.
He didn’t wait for the attack to finish.
His body swiftly changed position so that he could face Vera, who was now at his left side and already about to pull the triggers.
KZZRAK!
Scarlet Cognis sparks flew from his right hand.
Another Flame Alchemy Circle began forming rapidly.
The Symbols appeared around his hand, and the moment the Circle completed its formation, the flames scattered across the battlefield began moving toward it.
Fire was pulled from the damaged platform.
The flames that had been burning across the broken ground twisted through the air and gathered around Ravenor.
The seventeen thin needles were already closing in.
Ravenor didn’t wait.
The gathered flames surged around his body.
WHOOSH!
A Flame Barrier formed.
The scarlet fire wrapped around him just as the thin needles arrived.
BRRATATATATAT! BRRATATATATAT!
Vera pressed down on the handguns.
The Acu-Vector Mk.IVs fired with a firing system similar to a submachine gun.
The sound was completely different from the slower gunfire of the Colt 1911s.
The thin needles flew from the small muzzles of the handguns in rapid succession.
They were tiny.
Fast.
And difficult to perceive.
Normally, no Alchemist could have easily sensed the thin needles.
It was similar to what had happened with Grace Evergrey.
Only Alchemists above her Alchemist rank could properly perceive the Acu-Vector Mk.IV bullets.
But Ravenor was different.
His Cognis sensory ability had already expanded across the battlefield.
So, he could sense them.
And it wasn’t only that he could sense them.
He could react to them.
The thin needles struck the Flame Barrier.
TING!
TING!
TING!
One melted.
Another struck the barrier and disappeared into the flames.
Several more entered the barrier before the heat consumed them.
Ravenor’s eyes followed the movement of every needle he could sense.
The Flame Barrier continued burning around his body.
At the same time, his right hand moved, igniting his Alchemy Levitation.
He caught the flame sword that he had thrown at Vera earlier.
His fingers wrapped around the hilt.
The Flame Alchemy Circle was still ignited.
The flames around the blade continued burning.
Ravenor’s feet shifted, then he moved.
Because Vera had also moved.
The distance between them closed again.
Sparks ignited as both Young Alchemists moved sharply, each blocking the other’s strikes.
The battlefield suddenly became a blur of white and scarlet.
Vera used the rifles that still hovered around her.
Her Alchemy Levitation controlled them while they attacked.
One rifle moved forward.
Ravenor’s sword struck it away.
Another rifle came from his side.
He turned his sword and blocked it.
Vera continued firing the Acu-Vector Mk.IVs between the movements of her rifles, forcing Ravenor to divide his attention between the thin needles and the incoming weapons.
Ravenor answered with his flaming sword.
The blade moved through the smoke, leaving short trails of fire behind every swing.
KLANG!
Metal struck metal.
KLANG!
Another rifle was pushed away.
A Flame Slash moved across the platform.
Vera shifted her body and avoided it.
The attack continued beyond her before striking the force field around the spectator seats.
BOOM!
The protective barrier rippled.
The whole fight area was now filled with the sound of metal clashing with metal and Flame Slashes flowing out from the platform and striking the force field.
White Cognis and Scarlet Cognis moved sharply within the smoky cloud.
The smoke began clearing in some places because of the violent gusts of wind created by the two Young Alchemists’ movements.
But before one part of the battlefield could become clear, another explosion would fill it again.
Vera moved through the smoke.
Ravenor followed.
She controlled her rifles.
He swung his sword.
She fired.
He blocked.
The exchange continued so quickly that even the slowed Holographic Screens struggled to show every movement at once.
Then...
Before any of the ordinary or Low-ranking Alchemist spectators could realize what had happened...
BOOM!
Another loud explosion rang out.
The blast pushed through the smoke and cleared a large part of the platform.
The sound shook the arena.
Patrick’s eyes widened.
"Oh, my scholars."
He sounded completely surprised.
The fight platform was almost completely destroyed.
Large parts of the ground had been broken apart.
Cracks spread across the remaining sections, while flames still covered many parts of the platform.
Smoke rose from the broken ground.
Some pieces of rock were still falling from the air.
The spectators who had been cheering for their favorite Young Alchemist gasped.
They had seen the destruction through the Holographic Screens, but seeing the actual state of the platform made the damage feel much more real.
Vera stood on one of her rifles in the air.
The weapon hovered beneath her feet, keeping her from falling off the remaining platform.
Her balance remained steady.
She looked down at the ruined battlefield.
Then she jumped.
THUD!
Her boots landed back on the damaged platform.
Parts of her training clothes had been torn from the constant explosions and Flame Slashes she had needed to block or evade.
Small marks were visible across the fabric.
Her hair had also been disturbed by the repeated blasts and violent winds.
But Vera herself remained standing.
Across from her, Ravenor wasn’t looking much better.
His training clothes were also slightly torn.
He had been forced to evade the thin needles, block the attacks from Vera’s rifles, and endure the repeated exchanges at close range, even though his flame barrier was still active.
His right hand had suffered the most.
Ravenor looked down at it.
Blisters had formed across his hand from all the heavy clashes.
His flame sword was still held in that same hand.
He tightened his fingers around the hilt.
Then he looked back toward Vera.
The two Young Alchemists stared at each other.
For a moment, neither moved.
The arena became quieter.
Not silent.
The crowd was still there.
The flames were still burning.
Smoke still moved across the broken platform.
But the attention of everyone watching had settled on the two of them.
Ravenor cracked his neck.
"You really are the Genius of Ash."
His voice remained calm.
Vera looked at him.
A faint smile appeared on her face again.
"I will take that as a compliment from the Genius of Burn."
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