Chapter 493: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: A Flower of Burn and the Young Lord of Ash III

Back to the present...

The moment the countdown ended, the crowd shouted the word BEGIN together, and the sound rolled across the enormous Arena like a wave.

"BEGIN!!!"

Veda’s hand immediately moved into his Space Bag with quick speed.

At almost the exact same moment...

Clap!

Sasha’s hands came together.

Cognis flowed through her veins and traveled through both arms before gathering in her palms, where the Scarlet Cognis spread outward and formed an Alchemy Circle filled with the Alchemy symbols needed for creating a Flame Alchemy.

The Circle formed with a steady scarlet glow.

Adept-rank Flame Alchemy.

Veda’s hand came out of his Space Bag holding a Repeater Sword Rifle.

His black eyes immediately focused on Sasha’s shoulder.

He remembered what she had told him before the match.

Don’t hold back.

Those words were still fresh in his mind.

Veda had originally intended to take this fight easy, but after Sasha had directly told him to go all out, there was no reason for him to treat the battle like a simple spar.

His grip tightened around the Repeater Sword Rifle.

He raised the firearm and aimed at Sasha’s left shoulder.

"I don’t think so."

Sasha spoke calmly as her Flame Alchemy Circle completed its formation.

At the same time...

Bang!

Veda pulled the trigger.

The bullet left the Repeater Sword Rifle with a sharp crack, traveling directly toward Sasha’s left shoulder.

The shot was accurate.

Veda had made sure not to aim carelessly.

But Sasha’s Flame Alchemy ignited before the bullet could reach her.

Several flame balls shot out from the Alchemy Circle.

They moved rapidly through the air and collided with Veda’s bullet.

The instant the flame touched the metal projectile, the bullet began melting.

Its shape distorted under the intense heat before the molten metal scattered through the air.

The difference in rank between the two Alchemies became obvious immediately.

Veda’s attack had been fast.

Sasha’s response had simply been stronger.

Veda didn’t waste time trying to force another shot through the flames.

He dashed to the side.

The first flame balls passed through the place where he had stood only moments earlier.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The flames struck the ground.

Heat spread across the damaged platform as smoke and burning fragments rose from the impact points.

Sasha redirected her hand.

The Flame Alchemy Circle moved with her control, continuing to fire flame balls in rapid succession.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Veda continued moving fast.

He ran almost in a circle around Sasha, changing his direction whenever another flame ball approached his position.

His boots struck the ground repeatedly as he shifted his weight from one side to another.

Sasha followed him with her eyes.

The Flame Alchemy Circle remained in front of her while its attacks adjusted according to Veda’s movements.

The fight platform quickly became dotted with small areas of burning stone.

Smoke mixed with the cold air.

Snow melted wherever the flames struck, leaving dark patches across the ground.

Veda suddenly changed his movement.

His hand tightened around the Repeater Sword Rifle.

Whoosh!

He swung the rifle hard.

The blade attached to the firearm cut through the air with enough force to produce a sharp sound.

Veda possessed a bit more natural strength than a regular Adept Alchemist, and his body had already been approaching the point of breaking through into the Meister Alchemist rank.

The strength behind his swing was therefore far beyond that of any ordinary Adept Alchemist, whether his age or above his age.

A flame ball came directly toward him.

The blade struck it.

The flame ball was sliced in half.

The two halves passed around Veda before exploding behind him.

At the same time, his other hand moved into his Space Bag.

He pulled out a Colt 1911.

His movement was fluid and fast.

The handgun was raised toward Sasha almost immediately.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Three bullets flew toward her.

Sasha moved her feet.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Her body shifted between the incoming shots with small, controlled steps.

The bullets passed her by inches.

One grazed the edge of her training cloth without touching her skin.

Sasha didn’t stop.

Clap!

Her hands came together again.

Another Flame Alchemy execution.

The Alchemy Circle formed in less than a millisecond.

Around the fight platform, several patches of flame remained from the flame balls that had struck the ground without immediately disappearing.

Sasha’s Flame Alchemy responded to them.

The flames began moving.

Instead of remaining scattered across the battlefield, they were pulled toward the Flame Alchemy Circle hovering in front of Sasha.

The flames gathered rapidly.

They flowed together like streams being pulled toward a single point.

At the same moment, the Alchemy Circle brightened into a deeper scarlet-red.

Veda sensed the change immediately.

The temperature around the battlefield increased.

Heat brushed against his skin even from a distance.

The scattered flames began moving into the new Flame Alchemy Circle, compressing together.

Then they grew larger under the influence of Sasha’s Alchemy Circle, which increased the power of the compressed flames.

Sasha looked toward him.

"Make sure you dodge, Young Lord of Ash."

She said it with a soft, teasing smile while passing more Cognis into her Alchemy Circle.

The compressed flame suddenly moved.

It dashed forward like a tornado made entirely of scarlet fire.

The rotating mass of flame tore across the battlefield.

Veda’s black eyes reflected the rapidly approaching attack.

More Cognis passed through his veins and traveled toward his legs.

He moved before the flame tornado could reach him.

His body shifted away from the attack, and his movement carried him across the platform with enough speed to leave the incoming flames behind.

Veda suddenly turned in the air.

The Repeater Sword Rifle was already in his hands.

He aimed toward Sasha.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Four shots were fired.

Sasha immediately turned her hands toward the incoming bullets.

The flame tornado responded to her control.

It changed direction.

The rotating mass of fire swept toward the bullets.

The projectiles disappeared one after another as the heat melted them before they could reach Sasha.

Veda’s boot touched the ground.

The instant it landed, he launched himself forward.

The force behind his movement cracked the ground beneath his boot.

Crack!

Snow and small pieces of stone jumped from the platform as Veda accelerated.

Sasha sensed his sharp movement.

She immediately redirected the flame tornado toward him.

More Cognis flowed into her Flame Alchemy Circle.

The power of the flames increased violently as they poured from the Circle.

Veda saw the flame tornado coming directly toward him.

He didn’t stop running towards the flames.

He didn’t even hesitate.

Instead...

His grip tightened around both firearms.

Then he jumped.

His body turned in a rapid, fluid motion.

The blade attached to the Repeater Sword Rifle moved with him.

Veda used the firearm like a sword.

His body spun through the air, and the blade cut across the approaching flame tornado.

"AHHHHH!!!"

Veda shouted as he forced his body through the attack.

The blade sliced through the flames.

The flame tornado split apart around him.

Fire passed on both sides of his body, heat rushing across his clothes as he emerged from the attack.

Then Veda threw the Repeater Sword Rifle.

He released it like a javelin.

The weapon flew straight toward Sasha, who was still feeding Cognis into her Flame Alchemy Circle.

Sasha sensed the incoming weapon.

Clank!

She moved her hand sharply.

Her palm struck the side of the muzzle of the Repeater Sword Rifle and knocked it away from her.

The weapon spun through the air before falling toward the platform.

At the same time, Sasha’s Flame Alchemy Circle disappeared.

Her concentration had been disrupted.

"Tsk!"

Sasha clicked her tongue.

Cognis immediately flowed toward her hands.

She was about to bring them together and form another Alchemy Circle.

But Veda had already moved.

His hand emerged from the remaining flame residues of her previous attack.

The Colt 1911 was still in his grip.

He thrust the handgun forward.

The barrel stopped between Sasha’s hands just before they could come together.

Sasha’s eyes widened slightly.

She immediately understood.

She needed to move.

She tried to step backward as quickly as possible.

But Veda was already there.

He flash-stepped forward with Cognis directly enhancing his speed.

He appeared only inches away from Sasha.

Their breaths were close enough for Sasha to feel the sudden movement of air between them.

The abrupt change in distance made her lose her balance.

Her foot slipped.

Her body tilted backward.

"Ah."

The small sound escaped Sasha because of the sudden shock.

The entire exchange happened so quickly that many spectators only understood what had happened after seeing the replay on the Holographic Screens.

The four large screens displayed the fighters from different angles.

Veda had closed the distance.

Sasha had tried to retreat.

And now the two were standing far closer than either had been a moment ago.

At the First-Year seating section...

Cyrus stared at the battlefield.

He had watched the entire exchange with an amused expression.

"I thought this was supposed to be a fight. Why am I getting a couples atmosphere around those two?"

Cyrus spoke while looking at the scene displayed across the four Holographic Screens.

Suddenly...

He felt imaginary daggers striking him from behind.

Cyrus’s expression stiffened.

He slowly glanced over his shoulder.

Linda was there.

She was biting down on the Academy Alchemy Glove in her hand.

The glove was cream-colored with black covering much of its design, and Linda’s eyes were secretly glaring at Cyrus.

Beside her, Tracy had folded her arms.

She wore a smile that looked natural at first glance.

But the slight glare in her eyes made it very clear that she had heard exactly what Cyrus had just said.

Cyrus’s mouth twitched.

He slowly placed his headset over his ears.

Then he slid slightly lower in his seat, making himself smaller as if that would somehow protect him from the two girls.