Last Gun Alchemist

Lucy moved first.

Without making the slightest sound, she slipped out from behind the large cargo container and quickly crossed the open space ahead.

Gwen immediately followed behind her while firmly holding Blake’s hand, carefully guiding him as they moved together.

Gena was next.

Only after everyone else had safely crossed...

Did Ezra finally move.

The order wasn’t random.

It had been arranged to perfectly balance the group’s movement.

Blake and Gwen weren’t combat-oriented.

Especially Blake.

This was the first time in his entire noble life that he had been involved in something as dangerous as infiltrating a hidden enemy base.

Every unfamiliar sound made him tense.

Every shadow made him instinctively look twice.

As for Gwen...

Although she wasn’t an Alchemist...

She had grown up surviving harsh streets long before entering House Wellston.

Sneaking around unnoticed wasn’t completely foreign to her.

The group quietly hid behind another enormous steel container.

Nearby...

Voices gradually became clearer.

Workers chatted while carrying heavy cargo.

Security personnel occasionally exchanged brief conversations as they continued their patrol.

Ezra quietly glanced ahead.

Without speaking...

He pointed toward another stack of containers several meters away.

Everyone immediately understood.

No one questioned him.

No one hesitated.

One after another...

They quietly dashed toward the next hiding place.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

The moment Ezra...who purposely remained at the rear of the formation...slipped behind the second container...

A group of workers casually walked past the place they had occupied only seconds earlier.

The distance between them couldn’t have been more than a few steps.

Had they been even slightly slower...

The workers would’ve discovered them.

Like that...

The group steadily advanced deeper into the compound.

With Ezra continuously mapping the entire construction base through his senses...

Navigating around patrols became surprisingly smooth.

Every route he chose naturally avoided workers, guards, and busy pathways.

More importantly...

Nobody questioned his decisions.

Everyone simply followed his signals without complaint.

The trust within the group had quietly formed before anyone realized it.

Several minutes passed.

They had already left the outer loading yard behind.

Now...

Only a short distance remained before reaching the main building located at the center of the base.

Gena quietly looked toward the large reinforced entrance.

Steel pipes lined both sides of the thick metallic door.

A complicated locking mechanism rested beside it.

"A place like this..."

She whispered.

"...must need some kind of key card to enter."

Despite whispering...

Her eyes still carried excitement.

The closer they got to uncovering the truth...

The more determined she became.

"Don’t worry about that."

Ezra calmly replied.

Before anyone could ask what he meant...

He vanished.

"...Huh?"

Gwen blinked repeatedly.

She instinctively looked left.

Then right.

Ezra had completely disappeared.

"W-Where did he go?"

She whispered in disbelief.

Blake looked just as confused.

He searched the surrounding area several times.

"...He was literally standing here."

He quietly muttered.

Lucy smiled proudly.

"Shhh."

She gently pressed one finger against Gwen’s lips.

"Binder Rank Alchemists..."

She lowered her voice.

"...are capable of erasing their presence."

She looked toward the direction Ezra had disappeared.

"My Master isn’t just a Binder Rank Alchemist."

Her smile widened.

"He’s exceptionally good at controlling his presence."

Gena nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I’ve kind of seen him use it before."

Blake and Gwen quietly stared ahead.

"...Wow."

Neither of them knew what else to say.

Every few minutes...

Ezra somehow managed to show them another ability they never imagined possible.

Meanwhile...

Ezra calmly walked through one of the busiest sections of the construction base.

Workers continuously carried enormous crates toward waiting steam trucks.

Steam escaped from pressure valves.

Metal wheels rolled across the ground.

Dozens of people moved in every direction.

Yet...

Not one of them noticed Ezra.

It was almost as though he didn’t exist.

His footsteps remained perfectly silent.

His breathing remained steady.

His Cognis completely wrapped around his body like a second layer of skin.

Rather than becoming physically invisible...

He concealed the awareness of his existence.

People naturally ignored him.

Their eyes simply slid past him without recognizing what they had seen.

Even so...

Maintaining the technique required extraordinary concentration.

The slightest mistake...

Even one lasting less than a heartbeat...

Could instantly cause the skill to collapse.

Not only that...

He also had to carefully avoid bumping into anyone.

Since his presence wasn’t truly erased.

It was merely hidden beneath an incredibly precise layer of Cognis.

Fortunately...

Ezra calmly thought while weaving between several workers.

None of the people working here are Alchemists.

As long as I remain careful...

There won’t be any problems.

His blank eyes quietly settled upon an older senior staff member.

Unlike the ordinary workers...

The man wore an identification card hanging from a strap around his neck.

Exactly what Ezra needed.

He calmly walked behind him.

Without making the slightest unnecessary movement...

His fingers gently lifted the identification card from the strap.

The motion felt so smooth that the senior staff member never even noticed the weight disappear from his chest.

The key card now rested inside Ezra’s hand.

He calmly continued walking.

His eyes shifted toward the main entrance once again.

Even with the key card...

Entering without attracting attention won’t be easy.

He quietly analyzed every nearby patrol.

Every worker.

Every blind spot.

Without looking up...

He smoothly sidestepped another worker walking directly toward him.

The man unknowingly brushed past empty air.

Never realizing someone had just crossed inches before him.

Several more minutes quietly passed.

Back at the hiding place...

Lucy...

Gena...

Blake...

And Gwen patiently waited.

Nobody dared leave their position.

"...Do you think..."

Gwen quietly asked.

"...he got caught?"

She couldn’t hide the worry in her voice.

Gena calmly shook her head.

"If that happened..."

She looked toward the compound.

"...an alarm would’ve already gone off."

Blake let out a helpless smile.

"Just waiting here is making me nervous."

He looked toward the direction Ezra disappeared.

"I honestly wonder how Sir Ezra manages to stay calm doing something like this."

Before anyone could answer...

"Lucy. Gena."

Ezra’s voice quietly sounded from directly behind them.

Everyone instinctively turned.

Their expressions immediately relaxed.

"You’re back."

Gena softly spoke.

Although she tried acting calm...

The relief inside her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

Lucy quietly smiled.

Even Gwen unconsciously released the breath she had been holding.

Blake looked equally relieved.

Ezra quietly observed everyone’s reactions.

He naturally understood they had been worried.

Even so...

His expression remained completely blank.

"Carry..."

He looked toward Gwen.

"...and Blake."

His tone remained calm.

"The moment you hear the signal... run with everything you have."

He held up the stolen key card.

"I’ll already be waiting at the entrance, and I’ll open the door at the right time."

His instructions remained short.

Clear.

And simple.

Without waiting for questions...

Ezra vanished once again.

"...He left again..."

Gwen stared blankly toward the empty space.

She honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry anymore.

Lucy gently smiled.

Without another word...

She once again lifted Gwen into her arms.

"Now, now..."

She softly laughed.

"You already know how much Master’s words are worth."

Her confidence never wavered.

Gwen looked at Lucy helplessly.

"...You really love praising him."

She lightly poked Lucy’s cheek.

"What happens... if one day his plans actually fail?"

Lucy quietly thought about it.

"There really isn’t much I could do."

She answered honestly.

"It’s not like I blindly follow every order."

She gently adjusted Gwen to make carrying her more comfortable.

"I think first. I always try understanding why Master gives a particular order."

She smiled softly.

"And every single time... I eventually understand the reasoning behind it."

She looked toward Gwen.

"If I can’t think of a better solution...why should I doubt someone whose plan is clearly better than mine?"

Her answer carried complete sincerity.

Nobody felt she was exaggerating.

"...Wow."

Gena smirked.

"You’re honestly an incredible maid."

Lucy calmly looked back.

"I’m not only Master’s maid."

She quietly answered.

"I’m also one of his closest aides."

The two girls quietly looked at one another.

Neither spoke again.

Blake glanced back and forth between them.

He honestly couldn’t understand the silent exchange happening between the two.

Then...

WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO!

A loud security alarm suddenly echoed throughout the entire construction base.

The sharp mechanical sound instantly shattered the peaceful rhythm of the night.

Workers froze.

Nearby guards immediately looked toward the source.

As expected from a hidden facility...

Emergency alarm stations had been installed throughout the compound.

Any worker or guard could activate them the moment danger appeared.

Ezra had deliberately chosen one only a short distance away from the main entrance.

The effect was immediate.

The attention of nearly every nearby guard shifted away from the entrance itself.

The instant Lucy and Gena heard the alarm...

Both moved.

Without exchanging even a single word...

They exploded from their hiding place.

Cognis surged through their bodies.

It flowed into their legs.

Their muscles instantly became stronger.

Their speed dramatically increased.

Even while carrying Gwen and Blake...

The two girls crossed the open ground faster than most ordinary steam carriages could travel.

Exactly as Ezra had calculated.

He had already estimated how long the distraction would last.

He had also calculated the exact time it would take Lucy and Gena to reach the entrance.

The moment they entered range...

Ezra calmly pressed the stolen key card against the locking mechanism.

Click...

Several mechanical gears quietly rotated.

Steam lightly escaped around the edges of the massive metal door.

The entrance slowly opened.

Lucy rushed inside first.

Gena immediately followed.

Ezra entered last.

The heavy door quietly closed behind them.

Only moments later...

The security alarm stopped.

After a quick inspection...

The guards concluded it had merely been another system malfunction.

The workers gradually returned to loading cargo.

The patrols resumed.

Not a single person realized...

That five children had just infiltrated one of the most secretive facilities hidden inside the forest.

The entire operation had taken only moments.

"...Ahhh."

Blake immediately collapsed onto one knee.

Both hands rested against the cold floor.

He breathed heavily.

"The speed...was unbelievable."

His hair still pointed backward from the powerful rush of wind.

Even his lungs hadn’t completely recovered.

Beside him...

Gwen looked no better.

She slowly caught her breath.

"I swear..."

She looked toward Lucy and Gena.

"...that was faster than the maximum speed of a normal steam carriage."

Her voice sounded almost exaggerated.

Lucy smiled.

Gena smiled back.

Neither corrected her.

Because...

She wasn’t wrong.

As fully developed Novice Alchemists...

If they focused all their Cognis on strengthening their movement...

Both of them could indeed outrun a normal steam carriage.

After everyone regained their breath...

The group carefully continued deeper into the building.

The interior looked completely different from outside.

White-painted walls stretched throughout the corridors.

Bright white lamps illuminated every section of the facility.

Steam pipes ran along the ceiling.

The entire place looked clean.

Orderly.

Almost too orderly.

Ezra quietly observed everything while walking.

One thing immediately caught his attention.

The building...

Was much smaller than he had expected.

Considering it had only been constructed a few months earlier...

And funded solely by the wealth of a Baron-class noble...

The size actually made sense.

It couldn’t possibly compare with research facilities like Ashcraft inside the Ashenlocke Estate.

Which also meant...

The central room they were searching for wasn’t very far away.

Then...

Ezra suddenly stopped.

Everyone behind him froze as well.

Without needing to ask...

They immediately became alert.

Ezra’s senses had already expanded throughout the building.

This time...

He wasn’t detecting ordinary workers.

Nor security personnel.

His blank eyes quietly narrowed.

Alchemists...

He had just located the facility’s true security force.