Chapter 550: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Two Genius of Two Duke Houses II

The moment the word...

BEGIN.

...was shouted by the crowd, Ravenor moved.

Click.

Snap!

The familiar sound of his lighter and fingers moving against each other echoed across the fight platform.

Before most of the spectators could even understand what had happened, Ravenor had already taken the lighter out, flicked it open with a sharp movement of his hand, and ignited it.

At almost the same instant, his fingers moved.

A Flame Alchemy Circle formed beneath Vera’s boot.

Scarlet Cognis flashed across the ground.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the exact place where Vera had been standing.

Flames rushed upward.

Smoke spread across the platform.

The force of the Instant Flame Burst pushed loose snow away from the point of impact, while small pieces of stone jumped from the ground and rolled across the damaged platform.

"There it is!!! The Instant Flame Burst!!!"

Patrick shouted loudly.

His voice came through every speaker in the Arena.

At the commentator’s seating section...

Professor Kent watched the entire thing without blinking.

He had seen Ravenor prepare the attack.

He had watched the lighter come out.

He had seen Ravenor snap his hand while flicking the lighter open.

He had seen the Flame Alchemy Circle form beneath Vera’s boot.

And then the explosion happened.

It was so fast that even people who had watched Ravenor use the Instant Flame Burst countless times on the Holographic Screens still felt a small jolt when they saw it happen in person.

The slow-motion replays had made the sequence easier to understand.

But reality was different.

The attack didn’t wait for the audience.

It didn’t give the opponent time to admire the technique.

One moment Vera had been standing there.

The next, the place where she had been standing was covered in fire and smoke.

Many of Vera’s supporters almost froze.

Some had been cheering only a moment earlier.

Now they stared at the flames with their mouths slightly open.

They had seen Ravenor’s Instant Flame Burst before.

They knew how fast it was.

They knew what it could do.

But watching it being used against Their precious Flower made the technique feel terrifying.

It was one thing to watch a replay.

It was another to realize that the attack had already happened before the crowd had even finished reacting to the start of the match.

Back on the fight platform...

Ravenor’s scarlet eyes remained fixed on the flames and smoke covering Vera’s previous position.

He didn’t immediately move.

He only watched calmly.

The fire continued burning across the ground.

Smoke rose around him.

Then a familiar voice came from inside the smoke.

"The speed of your Flame Ignition is very fast... Lighter Young Lord."

Vera’s voice came from within the flame and smoke, carrying its usual calmness as though the explosion that had just swallowed her position was nothing worth reacting to.

Ravenor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"But it’s easy to evade once you can see the fluctuation of the Cognis moving within the ground."

Vera spoke casually.

There was no need for her to raise her voice over the burning platform. Her words carried through the smoke clearly enough, almost making it sound as though she were simply pointing out something Ravenor had overlooked.

The flames continued to burn behind her words.

Ravenor’s expression remained calm, but his attention sharpened.

Vera had noticed it.

She had seen the Cognis moving through the ground before the Flame Alchemy Circle ignited.

For someone else, the attack might have appeared almost impossible to avoid.

But for Vera, once she could sense the fluctuation, the problem became much simpler.

Not that any Alchemist in the same Alchemist rank could even sense the fluctuation of Ravenor’s Cognis that easily.

Ravenor moved his hand again.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

The Flame Alchemy executions came one after another.

The smoke from the first explosion hadn’t even cleared.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

More explosions erupted from Vera’s position.

The crowd watched in confusion.

For the Non-Alchemists, almost nothing could be seen clearly.

They could hear the explosions.

They could see flames appearing.

And they could see smoke spreading.

But they couldn’t properly perceive the movements between each ignition.

To them, Vera seemed to disappear into the smoke and from how Ravenor kept using his Instant Flame Burst on the position Vera was, She must have been unharmed.

The Low-ranking Alchemists could see a bit more.

Some caught flashes of movement.

Some could make out the direction Vera was traveling.

That was enough for many of them to continue cheering.

Vera’s body suddenly shot out from the smoke.

She was running.

Her feet struck the ground in quick succession as another Instant Flame Burst ignited behind her.

Boom!

She moved past the explosion before it could fully engulf the area.

The heat brushed against her back.

Her black hair was pushed by the force.

She didn’t turn around.

Her eyes remained focused ahead.

The instant her boot landed, she changed direction.

Her body shifted away from that spot.

Another explosion erupted behind her.

Boom!

An afterimage remained where she had been.

Then another appeared.

Then another.

The spectators could only see fragments of her movement.

Vera continued evading every Instant Flame Burst.

Ravenor’s scarlet eyes moved rapidly.

He followed the faint traces of her position.

Each time he ignited the Flame Alchemy, Vera was already moving.

She wasn’t simply running away.

She was reading the fluctuation of Cognis beneath the ground and moving before the ignition happened.

Ravenor understood that.

His eyes became more focused.

Vera’s movements were slowly becoming a problem.

Then...

A Springfield M1903A flew out from her Space Bag.

The rifle moved through the air under the influence of Alchemy Levitation.

Vera didn’t stop running.

She controlled the rifle so that it remained horizontally suspended in front of her, positioned perfectly for her to grab it.

Her eyes moved toward Ravenor.

She calculated the timing.

If she stopped for too long, Ravenor would ignite another Flame Burst beneath her.

If she fired too late, the shot wouldn’t have enough time to reach him.

So, she needed to do both at once.

Grab.

Aim.

Fire.

Move.

Vera’s body instantly dropped into a kneeling shooting posture.

Her hand caught the Springfield M1903A.

She aimed.

Bang!

The rifle fired.

The bullet shot across the platform.

At the same time...

Snap!

Ravenor’s fingers struck together.

His Flame Alchemy activated.

A Scarlet Flame Alchemy Circle had already formed beneath Vera.

The ground beneath her brightened.

The Flame Alchemy Circle formed beneath her.

Vera’s figure faded.

Boom!

An explosion erupted.

Ravenor moved smoothly.

His fingers snapped again.

Boom!

The Springfield bullet traveling toward him suddenly exploded.

The flame caught the projectile before it could reach him.

But Vera had already gained what she wanted.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

More gunshots rang out from farther ahead on the platform.

Ravenor’s eyes shifted.

Vera was already moving.

She had used the first shot to force Ravenor to react.

Then she had used the moment created by that reaction to reposition herself and begin another firing sequence.

She already gained the time she wanted.

Ravenor understood.

The corners of his expression became slightly more serious.

Vera had taken control of the rhythm of the fight from him.

Ravenor’s Instant Flame Burst had forced her to move.

But now she was using that movement to disrupt his control of the battlefield.

Ravenor couldn’t simply remain where he was and wait for the situation to return to normal.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

He snapped his fingers rapidly.

The incoming bullets began exploding one after another.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Each bullet was intercepted before it could reach him.

Yet Ravenor didn’t remain in place.

He hadn’t left his position since the beginning of the match.

But now...

That was no longer enough.

If he stayed there, Vera would continue controlling the distance and forcing him to react, instead of him being able to attack.

He needed to move.

Ravenor dashed forward.

His body shot toward the place where his senses detected Vera.

Smoke was beginning to fill the fight area, spreading across the platform and making the battlefield harder to see.

Whoosh!!!

Three Repeater Sword Rifles suddenly flew out from the smoke.

They moved toward Ravenor at high speed.

His scarlet eyes focused on them.

Then...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Six gunshots echoed almost at the same time.

Ravenor’s right hand moved toward his Space Bag.

A sword flew out.

He caught it with his right hand.

His arm moved to his right side.

KZZRAK!

Scarlet Cognis sparked from his hand like lightning.

A Flame Alchemy Circle rapidly formed.

Ravenor continued running while feeding Cognis into the Circle.

Several flames that were already burning across the platform were pulled toward him.

The flames gathered rapidly.

They entered the Alchemy Circle.

The sword in Ravenor’s hand became covered in fire.

His grip tightened.

Then he swung the weapon vertically upward, then changed the direction of his swing horizontally.

Klang!

Klang!

Klang!

The first three bullets were sliced apart.

They had come from the three Repeater Sword Rifles traveling towards him fast.

The sword moved with enough speed that the flames wrapped around its edge without slowing the motion.

Then the last three bullets arrived.

They came from behind the three rifles, fired from Vera’s position.

Ravenor’s eyes shifted.

He adjusted the sword.

Klang!

Klang!

Klang!

He sliced the remaining bullets.

The bullets were knocked away before they could reach him.

But Ravenor didn’t stop.

The three Repeater Sword Rifles had now reached his side.

He swung the flaming sword diagonally.

The blade struck the rifles.

Klang!

Klang!

Klang!

The three firearms were deflected away.

Ravenor remained in motion.

His feet never fully stopped as he continued running through the smoke-covered battlefield.

At the same time, he released his grip on the lighter.

The lighter didn’t fall.

Ravenor controlled it with Alchemy Levitation.

It floated beside him, following his movement.

KZZRAK!

Scarlet Cognis sparked again from his other hand which held the lighter.

He performed another no-clap Alchemy execution.

While doing so, Ravenor swung the flaming sword vertically upward.

This time, something different happened.

A flame slash shot from the blade.

It tore through the smoke-covered area.

Ravenor continued swinging.

Another flame slash followed.

Then another.

The sword moved through the air repeatedly, sending several Flame Slashes forward.

The smoke began clearing rapidly as the attacks traveled through it.

The battlefield slowly became visible.

And there was Vera.

She stood farther across the platform.

She held a Springfield M1903A in her hands.

It wasn’t the same rifle she had used earlier.

Two more Springfield M1903As hovered beside her.

Vera’s dull black eyes remained focused on Ravenor.

She didn’t look surprised.

She simply raised her hand.

The two rifles hovering beside her responded.

They moved toward her front.

Then the bodies of the two rifles joined together.

The metal sections locked together as Vera controlled their position.

BOOM!

The first Flame Slash crashed into the combined rifles.

The impact sent flames outward.

The Flame Slash dispersed.

Small flames passed close to Vera before fading beneath the morning light.

More Flame Slashes arrived.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The two sniper rifles held.

They absorbed the attacks one after another.

The metal bodies became red hot.

Heat spread across their surfaces.

But they didn’t melt.

Vera looked towards her front, but Ravenor wasn’t in front of her again.

Her grip remained steady.

Then she sensed something.

A hot sensation came through the air.

Her dull black eyes moved upward.

Ravenor was already in the air.

His previous Flame Alchemy had finished.

A large bow made entirely from flame appeared in his left hand.

The flames forming the bow twisted around his arm.

His flaming sword had become the arrow.

Ravenor positioned the sword within the flaming bow.

He drew it back.

His scarlet eyes locked onto Vera’s dull black eyes.

Around the platform, the flames that had remained from the previous attacks began moving.

They were pulled toward Ravenor.

The burning patches across the platform were drawn upward, gathering around the flaming arrow.

The flames compressed.

The flame power surrounding the arrow increased.

Ravenor continued drawing the bow.

The heat around him became stronger.

The morning air shimmered slightly from the temperature.

Vera continued to look up at him.

Her expression remained unchanged.

The two Young Alchemists stared directly at one another.

Then Ravenor released the arrow.

Whoosh!

The flaming sword shot through the sky.

But Ravenor didn’t stop after firing once.

His hands moved again.

Another flaming arrow formed.

He fired.

Then another.

Then another.

The sky above Vera rapidly filled with fire.

One flame arrow became several.

Several became a barrage.

Ravenor continued shooting rapidly, each arrow carrying the heat of the flames he had gathered from the platform.

Vera’s dull black eyes followed the incoming barrage.

The morning sky above her was now covered with streaks of fire.

The arrows descended toward her from different angles, and the combined heat caused the air around the platform to tremble.

The crowd erupted again.

Some spectators couldn’t even follow the individual arrows.

They only saw a mass of fire descending toward Vera.

Others stared at the Holographic Screens, where the replay system attempted to capture the movement of Ravenor’s attack.

The Low-ranking Alchemists understood slightly.

The High-ranking Alchemists understood what Ravenor was doing.

He had quickly countered Vera’s control of the pace of the fight, by giving her a big trial to reply.

The Instant Flame Burst had forced her to move.

Her rifle fire had forced him to respond.

Now Ravenor had changed the battlefield again.

The entire sky above Vera had become his attack range.

The flaming arrows continued descending.

Vera stood beneath them.

Her black hair moved in the heated wind.

Her hands remained on her firearm, her other firearms kept floating in the air close to her and her dull black eyes stayed fixed on Ravenor.

There was still no panic on her face.

If anything, the faintest trace of interest appeared in her eyes.

Ravenor had finally begun pushing the fight in a direction where she could no longer simply run between explosions.

And now the barrage was coming down.