Every alchemy weapon or substance—fire, water, air, earth, iron, even blood—everything created through alchemy carries a structure within it.

A formula.

That formula is what forms the alchemy circle, and the circle becomes the ignition point that allows the alchemy to take shape in the real world.

Because of that, for an alchemist to use the Law of Inversion on another person’s creation, it is not something that can be done by instinct alone, they must first understand the opponent’s alchemy.

Not just on the surface level, but down to its structure, its symbols, its circle and the formula hidden inside it.

Only after breaking that down completely can they push their own Cognis into it and disrupt it from within or even alter the creation to their own will.

***

Veda stared at the incoming whip-like blades.

They moved like living things.

Up and down.

Twisting.

Cutting through the soil and air as they advanced toward him, leaving faint marks in the ground and sending bits of snow flying.

"Focus... focus..."

He adjusted his breathing, forcing it to slow down despite the pain running through his body.

His chest rose and fell, then his eyes shifted briefly to his own condition.

Cuts, bruises and blood loss.

"I’m losing blood..."

He exhaled slowly.

He adjusted his grip on the Repeater Sword Rifle, rolling it slightly in his hands before lowering the blade end toward the ground, holding it like a staff to stabilize his stance.

"I can’t afford to fall now..."

His voice was low and firm.

The blades came closer.

Veda moved. He ran straight toward them.

Not retreating, not waiting, but advancing.

He weaved through the first strike, shifting his head slightly to the left as a blade passed close to his face, the wind from it brushing against his cheek.

Before the next strike could land, he stepped back quickly, avoiding the second blade as it stabbed into the ground where he had just stood.

Looking at the whip blades.

His eyes stayed on the blades.

Studying them, reading them.

They’re definitely Fourth-Grade.

He confirmed it silently as he raised the rifle and blocked two incoming slashes almost at the same time, the impact pushing against his arms as sparks flickered briefly.

Then...

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed from the back of the castle.

Veda’s eyes flickered for a moment.

"Ezra..." A faint smile appeared on his face. "He must be fighting with everything he has."

His expression sharpened again.

"I should end this quickly too."

His body responded as his speed increased pushing forward.

Blocking, dodging, closing the distance. Step by step.

The Kalian noticed and it began to shift backward slightly, trying to regain distance so it could continue attacking from range, but...

Veda didn’t allow it.

After deflecting both blades outward, he stamped his foot into the ground, using the recoil to push his body forward.

In that same motion...

He threw the Repeater Sword Rifle like a javelin.

The weapon tore through the air, the force behind it parting the wind as it shot toward the Kalian’s left arm.

The Kalian reacted quickly.

It forced its left blade back and blocked the incoming weapon.

Clang!

The impact shook its arm slightly, just a little, but enough.

At that exact moment it countered, its right blade thrust forward.

Straight and fast...

"You know..."

Veda spoke calmly, even while running directly toward the incoming attack.

"Sword, dagger, and blade alchemy circles are similar..."

His voice remained steady.

"...they follow a general structure already known by all alchemists."

The Kalian didn’t understand his words, but Veda continued anyway.

His right hand surged with Cognis, deep and strong movement.

Veins along his arm lit faintly, energy gathering toward his palm.

"I’m not a genius..." He spoke.

"...so, it took me close to three years to add this to my trump card."

Then...

He stretched his hand forward, bare toward the incoming blade.

The Kalian’s mouth opened slightly, a mocking expression. In its mind it was obvious what it was thinking.

What kind of idiot touches a blade like that?

"AHHHHH!!!!"

Veda shouted as Cognis burst from his palm. White lightning sparks crackled out from his palm.

His hand met the blade...

Crack!

The sound rang out sharply.

The Kalian’s eyes widened.

The blade shattered from its tip all the way down to the metal wrist band that held it together.

The entire structure collapsed, broken close to dust.

In that same instant...

Veda stepped in. Closing the gap completely.

The Kalian froze for just a moment, its focus still on the destroyed blade and that moment was enough.

Veda pushed his Cognis to its peak, his body shifted into a martial stance, then he drove his shoulder forward.

A clean, direct impact.

The Kalian’s body jerked back a step, but it didn’t fall.

It reacted immediately, the other blade on its other arm came down toward Veda’s head.

Boom!

Veda’s fist rose first and struck a clean uppercut to the chin, the Kalian’s head snapped upward and at the same time...

Veda’s hand moved into his space bag, bringing out two daggers, then he threw them forward and jumped.

His foot struck the first dagger. Driving it deeper, piercing into the Kalian’s left elbow joint.

The second dagger followed as he drove a straight kick forward, into the Kalian’s abdomen hard.

The impact pushed both of them apart.

The Kalian slid backward, its feet digging into the ground, leaving deep marks in the snow-covered soil as it forced itself to stop while Veda landed firmly on his feet.

Blue blood dripped from the Kalian’s arm and its stomach.

Its jaw tightened, expression twisting in rage.

It reached down, pulled out the daggers. One, then the other.

Its left arm didn’t respond properly.

Without hesitation...It grabbed the arm and tore it off, then ate it.

Veda watched, expressionless, then...

"KRRRIIIIIOARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!"

The roar burst out loud and violently, it echoed through the castle and the forest, even those fighting in distant areas could hear it.

A blade flew from inside the castle straight into the Kalian’s hand.

Its neck cracked and legs muscles tightened.

"You think you are very intimidating..."

Veda’s voice came out low and heavy, but there was a clear strain behind it, the kind that came from pushing his Cognis far beyond what his body could comfortably handle.

His chest rose and fell slowly, his hands twitched slightly, then his head lifted.

"I SAID I WOULD MURDER YOU!"

His shout tore through the cold air, sharp and filled with intent.

Clap!

At that same moment, during the time his kick had forced the Kalian and him moving opposite directions, Veda had already thrown a strap of steel bars high into the air, the number reaching close to fifty as they spun and reflected the faint light from the battlefield.

Cognis surged out from his body in a sudden burst.

The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, the air around him distorted.

Between his palms, a large alchemy circle expanded rapidly, lines forming and connecting with precision as energy gathered at its center.

He slammed both palms onto the ground.

The alchemy circle spread outward across the surface, wider, brighter, its glow strong enough to push back the darkness of the night and overpower the flickering torches and lamps around the battlefield.

The steel bars fell and the moment they touched the glowing circle, they began to melt.

Instantly.

They reshaped and reformed. One after another, weapons took form.

Fifteen Repeater Sword Rifles.

They rose upright from the ground, embedded firmly like a forest of blades and barrels.

The Kalian reacted immediately, it burst forward with speed.

The ground cracked beneath its feet, snow and dust lifting violently into the air as it closed the distance in a straight line toward Veda.

Veda moved just as fast. He grabbed two rifles, one in each hand and fired.

Rapid shots rang out, each one aimed directly at the advancing figure.

The Kalian didn’t slow down, its blade moved fast and precise.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each bullet was intercepted, deflected away as it continued charging forward.

Then...They collided.

The Kalian swung its blade with full force.

The rifle in Veda’s left hand was knocked away instantly, spinning out of his grip and landing several meters away, but Veda had already stepped in.

His right hand drove forward, the blade of the Repeater Sword Rifle pierced into the Kalian’s left knee.

Then...

Bang!

He pulled the trigger.

The shot exploded inside the joint, tearing through the structure and leaving a visible hole as blue blood burst outward.

The Kalian refused to react to the pain, it sliced through the rifle, cutting it cleanly in half, leaving only part of the weapon embedded in its leg.

Veda shifted his footing to the right.

In one smooth motion, he reached out and grabbed another rifle from the ground beside him.

He raised it and fired.

The Kalian shifted left, its body moving just enough to avoid the shot...

But Veda had already adjusted.

With how busted the Kalian’s left leg was, its movement speed slowed completely, another shot followed immediately.

This one connected.

It pierced through the Kalian’s right eye.

The creature reacted.

Its blade came down in a heavy slash aimed directly at Veda.

Veda raised the rifle and blocked.

The weapon split apart under the force, but that wasn’t the end of his movement.

He turned the rifle, directing the blade slicing through his gun to the right side.

His leg came up and he kicked the broken rifle still lodged in the Kalian’s knee.

The force drove the remaining piece deeper into the joint.

The Kalian’s posture faltered slightly.

That single shift...

Was exactly what Veda needed.

He stepped in again, grabbed another rifle thrusting it forward. The blade pierced into the Kalian’s rib cage.

Bang!

He fired.

The side of its body burst open, blue blood spilling out heavily.

He didn’t stop, he immediately shifted behind it and grabbed two more rifles driving them deep into its back.

The Kalian spun; its blade moved again but slower now.

Veda bent low, avoiding the swing, his hand reached out grabbing another rifle.

He thrust forward again.

The blade pierced through the Kalian’s right wrist.

Bang!

The shot exploded through the joint, its hand was blown off completely.

Blue blood burst outward like a fountain, spraying across the ground as the severed hand dropped, still gripping the blade.

The Kalian staggered. A sound tore from its throat loud and broken, but Veda didn’t give it time to properly feel the pain. He stepped forward again, grabbing another rifle.

Another stab into the shoulder, then two more rifles...Driven deep into its body.

One after another, each movement were direct, efficient and relentless.

Until...

All the remaining rifles...Were embedded in its body.

Its form twisted, disfigured.

Two rifles were lodged deep into its eyes, one forced into its mouth, preventing any sound from escaping.

The Kalian dropped to its knees; its body trembled.

Veda stood in front of it.

His right eye bled, blood ran down from his nose, his hands trembled slightly, the damage visible, his face had gone pale and his breathing uneven.

He stepped forward slowly, reached out and grabbed one rifle embedded in its chest pulling it out.

The Kalian made a low, broken sound, the noise cracking in the cold air.

Then... 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Veda drove the blade forward, straight into its heart.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He pulled the trigger multiple times, each shot tore deeper into its chest.

A large hole formed through its body, then it stopped.

No movement, no sound.

The Kalian was dead.

Veda remained standing for a moment, then his body gave in.

He dropped slightly, forcing himself to stay upright, sweat and blood mixing across his skin.

"I... have to... go back..." His voice came out broken. "...and help... Ezra..."

His knees hit the ground.

"Sir Veda!!!" Voices echoed loudly from behind him.

His vision blurred as the world tilted. He could hear the gate opening and footsteps rushing toward him, but he could only see legs movement.

Then...

Everything faded slightly.

Meanwhile...At the back of the castle.

The battlefield had been completely torn apart.

Long wooden spears were embedded across the ground, craters and holes marked the surface from impacts, bullets, and explosions, thin steel ropes stretched between broken points, blue blood dripping from them slowly, pits filled with stakes remained open, their edges stained and the sharp scent of Zyphoric acid lingered in the cold air, mixing with the smell of blood.

In the middle of that ruined field...

A Kalian stood holding an iron spear, its posture steady and ready.

And in front of it...

Ezra stood, blood covered his arms, his face, his legs, but his grip on the gun remained firm, breathing also steady.

He looked forward.

"Four down." He adjusted his stance slightly. "One to go."