Ezra tightened his grip around the Glock, his fingers pressing firmly against the handle as he steadied his breathing.

Well... I’ve made my choice.

He muttered inwardly; his thoughts calm despite the danger standing right in front of him.

So, I’ll stick with it.

There was no hesitation in his eyes. No confusion either. His mind was already moving, analyzing every possible outcome without rushing into panic.

Across from him, Lord Val straightened his posture.

His muscles tensed, tightening beneath his clothes, and the way his fingers wrapped around the Baske showed no room for error. Even without words, it was clear—he was going all out from the very beginning.

Bang!

The first gunshot rang out, loud and sharp, echoing through the hall.

The recoil slammed into Val’s shoulder, forcing his body slightly backward, yet his stance held firm, his feet digging into the ground just enough to keep him stable.

Ezra reacted immediately...

Bang!

Val shot another shot.

Bang!

A third followed without pause.

Each shot came with heavy force, the ground beneath Val’s feet cracking slightly as dust rose into the air. His shoulders shifted back and forward under the pressure, but his aim never wavered.

At that moment, Ezra moved.

His eyes locked onto the incoming bullets.

One approached from the left side of his shoulder, while the other two aligned perfectly toward his right, forming a deadly angle that left him with almost no space to evade completely.

He understood it instantly.

He was pinned.

Yet...

He still didn’t panic.

Ezra tilted his body to the right and fired rapidly, his Glock barking out shots as metal clashed against metal. One of the bullets shifted slightly off course, but the collision triggered an explosion.

Boom!

The force of the blast pushed against him like a violent wave, nearly throwing him off balance and out of his circle.

His eyes sharpened further as he tracked the remaining bullets and raised his gun again and fired at the second one.

Boom!

Another explosion burst mid-air as the second bullet clashed with Ezra’s gunshot.

The third bullet was already too close.

Ezra gritted his teeth and swung his Glock upward, the muzzle striking the tip of the incoming bullet just enough to redirect it.

Boom!

A third explosion erupted.

Smoke and dust spread across his side of the field, swallowing his figure entirely.

Through the haze, Val dropped to one knee.

His shoulder trembled slightly as he forced the joint back into place with a rough motion. The pain showed on his face for only a brief moment before his gaze snapped back toward Ezra’s position.

He knew.

Ezra wasn’t dead.

Without wasting time, Val reached into his space bag and pulled out six steel nuggets.

Meanwhile, as the smoke began to thin, Ezra’s figure became visible.

He stood there, barely steady, his breathing heavy and uneven, yet his eyes remained locked on Val as if nothing else mattered.

Blood ran down his arms, parts of his coat were torn apart, exposing skin that had been burned and cut.

"Luckily... my gun is still working,"

Ezra muttered under his breath, glancing briefly at the Glock in his hand as his arms trembled from the strain.

Then his gaze returned to Val.

"But... he’s really planning to fire again."

There was a trace of amazement in his eyes.

This version of Val, still in his mid-teens, already possessed this level of strength. He had fired three shots from the Baske, endured the recoil, and was still ready to continue.

Ezra slowly raised his gun again, his breathing steadying.

Bang!

He fired at Val just as he was about to reload.

Clank!

Val reacted instantly, using the body of the Baske to deflect the bullet away.

In the same motion, Val stood up straight, his posture perfect, his aim already set.

Bang!

He fired again.

A slight frown appeared on his face from the recoil, but it didn’t slow him down.

At that moment, something surged within Ezra.

His Cognis flowed stronger through his body, forcing his muscles to move despite the pain and damage he had already taken.

Blood scattered as he adjusted his stance.

Right before Val’s bullet could fully leave the barrel...

Ezra fired.

Again, and again and again.

He pressed the trigger repeatedly until...

Click.

His Glock ran empty.

Boom!

The bullets collided near Val, causing a close-range explosion that engulfed him.

Val released his grip on the Baske and raised his arms, bracing himself.

The explosion hit.

Dust and fragments burst outward.

When it finally settled...

Ezra was barely standing, his body swaying as his Cognis struggled to keep himself upright, slowly healing the damage.

Val stood as well.

Not unharmed, but far from defeated.

Sharp fragments had pierced into his arms, the ones he used to shield himself, yet he remained within his circle, stable.

Then...

The door to the next floor appeared.

Ezra exhaled slowly, forcing his body upright. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

His bones cracked slightly as he straightened, pain running through him, but he ignored it and moved forward.

Behind him, Val’s figure dissolved into dust.

Ezra stepped into the final floor.

The hallway stretched ahead of him, quiet and empty.

As he walked, his gaze dropped briefly to his arms.

The burns, the torn fabric, the blood...

Something felt off.

The damage feels real... but it doesn’t match how it should actually look.

He thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.

The realization came quickly.

This trial works more on the mind... it shows us the damage as we perceive it, but it doesn’t actually destroy the body.

He exhaled lightly.

So, once I leave, it’ll just be exhaustion... like the others.

He stepped onto the final circle.

The figure of the number one of Ashenlocke appeared.

Pale skin, Dark eyes, long black hair that seemed to blend with the shadows and a presence that filled the entire space without moving.

"This must be Lord Valentine..." Ezra observed him quietly. "Head of this... shitty family."

To Ezra, he looked like any other boy, just like the rest of them.

Yet these same people, when grown, treated their own blood like tools.

"Tsk."

Ezra clicked his tongue softly, then steadied himself again.

It’s fine like this. I’ve seen enough.

The light turned green, and at that exact instant both of them moved.

Their hands shot toward their space bags at almost the same time, their eyes sharp and fixed on each other without blinking, their minds already calculating the outcome before their bodies could even finish the motion.

Steel was drawn out in one smooth movement, and almost immediately the process began...Cognis surged through their bodies, their palms came together, and the alchemy formation activated without hesitation.

There was no wasted motion, no pause.

Everything flowed in one continuous action.

BANG!

The sound exploded across the floor.

In less than a blink of an eye, Ezra stood with his Glock already stretched forward, his arm steady despite the strain, a thin trail of smoke rising from the muzzle as the shot had already been completed before most would even realize it had begun.

Across from him, Valentine stood unmoving.

In his hands was a dual-barrel shotgun, both barrels still releasing faint smoke into the air, and for a brief moment, the only movement he made was lowering his gaze slightly toward his stomach.

Blood slowly spread from the point where Ezra’s bullet had pierced him.

But...

Ezra fell.

His body dropped straight down; the force of the impact dull compared to the damage already done.

A large hole tore through his chest, the edges dark and jagged, as if the air itself had been ripped apart at that point.

...Meister-ranked gun... dual-barrel shotgun...

The thought formed slowly in his fading awareness.

Even as he lay there, his vision lowering, his eyes remained fixed ahead.

He stared at Valentine’s feet.

Valentine had not even been pushed back, not even slightly.

So... he’s the type like Lord Val... His breathing weakened. To go all out... from the start...

His eyes closed.

Outside the tower...

A wave of sound spread through the crowd.

The white light at the very top floor flickered for a moment before turning red.

For a second, no one spoke.

Then...

Gasps, low voices and shock spreading from one group to another like a ripple.

At the same time, Ezra’s figure appeared again at the entrance of the tower.

The door opened behind him.

He stood there for a moment, then let out a long breath, his shoulders dropping slightly.

"That was hard..."

His voice was quiet, almost lost in the surrounding noise.

He stepped forward with every eye turned to him.

"Wow... he made it to the last floor..." one of Henry’s members whispered, his voice barely above a breath, yet it still carried.

More voices followed.

They overlapped, layered over each other, each person trying to process what they had just witnessed.

No one spoke loudly, yet the entire place felt noisy.

Ezra didn’t react, he simply walked.

Step by step, and made his way back toward Veda’s side.

Sweat dripped down his face, soaking into his clothes, yet his body showed no injuries, no torn flesh, no burns—everything had been restored as if nothing had happened.

Only the exhaustion remained.

"Welcome back," Veda said, smiling slightly, though his eyes held a deeper look.

"You actually reached that floor..." Tracy added, her voice filled with disbelief as she stared at him.

Nickolas and Linda stood frozen.

Their mouths opened slightly, yet no words came out.

They just simply stared.

The others around them began speaking, praising him, their voices rising with excitement, but Ezra did not engage with any of it.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly upward.

The sun shone above, its light cutting through the cold air, while snow continued to fall gently.

He reached into his space bag, pulled out two heat stimulant pills, and swallowed them, then his gaze shifted back toward the tower.

Nina was still inside on the seventh floor.

"She’s been there since you climbed into the eighth floor," Veda said, noticing where Ezra was looking.

"Hmm..."

Ezra gave a small response.

His face remained plain, unreadable.

"I’m going back."

He lifted his hand in a simple wave and turned away immediately, not waiting for a reply.

"He just left like that?" Linda frowned, watching his back.

"He didn’t even ask how long he spent inside," Nickolas said, shaking his head slowly.

"He did mention he had something to do," Veda replied calmly, his eyes already returning to the tower.

The conversation around Ezra faded quickly after he left, like a brief spark that had already burned out.

Attention returned to the tower, to the others still climbing, to the ongoing trial.

Ezra returned to his room first, cleaning himself quickly, washing away the sweat and changing his clothes.

After that, he headed to the café, eating in silence, his movements steady and unhurried.

Then after resting for a few seconds, he went to the library.

He sat down and resumed reading.

Time passed with the sky darkening slowly as evening came.

At the tower, the six guards stepped forward, their presence firm as always.

They gave the order.

No more entries.

Everyone began leaving the training grounds.

Those still inside the tower completed their attempts one by one, exiting and returning to their groups or heading back to their rooms to rest.

Nina eventually came out, but her eyes were red.

The moment she stepped out; she ran straight to Vera.

Her voice shook as she spoke, explaining how the illusion of Lord Astraea had completely overwhelmed her from the beginning to the end, not giving her a single chance to recover.

She described it again and again, her frustration clear, her pride wounded, then... to make things worse.

She heard how far Ezra had gone, which floor he reached and how he lost.

The gap between them.

Her voice broke and she whined even more.

Not quietly this time.

The kind of cry that came from realizing just how wide the distance really was.