Chapter 164: Tenth Trial: Rank Stealing: Lyra Vs Page

The two girls continued clashing at terrifying speed.

Page immediately controlled a vine upward, wrapping it tightly around Lyra’s AK-47 and forcing the muzzle toward the ceiling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets sprayed wildly upward instead.

Sparks exploded across the upper metal structures of the hall.

Lyra reacted instantly.

Without any moment of hesitation...

She released the AK-47 completely and swung her scythe sideways in one smooth motion.

Swing!

The sharp blade tore through the air violently.

But...

Page bent backward sharply, barely evading the slash as the blade passed inches from her face.

The slash cut through the vine restraining the AK-47.

The rifle dropped through the air...

And Lyra caught it cleanly again without even looking at it directly.

Then...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She continued firing aggressively until...

Click.

The magazine emptied.

Lyra immediately threw the rifle aside carelessly.

Clang!

The gun slid loudly across the stage floor.

Now...

She fully switched back to her scythe.

That was when the fight entered complete close-quarter combat.

The pace instantly became faster.

Much faster.

The audience seated on the second floor could still follow the battle clearly because of their level of strength and experience, but the ordinary people watching below...

Especially those who were not Alchemists...

Could barely see anything anymore.

To them...

The fight became flashes, sparks, blurred afterimages and violent sounds.

They could only occasionally catch glimpses of the two girls crossing past one another before disappearing again.

The stage floor continued cracking beneath their movements.

The crowd’s excitement exploded further.

"This speed..."

One ordinary servant watching from below swallowed hard.

"I can’t even see them anymore."

"Binder Rank at thirteen..."

A young mainline noble smiled while watching the fight carefully, turned his head to the person beside him.

"Laverdale must truly be proud."

Beside him sat a girl with mint-green hair tied neatly behind her back.

Page’s older sister.

"Page has always been known as a genius."

She smiled softly while staring at the stage.

"Aren’t you angry that one of your younger sisters is about to surpass you?"

Silvia leaned forward from her seat with a mischievous smile.

"You’re supposed to become the next head of Laverdale, aren’t you?"

The mint-haired girl looked back calmly.

"She’s my sister, Lady Silvia."

Her smile remained sincere.

"If she’s capable, then why would I feel sad?"

She clenched her fist proudly against her chest.

"In fact..."

Her eyes sharpened slightly.

"It’s good news for our family. Especially now that we finally have someone from our bloodline capable of rivaling the Evergrey’s young talent."

The surrounding Laverdale mainline youths nodded proudly.

Several Highline nobles sitting nearby also showed approving looks.

Silvia stared at them expressionlessly before leaning back into her chair with folded arms.

"Page is talented..."

A young Ashburn noble suddenly spoke confidently.

"...but she still can’t beat Lyra."

"Ehn..."

The white-haired young man seated beside Silvia tilted his head.

"But aren’t they evenly matched?"

He turned toward the quiet young man seated beside him.

"What do you think, brother?"

The dark-gray-haired young man remained silent.

His eyes never left the fight.

The pressure radiating from his body alone made nearby nobles avoid disturbing him further.

The white-haired young man coughed awkwardly and stopped talking.

Meanwhile, back on the stage...

Page immediately noticed the pressure increasing.

Lyra’s movement speed was slowly beginning to overwhelm her.

Every attack, every counter and every shift in direction...

It all flowed naturally through instinct.

Page still maintained the advantage in mass attacks because of her Bunge Boa Vines.

And she knew...

If even one vine managed to properly bind Lyra...

The balance of the fight could completely tilt in her favor.

But...

Every time I attack this bitch...

Page tilted her head sharply.

Slash!

Lyra’s scythe barely passed her face.

A shallow cut appeared across Page’s cheek. A thin line of blood slowly trickled downward.

Page’s eyes narrowed harder.

For someone so dumb...She’s ridiculously sharp in combat.

Page immediately moved backward while controlling several vines to block Lyra’s next series of attacks, but Lyra’s assault never stopped.

Not even once.

"You’re getting pushed back, Page!"

Lyra laughed loudly.

Her excited voice echoed throughout the hall as she suddenly increased her speed again.

Boom!

The stage cracked beneath her feet.

In a blink...

She closed the distance instantly.

"Got you!"

Lyra swung her scythe downward brutally.

The slash cut through the surrounding air with enough force to produce a sharp pressure wave.

"In your dreams."

Page reacted immediately.

The vines beneath her feet surged upward and pushed her backward in a smooth surfing motion.

The blade barely missed her stomach.

Still...

Part of her clothes split open from the edge of the slash.

At the same time...

Page clenched her fist tightly.

Behind her...

Dozens of Bunge Boa Vines twisted together rapidly into a massive fist-like structure.

Then...

She punched forward.

Boom!

The giant vine fist shot toward Lyra violently.

Lyra’s eyes sharpened.

Swing!

She rotated her scythe like a golf club and split the massive vine fist into two clean halves.

But...

The sliced vines suddenly stretched outward unnaturally, like traps waiting to close.

They curved around Lyra from both sides in a circular motion.

Trying to crush her completely.

Page clasped both hands together tightly while controlling the vines.

"Got you now!"

The vines compressed inward rapidly, but Lyra immediately spun her body while gripping the scythe with both hands.

Whoosh!

It looked like a tornado had suddenly formed around her.

The spinning blade shredded apart every incoming vine violently.

Green fragments scattered everywhere.

Then...Without stopping...

Lyra suddenly hurled her scythe toward Page again.

Page, who had already retreated slightly after initiating the crushing attack, immediately bent downward.

The scythe flew above her head.

Then...

Clap!

A sharp clap echoed loudly.

At the exact same moment...Another clap answered it.

The entire hall shook slightly.

Both girls had clapped their hands together simultaneously.

Cognis surged violently from their bodies.

Alchemy circles formed instantly between their palms, then both slammed their hands onto the materials they had scattered across the ground earlier.

The execution speed happened so quickly that even several Elders became visibly impressed.

"Their alchemy execution is profound for Binder Rank Alchemists."

Elder Paul leaned comfortably into his chair while watching the stage carefully.

"There’s barely hesitation in their transitions."

"What amazes me more..."

Elder Tabitha smiled lightly.

"...is the fact neither of them fears seriously injuring the other."

She glanced briefly toward Valentin.

"The Trial truly works, Head."

Valentin remained expressionless while watching the stage.

"Yes."

His voice remained cold and calm.

Beside him...

The dark-gray-haired woman seated to his right smiled softly.

"Even someone like me can barely follow all their movements."

She laughed quietly.

Elder Fredricks suddenly chuckled.

"It seems my son isn’t interested in this fight at all."

He glanced at Valentin

"Well..."

Elder Branthwaite laughed as well.

"It’s still entertaining, but everyone knows the fight they truly want to see."

Meanwhile...

Bang! Bang!

Massive gunshots exploded across the hall.

During the Elders’ conversation...

Page had already created another wave of vines, and at the same time... Lyra completed the alchemy creation of two Baske 1945.

As the giant wave of vines surged toward her like a green tsunami...

Lyra pushed Cognis through her entire body.

Her muscles tightened instantly; she grounded her stance firmly.

Bang!

The first shot exploded; the recoil blasted her body backward slightly.

But...

The bullet tore a massive hole through the incoming vine wave.

Using the recoil momentum... Lyra rotated her body and fired the second Baske.

Bang!

Another section of the vines exploded apart.

Then another shot, then another.

She moved alongside the recoil naturally, like dancing through explosions.

Within mere moments...

Six total shots completely tore apart the incoming wave of vines.

Green fragments scattered throughout the entire stage, but...

Page had already begun another alchemy.

Earlier...

She had secretly planted two sunflower seeds onto the ground at her back.

Now...

The flowers rapidly grew larger.

Their giant petals opened slowly while absorbing the surrounding light from the lamps and windows of the hall.

At the same time...

Page dropped another seed.

Black Rose.

A dangerous mutated plant capable of firing poisonous thorns as defensive attacks, but with the triple effect of alchemy...

It no longer functioned merely as defense.

Now...

It worked like a living cannon.

"You’re going down, Lyra!"

Page shouted loudly as her Cognis surged harder into the Black Rose.

The stem veins bulged grotesquely.

Then...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hundreds of sharp thorns blasted toward Lyra like missiles.

Lyra immediately dashed sideways.

Her body moved rapidly between the incoming barrage.

Some thorns pierced the stage, others grazed her clothes.

She used the Baske gun to block several directly like a club, even though numbness slowly spread through her arms from the recoil and the poison taking effect slowly.

Her Cognis immediately repaired and healed the strain repeatedly.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Lyra laughed wildly.

Blood slowly trickled from tiny cuts across her body caused by the thorns, but her excitement only increased further.

"This is amazing, Page!"

She suddenly threw one Baske upward.

Then...

Using the second Shotgun...

She blocked several more incoming thorns while leaping upward.

Boom!

The stage cracked beneath her feet from the force.

Clap!

Lyra clapped her hands together midair, Cognis surged violently into her palms.

An alchemy circle formed instantly.

She pressed both hands onto the two Baske shotguns...

And they melted into liquid metal immediately before reforming rapidly into a Springfield M1903A4 sniper rifle.

At that exact moment...

The two massive Sunflowers finally completed their charging.

The hall brightened intensely from the concentrated light gathering around them.

"This is the END!"

Both girls shouted at the same time.

Page slammed her palms together.

The Sunflowers bloomed completely.

Boom!

Two gigantic blasts of concentrated light erupted toward Lyra.

At the same moment...

Lyra aimed through the sniper scope calmly, her fingers tightened around the rifle.

Then...

BANG!

The bullet shot forward faster than sound itself.

The entire scene felt like a stone crashing violently into still water as the sniper bullet pierced straight through the center of the massive light blast to the first sunflower.

A hole opened briefly within the attack, then Page saw Lyra chambering another shot already.

BANG!

The second bullet exploded through the remaining Sunflower instantly.

The flowers burst apart violently.

Boom!

The remaining light blast swallowed Lyra afterward.

Then...

Thud!

Her burning body crashed onto the stage floor heavily, but before Page could react further...

Lyra rolled instantly like a trained soldier extinguishing the flames slightly.

At the same time...

Bang!

A bullet pierced through Page’s leg.

"Argh!"

Page collapsed immediately.

The pouch of seeds she had attempted to pull out scattered uselessly across the floor.

Still...

Even while injured...

She tried forcing another alchemy activation.

"Stop."

Lyra’s voice came out heavily while smoke still rose from parts of her burned clothes.

She stood in front of Page while breathing hard.

The Springfield pointed directly at Page’s hand.

"Or I’ll blow your hand off."

Page froze completely.

She stared at Lyra’s current state.

Burned, poisoned and bleeding but still standing, still aiming calmly.

Page sighed deeply before sitting properly onto the stage floor.

"You’re a crazy monster."

She shook her head while laughing weakly.

"You’re literally burning and still moving like this..."

Her shoulders relaxed finally.

"I surrender."

Lyra laughed loudly again.

The candidates below exploded into wild cheers immediately.

"WOOOOOOOWWWW!"

The audience on the second floor also began clapping with genuine amazement after witnessing the level of the fight.