Silence filled the entire prison chambers.

The only sounds left were the crackling of burning wood and ruined furniture, the endless sprinkling of water from broken pipes hidden inside the walls, and the loud groaning noise of the steam-engine power grid that was beginning to overheat after the massive destruction the mansion had suffered.

Smoke drifted through the air.

Water ran across the cracked stone floor.

Firelight flickered against the prison walls.

The atmosphere felt strangely heavy.

So silent that even the slight shift of Ezra’s foot echoed throughout the chamber.

Zavier’s breathing came out loud.

Heavy and aggressive.

Then...

They moved.

The wind burst backward violently as Ezra flashed forward, raising the AA-12 and aiming directly at Zavier.

At the same moment, Zavier threw the thin spear he held.

Cognis surged through his arm and flowed into the weapon.

The spear exploded through the air with terrifying force.

The pressure it generated created a vacuum-like disturbance behind it.

For a moment, it looked as though the weapon was trying to break through the speed of sound itself.

BANG!

Ezra fired with perfect timing.

BOOM!

The incoming spear smashed through the shell.

The collision created a small explosion.

Pellets scattered wildly into the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Tsk...

Ezra sharply turned his body.

The spear passed his face by a narrow margin.

Its tip drilled into the far prison wall.

It didn’t stop there.

The force carried it through multiple walls.

The stone wall exploded apart.

Dust filled the air.

Only after piercing through several sections of the mansion did the spear finally stop when it struck a large tree outside.

Crack!

The tree split cleanly in half.

Both sections collapsed and the spear finally fell to the ground.

That power...

Ezra looked toward the destruction caused by the single throw.

His body remained twisted from his evasive movement.

Then...

Whoosh!

He swung the AA-12 with one hand.

Clank!

The loud sound of metal colliding echoed through the prison chambers.

Ezra had used the shotgun like a baton to block another incoming spear which was knocked aside.

The weapon spun through the air before crashing into the wall.

Then...

Ezra’s eyes widened.

Because what he saw next wasn’t one spear.

It wasn’t two.

It was an entire barrage.

Dozens of black steel spears shot toward him at terrifying speed.

The prison chamber seemed to disappear behind the rain of steel.

Ezra gritted his teeth.

Instead of retreating...

He rushed directly into the barrage.

His feet splashed through the water covering the floor.

One sharp step.

A quick turn.

His body shifted left.

A spear passed his chest by barely an inch.

The violent wind generated by its movement pushed against his clothes.

Another spear immediately arrived.

Ezra moved again.

The water beneath his feet exploded outward as his body slipped to another angle.

The spear passed harmlessly by.

Then another, then another.

The AA-12 continuously moved.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Every impact shook his arms.

Each spear carried enough force to punch through his body and pin him to the wall.

Behind him, every missed attack created further destruction.

Walls exploded, stone shattered, support pillars cracked.

The prison chambers suffered more damage with every second.

Even the AA-12 was beginning to show slash marks from repeatedly blocking the attacks.

Clap!

Ezra’s senses immediately picked up a Cognis fluctuation.

His eyes locked onto Zavier.

The man had already formed another Alchemy Circle.

His palm slammed onto the ground.

Gray lightning-like Cognis surged outward, flowing into one airborne spear, suddenly changing.

Its shape, distorted.

Melted and reshaped.

The spear transformed into a black steel bind rushing directly toward Ezra.

Ezra immediately dropped the AA-12.

Clearly knowing that trying to evade would only force him into the path of another spear.

So instead...

His hand entered his space bag.

The Harpoon Gun appeared along with four steel nuggets.

Cognis flowed into his hand, an Alchemy Circle formed.

The nuggets melted instantly, then the metal merged together, compressed and refined.

A steel harpoon quickly formed with a thin steel rope attached to it.

Ezra loaded it smoothly.

The entire motion looked natural from countless repetitions inside the Trial of Steel.

Then he aimed upward.

Bang!

The harpoon shot toward the ceiling.

Boom!

It embedded itself deeply into the stone, the rope immediately tightening and Ezra’s body was pulled upward in a fast sequence.

The incoming bind passed beneath his boots by barely an inch.

Clap!

"IS RUNNING THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO?!"

Zavier shouted.

He had already exhausted all the spears he previously created.

Another Alchemy Circle formed between his palms.

Cognis surged violently.

He slammed his hands onto the ground again.

Gray lightning escaped through the floor, the Cognis raced toward the scattered spears.

The black steel melted once more.

The metal transformed into a mercury-like liquid, flowing rapidly back toward Zavier.

From above, Ezra took out a Desert Eagle.

Hanging from the ceiling, he aimed directly at Zavier’s head.

Bang!

The bullet shot downward.

Zavier tilted his head.

The bullet missed, striking the stone floor behind him.

"This brat..."

The veins on his forehead bulged.

His annoyance was becoming increasingly obvious, then he started running.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Gunfire echoed throughout the prison chambers as bullets rained down continuously.

Zavier weaved through them.

Clap!

His hands slammed together again.

The three stars inside his body lit up.

Gray streams of Cognis flowed through the connecting lines between them.

The energy rushed through his veins, then out through his palms.

An Alchemy Circle formed.

"DIE!"

He slammed his hands downward.

The mercury-like black steel instantly hardened, forming into...

Needles.

Thousands of tiny black steel needles.

They shot upward like bullets.

Ezra saw the countless needles rushing toward him from below.

The prison chamber seemed to disappear beneath the rain of black steel again.

Without hesitation, he removed the magazine from the Desert Eagle he was holding. Since it was already empty, and there was no point keeping it attached. At the same time, he let go of the steel rope in his other hand.

His body immediately began falling.

The cold air brushed against his soaked clothes.

Water dripped from his sleeves.

Then Ezra pulled off his black coat.

Cognis surged through his arm and flowed into the fabric.

The Alchemy Circle hidden within his control activated.

The surface of the coat hardened instantly.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Needles after needles slammed into the hardened fabric.

Some bounced away.

Others scraped against the surface, sending sparks flying.

Several missed completely and shot past the sides of the coat.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The needles crashed into the ceiling with enough force to crack the stone.

Dust rained down.

Small pieces of rock broke loose and fell throughout the prison chambers.

The entire ceiling groaned under the continuous assault.

While Ezra’s eyes never left Zavier.

His mind continued calculating, observing and analyzing.

"I need to get closer."

His voice came out low.

The distance between them was still too large.

Against a Meister Rank Alchemist capable of performing Alchemy continuously, staying far away only gave Zavier more freedom to attack and also, Ezra was running out Cognis.

Ezra grabbed one edge of the hardened coat.

Then...

He spun his body.

The coat rotated violently through the air.

Whoosh!

He threw it.

The hardened coat flew toward Zavier like a giant shuriken.

At that moment, Zavier was already about to clap his hands together again to perform another Alchemy.

Seeing the incoming object, he instinctively moved backward.

Yet his hands continued moving still intending to activate the Alchemy.

Boom!

The hardened coat landed directly between his palms.

The thick fabric slammed into the center of his hands.

The impact stopped them from touching each other.

"What?!"

Zavier’s eyes widened.

The Alchemy ignition failed instantly.

For the first time since the battle began, surprise appeared clearly on his face.

But Ezra wasn’t surprised.

Because the throw had never been aimed directly at Zavier.

It was aimed slightly behind him.

A gamble.

A prediction.

A trap.

Zavier must move back.

That single thought had appeared inside Ezra’s mind.

He didn’t know exactly which direction Zavier would choose.

Since he couldn’t predict what Zavier would do exactly.

But based on Zavier’s fighting habits and his current position, moving backward was the most likely reaction.

And now...

That gamble had paid off.

But...

That wasn’t all.

Before hardening the coat...

Ezra had tied a thin steel rope to it.

Now the coat rested on the ground.

Still blocking Zavier’s hands, still interrupting the Alchemy activation and connected directly to Ezra.

The moment the coat landed...

Ezra pulled.

The steel rope tightened instantly.

The hardened coat dragged backward.

And with it...

Zavier’s balance shifted.

His body lurched forward slightly.

"AHHHHH!"

Ezra shouted.

Not out of fear nor out of pain, but from forcing every bit of strength out of his exhausted body.

He pointed the Desert Eagle at Zavier with a fresh magazine already loaded into it.

His body screamed in protest.

The cold was getting worse.

His soaked clothes clung tightly to his skin.

Blood dripped from the countless cuts covering his arms and shoulders.

His muscles ached and his lungs burned.

Yet Ezra ignored all of it.

Cognis surged through his legs.

Through his arms.

Through every part of his body.

He accelerated.

Increasing his speed.

Executing every step of the trap before the needles could completely reach him.

Before Zavier could recover.

Before another Alchemy could be formed.

Everything depended on this moment.

Zavier’s eyes locked onto the muzzle of the Desert Eagle.

Then...

A smirk appeared on his face.

A dangerous smirk.

His hand dove into his space bag.

In a single motion...

A prepared black steel spear appeared.

The weapon shot forward. Straight toward Ezra’s handgun.

"AHHHHHHH!!"

Both father and son roared at the same time.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ezra emptied the entire magazine.

Firing all nine rounds.

At the same moment...

Zavier thrust the spear forward with all his strength.

The bullets collided with the incoming weapon.

The first bullet was pierced through, the second was also pierced through, the third did the same.

The spear continued forward.

The fourth bullet left a dent, the fifth deepened it, the sixth created cracks, the seventh finally widened them further.

Then...

Crack!

The spear shattered under the eighth bullet.

Fragments exploded outward.

The ninth bullet continued forward.

Straight toward Zavier’s face.

For a brief moment...Victory seemed possible.

Clap!

Zavier’s hands came together, Cognis surged violently, his Alchemy Circle formed almost instantly.

Gray lightning-like Cognis erupted outward.

The shattered fragments of black steel hanging in the air suddenly reacted.

Everything happened within milliseconds.

The fragments gathered together.

Melting, merging, compressing and reformed.

Another spear was born.

And this new spear shot forward like a bullet.

The ninth round was destroyed instantly.

The spear continued moving.

Ezra’s eyes widened.

This time...

He couldn’t react.

His body was airborne, his stamina was almost gone, his Cognis reserves were running low and he hadn’t enhanced his movement speed enough to dodge.

The spear struck.

Crunch!

It pierced through the Desert Eagle.

The metal frame shattered.

Then...

It continued straight through Ezra’s hand.

"AHHH! ARGHHHHH!"

Pain exploded through his arm.

Blood sprayed through the air.

The force ripped the weapon from his grip.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Zavier’s laughter echoed throughout the prison chambers.

Wild, maniacal and victorious.

He grabbed the spear, then twisted it.

The metal rotated inside Ezra’s hand.

More blood poured out, intensifying the pain instantly.

"I GOT YOU!"

He laughed louder. His eyes were filled with madness.

"I GOT YOU!" His grip tightened. "I WIN!"

Boom!

Zavier slammed Ezra into the ground.

The prison floor exploded beneath the impact.

Cracks spread across the stone surface.

Dust erupted upward.

The entire chamber shook violently.

The force traveled through Ezra’s body like a hammer.

Blood escaped from his mouth.

The ground beneath him continued cracking under the pressure.

And Zavier stood above him...

Laughing.

Certain that victory was finally his.

"ARGH!"

Ezra spat out more mouthful of blood.

The metallic taste spread across his tongue as pain shot through every part of his body.

His vision blurred for a moment.

His ribs felt as though they had been smashed apart.

The hand pierced by the spear trembled uncontrollably.

Yet he remained conscious.

Zavier stood above him.

The man’s face was twisted with excitement.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His breathing came out heavily.

He looked like a hunter who had finally cornered his prey.

"You feel it, huh, trash?!"

Zavier roared.

He grabbed the spear tighter and forced it deeper through Ezra’s hand.

Crunch!

The metal shifted inside flesh.

Fresh blood poured down the shaft of the spear.

"You’re feeling it?!"

He shouted again.

"THIS IS PAIN!"

His laughter echoed through the shattered prison chambers.

The broken pipes continued spraying water around them.

Fire crackled in the distance.

Smoke drifted through the ruined underground structure.

Everything felt chaotic.

Everything felt broken.

And yet...

Grab!

A bloody hand suddenly wrapped around the spear.

"Pain?"

Ezra’s voice came out sluggish, but heavy and cold.

His fingers tightened around the weapon.

Blood ran down his wrist.

Down his arm.

Down the spear.

"What pain?"

His legs shook as he slowly pushed himself upward.

The muscles in his body screamed.

His bones felt like they were about to crack apart, but he continued standing.

Slowly and steadily.

Like a corpse refusing to fall.

Blood continued dripping from the hand gripping the spear.

His soaked shirt clung to his skin.

His cardigan had been torn apart during the battle.

The freezing condition hidden inside his body was becoming worse.

Thin traces of frost slowly appeared on parts of his skin.

His breathing became visible.

Cold mist escaped from his lips.

"Where?"

He took another step.

"How?"

Another step.

"Who?"

Each word came out heavier than the last.

Each word carried a strange pressure.

Zavier’s grin slowly disappeared.

A small chill crawled up his spine.

"Huh?"

His eyes locked onto Ezra’s.

Those black eyes.

Dark.

Deep.

And Endless, like an abyss without a bottom.

No fear.

No hesitation.

No surrender.

Only determination.

"WHO IS IN PAIN?!"

Ezra suddenly exploded forward.

The sudden movement shocked Zavier.

The spear pierced even deeper into Ezra’s hand as he moved.

Blood sprayed out.

The portion protruding from the other side of his hand became completely soaked red.

Yet Ezra didn’t even glance at it.

He didn’t care.

He closed the distance instantly.

Zavier blinked; confusion filled his face with fear following immediately after.

His mind struggled to understand what he was seeing.

Why isn’t this trash screaming?

Why isn’t he crying?

Why isn’t he trying to retreat?

How is he still moving forward?

Boom!

Ezra slammed his forehead directly into Zavier’s face.

The impact landed squarely on his nose.

Crunch!

"ARGH!"

Zavier staggered backward.

The damage itself wasn’t serious.

A Meister Rank Alchemist could easily withstand something like that, but the shock was different.

The sheer madness behind the action stunned him.

Before Zavier could even recover...

Ezra ripped the spear out of his own hand.

Blood splashed across the floor.

His hand looked horrible.

A large hole remained in the center, yet Ezra rushed forward immediately.

Not even a second wasted.

Not even a pause.

Zavier blinked repeatedly.

His thoughts were still lagging behind the fight, but his battle instincts dragged him back.

Rage exploded inside him.

"YOU LITTLE...!"

Ezra swung the spear toward his face.

Zavier immediately grabbed it.

But...

The moment his hand touched the shaft...

Ezra released it completely with a fluid movement following in one smooth sequence.

A soft step into a turn, flowing like water and a kick.

Ezra’s foot softly struck Zavier’s left leg, the balance of the larger man shifted instantly.

At the same time...

Ezra’s palm smashed into Zavier’s cheek.

The strike wasn’t powerful, but it wasn’t meant to be.

It redirected him.

Twisted his center of gravity.

Turning his whole body and before Zavier understood what was happening...

His feet left the ground.

"Huh?"

The world suddenly flipped upside down.

His vision spun.

The prison ceiling appeared where the floor should have been.

The floor appeared where the ceiling should have been.

His thoughts froze.

I’m clearly stronger than this boy.

His mind raced.

How? How?

HOW?!

Then...

His eyes widened.

A violent burst of Cognis exploded ahead of him.

His gaze instinctively followed it.

And there...

He saw Ezra, holding a big gun.

The Barrett M107.

The massive sniper rifle rested in Ezra’s hands.

Perfectly and naturally.

As if it belonged there, even though one hand was damaged badly.

Crack.

The crystal earring on Ezra’s ear shattered.

The Cognis stored inside it was completely drained.

The Alchemy Circle engraved into his gloves glowed intensely.

Every reserve he possessed was being emptied.

Every drop.

Every fragment.

Every thread of Cognis.

Everything flowed into the Barrett M107.

The circuit lines engraved inside the weapon lit up one after another.

White streams of energy surged across the rifle.

The entire weapon began glowing.

Violent winds erupted around Ezra.

Broken furniture.

Dust.

Stone fragments.

Water droplets.

Everything was pushed away from him.

The sheer pressure caused the prison chamber to tremble.

Zavier stared.

His eyes widened further.

The speed.

The execution.

The way Ezra had chained multiple actions together without wasting a single movement.

The way he transformed defense into offense.

The way he turned disadvantage into opportunity.

Everything shocked him.

The boy before him wasn’t the sick child everyone had abandoned.

He wasn’t the trash son destined to die.

He wasn’t the weak boy hidden away inside the Sterling household.

The person standing before him now...

Was someone who had crawled through hell and survived.

Someone who looked like he had fought countless battles where death waited behind every mistake.

Someone who understood exactly what was at stake.

Ezra dropped into a stable shooting position.

The Barrett M107 rested firmly against his shoulder.

His injured hand trembled.

Blood dripped onto the rifle.

His body was exhausted, his Cognis reserves were nearly empty.

The freezing sickness was worsening.

Yet none of that mattered.

His black eyes remained calm, completely focused and locked onto Zavier, with one thing and one thing alone on his mind...

KILL.

BANG!

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

e in the house was reaching its final end before it would explode.

The entire Sterling Estate was reaching its end.

Just like the family that once lived within it.

Ezra exhaled heavily.

His body finally gave up.

The exhaustion crashed into him all at once.

His vision blurred; his muscles refused to respond.

"I can’t move."

His voice came out weak.

Almost like a whisper.

Then...

"Don’t worry, Master."

A familiar voice answered.

Lucy appeared beside him.

Her figure emerged from the smoke and dust.

She immediately wrapped a dry blanket around his freezing body.

The warmth was small, but welcoming.

"I’ll carry you."

Ezra looked at her blankly.

"Thanks."

His voice remained flat, but it carried a trace of genuine gratitude.

Lucy nodded, then carefully lifted him.

She glanced around at the destroyed prison chamber.

The burning mansion.

The dead bodies.

The ruins of the Sterling Family.

A place that had become nothing more than a graveyard.

Without another word...

She disappeared.

Flashing away in a blur.

Leaving behind only the collapsing remains of a family that had destroyed itself long before Ezra ever pulled the trigger.