"It’s definitely the work of those Evergrey Gun Alchemists."

Priscilla spoke without the slightest hesitation. Her sharp eyes remained on the patch of dried blood staining the forest floor, the dark red color standing out against the damp soil and scattered leaves. Although Fay had already been carried away by the academy’s medical team, the traces left behind were enough to paint the scene that had happened only moments ago.

She slowly started enhancing her sight with Cognis, at the blood from the branch she was seated on. Her gaze narrowed as she examined the direction of the splatter before lifting her head.

"That firepower came from either an AK-47 or a FN FAL battle rifle. Judging by the damage, it wasn’t fired by an ordinary Gun Alchemist either."

She continued examining the battle sight thoughtfully.

"And among the students in our year, there’s only one Gun Family that could have someone capable of creating a Binder-Rank firearm."

Her answer carried complete confidence.

"The Evergrey Family."

"Yeah..."

Nate nodded quietly.

"I came to the same conclusion."

His calm expression barely changed, but his eyes swept through the surrounding trees. The forest had already returned to its usual silence. Only the occasional cry of distant birds and the rustling of leaves disturbed the stillness.

"So..."

He folded his arms.

"They’ve started hunting us now?"

Page couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

A bright grin spread across her face as she rested one hand on her hip.

"Hahaha...I actually like this."

Her eyes sparkled with excitement rather than concern.

"A Count House openly targeting a Duke House... even inside the Royal Academy."

She clicked her tongue with amusement.

"How bold. This is going to be fun."

Turning her head, she looked toward Lyra.

Unlike Page, Lyra remained silent.

She looked at the dried blood with an unreadable expression, her eyes quietly fixed on the ground.

After several seconds, the corner of her lips slowly curled upward.

Not from joy.

But anticipation.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hilt of the sword hanging by her waist. The excitement that had been buried deep inside her chest was beginning to rise again, slowly heating her blood.

"So..."

Page smiled.

"Who do you think they’ll hunt next?"

Lyra finally looked away from the ground.

Her gaze swept across the three of them before stopping somewhere deeper within the forest.

"We’ll find out."

She spoke softly.

"By following them."

Nate nodded once.

"That saves us the trouble of searching blindly."

Without another word, he stepped off the thick tree branch he had been standing on.

His body dropped several meters before landing lightly on the forest floor.

Thud.

Priscilla followed after him.

Then Lyra and Page jumped down one after another.

The four immediately disappeared between the towering trees, moving swiftly as they followed every clue the Evergrey group had unknowingly left behind.

More than a minute later...

Far away from their location...

Deep inside another section of the forest...

Ezra quietly stared at an enormous boulder.

The massive rock rested beside several ancient trees whose roots spread through the ground like giant snakes. Moss covered parts of its surface, while small patches of grass grew around its base, making it appear as though the stone had remained untouched for decades.

He narrowed his eyes.

He wouldn’t... right?

The thought crossed his mind naturally.

Professor Kent was certainly capable of doing strange things, but hiding a numbered gem beneath such an enormous boulder...

Even for him...

That sounded ridiculous.

Who would willingly spend their time lifting something this heavy during an examination?

Yet...

The longer Ezra looked at it...

The more obvious it seemed.

Without wasting another second thinking about it, he stepped forward.

Cognis quietly flowed through his body.

Like invisible currents, it spread into his legs first before climbing into his waist, shoulders, and finally both arms.

His bones...

His muscles...

Both were reinforced through double-layering.

A faint pressure spread beneath his feet.

Crack.

The ground sank slightly as Ezra bent his knees and wrapped both hands around the rough underside of the boulder.

His fingers dug into tiny gaps within the rock.

Then...

He lifted.

The veins beneath his sleeves tightened.

Muscles contracted beneath his skin as the enormous boulder slowly rose from the earth.

Dust and loose dirt rained down around him.

Ezra raised it high enough to see underneath.

His black eyes immediately landed on two small crystals resting quietly on the ground.

Numbered Gems.

Exactly where he expected them to be.

"He really did."

His voice remained as flat as ever.

Supporting the weight of the boulder with one hand, Ezra reached down with the other.

His fingers picked up both gems.

Only after safely storing them did he lower the giant rock back onto the ground.

Boom.

The earth trembled lightly beneath the impact.

Ezra dusted the dirt from his gloves before stretching his shoulders.

Then he opened his space bag.

One after another...

He took out every numbered gem he had collected.

Four.

Then...

The two new ones.

Six.

The six crystals rested neatly across his palm, each carrying its own engraved number that reflected faintly beneath the sunlight slipping through the forest canopy.

He stared at them for a brief moment.

No excitement.

No satisfaction.

Only quiet confirmation.

Then he returned every gem back into his storage bag.

The reason he had managed to collect so many wasn’t luck.

It all started with the very first numbered gem he found.

After discovering it earlier, Ezra had carefully memorized the unique sound it produced whenever the wind passed through its crystal structure.

It wasn’t loud. So most people would never notice it.

But to Ezra...

The tiny vibration was different from every natural sound within the forest.

Once he understood that frequency, finding the remaining gems became much easier.

Instead of searching blindly...

He simply listened.

Every gentle breeze became another clue guiding him through the forest.

Because of that, his movements became faster.

More efficient.

He no longer needed to waste unnecessary time checking every possible location.

The funniest part...

He hadn’t encountered a single student within his search area.

Although he occasionally heard distant footsteps...

Sometimes conversations, carried by the wind...

None of those students ever came close enough to discover him.

Likewise...

Ezra had no reason to approach them either, since none of them possessed what he wanted.

The numbered gems.

Nothing else mattered at the moment.

With that thought, Ezra continued deeper into the forest.

The towering trees gradually became thinner before the sound of flowing water entered his ears.

Soon...

A wide stream appeared before him.

Clear water flowed steadily over smooth stones, creating soft splashing sounds that echoed peacefully through the quiet forest.

Large rocks and countless boulders surrounded both sides of the stream, some partially buried beneath the earth while others rested proudly above the flowing water.

Ezra slowly looked across the area.

A thought naturally surfaced.

Maybe... Professor Kent did the obvious again.

Or perhaps...

He simply wanted to make the students suffer.

If someone hid a numbered gem among dozens of rocks and boulders...

Finding it would become an exhausting task even if the answer was right in front of them.

Ezra calmly stepped closer.

Then...

His eyes stopped on a familiar figure.

A relaxed boy lay comfortably atop a wide flat boulder.

His hands rested behind his head like a pillow while a pair of earplugs remained tucked into his ears.

The boy lazily opened one eye before removing a single earplug.

"Is that you, Ezra?"

Cyrus asked.

"Your senses are quite good, Cyrus."

Ezra answered plainly.

"I sensed your body heat the moment you entered my range."

Cyrus slowly sat upright, turning to face him.

A lazy smile rested on his face.

"Interesting."

Ezra gave a simple reply before walking past him without another word.

His attention had already shifted back toward the countless rocks surrounding the stream.

He immediately crouched and began checking underneath the nearest one.

"Is there something you’re looking for?"

Cyrus finally asked, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.

He watched Ezra move from one rock to another without slowing down. Every movement was calm and direct. Ezra didn’t waste strength on unnecessary actions, lifting each stone just enough to check beneath it before setting it back in place.

"I mean..."

Cyrus scratched the side of his head.

"Are you checking whether the numbered gems are hidden under the rocks and boulders?"

He folded one leg over the other while crossing his arms, his eyes following Ezra’s movements.

"Knowing Professor Kent... it’s possible he hid them there."

Ezra answered plainly without even looking up.

His attention never left the countless rocks scattered around the stream.

The clear water continued to flow beside him, carrying small pebbles downstream while sunlight reflected across its surface. The sound of rushing water blended with the distant cries of birds, making the forest seem unusually peaceful despite the ongoing examination.

"I thought the same too."

Cyrus nodded.

"That’s exactly why I came here."

He let out a helpless laugh.

"But after lifting three boulders with brute strength... I gave up."

His shoulders slumped as he remembered the effort.

Just then...

Ezra crouched before another large rock.

Cognis quietly reinforced his arms, as he slipped both hands beneath the stone before lifting it slightly.

A small crystal quietly rested underneath.

Without changing his expression, Ezra picked it up and placed it inside his stash before storing it safely in his space bag.

"..."

Cyrus stared blankly, then his eyes widened.

"Seriously..."

His mouth slowly opened.

"It was lying there the whole time?"

He looked back and forth between the empty spot beneath the rock and Ezra.

His expression became one of pure disbelief.

Ezra lowered the rock before dusting off his hands.

Since Cyrus claimed he could sense heat...

One question naturally came to mind.

"Since you said you can detect things through heat..."

Ezra finally turned toward him.

"Why didn’t you use that to search for the numbered gems here?"

Cyrus’s expression immediately stiffened.

"Ahem..."

He awkwardly looked away.

"Let’s forget about that."

He quickly jumped down from the boulder.

His lazy appearance disappeared almost instantly.

Instead, his eyes shone with renewed motivation.

"Come on."

He smiled brightly.

"Let’s search together."

Now that Ezra had proven gems really were hidden among the rocks, Cyrus immediately found the determination he had lost earlier.

Searching suddenly no longer felt like a waste of effort.

Like that...

The two boys began working side by side.

Rock after rock...

Stone after stone...

The quiet stream echoed with the sound of heavy objects being lifted and lowered.

Thud.

Boom.

Crunch.

Whenever Ezra lifted a rock, Cyrus would point toward another.

"I already checked that one."

"Not this one."

"This side too."

He helped separate the places he had already searched before Ezra arrived, saving them from repeating the same work.

Time quietly passed.

The position of the sun slowly shifted above the forest canopy, and the shadows cast by the towering trees gradually stretched farther across the ground.

By the time they finally stopped...

The countless rocks surrounding the stream still weren’t completely checked.

There were simply too many.

Even so...

Neither of them looked disappointed.

The number of gems they had collected was already more than enough to satisfy them.

Whenever one of them found a numbered gem first, it naturally belonged to that person.

If they happened to uncover several gems beneath the same rock together...

They simply divided them equally.

If there was only one left after one person had already received an extra earlier, then the next single gem automatically went to the other person.

The arrangement was simple.

Neither argued and neither complained.

Both quietly accepted it.

"Ahhh..."

Cyrus stretched until several joints popped.

"With this..."

He yawned loudly.

"I should head for the exit and finish this test."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I seriously need some sleep."

Ezra merely looked at him.

His face remained as plain as ever.

No reply came.

Cyrus had already become used to it.

"Well..."

He laughed helplessly.

"I guess this is goodbye."

He turned around and took his first step.

Ezra also began walking in the opposite direction.

Then...

Both boys stopped at the same time.

The peaceful sounds of the forest suddenly felt distant.

A powerful pressure rushed toward them at incredible speed.

The air itself seemed to tremble.

Cyrus slowly raised his head.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

He muttered under his breath.

Ezra’s eyes quietly shifted toward the approaching presence.

The next second...

BOOM!

The ground exploded.

Dirt and broken stones shot into the air as a human figure crashed into the open space between the two boys.

The shockwave scattered dry leaves across the stream, sending ripples racing over the water.

"Hahaha!"

A familiar laugh echoed through the forest.

The dust slowly settled.

Standing proudly inside the shallow crater was Desmond Derlis.

A broad smile spread across his face as though he had finally found the treasure he had been searching for.

"I found you..."

His crimson eyes locked onto Ezra.

"Ezra Ashenlocke."

"Huh?"

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.

His expression hardly changed.

Not because he wasn’t surprised...

But because he had already expected something like this to happen sooner or later.

I knew it...

I knew this was going to happen.

Cyrus sighed inwardly.

"Hmm..."

Desmond glanced between the two boys.

"The Wax Candle Light of Burn..."

His grin widened.

"And the mysterious Inventor of Ash. What an unexpected pair."

His excitement only continued to grow.

"Well now, Ezra..."

He slowly rolled his shoulders.

"Let’s resume ou..."

Bang!

The gunshot exploded before his sentence could finish.

Desmond instinctively tilted his head.

The bullet tore through the air so close to his face that he felt the heat brushing past his left eye before disappearing into the forest behind him.

A strand of his hair drifted to the ground.

"Oh?"

Desmond smiled even wider.

"Going straight for the kill already."

Ezra stood several meters away.

The Colt 1911 remained firmly raised in one hand.

Thin smoke drifted from the muzzle.

His expression never changed even now, and he hadn’t fired to threaten Desmond.

Not even close...

He had fired to kill.

Without giving Desmond another chance to speak...

Ezra squeezed the trigger again.

Bang!

Another bullet shot forward.

Desmond twisted his body.

The round narrowly missed his shoulder.

Bang!

A third shot followed almost immediately.

Desmond stepped sideways.

The bullet shattered a rock behind him.

His movements were unbelievably smooth, as though he had predicted every shot before it was fired.

Yet...

The instant he avoided the third bullet...

Ezra disappeared.

Desmond’s pupils contracted.

Ezra had already closed the distance.

The Colt remained pointed toward Desmond while Ezra’s free hand reached into his space bag.

His fingers wrapped around the handle of a dagger.

"You wanted a fight..."

Ezra said calmly.

"Right?"

The moment the blade came into view...

A ray of sunlight slipped through the narrow gaps between the towering trees.

The polished steel reflected the light.

The flash burst directly toward Desmond’s eyes.

For the briefest instant...

His vision was interrupted.

Ezra moved without hesitation.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Every remaining round inside the Colt’s magazine erupted one after another.

Each shot forced Desmond to react while his vision struggled against the sudden flash of reflected sunlight.

Before the final echo disappeared...

Slash!

Steel collided.

The dagger stopped midway.

Silence followed.

Blood slowly trickled down between the two boys.

Cyrus stood rooted to the ground.

His mouth hung slightly open.

He couldn’t hide the shock in his eyes.

Desmond had actually managed to react despite his vision being disrupted by the reflected sunlight filtering through the forest canopy.

Even more unbelievable...

He had intercepted Ezra’s final stab with his own dagger at the last possible moment.

Yet what shocked Cyrus even more...

Was Ezra himself.

Desmond was widely recognized as one of the strongest young Alchemists in their year.

Yet Ezra had forced him into such a dangerous exchange within only a few milliseconds.

And...

The fight had only just begun.

"I heard from my sister..."

Desmond said with the same playful smile.

"You said you’d let sleeping dogs lie."

His tone remained relaxed despite the dagger piercing straight through his left hand.

Blood slowly dripped from the wound.

Even so...

His injured hand tightly gripped Ezra’s wrist.

His other hand firmly restrained the one holding the Colt.

"I did."

Ezra answered honestly.

His voice remained flat, then he calmly looked into Desmond’s crimson eyes.

"But..."

He tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Are you a sleeping dog?"

For a brief moment...

Neither spoke, their eyes locking on each other.

Black against crimson.

"I was right..."

Desmond laughed quietly.

"Hahaha..."

His grip suddenly tightened.

The muscles in his arms swelled as Cognis rapidly surged through his body.

Ezra immediately felt the fluctuation.

His own senses sharpened.

Desmond’s crimson eyes slowly began to glow.

A smile spread wider across his face.

"You’re like me."