Last Gun Alchemist

The group moved deeper into the forest, Ezra, Aliya, and Lime following closely behind Bobby as he led them forward. Ezra had handed Bobby a dagger earlier, and now he used it carefully, slicing aside thick leaves and hanging vines that blocked their path.

”The road is kind of straightforward,” Lime said, glancing around at the towering trees and tangled plants.

Unlike the forest Ezra had entered during the second stage, this one wasn’t damp or cold. Heat pressed down from above, thick and heavy. Sweat ran freely down their backs, soaking their clothes. The air felt thin, every breath requiring a little more effort than the last. Even so, Ezra kept his coat on. To him, the heat was only mildly uncomfortable, as if the warmth stopped just short of his skin.

”This is amazing...” Bobby murmured, his eyes shining as he stared at the vegetation around them. ”Some of these plants...I’ve only ever seen them in books.”

He pointed at a low plant with a blue stem and deep red flowers blooming along its sides.

”That’s a Blue-Stem Crimson.”

Aliya and Lime stared at it without much interest.

”If I remember correctly,” Bobby continued quickly, ”it produces a strong dangerous toxin. We shouldn’t touch it.”

They walked on.

”Oh...and that’s a Yellow Lily,” he said, gesturing to another plant. ”Also, poisonous.”

Another poisonous plant. Aliya and Lime eyelid twitched.

”And that’s a Black Lily,” Bobby added a bit more hesitantly. ”Very poisonous.”

Aliya and Lime stopped walking.

”Why are there two kinds of poisonous lilies?” Aliya muttered. ”Isn’t that supposed to be a decorative flower?”

Bobby suddenly stopped.

”Wait.”

The others froze.

”What is it?” Lime asked, his voice tight.

Bobby swallowed. ”All the plants here... every single one I recognize... they’re poisonous.” He turned slowly toward Ezra. ”Every one of them.”

Ezra scanned the forest, eyes sharp. Leaves brushed against each other in the hot wind. The ground beneath their feet was covered in unfamiliar roots.

”So basically,” Ezra said calmly, ”we’re walking inside a poisonous forest, and if we mess up, we get poisoned.”

Well, I did notice there were one too many poisonous plants and I also expected something like this to occur, but this can’t be all right? He thought deeply.

”So, are we in trouble or something?” Aliya looked displeased.

She wiped sweat from her neck with a handkerchief. ”I’m sweating like crazy, and the air here is terrible, also I just realized I haven’t bathed in forever.”

Her voice cracked. ”Bobby...please...get us out of here fast.”

Bobby nodded, face, serious now, and focused on the path. He guided them carefully, cutting away dangerous plants, changing direction when the air grew thick with toxins. They walked for what felt like hours, deeper and deeper into the forest.

”Like seriously...” Aliya sighed, scratching at her arm. ”This place is really getting under my skin.”

Sweat clung to her palms. The deeper they went, the thicker the air felt, as if the forest itself was pressing against them.

”I think we’re almost at the edge of the forest,” Bobby said suddenly. He stared ahead, noticing that the path looked clearer than before. Fewer vines hung down. The poisonous plants were thinning out. His pace quickened, and he waved them forward. ”This way!”

”Lime!” Bobby suddenly called out.

Lime froze mid-step. ”What?!” His voice came out sharper than he meant, startled by the sudden shout.

”Don’t touch the vines,” Bobby warned, pointing upward.

Lime had already stretched his arms above his head, exhausted from walking. Only then did he notice how close his fingers were to the hanging veins above him. They pulsed faintly, almost alive.

”Ah!” He jerked his hands back to his chest, heart pounding. ”That was close...”

”Yeah, that wa...” Bobby exhaled in relief and stepped forward...

Only for Ezra to yank him backward by the collar.

A carnivorous plant burst from the side; its massive mouth snapping shut right where Bobby’s head had been. Rows of sharp, spike-like teeth clashed together with a wet sound.

”Eh...?” Bobby stared at it, frozen, blood draining from his face.

Ezra’s eyes swept the area quickly. His grip tightened. ”Tsk. We’re surrounded.”

From the soil, more plants emerged. Thick green stems slithered across the ground like snakes, their purple heads splitting open to reveal jagged maws. Leaves rustled as the forest shifted around them.

”Ah...those are Vals!” Bobby’s eyes widened in horror.

Can’t believe I led everyone into the Vals territory. His face darkened with guilt

”I knew this was going to get harder,” Lime muttered, slapping his thigh in frustration.

Aliya’s breath hitched. ”What do we do?!”

”We run,” Ezra said sharply...and sprinted forward.

The others reacted instantly, chasing after him. The Vals lunged one after another, snapping their teeth at the group. Ezra dodged cleanly, twisting his body past the attacks. Aliya barely avoided a strike, rolling forward. Lime stumbled but forced his legs to keep moving. Bobby ran with his jaw clenched, fear burning in his chest.

”Bobby!” Ezra glanced back while running. ”This should be the right path. Logically, the exit would be protected by tougher obstacles. You did well leading us here.”

Bobby’s steps faltered for a moment.

He had been blaming himself, thinking he’d led everyone into danger. But hearing Ezra say that...

”...Thank you,” he said quietly, a smile breaking through his fear.

The Vals attacked relentlessly, their purple heads snapping closer and closer. Leaves tore. Dirt flew.

”We’re almost there!” Ezra shouted, spotting the exit ahead.

”Yes!” Aliya surged forward, pushing past Bobby. ”The exit!”

She reached the door and flung it open without hesitation. Ezra stayed behind, guarding the entrance until everyone had passed through.

The moment the last person crossed over; he slammed the door shut.

The Vals crashed into it again and again, bodies slamming against the stone, teeth scraping uselessly—but the door held.

Everyone collapsed just past the threshold, gasping for breath.

”Where... are we now?” Lime muttered, touching the stone wall beside him.

The corridor here was different. The surface was smooth, carved with unfamiliar patterns unlike the walls from earlier.

”The pattern’s different,” Aliya said, brushing her fingers along the surface.

”This should be another terrain,” Ezra muttered. ”But what kind? We’ve already cleared the forest.”

Then he felt it.

Heat seeped through the soles of his boots.

”...Do you guys feel that?” Ezra asked, looking down.

Aliya unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt, sweat rolling down her neck. ”Yeah. It’s getting really hot...and it’s coming from the ground.”

Bobby tugged at his collar, breath shallow. ”Same here.”

Even Ezra felt it clearly now. He removed his coat and stuffed it into his space bag just as the ground behind them cracked.

Red light glowed through the fissures.

Heat rushed upward.

”Shit.” Ezra turned and ran. ”Everyone, run!”

The floor behind them collapsed, releasing waves of heat. Lava churned below.

”What’s happening now?!” Aliya shouted as she ran.

”I think the ground is lava...and it’s breaking apart!” Bobby replied, panic in his voice.

”I just finished running with my Cognis from man eating plants, and now I have to run again?!” Lime yelled. ”F**k this third stage!”

Ezra, running in front, suddenly raised his arm and stopped short.

”Stop!”

The others barely halted in time.

A long brick jutted out from the wall ahead at head height. One more step, and Lime would have smashed straight into it.

Lime stared at it, shaken.

”...That was close.”

Ezra narrowed his eyes.

This stage wasn’t just about endurance anymore.

It was trying to kill them in every way it could.

”What’s going on...?” Bobby asked, his voice shaking as he glanced back. The ground behind them was collapsing faster now, chunks of stone breaking apart and sinking into the glowing heat below.

”We have to keep running,” Ezra said quickly. ”And watch the walls. Bricks can stretch out at any moment. Don’t slow down.”

He ducked under a brick that shot out from the wall ahead. The others followed close behind, barely missing it.

Just as he warned, the walls came alive.

Bricks shot out without warning—from the left, the right, above, even from the floor beneath their feet. The corridor turned into a death trap. The group jumped, rolled, slid, and twisted their bodies to avoid being crushed or impaled.

Up ahead, several bricks stretched out at the same time, forming a narrow barricade that reduced the running space to almost nothing.

Aliya squeezed through first, her slim body slipping past with speed and flexibility. Bobby and Lime followed, struggling as the space narrowed, scraping past the bricks while forcing their exhausted bodies forward. Ezra stayed behind them, eyes sharp, ready to react if either of them failed.

Minutes passed.

Maybe hours.

Time had lost meaning.

Then...

”I see the exit!” Aliya shouted, hope bursting through her voice.

Ezra glanced back. The ground behind them was collapsing faster now, stone falling away in chunks as lava surged upward.

”What are you two doing?!” Ezra barked, running closer to Bobby and Lime.

Both boys were drenched in sweat, breathing hard. Their steps were slow, heavy.

”Ah... ah...” Lime gasped. ”I think... my Cognis is running out...”

Ezra shoved him forward without hesitation. ”Do you want to become roasted human meat?!”

Bobby and Lime looked back, and froze in terror.

The floor behind them was no longer collapsing slowly. It was rushing forward like a wave of destruction.

”Ahhhhh!” Both boys screamed, forcing out every last drop of Cognis they had and sprinting forward.

Ahead of them, Aliya was just a few steps from the exit.

”Alright, I’m...”

She jumped, flying over a brick that blocked the path at waist height...

And the ground beneath her opened.

There was no warning. No sound.

Just empty space.

”Ahhhhhhh!” Aliya screamed as she fell straight down toward the lava below.

”Not again...” Ezra muttered.

His Cognis surged.

In a blink, he passed Bobby and Lime, sprinting to the edge of the collapse and jumping without hesitation. He dove headfirst, forcing his body downward to gain speed.

Aliya stretched her hand desperately.

Ezra caught it.

With a grunt, he swung his arm and threw her upward with reinforced strength.

Aliya flew through the air and crashed safely onto solid ground.

”Ezra!” she cried, staring down in panic.

”Get to the exit, idiot!” Ezra shouted.

She hesitated, tears streaming down her face, but when she saw Bobby and Lime approaching and the destruction racing behind them, she turned and ran, crying as she disappeared through the exit.

Ezra exhaled sharply.

”Tsk... I just recovered half my Cognis.”

He pulled out a wooden plate, a steel nugget, and a rope, tossing them into the air. He clapped his hands together.

The symbol on his gloves ignited.

Alchemy symbols and circle bloomed midair as his hand struck the materials. The wood shattered, the steel melted, the rope twisted and merged.

A harpoon cannon formed in his grasp.

”This time... grade four,” Ezra muttered, stepping closer to the lava. Heat blasted against his face. ”This should work.”

He fired.

The harpoon shot upward, piercing the air and slamming into the wall above. It dug deep, anchoring itself as the rope snapped taut.

Ezra grabbed hold, letting the momentum swing him forward. His boots hit the wall hard, heat licking at his legs as lava splashed below.

He wrapped the rope around his hand and ran up the wall, pulling himself higher as the ground beneath him vanished piece by piece.

Stone fell.

Lava surged.

At the last moment, Ezra jumped.

He rolled across solid ground and hurled himself through the exit.

The others were already there.

”Ah... ah...” Ezra panted, staring up at the ceiling.

”That was really close,” Lime said, sitting down hard, chest rising and falling.

”Yeah,” Bobby added, relief washing over his face. ”I thought we lost you this time.”

”I’m sorry...” Aliya sobbed. ”Because of me again...”

Ezra stayed silent for a moment, breathing slowly.

”...At least we made it,” he said quietly, still staring upward.