Last Gun Alchemist

Aliya Ashenlocke and Nathalia Baywick.

Cousins, friends, enemies, and rivals.

All at once.

The Baywick House had long served as loyal retainers to the Ashenlocke family, ruling one of the lands in Metallica under their authority. Blood tied them together. Aliya and Nathalia shared lineage through both sides of their family. Their parents were siblings before marriage bound their houses even tighter. Aliya’s mother had married into the Ashenlocke family, and her father was a Five-Star Alchemist—a high-ranking soldier under the Ashenlocke banner.

Both girls were raised in families that valued combat above nearly everything else.

The Baywick’s followed the path of Steel and Gun Alchemy. From a young age, their children were trained to handle blades and firearms. Long before the Trial was announced to the Highlines, they had already been drilling in courtyards, practicing footwork, stance, and precision.

Aliya grew up the same way.

They trained together, argued about who should inherit power during the succession conflict between Lady Vera and Sir Veda, shared interests, laughed at the same jokes and fought over pride.

The only difference between them lay in how they viewed their status as Highlines.

***

On the bridge, the two girls stood facing each other.

Neither moved first, they just watched each other’s movement.

The slight twitch of a leg, the shift in weight, the tightening of fingers around a weapon and the way the eyes moved.

It felt as though the battle had already begun inside their heads.

Nathalia broke the silence.

Her left leg slid backward as Cognis surged into her muscles. In a flash, she stepped forward.

Her saber thrust toward Aliya’s chest.

The air seemed to curve slightly from the speed of her strike.

Aliya reacted immediately.

She rotated her staff horizontally, deflecting the blade. In the same motion, she rolled it vertically and aimed for Nathalia’s face.

But Nathalia bent down smoothly, as if she had expected the retaliation.

Clang!

Steel clashed against reinforced metal and sparks flickered.

They locked eyes.

”If you refuse to listen,” Nathalia said while pressing her saber harder, forcing Aliya a step backward, ”then I’ll just beat you and end this stage early.”

Aliya smiled through the pressure.

”Oh really? Then let’s see you try.”

A surge of strength burst through her arms as she pushed Nathalia back.

Nathalia flipped away, landing on one knee.

Aliya didn’t give her space.

She ran forward and jumped, swinging her staff downward.

Nathalia raised her saber to block.

Clang!

The bridge echoed.

Nathalia retaliated with quick thrusts—up, down, sharp and precise.

Aliya parried each strike, slapping the blade aside with controlled movements.

She thrust her staff forward, but Nathalia shifted right, narrowly evading.

Then she placed her saber against the staff and charged.

Aliya adjusted instantly, gripping her staff from the middle and bracing it to halt Nathalia’s advance.

She swung her leg to sweep Nathalia’s stance.

But Nathalia somersaulted over it, landing lightly, she slashed immediately.

Aliya blocked the attack again and like that, they started clashing repeatedly.

Saber and staff struck against each other.

Sparks flew.

They countered as if they already knew what the other would do.

They were even.

Strength, speed and skill.

Nathalia stepped back slightly. ”Time to change things up.”

She reached into her space bag and pulled out three daggers, sliding them between her fingers.

Aliya immediately tightened her grip on her staff.

Nathalia threw them, Cognis enhancing her arm strength.

The daggers cut through the air.

Aliya enhanced her eyesight, tracking their trajectories carefully, she blocked two and caught one, but in that brief moment...

Nathalia was already at her left side, her saber swung.

Seeing the attack, Aliya tried to retreat, but the blade sliced through part of her cloth and grazed her stomach.

Pain flared, but she didn’t hesitate.

Before Nathalia could complete her motion, Aliya hurled the dagger she had caught straight toward her eye.

Nathalia caught it midair, her palm gripped the blade.

Blood dripped from her hand.

”Tsk.” Nathalia frowned.

”Humph.” Aliya smirked.

Both glaring at each other.

Then Nathalia’s lips slowly curved, she pointed downward.

Aliya glanced down... and realized too late.

Alchemy materials had already been set near Nathalia’s position, Cognis had already been circulated into her palm, she slammed her hand onto the steel bar.

The Alchemy circle glowed, the metal melted and reshaped and within seconds... A revolver formed.

”You let your guard down, Aliya.” Nathalia raised both saber and revolver, crossing them.

”Like I said, I’m going to win.” she fired.

Bang!

Aliya cursed under her breath. ”Shit...I gave her enough time.”

She moved back and jumped sideways to evade.

The bullet passed her.

Nathalia dragged her saber along the stone as she advanced, sparks trailed behind her.

She slashed upward, cutting a portion of Aliya’s skirt.

”F*cking hell! That’s my third outfit!” Aliya shouted in frustration.

”I’m sorry if that annoys you!” Nathalia replied, kicking forward.

Aliya blocked, but the force threw her backward, she rolled across the bridge and sprang back up instantly.

Another shot rang out.

Aliya flipped forward to evade it.

”You haven’t changed at all,” Nathalia said while walking slowly toward her. ”You still fight like a Steel Alchemist instead of a proper Gun Alchemist.”

”Tsk. I don’t need you to remind me.”

Aliya glared.

”Time and time again I told you,” Nathalia continued while carefully watching Aliya’s stance, ”abandon the idea of using a staff. It limits your gun handling and delays your Alchemy.”

Aliya’s jaw tightened.

She’s right.

She hasn’t figured out how to perform Gun Alchemy while maintaining control of her staff.

And now Nathalia had long-range superiority and equal close-range threat.

She bit her lip.

”I’m pinned down like this...”

***

Born into a family where her father came from a Gun Alchemist house and her mother from a Steel Alchemist house, Aliya grew up surrounded by two completely different paths. From a young age, each of her siblings had to decide which path they would follow as Alchemists. The choice was never simple, and it carried expectations.

Aliya had five elder brothers, and she was the only girl in the family. Her first, third, and fourth brothers attended Ash Academy, the official institution that trained Gun Alchemists under the Ashenlocke banner. They were taught formation tactics, weapon handling, bullet crafting, and battlefield positioning.

Her second and fifth brothers chose differently.

They joined their mother’s side of the family military and studied Steel Alchemy. Their training focused on forging weapons, reinforcing steel constructs, and mastering close combat through durability and strength.

As for Aliya, she trained under her mother.

Her mother was a Four-Star Steel Alchemist who wielded a steel staff as her primary weapon. Every movement she made revolved around that staff. Even her Alchemy was built upon it. She could manipulate steel in close range, reinforce her staff, and reshape its form mid-combat.

Because of that, most people believed Aliya would naturally follow the Steel path.

But she chose Gun.

A path that did not align with the training she had received from her mother.

Many found it strange, even foolish.

But Aliya believed something different, she believed she could blend the two together.

If she could master both disciplines in harmony, she felt it might be the key to surpassing not only her mother and father, but even her brothers.

However, achieving something like that was never easy.

It required precision and control.

Understanding of Cognis beyond ordinary limits.

And most importantly...

It required talent.

***

Aliya sighed quietly as she stood on the bridge, the heat from the lava brushed against her skin.

I have to go on the offensive now.

There was no room for hesitation anymore.

She rushed at Nathalia.

Her staff shot forward in a direct thrust aimed at her chest.

Nathalia blocked it instantly, deflecting it with her saber and swinging upward in response.

Aliya rotated her staff vertically and struck again.

Clang.

Nathalia blocked.

Aliya continued her assault, rolling her staff in quick succession, striking from different angles. Each movement flowed from muscle memory drilled into her by her mother.

But Nathalia blocked everything.

Not only that...

While defending, she subtly shifted her positioning, creating space, adjusting her footing, and aiming carefully.

Bang!

A bullet rang out.

Aliya twisted her body in time, the shot grazing her side.

A thin line of blood appeared.

”That makes three now...” Aliya whispered to herself while stepping back briefly.

She noted the pattern carefully.

It was obvious Nathalia was conserving her bullets.

She wasn’t reckless, but her accuracy...

Aliya smirked slightly in her mind.

It was as inconsistent as ever, which means if I can make her waste her remaining shots... then I might still have a chance.

She tightened her grip on her staff.

And it’s time to use my Alchemy strategy properly.

She muttered under her breath while parrying another saber strike.

***

The difference between a Steel Alchemist and a Gun Alchemist was summarized in a single concept: Area of Field.

Once an Alchemist chose the Gun path, they were not supposed to stray into another field. If they did, growth could slow drastically. In worse cases, it could damage their potential to rank up.

Cognis adapted to the field chosen.

It reshaped itself around that discipline.

Steel Alchemists specialized in forging weapons and reinforcing constructs using steel and related materials only.

Gun Alchemists, on the other hand, required knowledge from several branches of Alchemy—wood, steel, fire, even ice, but all of that knowledge existed for one purpose.

To serve guns.

Any Alchemy not directly related to firearms was considered risky.

The only time an Alchemist could safely branch into another field was after reaching Five Stars—Arcanist rank, where limited complementary disciplines could be studied without harming their main path.

Aliya knew all of this.

Yet she was still trying to blend two paths before reaching that rank.

It was reckless.

But she could not abandon it.

***

Cognis surged from Aliya’s body.

It moved through her veins like heat, her strength increasing.

”Oh? So, you want to use everything you have?” Nathalia smirked.

”Bad choice.”

She enhanced her legs and sped forward.

The two clashed again.

Aliya swung her staff with full force.

The air seemed to split from the speed.

Nathalia bent backward, narrowly evading the strike.

Bang!

Without even looking up, she fired again while still leaning back.

The bullet tore through the air.

Aliya shifted sideways, but she was too close.

Too slow to fully escape.

The bullet grazed her arm.

”Ah!”

She grabbed her arm instinctively, teeth clenched tightly.

Pain flared and blood seeped out slowly, but she didn’t stop.

”I’m not giving up!” she shouted, thrusting her staff forward again.

Nathalia blocked.

The impact sent a painful shock through Aliya’s injured arm.

”Argh...”

Her grip loosened slightly.

Nathalia saw it immediately, she poured Cognis into her arm and pushed with greater force.

Aliya staggered backward. Her feet slipped slightly on the warm stone.

She nearly fell, but managed to steady herself at the last moment.

Nathalia did not hesitate, she raised her revolver.

Her final bullet.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed sharply.

The bullet cut through the air in a straight line toward Aliya.

Aliya’s eyes widened. ”Shit.”