Chapter 123: The Children of Ashenlocke Vs the Orphans of Ashenlocke Part – Two

Note: I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I made a mistake with the Chapter order.

The Chapter titled "Seventh Trial: The Children of Ashenlocke vs. the Orphans of Ashenlocke Part -- Two" was posted incorrectly as Chapter 123. It is should be Chapter 131.

Also, the Chapter currently labeled 124 is actually Chapter 123.

I sincerely apologize for the confusion, and thank you for your understanding.

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His left hand shot forward without warning, moving in a sharp, direct line toward Vera’s neck.

Vera stepped lightly to the side.

Not a hurried movement.

Just one small shift of her foot, her body turning slightly as his hand passed through the space where she had been standing a moment ago.

The air displaced softly.

Nothing else.

"You’re slippery," he said, tightening his grip on the handle of his kusarigama.

The chain hanging from it rattled faintly as he lifted it, Cognis beginning to flow through his body into his weapon.

"I’m not going to waste time cutting you apart. Haha... haha..."

His laughter returned, loud and rough, echoing across the platform as he swung the weapon.

The curved blade moved in an arc, then shifted direction mid-air as the chain followed, curling like a snake as it shot toward Vera.

She didn’t move.

She just stood where she was.

The cold air brushed past her face as she let out a small sigh, the faint mist from her breath visible in the chill.

Then...

She raised her hand and caught it.

Barehanded.

The blade stopped in place.

Firm.

The boy flinched for a brief moment, his grip tightening instinctively as his eyes focused on her hand wrapped around the weapon.

"...You idiot," he said quickly, forcing confidence back into his voice. "You touched it with your bare hand? I’ll cut that hand off."

He pulled.

The chain tightened.

The blade should have moved, but it didn’t.

Huh?

He pulled again.

Harder.

The veins in his arm rose slightly as he leaned his weight into it.

Still...

Nothing.

The weapon did not move.

"Eh?"

He pulled again and again.

His breathing began to change, turning uneven as he passed more Cognis into his body, his muscles tightening as he tried to drag her forward.

But...

Nothing.

Not even the slightest shift.

Vera stood there.

Calm.

Still holding the blade in her bare hand, little blood dripped down from the hand.

"What is going on... why won’t it move?!"

His voice rose, breaking into disbelief.

Then...

It came.

A surge.

Cognis flowed out from Vera’s body, spreading around her in a controlled, heavy presence.

"This is a little funny," she said calmly, her tone light but her eyes cold. "Since you all arrived, all of you have been acting like you actually have a chance of winning."

She tilted her head slightly.

"I’m curious. What kind of thought led to that?"

Her gaze lowered toward him.

"You’re not even a complete Novice rank Alchemist. Most of you aren’t."

The pressure in the air increased with her Cognis settled into a stable form.

Binder rank.

The orphans watching from the side froze.

"...Binder rank?"

"At that age?"

Shock spread through them in low whispers.

The boy’s eyes widened.

His grip loosened for a split second as he stepped back on instinct.

Vera moved.

Her Cognis flowed through the blade.

The Law of Inversion activated.

The structure of the weapon broke apart instantly.

Crack...

The kusarigama shattered in her hand.

The boy let go immediately, his body reacting before his mind could catch up.

Then...

In one step flash and a turn, her leg rose.

The boy watched her movement in a flash, not able to do anything.

Boom!

Her kick connected cleanly with his face.

The impact was direct and heavy.

His body lifted off the ground and flew backward, crashing into the empty seats at the edge of the arena with a loud, hollow sound.

His face was swollen, blood spilling from his mouth and nose, his bones visibly damaged.

He was already unconscious.

The guard stepped forward immediately.

"Winner!"

He pointed at Vera.

Vera slowly lowered her leg, took out a white handkerchief and wiped her boot slowly, cleaning off the blood as if it annoyed her, then she stood upright.

Her gaze swept across the arena.

From her group to the others.

"If any of you lose to this level..."

She pointed casually toward the orphans.

Her tone remained calm.

"I will murder you myself," she said in a serious tone, as if she was simply stating a rule that everyone already understood.

Then she turned.

Without waiting for any reaction, Vera stepped down from the platform, her footsteps light against the cold surface, the faint sound echoing in the quiet arena as she returned to her seat.

No one spoke.

The noise that had filled the arena earlier disappeared completely, as if her words had pressed down on everyone’s throat and sealed it shut.

She sat down.

Crossed her legs.

Her back rested against the chair as she adjusted her sleeve slightly, her expression returning to normal, calm and distant, as though she had not just threatened every single person present a moment ago.

And just like that...

The matches began.

The second fighters stepped onto the platform, but the atmosphere had already changed.

After witnessing Vera’s overwhelming display of power, the orphans no longer carried the same careless confidence from before. The looks on their faces shifted, their eyes more cautious now, their grips on their weapons tighter, their breathing more controlled.

The thought of underestimating the children of Ashenlocke had disappeared almost instantly.

The second match was between two Half-Star level candidates.

Their movements were more careful and measured.

Steel clashed.

Footsteps scraped against the ground.

Shots rang out and were blocked, deflected, or barely avoided.

It was an even fight.

For a while.

But after several exchanges, after both sides tested each other again and again, the candidate from the Ashenlocke side found the opening first and ended the match cleanly.

He won.

The third match began shortly after, then the fourth, then the fifth.

One after another, the results followed the same pattern.

Victory.

Again, and again, and again.

The children of Ashenlocke continued to win.

The orphans watched at first in silence, then in disbelief.

The difference in movement, in control, in how they used their Cognis—it became clearer with each passing match.

It wasn’t just strength; it was how they fought.

Fifteen matches passed.

Not a single victory for the orphans.

Then finally, the twenty-first match.

Something changed.

The fight dragged on longer than the others.

Both candidates pushed themselves harder, their breathing growing rough, their movements slowing as their Cognis reserves dropped.

In the end...

The boy from the Ashenlocke side collapsed first.

His legs gave out beneath him as exhaustion overtook him completely.

The orphan girl stood barely, but standing.

She won.

A quiet stir passed through the orphan side, then the next match began.

Another long fight, another close exchange and again...

The orphan side won.

It wasn’t overwhelming, it wasn’t clean, but it was a victory.

The numbers above the platform shifted.

Twenty-three.

The holographic digits flickered softly in the air.

Gena stepped forward.

Her steps slowed slightly as she climbed onto the platform, her boots making faint sounds against the surface.

The pressure was there.

Heavy.

It pressed down on her shoulders, on her chest, making her breathing feel uneven.

From the other side...

A muscular boy stepped onto the stage.

His presence stood out immediately.

He wasn’t like the others who had fought before.

His body was built for strength, his stance firm, and the way Cognis flowed from him made it clear...

He was close to becoming a full Novice Alchemist.

He was clearly stronger than most of the orphans so far.

Ezra watched quietly from where he stood.

"It’s Gena’s turn..."

His voice was low, almost lost under the noise of the arena.

All this time, I’ve been listening to you talk about your growth.

A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.

Now, let me see it.

Gena took a slow breath in, then let it out.

Her fingers trembled slightly at her sides.

She could feel it.

The eyes on her, the expectations return to winning, the pressure of imagining what would happen if she lost.

She glanced toward the crowd.

Vera sat calmly, watching, Nina leaned forward, already cheering with Nathalia sitting with her arms folded, focused on her and Ezra who was looking at her.

Her chest tightened slightly.

She closed her eyes.

I can do this, I’ve trained hard. I’ve worked on my alchemy strategy. I even reached the fifth floor in the sixth trial with my own strength and I fought monsters in the fifth trial.

I can do this.

Her thoughts began to move faster, then she looked at her opponent again.

I can definitely beat this boy big in size, his muscles, the steady flow of Cognis around him and the weapon in his hand.

She stared terrified.

A long heavy hammer with a thick long handle. The head’s large enough to crush bone in a single clean hit.

Her throat tightened.

She swallowed.

"Ready?" the guard asked.

The boy nodded immediately, his grip tightening on the hammer.

Gena hesitated for just a moment.

Then...

She nodded.

The guard looked at both of them once more, making sure neither moved early.

Then he raised his hand.

"Fight."

Gena moved the moment the signal was given.

She pushed off the ground and jumped back, creating distance between herself and her opponent, her boots scraping against the platform as she landed. At the same time, her hand slipped into her space bag, fingers closing around cold metal before she pulled out two revolvers in one smooth motion.

Her body steadied; arms lifted as she took aim...

Boom!

The impact came before her mind could catch up.

A leg crashed into her face.

Her vision shook violently as her head snapped backward, her body lifting slightly before being thrown off balance. She tumbled across the ground, rolling once, twice, the rough surface scraping against her skin and clothes.

Gena forced her hand down.

Her fingers dug into the ground, dragging hard until her movement stopped. Her body jerked to a halt.

She pushed herself up immediately.

Blood ran from her nose, warm against the cold air. She wiped it quickly with the back of her hand, not even thinking, and raised her gun.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She fired.

The boy stepped forward, Cognis flowing through his body as he lifted his hammer. The long handle spun in his grip like a staff, smooth and controlled, the metal head cutting through the air as he rotated it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each bullet was deflected.

Not blocked blindly, but controlled and redirected.

She kept firing.

Again, and again until...

Click, Click.

The empty sound echoed in her ears.

"Tsk..."

Her tongue clicked in frustration as her eyes moved instantly, searching...

There.

Her second gun.

It had flown out of her hand when she was kicked earlier, lying just a few steps ahead.

Without thinking, she ran.

At the same time...

The boy moved immediately the moment he saw her run towards her gun.

He dropped the hammer for a split second, his hand diving into his space bag as he pulled out a dagger and tossed it into the air, then he grabbed the hammer again, his body turning sharply as he spun.

Cognis surged through him.

His muscles tightened, his leg and arm moved together and he struck.

The hammer connected with the dagger’s handle mid-air with perfect timing.

The dagger shot forward.

Fast.

Gena’s fingers brushed the gun and then...

She felt it, that same cold feeling.

Danger.

The same feeling Ezra had forced into her during training, when he would appear behind her without a sound, raising his hand as if to strike her head.

She felt it, something was coming.

Her body reacted before her thoughts could form.

She swung the revolver...

Clang!

The dagger was knocked away, sparks bursting out as metal struck metal.

For a brief moment...She thought she made it.

Then...

A shadow filled her vision.

The hammer.

It came from nowhere.

Too fast, too close.

Boom!

It slammed into her stomach.

The air left her body instantly.

Her feet lifted off the ground slightly as the force carried through her, her body bending from the impact as blood burst from her mouth.

"Argh...!"

Her voice broke as her body dropped, she fell to her knee’s hands shaking, vision blurred, but the boy didn’t stop.

He spun the hammer again...And struck.

Boom!

The side of her face.

Her world turned white, like everything had been wiped away in an instant.

Her body swayed where she knelt, barely holding itself upright. Even though Cognis flowed through her, reinforcing her body before the hits landed, didn’t change the weight of the impact.

It still hurt, it still crushed and it still overwhelmed her.

Damn it...This is... so embarrassing...

Her thoughts came out broken.

Her eyes lifted slightly and through the blur...

She saw Ezra watching her expressionless.

Why can’t I do anything...Why can’t I do something... special...

Her breathing became uneven, her chest tightened.

Everything is always handed to me on a plate.

The thoughts came louder now sharper and more painful.

When I was born... I lacked nothing. Food, clothes, a good home, parents who cared, Maids, Guards, Friends, a best friend.

I had everything...

Her fingers curled slightly against the ground.

But everything disappeared. Just like that, because of one order.

Her body trembled.

And on the first day...

Her lips shook.

I killed her... My friend, my best friend.

Her vision cracked.

The arena, the people, the fight...Everything faded.

Only one thing remained.

"Mina..."

Her voice came out faint and broken.

Why...Why...Why...Why...WHY?!

Her thoughts screamed as her body gave out, she fell forward, the memories of what happened in the first trial playing in her mind.

***

When Gena opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was the cold.

Not from the ground nor from the air, but from the chains.

Her wrists were locked in place, metal biting into her skin as she struggled without thinking. The faint clinking sound echoed around her, mixing with distant crying, shouting, and the low murmur of fear spreading across the room.

Her breathing became uneven, her vision shifted and then...

She saw it.

The revolver parts were placed in front of her.

Scattered.

For a moment...Her mind went blank, then...A gunshot rang out.

Gena flinched violently, her whole body jerking as her head snapped toward the sound.

A boy.

Dead.

His body dropped to the ground like it meant nothing, before anyone could even process it...

Another shot.

The girl standing opposite him collapsed the same way.

Silence followed.

Heavy and crushing.

The guard lowered his gun, as the deep voice that ordered the guard voice echoed calm.

"Every twenty seconds without a gunshot, another pair dies. You have thirty minutes. Begin."

The words didn’t need to be loud.

They sank in anyway, deep into her mind.

Gena’s body began to shake violently as her hands moved without control, reaching for the revolver parts in front of her.

Fix it, fix it, Fix it!

Her mind screamed, but her fingers didn’t listen. Instead they kept trembling while she picked up the wrong parts, dropped them again and again.

"I... I... I..."

Her voice broke apart before it could form words.

Tears blurred her vision.

She couldn’t see clearly, couldn’t even think clearly, the worst thing... She didn’t even know how to assemble it.

Her hands moved anyway fast, but wrong with every part she carried.

"Gena."

A voice called her.

Soft, slightly shaking, but clearly trying to sound calm.

"Gena... Gena..."

It called again.

She didn’t respond.

Her mind was too loud and focused on her despair.

"GENA!"

The voice rose sharp cutting through her panic.

"Eh...!"

Gena looked up suddenly.

Her face was a mess with tears and snot and her lips trembled.

"M... mi... mi... Mina..."

Her voice shook so badly it barely sounded like her own.

Mina looked at her and smiled forcefully.

"Don’t worry..." Her hands moved slow and carefully as she began assembling the revolver.

Piece by piece.

Her fingers didn’t shake as much.

This made Gena’s eyes widened with panic flooding her instantly.

"WAIT!"

Her voice broke into a scream.

"Mina! Please...don’t shoot me! Please, Mina! Please...please!"

Her whole body shook harder.

"I don’t want to die! Please... I don’t want to die..."

Her voice cracked over and over again.

Mina paused.

Her hand trembled slightly now.

"It’s okay, Gena..." She spoke softly, but her voice cracked too.

Tears began to fall down her face as she continued assembling the gun.

"No... no... no..."

Gena shook her head violently.

Her own hands moved again, trying to assemble hers...But everything fell apart, many dropping on the floor.

"AHHH!!"

She screamed, her body twisting as she tried to reach everything at once.

"I’m dead... I’m dead...!"

Her breathing became frantic.

"Please, Mina... don’t kill me... please..."

"Gena..." Mina called her name again, soft and gentle.

Gena froze.

Her body locked; her breathing stopped for a second.

"You are my dearest friend..."

Mina said slowly, her voice trembling.

"But one of us must die... but Gena... you know..."

Her eyes lowered as her grip tightened slightly.

"I stopped having the heart to live in this world... a long time ago..."

Her words came out like they were being pulled from somewhere deep inside her.

Broken.

"What are you talking about...?" Gena asked.

Her voice was still shaking, but she didn’t notice when it calmed down just a little.

Mina didn’t answer immediately, she stared at the revolver in her hands.

Finished and complete, but her eyes looked far away.

Lost.

"Mina! What are you talking about!"

Gena shouted, her voice pulling Mina back.

"Oh..." Mina blinked. "I was thinking... I’m sorry..."

She smiled again.

This time...It hurt to look at.

"You know... I used to brag about my family... like yours..."

Her voice turned quiet and bitter.

"Yes... I know... but why does that matter now?"

Gena asked quickly, her chest tightening.

Mina’s smile broke.

"It’s because I lied, Gena... I lied!"

Her voice rose suddenly.

"My parents don’t love me! Not even a little!"

Her body shook now.

"After my mum died... and that witch came into my father’s life... everything changed!"

Her grip tightened on the gun.

"My life became hell!"

She shouted.

Louder.

"I was beaten... again and again...!"

Her voice cracked.

"I was starved... over and over again...!"

Her shoulders trembled.

"Do you know how many times I wanted to die...?"

Tears fell harder.

"Do you know how many times I wanted it to end...?!"

"Mina..."

Gena whispered.

Her voice was small now.

She stared at her, not as someone across from her but as her friend.

The girl she always followed behind, the girl she admired. Looking broken like this.

"But I couldn’t..."

Mina continued, her voice breaking apart.

"I couldn’t... because if I died..."

She looked at Gena.

"...I wouldn’t be able to see you again..."

Her lips trembled.

"Even after... even after she locked me in a room with her psycho bro..."

She stopped.

Her body jerked.

"Ugh...!"

She bent forward vomiting on the table and on the revolver.

Her whole body was shaking.

Gena’s eyes widened. "What... what happened...?"

Her voice trembled in disbelief as she realized what exactly happened to her friend with her step-mother brother.

"Why would she do that to you...?"

Mina wiped her mouth slowly, laughing bitterly.

"It happened... many times..." Her voice turned hollow. "I lost count..."

Her fingers tightened around the revolver, the stain of her vomit pouring off it as it rose slowly.

"I was sent here to die..."

She laughed again.

A dry empty sound.

"So... Gena..."

She lifted her head looking straight at her.

"Calm down..." She paused. Her eyes softened. "And please... survive."

"Min..."

Bang!

The gunshot exploded through the space.

Gena’s body froze as she watched Mina’s head snap back with a hole opened through it.

Her body fell backward.

Lifeless.

Just like that.

Gone.

Gena stared.

Her mind refused to move; her lips trembled.

"Mina..." Her voice came out low. Broken.

"Mina..."

Her body began to shake again.

Harder, more violently.

"MINA!!!" Her scream tore out of her throat. "NOOOOOOO!!!"

She cried out loud, her voice mixing with the screams of the other children around her.