Ezra glanced across the faintly brightened surroundings, but his mind had already mapped out the area around him.
The light from Diane’s frozen glowing rocks was enough to reveal parts of the underground cave, though large sections of it remained hidden beneath the darkness. The uneven walls stretched in different directions, with several tunnels leading deeper into the Elder Ghost Crawler’s nest.
Using his high-level sensory perception, Ezra could see much more clearly than a normal Alchemist of his level would have been able to in the damp cave.
The cold air carried the smell of moisture and something else that was harder to identify.
Blood and rotten flesh.
The scent had already mixed with the damp smell of the underground cave.
Kik-kik-kik-kik!
Kik-kik-kik-kik!
Kik-kik-kik-kik!
The aggressive cries of the Young Ghost Crawlers echoed throughout the cave.
Their bodies rushed toward Ezra from different directions, while some of them ignored him completely and chased after Diane as she moved deeper into one of the tunnels.
Ezra immediately placed the Flash Revolver back into his Space Bag.
His other hand reached into it.
He took out his M38 SDMR.
The rifle came into his hands as he quickly raised it toward the approaching Young Ghost Crawlers.
Ezra looked through the scope.
The world within his field of view became clearer as he enhanced his vision with Cognis, increasing the brightness of his sight while also making use of the faint light provided by Diane’s frozen glowing rocks.
His eyes moved across the cave.
He didn’t need to look at every creature.
Since he already knew which ones were real.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Ezra began firing with precise aim.
The bullets tore through the bodies of the Young Ghost Crawlers with ease.
One creature rushed forward.
A bullet pierced its head.
Its body jerked backward before falling onto the cave floor.
Another creature attempted to approach from the side.
Ezra moved the rifle.
Bang!
The bullet struck.
The Young Ghost Crawler fell.
As more of them continued advancing, more of them continued falling.
Ezra didn’t waste ammunition on any illusion-type creatures.
He could already see through their illusions.
The moment he brought down one real Young Ghost Crawler, numerous illusionary copies around it disappeared at the same time.
Their bodies simply vanished from his perception, leaving only the real creatures behind.
But the number of Young Ghost Crawlers kept increasing.
For every few that fell, more came rushing out from the tunnels.
Ezra’s eyes narrowed.
He continued firing.
His body shifted with every shot, his feet moving across the cave floor as he turned from one direction to another.
Bang!
A Young Ghost Crawler rushed toward him.
Ezra sharply turned and fired.
The bullet struck its head, killing it before it could get close enough to attack.
Another creature came from behind.
Ezra turned again.
Bang!
It dropped.
He immediately passed Cognis into his gloves.
The Black Magnetic function activated.
The black material of the gloves tightened around his hands as the magnetic force responded to his Cognis.
Ezra reached into his Space Bag and took out his Desert Eagle.
He threw it forward with Cognis-enhanced strength.
The pistol shot through the air at high speed while Ezra continued firing the M38 SDMR with his other hand.
The Desert Eagle spun through the air.
Its movement changed slightly as the magnetic force from Ezra’s glove pulled the weapon toward the leg of a Young Ghost Crawler.
The pistol wrapped around its leg.
The Young Ghost Crawler suddenly lost its balance.
Kik!
It screamed.
Ezra didn’t waste any time.
The magnetic force pulled.
The Young Ghost Crawler was dragged toward him with force.
Ezra jumped.
He placed the strap of the M38 SDMR around his neck, freeing his hands as he moved.
His body turned.
He caught the Young Ghost Crawler.
Then he swung it.
Bam!
The creature’s body crashed into another Young Ghost Crawler.
Bam!
Another one was struck.
Bam!
Another body was knocked away.
Ezra continued using the creature like a rag doll, swinging it into the other Young Ghost Crawlers around him.
The monsters were thrown through the air.
Some crashed into the cave floor.
Others struck the surrounding Young Ghost Crawlers before falling heavily onto the ground.
Ezra then passed Cognis through the black thread attached to the Desert Eagle.
The magnetic force increased.
The thread released itself from the leg of the Young Ghost Crawler he had been using as a weapon.
The Desert Eagle flew back toward him.
Ezra twisted his body in the air and caught it.
At the same time, several poisonous spits flew toward him.
He weaved between them.
One passed beside his face.
Another crossed beneath his arm.
A third grazed his coat.
The moment the poisonous liquid touched the fabric, the material began to melt.
A sharp chemical smell reached Ezra’s nose.
His expression changed slightly.
He immediately reached into his Space Bag and took out the medicine he had already prepared for situations like this.
He drank it without hesitation.
Then he dropped toward the ground.
The moment his feet touched the cave floor, Ezra performed a quick somersault, using the movement to control his landing.
A Young Ghost Crawler charged past him.
Its mouth snapped open, revealing its fangs as it tried to bite him.
Ezra moved his body aside.
The creature passed him.
Bang!
Ezra fired the Desert Eagle.
The bullet struck the Young Ghost Crawler’s head.
Its body dropped heavily onto the cave floor.
Ezra immediately placed one hand inside his Space Bag.
His fingers closed around another weapon.
He pulled out an Acu-Vector Mk.II.
It was an upgraded version of the normal Acu-Vector Mk.I that Vera had once told him she wanted to create.
After completing the creation, Vera had given Ezra the Alchemy Circle behind the gun.
She hadn’t revealed the weapon to the family yet.
Because of that, Ezra was the only person who knew about the gun.
And this was one of the versions she had made.
Ezra raised it.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
He fired three times.
The three bullets flew upward through the cave.
Ezra immediately began weaving between the incoming Young Ghost Crawlers while continuing to move his body through the narrow spaces between their attacks.
Then the bullets reached the positions he had aimed for.
A compartment inside each bullet opened.
Thin needles suddenly spread outward.
Almost invisible needles rained down from above.
The Young Ghost Crawlers looked upward.
Then the needles fell.
Pshk!
Pshk!
Pshk!
The needles pierced their bodies.
The screams of the Young Ghost Crawlers echoed through the cave as the thin metal entered their flesh.
Ezra immediately removed his long coat.
He passed Cognis into it.
The fabric hardened.
He raised the coat above himself and used it as a shield against the rain of needles.
Clank!
Clank!
Clank!
The thin needles continued striking the hardened coat.
Some bounced off the surface.
Others slid down the fabric and fell onto the ground.
Below him, however, the Young Ghost Crawlers were not as fortunate.
The needles pierced their bodies with ease.
The needles weren’t even as thick as the normal Acu-Vector Mk.I needles.
But their thin construction, combined with the number of Alchemy Symbols placed into their creation, made them much more dangerous.
Their thin shape allowed them to slip through the body of a Novice Alchemist with ease.
For a Binder Alchemist, they could still become fatal if the Alchemist wasn’t careful.
And the Young Ghost Crawlers were already only a close step away from the Binder threat level.
To make matters worse, the three bullets Ezra had fired carried more needles than the usual Acu-Vector Mk.I bullet.
Ezra looked at the weapon for a brief moment.
She really went hard on making this gun work.
He thought plainly to himself.
Ezra couldn’t help but give Vera credit for the uniqueness of the Acu-Vector Mk.II she had made.
It was truly special.
Especially for what he was about to use it for.
The Young Ghost Crawlers continued falling.
Many of them died beneath the rain of needles.
But their numbers still didn’t seem to decrease.
More continued coming out from the tunnels.
Ezra’s senses could still detect more of them incoming.
The number of new Young Ghost Crawlers coming toward him could still be counted past a hundred.
Ezra narrowed his eyes.
He couldn’t keep fighting them like this forever.
His hand moved toward another weapon in his space bag.
He took out his Teaser Gun.
Then he jumped.
Cognis flowed into his legs, enhancing his strength as he pushed himself higher into the air.
Several webs flew beneath him.
Another passed beside his shoulder.
Ezra twisted his body to avoid it.
He raised the Teaser Gun downward.
Bang!
He fired.
Two thin needles attached to a thin steel rope shot downward.
They moved through the cave before striking the body of a dead Young Ghost Crawler with the thin needles of the Acu-Vector Mk.II stuck on its body.
The two needles embedded themselves into the corpse.
The electricity function of the Teaser Gun activated.
The electricity traveled through the thin steel ropes.
Then...
SPARK!
Lightning exploded across the area.
The current spread through the thin needles attached to the dead Young Ghost Crawler.
From there, it jumped into the surrounding bodies.
Dead.
Alive.
It didn’t matter.
The electricity spread across them.
Blue glowing lightning covered the cave floor.
The bodies of the Young Ghost Crawlers jerked violently.
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
The loud cries of the Young Ghost Crawlers echoed through the cave.
Their bodies convulsed as the lightning passed through them.
The entire underground chamber briefly glowed blue from the electrical discharge.
Ezra continued descending.
But his gloves had something else to do.
The gloves were made from Black Steel mixed with Magnetizum and special leather.
Because of that, their conductivity allowed them to retain and carry the electrical charge to a certain level.
Ezra tightened his fist.
Then he punched the ground.
BOOM!
The stored lightning released from his gloves.
The electrical charge spread outward through the surrounding area.
Another violent sensation of electrocution passed through the Young Ghost Crawlers.
Krrrraaaak...
Krrrraaaak...
Several more of them died at once from the strength of the electrical discharge.
Their bodies fell onto the cave floor.
For a moment, it looked as though their number had finally decreased.
Ezra looked around.
The cave was filled with dead Young Ghost Crawlers.
The smell of blood and burnt flesh had become stronger.
Thin smoke rose from several of the bodies.
But Ezra’s senses continued reaching through the tunnels.
He could still feel them.
More were coming.
Plenty of them.
His eyes narrowed.
The battle had already gone on longer than he wanted.
Ezra exhaled slowly.
"Ahhh..."
He lowered his fist.
"This is getting troub—"
BAM!
BOOM!
The entire cave shook.
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