Fullmetal Alchemist 3

This is the first volume of Fullmetal Alchemist, a manga series set in a fictional world where alchemy, the science of transforming matter, functions as both a practical discipline and a tool of state power. Alchemists who pass a government examination earn the title of State Alchemist, gaining military rank and resources in exchange for serving the government.

In the remote town of Liore, a religious leader named Father Cornello broadcasts radio sermons about the Sun God Leto, promising salvation through prayer. Into this town arrive two brothers: Edward Elric, a short, blond-haired teenager, and Alphonse Elric, a towering figure encased in a full suit of armor. Ed demonstrates alchemy by repairing a broken item, and the brothers learn about Cornello's apparent miracles from the townspeople. Because of Alphonse's imposing armor, people assume he is the Fullmetal Alchemist, but Edward angrily corrects them: He is Edward Elric, the State Alchemist who earned the title at age 12. Alphonse is his younger brother.

The brothers meet Rosé, a young woman devoted to Cornello's church. Rosé lost her family and her boyfriend in an accident, and Cornello's promise that the dead can be raised through faith restored her hope. Edward challenges her belief, reciting the chemical makeup of a human body and arguing that its raw materials cost almost nothing. Rosé accuses him of insulting the Creator, but Ed replies that alchemists are scientists who reject unprovable ideas like God, even though their pursuit of truth may bring them closer than anyone to understanding the principles of creation.

Ed and Al watch Cornello perform transmutations that seem to violate alchemy's fundamental law of equivalent exchange: To obtain something, something of equal value must be lost. Ed suspects Cornello's ring contains the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary catalyst said to amplify alchemical processes and allow transmutation at minimum cost for maximum result. The Stone is the very object the brothers have been searching for.

The brothers seek an audience with Cornello inside the church, but one of his followers, Brother Cray, ambushes them with a gun. During the fight, a bullet passes through Alphonse's armor, revealing the suit is completely hollow: Al has no physical body. When the brothers reach Cornello's chamber, Ed accuses the priest of disguising alchemy as miracles and identifies his ring as the Stone. Cornello admits the truth: He uses the Stone to bypass alchemical laws, and his real goal is to build an army of fanatical followers with which to seize control of the nation. He refuses to hand over the Stone, dismissing his followers as idiots who cannot tell alchemy from miracles.

Alphonse reveals that Rosé has been hidden nearby and has overheard everything. Shaken, Rosé confronts Cornello, but he pivots, claiming the Stone might let him resurrect her dead boyfriend. Torn between the truth and her desperate wish, Rosé chooses Cornello and walks to his side.

Cornello unleashes a chimera, a creature created by alchemically fusing multiple animals, to attack Ed. Ed transmutes a weapon directly from the floor without a transmutation circle, a rare ability that shocks Cornello. When the chimera bites Ed's right arm, its teeth strike metal: Ed's right arm is automail, a mechanical steel prosthetic. His left leg is automail as well, and these prosthetics are the origin of his alias. Cornello recognizes the implication: The brothers committed the ultimate taboo of alchemy, human transmutation, and paid a devastating price.

Alphonse explains their backstory to Rosé. He and Ed lost their mother and studied alchemy solely to bring her back. The attempt failed: What they created was not human. Ed lost his left leg, and Al lost his entire body. Despite his own injury, Ed sacrificed his right arm to perform a second transmutation, binding Al's soul to a nearby suit of armor.

Ed and Cornello fight across the church. Ed and Al locate the broadcasting room where Cornello delivers his radio sermons, and Ed reveals the microphone has been on the entire time: Cornello has unknowingly broadcast his full confession to every listener in town. Enraged, Cornello uses the Stone to transform his arm into a weapon, but the Stone malfunctions and shatters. It was a fake, an incomplete imitation. Ed overpowers and defeats Cornello. The brothers' search must continue.

In the aftermath, Rosé asks Ed what she should believe in now. Ed refuses to answer, telling her to stand up, walk, and keep moving forward, reminding her that at least she has strong legs to carry her. The townspeople storm the church demanding the truth. Separately, two mysterious figures—a woman named Lust and a rotund creature named Gluttony—confront Cornello, revealing they had provided him with the fake Stone to stir regional chaos. Lust declares him no longer useful before attacking him. The two discuss their next plan, hinting at a larger conspiracy.

The brothers next travel to Youswell, a remote coal mining town impoverished by Lieutenant Yoki, the corrupt military official in charge, who overtaxes the miners and pockets the revenue. At an inn run by Halling, a bearded former miner, Ed earns goodwill by repairing broken tools with alchemy, but when he reveals he is a State Alchemist, the mood sours. The townspeople view State Alchemists as "dogs of the military" (102) who serve the oppressive government. Ed reflects on the tension between the alchemists' slogan, "Alchemists work for the people" (100), and the reality of military service.

When Yoki arrives demanding overdue taxes and his men turn violent, Ed intervenes. Yoki, seeing Ed's State Alchemist credentials, fawns over him in hopes of gaining military connections. After Ed departs with Yoki, Yoki's men burn down Halling's inn in retaliation. Ed devises a scheme: He transmutes worthless coal refuse into what appears to be gold and offers the bars to Yoki as a bribe in exchange for the official deed granting all mining rights. Yoki eagerly signs over the deed. Ed then sells it to Halling for the price of one night's lodging and two meals, calling it an equivalent exchange. When Yoki discovers the gold has reverted to ordinary rocks, the miners stand up to his soldiers and throw them out of town.

In the final chapter, the brothers board a train that is hijacked by the Blue Squad, a group of eastern extremists who take General Hakuro, a military officer traveling with his family, hostage to leverage the release of their imprisoned leader. At a nearby outpost, Colonel Roy Mustang, a high-ranking officer, learns the Fullmetal Alchemist is onboard. Ed and Al coordinate their counterattack: Ed fights across the top of the train while Al moves through the cars from below, and together they subdue the hijackers and free the hostages. The train arrives at a station where Mustang waits. A final hijacker lunges with a concealed knife, but Mustang dispatches him by snapping his fingers to produce a burst of flame, his signature ability as the "Flame Alchemist." Ed updates Mustang on his search: The brothers have been researching ancient texts for a way to restore their original bodies but have found nothing yet. Their journey continues.