NOVEL WEB Ch. 51
Chapter 51 - The Road to Midnight (3)
『Ad Astra』 was a secret society founded by the mastermind and final boss, 'The One,' and in metagaming terms, it was the main antagonistic force in
Its purpose itself was noble. The mastermind, The One, aimed to transform a world trapped in a cycle of evil into, of all things, 'a world without wickedness.'
To be precise, it was about creating 'a world where everyone is born in their correct form,' but the problem was that the process involved the annihilation of the current human race.
Furthermore, the world that would be reached through such twisted means was also somewhat messed up.
Well, interpretations might vary, but at least by my standards, and by common standards, that was the case.
After putting the unworthy to rest in slumber, only the worthy—those born in their correct form—would proceed to the next world.
…This was the gospel that represented The One's ideology in the story.
'Even just hearing it, it's not something a sane person would say.'
Because it was a group with such a deranged objective, aside from the idiots who joined without knowing any better, the villains were all unhinged.
A few of them had their own circumstances, but by any universal measure, they were individuals who deserved to be called madmen.
Anyway, Ad Astra, founded for such an incredibly noble purpose, was a secret society structured in three ranks.
It started with the lowest and most numerous rank, the 'Third Astro,' then the middle executives, the 'Second Astro,' and finally, the 'First Astro,' which was composed of the most crucial cadres.
There was also the position of 'Astro Master,' which referred to The One, but I excluded it for now as it was merely a title for The One.
Anyway, as you might guess, most of the main villains in the story held the rank of these cadres—the 'First Astro.'
These First Astros confronted the protagonists throughout the five parts of
Some of them were even arch-enemies whose traits were in complete opposition to the protagonists.
As I mentioned before, in the first main story, which corresponds to Chapter 1 of Part 1, 『Prelude to Ruin』, a whopping three of those First Astros appeared.
And the exact identities of those three were as follows.
The Knight Executioner, Grændal.
The Apostle of Salvation, Salvatio.
'Dismantler' Gabriel.
Among them, Gabriel. This one, he absolutely had to be killed here. Regardless of whether it was possible, it had to be done.
If you were to ask why, I could give several reasons, but to put it concisely, it could be summarized in two sentences.
First, Gabriel was a villain so vile that even calling him a goddamn piece of human scum was a waste of breath.
I had no intention of passing judgment with my own flimsy moral standards, but the next sentence was the bigger problem.
Second, his actions would trigger a civil war.
***
Crasssh-!
What came into view was the figure of a man. A man with orange hair, one eye covered by his bangs.
The uncovered eye was ominous and slender, like that of a cunning snake.
Naturally, I knew his identity.
'Dismantler, Gabriel.'
A villain renowned in
And, also a First Astro.
“...Tsk.”
My head throbbed. To think this guy would join the fray when I was already confronting another First Astro, Salvatio.
'He's someone I had to meet, but…'
However, there was no time to lament the current situation.
What was important was how to turn this situation into a positive one.
I quickly assessed the situation.
Clang-!
In the midst of it all, Serene had quickly adapted to the sudden change, switched to close combat, and was engaging Salvatio.
'As expected of Serene, her judgment is impeccable. This way, there's no risk of Salvatio intervening.'
And the path to Mathieu, the rear-guard magician who would be the top priority target, was now open. Because Gabriel had appeared between me and Mathieu.
'Which means…'
In an instant, the grounds for my judgment flashed through my mind.
It was obvious, but the first target to eliminate in a combat situation was the magician in charge of rear support.
And Gabriel was not foolish enough to ignore an unmarked magician and charge at a perfectly fine vanguard.
'Before Mathieu is attacked, I'll rush in first and draw his attention.'
Fwoosh-!
After quickly assessing the situation, I charged toward Gabriel.
[ Remaining Time: 57.11 ]
Although there was a difference in our stats, with 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 activated, even if I couldn't be his equal, I could at least tie him down.
The situation was already looking bleak, but this was the only decision that could bring even a sliver of a chance for victory.
Clang-!
The sound of Gabriel's dagger clashing with my sword rang out. And in that moment when my sword's movement stopped.
Fssst-.
Gabriel's form scattered and turned into smoke.
'There it is, illusion magic.'
This was the combat style Gabriel had shown in
A tactic of distracting the enemy with illusion magic and then finishing them off from a blind spot with his main weapon, the dagger.
'Since he's a typical trickster assassin, the battle of wits is crucial.'
I quickly readjusted my stance and heightened my senses. I had to react before he launched a surprise attack.
And then.
“...!”
Right after heightening my senses, I felt a chilling killing intent extending from behind my back.
Fwaat-!
Immediately after, I turned my body toward that killing intent and extended my sword.
Yes, Gabriel's figure was definitely there. The figure of Gabriel, poised to attack me.
There was certainly nothing wrong with my response.
However, in that urgent combat situation, something flashed through my mind.
A very subtle, sense of unease.
'Instead of trying to eliminate the magician first no matter what, he's trying to take me, a vanguard, down first? Gabriel?'
Who was Gabriel, if not a trickster whose cunning and craftiness were unmatched among the characters of
A guy like that would choose such an inefficient method?
“D-don't... don't you dare lay a hand... on my, on my student!!”
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard Mathieu's voice.
Fwaat-.
Along with that voice, a thick, blue-tinged barrier of magic enveloped me.
'A barrier…?'
My mind raced.
'Supporting a vanguard engaged in close combat is generally the correct decision. But, the fact that he put a barrier on me means…'
Mathieu was currently defenseless.
As my thoughts reached a conclusion, I shouted urgently.
“The enemy's target isn't me, Professor!!”
But.
Shunk-.
“...Huh, huh?”
By the time I shouted, it was already too late.
Gabriel's real body had already moved behind Mathieu, and his dagger had effortlessly pierced Mathieu's chest without any resistance.
The act of clashing with me was itself his feint.
'His real aim was to target Mathieu when his defenses were down…!'
This entire sequence of events happened in less than five seconds, a truly fleeting moment.
And during that short time, countless forks in the road of choice.
At those forks, Mathieu and I had certainly made the right decisions. From a general perspective, that was true.
However, this battle could not be won with right decisions alone. The opponent was a master of wits and psychological warfare, who could instantly turn the right move into the wrong one.
In that world of wits and psychological warfare, we had only made a single misjudgment, but the price was harsh.
'If only I had realized a little sooner.'
I couldn't help but think that. Regardless of Mathieu's decision, if I had realized just a little faster, I might have been able to protect him.
“...Dammit.”
A single mistake, one that could barely even be called a mistake, taking a life in battle.
Was this the weight of fighting one of the main villains of
I pointed my sword at Gabriel. The fight wasn't over yet.
But I couldn't help the words that kept repeating in my mind.
-D-don't... don't you dare lay a hand... on my, on my student!!
It was his goodness, which could never have been known in the original
***
'...I won't make the same mistake twice.'
Mathieu died because of my mistake. A life was extinguished in vain.
It might seem harsh to call it a mistake, but it was the truth.
I couldn't know it from the original work, but he wasn't someone who deserved to die in a place like this.
In that fleeting moment when his own life was threatened, he chose the life of a student whose face he barely even knew first... He was that kind of educator.
A good person, the kind rarely seen in
Such a person lost his life because of my mistake.
Guilt and responsibility weighed down on my shoulders. I couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.
[ Remaining Time: 51.55 ]
Thud-.
I immediately leaped and charged at Gabriel, who had plunged his dagger into Mathieu.
To seize victory, I had to settle the score before the duration of 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 ran out.
'If 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 ends, it'll be a total loss. I'll settle this now.'
I swung my sword at Gabriel, but-.
Whoosh-!
The figure of Gabriel I had aimed for scattered like smoke, and my sword only cut through the empty air.
“...”
As I raised my sword again and tracked Gabriel's figure with my eyes, I saw him standing where I had charged.
“My, how wonderful~ So wonderful! Don't you dare lay a hand on my shtudent~.”
With his characteristic ominous smile, he mocked Mathieu's last words in a ridiculous manner.
He had cut off Mathieu's head, from which blood was dripping, and was toying with it like a toy, even mimicking his expression.
“...You piece of trash.”
I muttered as if chewing the words and charged at him once more.
However.
Fssst-.
This time, too, he didn't counterattack, but simply retreated using his illusion magic.
As if trying to stall for time, he continuously focused on evasion without aiming for an attack.
'Something is strange.'
And so, that tedious exchange continued.
“Haha, between a vanguard and a magician, you should always kill the magician first. For a professor, he must have been pretty slow, huh? Ah, so that's why he died!”
He seemed to be trying to shake me by adding such pathetic taunts, but I wasn't particularly swayed by them.
'I already knew he was that kind of bastard.'
However.
[ Remaining Time: 45.02 ]
Whoosh-!
[ Remaining Time: 37.33 ]
Clang-!
[ Remaining Time: 31.47 ]
Clang-!
...
[ Remaining Time: 10.12 ]
Although I had activated 『Moment of Decisive Battle』, the difference in our overall power was absolutely overwhelming.
Slash-!
“Ugh... That stings!”
Belying its title as one of my two trump cards, the damage I inflicted on him, who was using illusion magic to flee, was merely a scratch.
He never allowed me to land a fatal blow...
[ Remaining Time: 01.55 ]
Claaang-!
...Eventually, the duration of 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 came to an end.
《 Stats 》
[ Strength: D ]
[ Agility: C+ ]
[ Stamina: D ]
[ Intelligence: B ]
[ Mana: F+ ]
[ Dexterity: B+ ]
“...”
“Ah, so that temporary physical enhancement is finally over, is it! That was quite fierce~.”
He spoke to me in a mocking tone.
'Ha. He knew about 『Moment of Decisive Battle』… right.'
I had anticipated that it might be possible to some extent.
With so many eyes in the academy, it was inevitable that information about the 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 I used during the practical test would leak out.
His action of deliberately avoiding battle during its duration was like putting a seal of approval on that guess.
'But for Gabriel to have specific information about me?'
That point was quite unexpected. Judging by Salvatio's surprise, it seemed only this guy knew about it.
'...No, let's stop thinking about that. What's important now is the fight in front of me.'
However, my chance of winning hadn't completely vanished. While 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 was a promising plan for victory, I never intended to rely solely on it.
I swallowed dryly and reached into my coat. There was only one option left…
Fwaat-!
The guy who had been talking nonsense suddenly leaped forward, as if to seize the tempo.
'I knew you would.'
And at the same time-.
Click-.
I pulled out the 『Outlaw』 from my coat and aimed it at him.
Yes, I had a trump card too.
『Outlaw++』
Grade: Epic
Durability: 70/72 (Cannot be repaired)
Attack Power: 450
: A masterpiece firearm that can bring overwhelming superiority in close- to mid-range combat with its supreme single-shot firepower at the cost of durability.
'Even for him, there's no way he'll be unharmed after taking this.'
And a moment later.
Baaang-!!
The distinct, loud report of the 『Outlaw』 echoed.