The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 55 - The Midnight Bell

The criminal known as the 'Dismantler,' Gabriel, is a broken human being.

There are various reasons why a human might possess the characteristic of being broken.

Environment, accidents, incidents, and... birth.

Yes, the 'brokenness' that Gabriel possessed was a congenital characteristic he was born with.

Looking back, Gabriel could find nothing wrong with his upbringing.

A moderately wealthy family of a minor noble. A mother and father who, despite some sense of privilege, loved their family, and his siblings.

To be born into such a peaceful family in this era riddled with tragedy was a gift from God.

'I don't remember their faces very well, though~.'

There was nothing wrong with his environment. There were no notable incidents or accidents. Nevertheless, Gabriel was broken.

That was his misfortune, and he realized this at a rather early age.

Gabriel did not laugh. Because he did not know why he should.

Gabriel did not cry. Because he did not know why he should.

Gabriel did not get angry. Because he did not know why he should.

The little Gabriel compared himself to others and naturally came to realize it.

'Ah, something is wrong with me.'

The boy agonized. If God exists, why did he make me like this? Why am I the only one who's strange?

From the moment he recognized this, the boy began to act.

He put a smile on his face. He feigned anger. He acted out sorrow.

He believed that if he kept imitating, he would one day be able to feel real emotions.

He believed that he would be able to understand the creature called human, so close yet so far.

He believed that God would reward his efforts.

And so, fifteen years passed.

And still, God had not answered his efforts.

By the time the smile on his lips had hardened like iron cooled in a mold, the boy had become a young man, preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony.

He was surrounded by people. His unique and outstanding talents had led to a satisfactory level of achievement.

But he still could not understand people, and so he thought.

'Yes, let's end it.'

What does one live for? There are many answers to that question, but ultimately, those answers stem from emotions.

Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure.

Until he reached the age of twenty, Gabriel could not understand any of it, and he was exhausted. Exhausted by a life that offered not even a clue to understanding.

Because of this, he decided to end it. How? It was not a quiet ending.

He intended to end it by massacring his family at his own coming-of-age party.

And Gabriel carried it out just as he had planned.

He plunged a dagger into the chests of his loving parents with his own hands, cut off his older brother's arms and legs and beat him until he died, and threw his younger brother into a blazing fire.

According to the original plan, he would have taken his own life right after that act.

But Gabriel did not.

Why?

Ironically, it was because in that moment, he had found a clue to understanding humans.

When he was hacking at his father's chest with a dagger.

-Thump.

When he was beating his older brother's face until he died.

-Thump.

When he was watching his younger brother burn.

-Thump.

Gabriel could feel his own heart beating.

He could feel his emotions stirring.

“...It's not enough.”

But that was as far as it went. His heated heart soon cooled down, and as usual, the man was thrown into a sea of non-feeling.

And, at that moment.

The man encountered God.

Long, flowing white hair, but with golden eyes that shone sacredly. God had the form of such a boy.

He did not introduce himself as God. But the aura emanating from him had the power to render explanations unnecessary.

“You are not the one who is wrong. There is no problem with being born in such a form.”

At the God's gentle whisper, the man—Gabriel—couldn't help but nod his head.

'That's right. I was just born this way, so why must I die?'

It was not rational. To be weeded out and disappear simply because he was not born to fit this world.

'Being born like this wasn't my choice.'

The God continued to speak.

“Being born itself is not a sin; what is wrong is this world.”

The God's whisper, as if scattering a magic that made it impossible to refuse with his voice alone, was gentle and warm.

“Child, I intend to change this world into the form it ought to be. Will you follow me?”

What could he have answered?

That was how Gabriel came to be a part of 『Ad Astra』.

***

The mission he was currently assigned was also part of his service as a First Astro of 『Ad Astra』.

Gabriel was optimistic about this mission. It was indeed a mission that warranted it.

Just entering a building with a neutralized security system to retrieve an item.

However, the situation was taking a strange turn.

'The other sirs aren't at the promised location, only patrolling students.'

The other First Orders of 『Ad Astra』—whether the armored madman or the disheveled madman—were not the types to be distracted.

“Something must have gone very wrong~.”

It was impossible that a building deserted in the dead of night would have security personnel capable of stopping those monsters.

That could only be interpreted as some kind of anomaly having occurred.

'Did the plan leak?'

But that thought lacked realism. Even the participants themselves didn't know their exact drop points through God's magic, so to pinpoint that location and have personnel on standby?

That was truly the realm of the gods, the realm of one who looks down on the earth from the sky.

“That's impossible.”

Despite such an anomaly, Gabriel had no intention of backing down.

An anomaly was an anomaly, but he had to complete the mission given to him by the God who had saved him.

Screech.

Gabriel gripped his dagger, 『Viper』, and stared at the students patrolling the third floor.

'They're all persons of interest.'

The daughter of the family of salvation, about whom there were many stories, and... the illegitimate son of the Enlight family, whom he was supposed to assassinate after this mission was over.

Since they were individuals his God, 'The One,' had told him to keep an eye on, he had some information about them.

“They're just students, after all.”

Fledglings who had probably never even properly rolled around on a battlefield. Gabriel thought of them so lightly.

However.

Clang-!

“Hah...!”

The battle unexpectedly turned against him. There were several factors in that situation, but the biggest reason was...

'That girl... is a monster.'

The blonde girl student, the daughter of the family of salvation. She was a monster.

Power, speed, durability, technique. She was close to a complete package in every aspect, and she also knew how to properly use those strengths.

“At this rate... I can't even try to pull anything!”

Clang-!

'Every single blow is fast and heavy. Even though direct combat isn't my specialty, to be pushed back by a brat like this...'

However, the situation wasn't entirely bad.

'Found an opening.'

Clang-!

“Kuh...!”

The illegitimate son with the gaunt impression was somewhat subtle.

He would occasionally make a mistake, showing an opening, and each time, Gabriel could shake him up significantly.

It would have been more troublesome if he had faced the daughter of the family of salvation alone, but the illegitimate son was actually acting as a weakness.

In fact, when Gabriel first encountered Rain, he had been quite wary of him.

'He was the target for assassination after this mission, after all~.'

An assassination request made by the head of the Enlight family himself. The target was Rain Enlight.

Because of this, Gabriel had learned various pieces of prior information about Rain and had also raised his guard.

But, he was only this much.

The only thing to be wary of was the skill he had heard about from the informant, a technique that temporarily boosted his physical abilities. Gabriel had finished his analysis thus.

Was he overlooking something? He kept ruminating on it, but the conclusion was the same.

'His level is just that.'

Anyone else might have been different, but Gabriel was confident in his own 'eye' for people.

He didn't rule out the possibility of a deceptive tactic, but from his perspective, the likelihood of Rain doing so was extremely low.

Therefore, the serpent continued to watch for an opportunity. Although it was a situation that could certainly be called disadvantageous, a chance for victory existed.

'The longer the fight goes on, the more of a difference there will be in concentration. The level of experience we've accumulated is different.'

In fact, even from Gabriel's perspective, it wasn't that Rain Enlight felt completely useless.

Seeing him barely manage to stay alive... in the realm of psychological warfare and battles of wits, he did seem like a natural-born genius of the same kind as himself.

'But, he's not ripe yet.'

A lack of experience is bound to show in a long fight. Gabriel was mentally shaking Rain while dragging out the fight.

'Since the other sirs aren't coming, the plan is probably ruined, so I might as well blow off some steam before I go.'

Yes, that was his intention.

It wasn't that he was particularly angry, nor did he have any killing intent... but a human who kills people for no reason.

That was the kind of person Gabriel was.

The opportunity came soon enough. Rain, who had been showing continuous signs of anxiety, revealed a large opening.

Whoosh-.

Rain's sword strike swung through the empty air, and the cunning serpent did not miss that opening.

Thump-!

Before Rain, who had already lunged forward, could regain his posture, Gabriel kicked out and knocked the sword from his hand.

“Gotcha.”

Gabriel showed a smile like a cunning snake and then thrust his dagger at Rain.

'At this distance, even if he uses that physical enhancement technique, he won't be able to dodge.'

Yes, everything was certainly perfect.

Shunk-.

Even when the dagger pierced Rain's upper body, Gabriel thought so.

However.

Grip-.

When Rain gripped his arm with a much stronger grip than before.

When Rain's eyes met his.

Gabriel felt that something was wrong.

***

What lingered in the boy's eyes was killing intent.

A killing intent that had been caked on from the very bottom of his soul.

The student before him didn't care about his own injuries, or even his death.

Just for this moment. He purely wished for the death of the enemy before him, Gabriel.

It was impossible for the injury not to be painful. It was impossible for death not to be frightening.

But for Rain right now, there was something that took precedence over that fear.

That was killing intent.

Gabriel thought. It was certainly the first time he was facing him, so why did the boy feel such a deep killing intent towards him?

'In the first place, why is the poison spreading so slowly when he was hit with a sword strike to a vital point?'

While his head was spinning, that thought suddenly occurred to him.

As soon as that question was raised in his mind, his eyes quickly gathered information, and he soon found out the reason.

“He twisted his body... in that instant?”

Now he understood. From the beginning, the boy in front of him had no intention of dodging the sword strike.

His only thought was to just barely avoid the vital point in that fleeting moment.

'Crazy bastard...!'

There was no guarantee that he would be able to avoid the vital point. No, considering the difference in skill, it was natural to expect that he wouldn't be able to.

And if he failed, his own life would be sacrificed. It was not a profitable trade at all.

There was no need to do something like this. Even if he succeeded, he himself would suffer damage that would be difficult to recover from.

If his only goal was to repel him, there was no reason to do this.

To sum it up, there was no reason to do it, the probability of success was low, and if he failed, he would die.

It was truly a crazy act.

A crazy act focused solely on the act of killing someone.

In that bewilderment, and... at the killing intent and madness deeply ingrained in the boy's eyes... Gabriel might have thought.

'Fear.'

Rain, while using 『Moment of Decisive Battle』, gripped Gabriel's arm tightly and muttered.

“...I won't let you go.”

A single phrase muttered in a sunken voice, but even in that one phrase, hatred, killing intent, tenacity, and madness were vividly present.

“...Rai...!”

From nearby, Rain could hear someone shouting.

However, he paid no heed to that voice. His concentration was not broken.

Grip-!

Rain gripped Gabriel's arm even more tightly. He might have used so much force that he wondered if his own knuckles were being crushed.

And, with his other hand, he quickly pulled out the 『Outlaw』 from his coat.

He aimed the muzzle of that powerful pistol at Gabriel's head.

“...!”

Gabriel could tell. This gun was dangerous, his instincts were warning him.

But, there was no way to escape.

“...W-wait...! If you spare me, I can give you useful information...!”

With his life on the line, Gabriel shouted.

It was a shallow trick to try and distract Rain somehow.

However.

“-Die, here.”

Rain, with his glinting eyes filled with deep killing intent, cut Gabriel off.

There was no way he would fall for such a shallow trick and let him live.

I will definitely kill you.

It was as if he was saying.

A perfect checkmate. In that moment, Gabriel must have thought.

'...This is... the fear... of killing intent...'

In that final moment, Gabriel was able to understand one of the emotions humans possessed—

Irrespective of that, the trigger was pulled.

Baaang-!!

With a massive gunshot, the bullet was fired.

Splat-!

Blood splattered in all directions. What had been on Gabriel's shoulders was blown away without a trace.

Rain's body, which was holding his arm at close range, must have been showered with Gabriel's blood.

And right after that.

Dong-.

Dong-.

Dong-.

The bell announcing midnight rang throughout the academy.