The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 56 - Midnight, and What Lies Beyond (1)

For Serene, today could only be described as the absolute worst.

Especially considering that just an hour ago, she had been concluding a pleasant day.

Serene had come to like the late-night training sessions that started about two weeks ago.

To be able to train oneself with good people during these sessions, without any distracting thoughts or worries about how to conduct herself...

It was because that brought her so much peace of mind.

She liked Yuna's honesty and vivacity.

It was a little sad to see her act so subservient towards her, but she believed time would solve that.

Khan's integrity and seriousness were reassuring.

He had a somewhat belligerent side, but she knew it was a manifestation of his desire to better himself.

She liked being with Rain again, like in the past.

It was just good to feel that the boy who had been her idol had returned to his strong self, just like the old days.

But, now, it had come to this.

She had suddenly arrived at Ailton Hall, only to witness lives fading away before she could do anything.

She had wandered through Ailton Hall in anxiety, wondering if more of those precious lives would slip through her fingers.

She had been reminded of a past with someone who might have been precious to her, and she had reflected on her own responsibility for his ruin.

And she had encountered a formidable enemy and fought a fierce battle.

And...

Baaang-!!

“...Ah.”

The moment the battle was decided, there was only one thing Serene could do.

Splat-!!

To simply look at her friend... who had become the victor, with a sigh.

Yes, at the end of Serene's gaze was Rain.

Rain, who was killing the enemy with eyes that held a hatred, anger, and sadness so deep one could not fathom its bottom.

With a tenacity bordering on madness, the boy grabbed the enemy's arm and, without any hesitation, fired a bullet into his head.

The pistol's power was greater than expected. As a result of that attack, the nameless intruder's head had been blown away without a trace.

The blood from the intruder's head splattered in all directions, and Rain was also in the path of that spray.

What could that mean?

Rain, being at close range, was drenched in most of the gushing blood.

Even in such a situation, the boy's expression showed no sign of revulsion.

His usual expressionless face. And, within it, a certain emotion was slowly revealing itself.

'...If anything, it looks like he's smiling...'

Yes, a smile graced the boy's face.

Amidst that same expressionless face... it was a smile of relief, of reassurance, of joy.

“...”

It was unfamiliar. So very unfamiliar. And... it was frightening.

Why was he directing such a persistent and vivid killing intent at a complete stranger?

Why had he changed so much?

What on earth had happened during those two years he was in seclusion? She wanted to ask, but... her lips wouldn't move.

'Do I even have the right to ask about that?'

If she hadn't used her paltry and one-sided admiration as an excuse.

'If I could have stopped him back then.'

If she had held onto Rain as he walked towards his predetermined ruin.

'If I had reached out my hand, would anything have changed?'

Questions and regrets swirled in her head, but at the same time, Serene couldn't help but have such thoughts.

That even thinking of those questions in her head was already too late.

Dong-.

Dong-.

Dong-.

The bell announcing midnight tolled.

As if completely unconcerned with past regrets, time was rushing towards tomorrow.

***

In the battles Rain had fought so far, there had been only one factor to consider: how to break through the opponent's strategy.

But in this battle against Gabriel in 『Prelude to Ruin』, unlike before, there was one more element to consider.

It was the matter of the enemy's intention to flee.

The enemies he had encountered so far were either incapable of making the decision to flee, or they had no intention of doing so.

But Gabriel clearly had the intention to flee. While he also had his mission in mind, he had no will to continue a fight where he was at a disadvantage.

Rain had set three victory objectives: preventing the theft of the 『Key of the Apex』, protecting lives, and eliminating Gabriel.

Gabriel's escape was a factor that directly opposed the third victory objective, the elimination of Gabriel.

In this unfamiliar situation, the first he had encountered since falling into the world of , Rain initially faced great difficulty.

If he reduced his power, he couldn't apply pressure, and if he deployed a force that would surely win, Gabriel would judge that he had no chance of victory and flee.

He had been trapped in such a dilemma.

In addition to that, one of Rain's trump cards, 『Moment of Decisive Battle』, had already been figured out, further reducing the number of ways he could unfold the battle.

Therefore, Rain repeated death to search for a method and meticulously grasped Gabriel's capabilities.

'What's the limit to the consecutive use of illusion magic?'

'The speed at which the poison from his dagger, 『Viper』, spreads was different with each death. Does it spread faster the closer it is to a vital spot?'

'Is there really no restriction on the use of illusion magic?'

'Are there cases where he can't use it?'

'...'

And within those hundred deaths, Rain finally found a way.

First, make Gabriel misjudge his strength, making himself look like a 'weak link.'

In fact, compared to Serene, Rain's combat power was weak enough to be called a weak link.

But he had at least enough skill not to hold Serene back.

However, Rain hid his own skills and pretended to be a weak link. To prevent Gabriel from escaping.

Second, show Gabriel an opportunity to attack that he can't pass up, even though he knows about 『Moment of Decisive Battle』.

As mentioned earlier, Gabriel was aware of the existence of 『Moment of Decisive Battle』.

Rain lured Gabriel into an attack by opening up a chance for an attack that Gabriel would be confident was a one-hit kill.

By doing so, he could at least determine the timing of the attack.

Third, use 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 to take Gabriel's attack, deflecting it away from his vital spots.

By repeating death, Rain had learned one thing about the poison of the 『Viper』.

'If it hits a vital spot, the poison spreads throughout the body in an instant, but the farther it is from a vital spot, the slower the rate of transmission becomes exponentially.'

Of course, even if the rate of transmission was slow, it was still a fatal blow in combat, but just not dying instantly was enough.

For this reason, the moment the dagger flew towards him, Rain used 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 to twist his body and deflect the dagger from his vital spots.

Fourth, use the strength enhanced by 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 to grab Gabriel so that he cannot shake him off.

Through many trials and errors, what Rain focused on most was understanding Gabriel's main magic, illusion magic.

That technique was used in every aspect of Gabriel's combat—attack, defense, and escape.

He saw that breaking through that alpha and omega, illusion magic, was the key to defeating Gabriel.

And in countless deaths, Rain was able to find out one thing.

'His illusion magic cannot be used when he is in physical contact with another person.'

That's why he held on so he couldn't escape.

And, finally.

Fifth, finish him with the 『Outlaw』.

That judgment and plan were certainly the best, but it was by no means an easy path.

Right from the first stage of deceiving his strength, it was a hurdle.

The Gabriel Rain had to face was a master of psychological warfare and battles of wits.

Deceiving the opponent about his strength and tricking them also fell into that domain... In other words, he was fighting on the enemy's home ground.

The subsequent processes were also hurdles.

It's easy to say, but to repeatedly die from a deadly poison that accompanies intense pain while figuring out the opponent... was not something one could do with a sane mind.

Yes, it was certainly in the realm of a madman.

Rain was also aware of that fact, and he was sometimes engulfed by such urges in the middle.

'Isn't this enough? Let's just give up.'

'Maybe it was an impossible goal from the start.'

'Even if a civil war breaks out, it's not my fault.'

'No one will blame me.'

But Rain did not stop. No, he could not stop.

The reason lay in the emotions and sensations Rain felt as he repeated death.

The pain he felt as he died from the deadly poison.

The sadness he felt watching someone whose face he didn't even know die.

The hatred for Gabriel, who mocked such deaths and toyed with others' lives.

And, the will that stemmed from the desire not to give up.

Those emotions mixed together like paints of various colors in a hundred deaths and reached a single heart.

Killing intent.

A killing intent as if caked on from the bottom of his soul.

That killing intent made Rain want to kill Gabriel at all costs.

It made Rain not deviate from the path he was walking, even in the midst of intense pain that felt like his flesh was being torn and his insides were burning.

The result of that regression, a mixture of tenacity and madness…

Baaang-!!

With a gunshot, the bullet from the 『Outlaw』 struck Gabriel squarely in the head.

And, at the same time-.

Splat-!

What was Gabriel's head became a chunk of flesh with blood and was scattered, and it was difficult to even find a trace of it.

The blood that gushed from Gabriel engulfed Rain, who was at close range.

And at that moment, the blood-soaked Rain thought.

'What kind of expression am I making right now?'

Having achieved my goal in a hundred deaths, I, who have been driven by killing intent, what kind of expression am I making?

It was such a small question.

But he could not know his own expression. Therefore, Rain unconsciously looked at the other person next to him, Serene.

The expression of someone looking at him could be a means of observing his own face.

With such a thought, close to unconscious, Rain looked at Serene's face...

“Ah...”

Bewilderment, unfamiliarity, fear.

And a sadness felt somewhere deep in her heart.

“...”

Rain wanted to open his mouth to say something, but that wish did not come true.

His vision was gradually turning black.

'...It's the first time I succeeded, you know. Hold on a little longer, my body.'

Rain tried to pull himself together with that thought, but his consciousness was rapidly sinking below the surface.

Before Rain lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was...

Dong-.

Dong-.

Dong-.

The bell announcing midnight. And-.

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