Rebirth-Transcending All Beings

Chapter 88: Clown in Disguise

Tick! Tock!

The slow movement of the old clock filled the otherwise silent office of Principal Aldric.

The desk was clustered with maps of the continents, scrolls and tomes of different theories and historical monstrosities. The scented air of aged parchment mixed with the faint perfume of pipe tobacco, a habit Aldric occasionally indulged when in deep thought — or laughter.

"Ha! My god," Aldric wheezed, spinning in his chair once again. His laugh crackled in the air like a thunderbolt. "After all these years, we finally. Finally have ourselves a clown who embarrassed himself on the first day!"

His voice echoed into the corridor outside before slamming a palm against his forehead. His white-blonde hair now hung loosely. "Calling himself the King of Blowfish!" He roared, tipping his chair dangerously close to falling.

"I should’ve recorded," he sighed.

The door to his office creaked open, and the vice principal stepped in, stoic as always, carrying a stack of documents in his arms. His eyes scanned the room with mild disapproval. "Sir, please refrain from shouting at least during work hours." he said flatly, carefully placing the stack of documents on the oak desk

"Hey, Alren, aren’t you joining me?" Aldric grinned, his chair still spinning. "Take a seat."

"I’ll humbly deny your request." Alric’s face twitched almost imperceptibly. "More importantly, I’ve brought the results back."

"Ohh? Finally!" Aldric halted his spine, leaning forward eagerly. "Give them to me. Let’s see how these future prodigies did."

Aldric rifled through the documents with practised ease; muttering to himself. His eyes flicked with increasing interest, lips tugging into a smile at the standout scores.

Until he stopped.

A name on the paper stared back at him like a practical joke. "Vergil Vayne..." he murmured.

Another Vayne...

His fingers traced the sheet, eyes widening. "One out of seventy." Alric said aloud.

"He glanced at Alric. "One out of seventy?" He repeated

Alric coughed and responded without emotion."Yes."

"You have to be joking."

"Sir, the results say otherwise."

"I’m sure he got that one mark for writing his name," Aldric guessed, letting the paper drop onto the desk.

Alric cleared his throat. "He didn’t write his name."

A moment of silence passed. Aldric blinked once, then he erupted again, slamming a hand against the desk in disbelief.

"My goodness! A real clown has entered the academy," he howled, his chair on the edge of falling. ’So how could he have Elvira’s surname.’

"What about the practical?" he added, calming just enough to wipe a tear away.

"Principal, you’re quite focused on this person," Alric observed.

Alric leaned forward. "Vergil-Vayne," he repeated.

The laughter vanished at once.

All that remained were his words.

"Another one with the name Vayne. Elvira doesn’t raise clowns for a circus. She raises monsters."

Alric stiffened slightly. "He fainted and was sent to the infirmary."

Aldric froze. ’Elvira, you surely didn’t raise a clown to send here. Did you?’

A light tapping sound came from the door.

"It’s Rael," came a muffled voice. "I would like to discuss the applicant Vergil with you."

Aldric blinked, composing himself with a smirk. "Come in."

The door creaked open and instructor Rael stepped inside. He was wearing the academy uniform although unbuttoned and a faint bandage was barely visible beneath the collar. Fatigue laced his eyes and yet something else was present.

Sharp — uncertainty and tension.

"Take a seat," Aldric casually spoke, gesturing. "It must be important."

Rael nodded once and sat, his posture upright and formal despite the weight in his shoulders.

"Will Vergil be attending?" he asked directly.

Aldric scoffed. "He is better suited for the circus than here, seeing what he has done."

"I believe we should accept him," Rael said calmly.

Aldric blinked. The laughter began to rise in his throat, though not as loud as before. "Tell me... what do you see in him?" his golden eyes narrowed, as he lifted a cup of hot tea to his lips.

Rael hesitated, inhaling deeply. His fingers curling slightly on his lap.

"He damaged my soul in the spar."

Alric’s eyes widened. His hand jerked and tea splashed onto his robes as he coughed and spattered. "What?!"

Alric’s eyes widened also at the statement. "You have to be joking, Rael. Be serious about this."

"I am," Rael said with a level voice. "His final strike struck my soul. And his punch wasn’t enhanced... well, I couldn’t sense anything to say it was."

Aldric rose to his feet, pushing his chair back. "So, a clown in disguise?" He said with a grin. "Tell me Rael, how did you speculate he managed to achieve this?"

"I don’t know. But I believe it’s related to his right arm," Rael replied. "Even I don’t believe he understands it fully."

Aldric turned to the window, arms folded behind his back — eyes lingering on the glittering of moonlight. "The only issue is, we’ve already accepted 2,500 students into the academy."

Rael’s expression darkened.

Aldric looked over his shoulder. "However... rules are meant to be broken."

Alric’s eyes narrowed, already knowing where this was going.

"So I’ll make it 2,501," Aldric raised a finger. "But the punishment, during his first term, his official ranking will have his ’title’ as his name." He sneered. "Let him wear his shame like a badge."

Rael sighed in relief. "Thank you very much, sir." He stood and bowed. "I will ensure his potential is not wasted."

He left the room quickly, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.

Alric turned to Aldric. "Principal, are you sure it’s worth breaking the rules for him? The students may complain about the unfairness."

"What’s unfair?" Aldric asked. "He damaged a senior instructor’s soul. Not even the rank one student of the first years could do that with a mere punch."

Alric nodded slowly. "Then I’ll leave it to you."

"Ah, make sure to tell Rael that he can only teach him if he chooses to learn Aura."

Alric nodded once more before leaving, and once more — the room fell silent, save for the ticking of the old clock.

Aldric stood still, staring at the moon, eyes narrowing as he watched the students.

He turned slightly.

"...We’ll see what kind of monster you really are, Vergil Vayne."