"Come on, Atticus, I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer." — Gabriel Alchemilia, "Primo Victoria: Part II"
Gabriel Alva Didier Arsene, later Gabriel Alchemilia, is an antagonist in The Demon's Light. He is over three centuries old and hails from the continent of Nuyö. He is the founder and one of the chairmen of Alchemilia Corporation.
Appearance
Gabriel appears as a man in his early-to-mid thirties, with minimal blemishes or wrinkles on his pale skin. He is extremely gaunt, though not to a disturbing degree, giving him an aura of unease. Gabriel bears short, straight hair in a bright color only comparable to white. Occasionally, he wears glasses over his sharp green eyes, and under his right eye, he bears a small, white scar.
When in meetings with other powerful figures in the company, he dresses in business suits without much notable about them apart from some strange color choices such as lavender or green. Within his jacket is a small pistol, undetectable to most untrained eyes. Over his suit during extreme weather he tends to wear a large, dark overcoat atop his shoulders, with the sleeves draped behind him.
On his own time, or when working in a laboratory environment, Gabriel often dresses in dark grey slacks, kept up with both suspenders and a belt due to his lanky figure. He also wears a faded green turtleneck, tucked into his pants, and beyond that an unzipped jacket with broad shoulders to give the illusion of a more intimidating physique.
In hot climates such as a vacation or otherwise, he often wears tan shorts and a pink polo shirt with the word "BADMAN" plastered across the back in bold letters.
Personality
Gabriel Alchemilia is a humanitarian with an extreme aversion to war - though he is not weak enough to shy away from it. Due to his delusional belief that only he can usher peace into Euclid, he is forced to take on the mantle of a warmonger to achieve his goals. His greatest fear, if he had to decide, would not be to die a martyr but rather to have his immense control stripped away. Perhaps his most notable feature is his ambition and constant drive to continue gaining power. He is charismatic but intimidating, and incredibly calculating. Almost every word he says holds a cold undertone, as though he had rehearsed it a thousand times. He holds personal care only for his own creations, unfeeling to anything else.
When placed under extreme stress, Gabriel undergoes a dramatic shift. He becomes visibly manic, violent, and begins resorting to prescription drugs to calm himself.
Notably, he is a suave womanizer with many illegitimate children around the globe.
Background
Gabriel is a self-described 'Immortalist,' to him meaning a human who has risen above their own mortality to live forever. The means to achieve this do not matter, according to Gabriel, and any human who is impervious to both disease and aging could be considered under the title.
Though it is unknown exactly how Gabriel achieved this state, his life beforehand is well documented. He was born in Nuyö as Zeu Diavol in the Bitter Coast region. Orphaned early on, he found two adoptive parents, upper class individuals from Stvitel named Didier and Helena Arsene, in a well-off family of doctors and other intellectual professions known as the Arsene family. He followed in their footsteps along with his three siblings, only one of which was older than him. Luther Arsene, Bea Arsene, and Oedipus Arsene, with Gabriel being younger than Luther. While they were all geniuses in their own right, Luther was a prodigy beyond any of the others. Gabriel put his work as a surgeon second, preferring to spend time with an entourage of girls he didn't ever remember the names of, while Luther worked on making advances towards curing a number of prion-related diseases. While Gabriel spent his time looking in the mirror and carefully managing every strand of hair, Luther would return to school in order to make progress in the fields of robotics. Gabriel was never envious, as he knew deep down that he was second to his brother and it didn't bother him at all. He joined Luther in his interest in robotics, and together the prodigies developed a prototype of a humanoid android capable of surpassing a human in combat prowess. Luther had Gabriel, the mastermind of the design, present it to the local government and they found themselves with a government-funded project and their own startup company, 'Alchemists Co.'
Through their collective genius, they made incredible strides culminating in a project that was shrouded in secrecy, later known as the Alchemilia Wormhole Project. During the formative years of this project, Luther departed and eventually vanished without a trace. Gabriel, alone in charge of the company, became a celebrity in the intellectual community. Due to Kaz' interference in the natural order of the universe and the very concept of godhood, the world was in danger. This resulted in the local government swiftly forcing Gabriel to focus the Wormhole Project on bringing the legendary rivals of Kaz' demons, known as the angels, from Eden.
Gabriel was able to place government soldiers in Nuyö at long-forgotten military bases, allowing them to successfully defend the continent from demons and angels alike. Due to this, Gabriel would be seen as a hero in the country of Stvitel, with a statue of the man erected in the city of Dveria along with beloved leaders of the country. Developing these soldiers into a full military, Gabriel's descent into the man that he is three hundred years later began.
Role in Series
Season One
- "Awakening"
Standing in front of the Alchemilia Corporation building in Gladea, Gabriel watched as his drivers pulled in and out of the parking lot. Following the arrival of one van, a group of teenagers got out from the back. Catching Gabriel's interest, he beckoned them over to him to greet them.
As the group of teens approached him, Gabriel started small talk with them, before introducing himself and his company. After hearing their identities, Gabriel caught the attention of a woman passing by and ordered her to take the group to the medical bay. As they left, he grabbed Chris Wellington by the shoulder and pulled him back, alerting the android that he would remain behind.
Gabriel led Chris to his office and after both were seated, Chris began to ask questions, beginning with one about his "father" Andrew Wellington. Gabriel then explained how Andrew Wellington had passed away three centuries back in a lab fire - with all of his androids perishing as well -, leaving Chris in a state of shock and confusion.
Chris then asked why Wellington preserved him out of all his creations, Gabriel mentioned no one knew Wellington's motivations and then proceeded to pull a large book entitled MEMOIRS from a nearby shelf, explaining how he kept a log of his life within the pages and that it was time to explain why he brought Chris to his office.
Gabriel began to explain that Chris was more valuable to him than any of his own androids, due to the fact that Chris perfectly replicated a living being - emotions, thoughts, and wants. Remarking that he wanted to study Chris, he then took the android out onto his balcony, showing him the full of Alchemilia Corporation and extended an offer for Chris to join him. Once Chris rejected, Gabriel informed him that he had no choice in the matter.
Searching for the group after an Alchem truck managed to drive them off the road, John Fontaine called Gabriel from the crash site and mentioned that he could not find them. Gabriel told him to call off the search until the morning and to continue looking for only the stolen property - a laptop - and that the teens were more than likely dead.
Later when Chris was brought from his holding cell and led into a room by Baptiste Rousseau, they encountered Gabriel sitting on a long couch, dressed in a purple dress suit and pouring himself a drink of alcohol. On the couch directly in front of him sat a man, who Gabriel soon introduced as Dexter Wellington. Gabriel then said that Dexter would be the one performing the planned tests, a set of "emotion analysis", on Chris.
Dexter soon pulled out a small gadget resembling a pulse oximeter and placed it on one of Chris' fingers. Gabriel mentioned that it was time to discuss the future, only to be told by an android servant that a video call with a "Director Pavlovic" was about to begin. Finishing small talk with Dexter, Gabriel left the room and followed the android.
In the video call room, Gabriel began to talk with Director Pavlovic, requesting for the meeting to be brief as he was busy. Pavlovic then mentioned that "Project Voight" was preceding as planned and ready to be to moved to Remnant Rock. The man then froze in his speech, with Gabriel prompting him to continue.
The man then mentioned that "Project Watchdog" could not continue unless Gabriel managed to get a full copy of Chris' database.
- "The City of Silver Lights"
Waiting for Alfred Hermann to show up, Gabriel was drinking from a mug and watching his shark in his office. With the arrival of Hermann, Gabriel gave the man orders on what to do with everything in his office in preparation for Alchem moving to Remnant Rock. Leaving the room, Gabriel mentioned that perhaps Hermann could meet the "new employee."
Later, in his office again, Gabriel gave orders to John Fontaine to track Baptiste Rousseau's investigation of the escaped Chris Wellington. Informing the man to make sure that Baptiste did not know that Fontaine would be following him, he told him to head to Silivia.
- "Exit Music"
Standing alone in his barren office, Gabriel was watching his shark swim in its tank when a general approached him. Beginning to speak, the general mentioned that he believed Gabriel should call off the search for Chris Wellington and that Director Rousseau was making a mockery of the company due to his incompetent tactics in Silivia.
Gabe tossed aside the concerns, mentioning that Rousseau would easily be killed off once the mission was over. Defeated, the general prepared to leave the room. Gabriel interrupted him and delivered a short speech on how order in the world was maintained by himself and that peace could come only by his hand. He ended on the note that he would not be challenged by the general's dissent.
- "Reunion"
Walking through a Silivian hospital, Gabriel stopped once he reached the room he was looking for, Fontaine's room. Entering it, he began a prepared lecture to the heavily wounded and bandaged man, who appeared to be too high on medication to listen.
Finishing his lecture, Gabriel informed Fontaine that his employment was no longer necessary and that he knew too much information. He proceeded to unplug Fontaine's life support and walk out of the room, leaving the man to die.
- "Primo Victoria: Part II"
After Team B was captured, Gabriel asked for Chris to be brought to his office. Two guards were sent to take Chris from his cell. The android reluctantly went with them. Before they reached the office, one of the guards strangled the other and threw him off the railing. The surviving guard then shot himself. Although confused, Chris took the opportunity to go back to his cell.
The incursion into Remnant Rock continued despite the efforts of Gabriel and his generals. Primary power was disabled, a prisoner riot began and rebel guards began to turn on their peers. The members of Teams A and B found some difficultly trying to escape. They had been separated, but all remained alive.
Atticus, Blossom and Chris reached the Alchemilia Aircraft Hangar. They had barely survived an attack by the mechanical canine Gabriel affectionately called "Hound." Atticus wanted Blossom to receive medical attention in Port City; she had been thrown down several floors by a prisoner. Chris opened the door to discover Gabriel and a soldier were already there.
Gabriel taunted Atticus, telling him he expected him to bring all of his friends with him when he escaped. Atticus responded by pointing out Gabriel was fleeing while his facility and company collapsed. Gabriel stepped forward. He twisted the tip of his cane to reveal a green blade. Atticus shot at him, but Gabriel deflected it. The bullet instead killed the soldier. Gabriel mocked Atticus' belief that his actions were just. Atticus told him the soldier was not the first to die due to Gabriel's actions, mentioning Savannah.
Atticus' words enraged Gabriel. He noticed Li and Marshall's entrance and took cover. Gabriel tried to radio for assistance but found the device was no longer functional. Before the duo had a chance to attack, support arrived and both were quickly killed. Atticus and Gabriel resumed their fight. Gabriel initially seemed to have the upper hand. He severed Atticus' little finger, causing him to fall involuntarily from pain. He stood over Atticus, gloating about his victory before Atticus took out a second gun and shot him.
Deflecting the bullet in time was impossible. All Gabriel could do was stab Atticus to ensure both would not make it out of the battle alive. Gabriel's last words proclaimed everything he had done was for justice.
Despite Gabriel's death, it seemed that Alchemilia Corporation had won. Atticus, Li and Marshall had been killed at the hangar. The Devlin siblings had been killed by an android. Blossom and Chris remained alive, however their escape would be impossible.
Then, the scene faded. Atticus realized that what he had witnessed was only a vision of a possible future. Knowing the failure of his original strategy, Atticus instead shot the guard first before shooting the cane out of Gabriel's hand. Gabriel asked Atticus if he believed in fate, noting the oddity that Atticus would be the one to confront him. Atticus mocked Gabriel, asking in response whether he still felt powerful as his empire crumbled. Gabriel took a knife from his pocket. Atticus fired several rounds at him in response. Gabriel fell to the ground, apparently defeated.
Other members of the group arrived. At Samuel's urging, Gabriel was not to be taken as a prisoner. Atticus did not disagree with Brownlee's choice, but he did want to stay a bit longer. When Steven reached the hangar, Gabriel suddenly stood up and grabbed his cane. Hound arrived and killed Steven. Gabriel and his mechanical beast fled on foot as the group escaped from the complex in a Hummingbird.
Trivia
- Gabriel's white hair is an anomaly, as neither his son nor his relatives share it. It developed during his childhood, black hair substituting it early on.
- Like his son, Gabriel Alchemilia is ambidextrous.