On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Whoosh!

When the bright light died down, the battlefield turned silent. Black dust filled the air, crashing into everyone's faces as the wind blew. The humans of Antares had disappeared from the battlefield. All they left were their melting armour and a burnt smell in the air. It was a bewildering event for everyone.

They were engaged in a battle with the soldiers of Antares when the second sun showed itself in the air. They could feel the heat briefly prickling their skin and their opponents disappeared when the light flashed. They couldn't understand how it was possible. They should have perished alongside their opponents if it was a mass attack.

Looking up, they found Layland descending the sky. He had a dimly shining orb in his hand. He crushed it into powder and the powder immediately disappeared into his mask. When he landed, everyone nearby took a step away from him. The aura his True Form was exuding was too much even for his fellow Warriors to handle.

Swoosh!

A weak wind blow lashed at the surroundings because of the influence of the Mana that Layland was unintentionally exuding. Everyone marvelled at his True Form—its intimidating appearance and the might it was showcasing.

At this moment, every Warrior was convinced that a new Elite had just been born. There were Demons amongst the crowd, yet even they could tell that very few of them would reach Layland's level soon.

Layland's mask crackled, awakening everyone from their musing. Gaze still focused on him, they watched as the skull-like mask split in half and dropped down to his neck, revealing his charmingly intimidating look.

His shining vermillion eyes gazed at the people neutrally, yet they still found themselves frightened. His eyes burned intensely, yet those who saw them would still feel cold. His complexion was as pale as a dead body. The two black lines that ran down his face accentuated his pale skin colour and also made him look more intimidating.

When his eyes squinted, the Warriors nearby felt like their souls had just left their bodies. Layland didn't have any intention to intimidate them. He was looking for the people who behaved strangely upon looking at his True Form; in other words, his fellow Demon King Candidates.

Three people caught his attention—Lemius, Eliseus and, surprisingly, Velucan. None of them showed any intention to harm him but they seemed eager to trade blows with him. It didn't automatically make them Demon King Candidates but there was still a need to put an eye on them. After all, he still couldn't tell what the excitement under their gaze meant.

Stab!

Bewildering the people, Layland planted Rexorem into the ground. "I will reap what you never sow."

Blood immediately flew toward Rexorem as soon as he said his piece. It came from the corpses that littered the ground of the battlefield, which Phoebesius' Mana Core didn't incinerate.

"Fearsome. This lad is too fearsome. He didn't incinerate all of the corpses for a reason," Jovenus muttered as he stared at Layland. "He has perfect control over his Mana. It is so good that it allowed him to control the untamable Mana inside a Mana Core—a Phoenix's no less!"

The development of the war was bizarre and quick. Many things happened in the blink of an eye and there was a lot of information to take in, so most of them didn't register anything clearly but their fight.

Jovenus was the same. His fight with Dulorand had just ended when Phoebesius' Mana Core was used. The King was tougher than he had expected—he was forced to use his Origin—and he hadn't even killed the King when the phenomenon happened. When the light flashed, the King had already turned into ash.

He would like to hear about everything from Layland. He was sure something interesting must have happened inside the forest that the young Demon made.

"We…we have won!"

"The two centuries war has ended!"

"Expansion!"

"Long live the Demon King!"

"Prosperity to the Verniculos Kingdom!"

The silence of the battlefield was broken by the warriors' cheers. Overtaken by euphoria, they stopped paying attention to Layland. The timing was convenient for Layland since this was the moment when he grimaced. It looked so foreign on his face that even people who didn't know him well could tell he was in pain.

He stopped utilizing his Demonic Essence, causing his appearance to gradually revert to the usual one. The scale-like black armour and any hint of blackness on his body disappeared. His body became smaller but still tall enough to make him stand out. The only things that remained were his vermillion eyes and the dark aura he was exuding.

"I don't feel like myself…something is incomplete," Layland muttered. "Yes…my True Form. It is not finished yet. That is still my Pseudo True Form. Something is still holding me back."

Sighing lightly, Layland shook his head. His mind was clearer and colder than ever. He could think of millions of scenarios involving cruelty, commit all of them and wouldn't feel any guilt. He still had empathy but he found it easier now to find justification for the dubious thing he did.

"Are you all right?"

Upon hearing the stern and strangely warm feminine voice, he was snapped out of his thought.

"I think so…" he said as he turned to the person. "I feel a bit weird around here, though." He pointed at his chest. "Did I contract breast cancer by any chance?"

"This idiot…you can never be honest with your feelings, huh?"

"I suck at—"

"I know that—hush…"

The speaking partner, Millonia put her finger before Layland's lips before hugging him. She didn't know yet what happened but as soon as she saw him land on the ground, she could immediately tell he was in pain.

The Layland that she knew had long forgotten pain; he was one of the lunatics that would laugh when someone stabbed their eyes with a nail. Seeing him in pain made her chest involuntarily constrict.

Layland didn't feel any better at first. He thought it wouldn't work since Millonia was not Valeria but he was soon proven to be wrong. He didn't like to admit it but he could feel Millonia's sincere feelings seep through her embrace. He felt strangely warm—he felt comforted.

"Master…oh, am I interrupting?"

Teanosvera's arrival made Millonia let go of Layland.

"No."

Layland, however, immediately enveloped her in his embrace just a second after she let go. It flustered Millonia greatly at first but she eventually gave in to the comfort of his embrace.

"What do you want to report?" Layland asked.

Showing the barely intact bodies of Mark and Elegast, Teanosvera said, "I figure you may not want to lose these…trophies."

"They are not even worthy," Layland scoffed. "Still, I have to thank you. Worthless as they are, they can still serve some purpose later."

Teanosvera nodded his head lightly and then handed Luxia to Layland. The tiny Forest Spirit was still sound asleep. She didn't look like she enjoyed her rest until Layland put her on his head. She rolled around a few times before concealing herself.

"Now, I know the reason why you always feel off," Millonia remarked as she looked up at Layland. "It is as shocking as it is baffling to see a Demon having established more than one Contracts with Forest Spirits."

Layland just shrugged as if it was nothing and Millonia couldn't help shaking her head helplessly. They spent quite some time hugging each other. They only let go of their hug when the tired Genelos joined them. The rest of the girls came not long after, making a crowd around him. Following them, some of the Warriors he knew also crowded him not long after.

They didn't say much to Layland; they just expressed their admiration toward him and spent the rest of their time staring at him reverently. It was slightly uncomfortable but he was fine with that.

It wasn't until the female Warriors also joined in did he decide to move away. The females were quite touchy and the potential for conflict between them and the girls was simply too noticeable to ignore.

"Tsk. Don't they understand etiquette?"

"Indeed. My mouth may be vulgar, yet my action has never been so!"

"What about you, Layland? You seemed very excited to get your butt groped."

Now, back at the Kingdom, Layland found himself being the target of the girls' frustration. They accused him of being a disgusting pervert who liked to be molested by big-titted women because he didn't kill all of the female Warriors that touched him a few moments earlier.

"Anyway, why did you take your mask off?"

"Yeah, put it on!"

"Am I too ugly to have the right to show my face?"

"Just put it on!"

He could perfectly recall the times when the girls had said to him that he looked better without his mask. It was as bewildering as it was amusing that now they had a contradictory opinion.

Their conversation stopped when someone entered the field before the Barrack which was where they were lined up. The King of the Verniculos Kingdom, Demon King Ilschevar Verniculos had arrived with his advisor, Valeria Koschinum.

"We greet the Demon King!"

Every Warrior dropped to their knees to pay respect to the King. Humans and Cursed Creations alike bowed their heads in reverend to him—even Hadrian and his fellows, after spending some time in the Verniculos Kingdom couldn't help doing the same.

Only one person, or rather, Demon didn't do that and Ilschevar was looking at him. He didn't even bother to kneel as he returned the Demon King's amused look with a smirk.

Layland Kleinhaus still respected the Demon King, yet he couldn't bring himself to bow before him.