On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

No one but some selected few—Hadrian and the Nobles—knew they had just gotten a Geas carved on their chest. Despite so, they still could tell that something had happened. It was barely noticeable but they could feel the change inside them. Before, they wanted to bow to Layland because of their fear; now, they wanted to bow to him because they felt it was the right thing to do.

"If you look down at your chest right now, you may see an intricate pattern carved on it. I won't trick you into believing it is another thing—I will say the truth. It is a Geas."

Layland's exclamation brought shock upon the people but the revelation wasn't the reason. They couldn't believe that Layland was willing to tell them the truth. It still didn't make their respect toward him suddenly go up, of course. After all, it didn't eliminate the possibility of him not caring enough to consider their views of him.

"You may be wondering why I even bothered to tell you about something unpleasant that I have done to you. The reason is that there is no merit in hiding it. We have spent three days creating the Geas that has been developed for more than two centuries. Keeping it unknown is the same as spitting at the effort our predecessors have spent on developing it."

Taking out a cheap dagger from his Spatial Storage, Layland pointed it at a certain citizen. "Now, you may be wondering what makes the Geas special or what it does to you. The answer is that it does nothing to you but something for you." With a flick of his hand, he sent the dagger flying at the flabbergasted citizen.

Zap!

Just as the dagger was about to hit the citizen, a spark of electricity came out of the Geas on the chest of the citizen. A flimsy, purple Barrier materialized soon after, protecting him completely from the dagger that was about to hit his chest.

The crowd went 'ooh.' They didn't expect the Geas to be used that way. Whenever one heard about Geas, one would think about enslavement. It also could be used to protect one's "asset" but one had to go the extra mile to unlock the feature. In most cases, no one cared enough to ensure the safety of their disposables.

Now, the interest of the citizens was sparked. Still, they didn't want to think that Layland wouldn't use the Geas as a way to control them.

"The flimsy Barrier it gives you is not what makes the Geas special. If you meet someone as capable as the crippled Niles Brontes, you will die even with its protection," Layland explained, earning a bemused hum from the citizens.

"This Geas notifies me and everyone who is given the authority to monitor you whenever you are in danger. The spark earlier doesn't indicate the activation of the Barrier but the fact that we have been notified of your predicament. We will come to your rescue as fast as we can. When we fail, which is undesirable, we will know who kills you and be able to track him down."

As the citizens looked at each other, Layland solemnly added, "Your lives have worth. We won't waste them on unnecessary killing. Anyone who kills you, whether he is a Cursed Creation or a human shan't go unpunished. Creating an environment where peace is assured is impossible but I am optimistic that very few of you will die in vain."

Layland's sure tone made something in the people's chest tingle. They could see his horns crystal clear. His calm yet overwhelming aura that sent shivers down their spine didn't give them the impression that he was someone good. Despite that, they couldn't help thinking he would be someone worthy to bow their heads to.

"A lot of you are conflicted about what to do, meanwhile, you can easily bow your head to someone you can never see and believe everything he says—God," Celia exclaimed, shocking the people greatly.

"Lord Layland is not a benevolent person, yet he is an outstanding leader. If you aim for prosperity, then you shall let him take you under his wings. Afraid not of being condemned by God. All you have heard up till now has never been the words of God but the blabbering of someone who claims to know God," she emphasized.

"Should he condemn you for having a good life, then God is the greatest hypocrite. He proclaims himself to be the most benevolent, yet forbids us to be happy. He has made a lot of contradictory statements that you should question each one of his words now. Think to yourself; is God the being you know?"

Dramatically tightening her grip on her staff, with a solemn look on her face, Celia whispered, "Maybe, God doesn't even exist in the very first place. What if he is just a concept created by some people to control us?"

Although she whispered it, everyone could hear what she said clearly. Their eyes widened as the light of enlightenment entered their eyes. They had had the same thought in the past but they had never had the gall to entertain it because of their piety. Now that even the Holy Maiden herself doubted whom she had been looking up to, their faith began to crumble.

It was traumatizing to realize that they had been believing the empty words of someone who didn't even exist and letting them control their lives for years. They had done a lot of dubious things for the sake of "truth" that their "God" propagated and recalling it made their stomach churn.

As they turned to Layland, they clenched their fists in indignation. They were well aware of their weakness—they knew they were no more than pawns to be sacrificed in the grand scheme.

They couldn't believe anyone anymore. They had lived in "peace" for all these years, adopting a massive scam as their way of life, so they were sceptical if this time would be different.

"I don't ask you to like me or believe in me," Layland exclaimed, gaining the attention of the humans. "However, I am going to show you the truth that your God has been hiding. You may still not like me but I can guarantee you will question your worldview after spending some time living alongside us."

Unbeknownst to the people, Layland was suggesting them. He was mildly manipulating their minds and no one realized it. There were also a lot of competent Warriors present but even then, only two of them—Eliseus and Lemius—could somehow tell what was going on. Layland was utilizing Geas like no one ever did before and he was good at it.

"I don't ask you to show your undying love to me—I don't need it. All I want is for you to cooperate fully. After some time, maybe you can see why I am better than your ruler and his predecessors. At that time, I wish you could fully trust me and integrate completely into the new society that I created."

As soon as Layland stopped speaking, the place turned silent. Either those who were there or those who watched the broadcast of the official takeover through Scenery Marbles stared at Layland silently as they dealt with the strange feeling in their chests.

They still couldn't tell if the Demon could be trusted but they could tell from his eyes that he would bring a great positive change to Antares. They were sure they could prosper under his rule but they still couldn't put their trust in him as an individual—a very conflicting feeling.

In this situation, they decided to bet. Raising their hands, one by one, they clapped their hands. It wasn't loud, at first; however, as soon as the people whose homeland Layland liberated himself joined in by cheering enthusiastically, the place became rowdy.

The citizens got emotional after some time. Happiness overwhelmed them as they thought of the golden age that Layland would take them to.

Like this, Layland got everyone under control.

….

Time passed in the blink of an eye. Five days had passed since the official takeover. Monsters that lived far away from the Verniculos Kingdom migrated to Antares and left their small territories behind. The humans were still afraid to interact with the Monsters but it was mostly the adults. The curious kids found it easier with the Monsters.

Layland had been sorting out the treasures of Antares for the last five days. He kept the Relics that he was interested in which were mostly Holy Relics and sent those he was not to the Verniculos Kingdom. When Valeria asked why he did that, he told her so that the Kingdom's Treasure Vault would never get empty.

As for luxury products, he handed half of them over to Hadrian to sell. No one knew that the Black Merchant originated from Antares, so they were still willing to trade with it. It was the only way for Antares to get supplies. Things were going well; out of the luxuries handed to them, the Merchants had sold three fourth of them.

What Layland had to do left was devise a plan to keep the economy of Antares running. It wasn't a hard task, fortunately. Antares had a lot of sectors he could develop and a lot of commodities to sell. Without corruption, economic growth would be seen in no time.

Things would have been better if he didn't have to mind the movement of the Temple. Much to his amusement, all of them were extremely enthusiastic about cutting his neck.