On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Thud!

As the heads touch the ground and then roll toward the tax collector, the crowd gulp audibly. They plant their shocked gaze at me, probably wondering if I have lost my mind at the same time.

The tax collector looks at me silently for a couple of seconds, mouth agape. He is simply too bewildered by the situation to come up with something.

When he opens his mouth, he can only say, “You…” He trails off and closes his mouth. He looks at the men he brought with him that are now dead and then looks at me in bewilderment again. This time, though, he is brave enough to glare and shout at me.

“What do you think you have done, peasant!? Don’t you know this is considered a rebellion against the Marquess? Are you courting death?” His face turns red as his blood rises to his head. “Fucking hell, these savages! Do they think with their dicks?”

I scoff at his muttering. “Funny for you to say that. What happened showed the otherwise, after all.”

The tax collector snorted contemptuously and then takes out his sword. He points it at me as he shouts, “Kneel and kiss my shoe! I may let the offence slide shall you be willing to do that.”

The sheer stupidity of the insignificant bastard before me is as amusing as it is irritating. Even after what I did to his men, he still can’t tell that he won’t stand a chance against me. No, I believe he can tell. He must be too prideful to accept the hurtful truth.

This kind of person can survive for so long in this world because of two reasons: first, they know whom to prey upon; second, the people in their environment are stupid. In his case, I believe he belongs to the latter.

“Young man, just do as he says! Your journey is still long—don’t waste your life here.”

“Oh no, young Adventurer…just do what he wants. It is very painful to see such a kindhearted young man like you die here.”

“Lord Alan, please, forgive this young man!”

The people, even though they have seen a glimpse of my prowess, still come to my rescue. None of them considers the scenario where I stand for myself and triumph because what they have seen so far are tragedies and yet another failure.

The tax collector, Alan, is a frog living under his coconut shell. What makes him different from any other frogs who do the same, though, is the fact that he knows how to lure others into his shell, forcing them to see the world that he sees and shielding them from the sky.

Well, no matter how short-sighted the people are, at least, they are very caring. He who suffers knows pain; they don’t want to see others end up suffering like them. What a unique bunch, indeed. Given how crap they have been treated, it is commendable of them to still possess sympathy.

‘If I was still human, my faith in humanity would definitely be restored,’ I muse funnily. “Well, why don’t we see how far you can back up your words? Rebellion? Yeah, you may think it that way. Let’s see how your Marquess will handle this.”

“Insolent!” Alan the idiot shouts. “I will enjoy your horrified look when my father hangs you!”

No wonder this insignificant fool can get the job; he is the son of the Marquess. I don’t know how great his father is but I can tell his father has misguided him. The idiot doesn’t know when he must bow to heaven to avoid its ire.

Smirking as he comes at me, I stomp the ground, causing an earth spike to emerge out of it. It is rapidly going at him, targeting his side. He managed to dodge the spike when it is a hair’s breadth away from piercing his side. He is very smug about it as if he has just done something impressive.

When he arrives before me, he draws a quarter circle with his sword to increase the momentum of his swing. I take out a Yellow Rank short sword a moment before his sword hits my side and blocks it with the dagger.

Clank!

I expected him to be surprised that I can block his “splendid” attack; betraying my expectation, however, he smirks excitedly. His eyes are screaming, “Gotcha!” as ice rapidly covers his sword. I didn’t expect that in the slightest but…it is nothing amazing.

Shatter!

“What!?”

When my short sword easily destroys his sword to pieces, he looks at me as if he is looking at a cat barking like a dog. He genuinely believes such a thing is impossible, which makes me wonder just what he has learned throughout his life.

Quickly retreating, panic decorates his face. He shoots me some ice balls as he does that but all of them don’t even tickle me when they hit me.

I kick the ground once and appear right before him. His eyes widen in shock, meanwhile, his body instantly freezes. He loses his balance but he pays no mind to it. His eyes are planted on my short sword as it is rapidly going toward his neck.

“No, ple—”

Slash!

My short sword easily decapitates him. Not a single trail of blood is left on it as it passes through his neck even before the blood in his veins bursts out. His head touches the ground with a thud and the place is silent for a few seconds. Soon after, the people’s gasp reverberates.

“Young man…what have you done!? You are going to invite death upon yourself.”

“Young man, quick, run! The guards are on our side—they will help you!”

I am sure they know that they are going to suffer from the consequences of my action but none of them thinks about themselves. The people are surrounding me, so no one can see me as I escape.

If I was still human, these people would be the reason why I remained human; it would have been very touching. Unfortunately, for the current me, I see them not as kind people but as naïve and dumb people.

It is good for them to behave this way, still. They make me unwilling to sacrifice them in my plan because I am more intrigued about how they will fare afterwards.

“Calm down, everyone. There is no need to panic,” I say softly as I release my Mana slightly to silence the people. “Only those who know they are wrong who tremble. Do you believe you are in the wrong?”

None of them says anything to my question but the answer is written clearly in their eyes. I chuckle faintly at that and call Millonia who has been watching from the hotel to come over.

When she stands before me, I pick up the idiot Alan’s head and hand it to her. She quirks her eyebrow at me, meanwhile, the people look at me in worry.

“Deliver this to the Marquess of this March. He has been spitting at these people from his horse for too long. It is time to drag him down and piss on him.”

Millonia still quirks her eyebrow even after I explained what she should do. I know that she is asking me what I am planning but I play dumb and tell her to immediately accomplish her task.

The people now look at me in pity. Even without them telling me, I can tell they are traumatized by the outcome of the similar happenings that happened before. I don’t want to assure them but to commit to my act, I say a couple of things…. All of them are propaganda, of course.

“I was born in Brontes Dukedom—the other Brontes Dukedom. You may have heard of what happened to my village and I have some truth to share…”

Starting from the underhanded deal the King of Antares made with Ilschevar, I plant the seed of doubt and water it as I talk. Their eyes widen in utter shock but, at the same time, they are enlightened.

Their eyes are “opened” as the flower of doubt blooms. They now see the “truth” that I want them to see. Their thin trust in the people who govern over them becomes even thinner until it eventually disappears. They stop to hesitate and now are eager to fight for justice.

“I am sick of those corrupted bastards. They make it as if we need their protection but they are just using the Cursed Creation’s existence as an excuse to rule over us. This is why I want to liberate the suppressed region. I have seen we suffered more from our kin than we do from the Cursed Creation.”

Gazing at each of the people’s faces silently to even dramatize the situation, one of the people speaks up not long after. He is the guard who received my gold coin before the gate.𝚘𝗏𝐞𝓁xt.𝐂𝑜𝗆

“What you are doing…do you have another reason for it?”

“I want to make a world where my descendants can live without being ruled by anyone. I want them to be free, so they can do whatever they want, of course, as long as it is not a crime,” I answer with a light, fake chuckle in the end.

The guard looks at me silently for a few seconds before saying, “Then, let me help you in realizing it.”

I never considered this method until we visited Averia County. After hearing the story of that poor Adventurer, I realized that tearing the Antares Kingdom apart from the inside as I hunt the Heroes is not a bad idea.

Using an unknown Adventurer who wants justice as a premise, I will “liberate” the suppressed territories. I will lead the rebellion discreetly, becoming the shadow who gives the people hope.

Rather than a cover-up, it has become another mission by the time I know it.