On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

“That…worked out smoothly. Too smoothly, if I may add.”

Outside the coffee shop, the bewildered Abigail turns to her friend, Layland Kleinhaus–me. I don’t know what she was expecting but she is genuinely bemused by how things have developed.

“I didn’t know you were a good talker,” she says, which is a valid point. “Also, what was that–the thing that you did in the office? You use Dark Magic?”

“That was just my friend, Teanosvera, helping me smooth things up.”

“…can you say that again?”

“Tea–“

“That legendary Forest Spirit in Amizanima Forest?”

“Yeah.”

“Absurd.”

Thinking about what I have managed to do, now, I do agree with Abigail they are quite absurd. I survived an Earth Eater’s attack and got Luxia. I took the lead (somehow) of my first Conquest Mission and we got a new territory under control. I formed a friendship with the Dark Elf’s Royalty, we got another territory, and I got Teanosvera.

I don’t think any of them are amazing because of how much I enjoyed the struggle to achieve them. I, too, don’t think they are achievements because none of them is something that I planned; I plan to exact revenge on those bastards–this is what I am going to consider an achievement later.

If these “achievements” were told to the past me, he would undoubtedly feel complacent and flop…or maybe not. Hatred is a strong drive. As someone who contains hatred in himself, I know.

The past me was wild. Hatred was his sole motivation to live. If he was informed about what I would be capable of in the future–if he was given the certainty of what he could achieve, I am sure he would train harder and die more. He would do anything to increase his odds to exact his revenge faster.

“Don’t let your anger drive you,” is what Ignio told me. Bottling up your anger is not something good to do but to let it dictate you is the worst thing you can do with it.

From Ignio, I have learned that controlling your anger doesn’t mean forcefully calming yourself down; it is letting yourself get angry in a cold way. You can butcher people out of spite but you have to still be able to see that person and understand what you have done when everything ends.

The past me was but a vengeful vessel called Layland Kleinhaus. He cared about nothing but his hatred toward his bullies. He believed he had another goal after achieving his ultimate goal; however, deep inside, he knew he wouldn’t know what to do afterward. The moment the anger withered; he would be nothing but an empty vessel.

“I guess I have to thank my shitty luck when I was still on Earth,” I mutter, baffling Abigail.

“What relevance does it even have?” she asks.

I liked to think that the world hated me for all the unpleasant things that had happened to me; I used to always curse the world. Moving into a different world, I gain power and experienced quite a lot of good things despite the ordeals. I think this is the world’s way to compensate me for letting its counterpart give me no luck.

“Hmph! What a funny thought I have,” I scoff. “Well, nothing you can’t get when you are ready to bleed and make people bleed, Abby. Just know that.”

“O-Oh…okay,” she responds, sounding slightly bemused. “What are we going to do now?”

Looking down at the Sound Crystal, I answer, “It is time to begin our conquest…. But, first, let’s go get the girls.” Abigail nods her head and then follows me as I walk. Recalling something, I curiously ask, “Are you afraid of coming to the Verniculos Kingdom?”

“Huh? No…. By the way, does that mean you serve the Ninth Demon King Ilschevar Verniculos?”𝑜𝒱𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

“Well, yes. That aside, why don’t you just go to the Kingdom instead of following me around?”

Abigail pauses for a few seconds, thinking about her answer, instead of immediately answering. “Because…we get to have a journey with you and spend more time with you. Is that enough reason?”

“I guess.” I shrug and then solemnly say, “I have committed arson once. It was Acadia village, the place where I killed Mike. If you ask whether it was necessary, I would say yes; but if you know why it was, I believe you won’t agree.”

“Why was it necessary?” Abigail says calmly. She doesn’t sound like she is expecting something.

“Because I need to do it for the coverup of the real act…to create the character called Arsonist that will draw eyes away from the Hero Hunter Layland Kleinhaus.”

“I see…”

“We are going to do a lot of things like that,” I warn.

Abigail says nothing; she stays quiet for a few seconds before pulling my hand and dragging me to a quiet, dark alley. As I quirk my eyebrow in wonder, she takes her helmet off. She then hesitantly extends her hand toward my mask, prompting me to bow down and let her take it off.

She stares into my eyes silently as I stare her back. At first, I don’t get what she is doing but, the longer I look into her eyes, the more I can’t help my upper lip from rising.

I see it–the look that I am extremely familiar with. It is the look that always greets me whenever I look in the mirror. It is the look that tells what words can’t describe–the silent witness of the dark time. It is the look of a killer–one that knows no more how to value the lives of the people she doesn’t know.

“I know, Layland. I know what we are going to do. This world corrupts us without us knowing it,” Abigail says neutrally. “We have long thrown away our previous identities. We have accepted our new selves–our disgustingly selfish and cold selves. We have accepted the fact that we are corrupted.”

She extends her hand and caresses my cheek. “It is painful to see you end up like us too. No…you are embracing your darkness. You let it swallow you but still be in control. You still have your personality, whereas we don’t…. Therefore, let us…”

Abigail tiptoes and brings her face closer to mine. I don’t panic but I am conflicted about what to do. I contemplate for a few seconds and then decide to be a good friend. I lower my head and allow her to kiss me…in the cheek is what I intended but she goes for the lips.

Staying that way for a couple of seconds, she averts my gaze as she retreats. Being a sensible friend, I say nothing and act as if nothing happened. Taking her hand after she wore her helmet, I drag her out of the alley. None of us speaks a word until we find the girls.

“Did something happen?” Millonia asks as she sniffs the air. “I can smell something in the air.”

“What kind of breed are you?” I ask.

“Fuck you! I am not a dog…. I can be your dog, though–if you know what I mean.” She winks as she looks at me with a knowing look.

‘The sexual innuendo has been getting intense lately,’ I shake my head helplessly. I wonder if that night’s happening did something to Millonia’s brain. She is a pervert from the beginning but she has never been this direct. I should be careful to not release my pheromone when she is nearby.

“Anyway, when are you going to stop holding hands?”

At Millonia’s words, both Abigail and I look down. We then look at Millonia and shrug nonchalantly.

“It is not that weird,” I retort.

“Good friends often do something like this,” adds Abigail.

The talk about what we are going to do is brought up afterward. The moment I say we are about to depart, the girls react violently, saying that they haven’t enjoyed the Dukedom enough. Being a selfish leader, I, of course, don’t care…. Well, at least, until the idiots tell me they haven’t eaten.

I agree to stay a bit longer here, in the end, but no longer than the time they need to finish their food. Filling your stomach before you go to war is important; I wonder what they have been doing for the last half an hour.

We head to a fairly packed inn called Theresa to eat. I chose this inn because there are enough people for us to blend in but not seem suspicious and the smell I can smell from it tells me the cook cooks well enough.

When we enter the inn, the smell gets stronger, making some of the girls hungrier. I think Millonia still cooks better–so does the person herself–but I am certain the food this inn serves will be easily better than the last we had in Anades Barony.

We sit at the table and order the food. When the waitress has left, I brief them about what we are going to do next.

“We are going to catch another Hero in Axheria March. Before that, however, we are going to liberate the nearby area we can liberate and destroy those that we can’t. I want Abby and Gabby to participate only in the liberation. We need to keep you hidden to protect Shadow’s image.”

Since the two are willing to actively help me, it is better to include them in my scheme. They are going to be Shadow’s right hand–the middlemen who connect the oppressed people with Shadow.