On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

“Azhdaha…you hid it well, punk,” Quetzalcoatl muttered as he watched Layland uncover his body. “He is not bad, but you will be stupid to assume the power he passed down to you will be enough to take me down. He was feared, but he never dared to mess with me.”

Layland furrowed his eyebrows lightly. Quetzalcoatl’s boundless arrogance was getting on his nerves. He wouldn’t mind it usually, but the old Dragon had been all talk since the beginning. It irked him that Quetzalcoatl could only hurl insults and did nothing to start the fight. He knew better to be careful, though, so he didn’t initiate the fight.

“For you to think that I am relying on Azhdaha’s legacy is amusing. Do I look like someone who relies on Draconic power? There is a reason why Demons triumphed and Dragons were forced to hide in their little plastic world. We are superior.”

Layland’s sneer almost made Quetzalcoatl lose control. His entourage would have even attacked Layland if he hadn’t held them back. Quetzalcoatl was an old Dragon. As prideful as he was, he knew not to deny reality. Young Dragons tended to make a fool of themselves because of their unwillingness to accept reality and he couldn’t afford to do that.

Layland was correct: Demons were superior to Dragons. Dragons might have an absurd growth in their early years, but they were close to stopping growing once they passed adulthood. Demons didn’t have as much head start as Dragons did, but they never stopped growing. Therefore, once the Demons reached maturity, Dragons could only dream to defeat them.

In the past, it was the Dragons’ reason to kill as many Demon offspring as possible. Many of the adult Demons could no longer be defeated; therefore, they couldn’t let more younglings become one. When they failed to do that, they chose to surrender. They were well aware of the fact that they could no longer overtake the Demons. For the first time, Dragons lowered their heads and accepted the reality.

With that being said though, Layland was not in a position to be confident. He was still young and not a threat to Dragons yet.

“I won’t refute that,” Quetzalcoatl said, shocking his entourage. “Though, I can surely say you are inferior to us currently. You better watch your attitude before you regret it.”

“I won’t refute what you said about me, but I will still warn you. You don’t want to make an enemy out of me.”

Layland started his words nonchalantly but ended them solemnly. He was not trying to be intimidating. He meant what he said. For him, stronger opponents were nothing but his means to get stronger. They were crops waiting to be reaped. He was confident in his victory against the Dragons, but he couldn’t say it would be a complete win. After all, he would lose quite reliable allies that way.

“Old Man, Layland, stop it! Seriously, stop it!” Aurelia shouted as she flew into the sky. “You guys are wasting time by arguing instead of discussing. You don’t even know the problem that causes you to be at each other’s throats.”

“He is a stuck-up dumb old fart.”

“He is an arrogant snotty punk.”

The immediate answer the two gave Aurelia at the same time turned her speechless for a moment. She then scowled and glared at the two. Though, her glare only worked on Quetzalcoatl as the old Dragon flinched slightly. Layland remained unfazed as he always was in any situation.

“You could become a father and son with how close you are,” Aurelia remarked with a sigh, earning a ‘not a chance’ snort from them. “Why don’t we discuss things civilly? First, let’s get your fierce aura out of the way. I know the two of you purposely let your Mana pressure not affect me, but I still can feel it. I mean, it is hard to ignore the shattered ground below you.”

The two heard what Aurelia said but didn’t move. They kept staring at each other until Quetzalcoatl backed down. He didn’t lower his head to Layland but to Aurelia. He commanded his entourage to assume their human form as he did it. A few seconds passed, and the fourteen Dragons became thirteen middle-aged men and one elderly man.

Layland also deactivated his True Form but kept his Dragon wings. Aurelia nodded at the scene and told them to get down. She then hugged Layland’s arm, forcing him to descend immediately. Quetzalcoatl’s eyebrow twitched at the scene, but he didn’t say anything. In the next moment, all of them were standing on the ground, still glaring at each other.

“This is why I don’t like to meet Demons in my human form,” Quetzalcoatl grumbled under his breath. He didn’t like that Layland was taller than him, which made Layland seem more intimidating.

“Now, why don’t we resolve things peacefully? We just had a massive battle. We lost a lot of people and we don’t need to add more. Furthermore, both of you won’t get anything out of it,” Aurelia said in exasperation.

“There is an easy way out of this. Follow me back home,” Quetzalcoatl retorted.

“What? No. I don’t want to return to that place. The outside world is a much better place.”

“Not until God resolves his problem with the Demons. Only endless battles will decorate this world until then.”

“Why do you always focus on the bad things, Old Man?”

“Because it is reality, Aurelia.” Quetzalcoatl shot Aurelia a bitter gaze. “It is the truth…”

Aurelia opened her mouth, trying to say something but found no words came out. As she did her best to form words, Layland’s hand landed on her shoulder. She got out of her and looked up to meet Layland’s gaze. Layland immediately shook his head and nudged her slightly forward. She could tell what he was suggesting and she didn’t like it.

In truth, Layland wasn’t giving up on her. He was simply choosing the best decision. He wanted to take Quetzalcoatl to his side. The current Quetzalcoatl was impossible to coerce, so he had to take a step back. If allowing Quetzalcoatl to take Aurelia with him would make him calm down, so be it. He was sure Aurelia would be able to persuade her grandfather to join his side.

Should he do it the rough way, they would end up as enemies. He would win, but it would still be his loss.

“After promising me to take responsibility, now you are going to dump me!?” Aurelia snapped. “Are you backing out now that I am no longer useful to you?”

Aurelia’s emotional outburst surprised everyone. The Dragons were slightly glad that she got angry with Layland but didn’t think it was a good thing. Aurelia was an independent person. Whenever she got sick of everyone, she would leave them and live by herself. Should it be the case, her breakup with Layland would also be a nightmare to Quetzalcoatl.

Therefore, the said Dragon glared at Layland. What his eyes said was clear: “Do something; you, breadcrumbs!”

Layland sighed lightly. “Now, I am afraid of what will happen when you are pregnant. Your mood swings are already terrifying as they are.” As the stunned Aurelia digested his words, he ruffled her hair. “Going home with your grandfather doesn’t mean I am dumping you. I can go with you and visit you anytime. Besides, that also doesn’t mean you have to stay there eternally. Your grandfather was just asking you to visit your home.”

Quetzalcoatl wasn’t very fond of Layland’s interpretation of his words, but he still commended the Demon because his granddaughter visibly lightened up. It also hurt him slightly that Aurelia listened to someone else more than she did him, but he was happy as long as she didn’t hate him.

“It used to be my home,” Aurelia corrected cheerfully. “Now, my home is wherever you are, Layland.”

Quetzalcoatl almost choked on his spit. He then shot Layland a betrayed look only to be met with the same look. He realized, at that moment, that both of them couldn’t quite understand Aurelia. Though, Quetzalcoatl understood her better than Layland did. He had watched her grow for more than a thousand years. He could tell she was smitten by Layland and he was not very amused by it.

“Grandpa, I don’t want to go home but I will visit the Dragon World.”

“Y-You finally call me grandpa after a millennium.” Quetzalcoatl’s lips quivered; his heart filled with emotions. “I am very glad to hear it.”

“Right…”𝒩𝐎𝑽𝗅xt.𝑪𝗈𝓜

Aurelia smiled awkwardly as she watched Quetzalcoatl wipe his tears. He wasn’t the Quetzalcoatl she knew—at least, not the one she thought she knew. The Quetzalcoatl that was carved in her mind was irritable and paranoid. The Quetzalcoatl before her was like a grandfather who missed his grandchild.

“Very well. I will allow you to roam the world freely like you always do, but this punk has to beat me in hand-to-hand combat.”

Aurelia immediately frowned. She didn’t know her freedom was a commodity. She didn’t like the fact that Quetzalcoatl was treating it as if it was tradeable. She didn’t buy her. She could do whatever she liked without fulfilling certain criteria. Therefore, she opened her mouth. Before she could refute Quetzalcoatl’s words, though, Layland spoke up.

“Why don’t we add another agreement to that? If I beat you, Dragons should ally with us.”

Quetzalcoatl scoffed. “Let’s not limit it to only hand-to-hand combat, then. You also can’t assume your True Form and I won’t assume my Dragon Form either.”

“Agree.”

Layland’s instantaneous acceptance took Quetzalcoatl slightly by surprise. He quickly recovered from his surprise and returned Layland’s excited smile with his sinister smile.