On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Morning quickly comes—the previous night’s event passes in a blink. I couldn’t bring myself to sleep, but it was because I was still too energetic to.

Sitting in the sofa in the living room, I stare silently at the floor that was previously littered with body parts and pooled with blood. It is clean now because I have burned the bodies to ashes and clean the blood with Magic.

I am not even sure if doing it will do some help to the kid who I have chosen to spare, but I did it anyway because I believe it will make her less traumatized.

Waking up in an empty house in an empty village is nightmarish enough in my opinion, so I hope not seeing her parents’ dead bodies upon waking up will help lessen her burden greatly.

“Pfft. Why am I even thinking about it? Will humans ever think about this kind of thing before killing a Monster child or a Demon child? Have I ever thought how pitiful those Monster kids I killed in games? No.”

Why should I care?

As soon as those words fill my head, an urge to kill the kid I have chosen to spare springs up. I am surprised by that, so I immediately stomp the urge down, and stop thinking about the matter entirely.

Moving my gaze to my mask that I put on the table, I put it on as soon as I feel someone coming to the living room. It is Vibiane, who looks like she has gotten a good night sleep.

“Good morning, Layland.”

“… Why are you beaming? Have you done something illicit to the kid?”

“What do you think I would do to such a child?!” Vibiane answered with horror riddling her face.

I faintly chuckle at Vibiane’s reaction, and stand up from the sofa. I nod my head at Vibiane, then both of us walk toward the door silently.

None of us talks about the kid that she has left behind in the bedroom. I don’t even think about what will happen to the kid when the kid wakes up, and I believe she does too.

Thinking about that, after all, makes matters complicated. In Vibiane’s case, she might chose to be crazy and take the kid somewhere away, but in my case, I will immediately kill the kid due to how bothersome her existence has become.

Creak.

Everyone’s eyes lay on us as soon as we open the door. Judging by their knowing look, I can easily conclude the bunch of imbeciles have successfully taken a completely false conclusion of what has actually happened.

I don’t even bother to correct them—I know that look. That is the look that belongs to the people who will never listen to the truth, because they have chosen to believe what they think is the truth.

“Don’t blush, idiot,” I say to Vibiane. “You look purple when you do.”

“I-I don’t! Why should I?!”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask your perverted mind?”

Shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly as I ignore the silent Vibiane, I walk toward Eliseus as soon as I spot her. She nods her head at me, and judging from how she gazes at me, she knows nothing has happened between me and Vibiane.

“You reek of human,” Eliseus remarks.

“… Is it that noticeable?” I quirk my eyebrow.

“Up close, yes, but not from afar.”

“I see…”

“Have you just chosen to spare a human?” Eliseus quirks her eyebrow in, what I say, interest. “Just so you know, unless you raise them, they won’t remember your kindness.”

“Don’t worry. I can guarantee you she doesn’t even remember my appearance, and I am also not hoping for her to return my kindness somewhere in the future.”

“… Did you erase her memory?”

I am a little bit surprised how quick Eliseus figures everything thing out. I guess that is the opportunity of being a veteran, so I just nod my head without asking if she has ever found herself in a similar situation.

She has told stories about her raising up a couple of human children only to accidentally eat them later, but she hasn’t told any story about her sparing a human child’s life before.

From how she has warned me though, I believe she has ever found herself facing against the human child she had chosen to spare.

“Where are we going now?” I ask.

“We are going to the Amizanima Forest.”

“Amizanima? The Lost Soul Forest?”

Eliseus slightly widens her eyes. “Yes, that is the translation of the name … How did you know about it?”

“The translation? I learn a little bit of Ancient Demonic language.”

“You can read it?”

“Why can’t I?”

I quirk my eyebrow in puzzlement. Eliseus can’t see it obviously, but she can feel my puzzlement; she waves her hand and tells me to forget about it in the next moment.

I am curious about that, but I don’t pursue the matter. It must have something to do with only special people can read Ancient Demonic letters—it is that predictable, so I don’t bother to ask.

“Good morning, Eliseus,” Vibiane says softly when she reaches us.

“Good morning, Vibiane. You look fresh.”

“A-Ah, yes… It’s not because of whatever you think I have done though!”

Blinking her eyes once, Eliseus says, “Okay, but what do you think I think you have done?”

The stupid Monster girl can only open and close her mouth without saying anything, before eventually lowering her head. Her skin turns purple, which means she is blushing heavily due to her own silly thought.

Turning our eyes away from Vibiane, we turn to Velucan as soon as he announces his overwhelming presence. He has just come out of nowhere, but no one seems to be surprised at that.

I think it is something regular—Velucan disappearing and reappearing suddenly. He disappeared to no one knows where last night, after all, and no one seemed to question where he had gone to.

“I hope each one of you has had a good night,” Velucan exclaims. “Be prepared for another long and dangerous journey, and make sure to not do something no one does.”

Velucan’s eyes turn to me. I know he must be referring to what I have done back then that has caused the awakening of an Earth Eater—letting it sense my Mana.

I nod my head at him to make it clear that I know what he is talking about, but I don’t regret what I have done in the slightest. If it wasn’t for that, after all, I wouldn’t have met Luxia.

“Our next destination is Amizanima Forest. It is 1,500 Absitan away from here, so it will take us some time to reach there.”

Absitan is this world’s unit of measurement. According to my simple calculation, which is not as accurate as a machine’s, 1 Absitan equals to 2 miles.𝗈𝑽𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

In other words, the distance between the village and Amizanima Forest is 3,000 miles. We have to travel on foot, so it is definitely going to be a quite long journey.

“We will encounter many dangers in the way, but not as many as the dangers in Amizanima Forest. We can actually take a detour and avoid the forest, but you hate spending too much time in the way, don’t you?”

I look at the reaction of the Warriors. As I expected, all of them nod their head; they prefer an exhilaratingly dangerous journey than a safe one.

“Alright, that’s all I am going to say. Everyone, follow my lead!”

Velucan, surprisingly, ends his speech short. I am glad he knows how time is more important than his crappy speech, but I am also surprised he has enough brain cells to understand that.

With him leading us in the forefront, we march, or rather, run to the west. It is the direction where Velucan says Amizanima Forest is located at.

“Hmm…?”

I feel something staring at my back when we are already close to a mile away from the village my troop mates have ravaged. I turn my head around to look where the stare comes from, and find Vibiane doing the same in the process.

My heart involuntarily tightens as soon as I look behind. I find a little girl tilting her head curiously as she looks at us—me, specifically.

She then looks around in confusion, probably wondering where everyone is. She returns her gaze at me in the next moment as if asking why I am leaving—why she is left behind.

I click my tongue bitterly as soon as I am attacked by the same feeling I have felt after I killed the boy with the Priest. I try to turn my head away from her, only to find that I can’t.

I feel like I have to see something before turning my head away. I don’t know what it is, but as soon as the girl lifts her hand and waves it lightly, I instantly know that is the thing I want to see.

No, it is not a goodbye—it is a blessing. It is her permission that allows me to irresponsibly leave after forcing her to live the new life I have chosen for her.

“Being a Demon is not as easy as I thought, huh?” I muse bitterly.

Immediately turning my head away from the girl, I find Vibiane tearing up in the process.