On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Upon entering the palace that was previously owned by her, both Layland and Haletha stopped in their tracks. While Layland was amused by the scene in front of him, Haletha couldn't help gritting her teeth in anger.

Seeing hundreds of her citizens armed with weapons, she instantly recalled her conversation with Layland before departing to Lysimork. Those who wielded weapons would be considered enemies, and thus were allowed to be killed.

"What do you think you are doing, you coward?" she exclaimed in indignation. "Get out of your hide and let them go!"

"Why don't you surrender and present me your head, Haletha?" Iorael retorted. "That is a cheap price, don't you think? The head of the worthless harlot who has betrayed her kin in exchange for the lives of 130 Dark Elves."

As Haletha gnashed her teeth, Layland looked at Iorael with a sneer. Although he had heard about the atrocity Dark Elves could commit, he just didn't expect someone like Iorael existed amongst them.

"Heh… Aren't you just a human with pointy ears?" he remarked.

Readying Rexorem, he was about to dash at the civilian Elves when Haletha held his hand. "Please, wait. I am begging you—they do nothing wrong."

"This is not what we discussed, Haletha." Layland frowned lightly. "You know the rule: those who wield weapons are capable of hurting themselves and the others. I don't care if they are innocent—the moment they chose to listen to that bastard, that is their end."

"I can convince them!"

Layland looked sceptically at Haletha at her remark. He had seen the hatred the people were giving her, so he was absolute they wouldn't hear whatever she was going to say.

He turned his head to Eliseus. She immediately nodded her head, knowing what she should do even before he said anything.

"Fine. Now, you can let go of my hand," Layland said calmly. "When this is over, you can hold it as long as you want. As a bonus, I will even let you hug me."

Flustered, Haletha let go of Layland's hand. "N-No, that is not necessary." As soon as she did that, however, he immediately stormed off. "Layland, no!"

Haletha wanted to chase after Layland so much, but someone was holding her in place—Eliseus. Said Demon merely put her hand on her shoulder, but her entire body immediately felt as heavy as she was carrying hundreds of pounds worth of luggage.

She couldn't help widening her eyes at the betrayal of her friend and dreaded the fate of her the civilian Elves who knew nothing about the truth of the conflict.

"Embrace yourself! Beware of the Demon!"

The frantic shout of the civilians could be heard clearly by her. She knew it would become their last words—Layland wasn't so benevolent to give mercy to them.

Each moment passed so slow in her eyes. The moment Layland swung his sword at the civilians, she could clearly see the look of horror in the people's eyes; none of them looked like they had ever expected such an outcome.

Iorael himself, too, was also surprised. 'Impossible! This shouldn't have happened!'

Swish!

Spurt!

Like Haletha, Iorael stared at the scene in horror. Sixty Dark Elves were cut in a swing. It wasn't that amazing considering they were merely civilians, but the amount of gore was certainly traumatizing. The two Dark Elves were so speechless, they couldn't say anything.

"No!" shouted Haletha as the bodies dropped to the ground.

"N-No! Don't come any closer!"

"D-Demon! G-Go away!"

Uncaring to the terrified people's plea, Layland, who was already bathed in the red blood of the civilians he had killed, kept approaching those who hadn't died yet. He had never let a single droplet of blood tarnish his clothes, but for that moment he was willing to do it.

'Good, they are now fearing for their lives. This should be enough to make them let go of their weapons.'

He, of course, did what he did for a reason. Although he didn't mind killing all of the civilians, it would only result in Haletha bearing hatred for him in the future, which wasn't something desirable.

To eliminate the possibility of her turning all of the Dark Elves against them in the future, he needed to maintain his current relationship with Haletha, which, in his opinion was quite good.

"Drop your weapons, and bow to your Queen—the true ruler of Lysimork. A clown can never save you from your demise, but nothing your ruler can do," Layland shouted overbearingly.

Without thinking twice, they immediately dropped their weapons and scurried away. They were rushing to Haletha's side, and immediately kowtowed when they were in front of him.

"We have sinned, Your Majesty! We will be your slaves eternally, but please pardon our lowly lives!"

Eliseus immediately let go of her hold on Haletha's shoulder and joined Layland.  Haletha remained rooted in her spot, eyes glassy as she looked at the civilians Layland had "spared."

Upon reaching Layland's side, Eliseus muttered a good job to him. Although he had killed more than necessary, he had done his job splendidly regardless.

"How did you do that?" Iorael stared at Layland intensely. "How were you able to kill all of them?"

"Are you asking me how I can snatch candy from a baby? Come on, who can't?"

"Answer me, Demon!"

Although Iorael couldn't see what Layland's mask was hiding underneath it, he could still know Layland was sneering at him. He gnashed his teeth in anger and clutched the handle of his rapier tighter than before.

"Ah, are you talking about that Barrier?" Layland exclaimed in mock realization. "You surprised me with that, you know? I didn't expect you to care that much about them—well, it had failed to stop me anyway."

The original plan that Iorael had thought of was surprising Layland with the Barrier he had put before the civilians to protect them, then killing him in one blow. Not only that Layland hadn't been surprised, however, he also had managed to destroy it in one swing.

He had been ready to bet on the lives of the civilians, but he had expected his plan to succeed. Because of that, the moment he saw Layland cut the civilians cleanly, he couldn't help but be shocked.

"Iorael, here is some advice for you. One thing you should know from fighting a Demon is that you should never use a hostage," Layland sneered. "For Demons, as long as their opponent is dead, even if they have to kill their family, it will still be considered a win."

Although Layland didn't necessarily deliver it powerfully, his words still stunned pretty much everyone there, except for his fellow Demon, Eliseus. In fact, Layland himself was slightly shocked to find himself able to say something like that.

"Well, now that I have become a Demon, I know how individualistic we are. It's not that surprising, to be honest." Still, quickly, enough he shrugged it off.

Focusing his attention on the front, Layland smirked when he saw Elrohir jumping at him at Iorael's command. He swung Rexorem as if he was swinging a baseball bat, then activated [Great Impact] just a moment before it hit Elrohir's mace.

CLANK!

BOOM!

The floor below him immediately cratered as soon as Rexorem blocked Elrohir's mace. Him being able to block Elrohir's mace aside, the fact that he could remain unbuckled even though the extremely sturdy floor had cratered was bewildering.

"How is it possible?!" Elrohir exclaimed in bewilderment.

"You should've asked who ruined the head of your boss," Layland casually commented.

Amassing Mana in his hand before condensing it, Layland thrust his fist into the centre of Elrohir's abdomen. He used [Death Blow], which enhanced his powerful raw punch—his punch without using Mana—fifty times stronger.

Receiving such a vicious blow, the innards of said Dark Elf that were already damaged were turned into complete mush. He couldn't help keeling over, letting go of his mace in the process, allowing Layland to take advantage of it.

Raising Rexorem to the air swiftly at the same time he stepped aside, Layland then swung it down at the same time he activated [Great Impact]. The great sword was descending rapidly, giving the burliest Dark Elf ever alive no chance to escape.

"Elrohir, move away!" Iorael shouted.

His shout, unfortunately, went unheard. Elrohir had already accepted his fate, so he didn't even bother trying to escape; instead, he went to hug Layland's feet to hold him in his place.

Slash!

He was too slow, however, so the moment he managed to hug Layland's feet, his upper body was already separated from his lower body. Regardless, he got a huge grin on his face as his consciousness gradually faded—his goal had been achieved.

"Kill that Demon!"

"For Lord Elrohir—oorah!"

The Guardians, who had been hiding ever since Layland and the others entered the palace, finally showed themselves. All of them were pointing a dagger at Layland; the tips of their daggers were shining due to the amount of Mana condensed there.

"Layland, move away!"

"No, don't block it! You won't be able to withstand the palace's defense mechanism."

While both Eliseus and Haletha were shouting urgently, Layland stabbed Rexorem into the ground. He spread his hand as if a lunatic gladly receiving the blessing of Death God, and did nothing as the golden beam inched closer towards him.

When the beam was already a hair's breadth away from Layland, something that baffled all of them happened: it was mysteriously dispersed. In the next moment, his deep laugh echoed through the room.