On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Kicking the floor to dash at Niles, I make a crater in it. My body launches toward him like a bullet—it even bewilders me how fast I have become.

I powerfully swing Rexorem at him, creating a wind blast that reaches him before Rexorem does. Being a veteran, he has a very nice reflex, so he can swiftly block Rexorem, as I expected.

Boom!

Still, blocking is the only thing he can do. Now that we are at the same level—meanings, we have the same amount of Mana—he can no longer withstand my blow that is powered by Great Impact.

He is immediately sent flying to the back, and planted in the wall, like I was just a few moments ago. His eyes widen the moment he registers that he has just been planted in the wall, but he recovers quickly; in a second, he gets out of the wall.

Ignoring his broken bones, he looks at me darkly and says, "How are you still alive? I am sure the Seal that you have put in this place was lifted after I pierced your heart."

"Well, do you think I will answer your question?" I respond.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance as he wipes the blood on his forehead, Niles snaps his broken bone back into place afterwards. He immediately covers and strengthens it with Mana so he can immediately use it.

Fighting in that state as a human must be painful; especially, for those who are not used to pain. Seeing that makes me thankful of the fact that I am already used to pain and have the Demon King's Mark that can revive me when I accidentally die.

"I will not let you live, Demon. I won't let my daughter die unavenged!"

"You are quite optimistic for someone who will die soon." I shake my head faintly at Niles' exclamation.

Although I am sure he will immediately die the moment I swing Rexorem for the second time, that's not why I said he would die soon. His crippled Mana Pool is the reason why.

He had burdened it quite roughly when he was fighting me, and it is on its breaking point now; it is amazing that it can even still hold on until now. He will explode when it breaks, so it is clear to me that he is going to bring me down with him.

I immediately decided it is better to not give him the chance to use Mana at all given the fact. I dash at him using my Footwork Technique, and arrive in front of him at the same time he channels his Mana into his sword.

I swing Rexorem down while simultaneously activating Great Impact to increase the power of my swing. Rexorem rushes down quickly, giving Niles no chance to properly lift his sword to block.

Boom!

Rexorem cuts him and his sword that he has only managed to partially lift in two. Rexorem hits the floor even before the bisected body falls apart, carving a trench that is deep enough to closely split it apart.

Thud!

As the body drops to the ground, his eyes turn to me and give me a shocked look. He likely wants to say something as I can see his lips twitch, but he can't let out his voice for, obviously, biological reasons.

He remains like that for a couple of seconds, until his body eventually stops twitching and his eyes are closed for eternity.

"Oh no...!"

"Aaahhh!!!"

"We are going to die. We are going to die!"

I am about to pay my respect to the person I have killed when I hear the remaining wealthy merchants in the room scream. I have honestly forgot that I haven't killed them yet since they didn't make a lot of noise when we were fighting.

Turning my head to them, they became even more hysteric. They immediately bang on the door in panic, probably thinking doing so will open it.

Scratching the back of my head as I sigh softly in annoyance, I swing Rexorem, and kill all of them at once with the Mana Sword it produced. Some are bisected evenly, and some are not, but all of them die regardless.

"Phewww... I have killed 18 Magic Practitioners and 31 civilians in this room," I muse as I look around the completely ruined ballroom. "What a spectacular sight! I now feel like a legitimate villain."

Smiling sardonically, I turn my body to the remaining two alive people in the room—Xenon and Winerva. I actually don't know what to do about them—I don't even know why I knocked them out instead of killing them.

I eventually walk toward them after some pondering, lift them up, and stack them on my left shoulders. I am going to take them out of here and let Velucan decide their fate.

Extending my hand as I locate the Array Scroll, the Seal isolating the room is lifted at the same time it flies toward me. I keep it in my Spatial Storage, and walk to the door as I think of a way how to not look suspicious.

"Oh, shit. I need to change my clothes and take my mask off first."

I have only realized my clothes are ripped in various places just a second before I open the door. I immediately change them to my other formal clothes, and take my mask off before opening the door just wide enough to let me through.

It is much to my surprise that I don't find anyone behind the door—not even the hotel attendant that is supposed to be guarding it.

"Niles must have told everyone to not come near this place so he could prevent unnecessary death. Well, that was a wise decision, but he couldn't save anyone in the end, because he was the one who lost."

Only some people managed to get out of the ballroom before I sealed it. Niles' attempt to take care of me failed miserably, and him ordering everyone to stay away from it benefits me greatly.

I am sure this happens because he was not really sure that I was a Demon. That is the reason why he didn't announce my identity to the public.

Thud!

In less than a minute, I reach my room. I immediately put the two women on my bed, and realized something crucial: I have forgot to clean the blood off Xenon's head. Luckily, no one saw me, so I faced no problem on my way here.

"Alright. I will have my troop mate pick them up and hand them over to Velucan." I turn around and put my hand on the doorknob, but pause before I turn it, "Xenon aside, why did I save Winerva?"

Clicking my tongue bitterly as I know the answer is pity, I turn the doorknob and get out of the room. As I walk through the hallway, I scoff at myself for getting attached to someone I have only spent a day with together.

Flash!

A light briefly wraps around my body, and replaces my suit with a golden tunic and a golden robe. It is a Priest's outfit minus the pretentious accessories.

The outfit used to belong to the middle aged Priest that I killed near the nameless human village I spent a night in. I am wearing it so I can infiltrate the Temple in this Dukedom easier.

On my way out of the hotel, I receive people's respectful gaze. I ignore them, of course, just like what Priests always do.

Upon getting out of the hotel, I find the citizens rushing toward the city hall's direction. I hear them talking about the invasion of the Demon King's Army, and I immediately conclude they are going to the bunker.

I can't see any soldier stationed nearby the Teleportation Gate, so it is very clear to me that Iancov, in the end, decided to not use the strategy that I suggested. I believe, however, it is because of Niles' order.

"Well, they are going to regret it either way." I shrug. "My troop mates will be able to infiltrate the Dukedom easier now that none of them guarding the Teleportation Gates. Pfft. Idiots."

Rushing toward the Temple as elegant as I can, I encounter my "fellow" Priests on the way. None of them seem to be suspicious of me, but they still give me a curious look.

Unlike me, they are, after all, preparing to leave the Dukedom and go to the battlefield (I assume) to support the Army. They must be wondering why I am going to the Temple as it is not an appropriate time to pray.

"Well, I think I don't really need to disguise myself to infiltrate the Temple."

I reach the Temple after three minutes of running elegantly. I can see very few Priests here, but it is still open thankfully.

Putting my most obnoxious face on, I enter the Temple. Its interior looks slightly fancier from those fancy temples I have seen on the internet; or course, it is decorated with many gold ornaments.

I look around for a few seconds to spot the altar where I can set the Array up. It turns out to be just a few feet in front of me, so I immediately walk toward it.