On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Bloop!

Passing through the Barrier protecting Lysimork is easier than I expected. I thought we were required to throw some Spells to weaken it before passing through it, but we could just casually pass through it.

I am sure it must have been thanks to Haletha though. She is one of the rulers of Lysimork—in fact, the ruler who holds the highest authority over it—so she must know how to "tame" the Barrier.

Upon entering Lysimork, the Guardians who stay inside immediately show themselves. They have been hiding in the trees in our surroundings, shooting us down with their arrows as they come out.

I immediately activate [Senbonzakura] and spread five thousands of the petals it made through the air by swinging Rexorem graciously. Some of the Guardians look afraid, but the others are questioning themselves what I am doing.

Their answer comes soon enough.

"Guhak! W-What is this?!"

"I-Impossible!"

"No, my body!"

The unfortunate Guardians who get shredded by the petals only register the pain after they lose their balance. All of them are screaming in disbelief as they fall from the trees, and die instantly as soon as they hit the ground.

Whizz! Whizz!

Soon enough, my fellow Warriors and I are trading attacks with the Warriors. Most of us are overpowering them, but that doesn't mean we can scoff at their arrows.

The arrows are even more absurd than the last time. These arrows are destructive enough to almost crack my decently made Barrier.

It might not sound impressive, but it is worth to be noted that, in average, these guys can shoot up to seven arrows per second. Now, there are hundreds of them in our surroundings, so you can imagine how fearsome the arrows actually are.

If I just keep blocking the arrows with my Barrier, I will get it destroyed in less than ten seconds, which is why I keep dodging or parrying the arrows as many as I can; all the while protecting Haletha and Arieda.

Burst!

"No, Layland, not here too!"

It is actually quite funny that Haletha didn't expect me to tell Genelos to use his fire breath in Lysimork even after what I have done a few minutes prior. I mean, I don't even care about the entire forest—why should I care about a couple of wooden houses?

"Don't worry, I am not going to burn the whole place down. I am just going to distract these bastards," I assure.

Lysimork, by the end of the day, will become ours. Doing too much damage to it will only burden Verniculos Kingdom financially since we can not just abandon it after the resources we have spent on conquering it.

Because of that, all I do is just some minor arson, which will not bring an irreversible damage to the environment. Besides, the forest is not an ordinary forest; it will not be easily eaten up by fire because it has Magic protecting it.

I just want to cause the Dark Elves to panic by doing this, and judging by Haletha's reaction, it works. The Dark Elves care too much about the forest to realize it is not as fragile as they think.

"What is this nonsense? Haletha, how dare you?!"

I feel like I have seen this scene before: someone suddenly showing up, and saying some similar words. Dark Elves seem to be very fond of this kind of entrance, don't they?

"Put an end to your lunacy now! What do you think you are doing collaborating with the Demons to invade your own home?!"

"Shut your hole, you traitorous bastard! You have no right to lecture me—I am just reclaiming something that is rightfully mine!"

The person who has just shown himself is none other than one of the rulers of Lysimork, Iorael, whose family has been trying their best to slay Haletha for the past hundred years.

He wears a green battle armor, which I am sure is a Relic. He has a rapier in his right hand, which means he relies a lot on his agility in battle.

I am fast, but I don't think I can face him with Rexorem. If we decided to fight, we would definitely end up in a stalemate: his offense must be amazing, but my defense should be able to counter it, which wouldn't bring us anywhere.

Whizz!

An arrow has just whizzed past me, almost scratching my mask. "These bastards are resilient, aren't they?"

We have stopped advancing ever since Iorael showed up. Advancing will only bring us an unnecessary danger since it will mean we are turning our backs on him, thus we stay hovering in the air.

The Guardians who are lucky to remain alive keep sending us arrows, and it is really annoying. Despite the fact that we are rapidly killing them, we don't feel like we are reducing their number.

"Haletha, just kick that bastard's ass! I'll cover you."

"Wait!"

I immediately tell Genelos to fly toward Iorael after I said my piece. Haletha has no other choice than telling Vibiane to catch up to me, so she can engage in battle with Iorael.

I can't stand being the practice target for the Guardians anymore. The smug look on Iorael's face is irritating too, so I want to wipe it clean off his face.

Whoosh!

A quite dangerous projectile has just been hurled at me, but I successfully dodged it. It was likely a product of one of the Dark Elf's Secret Arts, because I don't recall you can control woods or anything related to plants with Magic.

Well, except for those who can utilize Earth Energy: Forest Spirits, and the Elven Race with their Secret Arts.

Burst!

In return for sending me the mini tree, I present the accursed Dark Elf Genelos' fire breath—the real one this time. It is hot enough to properly char the bark of the tree to a crisp upon contact, and instantly roast the Dark Elf before it.

"This disrespectful, human! Let me punish you for ruining our environment!" Iorael shouts.

"Oh, shit, there is a Greenpeace activist here!" I retort sarcastically.

The bastard is pointing his rapier at me, making a gesture as if he is going to penetrate me. He is using Mana fortunately; so, with my mask, I can tell what he is about to do.

Immediately jumping off Genelos' back, much to the bastard's bewilderment, I land on the branch he is standing on. Seven Guardians appear out of nowhere and come rushing at me, but a mere swing of Rexorem is enough to bisect all of them at once.

"Tsk! What a resilient pest!"

Whoosh!

Iorael immediately concentrates his Mana at the tip of his rapier. He is forcing me into a situation where I have no choice but to forget about offense, and focus on defense by blocking his attack with Rexorem.

Swish!

"What?!"

Unfortunately for him, I am not as easy as he thought. Instead of following his scenario, I swiftly swap Rexorem to a pair of Green Ranked Daggers, and dodge the course of his attack.

He, in the end, decided to forget his attack. He immediately changes his stance, so he can somehow counter me with another attack.

Clank! Clank!

He realized countering daggers with his rapier is stupid just before I cut open his abdomen, which is not well protected by his armor. He swiftly makes a downward motion, deflecting one of my daggers before deflecting the others.

Afterwards, he immediately makes a distance. He knows he won't be able to win against me in such a close distance.

Just as I am about to chase after him, I feel an overwhelming pressure behind me. My instinct is screaming in alarm, so I immediately jump off the tree branch.

"Layland!" I hear Haletha shout.

Boom!

As I wait for Genelos to catch my body, I take a good look at the Elf who has almost pulverized me with his mace. Elorand is burly, but this one is just on another level.

Elves are tall in general—6'2" tall in average—but it is very rare to see a 7'4" tall Elf whose body is as thick as a tree trunk. Without his youthful face and pointy ears, this Dark Elf will definitely look like a human addicted to steroids.

"Layland, that was cool, but dangerous nonetheless! Don't try that stunt without discussing it with me first!" Genelos exclaims after catching me.

"That was a very risky stunt you pulled there, Layland," Eliseus remarks as she brings her Wyvern flying close to Genelos.

"Iorael is ready. Be careful of every action you take!" Haletha warns as soon as the Wyvern she is riding is flying beside me.

"I know," I reply. "I did that to uncover all of the guards he has." Shaking my head faintly, I say, "You two can take on Iorael and that burly Dark Elf now. I am going to take on the still hiding bastard by myself."

"So, you do realize," Eliseus comments.

"I even have an inkling of who he is."

The presence of this person is uncannily familiar. I don't want to hope much, but I still can't help smirking in ecstasy.

"One of the Heroes is here."

The bastard, who has been camouflaging, reveals himself a second after my remark. He then looks at me sceptically, doing his best to hide his disbelief.

I recognize the bastard's face. He is one of Mark's cronies—my former tormentor.