On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

A week has passed since the day I found my way of fighting. I still learn new Spells everyday from Valeria, but I rarely use them in my battle with Millonia.

I prefer using the Skills I have managed to recreate, as it has been proven that they are more effective in combat. I still sometimes use Spells, but I just use them as a distraction or a cover-up for my Skill activation.

Many of my skills are not as flashy as the Spells I have learned from Valeria, but they all boast power that can\'t be overlooked. Even though Millonia is using her true ability to fight me, there are many times when she is overwhelmed with my Skill.

Just like what we have been doing for the past week, today, Millonia and I are having our daily combat training in the Training Field. Due to the influence of Mana, we have been fighting for 4 hours straight without a single second wasted on resting.

We are already covered in sweat from head to toe, but our body can still move vigorously as if we have just woken up from our nap. Both of us are grinning to each other as we both find the situation to be as exciting as it is funny.

Although I don\'t know what she is exactly thinking, Millonia must be thinking of the ridiculous joke the world has presented her. She has been kicking my ass for almost two months after all—she must think the development is funny.

As for me, I simply can\'t believe that I can already fight on the same ground with Millonia—a veteran with more than 10 years of experience in battle—just because I got the right support and mind breaking torture.

Of course, what makes it funny is, how irritated Millonia is with this fact. She has been screaming how unfair the "privilege" given to me for the past week is, so seeing me improve each really frustrates her.

"Oi, bitch! Let\'s make a bet!"

"Don\'t talk as if you have something to bet!"

Clank!

I block Millonia\'s sword that is aiming for my neck with the dagger in my right hand. Since the dagger in my left hand is unoccupied, I swiftly swing it to her neck after channeling my Mana to it.

Swish!

Millonia quickly utilizes her Footwork Technique, so she managed to dodge my dagger. Still, although it doesn\'t give her any significant injury, my dagger managed to Nick her neck.

Millonia glares at me from afar, still with the same grin, but her eyes openly convey that she will kill me for sure this time. I laugh upon receiving that look as I, too, present her the same look.

"Let\'s make a bet, bitch! The stake is our life."

"Hmph! Don\'t make me laugh! What does a person who possesses a Demon King\'s Mark on him mean by betting his life? You literally can\'t die!"

I smirk coldly at Millonia\'s retort, then point my right hand. "This Mark won\'t work if it is separated from my body, will it?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Stab me once!" I point my thumb to my heart. "If you manage to save me, you win, and I will cut my hand off to deactivate the Mark so you can kill me."

"What about you? What is your condition of win—"

"I will kill you before you manage to stab me—that\'s the bet."

I grin manically, and Millonia takes a step back in surprise at that. Of course, her surprise of how crazy I have become doesn\'t last long, as she also returns my manic grin in the next moment.

"That\'s an interesting bet you have there, asshole! You can just simply say we are going to have a death match—there is no need to say it in a roundabout way."

"What can I say?" I shrug. "If I didn\'t do that, you wouldn\'t be able to kill me after all."

Boom!

As we send our killing intent at each other, our Mana clashes against each other in the air. My Mana Pool is already bigger than Millonia now, but even so, mine still can\'t overwhelm hers.

There is a fairly apparent difference in latency between Mana that has been cultivated for two months, and Mana that has been cultivated for tens of years.

Even so, Valeria has said herself that Demons have the privilege to ignore Mana latency since Demons use unprocessed Mana from their surrounding, which is chaotic but potent nonetheless.

Although I am not a complete Demon yet, I already possess some Demonic traits, so Millonia\'s Mana latency shouldn\'t possess much problem to me. I will absorb Mana from the surrounding, and bet on my body\'s durability.

\'First of all, let\'s use up the Mana in my Mana Pool.\'

As I channel my Mana to my dagger, I also channel it to my feet to power up my dash at Millonia. I cover 25 feet in a single dash, but, as expected, Millonia is ready to block my attack

Clank! Clank!

Millonia can do nothing but either block or parry my daggers since the distance between us is too close for her to be able to properly use her sword. Still, years of experience has its own perks, since she can hold her ground well.

"[Wave of Death]!"

Of course, no matter how well she can hold her ground, she will never be able to hold it on forever since I don\'t plan to keep attacking her the same way. As I use another Skill that I have managed to recreate, Millonia is immediately pushed back.

[Wave of Death] is a Skill that combines the finesse of one\'s swing and the power it holds. [Wave of Death] allows me to blast Mana from my dagger each time my dagger hit something, creating a shockwave that is enough to blow it away.

Boom! Boom!

Since I have never actually used this Skill in our battle, Millonia is utterly baffled upon its usage. She tries to make a distance, but I, of course, don\'t give her the chance to do it.

Other than being physically stronger than her, after learning Mana, my agility has also increased dramatically to the point Millonia can never match my speed. Therefore, I can easily catch up to her.

"[Ignia Ferrum]!"

After the casting of the Spell, Millonia\'s sword is immediately covered in fire. I can also use this Spell to cover my daggers with fire, but I don\'t find the merit of doing that to them. Because—

"Burst!"

Boom!

"That barely shook me, Millonia!"

—other than giving you an "overbearing" appearance, it really is not much.

It works the same as my [Wave of Death]—blasting your opponent—but the shockwave it possess is not as great as my Skill\'s. This is the reason why, my Skill can easily negate the Spell.

Of course, normally, Millonia should\'ve got blown away instead, but since her Mana is more mature than mine, my Skill that is powered by my Mana can\'t yet pass through her defense.

Swish!

I dash at Millonia once again to exchange blows. None of us is blown away from our position, but the ground has now developed many craters and scorch marks due to the clash between us.

Since my Skill costs me more Mana than any of the Spell Valeria has taught me, my Mana Pool is already close to empty just a few minutes after.

I have just around 7% of the original amount of Mana I have, and that means I can only last for another minute at best. Millonia, who still has a fairly good amount of Mana from the look of it, notices it and attacks me fiercer than before.

My Mana is getting depleted in each second, but instead of panicking I can\'t hold my cruel smirk from forming. Millonia looks at me as if I am crazy that I am crazy, and keeps pouring down attacks on me.

She only tries to make a distance from me the moment she realized I am up to something. Of course, by the time it happens, I have already finished my preparation.

"Let me show you what a human who has betrayed his own kin can do!"

"This crazy bastard!"

Since I have emptied my Mana Pool from my Natural Mana that is produced by my body, I immediately do the thing that every Demon is good at: absorbing Mana from my surrounding and make it mine.

No one has ever taught me how to do it—not even Valeria. However, as I have said, I possess some Demonic traits thanks to the blood that has been pumped into my body through my vein by the Demon King\'s Mark, so I can do it instinctively.

My sensitivity over Mana also plays a big role in this. If it wasn\'t because of it, I would never be able to sense the Mana in the surrounding.

As my Mana Pool has already been filled to the brim with the Mana from my surrounding, I channel this new unfamiliar but manageable Mana to my dagger, then use my favorite Skill.

[Whistle of Death]!

Swish! Swish!

I don\'t know how many times I have slashed Millonia, but by the time I stop using the Skill, she is already sprawled on the ground with her upper body that is full of deep cuts exposed.