On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"Bwaah! My friend is still alive—I don\'t need to become a loner!"

"... You can\'t not be what you essentially are unfortunately—let go of me," I comment dryly.

"O-Oh, I\'m sorry if I bother you somehow." Vibiane lets go of me, looks at me briefly, and thinks to herself until a realization hits her. "I thought loner was just a status! Am I cursed to be a loner for the rest of my life?!"

"If you keep being the way you are—yes."

As the harsh reality hits Vibiane, the half-Banshee half-Spirit\'s eyes darken. She looks like a person who has just found the source of her problem, but still has no way to fix it despite so.

In short, she looks like someone who has fallen into a state of absolute despair.

I slightly pity her for being stupid enough to believe it, but I am not kind enough to tell her I was just joking after what she has made me go through. Besides, there is a more important thing I and everyone should be concerned about.

"What should we do with the Temple\'s dogs, General?" I turn to Velucan, who has been silent the entire time.

The Warriors surrounding us don\'t make any big reaction, but from how their eyes widen, it is easy to conclude they are in shock. I can also immediately feel them scanning the surrounding with their Mana in the next moment.

I don\'t know if they got something, but from how serious their expression has become, I will say they really got something, and it is not a beautiful news.

"General... They are too ready to look like they coincidentally encountered us," Eliseus says as she steps forward. "I will like to say they have been following us since the beginning, but I am sure I couldn\'t sense them until now."

"They are here due to our miss..." Velucan sighs lightly. "My miss. I shouldn\'t have told you to let go of that boy."

The other Warriors blink their eyes, then also sigh lightly. Smirking in the next moment, they surprise me by saying something that I am sure I have just heard from Velucan.

"Well, we just have to fight them then. It\'s a hassle, but an easy work."

All of them look so nonchalant about this, I wonder whether this is because of Velucan\'s influence or their troublesome nature. I admire their confidence greatly, however, their way of belittling problems is something that I can\'t agree with.

Clap!

"Well, let us just meet them, shall we?" Velucan smirks. "It is going to take forever if we wait for them to attack us first, so let\'s give them a surprise."

"Wait, are we just going to charge at them without any plan or something?" I ask weirdly. "What about preparing for some countermeasures if things went wrong?"

Surprising me, Velucan and the others click their tongue. "Ugh... You sound like a Demon—a proper Demon." I become even more bewildered as Vibiane says that.

"I am indeed a Demon, and I am just being reasonable here." I frown.

"Listen, pup." Velucan put his hand on my shoulder. "Concocting strategies and scheming are not my forte. None of us can do that, but we are still the best performing Legions regardless."

Grinning like a dog who has just been rewarded with a lifetime supply of treats, Velucan continues, "Sometimes, being simple is all it needs to solve your problem."

"That\'s true, new guy! Our General is maybe slightly wrong in the head, but he is a good leader."

"Trust our General—trust us! We\'ll pull through it like a breeze."

"Yeah, loosen up a little bit, and stop being a Demon—Demons are naturally a jerk."

"You are a Demon like me though," I retort in slight annoyance. "Ah... I have a bad feeling about this." I sigh as everyone pats my shoulder in reassurance.

"L-Layland... As your friend, I will always be the—"

"Shut up, idiot! Where were you when I was inside the Earth Eater\'s stomach?"

"Uwah, you are still angry about it!" Vibiane exclaims in shock. "Even after I apologized?!"

The others still patting my shoulder, but I can tell the way they pat my shoulder has changed. If they were patting me in reassurance before, they are patting me in sympathy now.

"Must be hard, huh?" Is what their eyes convey, and I am completely agree with them—it is hard being involved with such a dumbass.

Shaking my head to momentarily forget about the predicament I have accidentally got myself into, I turn my head to the direction that Velucan is looking at. Immediately, at that moment, I feel a prick in my head.

[Layland!]

\'Oh, Telepathy? I didn\'t know you could do this, Luxia.\'

[It doesn\'t matter. The Priests—they are preparing something to obliterate all of us!]

"Shit! That\'s a bad news, isn\'t it?" I mutter to myself. Turning to Velucan, I exclaim, "General, they are going to launch a long range attack!"

"Yeah, I know." Velucan waves his hand lightly. "That is the reason why I am looking at the direction where the attack is going to come from."

Velucan grins, and that further supports my opinion that he really has something wrong with his head.

,m Surprising me with what he is capable of however, Velucan stretches his hands to the side as his thick and unpleasant Mana overwhelms the air.

Two ethereal, massive black hand structures appear in the sky just a few seconds after, making a gesture as if they are ready to catch something. I immediately conclude this is Velucan\'s way to block the attack from the Temple\'s Priests.

I can\'t tell if it is going to be enough to block their wide-scale, long range attack, but from how overwhelming Velucan\'s Mana is, I am inclined to believe it is enough ... Hopefully.

Boom!

[Layland, prepare yourself, the Iudicum is coming!]

Iudicum is a term used to call anything that is produced by a Priest\'s power. If Mages have Spells, Priests have Iudicum—it is not that dangerous compared to Spells in general, but it is lethal for us, Cursed Creations.

Even without Luxia telling me it is coming, I know it already is. I can feel the overwhelming pressure of the Holy Energy in the air that genuinely bothers me.

Although Priests are not using Divinity, their power is derived from it. Therefore just like Taurones, who inherit a speck of Audhumla\'s Divinity, Priests naturally instill fear in every Cursed Creation—Demons and Monsters.

"Woohoo! It\'s coming! My heart is beating in excitement!"

"Here it comes, people! Dash at the bastards as fast as you can the moment our General catches the Iudicum!"

... Except the Warriors in our troop.

Instead of quivering in anticipation while expecting the worst, they tremble in excitement while looking like they are wishing for the worst. Even the usually emotionless Eliseus is noticeably excited this time.

I turn to the side to look at the only hybrid in our troop, and I find her looking serious. I can easily tell she is determined to wipe every single one of the Priests on the other side off, and that honestly baffles me.

\'Who knows that idiot can be serious too?\' I muse, before realizing something. \'... Hope she\'s not too scared to act like an idiot.\'

Flash!

A golden meteor appears in the sky, rapidly descending upon us. The pressure gets even more overwhelming, but it strangely makes me even more excited.

I guess I have unconsciously been influenced by the reaction of the Warriors in my surrounding—smirking to myself, I take Rexorem out as I also prepare myself to dash the moment the meteor lands on the hands.

[I think it\'s better for you to take a headstart.]

\'Huh? Why?\'

[This is not the only Iudicum they are sending. Just go and confront them directly—trust me!]

I haven\'t even questioned how Lucia knows about it, but she already knows that I am going to question her reliability. I believe her due to her nature, but being given her reassurance makes me even more absolute that I should do what she has suggested.

Following her suggestion, I surprise my whole troop mates by dashing toward the enemy\'s location. All of them gasp as soon as I pass by Velucan, and Velucan also can\'t help shouting at me.

"Get back, pup! You will be turned to dust by the Holy Power!"

Ignoring Velucan, I channel Mana to my feet as much as I can control. I am already running, at least, four times faster than my previous fastest run, but I still can\'t outrun the golden meteor.

It is already 50 feet above me, which means, it is just 10 feet way from touching Velucan\'s ethereal hand structures in the sky. The pressure is pushing me down like a violent wave, and I can\'t hear anyone shouting at me to get back anymore.

"Luxia... Is it because of you?"

That is as far as the golden meteor can do to me though—I don\'t feel it hurt me in the slightest. That is weird considering I am a Demon, so I am sure Luxia has a hand in it.

"My Divinity is way better than their \'Holy Power.\' Hmph!"

Not stopping there, she encapsulates me with her Mana, so as the golden meteor clashes with Velucan\'s ethereal hand structures, I don\'t even feel the shockwave hurting me.