On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Frowning lightly as I wonder what has made me take such a long time to realize the fact that I am bathed in blood, I immediately shrug nonchalantly the moment I recall how excited I was during my killing spree.

Many things can happen when you don\'t pay attention to your surroundings. In my case, I was too intoxicated by the addictive feeling of glee I got whenever I killed a Priest—I just didn\'t bother to pay any attention to anything other than killing them.

I believe this is the catch of being a Demon. It is not something that I will ever be proud about, but I am still glad that despite being driven by my lust for blood, I can still think things through in that state.

I remember well the feeling of thirsting for blood, but still can think clearly. I was really reluctant to let go of those Priests, but I didn\'t thoughtlessly charge at them.

I killed them in the safest way possible for me, so as to prevent myself from getting an injury. To say it simply, it felt like running with a black cloth covering my head—my vision is impaired, but I still know where to go.

"That was a good job, Layland." Velucan, upon reaching my side, pats my shoulder. "You made us hesitate to help. You fought so well by yourself, we didn\'t feel our help was needed."

Velucan is genuinely complimenting me. I don\'t know how I should respond to it, so I just nod my head lightly in appreciation.

Luckily, it is enough gesture to show that I really appreciate Velucan\'s praise. He smirks at me, pats my shoulders some more, and walks away to the direction of the village that he and my troop mates have ravaged.

The other Warriors stop looking at me a couple of seconds after, and also follow Velucan to the village. Only two Warriors decided to approach me instead of going back with the others, and they are Eliseus and Vibiane.

"You don\'t look like someone who likes to fight messily, but looks can be deceiving I guess," Eliseus comments as she looks at me up and down. "You smell like a human due to the amount of human blood on you."

"Is that unpleasant?"

"No, but it is certainly not something you should be proud about—covered in blood, that is," Vibiane says when she is right in front of me. "Some people might think that\'s cool, but you just look dirty in the rest of the people\'s eyes."

Slightly quirking my eyebrow at the rare moment of Vibiane showing her brightness, I nod my head in appreciation afterwards. I have misjudged her—stupidity doesn\'t make up 75%, but 65% of her entire being.

Casting a quick Spell, I use Water Magic, and wash my whole body with it. I can control the power of the water and where it should move, so cleaning my entire being from human blood is as easy as cake.

It takes me only a minute to clean the blood off me and my outfit. Casting another Spell afterwards, I use Wind Magic to dry the water off my body.

Aided by Fire Magic, my body is completely dried after another half a minute. The whole process roughly takes one minute and a half, and judging by how the two women looking at me, those were their most interesting one minute and a half.

"Have you never thought of using Magic this way?" I quirk my eyebrow, though not visible, as I look at the two.

"Many have attempted to do what you have done, but all of them have always been blown away by their own Spell," Eliseus comments as she shakes her head.

"Never should a Cursed Creation cast a Spell on their self—it won\'t end well," Vibiane adds. "It is an unwritten rule that every one of us has come to obey after tasting getting blast by our own Spell."

Humming to myself for a couple of seconds, I then say, "Is it because of the fact that our Mana is too chaotic to be controlled or the fact that Cursed Creations rarely have a high control over their Mana?"

"Both," Eliseus answers with hesitation. "Only Demons and some special breeds of Monsters have a quite acceptable control over their Mana, and that doesn\'t even let them control their Mana perfectly."

"You were a human before, and I believe your high control over Mana is something that you gained after changing your... Race." Vibiane looks at me in fascination. "You are one lucky individual—you will go far!"

Turning my head to Eliseus, who is looking at me neutrally, I make a gesture of asking what the heck is actually going on as I mildly point my finger to Vibiane.

"She has also surprised many people before you, but you\'ll eventually get used to it." Eliseus nods her head lightly. "She is actually bright, but her demeanor often makes her look... Less bright."

"I can actually hear you..." Vibiane turns to Eliseus with a sad gaze. "Why everyone always reacts that way whenever I showcase my knowledge? Should I pretend to be dumb for the rest of my life?!"

"Nah, you don\'t have to pretend—you are already dumb," I quip as I nonchalantly wave my hand.

"How terrible!"

Shrugging as I ignore Vibiane, who is lamenting about how no one can seem to see her bright side, I walk to the village with Eliseus in tow. Vibiane follows after us only after she realizes no one is paying attention to her.

Leaving the dead bodies of the Priests behind, my mind suddenly tries to recall how the kid I have killed looked like. I can\'t remember exactly how he looked like, but my damn mind makes me see him smiling brightly at me as he bids me his goodbye.

"This is not a very pleasant feeling."

Do I feel bad? No—I have zero remorse. Do I feel guilty though? I do, unfortunately.

...

Upon arriving at the Village, all of the Warriors scatter and enter the big houses that attract their attention. That only signifies one thing: we are going to stay here for the night.

I can\'t find Velucan anywhere even though I have just seen him a few moments ago, but instead of minding his sudden disappearance, I look for the house that I can use to stay for the night.

One particular house managed to attract my eyes, but before I go there, I got reminded by something. Looking at the clean street, bereft of any human bodies littering the ground, I can\'t help but wonder where they are.

"Demons don\'t naturally eat humans," Eliseus suddenly remarks behind me, slightly surprising me. "They are no different from delicacies to us though, so we eat them when we feel like it."

"... The bodies—all of them are kept in these houses?"

Eliseus nods in confirmation. "We don\'t really need to sleep, so we will spend the night consuming them." Quirking her eyebrow at me, she says, "Is the idea still too repulsive for you?"

"I will be lying if I say it is not."

"Understandable." Gesturing at Vibiane, who is looking around intensely, Eliseus says, "Not even Vibiane, who has spent years in the army, can accept the idea of eating humans easily."

"What is she doing?"

"Looking for a clean house—a house that doesn\'t have a single body inside."

"I see..."

It is slightly surprising for me to find that Cursed Creations don\'t actually have a natural urge to eat humans. Many stories about us that people have come to believe, after all, depict us as a bunch of ruthless creatures that are eager to feast upon others.

It is as interesting as it is weird that although Cursed Creations see humans as delicacies, the reason why we eat them is just because.

I still don\'t have any intention to try, but I think we gain some kind of satisfaction when we eat humans, thus why many eat humans.

Immediately shaking my head as soon as I realize I am about to go down the rabbit hole, I bid Eliseus farewell and walk to the house that has attracted my attention.

I don\'t know why it attracts my attention, but my heart tells me that I should enter it. I ask Luxia if there is something inside and if it is dangerous—she confirms that there is indeed something inside.

She keeps her silence the moment I ask what is inside, but she assures me whatever it is inside is not dangerous. I become even more curious after her reassurance, so I immediately open the door as soon as I reach the house.

Creak.

I am already used to the smell of human blood, so even though I am immediately hit by the heavy stench of blood as soon as I open the door, I don\'t even flinch in the slightest.

Walking inside, I find two bodies torn messily on the ground with blood pooling under them. It is a very gruesome scene that is absolutely not for everybody, but that\'s not what attracts my attention.

Slightly away from the body, I find a little girl at about five years old completely soaked in blood looking at the two bodies on the ground emptily.

I instinctively extend my hand toward her, but I don\'t know whether I am going to kill her or help her by doing that.