On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The story might have been different if Mark was the top dog of this world but he wasn\'t. When he was dead, I realized that I had just wasted my time on a weakling like him. My original goal was to exact revenge but the more I grow as a Demon, the more I realized how shallow it was. It was on that day that I decided to not focus on revenge but on becoming an undisputed Demon King.

This is one of the reasons why I let Brianna roam the world freely. I want to focus on my future as a Demon King. Besides, revenge is a dish best served cold. Nothing is more satisfying than making your opponent fall from his high place to the abyss. This was what I expected; therefore, I was surprised to find Brianna delivering herself to me.

The dish was not cold yet, so I didn\'t think there was merit in enjoying it and I was right. Even after having her go through quite an agonizing journey, I still feel nothing. It is not enough yet. Revenge is not something that is over just like that.

"Hm...I think I have found out why I don\'t want to kill her yet," I mumble.

"That you still have feelings for her?" Millonia quips.

"Don\'t be silly, dear. Only donkeys fall into the same hole twice."

"Just saying." Millonia shrugs. She glances at Brianna who sits behind Eliseus and then scoffs disdainfully. "You don\'t have better clothes to give her?"

"I do but why should I give them to her?"

"I see..."

Eliseus who sits behind Millonia just watches our interaction curiously. She must have noticed that Millonia has been quite hostile to me for the last half an hour, so she is probably curious about the reason.

I am not quite sure about it. It is highly probable, though, that she suspects I am sparing Brianna. I have already explained that I am not but she didn\'t seem to listen and I know no amount of explanation will convince her. Her trust in me always significantly goes down whenever I deal with women these days.

Contrary to popular belief, talking a lot is not my style. I prefer showing to telling, so I will let her think whatever she wants about it for now.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. We have reached the closest Teleportation Magic Circle that will bring us directly back to Antares. We have a Monster City nearby that also has the Magic Circle, but we chose Cresundia. The reason is simple. Arieda is here and I want to hear from her myself if she succeeded in her mission.

"We are doing something very bold, considering what we just did half an hour ago," Eliseus remarks as she gets down from Genelos. "The fact that no one could detect us as we flew over the gate is also as mind-boggling as it is disappointing. I didn\'t know humans were this bad at detecting threats."

"Humans trust what they see and doubt what they feel. You need concrete evidence to declare A is indeed A," I explain. "You can\'t just say A is A because your gut tells you. Ah, this is how it works in formal affairs by the way."

"I see.... As a former human, you exploit human weaknesses to the best you can, don\'t you?"

"I exploit everyone\'s weakness."

When everyone has gotten down from Genelos, he assumes his pet lizard form and then perches on my shoulder. I then tell everyone to come closer to me. Millonia and Eliseus immediately hug one of my arms each, occupying my sides. I don\'t know what their purpose is but I am sure Brianna doesn\'t have any intention to get intimate with me.

When everyone is ready, I tell Teanosvera to do his thing. He envelops us in his shadow, bringing us to his Sub-Dimension. Diving from shadow to shadow, we head to the place where Arieda is waiting for us. She is somewhere in Countessia Country, where the suspected puppeteer is suspected to be.

When we enter the County, I don\'t detect anything out of the norm from it. It looks and feels completely normal which is the reason why the puppeteer is highly suspected to be here.

Instead of roaming around the County, of course, we head in the direction where I can feel Arieda\'s presence. We encounter her not long after. Even though she can\'t see us, she knows we are nearby. She says goodbye to the fruit seller she is talking to and then heads to a quiet alley.

As she sheds her Disguise Magic, I tell Teanosvera to take us out of his Sub-Dimension. The moment she sees my face, she immediately jumps at me.

"Layland!" she squeals quietly as she hugs me.

"Well, nice to see you again too," I say as I pat her back. "How did it go."

Letting go of her hug, Arieda shakes her head bitterly. "The puppeteer is secluding himself. He didn\'t even send people to investigate me after I openly did suspicious things. He seems to be aware that someone is targeting him."

"Did you figure out what the Temple gave Cresundia in return for sacrificing its Heroes?"

"Cresundia was given eight Holy Relics. One of which was given to the King."

The answer makes me quirk an eyebrow. I immediately know why the puppeteer is secluding himself. He must have figured out in advance that the Heroes will lose. Therefore, he hides and utilizes the Relic he got from the Temple to increase his chance of survival.

It might not be the case--he might not know that his fellows would fail--but I am sure he is doing something with the Relic he has in his hands. When he comes out, there will be only two reasons why. First, he is confident to have a go at me. Second, he wants to flee the Kingdom.

Either way, Cresundia will fall into my hands.

"Very well." I nod my head. "We will go to Creatain County. We are going home."

"I am sorry to disappoint you." Arieda hangs her head low, dejected.

Petting her head, I say, "It is fine. I didn\'t expect anything from you anyway."

Raising her head slowly, she looks at me hesitantly. "Are you implying that--"

"No."

"Okay." Clearing her throat, she is about to talk to Millonia when she registers Brianna\'s existence. "What is this corrupted woman doing here?"

"It\'s a long story."

Waving her off, I tell everyone to come closer. Teanosvera immediately brings us into this Sub-Dimension and takes us to Creatain. We find the most secluded Teleportation Magic Circle and utilize it as discreetly as we can. A flash of light envelops us and we appear in Antares in the blink of an eye.

The place that the Magic Circle is connected to is the field behind the palace--my office. Someone is already waiting for us. She greets us with a nod before turning her attention to Brianna and quirking her eyebrow that is hidden underneath her mask.

"Is six not enough?" she says neutrally.

"I only have one and that is you," I reply stoically.

"I don\'t know what you are talking about."

"What a coincidence! I didn\'t know what you were talking about either."

Before Valeria can say anything, I rush at her and hug her tightly. She doesn\'t resist in the slightest, further supporting my suspicion that she was just bantering with me. I heave a sigh of relief. I kiss her for a few seconds before letting go of her and reassuming my work mode.

"Does the King have something to say to me, Lady Valeria?"

"He doesn\'t, but I am curious about what you will do next. In other words, I am just casually visiting you."

"Very well."

Nodding my head lightly, I tell the girls to give Valeria and me some space. Everyone but Eliseus says they are going to take a bath. Eliseus says she wants to greet Velucan and Lemius when they return from the battlefield. Brianna stays with Valeria and me, of course.

Telling Brianna to follow us, we take her to the infirmary where Maxine and the Succubi whom she brought with her spend most of their time. When we reach there, every Succubus greets us and behaves normally like they never do whenever I visit them. Some of them left for the battlefield, it seems, since they are not as many as usual.

"What brings you here, Commander Layland and Lady Valeria?" Maxine greets us politely.

Valeria turns to me, prompting me to answer the question. "You told me about the Curse of The Bitter Nymph the other day. I wonder if you can..."

Turning to Brianna immediately, Maxine smiles mischievously. "Of course, I can, Commander Layland."

The moment I gesture at Brianna, Maxine immediately takes Brianna with her. Brianna looks at me tensely. She seems to know that she won\'t like where things are going.

The Curse of The Bitter Nymph is a curse that was once given to a Nymph, the Holy Maiden of Spirits, who indulged herself in debauchery. She openly declared that she loved having intercourse with all kinds of men, which is highly frowned upon. The Elders punished her by giving her a body that couldn\'t live without having intercourse.

It was not a problem for her until she found out she killed everyone who had intercourse with her. When she found the love of her life, she desperately wanted to have intercourse with him. She didn\'t want to kill him, however, so she held herself back. One day, she lost control of herself and killed the love of her life.

Brianna will face the same thing but worse due to her \'condition.\' I wonder if she can survive or end up killing herself like the Nymph. It will be better if it ends up being the latter. Having someone we hate finish themselves--isn\'t that the best revenge?