On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

As the light died down, a figure could be seen. The fiery veins covering the figure made the figure shine faintly in the dark forest. It was Stavros. His skin was completely charred, but fine nonetheless. It made Layland's mouth taste bitter. He had hoped [Radiant Core] would turn some part of Stavros' body into smithereens.

Boom!

An ungodly Mana pressure upon the world, causing Layland to bend his knees slightly. His eyes widened in genuine surprise. He would reap a lot from Stavros, given the development, but he slightly doubted that he would survive Stavros's first offence. The current Stavros outpowered him by quite a significant margin.

"Great! Now, we need to take you and him down together," Eryn exclaimed, standing beside Layland.

"Are you blaming me for the development? You should blame that Centaur for having a weak mind," Layland retorted. "Also, aren't you supposed to control him?"

"You forced him into that state. You should have just let him kill you!"

"Your parents must be talented comedians."

Grrr!

The back-and-forth between Layland and Eryn stopped when Stavros growled at them. Eryn's eyes darkened meanwhile Layland quirked an eyebrow as he stared at Stavros' glaring white eyes. Natural Essence didn't corrupt someone but it made them carry the will of the world: to exterminate everything that harmed the world.

One wouldn't have the desire to destroy the world when Natural Essence took over one's mind. One would only want to exterminate the living creatures that walked on earth, which the world deemed parasites.

For Eryn's side, Stavros was another problem that they had to mind. Although letting him loosely wander the battlefield would help them in a way, it would still be disadvantageous for them. Stavros might kill everyone in his sight, but her side had more men. Her side would suffer more than the Dark Elf did.

"How much does he love you?" Layland asked, bewildering Eryn.

"What are you talking about? He loves me as much as he loves his other disciples," replied Eryn, still bewildered.

"That's good."

"What—you bastard!"

Eryn's attempt to ask for Layland's motive was thwarted by Layland himself as he threw her at Stavros. He wanted to see if letting Stavros harm Eryn would bring some of his consciousness back. It was a gamble on his side since if Stavros didn't regain some of his consciousness, Eryn would die. That means, he would break his promise to Haletha.

"Ah! Master, it's me—Eryn!"

Swoosh!

Fortunately, Stavros changed his spear course. It fell on Eryn's side, making her sigh in relief as she fixed her posture. Before she could look up, though, Stavros slammed the butt of his spear into her head. Eryn widened her eyes before closing them. Blood soon covered her face and she lost consciousness.

Stavros kept holding his spear a few feet above Eryn's head. His face remained neutral but his trembling hands indicated that he was fighting the urge to crush Eryn's skull. Layland didn't waste his chance. Appearing before Stavros using [Teleportation], he applied [Death Blow] on Rexorem and pierced Stavros' stomach.

Stavros was immediately blown away, but he only suffered from a shallow cut. That was until [Senbonzakura] dug into his abdomen. Stavros immediately clutched his abdomen and roared. His Mana pressure increased yet again. This time, along with the air blast, his charred skin crumbled, revealing healthy fair skin underneath.

[Senbonzakura] petals were destroyed. The fact made Layland furrow his eyebrow lightly as it had never happened before. He was displeased but soon got over it because Stavros was rabidly galloping at him. He slammed Rexorem into the ground, splitting it open. He retreated as Stavros fell into it and watched wryly as Stavros created a footing with gigantic roots.

While keeping an eye on the Centaur, Layland rushed at the unconscious Light Elf Princess. He had promised the Dark Elf Queen to keep her alive, so he couldn't just let Eryn be. He picked the unconscious Eryn up and distanced himself from Stavros. The said Centaur remained in his place despite showing a great urge to gallop at him.

An idea to fight Stavros with the unconscious Eryn in his arms flashed in Layland's mind, but he immediately discarded it. While it might make Stavros hesitate a couple of times, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't make Stavros snap. Layland didn't want to gamble more than he already did. He would not only kill Eryn but also himself should things go south.

His eyes looked for a tree and they found it soon. Propelling himself toward the tree, he climbed it and put Eryn on one of the branches. He could use Magic to prevent Eryn from falling, he thought it would be safer to tie her to the trunk. Satisfied with his work, he jumped down the tree and immediately dashed at Stavros.

The Centaur held no more reserve this time. He assumed a firm stance before mightily throwing his spear at Layland. Tearing through the air, it left a vacuum in its wake. Layland was forced to stop in his tracks as he prepared to block the incoming spear. Planting Rexorem into the ground, he channelled his Mana into its Magic Stone.

The Magic Stone immediately glowed brightly, generating a crimson Magic Barrier around him. Extending his hand, he cast another Magic Barrier. At the same time, he also reinforced every inch of his body, so they could withstand the impact more. When the spear hit the first Magic Barrier, Layland widened his eyes. It shattered upon contact.

The Magic Barrier that he created didn't do any better either. It was of inferior quality, so it shattered even before the spear touched it. Fortunately, as the spear made contact with Rexorem, it couldn't damage the greatsword. However, Layland was sent skidding away because of the impact.

The power behind the spear was ludicrous. Layland had to exert all of his strength to keep Rexorem straight. The veins in his hands popped out and some of them threatened to burst. After another gruelling three seconds, the spear stopped pushing him. Layland immediately pulled Rexorem out of the ground and swung it at the spear.

It was much to his horror that the spear slipped past his guard and pierced his chest. He instantaneously grabbed the shaft of the spear, but the Mana that the spear contained burst before he could pull it out.

Boom!

His chest immediately felt empty. Blood involuntarily came out of his mouth and it was the only blood he could cough out. His consciousness slipped away, so he let go of the spear's shaft. During his unclear state of consciousness, Stavros appeared before him. The said Centaur kicked him in the face, shattering his jaw and sending him away like a bullet.

As Layland's body rolled on the ground, Stavros chased after him and stomped on his body. He put all of his strength into each of his stompings. Layland was no different from a bug to him. Layland needed to be killed; therefore, he had to make sure that Layland was properly stomped. Even as blood splashed on his cheek, he didn't stop.

It wasn't until Layland had lost all of his upper body that Stavros stopped and took a look. Layland had turned into a lump of clothed mashed meat. Blood pooled on the ground below Stavros, creating a scenery that would make one's stomach churn. Layland's barely intact head was the only indication that the mangled previously belonged to a Demon.

One wouldn't consider Layland would survive given his state. It was even ludicrous to think Layland was still alive. His lungs had turned into a bloody paste. He was not even breathing. Even though Demons could still hold consciousness in that state, Layland was highly likely already dead. His muscles no longer twitched.

Therefore, Stavros took a step back to admire his masterpiece. He didn't feel proud of his work, but he felt relieved that the world had a parasite less. He then turned his head to the tree where Layland put Eryn. He wanted to remove another parasite when something triggered his alarm. Layland's muscles twitched.

He wanted to blast Layland's remaining body part, but his Instinct told him he shouldn't. With a scowl on his face, he retreated and watched as the blood he had spilt was absorbed by the rapidly regenerating body of Layland. The reborn cells formed tissues. The tissues created organs and the organs created a system that sustained a body.

Layland returned healthier and stronger than before. His upper body was bare for a moment before his clothes fixed themselves and wrapped him properly. He flashed another smirk at the Centaur. He looked happy outwardly, but he was seething inwardly. He had almost died. It was his luck that had allowed him to regain consciousness.

"I am sorry to underestimate you. I was afraid you couldn't handle me because I don't have my partner currently with me," he remarked, referring to his True Form. "She will also be mad if I use it without her around, but I guess I have no choice. I can no longer take a beating."

As Layland tapped into his Demonic Essence, his Mana pressure which was already amplified by the Power-ups that he had received raised to a soul-shaking level. Stavros widened his eyes in horror and could only stand as a scale-like armour covered Layland. Layland's horns grew longer and fiery veins could be seen decorating them.

When Layland's face was covered by the mask that was made out of his Demonic Essence, terror washed over Stavros. At this point, everyone in Amizanima could feel Layland's Mana pressure. It was overwhelming and sickening. They couldn't imagine what would happen to the unlucky individual who made Layland snap.