On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"Why are you looking like that, Lunea?" Millonia snickers. "Come on, you know the absolute outcome—it wouldn't have mattered if we didn't do that. Things would also go the same way."

"B-But…to do that to children…I think it is very unfair," Lunea mutters.

As she was extremely determined to go down herself and kill the second person who intended to sell the girls, I decided to kill all of them at once. I told Genelos to burn the man and the girls to ashes, so she wouldn't mind them anymore.

She didn't scream hysterically or shout at me in disbelief; however, her gasp of shock and the gaze she gave me at that time told me how unamused and disappointed she was by my action. She didn't say anything until a few moments ago and she still sulks up to now.

I am focused on riding Genelos but I can feel the gaze planted on my back. It is neither hostile nor affectionate but I can tell it is begging for my attention.

Without turning around, I explain my action. "Forcefully removing someone from this world, while it seems cruel from the outside, is one of the quickest and most optimal ways to unshackle that person from the world's boundary."

"The world is the source of their pain. They may have enjoyed some happiness but once they meet the dead end—where they reach the point of no return—the world gives them nothing but pain. Killing them will free them from their shackles—from the pain torturing them…. That, in my opinion, is one way to make them happy," I add.

"Woah…. I…am overwhelmed. This guy found the reason why suicide is good just because he needs a reason to justify his action."

As I expected, Millonia is the first one to comment. The logic I just gave is a fallacy that is based on the skeptic's view; she immediately noticed where it is wrong and finds it funny.

Being blunt is my style but I don't think Lunea would get it even if I had told her the real reason why I killed the girls and the second slave merchant instead of just killing the latter. Her view hasn't been broadened yet; she wouldn't be able to accept the fact that the destiny of the girls wouldn't be pleasant had I done what she wanted.

Killing them was actually very kind of me since I prevented them from suffering from their whacky destiny, which was being the toys of Nobles or even emotionless Assassins.

"If you don't have a bucket to contain your water, don't use your hand to scoop and bring it home—it won't work," I intone. "Lunea, we are in no position of helping people. You need to remember who we are and what we are doing. Saving those kids wouldn't have given us any merit."

"Even so…killing them was…" Lunea trails off.

"Had I killed only the merchant, what would you do to the girls? You can't bring them with us, so would have no choice but to leave them behind. Can you guarantee that they wouldn't meet another predator? Do you want to satisfy your righteous heart so much that you are willing to bet—"

"I know!" Lunea shouts, cutting me before I finished my sentence. "I know…. Because of that, I am sorry. Sorry for being ignorant. I shouldn't have acted as if I was a saint."

Things turn out better than I expected. Lunea seems to have seen a glimpse of the ugly truth of this world, so she accepted what happened quite easily. She doesn't direct any hatred toward me either, indicating she means what she said. Maybe…my bullshit is just too persuasive.

"Where are we going now?" Lunea asks meekly.

"We are going to the north, away from Averia County, which is currently busy looking for us."

"Going north…? Are we going to Achtreal March?" Millonia wonders. "That is close to the capital, you know? I mean, really close to the capital. Are you sure about that?"

"Hm," I respond simply.

"Uh…who is there?" Lunea asks in confusion. "I reckon I haven't contacted any of the Heroes yet...and I am sure none of the Heroes has ever set foot on that territory."

"Out of the 11 Heroes who survived the calamity that befell them in the first month of their stay here, I have killed 4 of them. The news about it is pretty much still hush-hush but I believe it is enough to alarm them."

"So…?"

"For the time being, we are going to wreak havoc in a random human territory to minimize their suspicions. The Heroes already know that someone is hunting them but they don't know who it is. Doing this will prevent them from concluding that the Demon arsonist is not the one hunting them."

"Eh…isn't that too late now? I mean, we have been in the place where the Heroes were found dead twice," Lunea comments.

"Nah, not really. No one knows if we were the culprit of the explosion in Trichonee City, so no one will conclude it was the Demon arsonist's doing. Looking at the matter from that perspective, people will simply dismiss our encounter with Mike as mere coincidence."

"Layland, you said you had killed four…who was the other one?" Millonia asks curiously.

"Logan Keller. I killed him in the Battle of Lysimork."

"Oh…."

"By the way, by wreaking havoc, do you mean…?" Lunea trails off as she gulps her saliva nervously.

I say nothing, causing Millonia to chortle. I don't need to look back to tell that Lunea is asking Millonia about what we will do and how horrified Lunea is after hearing what Millonia has whispered to her.

We will do some "unethical" things to the humans but I can't tell if it is as cruel as what Millonia has whispered to Lunea. That girl, after all, is too crazy to come up with tame cruelties.

….

After twelve hours of flying at 1,800 miles per hour, which is Genelos' usual flying speed, we arrive at the place called Achtreal March. The temperature in this place is a bewildering contrast to Averia County's since it is surrounded by snowy mountains.

We land in the forest nearby and then assume our disguise. I change the pattern of my mask and hide my horns, meanwhile, the girls change their outfits and cover their heads with their hoods without making themselves suspicious.

Now, you may think that even idiots will be able to connect the dot and tell that we are the culprit of all the happenings that have happened if this is our disguise. Here is the interesting part; the less you hide the less suspicion will be put on you.

The safest place on the battlefield is the place where your enemy least expected you to be—your enemy's territory. While there is a heavy resemblance between us and the people drawn on the wanted poster, no one will suspect us because they expect us to be secretive.

"Sometimes my genius is almost frightening…" I laugh deeply, which encourages the girls to send me weird looks.

You may think I am underestimating people's suspicion and I can assure you I am not; I am paranoid enough to even suspect the birds flying in the air. The reason why I am sure no one will recognize us is that…our group, aside from our appearances, looks average.

A party that is consisted of one mask-wearing suspicious man and three hood-covered beautiful girls is not as rare as I expected.

Not many people come to Achtreal March, probably because it is eternally covered in snow. Even before a minute, our turn to enter the March has come.

"Good evening, Sir. May I know the purpose of your visit?" The guard asks with a polite smile.

Humming to myself as I glance at the three girls behind me, I say, "Honeymoon."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"…."

While the girls show their confusion in their own way, the guard doesn't even blink his eyes. Instead, he looks at me with a slightly bitter smile as if we are expecting something that we shouldn't expect in this March.

"There is nothing much we have to offer, but I hope you will spend a good time in our March, sir." The guard bows politely.

"How harsh?" I mutter.

The guard looks at me silently but answers me in the end when I don't budge after a few seconds. "…you will see it soon, sir. The time for the tax collection is close already."

"I see…."

As I walk past the guard, I throw him a piece of gold coin; he frantically catches it and then stares at my back silently for a few seconds. I don't know when I became an empath but I can tell he is hugely grateful for my action.

"Playing the good guy now?" Millonia remarks sarcastically.

"It is called emotion manipulation, Millonia. We are going to do this a lot in the future," I respond.

"Why do you even bother to?"

"We need the people's sympathy—I want to create a new bias about us, Cursed Creations."

"What exactly are you planning…Layland?"

In a relationship, doubt leads to destruction. When emotion takes a role in a matter, truths will be twisted so much that the boundary between truths and assumptions disappears.

Humans don't naturally believe each other. Those whose hearts are distant will remain distant. In people like them, the seed of doubt will sprout faster. Just like what I did in Brontes Dukedom, with slander, I will turn humans against each other.