On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Gulp.

"Do you think we will be able to defeat this Hero?" Lunea asked as she put her hand on her pounding chest.

"We should be able to. Layland said it himself," Millonia answered.

"To be exact, it was you whom he guaranteed to be able to defeat the Hero," Winerva retorted. Shaking her head faintly, he continued, "No. Let me correct myself. He guaranteed that you would be able to survive. He didn't say that to us."

"Oh, come on. Are you jealous because you didn't get his encouragement?" Millonia teased. "Don't worry, girls. As long as I am undefeated, no one can take your lives--I will protect you, the new friends I made, at all costs."

"Millonia..."

"...."

Lunea was so moved by Millonia's words that she had to wipe the slight tear in the corner of her eyes. Winerva kept her silence as she looked at Millonia doubtfully, trying to figure out what Millonia's real intention was.

She had heard stories about how Millonia and Layland built their friendship and she wouldn't hesitate to call both of them lunatics. People made friends in many ways but she was sure no one but the two had established their friendship that way.

In short, to be considered friends with Millonia was an arduous process. She was just sceptical if she could fully trust Millonia on her words.

Pat.

A hand landed on her shoulder. "I am a weirdo--you already know it, don't you? I have made it clear that I don't just make friends but I am sure that I enjoy your company.... Therefore, trust me. Let's work together, win, and return to his side with a triumphant smile."

"Millonia..." Looking into Millonia's eyes, Winerva could feel the sincerity; she couldn't help smiling. "You sound just like Layland." Shaking her head, she continued, "As expected, I am not convinced that you already take me as a friend...but I will trust you."

Millonia stared at Winerva silently for a few seconds before taking her hand off Winerva's shoulder and smiling softly. "That is all I have to hear."

What matters most in teamwork is trust. One shall never be able to achieve the team's goal if one keeps questioning what one's team is doing. Millonia understood it very well. As Winerva said, Millonia didn't consider any of them, apart from Layland, friends yet. She still needed their trust, however, which was why she told them that.

Knowing that she had their trust was already enough. As long as they didn't fight while thinking that she would stab their backs, their team would work to their fullest potential.

'Damn, that bastard! Sneaky, aren't you?'

Millonia felt the need to praise Layland for his wit. He realized that he was the one who unified the girls. He was doing this to create a genuine relationship between the girls, so he didn't have to become their bridge any longer. Of course, it had nothing to do with friendship; it was nothing but an attempt to maximize their teamwork.

"Shit! Sneaky, isn't he?" Millonia muttered to herself; again, couldn't help but admire and despise Layland at the same time for what he did.

A few hours passed and it felt like as short as the time a candle needs to wear off for the girls. The place where the Hero was waiting for them with her army was just 3 Absitan away. Their hearts were pounding, filling their ears with the sound. They felt a lot of things: nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and fear.

"Jane Park.... She is the 'last' Hero that Layland told us to defeat." Turning to Lunea, Millonia asked, "Do you know what her ability is?"

"Her Class is Spellcaster--that's all I know about her," answered Lunea. "Given that she is a Hero, she should be able to cast Spells quickly or cast multiple Spells at once."

Winerva immediately clicked her tongue. "I hope it will be the former. The latter will render our cooperation useless."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Millonia remarked in assurance. "No matter how fast and how many Spells she can cast, she will die if she doesn't use them wisely. I have experience--you'll be surprised how quick I will feed her dirt."

The girls had seen how well Millonia fought. Layland had also admitted how skilful she was, so they nodded their heads at her words. She wasn't as assuring as Layland but they knew she didn't like to bluff. She would show them what she just said.

"Girls, we are descending," came a rough voice out of Genelos' mouth.

The girls tensed up their bodies and stood up. Genelos pierced through the cloud as he kept descending until they could see the one-hundred men army consisting of Knights and Paladins that was led by two Warlords; they were standing mightily beside the Hero.

"Those are Warlord Neroel Storm and Warlord Sziera Aftlachtine," Lunea said, pointing to the grey-haired male standing on Jane's right and the green-haired male standing on her left. "The former is the son of Alivert Storm, the legendary Swordmaster of Antares. He will be the most dangerous foe apart from the Hero."

"Don't be too caught up with those Warlords. That bitch is the real threat," she said pointing at Jane. "They are going to protect her at all costs, so she will be able to do whatever will eliminate all of us."

Turning to Millonia after her warning, Winerva asked, "Why are you dressing like Layland?"

"To intimidate them, dear. This appearance is feared by anyone, you know?"

As she put on her mask that looked very similar to Layland's, Millonia smirked. She turned to the front and the conversation ceased.

Whoosh!

Genelos landed, causing the capes and the hem of the people's garments to billow as he flapped his wings. Some of the dust rose into the air, flying into the people's eyes, but none of them blinked as they kept their gaze focused on Millonia.

"Well, well...look whom we have here," a raspy voice came from underneath the mask. "You have competent intel, don't you? Ku-Ku-Ku."

Lunea and Winerva sneakily looked at Millonia in admiration. Everything about her manner and speech mirrored Layland's perfectly; they couldn't she could act exactly like how Layland would react if he were there.

"I didn't know Shadow had tits," remarked the Hero, Jane Park.

"We tend to easily notice the thing that people have that we don't, they say," Millonia retorted.

Neroel winced slightly at the response, meanwhile, Jane merely scoffed at it. "You will not advance. The Barony behind us shall keep its sovereignty."

"Heh...talking like a proper Hero, aren't we?"

Instead of responding to Millonia, Jane turned to Neroel. He immediately raised his sword and the troops took that as a cue to bare their fangs.

Millonia jumped down from Genelos, followed by Winerva. Genelos immediately took off, carrying Lunea with him, at the same time the two charged at the army.

Jane didn't betray Millonia's expectations; she immediately retreated, putting herself in the middle of the rank. A Barrier was erected before the army as she lifted her staff but it immediately quivered as soon as Genelos' fire made contact with it.

"Holy shit, a Dragon! It wasn't just a rumour!?" Neroel exclaimed.

Shatter!

Millonia's sword broke the Barrier as she swung it fiercely. The fire covering her sword scorched three people who were, unfortunately, standing in its course.

It was a simple attack yet it managed to scatter the army. Thirty people or so ran to the sides, meanwhile, the rest retreated while keeping Jane in the middle of the formation. Millonia stomped the ground, causing an earth spike to emerge out of it. Jane and her protectors swiftly changed their course, unknowingly, driving themselves to Genelos' fire breath's path.

Burst!

It was unfortunate that no one was killed--Jane managed to block it--but the fact that they could occupy Jane for a while was enough.

Millonia turned on her heel and slashed the neck of the Paladin who was close enough to decapitate her. She then somersaulted to the back to dodge the rope of the Lasso of Judgment that belonged to the other Paladin targeting her.

After successfully dodging it, she decided to try Layland's trick which she had seen a lot but had always been avoiding due to how risky it was. She grabbed the lash at the end of the lasso and then pulled it strongly.

It worked splendidly, so the poor Paladin was sent flying at her. Smirking in glee, she brandished her sword.

Slash!

"Ku-Ku-Ku. It stung my hand but was worth the fun."

Stepping on the scorched and bisected body before her, she returned her attention to Jane and her protectors. Genelos had run out of breath, so she needed to do something to occupy her, lest she would let Jane kill all of them with her spell.

Clank!

"Keuk!"

A second before she dashed off, however, she had to block Neroel's sword, which sent her flying away for a few feet. Her hands immediately trembled afterwards, causing her to grin so wide that she almost tore her mouth.

"This is it--the urgency! I need this adrenaline rush. I will use this motherfucker as a way to loosen my seal even more. Come at me!"

Swish!

As Millonia clashed against Neroel, fighting his immense power with her honed Skills and experience, Winerva was slaughtering Paladins here and there. She couldn't get close to Jane and her protectors, so it was the only thing she could do.

She could also fight the Knights; she chose to fight the Paladins because all of them could shoot Genelos down. She wanted to reduce their number as many as possible, so Lunea could focus on killing everyone from above.

All of them were working extremely hard together. They were still slightly overwhelmed, however, there was a chance for them to win.