On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Hovarc, for lack of a better word, was ruined. He had all of his knees broken. The bones were sticking out of the flesh, making one cringe just by looking at them. He was covered in blood. One might think he had just taken a bath with blood. Gashes decorated his body. One would wonder how he managed to survive. Hovarc was rendered useless.

It was Haletha's first time seeing one of the Nine Mentors suffer from such an injury. She was quite taken aback by the scene since she didn't think Layland would be this capable. She could do the same to Hovarc, but she was sure she wouldn't do it as quickly as Layland did. She even had to exert almost all of her power, which Layland didn't.

With anticipation, both she and Eryn turned to the Demon who had dealt such damage to Hovarc. They found him smirking at the extremely battered Stavros while cracking his neck. Other than some dust sticking to him, which disappeared quickly, Layland was spotless. They couldn't find a single drop of blood on him and they couldn't help but gulp.

Haletha gulped while thinking about what Layland would be in the future meanwhile Eryn gulped because she was afraid Haletha would team up with the Demon against her. Haletha was already a problem—she didn't need a bigger problem.

Flash!

A blinding light briefly flashed before Stavros appeared beside Eryn, still facing the Demon who remained in his place. Eryn was about to glance at Haletha from the corner of her eyes when she found Haletha standing beside the said Demon.

"I have never tasted a roasted horse before, but you are lucky that I promised my buddy to not char this entire place," Layland exclaimed, earning a grimace from Stavros. "Come on, horsy, I need you to be serious. Those injuries should motivate you a little bit."

"Damn it…" Stavros cursed under his breath, which shocked Eryn because she had never caught him swearing before. "Princess, this guy is dangerous. We will still win the war, but I am sure he will be able to kill every capable individual we brought. This guy has to die. I need your help."

The intensity in Stavros' gaze as he turned to Eryn made her silently gulp. At that moment, she could instantly figure out Stavros' fate. He would sacrifice himself to kill Layland. He would surrender his body to [One with Nature] and utilise his spear to its fullest potential. He would use his life force to gain the necessary strength to defeat Layland.

Eryn's help was required to stabilize the power he would gain. Natural Energy could make one go crazy. Even the Elf, the only race other than the Spirit in this world that could utilize Natural Energy, would go crazy after a certain amount of time of exposure. The Dark Elf was the perfect example of what Natural Energy did to an Elf who was exposed too much to it.

What Stavros was about to do was even worse because he would utilize Natural Essence, which a Centaur could never utilise. Eryn would also have a hard time helping him control it, but she didn't need to think about it much. After all, Stavros didn't intend to get out of it alive.

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"Master Stavros…"

"For the greater good."

It was a sentence she had heard a lot from her father. That was what he said when he sparked the conflict between the Dark Elf and the Light Elf. To make a big sacrifice for the bigger picture was always a win in her father's mind. He would unhesitatingly kill her and her mother if he deemed their death necessary for the 'greater good.'

She hated the sentence; however, she wouldn't discourage her mentor. She knew what kind of person her mentor was, so she knew that no amount of persuasion would deter his determination. All she had to do was respect the decision. In a way, she would be the one who killed her mentor but that was something she had to live with as his disciple.

"That idiot will merge with that Relic," Layland remarked as he took out Hovarc's bow, which he had snatched away. "This Relic is sentient. It doesn't possess a soul like Rexorem, but it is sentient. It is powerful, but I don't want to wield it. It is so stuck up that it thinks it can devour me."

"You have to be careful. Unlike blessed Relics, the Relics that the Nine Mentors possess were created by God…or that is what everyone believes," Haletha said before shaking her head. "Regardless, you have to be careful. [One with Nature] is a Magic Art that no one can understand until now."

"You just reminded me of something, Haletha." Layland turned to Haletha with a soft smile, making the heart of the said Dark Elf flutter despite the situation. "Maxine, my secretary, told me about Necromancy a few weeks ago. She knows some people who will be interested in furthering the research. We lack materials for that, so…"

Layland's eyes landed on Hovarc's barely functional body. Haletha immediately cringed as she knew what Layland was going to do to the Centaur.

"You can take him away and keep him somewhere safe. It will be amazing to have one of the Nine Mentors on our side."

"Are you going to fight alone?" Haletha furrowed her eyebrows lightly.

"Do you think that stuck-up bitch will pose a threat to me?" Layland countered with a quirked eyebrow.

Haletha couldn't find anything to say. Her trust in Layland's ability was so high that she couldn't find any way to dispute his capability. Of course, her reason for not being willing to leave was what Layland would do to Eryn. She might have resolved to kill the Princess, but she believed Layland could do better. If it was him, Eryn could be taken down without killing her.

Layland would highly likely pay no heed to her ludicrous request, so she didn't want to say it out loud. She didn't want to back down either, so she clasped Layland's hand and stared right at his soul…or what she believed to be the case.

Layland merely quirked an eyebrow before turning to Eryn who was glaring at him hatefully. A small smile of amusement crept up his face. He immediately concluded that Eryn would become a thorn in his side should he listen to Haletha's request. The Light Elf was stupidly stubborn enough to come there to kill Haletha whom she looked up to.

Her name was automatically added to Layland's must-kill list. Given Haletha's plea, though, he had to reconsider giving the Light Elf a chance. He inclined toward not giving Eryn a chance, but Haletha's sincere pleading look made him feel awkward to reject her. In the end, he relented and nodded his head.

"Go help Arieda. You will see her alive," Layland said as he gestured for Haletha to leave. "Though, I won't hear any complaints from you or that stuck-up bitch. You got me?"

"Thank you," Haletha said with a smile of relief.

Haletha turned her gaze to Hovarc's body, causing Stavros to glower at her. Layland merely resummoned Rexorem from their Bond Seal and pointed it at the Centaur to take the Centaur's attention away from Haletha. As Haletha teleported herself beside Hovarc and took his body away, a bitter smile adorned Stavros' face. The Nine Mentors would lose two of its members after two decades of being complete.

Haletha left with the helpless Hovarc, leaving Layland with the suicidal mentor and stuck-up disciple duo. Layland waited for a moment before dashing at Stavros. The Centaur was already one with his Relic and his presence could barely be felt as he had fully surrendered himself to [One with Nature]. The battle would be hard, but Layland knew he would reap a lot.

Clank!

Their "first" clash shattered the ground below them. If Eryn was not protected by Stavros, she would have been flung into the air. Even after the Power-ups Layland had received, this time, his hand shook. The power that Stavros had was ridiculous. It was to the point that it made him wonder if he made a good choice by engaging the Centaur in a fight.

Being a battle maniac, of course, having death looming above him excited him. He felt even more vigorous as he overcharged his hands with Mana, activated [Death Blow] and swung Rexorem to push Stavros back.

Spurt!

The veins in his hands exploded because of the overexertion, but he couldn't care less. Even with his hands letting out blood like a water bottle with holes, he dashed at Stavros whom he just threw away with a manic grin on his face. The scene boggled both Eryn's and Stavros' minds. They could tell he thought his actions thoroughly despite his drive, which made him all the more terrifying.

The next clash produced an extremely loud sonic boom. The explosion wave left a mark on the trees in the surroundings and even destroyed some of them. Eryn was deafened despite being protected by a Magic Barrier, further showing how powerful the explosion was. The perpetrators looked unfazed, looking ready to cause even more damage.

Stavros channelled his Mana into his spear and mixed it with Nature Essence. He could immediately feel his lifespan shorten, but he didn't care. The blade of his spear shone in white and it alarmed Layland. The very scene brought a smile to his face.

Layland immediately disengaged and he took it as a chance to thrust his spear. The blade didn't reach Layland, but the dense Mana at the tip prevented him from teleporting and so would hit him. Stavros expected to see a look of horror on Layland's face, but he got an excited smirk instead. Layland's irritating confidence remained even in this situation.