On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

[Layland Kleinhaus' POV]

With the battle ending in their victory, the Dark Elf is busy returning to their home and repairing their damaged properties. Some of them also prepare for the celebration festival which they haven't held for two centuries. A glimpse of them—those who work at the palace—prepare for the banquet to welcome the Ninth Demon King and the Dragons. Everyone is busy regardless of their profession.

I watch in fascination as Dark Elves run around and jump from tree to tree as if they have the soul reaper hot on their tails. They are in a rush but still manage to do their job meticulously. They are not as good at crafting as the Dwarf is, but they work twice as fast. At their current pace, Lysimork will recover in a week.

Thinking about recovery, my eyes turn to Haletha. She is walking at the forefront, guiding us to the banquet room. At a glance, you can't tell what is wrong with her, but it is easy to spot her exhaustion when you look at her carefully. The current her is no different from a civilian Dark Elf. With Freya's Dust still taking effect, it is amazing that she is still conscious.

"Everyone, may I bother you for a moment," I comment as I raise my hand, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Our guide is about to collapse. I think it is better to pardon her from her job and let me guide you instead."

The Dragons have no issue with my suggestion but look at me curiously. Quetzalcoatl, especially, gazes at me intensely as if he will uncover something from me by doing that. Of course, their opinion doesn't matter. Ilschevar will be the deciding factor, so I observe his look. He doesn't like dilly-dallying, so he merely nods his head as usual.

"Wait!" Haletha interrupts me before I even excuse her. "It will be very rude of me to not be in the banquet room meanwhile Lord Ilschevar is enjoying the delicacies. I thank Lord Layland for his consideration, but I have to decline your proposal. I still have enough energy to remain awake during the banquet."

I quirk an eyebrow, prompting her to nod her head in assurance. I shrug and walk toward her before swiping her off her feet and carrying her like a bride. She only lets out a yelp and says nothing. She regains her composure soon and then resumes her role as the guide. Some eyes bore into the back of my head, but no one says a thing.

Soon enough, we arrive at the banquet room. I immediately sit her in the head seat which is at one of the ends of the elliptical table. Ilschevar sits at the other end and the Dragons fill the seats on each side of the table. I sit on Ilschevar's right and Quetzalcoatl sits on his left. We sit across from each other, so our eyes can always meet.

Quetzalcoatl isn't in the mood of being grumpy, though. Aurelia sits beside him, so he is probably busy thinking about how to have a meaningful conversation with her. Poor him; Aurelia is not that thrilled about having a conversation with him. She is staring at me instead, asking with her gaze why she can't sit with me.

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I just shake my head sternly. She needs to talk with Quetzalcoatl. I bet Quetzalcoatl has things to share that he won't share with me. Quetzalcoatl may be annoyingly overprotective, but he wants the best for her. It is quite too much to abhor him for that. Therefore, they need to solve their misunderstanding and talk to each other.

Clack! Clack!

When the servants put down the delicacies on the table, everyone behaves formally. A diplomatic talk is about to start soon. Most of the people sitting at the table may not care about formality, but they respect tradition. When all of the delicacies have been put down and the servants have left the room, the talk begins.

"It is very late, but I like to welcome the Ninth Demon King, Lord Ilschevar, to Lysimork. It is not the first time we meet, but this is the first time we talk in our humble yet prided home," Haletha greeted.

"Thank you for the amazing welcome, Haletha. The Dark Elf sure is a hard worker. I didn't expect this much extravagance to welcome me for my unannounced visit. You have my praise," Ilschevar returns with a small smile.

"Thank you for your flattering praise, Lord Ilschevar. It is very relieving to hear our welcome is up to your standard."

Ilschevar nods his head lightly before glancing at me. "My sole reason for coming here is honestly to show the Dragons some respect for their willingness to become our allies and make sure of Layland's safe return."

Quetzalcoatl and his fellow Dragons quirk an eyebrow. Representing his fellows, the oldest Dragon asks, "Are you implying that we would still become allies even if you didn't come? No one will mock you even if your sole reason for visiting is to save your subordinate."

Ilschevar laughs, causing many people to tense up. "That was funny, Quetzalcoatl. You know yourself you would still grab Layland's hand even if I didn't come." Ilschevar smiles faintly. "Besides, I wasn't worried about you doing something to Layland. There is only one bastard capable of putting Layland's existence in jeopardy and we know it is not you."

Ten seconds passed in tense silence. Everyone but a few is anticipating a clash to occur, so the atmosphere of the room is thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"Well, you sure have high confidence in the boy."

Fortunately, the clash doesn't happen.

"He has a knack for achieving something impossible. The more impossible it seems, the higher his success rate is."

The conversation ceases as the two begin eating. Everyone follows suit and soon gets carried away by the taste their tastebuds detect. The food is good. It tastes even better compared to the first time I came to Lysimork, but it doesn't beat Millonia's cooking. I am not complaining, but I should have brought her with me. I could have eaten her heavenly cooking.

"Pardon for my imprudence, My Lord; but are we disturbing your schedule by inviting you to this banquet?" Haletha asks, restarting the conversation.

"Honestly, yes. I didn't plan on staying here for long, but you don't have to feel like you have done something wrong. I had a choice to refuse, but I didn't. I can't complain about the choice that I made, no?" Ilschevar responds.

"Don't you realize that your presence may endanger Lysimork, Ilschevar?" Quetzalcoatl quips in.

"That will be fine, Quetzalcoatl. My siblings won't do anything stupid at the moment." As if remembering something, Ilschevar's eyes light up. "You know what? I think I am going to break it to you now. In half a year, a Demon Kings Summit will be held. A great change will occur in half a year and it will be equally unpleasant for everyone."

The way Ilschevar broke it to us was too cheerful to be considered bad news. Though, no one says a thing because the gravity of the situation has sunk in. Ilschevar also loses his smile quickly as he turns to me. It is one of the rare moments when he stares at me solemnly. It seems I have a lot to anticipate for this upcoming event.

Demon Kings Summit is held once every two decades. It is a platform for all of the nine Demon Kings to socialize and strengthen their bond as siblings. At the summit, they will talk about what they have done to their Kingdom and what they will do next. Collaborations always happen at the end of the summit and they have always given birth to disasters.

Demon Kings Summit is also a platform for the nine Demon Kings to spot their weakened siblings. Their nature makes them disregard their relationship. They abhor weaklings. They prefer killing their weak siblings to watching them live but barely triumphing. Helping each other is not in their interest. Any interaction must be an equal exchange.

"My siblings will likely join forces to take me down or ask me to join them in dominating every race in this world but the human. A great war might transpire and God might also get involved. Humans will not stand still when their allies are being slaughtered. The moment they do that, after all, everyone will realize that God is nothing but a shameless hypocrite."

The Prized Creation. It is God's way of calling humans. Should the scenario that Ilschevar described happen, everyone will realize God has made a mistake. Humans don't deserve the title. Some people will hope that God helps them, but he won't. He will do what his Prized Creation does: stand and watch as other races struggle to survive.

Faith powers God. The moment people lose their faith in him, he will be weakened. Therefore, he can't afford to leave other races fighting alone. He will order his Prized Possession to fight and lose a significant number of them. He might prevent it from happening by descending to the world. Nonetheless, a great war will occur.

However, that is only the case if the other Demon Kings team up with Ilschevar and go against the world. If they decide to team up against Ilschevar and cooperate with God, we will be the only ones suffering from the result of the Demon Kings Summit.

"Layland, I am going to take you to the Demon Kings Summit," Ilschevar remarks, bringing me out of my thought. "It is time for you to enter the game that we have been playing since the beginning of this world."