On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"I can't believe it—we made it back!"

At Arieda's exclamation, I sigh lightly in exasperation. She makes it sound like we made it purely due to luck—it is, unfortunately.

She is lucky that she is a princess, otherwise I would have already flipped her upside down for her daring exclamation in the beginning. She has utterly fooled me by making such a convincing exclamation.

"Alright, don't mess with me, Arieda. I can't still see anything but darkness."

Although she says that we have made it, I have to make sure that we really have. I can't just believe what she says after what happened on our way here.

Looking around, I don't see any difference between our current position and the way we have passed. It is still as dark as before—I can't see anything in front of me—and feels no different than the way we have walked through.

Because of that, I conclude there is a possibility that Arieda is messing with us again. She has, after all, acted as if she can see in the dark even though she can't before, so there is a chance that she is pretending right now.

"I know it is hard for you to believe me, Mr. Layland; however, I can assure you we are going to walk through the right way. I am already familiar with the area around here; we are already close to my home."

"I thought you were saying we have made it back to your home," I comment dryly.

"No, we made it back as in we made it back to the right way."

Arieda is witty—she is way smarter than Paulina. That is to be expected since she is an 18 year old, but she is still as annoying as any kid in general.

Telling us to resume walking, Arieda guides us with more certainty now; she really acts like she knows the area around here. It is very convincing, but I can't bring myself to trust the brat after what she has pulled.

I am still inclined to believe we are going to reach somewhere though—at least, a place she knows.

With that being said, I wonder how she can see in this darkness. Even with my enhanced vision, all I can see in this forest without the help of [Illustambian] are my hands when I put them closer to my face.

I can't even see my feet, which makes me think how amazing Arieda is for being able to see through the suffocating darkness.

Recalling her silver eyes, I really want to test if having the eyes of a Dark Elf will allow me to do the same thing. I want to know whether Elves are using a special Art to see through darkness or it is something that their eyes allow them to do.

'Okay... My thought is getting scarier in each passing day.'

I am honestly surprised by how much I wonder about things lately, and the lengths I am willing to go through to satisfy my curiosity. I accept myself fully nonetheless, but I still wonder, at times, if the other Demons also do the same.

"Do you have any reason why we have been moving around in circle?" I ask.

"Oh, you really have a high spatial awareness, Mr. Layland. I can say, for sure, not just anyone can tell that we are moving around in circle," Arieda remarks delightfully.

"Thank you for your praise, but care to explain why?"

"It is simple, Mr. Layland. It's because we are not moving in circle." I can imagine Arieda assuming her lecture mode. "Kuhum! Like what my mother told me, 'Never trust your logic when you are in the forest. See it! If you can't, feel it!'"

"And... What does that mean?"

"I believe you have been taught how to get out of the forest, Mr. Layland. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are. I know that we have to rely on our instinct to get out of here."

"Exactly." I can feel Arieda nodding her head. "For those who can't see the way, they can only feel it. The forest itself will guide those who can hear them outside."

"Alright, just get to the point. Why are we moving around in circle?" I wave my hand rather impatiently.

"It's because you can't see, Mr. Layland," Arieda says sagely. "Logic doesn't work in this forest. Never shall you use your brain, for it can never comprehend why everything changes in each step you take."

"In other words?"

"Feel it, and you will figure that we have been walking straight," Eliseus chimes in.

I am a little bit annoyed at the fact that the two are telling me to feel rather than think. I have been feeling that we are really walking in circle—it aligns with what I think—so I don't know what they mean by feeling the way.

"Well, there is actually a way to make sure of it," I mutter to myself. "Let's try it."

Drawing the Mana from my Mana Pool, I spread it to cover as much area as it can cover. I have been preventing myself from doing this because I don't think it will do anything ... I was wrong.

As soon as my Mana is spread through the entire area, I can finally understand what Arieda and Eliseus mean by feeling the way. I don't necessarily feel the way that we are walking through, but I can somehow tell we are walking on the right way.

"This feeling... It is weird. I don't know the way, but I know it at the same time. It feels like walking through the same hall for a million times blindfolded. You can't see or tell—you just know which is the right way."

"Well... I suggest you to not walk the way you feel though, Mr. Layland. It will, after all, lead you outside."

"Is that so?" I ask, slightly surprised. "I thought it was the way to your home."

"Unfortunately, only those who can see will be able to find the way to the Kingdom of Dark Elves ... Anyway, can you already tell that we have been walking straight?"

"Yeah, I can tell that. The way the ground structure changes really messes up my perception."

As I can already confirm we are really walking on the right path, i cease my conversation with Arieda. She immediately converses with Eliseus afterwards, whereas I keep my silent and listen to their conversation.

A few minutes passed, and we finally make a turn. Of course, this turn is not the turn that my body feels, but what my Mana Sense feels. I can't still tell where we are now, but I can feel that we are already close to our destination.

Musing about how uneventful our journey to the Dark Elf Kingdom has been, I am immediately sense a presence of a Wild Beast. Probably sensing my Mana, it declares its presence afterwards.

Roar!

It sounds like a tiger, but I am sure, even though I can't see it yet, it is absolutely not a tiger. My guess it will be a panther like Beast or any other dark cat-like Beasts.

Regardless of whatever it is, I am ready to cut it down. Summoning Rexorem from the Bond Seal, it appears in my hand in a flash.

If it was before, I would have taken extra two seconds to completely summon Rexorem. Now that I have practiced enough though, I can do it even quicker than I can take out an item from my Spatial Storage.

"Wait! You can't hurt them, Mr. Layland!" Arieda stops me just a moment before I swing my sword to the direction where I can feel the Wild Beast is coming from.

"Them? What do you mean—oh, there are a lot of them." I slightly widen my eyes in surprise as I feel the presences of the other Beasts. "I couldn't believe I didn't notice them before. What are they anyway?"

"They are—"

"State your business!"

Arieda is interrupted by a very masculine voice. The owner of the voice immediately reveals himself by illuminating himself, and I can't help quirking my eyebrow in interest.

"Elorand!"

"Princess?! What are you doing with Demons?!"

The person is a very muscular Dark Elf, which is unusual considering how lean they are in general. Considering how excited Arieda upon seeing him, I can conclude he is someone that is on her side.

As Arieda asks me to put her down, the Elf also gets down from his mount. They meet in the middle; the Elf kneels respectfully, whereas Arieda touches his forehead as if she is blessing him.

I have heard about how Royal Elves greet those of the lower status, so I am not that interested in their interaction. I am more interested in the Wild Beast the Elf is mounting.

"It's a lizard—a hairy lizard ... What the hell am I seeing?" I mutter, dumbfounded.

The lizard looks like a komodo dragon but with a mane around its neck, which is likely the reason why it roars, and silver eyes that make it look like it is blind. It is almost as tall as a horse, so it is intimidating enough to scare any normal human.

I am a little bit disappointed that the journey is rather uneventful this time, but, at least, we have already arrived at the Dark Elves Kingdom. I can't wait to see how it looks like.