On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

[Storyteller's POV]

Brianna and company couldn't tell how Layland and company escaped the sub-dimension. The former also couldn't tell where the latter had gone.

When they got out of the subdimension, in other words, when they returned to the remote area of Axheria March, they couldn't even detect a trace of Layland and company's presence. It was as if they had never been there.

The sub-dimension was created by a Relic. One could not easily teleport out of it because it severed one's connection with the outside world completely.

In case one was talented enough to do it, one would appear in the place where the Relic was activated. The fact that Layland didn't appear there means that he managed to teleport himself somewhere else directly from inside the sub-dimension, which was a ridiculous feat.

Thinking about how it was possible brought frustration to Brianna and the others. The more they thought about it, the more afraid they became of him.

If their departure was filled with excitement and unbound anticipation, the return of Brianna and Mark was filled with a bleak and depressive mood. Sixty people, all of whom were highly skilled, were killed in their fruitless mission.

The only saving grace from the mission was that they had figured out the truth. Still, the price they had paid for it was immense. They were utterly defeated. Even worse, they were enslaved literally and figuratively by their archnemesis.

3 Knights and 1 Paladin carried the absentminded Mark using a stretcher. None of them said a word, nor did they turn to look at him. Brianna was also busy with her thoughts. She was bright enough to already realized what Layland was doing, so she was figuring the way out.

"No words about today's incident should come out of your mouths," she muttered softly but threateningly. "When people ask you what happened, just tell them that we encountered one of the Demon King's Generals."

The Paladin and the Knights nodded their head without saying anything. They didn't want the ace of the Heroes--their hope to die and, worse, develop enmity toward their Holy Maiden. Internal discord is a lethal poison to a group's unity. It can destroy a group in the blink of an eye if it is left unattended.

Clink!

After passing through a Portal, Brianna and company appeared in the garden of the king's palace. The three Heroes who didn't join them in their mission to eliminate Layland, the King, the other Holy Maiden--the King's daughter--and three of the Kingdom's Warlords were there.

As soon as they saw Mark's state, they widened their eyes in shock. Mark had never been injured in a fight before, so they couldn't help but immediately rush at him to inquire about what happened.

The King recovered from his stunned state very quickly. He exhaled lightly but solemnly as he turned to Brianna. He quickly noticed how shaken she was and it made him smile bitterly. Brianna possessed the least battle prowess; however, he knew she was the bravest. For her to look like that, something traumatizing must have happened.

"Greetings, King Dulorand." Brianna bowed graciously as soon as she arrived before the King.

"Something unpleasant happened, it seems," Dulorand remarked.

Brianna said nothing and merely nodded her head.

"Did you encounter a Demon King's General?" the King's Daughter, the senior Holy Maiden asked straightforwardly.

Widening her eyes briefly, Brianna fiddled with the hem of her robe. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when her senior drove herself into the lie she was about to provide to everyone; she thought her senior had figured out what she was going to do. That wasn't the case, fortunately for her, yet she still couldn't help getting nervous.

"I seem to have awakened the unpleasant memory you have been trying to forget. I am sorry--that was very insensitive of me," the senior Holy Maiden apologized.

"Ah, no, Princess Celia--you don't have to apologize." Brianna waved her hand frantically. "It was my mistake...for being too cowardly."

The blonde-haired princess hummed to herself and then nodded her head in approvement. As weak as one was as a Holy Maiden, one still had to have a strong mind. In her opinion, Brianna was strong enough but she was glad that Brianna wanted to be braver. Of course, she wasn't aware of what was going on in Brianna's mind.

"If I may know, how could you tell we encountered a Demon King's General?"

"I can sense a trace of Demonic Essence on you. Only old and powerful Demons can use that. Although there is a chance that you might just encounter an old Demon, from how shaken you are, I concluded that you just met a Demon King's General. Unlike the rest of the Demons, they are, after all, quite...something."

Mentally noting that Layland was a force to be reckoned with, Brianna nodded her head. As she told Celia and Dulorand about her version of what happened to Mark and the two other Heroes, she glanced at Mark who was silently staring at her from afar.

He was no longer absentminded but he still tuned everyone out. Her concerned friends were constantly shaking him but he didn't show even a shred of intention to respond.

The cautiousness in Mark's eyes was extremely familiar to her. She had seen it in someone's eyes before--someone whose eyes had now been filled with overwhelming darkness and soul-freezing cold.

Paranoia. She had seen that extremely often in Layland's eyes when they were still on Earth. He had been hurt so many times that he believed none but himself. She somehow managed to snuggle into his list of to-trust people and it had been an arduous process. She also ended up losing her right to remain on the list and the repercussion was bloody.

Mark wasn't as soft as Layland used to be. He wouldn't wait until he was hurt to do something crazy. Brianna was sure of that and she was concerned. She had ways to kill Mark but she was rather reluctant to kill him. After all, killing him was the same as throwing away her weapon to kill Layland.

She wasn't a dreamer. She was well aware that Mark was the only one capable of killing Layland in the future. Although there were strong people like Warlords and Swordmasters like Alivert, they had reached their growth limit. Layland was an abnormal Demon and he was still growing--she could tell.

It was unsavoury for her to work together with someone who might stab her back in her sleep; however, she didn't want to ignore that glimmer of hope.

....

When everything was sorted out, Mark was transferred to the infirmary. Celia had volunteered to take care of Mark--despite her contempt toward said Hero--because she didn't want to put a toll on Brianna's mind; however, Brianna vehemently rejected her.

Brianna had a few things to talk about with Mark, so she naturally couldn't let the chance to speak alone with him go. Mark might even suspect her more had she let Celia take care of him, which was more of a reason for her to meet him.

"How are--"

"Are you here to mock me?"

Brianna stopped her hand a few inches from Mark's forehead. Although their relationship had become obscure these days, she still considered they were dating. She wanted to caress him but he had the wrong idea. Still, she didn't bother to defend herself since it would only piss him off.

"Let's kill our remaining classmates."

"...you crazy bitch."

The bomb that Brianna had just dropped forced an astonished laugh to come out of Mark's mouth. He had noticed how manipulative and thin her empathy was but he still couldn't help but be surprised as he heard those words come easily out of her mouth.

"First of all, let's take them away. Layland must also be chasing after them, so we can't let him meet them first. They will figure out his identity and it will kill me."

Brianna was glad that Mark was cooperative but she couldn't help humming to herself at his silly misunderstanding. "That is not how the Geas works. What Layland means is that you will die if they figure out that you were done by him."

"Oh...right. Didn't think of that."

"Therefore, I am proposing this. Let's send those three directly to Layland."

"What do you mean?" Mark lightly frowned.

"Isn't it clear already? Layland is hunting for us," Brianna seriously said. "The deaths of our classmates for the past two weeks--he is responsible for that. We should be extremely prepared for him, so we need more time. For that..."

"We are using those three to slow him down."

Brianna nodded her head affirmatively. "We have to make it as discreet as possible for both sides, though. Our classmates aside, Layland is a very bright person, he will smell something fishy if we are not careful."

"That should be easy. That bastard must still feel ecstatic about his power. I am sure he will swing his fist at anyone coming at him. He has been playing Heroes too, hasn't he? He calls himself Shadow and helps the oppressed. He is drunken by his power."

Finding some logic to it, Brianna agreed.

"Now, we need to think of a way to boost my power."

Expecting a helpless sigh to come out of Brianna's mouth, Mark was surprised when she got the solution already.

"The only thing that can help you greatly aside from levelling up is Divinity. You don't need to be another God; you only need God to lend you his. For that, we need to present the heart of the other Holy Maiden to him."

Mark smirked at how easily Brianna said those words. The certainty in her tone made him ecstatic about the future. They both thought the victory was already in their hand. Unfortunately for them, what they did was listen to the Demon's whisper and dance in his palm.