On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Bam!

"Keugh! I hate this."

Being planted in the wall again, this time, I find my limbs broken. My face darkens as I think of a way to get myself out of the wall, meanwhile Niles is rapidly eliminating the distance between us.

Fortunately, my power-up comes in time. Just a hair's breadth before Niles reaches me, all of my limbs are healed.

I get away from the wall as quick as I can, but I am still not quick enough to prevent him from cutting my shoulder slightly. The wound heals quickly though, so it's still a win for me.

Niles, of course, doesn't have any intention to just let me go. Quickly facing my way, he sends me his Mana Sword, which I can't almost block.

Clank!

"Ooh... That was heavy," I remark. "Is this guy getting stronger along with me? Why is his attack more lethal than the previous ones?"

Huffing in amusement as I recall Yūto's comment about my Origin, I figure this is what he must be feeling when he was fighting with me. It is annoying to be honest, but due to my Origin's influence, I can't help getting giddy.

The stronger Niles becomes, after all, the more power I will receive from my power-up. The fact that I might lose to him if I am not careful, of course, tones my excitement down a little bit.

"Is that all you can do? Just run and dodge? Coward!" Niles shouts.

"Ku-ku-ku. Just because I don't have pride to maintain doesn't mean I am a coward," I retort. "Also, running away from your opponent's attack that can kill you is logical, don't you think?"

"You speak just like a coward!" Niles dashes towards me. His sword is held horizontally, showing his readiness to bisect me.

"Nah, you are just a pride freak."

Clank!

Sparks fly off our sword as they clash against each other. I have activated Great Impact, so I managed to hold off his swing even though he is slowly overpowering me afterwards.

Gritting my teeth, again, I wonder just how this man is stronger than before. He is now making me feel like the power-ups I receive from surviving his attacks are never going to enough to allow me to match his power.

"Are you messing with me, Demon? How come you are getting stronger the longer I fight you?"

"Asking me about that while you are holding yourself back is not fair, is it?" I smirk. "Why don't we just think that both of us are doing the same thing?"

"Hmph! You will regret playing with me, because I am not playing with you!" Putting more strength into his sword, he swings it roughly.

Clank!

I am sent skidding to the back, destroying tiles with my feet in the process. I receive no power-up, so that means the power he had used was not stronger than the power I currently have.

I deactivate Great Impact and dash at him as soon as I see him assuming a weird stance. His already overwhelming pressure became even more overwhelming, and the Mana surrounding him like a mist became even thicker.

I would like to block this attack of his just so I can receive a power-up, but I don't think I will be able to survive it; therefore, I am going to intercept it.

Just as I swing Rexorem at him, sadly, whatever Technique he has been preparing is ready to be executed.

"Shit!"

Whoosh!

Swiftly and abruptly thrusting his sword at me, I am forced to immediately lean backwards. Luckily, I am a great limbo player, so I can get away with a mere scratch on my chest plate.

A light beam that is obviously powered by Mana is discharged out of the tip of his sword in the next moment. I watch as it passes by right above me, and thank my luck for having an extremely good reflex.

,m When my left hand can already touch the floor—when I am already assuming the bridge position, I do a kip up. Niles has also retracted his sword at this point, so I don't find myself in an awkward situation where I accidentally slam my body into it.

Clank!

Upon standing up, Niles greets me with a swing of his sword. I managed to block it with Rexorem, but the impact of his swing is still strong enough to send me flying to the back.

Thankfully, the beam that he sent me earlier was produced by his real power. I got a power-up from surviving that, so I can stop my launch immediately with my newfound power.

Niles, however, has become more impatient ever since my last provocation, so by the time I regain my balance, he is already in front of me. Widening my eyes as I am genuinely surprised by his sudden appearance, I put Rexorem in front of me.

I encapsulate myself with a Magic Barrier. Alas, with a trust, he pierced through it completely. His sword slips between my left armpit; and much to my horror, he swings it upwards, severing my arm.

Spurt!

"Fucking hell!" It is not hurt, but losing a limb is still shocking to me.

"Have you finally felt pain? My pain is ten times worse than yours!"

Boom!

Punching me square in the chest while I am preoccupied by my severed arm, Niles caves my chest in. I immediately throw up a mouthful of blood as my broken ribs pierce my lungs.

Again, I don't think the pain is worse than a tingle, but the feeling of having to throw up my heart as Niles twists his hand is very unpleasant.

Crack!

Slammed into the wall, for the third time, I am planted in it. I think my skull has caved in—I feel the back of my head is wet—and I can't think straight this time.

I can actually think, but it is hard to focus on one thought since my head is spinning like crazy. I can still feel the Niles' violent pressure though, so I can clearly read every one of his action.

"Being helpless doesn't feel good, does it?" He pierces my abdomen. "You should've thought what my daughter felt when you were strangling her!"

Gritting my teeth as I force my mouth to move, I say, "S...top, please. I can't breathe... Father, help me!" I sneer. "You should have seen her look of horror."

"Fuck!"

Niles grabs my face and bashes my head to the wall. My head immediately became lighter—I can't even afford to curse my stupidity for provoking him at this situation.

My nerves are still quite sensitive even though I can't think straight. Because of this, I can feel my abdomen, or rather, my insides are getting warmer.

I want to prevent whatever he is going to do to me, but even lifting Rexorem is already hard for the current me. I eventually give up trying to prevent him to do what he wants to do, and let him burst his Mana forth inside my abdomen.

Boom!

Splat!

I don't know how it looks, but considering how empty my abdominal cavity feels now, I am sure the area surrounding me is decorated with my viscera. My vision starts to get darker, and the last thing I feel is a cold metal piercing my heart.

"... My daughter dies for naught. If only you Demons didn't exist, she wouldn't have to die this soon. Burn in the lowest level of hell, you Demon!"

In addition that, I also hear a hateful condemnation of the father whose daughter I have killed.

...

I don't know how long has passed since my battle with Niles, but expecting myself to die, I am pleasantly surprised when I find myself regaining my clarity. My head has stopped spinning, and I can think straight again.

"...sorry to not be able to help much."

"It's okay. He wasn't your opponent anyway."

"Oh, can I burn him? Just to make sure that he is really dead."

"You can do whatever you like to his body—I don't care."

I can faintly hear Vinetta conversing with Niles. I can already open my eyes, but all I cans see is still blur.

I am rapidly regaining my vision though, so by the time Vinetta stands in front of me to stare at me, I can already see her clearly. I am good at pretending to be dead, so she is unaware that I am still alive.

"I have lost two of my friends because of you. Zoela died very painfully because of the injury you have inflicted on her." Grabbing my mask, she adds, "I can never—"

My right hand—my one and only hand grabs her throat, preventing her from finishing her sentence. I then get out of the wall while still holding her by the throat, notifying Niles in the process.

"What... In the love of God?"

When Niles turns around to look at me in shock, I receive all of the power-ups from surviving his attacks that have almost killed me.

My spilled blood immediately returns into my body, my crushed viscera are reconstructed before returning into my abdominal cavity, and my arm that has been severed reattaches itself.

"Don't touch my mask, bitch," I say coldly to Vinetta before snapping her neck with one hand.

Thud!

Throwing Vinetta's lifeless body to the ground, I turn to Niles. "I hate to debate, but I feel the need to tell you this, Niles: you kill my kin, and I kill yours. None of us should feel guilty, because everything that happens in this conflict between us is just."

Sneering, I pick up Rexorem. It feels lighter now that I am already as strong as Niles, and I can't wait to repay him for what he has done.