## Chapter 146 – The Reality of District 3, No. 25 (2)
Aser wasn’t flustered. She first had No. 25 step back behind her, then approached the person who had collapsed on the floor.
“Who on earth did this?”
It was hard to believe this had happened naturally. Someone must have been involved. Aser saw that the woman was only moaning in pain and couldn’t answer properly, so she carefully laid her down in a comfortable position and asked again.
“If you know anything, tell me now. I’ll pass it on to Jane.”
But contrary to Aser’s expectations, the woman on the floor shook her head from side to side with trembling movements. What could be the reason for keeping secrets even in this situation?
If they had spent a day like any other, there was no way they wouldn’t have noticed even a small trigger that led to this.
‘Wait a minute.’
Aser shuddered and stepped away from her.
Yes, she had seen this power once before. She had excluded it from her thoughts because it wasn’t the right situation. Surely, she had been fine until yesterday? Well, if a large-scale magic power had moved enough to affect everyone in District 3 from the start, she would have already noticed.
Aser, who had risen from her seat, said to No. 25 in a trembling voice,
“We have to go back to the castle.”
No. 25 couldn’t understand. He knew better than anyone that Aser wasn’t narrow-minded enough to leave those who had collapsed on the floor.
So, he decided to suppress the doubts rising in his heart and follow her words.
Nevertheless, No. 25 wasn’t one to just hold back his surging curiosity. He immediately asked Aser, who was heading to the castle at a rather quick pace.
“But why the castle? What does the castle have to do with those people changing?”
Aser would usually answer No. 25’s questions right away, but this time she bit her lip and avoided answering. But hiding it wouldn’t make it go away. Aser took a deep breath and then answered No. 25’s question while still moving towards the castle.
“Don’t be surprised when you hear this. Jane is behind all of this.”
She had warned him not to be surprised, but No. 25 almost collapsed on the spot. He couldn’t understand Aser’s words. Why would Jane put her own people in such a state?
The Jane that No. 25 had seen was a great Demon Lord who cherished her people, even if she was a bit eccentric. Aser looked at No. 25’s expression and nodded as if she understood everything.
“Yeah, you probably can’t understand what it means right now.”
“W-What does it mean? That all of this was done by Jane-nim.”
No. 25’s voice was trembling faintly. Aser pressed her temples for a moment and sighed deeply. Since they were already in front of the castle, there was no harm in knowing in advance.
Aser stopped walking in front of the castle and began to explain the situation that had occurred.
“It’s Jane’s ability.”
“Jane-nim’s ability? That’s impossible!”
No. 25 had already experienced Jane’s ability. The unpleasant feeling of having all five senses controlled at will. It was clear that it was not mere magic, but a characteristic unique to Jane, that treated No. 25, who was resistant to most magic, like a limb.
So he couldn’t understand. Wasn’t a characteristic supposed to reside in only one body? Before No. 25’s questions deepened, Aser spoke first.
“Jane is the only Demon Lord with two characteristics in one body.”
“Two abilities in one body?”
Even Low, the strongest person No. 25 knew, only had one characteristic.
“Let’s talk as we go.”
Aser grabbed No. 25’s hand and started walking again.
“The publicly known ability is ecstasy that controls the opponent’s five senses, and the other is the cause of this situation.”
Jane’s castle was now close enough to touch if they fell. If Jane’s mind wasn’t in a sound state, there was a possibility that No. 25 would be in danger. He wasn’t the type of guy who wouldn’t follow if told not to. If she couldn’t stop him, she had no choice but to give him as much information as possible.
“The other one is the transfer of emotions or pain, making everyone around her feel everything she feels in the same way.”
“T-That’s strange. Why would Jane-nim do this to other people?”
No. 25’s trembling voice sounded like he wanted the situation to be unrelated to Jane. In fact, when he walked the streets with Jane, she showed that she cherished her people. But reality is always what it is because it doesn’t always go his way. Aser said to No. 25 in a firm voice.
“It’s an ability that can cover an entire district. It’s impossible if it’s not Jane.”
Aser continued to speak without a break.
“Besides, this ability can’t be stopped from being activated just because she doesn’t want it to. It’s a kind of defense mechanism, so it’s not related to her will.”
That’s why she didn’t understand the situation at first and thought there was someone else involved.
“But it’s strange. There’s no reason for Jane to feel these emotions or pain? She was fine until yesterday, right?”
No. 25 shut his mouth tightly. He instinctively realized that the reason was related to him.
“We’ll know once we go.”
With those words, Aser arrived at Jane’s mansion and roughly opened the door to look inside. With the people on the streets having lost their minds, there was no way the maids working at the mansion would be okay.
Seeing the people collapsed on the floor with the same expression and having seizures, Aser realized that the situation was more serious than she thought, frowned, and looked for Jane more urgently than before.
She searched every part of the mansion with No. 25, but Jane was nowhere to be seen. Could it be that she was spreading this magic power and hiding somewhere? Just as a bad thought came to her mind, Aser realized that there was still one place left and raised her voice.
“That’s right, the basement!”
The basement where Jane’s workshop was located, she must be there. At the same time as she thought, her body moved. She went down the stairs to the basement, which smelled different than before, and when she opened the door to the workshop, Jane was standing there as expected.
Jane didn’t even look at the two people who had opened the door and entered, and she blankly muttered something while throwing the sculpture in her hand to the floor.
“Jane?”
Aser sensed an unusual atmosphere and approached her slowly to avoid provoking her. At Aser’s call, Jane finally shifted her empty gaze and gave a weak smile.
“You came?”
“You came? Is that all you have to say?”
Jane finished her short greeting and concentrated on breaking sculptures or tearing paintings again.
“No, there must be a reason for doing this, right?”
At Aser’s question, Jane stopped her hands and muttered with eyes that had lost their light.
“Reason? You wouldn’t understand.”
She knew that Jane’s personality was strange, but she wasn’t the type to ruin her works to the point of harming her residents. Her madness came from the desire to complete them.
If it were up to her, she would have subdued Jane and then asked her the reason, but right now she was connected to everyone in District 3, and if she rashly touched her, a disaster beyond imagination would strike.
At that time, No. 25, who had been hiding behind Aser and watching the situation, carefully stepped forward.
Jane’s eyes briefly lit up when she saw No. 25, but that was only for a moment. Rather, from the moment she saw No. 25, Jane moved towards the sculpture in the center of the room. It was a work that she had worked on with No. 25, and she was convinced that it would be the masterpiece of her life.
When she picked up a hammer and struck the sculpture, No. 25 screamed.
“Noona! What are you doing!”
Jane ignored No. 25’s words with the sound of hammering and muttered again in a low voice.
“I don’t like it.”
If she didn’t like it, she could just fix it herself. Why was she harming the people around her? But with Jane’s next words, No. 25 received a shock as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer.
“If this is completed, you won’t come here again!”
The studio, which had been filled with a scream mixed with tears, was now filled with an awkward silence.
For a moment, Jane’s eyes looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment. However, the most embarrassed by the sound was not No. 25 but Aser.
“What? What are you talking about? Why are you sad because No. 25 isn’t coming…”
The moment she said that, she realized.
This sly man had seduced another woman. When did it happen? That night? Before she knew it, Aser was more concerned with finding the connection between No. 25 and Jane than stopping Jane.
No. 25 also realized that something was wrong and began to wave his hands and make excuses.
“M-Maou-nim. That’s not it, isn’t it just because Noona enjoys working with me so much?”
That wasn’t someone who would accept such excuses.
Besides, she could tell that Jane wasn’t an easy opponent from her next words.
“No, that’s not it. Wouldn’t it be better for Aser if I told you honestly? About what you and I did that day?”
“What?”
Aser glared at Jane with her eyes wide open, and Jane approached Aser without being intimidated and said.
“I’ll tell you clearly this time. Give me this kid. I like him. Not as a subject of my work, but as a member of the opposite sex.”
No. 25 despaired and turned away from the situation that was happening now. It was true that he had been close to Jane recently, but there was no reason for her to fall for him so much.
In fact, it didn’t matter what No. 25 was thinking at this moment. Jane had declared war on Aser, and there was no way Aser would accept it. No. 25 had no choice but to quietly accept the sparks flying from Aser’s eyes.
