## Chapter 80 – No. 25 . Farewell (Part 1 END)
Aser set aside her official duties upon hearing that Low had come to her castle and headed to the drawing room where she was.
The oppressive aura was clearly felt even from outside the door; it was definitely her.
Carefully opening the door so as not to make a sound, she first surveyed the inside. The drawing room was covered in a dreamy, colorful smoke rising from a long pipe. It wasn’t a harsh smell like other tobaccos, but a sweet scent that made one’s mind hazy. In the middle of the smoke-filled room, Low sat leisurely reading a book, and Charlotte was leaning against the wall, watching her.
She had witnessed her existence with her own eyes, but still, she couldn’t understand.
Why on earth had Low come all the way to her castle?
To find out the reason now, Aser cautiously stepped into the drawing room.
Entering the room, Aser dispersed the smoke approaching her with her hand, and carefully opened her mouth, trying not to offend her.
“What brings you here…?”
At Aser’s call, Low closed the book she was reading and tilted her head, almost touching her shoulder, as she asked back.
“Didn’t I clearly say before…? That I would receive my due.”
Only then did Aser remember borrowing Low’s power when searching for No. 25 in District 6.
Even now, she thought it was a stroke of luck that she had met Low back then.
If she hadn’t met her then, No. 25 would have left her side and ended his life next to Orca.
Aser, having organized all the events of the past in her head, asked again.
“You came because of that?”
Low stared intently at Aser before slowly nodding. It was such a faint gesture that the movement of her head was barely visible.
Aser was able to face Low with a much lighter heart.
It was the first time they had such a long conversation, but she couldn’t find any hostility in her slightly closed eyes.
Besides, if she had come to receive her due, she clearly had no intention of causing unnecessary conflict.
Sitting on the sofa opposite Low, she leaned back and said as if doing a favor.
“Well, thanks to you, I saved No. 25. What do you want as your due? You can take anything in this castle.”
Immediately after the words were spoken, the corners of Low’s mouth, who never showed any signs of smiling, lifted ever so slightly.
“Really… anything? In that case, I want that child you mentioned, No. 25…?”
At the absurd words, she slammed the table and immediately stood up from where she had just sat.
She had clearly said anything, but that was naturally referring to the ‘assets’ in the castle, not a life.
At the sudden request for her beloved, Aser forgot her fear of the person in front of her, furrowed her brow fiercely, and lowered her voice.
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re taking our child as your due?”
Low maintained a calm attitude even in front of Aser, who was exuding such intense animosity that the surrounding air vibrated. She picked up the teacup that the maid had brought before Aser arrived, and conspicuously sipped from it instead of answering.
Low, having held the tea in her mouth and swallowed it, nodded slightly.
“You use good tea leaves. We don’t have such tea leaves growing in our district… I’m a little envious.”
The slow, deliberate way of speaking that made anyone watching feel frustrated, and the words that didn’t fit the current situation at all, made Aser’s anger reach the top of her head.
Low, tilting the teacup slightly and gazing at the surface of the tea rippling inside, opened her mouth again.
“So… what’s your answer…?”
There was no way she would allow such a thing.
The existence of No. 25 was now one of the reasons for Aser’s existence.
There was no way she could give her beloved to a crazy woman who had suddenly appeared.
Low, having emptied her cup, fixed her gaze on the teacup and spoke quietly.
Her small voice was filled with power that seemed about to overflow, and above all, the atmosphere was quite different from the words she had uttered so far.
“You’re an child of District 7. You don’t have the authority to refuse… My words are the truth that penetrates all life, and rejecting them means death… That day, we clearly made a contract, didn’t we?”
The moment she placed the empty cup on the table with a thud.
The surrounding air began to vibrate with screams.
Low’s eyes, which usually looked languid, were filled with power.
Her purple eyes flickered like flames, and the crows sitting by the window all cried out at once.
As if resonating with that sound, the entire drawing room shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The lights swayed like a pendulum, the table trembled and moved on its own.
Books fell to the floor, and the windows and mirrors cracked simultaneously.
It was obvious that if not only Aser, but also other demon lords excluding District 1, were to witness Low’s power, they would tuck their tails between their legs and surrender like a dog in front of a tiger.
Normally, Aser would have tucked her tail between her legs and accepted her demands.
But if No. 25 was involved, the story was different.
He was a man she could now proudly say was more precious than her own life. She couldn’t lose him again.
Low, seeing Aser’s appearance of not backing down even after seeing her power, wore an expression as if she was truly sad.
Her eyebrows drooped, and her lips held sorrow.
“I see, so that’s your intention. I didn’t want to do this either…”
Immediately after the words were spoken, an external pressure pressed down on her body.
Aser felt as if the gravity was stronger only where she was standing, and without even putting up a proper resistance, she collapsed as if she had become one with the floor.
It was on a different level, that was the only way to describe it.
There were things in the world that couldn’t be done with resolve and will alone.
Comparing their powers was like comparing an ant to an elephant; there was actually that much of a gap.
Aser glared at Low even as she crawled on the floor.
The more animosity she felt, the more the force pressing down on Aser’s body began to intensify, as if trying to shatter every bone in her body.
Soon, an unpleasant creaking and cracking sound came from her body, and every joint in her body began to scream.
It was not a pain she could endure.
It had to be a pain she couldn’t endure.
If Aser had declared surrender here, she would have immediately released her and treated her.
Nevertheless, Aser endured with the single-minded determination not to hand over No. 25.
Her fingernails were torn off from scratching the floor so much, and her lungs had already been crushed by the force pressing down from above. Foam mixed with blood came out of her mouth, and every joint in her fingers was twisted in bizarre directions.
Even considering she was a demon lord, it was a level of pain that would have been strange if she hadn’t fainted already.
All the events that had happened so far had occurred within 3 seconds. Charlotte, who belatedly grasped the situation, immediately went berserk and rushed at Low.
Just before her hand touched Low’s body.
The roof of the castle collapsed with a roar and covered Charlotte as it was.
Charlotte, buried in the debris, was instantly lifted into the air as if grabbed by the ankle by an invisible giant’s hand, and the debris of the building clung to her, forming a sphere around her.
The sphere made of debris gradually contracted and began to contort Charlotte’s body.
Aser, who was clearly the strongest in one district, and Charlotte, who possessed power comparable to her. Low, who was facing two beings who far surpassed the framework of strength and still looked relaxed, was a sight so alien that it couldn’t even be seen in dreams.
The drawing room, where only the sound of a music box had existed, was filled with the screams of Aser and Charlotte.
Low was not the only one listening to those screams.
No. 25, who had been secretly eavesdropping outside out of concern, opened the door to the drawing room as soon as he heard their screams and hurriedly entered the center of the chaos.
Aser, upon confirming No. 25’s appearance, desperately shouted.
“Why, why did you come here!”
At Aser’s voice, Charlotte, trapped inside the debris, opened her mouth to reassure No. 25 in her usual tone.
“It’s nothing. It’ll be over soon, so go back to your room.”
Even while being crushed, the two had no other thought than to protect No. 25 from Low.
Low stared at No. 25’s face as he entered the room and said.
“Yes, as they say, it’s nothing. It’ll be over soon, so wait quietly.”
His feet were frozen to the ground as if they were frozen. Even though he was told to run away, he couldn’t turn around.
It wasn’t that he was scared by the energy emanating from Low.
He couldn’t leave the two fallen women behind alone.
Besides, what would happen to those two if he ran away?
The words “it’ll be over soon” meant their death.
No. 25 also sensed it. He couldn’t escape from her. There was only one way to overcome this situation.
No. 25 grabbed Low’s cape made of feathers with his small hands and raised his voice with a tearful expression.
“I, I’ll go! I’ll follow you, so please don’t hurt the Demon Lord and Charlotte!”
He couldn’t let Aser suffer again because of his rash actions.
Low released the force that was crushing the two and lightly stroked No. 25’s head as she opened her mouth.
“You’re better than those two.”
Low, having achieved her original goal, no longer had any reason to stay in this castle and immediately began to prepare to leave.
When No. 25 said that he would go to his room to get his luggage, Low shook her head and replied.
Before leaving with No. 25, Low said to Aser, who kept collapsing every time she tried to get up from the floor.
“Ah… I should heal you.”
Unlike her words of healing, Low didn’t do anything in particular except mutter something.
Low, having finished her short incantation, added an explanation.
“If the wound is healed, it’ll be troublesome if you bother me… so it’ll only activate after I leave this castle…”
Before leaving the drawing room, No. 25 cautiously asked Low for one favor.
“Can I say goodbye…?”
After confirming that Low nodded, No. 25 scurried to Aser’s side.
Aser, even with her vision stained with blood, discovered No. 25 approaching her and smiled weakly.
“You’re not going, are you…? Huh? Where are you going, leaving me here alone…”
No. 25 felt a surge of resentment covering her heart at Aser’s miserable appearance. If she had power, she wouldn’t have had to go through this.
But No. 25 herself knew best.
She didn’t have power now. She knew instinctively that the same power she had when dealing with Orca couldn’t even scratch Low.
For now, let’s just say goodbye.
No. 25 struggled to swallow the sobs beyond her throat and spoke clearly, giving strength to each word in her still watery voice.
“Hard times always come to an end. It was the Demon Lord who told me that. The time without the Demon Lord and Charlotte, who saw me as a person, not just a slave, will be the hardest time I’ll ever spend. But I’ll endure it. When the moment we meet again comes, please greet me while crying. So for now, for that time… please send me off with a smile.”
Aser buried her face in the floor and shook her shoulders. The small trembling gradually turned into a huge one.
Unlike No. 25’s request, she soon burst into tears like a child and begged her not to go.
No. 25 held Aser’s still intact finger tightly and placed it on her forehead, uttering her last words.
“I hate it more when the person I love is hurting… than when I’m hurting.”
With those words, No. 25 stood up.
She wanted to talk more.
But she felt like she would have regrets if she did, so she had no choice but to hold back her tears and look ahead.
After No. 25’s last farewell, Low said to them, who were crawling on the floor, as if showing mercy.
“Don’t worry… It doesn’t mean I’m taking her away completely. I’ll return her after a simple investigation, so you don’t have to worry so much…”
No. 25, following behind Low, lowered her head and muttered to herself.
“I’ll definitely, definitely come back…”
After No. 25 left, the two couldn’t leave the drawing room for a while.
The place where No. 25’s last warmth remained.
The pain of the past once again became a dagger and pierced their hearts.
They had vowed never to lose her again, but they had lost her.
The person they loved had once again slipped away from their hands like grains of sand.
At the end of that time, all that remained were the happy memories they had spent with No. 25, which remained faintly on their palms like grains of sand.
