Only I Am A Reader

"Satisfied?"

Leo could easily tell that Jane was trying to find his weakness. It looked like she was still unconvinced of his identity. Rather, she didn't seem to believe that his strength was real.

'Does her ability identify powerful people?'

It was one thing to deny identity as Cassian, but to refuse the notion of his strength meant something more. 

That being said, while Leo managed to get a little amusement out of this, it was time to put an end to it.

"Your usage isn't bad, but your Martial Arts Experience is almost non-existent. I'm afraid this spar has come to an end."

No longer interested in exchanging moves, Leo's Shadow tendrils rose once more, only this time, they didn't just come from Jane's shadow, they were everywhere!

Distancing herself from Leo again, Jane's Qi flared in an attempt to survive the incoming attack. However, before she knew it, Jane found herself already surrounded.

Her strengthened arms' resistance kept the tendrils from completely grasping her, but only barely. She was going to eventually lose this battle of strength.

At this moment when nothing seemed to work and the regrets kept flooding into her mind, Jane realized one thing, this attack couldn't have been a replica. None of what happened until now was.

'It's really him.'

She still didn't know how and why, but even without the confirmation of her ability, Jane finally came to accept the fact that the one in front of her was none other than Cassian himself.

The Great Villain captured by Aurora was now back on the loose, and…

'Why?'

For some reason, he had chosen to join Aurora and her team in their most dangerous Gate Clear yet.

Nothing seemed to be relevant at this moment when death was near, but Jane's sudden resignation lit the candle of hope once more.

If she could quickly figure out why Cassian was here, then there was a slight chance that she could keep her life!

"W-wait! It's Cassian, right? I'm sorry for doubting you earlier, I know my mistakes… Is there any chance we could talk this over?"

"You as well? It seems like all your team can do is talk."

'He already caught someone else?'

Jane wasn't in a state where she could worry about others, and she likely wouldn't even if she could, but the fact that she wasn't the first gave her some leeway.

If someone was already done in by him, Cassian might not be in as much of a hurry to dispose of her.

"Is it Aurora? Are you holding a grudge for what she did? As you could already see from before we entered, I'm on bad terms with Aurora. I take every chance to mock her and use her, so doing anything to me won't make a difference when it comes to handling her."

Compared to Miyu, Jane pulled off all the breaks. She wasn't going to act all smart and fall into her own trap once again. As long as she had the chance, she was going to lay out all of her thoughts and let Cassian make the choice!

"In fact, I could even help you if you want!"

"Wow, you lot really are the same, so quick to sell your only lifeline. I'm not doing this to make things easy, nor do I require any help."

'Was it Miyu… No, focus!'

Jane's mind attempted to guess the one who gave the same answer as her, but before it drifted away, she pulled herself back together. Just because she failed once, didn't mean that the guess game was over!

"This Gate? Do you want to stop us from clearing it? If so, then there is no need for any of this. None of this was an act, I truly have no plans of making any contribution!"

If killing Aurora wasn't Cassian's target, the next thing that Jane could think of was the Gate itself. When it came to revenge, killing was considered the lowest level of pain.

In Jane's mind, she could already envision the scenario of a Gate Break. Aurora's failure wouldn't just humiliate her and deride her dream, but she would have to witness the destruction created by what she couldn't stop.

Had she been in Cassian's shoes, Jane would have definitely chosen this method!

"You got another chance, but it's still a wrong answer. No more guesses for you."

Almost receiving the same answer from Jane, Leo had no interest in dragging this any longer. Aurora's teammates might have had interesting abilities and backgrounds, but when it came to their basic core…

'They are the same.'

They were one-dimensional characters that only had one thing in their mind, exploitation. At the very least, from the angle that Leo observed, they didn't have anything else to offer.

"Wait! Wait! One more chance! Killing Aurora using the Gate… No, that doesn't make sense-"

While Jane's mind was churning to find a way out, Leo approached her very slowly, making every moment more and more excruciating. After the first few seconds, every step was faster than the one before it, giving the impression that there could never be enough time to stop this.

"Wait! Just tell me what I need to do and I will do it! Anything! Anything!"

Unlike Miyu, Jane kept nothing of her cool or dignity, she was grasping at straws, hoping for a way out no matter the cost. Unfortunately for her, her nature made it impossible for Leo's answer to change.

"Now, now, there is no need to scream."

Finally arriving before her, Leo grasped Jane's Enigma Stone. Her ability was undeniably the most interesting of the bunch, it even felt like the distant cousin of Leo's reading ability. Nonetheless…

'Say goodbye.'

This ability had to be erased because of its user's misuse, and there was no taking it back.

"Stop-"

Jane could feel it, the dread of being lost without a guide was encroaching on her, but there was nothing she could do. Before she could even protest, Leo had already knocked her out and rolled her into yet another cocoon.