Only after the final enchantment dimmed did a deep mechanical sound echo through the corridor.

The massive door slowly began to open.

The massive door slowly slid open.

The moment Asher stepped inside, he noticed that the room was far larger than it had appeared from the outside.

The walls were covered with countless magic formations, all connected by intricate mana circuits that converged toward the center of the room.

There, a gigantic glass tube stood upright.

The tube was filled with a pale blue liquid, countless mana conduits extending from its base and disappearing into the floor beneath it.

Inside the tube floated a humanoid creature.

It was a woman.

She possessed flawless pale skin, long silver hair that drifted gently within the liquid, and delicate features that made her appear almost unreal.

Yet there was no mistaking what she was.

Two dark horns curved gracefully from her forehead, while a long, slender tail floated behind her.

She was an Empath Demon.

Her eyes remained closed, as though she were in a deep sleep, while countless sealing chains of mana wrapped around the glass tube, ensuring that not even the slightest trace of her aura could escape.

Asher immediately sensed the demon’s cultivation.

Master rank.

His gaze remained fixed on the woman floating inside the glass tube.

An Empath Demon if he learned right in last days,he studied many books on demons after entering the facility to pass time.

Unlike most demons, Empath Demons weren’t known for overwhelming physical strength or destructive abilities. Instead, they possessed one of the most terrifying abilities among demonkind—the power to manipulate emotions.

They could amplify emotions that already existed within a person’s heart, turning a trace of fear into terror, a hint of anger into uncontrollable rage, or a small doubt into absolute despair.

Even more frightening, they could create entirely new emotions within their target.

Affection.

Hatred.

Trust.

Suspicion.

The victim wouldn’t realize those emotions had been implanted. They would believe those feelings were their own, making the manipulation almost impossible to notice.

In battle, this ability was extremely dangerous.

A single moment of hesitation could decide the outcome of a fight. By amplifying fear, an Empath Demon could make its opponent lose the will to fight. By amplifying anger, it could force even an experienced warrior to abandon reason and charge forward recklessly.

Its ability was even more terrifying against groups.

With nothing more than emotional manipulation, an Empath Demon could make allies distrust, hate, or even attack one another, destroying a coordinated team without needing to fight directly.

Once a person could no longer distinguish between their own emotions and those implanted by the demon, every decision they made became unreliable.

Asher silently looked at the Empath Demon, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

’Why is a Master-rank demon being kept here?’

Capturing a demon of this level was no simple task. The Church wouldn’t waste so many resources unless it had a very specific purpose.

’Perhaps they have some use for her...’

’But what does that have to do with the next phase of the parasite experiment?’

No matter how much Asher thought about it, he couldn’t find a connection between the two.

To anyone else, it looked as though Asher’s gaze was fixed on the female demon herself.

In reality, his mind was occupied with analyzing the reason for her existence inside this facility.

Dr. Samuel quietly observed Asher for a few moments before a faintly amused smile appeared on his face.

"Did you take a liking to this demon’s body?" he asked in an amused tone. "That’s surprising. I never expected you to have such a preference."

He let out a small chuckle before continuing,

"Unfortunately, you can’t have her. She serves a far more important purpose."

After a brief pause, he casually added,

"Although, if that’s what you’re interested in, there are plenty of lower-ranked demons available."

Asher turned toward Dr. Samuel, his expression remaining as calm as ever. Ever since entering the Church Facility, it had barely changed.

He calmly replied,

"I wasn’t thinking about that. I was wondering what this has to do with the previous experiment... and what exactly we’re supposed to do with her."

Dr. Samuel glanced at Klein before letting out a helpless sigh.

"Klein, this guy is just as boring as you are."

He shook his head with a faint smile.

"Why can’t the two of you relax a little and play along once in a while?"

Klein remained completely silent, as though he hadn’t heard a single word.

Seeing that neither of them reacted, Dr. Samuel looked back at Asher and chuckled.

"I was only teasing you."

He paused briefly before continuing in an amused tone,

"Besides, after working with you for the past few weeks, I don’t think the concept of being attracted to anyone even exists for you."

Asher didn’t react.

He simply gave a slight nod, his expression remaining as calm as ever.

Seeing that neither Asher nor Klein had responded to his joke, Dr. Samuel let out a helpless sigh and dropped the matter.

The amusement disappeared from his face, replaced by a serious expression.

"This experiment is extremely important," he said.

"In fact, it’s directly connected to the previous parasite experiment. If this one fails, then everything we’ve done so far will be almost meaningless."

He paused for a moment before looking directly at Asher.

"You’ve probably been wondering why we went through so much effort to create a parasite like that."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I’m sure that question has crossed your mind."

Dr. Samuel continued in a calm tone,

"You’re far too intelligent not to have thought about it."

Asher looked at Dr. Samuel for a moment before calmly replying,"Thanks for the compliment... I guess."

His tone remained completely flat, making it impossible to tell whether he genuinely appreciated it or was simply responding out of courtesy.

Dr. Samuel stared at him for a second before letting out a small laugh.

"Even your gratitude sounds emotionless."

Asher thought inwardly, "How am I supposed to fell emotions when there’s nothing that even matters to me? Food is bland, and so is life here."