I! Cleaner!
Chapter 460 - 398: Hatred Maxed Out

Chapter 460: Chapter 398: Hatred Maxed Out

"Hmm?"

Vaguely sensing something, the gray fog giant entirely soaked in the Nightmare River, slowly opened his eyes as he gradually pushed into reality.

Rising from the pitch-black river reflecting countless nightmares, the gaunt hand of the King of Nightmares slightly opened, extending sharp, hooked, and twisted fingertips, slicing through the gray fog at his chest and abdomen as if cutting away flesh, firmly grasping a piece of pale nightmare in his palm.

Is it the Snow Woman? Has she been dealt with so soon?

The vertical crack in his palm opened, revealing hollow gray eyes, intimately sticking to the pale nightmare. After observing the situation inside, the King of Nightmares’ gaunt face slightly frowned.

In the pale-hued nightmare, the wild winds and swirling snow remained as before, yet the thinly dressed lady resembling a winter sprite did not drift elegantly through the storm as she used to.

This snowstorm spirit, once appearing in countless northern human dreams, devouring lost souls, was now tightly bound by a strange demon with two horns on his head, being dragged down the snow mountain tied to a bundle of branches.

And the Ram-Horned Demon was humming a rather joyful and strange tune, wrecking the originally cold and murderous atmosphere of the pale nightmare, with the catchy weird rhythm inexplicably ear-catching and memorable.

Even the Thorn-Crowned Evil Hound by the demon’s side, composed of countless broken flesh, learned almost perfectly after hearing it several times, its barking faintly matching the tune.

Just hearing the duo of demon and dog sing two or three times, the joyful melody bizarrely drilled into the King of Nightmares’ memory, even beginning to uncontrollably spread into other somewhat related nightmares.

"Woof woof woof~ I love you~ Woof woof woof, sweet me~"

Whether it was the avalanche-destroyed mountain village, or the traveler frozen in the snowstorm, no matter the loss of loved ones in the snow or tragic ruins in the snow night...

With the King of Nightmares’ memory as a link, in a heap of nightmares slightly involving snow, regardless of circumstances, that joyful yet peculiar tune rang throughout, with the vague figure of the Ram-Horned Demon happily humming the tune even appearing in some.

What is this ghostly thing?

Looking at the suddenly contaminated large patch of nightmares on himself, strangely cheerful, the King of Nightmares’ gaunt cheeks twitched twice, quickly lying back into the Nightmare River.

Under the repeated washing of the dark river water and countless nightmares, the eerie tune finally quieted down slightly, no longer wandering throughout the nightmares covering the King of Nightmares.

However, what made the King of Nightmares particularly uncomfortable was that the half-human, half-dog eerie tune seemed deeply engraved in his memory, with no way to completely wash it away, lying in wait deep in memory, feeling like it might come out to hum at any time.

I think I understand what the damned Aquarius Director meant...

Looking at the Snow Woman in the pale nightmare, screaming and struggling ceaselessly but still being forcibly dragged down the mountain, the vertical eye cracked in the King of Nightmares’ palm squinted slightly, recalling the prior advice from the Aquarius Director.

’Strike directly with your fastest speed, drown him with the purest force, never giving him the chance to speak or use any tactics!’

Indeed...I must do exactly that!

Recalling that lingering demonic melody, a fierce look appeared in the King of Nightmares’ eyes.

This cleaner’s mind contains many strange things, a lot simply meaningless junk, yet inexplicably unforgettable.

Like that bizarre tune earlier, just two earfuls directly drilled into his memory without rejection, impossible to clean completely.

And memory is the foundation and flesh of dreams, for dream realm creatures like himself, his mind full of strange memories is directly a contamination, a deadly poison unfit for direct sight.

Memory is as vital to dream realm creatures as souls to humans, something fundamentally uncastable away, this level of contamination is extremely dangerous and extremely lethal.

He made of nightmares himself cannot be killed; even if erased by the Clean-up Bureau, even existence erased, it doesn’t matter, as long as the Demonic Soul Abyss continues spewing nightmares, he will eventually have a day of resurgence.

But if he contacts this peculiar cleaner too much, causing the nightmares composing him to be heavily contaminated, his power will not only decrease due to nightmare damage but also face complete collapse.

He must be killed!

Deeply realizing Leon’s "danger," the King of Nightmares’ claw-like hand gently exerted force, crushing the Snow Woman’s nightmare, then closed all eyes on his body, lying back into the dark Nightmare River.

No matter the cost, even if killed once by the Clean-up Bureau, Leon must die!

...

"Oh..."

Unaware that he was already identified as the target of hatred by the enemy BOSS, with his kill priority even higher than the [Dream-Eater Mutant Shell], rubbing his head and getting up from the ground, Leon finally gradually regained his memory buried in the snow.

The wild snowy mountain, the idiot climber not wearing cold-resistant clothing, the Scorpio Director pulling a sled...truly unbelievable!

Recalling the nightmare he experienced, Leon couldn’t help but shiver in fear.

Though the Snow Woman had no other destructive means than summoning snow, she had the ability to obscure memory, just a moment of distraction as the Scorpio Director lifted his hind leg to pee, and he completely forgot who he was, utterly unprepared.

According to the Scorpio Director, she seemed to possess strength similar to a level-one cleaner, indicating that anyone with a Contamination Value below thirty, dragged into a nightmare by her, would probably, like him, have their memory silently stripped.

At that time, those trapped in dreams would not only lose all means of resistance, but even their cognition would be confused, seeing a skirted woman walking on a snow mountain didn’t seem odd at all, rather he actively conjured countless plausible scenarios for her, even wanting to help find her a mountain climbing guide.

If not for his special memory, besides Leon Laine’s, possessing past life’s memories, losing one while retaining another, he might really have been taken deep into the snow mountain blinded by kindness, frozen to death amid the swirling snow.

Oh...right, there was that dog!

Recalling the scenes in the dream from a "third-person perspective," a flash of understanding appeared in Leon’s eyes.

Didn’t feel it within the dream, but now upon reflection, it was definitely not something simple.

Even guest appearing in the Snow Woman’s dream could roar the pervasive snow apart, holding the Snow Woman helpless, likely a level-one cleaner-level anomaly; had it not been for it, he wouldn’t have likely been able to drag the Snow Woman down the mountain, struggling out of the nightmare...wait!

Glancing at the cold-weather gear on himself, Leon jolted fully awake, then suddenly looked back.

"Damn! I actually pulled it out!"