I! Cleaner!
Chapter 473 - 409: Leon’s Gift of Gratitude

Chapter 473: Chapter 409: Leon’s Gift of Gratitude

What am I most afraid of?

After hearing the words of the King of Nightmares and seeing his own face reflected in the mirrored crown on its head, Leon’s pupils involuntarily widened.

His memories must never be seen by others! Whether it’s the existence of the Badge System or the fact that he is a transmigrator, these are secrets that must not be leaked at any cost!

Especially the latter!

If this secret were to be exposed and linked by those at the headquarters to the warning given by the Watcher’s Palace about the ’soul from an unknown world,’ even if the Scorpio director could arrive within five minutes, Leon’s career as a Cleaner would likely be over!

Faced with the sudden emergency, Leon, who originally intended to wait until [Immortal in Liquor] wore off and then struggle using the Archer’s mark and [Lust Dream Invader], could no longer hold back his trump card and directly activated [Lust Dream Invader] for a life-or-death gamble.

Unfortunately, although [Lust Dream Invader] is an anomalous object made from the weapon of the Lord of Lustful Dreams, its intrinsic status is not low, but it still doesn’t quite hold up against the personal descent of the King of Nightmares.

Even though Leon, strengthened by the Archer’s mark, barely locked onto the consciousness of the King of Nightmares, before he could drag it into the dreamscape, the King of Nightmares’ gaunt head suddenly split horizontally in an eerie manner, neatly and cleanly splitting in two.

"Hehe."

Accompanied by a slight derisive chuckle, countless nightmares making up the King of Nightmares’ body quickly churned, shedding the old body like a crab molting its shell, and it emerged anew from the split.

"You didn’t think the same trick would work on me twice, did you?"

After manipulating the old body captured by [Lust Dream Invader] and seeing the somewhat annoyed expression on Leon’s face, the King of Nightmares, who had a hint of pleasure in its gaze, mocked with eyes full of ridicule:

"The secret technique of the Sagittarius Palace is indeed remarkable, even allowing you, a Level Three Cleaner, to nearly perform at a director’s level and almost caught me off guard for a moment.

But no matter how good something is, it ultimately depends on who wields it. If it were the Sagittarius Director himself using this, no matter how I struggle, it would be futile, and I would directly be dragged into the dreamscape.

But with the strength of your soul, you can’t even lock onto my main consciousness; at best, you can only seize a few hundred insignificant nightmares. There are countless such scattered nightmares in the Nightmare River; what good does it do you to grasp them?"

"..."

...

"Alright, after such a struggle, it’s time you give up."

Taking the mirrored crown from the hollow shell, placing it back on its head, the gray mist giant stretched out its ashen, bony fingers, wiping the crown’s mirror with its fingertips. Its hoarse and malevolent voice barged unreasonably into Leon’s eardrums.

"Come! In the name of the Lord of Nightmares, I command you to open your heart and reveal your deepest fear to me!"

As the King of Nightmares shouted, the scorching sun hanging overhead flickered several times, and then, as if moved from midsummer to late autumn, it changed from a blinding white to the orange of the autumn-winter transition, letting out a feeble, not very warming light.

Subsequently, the endless yellow sands around them quietly faded away, centering on the motionless Leon, the vast desert swiftly dissipated, transforming into a dilapidated ward filled with coughing and the pungent smell of medicine.

On a slightly dirty hospital bed at the edge of the ward, a sickly pale girl, almost devoid of blood, lightly turned her head, speaking softly yet with a hint of stubbornness:

"Brother, why don’t you just stop caring about me?"

"..."

So, his greatest fear is merely the death of his family?

Looking at the frail girl on the bed, then at the twisted-face Leon in front of the bed, the King of Nightmares, who had been somewhat enthusiastic just moments earlier, instantly flashed a deep sense of disappointment in its eyes.

Though the fear was intense and the bitterness and anger amusing, this level of fear and nightmare, it had seen countless times and was not interesting at all.

Boring.

Facing the uninspiring nightmare in front, using Leon’s deepest fear to replace part of the Boundless Desert, the King of Nightmares disdainfully clicked its tongue.

It seems that his calm demeanor in enduring eternal torment wasn’t out of fearlessness but is likely a result of some anomalous object’s effect.

For someone who almost made it stumble, it originally thought his deepest fear might be something intriguing, but it’s just this? This really is...

Huh? What is he going to do?

Watching Leon’s distorted face as he stormed out of the ward, clutching a picked-up knife, seemingly intent on doing something, the King of Nightmares finally felt a slight spark of interest, voluntarily shrinking its form to a similar height as an ordinary human and following along.

Immediately, everything from two months ago replayed without much variation.

"Is anyone there? I’m here for the interview!"

"What are you looking at? Never seen a demon?"

"Haven’t I made it clear to you already? Someone like you, a normal person, isn’t suited to join the Clean-up Bureau."

"Please, wait a second!"

"My observation skills are quite special! I can identify some peculiar things, and if there’s direct contact, I can immediately gain some relevant information!"

"Well, that sheep is a ’peculiar thing,’ so go ahead and start talking."

After the red-haired director posed the "test question," Leon, facing this last lifeline, took a deep breath and nervously touched the black mountain goat with trembling arms, however...

"?!?!?"

Nothing? Why is there nothing?

Realizing the situation was different from what he anticipated, a deep terror suddenly surfaced on Leon’s face. An incomparable fear surged up, as if a cold, bone-chilling hand was gripping his heart tightly.

There should be something! There should be something!

I just need to touch it with my hand, and information about the anomaly should bounce out at me. Why is there nothing now?!

"Huh, turns out he’s a lunatic."

Shaking her head somewhat disappointedly, the red-haired woman with a blurred face ordered coldly:

"Get out! This isn’t a place you should be!"

"But... but I clearly..."

"Get out! I’m only saying this once! Hmph! What a waste of time!"

"..."

Under the amused gaze of the King of Nightmares, Leon was despondently driven out of the Clean-up Bureau, with his head downcast and looking bewildered, like a walking corpse, he trudged back to the hospital step by step.

After exhausting all his money and struggling for over a week to no avail, unable to gather enough for the medical expenses, Leon had to carry the frail, ill girl home at her insistence, who was coughing all night and couldn’t sleep.

Then, as the sickly girl suggested from the start, when the all-night coughing ceased, to continue receiving her pension, Leon had to throw her body into the sewer river at night, pretending she was still alive to claim the pension.

But not even a month later, this small scheme was seen through by officials from the military department who came for inspection, and instead, they imposed further fines, making life for the family even harder, growing pale and thin day by day.

The following year, a heat epidemic broke out in the capital. Malnourished and physically weak, the two children withstood it no longer in the absence of proper medicine and treatment, and finally, the once cramped home became completely desolate...

...

So it is.

Watching Leon sitting hunched by a small bed, reaching out to caress an old photo album with eyes filled with numbness, the King’s eyebrows lifted slightly, finally understanding what Leon feared most.

If he did not have the qualifications to be a Cleaner, failing to join the Clean-up Bureau, he would lose everything bit by bit, inevitably, like in this nightmare.

Thus, if I want to torment him, there is no need for physical destruction, just lock away his original memories and let him endlessly relive all of this, that would be enough.

Hah, I never expected it to be so simple.

With a wave, dispersing the dreamscape reflected from the deepest part of Leon’s soul using the Crown of Fearful Reflection, and switching everything surrounding back to the Boundless Desert.

Seeing the real Leon starting from his rush out of the hospital in the dream, silent all along, seemingly struck by some huge blow, the King of Nightmares couldn’t help but curl his lips, and commented with amusement:

"Your fear is rather mundane, but overall still somewhat interesting... hehe, I’ve already thought of how to punish you for offending me.

Listen up, I declare, from now on you shall be... what are you doing?"

"I’m giving you a grand gift."

Crushing the vial containing the Dream Eating Anomalous Carapace, stuffing all the remaining beetles into the empty shell body previously left by the King of Nightmares.

In the shocked expression of the King of Nightmares, Leon expressionlessly took out the Unfair Serpent Pact, exchanging it for a bright red hair from the red-haired director.

Immediately, this body filled with feasting Dream Eating Anomalous Carapace vanished from his hands, appearing in the night sky of the capital, filled with countless nightmares.

"From now on, no one’s gonna fuckin’ dream!!!"