I! Cleaner!

"It's you again."

After Emma gritted her teeth and stabbed the burly man with a beard, cutting off his painful wailing and dragging him away from the trapdoor, the shriveled little girl on the ground suddenly opened her eyes, climbed up, and looked over with displeasure.

"How many times have you interrupted me prematurely?"

Looking at Emma, pale-faced and standing before her, holding a slender sword and staring her down, the "little girl" tilted her head slightly, squinting her eyes as she questioned:

"I remember telling you from the beginning, don't interrupt me while I'm listening to wails, or bear the consequences. Did you not hear, or do you not understand?"

Faced with the questioning from the "little girl," Emma couldn't help but breathe heavily, instinctively stepping back half a step, yet she still tightened her grip on the sword handle, gritting her teeth as she retorted:

"Of course I understand! But your damned ugly tricks, like you, this worthless ruler, have no value at all!"

"Hehe." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Facing Emma's hatred-filled berating, the shriveled "little girl" didn't care and pouted, then fell forward altogether, while a palm-sized wooden puppet emerged from her soul full of pain.

After slightly stretching its body, the small puppet stood on the little girl's back, looked up at Emma across from it, and responded with disdain:

"What do you humans know? The City of Regret and Ghostly Mire I created have been recognized by the world. Those souls full of regret and remorse can only move on to the Cliff of the End to return to the world after being purified here.

If I didn't handle these souls and let them pile up here, the number of living beings in the human world would drastically reduce. From this point of view, I am a great benefactor to humans and the entire living world!"

"..."

"What's wrong, have nothing left to say?"

Seeing Emma biting her lip and glaring at him, the small Wailing Puppet couldn't help but put its hands behind its back, looking up at her as it leisurely said:

"Remember, don't try to judge me with your narrow perception, although I do take pleasure in listening to wails, it is my due reward.

Moreover, only the heartfelt wailing can wear down the useless obsessions of you humans, grind away those so-called regrets and remorse, and purify your filthy and heavy souls.

Only after my processing can the 'impurities' in your souls be removed and not pollute the entire world as they return to the origin along the Cliff of the End...

Forget it, why am I telling you this?"

Even though he had already patiently explained, but the woman still stubbornly stared at him with angry eyes, the Wailing Puppet, ruler of the City of Regret, couldn't help but shake his head with some reluctance, and then announced.

"You don't need to understand my greatness. As humans, you just need to meekly endure... Besides, since you interrupted his wailing, you should repay it with your own!"

After announcing his next target, the Wailing Puppet bent its neck downward ninety degrees, glanced into the cabin below through the deck, and after slightly selecting, looked up again with interest.

"From the perspective of material, you are much better than that bearded man... His regret is that he couldn't save his daughter, just lost one family member, but you directly caused the death of your entire clan.

Hmm... Among your people, quite a few harbor hatred towards you. There are many lingering here, so who do you plan to face first? Your father? Your mother? Or relive the execution of your entire clan... hmm..."

Seeing Emma, although filled with fear, still watched him with some strange "flame" in her eyes, the Wailing Puppet's wooden eyebrows couldn't help but frown vividly, then asked with some surprise:

"You seem different from a few days ago?"

Am I different?

Emma was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and then vaguely guessed what the Wailing Puppet was referring to, but she didn't explain. Instead, she gripped the slender sword in her hand tightly, determinedly holding on to her conviction, gritting her teeth in preparation for the coming torture.

But strangely, after asking the previous question, the Wailing Puppet's actions halted, not immediately seeking out Emma's parents' souls to torment her, but instead stared into her eyes, lost in thought.

...

That odd "flame" in the woman's eyes, although rare, wasn't entirely unheard of in my long life. It is a courage born from choosing to face fear, underpinned by some strong "fulcrum," prepared to hold on no matter what.

This distasteful thing will wrap tightly around her soul, and until that strong "fulcrum" is destroyed, no matter how much the blow she receives, she won't completely collapse, eventually able to recover with the "fulcrum's" help.

However, this incomplete wailing, though still able to "fill the stomach," feels remarkably tasteless, like salt-boiled chicken breast...

So the key lies in her "fulcrum!"

Staring into Emma's eyes for a while, seemingly grasping something, the Wailing Puppet's mouth couldn't help but curve into a malicious wooden smile.

"You hope to leave here alive, to accompany your daughter as she grows up, right?"

"?!"

Upon hearing the Wailing Puppet's words, Emma's heart couldn't help but tighten sharply, then gripping the sword handle tightly she demanded:

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your 'fulcrum,' although strong, is surprisingly simple... and foolish."

With a slight twist of its wooden neck, emitting rough, creaking noises, the Wailing Puppet looked at Emma, whose face was tense, and smiled as it asked:

"Do you know about the Incarnate Doe?"

...

Not good!

Through little Ellie's "dream," hearing the name Incarnate Doe, Leon's heart couldn't help but tighten sharply, but far away in the mortal world, he could do nothing to stop it, merely watching the Wailing Puppet as it spoke:

"That doe has always been trying to cross the boundary of life and death, to obtain a real body, separate from the soul. The one you see as hope, that child, rather than being your daughter, is more like her failed attempt."

"What... what are you talking about?!"

"Is what I'm saying difficult to understand?"

Looking at Emma, whose eyes had widened in shock, the Wailing Puppet slightly tilted its wooden head and spoke clearly, one word at a time:

"Your daughter is the body that that doe arranged for herself, and also the root of your clan's tragic fate!"