I! Cleaner!-Chapter 969 - 898: A Dead Heart Is Also Death

In the midst of the overwhelming calls, a tall figure suddenly rushed past, causing the old man from the third generation to stagger, and then firmly threw herself into Leon's embrace.

When Emma was first rescued from the City of Regret, she had already thought about what to say upon meeting again, but when that familiar figure appeared, her planned response instantly crumbled, leaving only an instinctive embrace.

"Leon..."

With a force almost as if to merge him into her own body, she gave Leon an incredibly firm hug. Leaning on his shoulder with reddened eyes, Emma said in a trembling voice:

"Thank you... thank you! I... if it weren't for you..."

"It's nothing."

Feeling the intense turmoil in Emma's Heart Lake, Leon couldn't help but extend his hand to gently pat her back, then softly replied:

"Even if..."

"Even if it were me who got into trouble, you would definitely come to save me, too."

Before Leon could finish, the old man from the third generation chimed in with a quirky tone, looking up at Leon with a disdainful smirk and said:

"Back when my wife was still alive, I said the same thing to her, and then she burst into tears and insisted on marrying me... so many years have passed, and you're still using my old tricks?"

"..."

No... your mouth used to just be annoying, how did it suddenly become even more so?

Feeling the atmosphere being maliciously disrupted, Leon could only release his hold on the slightly stiffened Emma and look towards the square-headed old man across from him, his expression a bit speechless:

"Sir, you seem more spirited than last time."

"Alright, enough with the nonsense!"

Glancing at Leon's cufflink, the old man from the third generation impatiently exclaimed:

"Where's the stuff? Quick, quick, quick! Bring out all the materials! I've been waiting so long I'm practically molding!"

"The materials are with Taurus, she'll be here soon, I just came ahead to..."

"Fine, it doesn't matter why you're here, go chat with your lover over there and don't keep me waiting!"

Waving dismissively, the old man from the third generation dragged over a tombstone to use as a stool and sat beside his big cauldron, scratching and staring intently at it, completely ignoring the two of them.

This old... director, who only follows the money, really is just as annoying as before!

(〝▼皿▼)

Faced with the cranky demeanor of the old man from the third generation, Leon clicked his tongue and decided to take Emma further away from the irritating old man.

However, even though Leon had already let go of his hold, the arm around his waist remained there, unknowingly tightening a bit more.

"Emma?"

"Call me Emma."

"Uh..."

"Emma."

"..."

Even without intentionally trying to peer into Emma's thoughts, her Heart Lake was so tumultuous and directly, defenselessly, it was presented before Leon's eyes. As a Quasi True God who held power over the Heart Lake, Leon found it impossible to ignore.

If at first, the Heart Lake was filled with intense joy and gratitude, as their embrace tightened, a deeper change flowed through the waves in the Heart Lake.

What first surfaced was an awareness of one's own inner clarity, followed by a boundless surge of passionate tides. Within this new surge, there was neither tangled worries nor intricate turns, only the stubbornness and fervor of wanting to press forward at all costs.

"Emma..."

Choosing not to change how he addressed her as per Emma's request, Leon hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said softly:

"You... perhaps you should first calm down, you've just had a close brush with death and suffered quite a shock, so your emotions are very intense. The decisions made at such times are usually not rational."

"Really?"

Emma blinked upon hearing this.

"What decision have I made?"

"..."

"So you've already felt it, you know what I'm thinking, right?"

The arm around Leon's waist slightly loosened, leaving a small gap between them, and Emma leaned back slightly, looking into Leon's evasive eyes, no longer as gentle as before, steadily saying:

"My emotions are intense, but it does not mean I'm not rational... Leon, don't you have the power to perceive the Heart Lake? Why don't you feel my heart directly?"

Pulling Leon's hand, she placed it firmly on her chest, her ears turning red, and earnestly asked:

"Leon, tell me, how is my heart now?"

"..."

"Tell me, have I lost my judgment due to excitement, mistaking my gratitude for you as something else, or has a life-threatening experience finally made me realize what I truly want?"

"I..."

"I may not see your Heart Lake, but I can see your eyes."

Gazing at Leon, who slightly turned his head to avoid her gaze, Emma stubbornly continued:

"Leon, you can see your own Heart Lake, tell me how it looks now."

"Such things... human emotions are very complex, so... what I say may not necessarily be right..."

"That's not important."

Emma slightly lifted her head, her gentle eyes fixed stubbornly on Leon, and said:

"As long as you say it, I will believe it!"

"..."

But this isn't a matter of belief or disbelief...

Leon sighed slightly, his lips moving a bit, then he raised his left hand in front of Emma's eyes, turned his head away, and said:

"Emma, I'm already married."

"I... I understand..."

Looking at the dazzlingly bright ring on Leon's hand, under the influence of the status of "married person," Emma's turbulent Heart Lake halted for a moment, then withdrew like a receding tide.

Seeing Leon intentionally avoid meeting her eyes, yet resolutely raising the hand wearing the ring to create a barrier between them, Emma couldn't help but clamp her lips tightly, feeling as if her heart was suddenly gouged out.

As the icy feeling flooded her heart, Emma's heartbeat, which had been pounding like drums, suddenly paused, sinking into a brief silence, followed by...

Boom!

A tempest filled with chilling intent erupted from her chest, carefully bypassing Leon, before swiftly spreading around, directly knocking down the eavesdropping old man from the third generation.

Soon, the grayish-brown soil of the Sage's Cemetery quickly turned pale in the cold, the originally slightly green plants also turned gray, and an immense, cold stillness violently flowed outwards, coating the surrounding tombstones in a thin layer of white frost in just a few breaths.

"Death powers?!?!?!?!"

Propping himself up by a nearby tombstone, seeing Emma standing across from Leon with her head slightly lowered and icicles forming at the corners of her eyes, the old man from the third generation could only stare blankly at Leon, quite literally sucking in a chilly breath.

"This... she was just trying to talk about love with you, how did she end up becoming the goddess of death?"