I! Cleaner!-Chapter 971 - 890: The End of Death

Tsk... Blame the road when the shoes aren't good!

Faced with repeated expulsion by the third-generation director, Leon rolled his eyes speechlessly, then turned around under the apologetic gaze of the Taurus director, meeting Emma's resentful eyes.

"... "

Damn, the problem here hasn't been solved yet...

"Leon..."

Seeing Leon's somewhat stiff expression, the tall and beautiful woman's eyes dimmed slightly, and she subconsciously turned her head away, speaking in a low, dejected voice:

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I... I just wanted to ask you one more thing. If I hadn't gone out on a mission back then but stayed in the capital instead, would our... our outcome have been different?"

"... "

Feeling the Heart Lake of Emma filled with loss and pain, Leon, guilt-ridden, initially wanted to firmly reject, but no matter what, he couldn't open his mouth, so he too turned his head away, speaking ambiguously:

"Emma... Senior, these 'maybe' scenarios can't change the reality of what happened... I admit, I did have feelings for you back then... hmm..."

Halfway through his sentence, Leon seemed to remember something, insight flashed, and he glanced back over his shoulder, indeed seeing over a dozen pairs of keen eyes.

"... "

"... "

"What are you standing around for? Put my pot up there!"

"Quick! Start digging up the graves! Look for the big ones first!"

"Hurry, invite out the sages inside, then we'll lie in!"

"... "

Damn! These slackers!

Seeing the group suddenly spring into action like wind-up toys, Leon couldn't help but close his eyes and tilt his head back, transforming into a visage like a subway elder, his face overflowing with disdain.

I'm really fed up... We're about to go to war with the Realm of the Dead, and you still have time to dig into my affairs?

His mouth twitched involuntarily, and Leon decisively pulled Emma a bit farther away, under the tree the third-generation director had pointed out earlier, then gently wrapped Emma's arm, speaking softly with guilt:

"I'm sorry, Emma Senior, I can't..."

"No, you don't have to say sorry!"

Covering Leon's lips with her hand, as proven by countless melodramatic dramas, Emma slightly shook her head facing Leon's proactive apology, then said bleakly:

"You have nothing to be sorry about, instead, you saved me again and again. I... maybe I'm just being ungrateful... " 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"... "

"Sorry, Leon, I... maybe my soul hasn't fully healed, I want to go back and lie down for a while, is that alright?"

"Alright..."

After rubbing the ring on his hand, Leon eventually steeled himself, nodding, and made no attempt to make her stay, instead silently watching Emma walk away. When she moved out of sight, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Emma really hasn't done anything wrong, but neither has Veronica. If he casually makes any promise just out of reluctance, it would hurt everyone in one go, so...

"Sizzle"

Hearing the familiar harsh noise in his ear, Leon couldn't help but smile wryly, knowing that his choice must have triggered some sort of badge again, likely with a rather unpleasant name, perhaps Cold-hearted Man or...

[During your fall from the Cliff of the End, you hit the First Deceased who was pushed off the cliff, absorbing part of its death powers under the promise of revenge.]

[Current number of Netherworld True Gods devoured: 3, namely "Death's Guardian Dog," "Wailing Puppet," and "First Deceased."

Remaining number of undevoured Netherworld True Gods: 12, specifically "Grandma Crow-eye," "Faceless Man," "Excavator Huang Worm," "Concealing Master," "Dead Workshop Master," "Lantern Bearer"…]

[Once all Netherworld True Gods are devoured, your hidden Gold-level badge "Food God Ghoul" will advance to the concealed variant badge "I Am the End of Death," current progress is 3/15]

"???"

What on earth is this situation?!?!

In the moment Leon was dumbfounded, an indescribable immense emptiness suddenly surged from deep within his soul.

As if something called "self" had a corner cut off, then thoroughly ground in a cold machine, that unbearably terrifying sense of loss caused Leon to dizzy spell, almost sending him to the ground if not for catching the nearby tree trunk.

This is... my part of the soul, crushed by the Cliff of the End?

Although he did not obtain the memories of that part of the soul, the icy aura transmitted from the "break" of the soul, sharing the same root yet far stronger than Emma's power, Leon immediately understood the fate of his soul fragment.

Missing part of the soul is not unacceptable. When deciding to divide his soul into the Netherworld, Leon was already prepared to permanently lose that part, but... what about the First Deceased? How did it get pushed off the Cliff of the End?

"Director Taurus!"

Having received this shocking news, Leon hurriedly staggered towards the cauldron-filled with steaming water, ignoring the discomfort from his missing soul part, and he faced the puzzled gazes of the crowd, pale-faced as he revealed:

"The portion of my soul that entered the Netherworld has fallen off the Cliff of the End with the First Deceased and is most likely already shattered, returned to the world origin!"

Ah?!?!?!

Faced with this startling news, the group of Cleaners stood frozen in place, then descended into a deathly silence.

After a while, the spoon in the third-generation elder's hand dropped with a thud into the cooking pot, and the sudden sound broke the silence, causing the group of Cleaners to erupt in an uproar!

"You even took down the First Deceased?!"

"That's the oldest ruler of the Netherworld! You took it down with just a quarter of your soul?"

"No… it was neutral! You killed a neutral party too?"

"We're doomed! Without the First Deceased, what about the No Return Path?"

"Damn it, my spoon!"

"Silence!!!!!!"

The Taurus director, finally regaining composure, shouted to quiet the chattering Cleaners, then with gritted teeth, turned to Leon and asked:

"Leon! You tell us! What exactly is going on?"

"The First Deceased wasn't killed by me, the specific process isn't clear, but the First Deceased was pushed off the Cliff of the End, and there's no doubt it's gone now."

Hiding the details about the badge, Leon briefly shared the "intelligence" he received from his soul fragment:

"From the information I gathered, it looks like the First Deceased was betrayed, maybe a civil war broke out among the Netherworld Overlords?"