Chapter 226

Just as the Aquarius Director hastily evacuated and the [Time Rift] was completely sealed, a barrage of dazzling attacks arrived in an instant.

The first thing to appear was a mysterious sweet fragrance near where the middle-aged Joshua had “opened the door.” It was as if they had just experienced a sticky drizzle, with all sorts of sweets sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain, rapidly inflating.

But before these suddenly appearing sweets could fully expand, hundreds of sea-blue tentacles, each as thick as an adult’s waist, sprouted first and wildly swung with a crushing momentum, instantly grinding the ground full of sweets into colorful candy mud. This was then followed by countless invisible blades that cut and dismembered everything, melting it into a sky-wide shower of pink water droplets.

Next came crimson blood fields, sobbing whispers, golden rivers, nameless rings, pale dolls covered in thorns, knee-walking demons with ten weeping eyes, masked mouthless martyrs’ corpses, and a fierce-eyed evil moon reflected in a green lake…

It was like an Abnormality Expo, with a parade of clearly off-kilter things appearing at the location where the Aquarius Director had fled, brutally destroying the abnormal abilities that had arrived earlier, only to be more savagely shredded by subsequent attacks.

Finally, the sun’s eye in the sky suddenly dimmed, casting a shadow darker than the deepest night, obliterating everything on the main platform before the Clearing Bureau members’ varied attacks finally came to an end…

…

What the hell…

Looking at the main platform which had been washed countless times within a second, Leon, who had been pulled away by his own director beforehand, couldn’t help but shiver violently, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

When the [Otherworld Door] started closing, Leon was originally preparing to pick up a couple more weights. However, his right shoe suddenly turned into a wafer cookie, and hundreds of tentacles full of suction cups quietly appeared around him. A familiar bright red hair had also silently wrapped around his waist.

The director was preparing to save me… so staying here would be dangerous? Although the [Time Rift] wasn’t completely closed and Leon had enough speed to avoid the entanglement of the red hair and continue picking up the weights on the ground, out of trust in his director, he didn’t move, allowing the director’s hair to wrap around him, and then…

If I hadn’t moved just then, there wouldn’t have been much of a ‘then’! Together with the Freckled Prince and Senior Jerry, Leon was pulled out by the director’s red hair, witnessing wave after wave of attacks landing one after another. He now deeply appreciated his self-restraint.

Although the Clearing Bureau couldn’t catch the accelerated Aquarius Director, eliminating them would’ve been too easy. Just looking at the carpet-bombing saturation attack that plowed through the ground like tilling soil, if he had stayed there picking up weights, even a thousand lives wouldn’t have been enough to survive!

And while Leon was still shaken, the red-haired director, who had saved the three of them, couldn’t help but sigh deeply, then nodded slightly toward the Leo Subdivision’s director:

“Beverly, thank you for your help.”

“Don’t thank me; I almost caused more trouble.”

Pointing her hand toward Leon’s right foot, she changed the shoe back from a cookie. Then, the Leo Subdivision’s director Beverly explained apologetically:

“I originally wanted to turn all three of you into sweets. That way, even if you were shredded by subsequent attacks, adding some sugar and flour, mixing it up, and reshaping it would allow you to revive.

However, more people acted than I expected, and the director even summoned the [Sunshade] to project downwards. If I had really turned you into sweets, you probably would’ve suffered greatly.”

“Still, thanks.”

The red-haired director insisted:

“My reaction speed isn’t fast. If you hadn’t helped by blocking part of the summoned [Sea Tentacles], I might not have been able to get them out unscathed. This time, I owe you… Also, don’t think their hands were too heavy.”

At this point, the red-haired director turned to look at the startled trio of Leon and explained with a somewhat helpless expression:

“As for those who acted afterward, they actually avoided you intentionally. So, rather than trying to stop anyone, it’s more about showing loyalty, proving they haven’t colluded with the Aquarius Director. It was all show.”

“…”

After hearing the red-haired director’s words, Leon thought for a moment and immediately understood what was going on.

This incident involved the Watchtower Palace, touching upon the Clearing Bureau’s sore spot, combined with the sudden “betrayal” of the Gemini Division Director. Therefore, no matter how the Aquarius Director is dealt with later, the “pro-Aquarius faction” within the Clearing Bureau will inevitably face extremely strict scrutiny and crackdowns.

So these division directors, even though they knew they couldn’t hit anyone, still had to follow the trend and make a show, especially those who may have received favors from Aquarius. They were declaring their split from Aquarius and showing their stance to the General Bureau to avoid being targeted later…

Indeed, taking sides is humanity’s eternal issue, even within an organization like the Clearing Bureau.

…

“Alright!”

Apparently, more than just the red-haired director understood this point. After waving to dispel the pitch-black Sunshade around him and looking at the group of division directors who were useless when it mattered but quick to jump on the bandwagon, the Clearing Bureau Director angrily shouted: “Stop wasting time with useless stuff. The most important thing now is how to deal with Water… uh…”

Unable to speak further, the Clearing Bureau Director looked down helplessly at the little two-headed dog—half-evil, half-cute—that had one head biting his pants and the other barking at him.

“Whose anomaly is this? Take it back quickly!”

“Ahh! It’s mine!”

Frantically shaking the bell in her hand, the acting director of the Lyra Division called back the viciously cute puppy that had started gnawing on the director’s shoes. She stood up, blushing furiously while apologizing repeatedly, then stammered an explanation:

“I’m sorry, our Lyra Division director and those senior members of the first and second ranks are currently frozen in the polar regions. The oldest qualified person in the bureau is me, so Star Palace dragged me here to attend the meeting…

Even though I’m the oldest, my strength is actually quite average. I barely reached the second stage last month and couldn’t withstand the suppression of anomalies from the General Bureau, so I could only summon a puppy to hold the fort. Please forgive me, Director…”

“…”

Ah, it’s the Lyra Division, ranked second-to-last in performance. No wonder the level is so low…

Waving to indicate it was fine and letting this stand-in director sit down, the Clearing Bureau Director turned around and looked at a certain division ranked first (from the bottom), frowning as he asked:

“Olivia, let your people explain. What exactly happened? Why did the Gemini Division Director suddenly betray?”

(End of Chapter)