Chapter 620

“Die, you bastard!”

Not even giving Dream Leon a chance to speak, the cleaners from the Clearing Bureau followed their fine tradition of attacking first and talking later. Without uttering a word, they immediately grabbed their weapons and charged… or rather, began releasing anomalous items.

The bull-horned man who had once been Leon’s desk mate roared loudly, his body suddenly expanding over tenfold. Covered in various chaotic effects, he charged forward as the vanguard directly towards Nightmare Leon.

Nightmare Leon’s legs had, at some unknown point, turned to stone, while countless white feathers descended from above, locking down all possible positions Nightmare Leon could move to. A rust-covered scythe then gently but bloodily slit its throat.

Clearers from the Clearing Bureau? Why would clearers come to Soulfall Black Abyss? With its neck half-severed by the scythe, Nightmare Leon slightly “昂ged” (tilted) its head, furrowing its brows. The Mirror Diadem on its head flickered faintly.

Just then, the charging bull-horned man froze mid-stride, collapsed with sheer terror, and immediately closed his eyes, flailing about desperately in the pitch-black river.

“No! No! You can’t eat me!”

At the same time, the other cleaners launching attacks were instantly pulled into their own nightmares with the flicker of the Mirror Diadem. They fell to the ground one after another, flailing and screaming in agony.

“Hurry, run! Leon’s gone mad again!”

“Director, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have come!”

“Help! Leon’s eating people!!!”

Under Nightmare Leon’s casual counterattack, the assault of over four hundred cleaners crumbled in the blink of an eye. Aside from two Level 1 Cleaners, they were completely wiped out.

After resisting the nightmares forcibly bestowed by the Mirror Diadem, Abigail’s attacks grew even more fierce. Rust-covered scythes emerged from beneath Nightmare Leon’s skin, diving in and out like fish swimming freely in its flesh, leaving Nightmare Leon’s body riddled with wounds.

Meanwhile, not a single drop of blood flowed from Nightmare Leon’s heavily cut body. Instead, it burst forth with a large amount of tiny white feathers, like a torn feather pillow. These mingled with the gray mist swirling around him, creating a sound akin to boiling oil hitting water…

Is that all?

Glancing at the abnormalities appearing on his own body, Nightmare Leon couldn’t be bothered to change expression. Grabbing the gray mist covering him, he lightly shook it off as if brushing away dust.

Puff! The previously loose gray mist abruptly solidified, transforming into a gray robe. The horrifying deep wounds, visible to the bone, simply fell off like dust on clothes, turning into fragments of small nightmares that tumbled into the Nightmare River below.

“Boring.”

After giving a less-than-impressive evaluation of the two Level 1 Cleaners’ full-on assault, Nightmare Leon narrowed his eyes warningly: “Listen up. Although I haven’t yet obtained all the powers of ‘Nightmares,’ I’ve already transcended the distinction between man and god—something you cannot contend with. Likewise, I have no intention of provoking the Clearing Bureau and bringing trouble upon myself.

So, I’ll give you one chance. Regardless of how you ended up here, if you leave my territory immediately, I will spare you… Bastard!”

A sudden roar of anger erupted, as if realizing something was amiss, Nightmare Leon hastily retreated.

……

In the end, it still comes down to ambushes! Utilizing the extreme speed effect of [Minothil Curse Mercury], Leon, whose half-body was plated with [Curse Mercury], managed to destroy the diadem on Nightmare Leon’s head, visibly relaxing his tense expression.

During the time Nightmare Leon and Strawman Nightmare were exchanging words, the cleaners naturally wouldn’t sit idly by doing nothing. They quickly held a pre-battle meeting to prepare to take down this nightmare that was almost fully divine, and the slash that severed the Mirror Diadem was the greatest achievement of this short meeting.

Leon’s memory of the effects of the Mirror Diadem on Nightmare Leon’s head was deeply etched. It was precisely due to the nightmares granted by this diadem that he had once, in a fit of rage, destroyed half the Dream Realm. Even after knowing those were non-existent nightmares, his mood remained low for quite some time.

Since there was now an opportunity to sneak-attack and destroy one of Nightmare Leon’s signature weapons, Leon naturally chose the diadem that bore a grudge against him. By removing this “area-enforced dream entry” crown, the cleaners who would have otherwise been instantly annihilated gained the chance to utilize their respective abilities…

“Abigail!”

Upon seeing the success of the “Diadem Severance” plan, Mason, who had created the opportunity for Leon with his scythe, was overjoyed. Before he could urge her, a clear and resonant hymn already emanated from Abigail’s hiding place.

“Don’t eat me! I… Eh?”

“The Director will avenge me! You… Hmm?”

“I’ve wet my pants and you’re still eating me? You really don’t care… Ah!!”

Without exception, the moment the Mirror Diadem was broken and the soothing hymn spread, the cleaners who had been dragged into nightmares immediately broke free from the relentless pursuit by Leon within their dreams and regained consciousness one after another.

As for Nightmare Leon, who witnessed all this, its expression instantly became a mix of emotions—annoyance, reluctance, surprise, shock—all sorts of complex feelings flashing across its face in succession.

And just as its expression gradually shifted to boundless fury, preparing to make these damn humans pay regardless of the retaliation from the Clearing Bureau, a figure it knew all too well suddenly appeared in its line of sight, pulling back a strange curtain that didn’t actually exist.

“You’ve already lost!”

Right as Leon was secretly signaling to the other cleaners, preparing to use the time for some polite talk to let them cast a few more curses, Nightmare Leon, upon seeing him, suddenly trembled all over and without hesitation turned around and ran! Can’t fight! Farewell!

Huh?!!!!!

Seeing his own self, who had been so arrogant just moments ago but now bolted without even throwing a parting insult, Leon couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

This is… Truly impressive. Not mentioning anything else, this tactical style of retreating strategically the moment things go wrong has certainly been learned well.

(End of Chapter)