Chapter 629: Reaction

"Stop!"

Just as the Director of Aquarius hastily retreated, the moment the 【Time Gap】 was fully sealed, a flood of dazzling attacks arrived simultaneously.

The first to appear was an inexplicable sweetness; near where Middle-aged Joshua had opened his door, it was as if a sugary rain had just fallen, and all manner of desserts sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, rapidly swelling.

But before these sudden sweets could fully inflate, hundreds of sea-blue tentacles, as thick as an adult's waist, shot out first, thrashing wildly with the force to crush everything, instantly grinding the sweets into multicolored sugar sludge—only to be immediately sliced and shredded by countless invisible blades, then dissolved into a skyful of misty droplets by swirling pale-pink dreams.

Then came the crimson blood realm, sobbing whispers, golden rivers, nameless rings, pale puppets covered in thorns, horned demons crawling on knees with ten weeping eyes, masked martyrs without mouths, and a snarling evil moon reflected in a pool of emerald water…

As if hosting an exhibition of anomalies, a flood of clearly wrong things appeared in rapid succession where the Director of Aquarius had fled, brutally destroying the earlier arriving anomalies, only to be torn apart even more viciously by attacks that arrived later.

Finally, the Sun's Eye in the sky suddenly dimmed, casting down a shadow darker than the deepest night, obliterating everything on the main stage—only then did the varied attacks from the Cleanup Bureau personnel cease…

…

Fuck me…

Watching the main stage washed clean countless times in a second, Leon, who had been yanked away by his own director, shuddered violently, his back soaked through with cold sweat.

As the 【Gate to the Other World】 began closing, Leon had planned to grab two more weights—but suddenly his right shoe turned into a wafer, hundreds of suction-cupped tentacles emerged silently around him, and a familiar streak of bright red hair curled gently around his waist.

The director's coming to pull me out… so staying here is dangerous?

Although the 【Time Gap】 hadn't fully closed and Leon could have easily dodged the red hair to keep collecting weights, out of trust in his director, he didn't move—letting the director's hair coil around him, then…

He almost didn't make it!

Alongside the Freckled Prince and Senior Jerry, Leon was yanked out by the director's red hair, watching one attack after another strike down—and he was immensely grateful he'd resisted his greed.

These ruthless people of the Cleanup Bureau might not catch the accelerated Director of Aquarius, but killing him? Too easy. Look at that saturation-style bombardment, like plowing a field—if he'd stayed to pick up weights, even a thousand lives wouldn't have saved him from being wiped out on the spot!

As Leon was still reeling from the shock, the red-haired director, having rescued all three of them, let out a long breath, then nodded slightly to the director of the Lion Division:

"Bevrie, thank you for helping."

"Don't thank me—I almost messed things up."

With a finger tap to Leon's right foot, restoring his shoe from a wafer, the Lion Division's director, Bevrie, apologized slightly: "I meant to turn all three of you into sweets—if you got shredded by later attacks, you could just be remade with a bit more sugar and dough."

"But more people acted than I expected—even the director summoned 【Solar Shade】 to cast down. If I'd turned you into sweets, you'd have suffered terribly."

But more people intervened than I expected—even the Director mobilized 【Sun Shade】 to descend and project downward. If you'd truly been turned into sweets by me, you'd have suffered terribly.

The red-haired director insisted:

"My speed wasn't fast enough. Without you stepping in to block some of the summoned 【Sea Tentacles】, I wouldn't have pulled them out intact. This time I owe you… Also, don't think these people went too far."

Here, the red-haired director turned to Leon and the other two, still shaken, and explained with weary patience: "The first few who attacked—even if they truly meant to hold back the Director—still held back their force on your positions. That's how I managed to pull you out under all that fire."

"As for the ones who came after, they deliberately avoided you. It wasn't about holding anyone back—it was about showing loyalty, proving they weren't allied with the Director of Aquarius. Everyone was just putting on a show."

As for those who acted afterward, they all deliberately avoided you—so it's less about wanting to detain you and more about proving loyalty, showing they weren't colluding with the Aquarius Director. Everyone was just putting on a show.

After hearing the red-haired director's words, Leon thought for a moment and understood everything.

This incident involved the Watch Palace—it struck the Cleanup Bureau's most sacred nerve, compounded by the sudden "betrayal" of the Twin Division's director. No matter how they handled the Director of Aquarius, the "Aquarius faction" within the bureau would face brutal scrutiny and purges.

So these division directors, even knowing their attacks couldn't hit anyone, still had to join in—especially those who might have taken bribes from Aquarius—to show they'd broken ties and declare their loyalty to headquarters, avoiding future targeting…

Indeed, choosing sides is humanity's eternal problem—even for an organization like the Cleanup Bureau.

Indeed, taking sides is humanity's eternal problem—even an organization like the Cleanup Bureau is no exception.

"Enough!"

Clearly, not just the red-haired director understood this. After sweeping away the black solar shade beside him, the Cleanup Bureau's director glared at the division heads—those who'd done nothing until the moment of crisis, then rushed to join the bandwagon—and snapped angrily:

"Stop this useless theater! Right now, the priority is how to handle Aquarius… uh…"

He looked down in disbelief at his pant leg, where a tiny head bit fiercely at it, and another tiny head barked at him—a two-headed, terrifyingly cute puppy.

He lowered his head in silence, looking down at a two-headed evil… adorable dog: one small head gnawing fiercely at his pant leg, the other barking at him. The Cleanup Bureau's Director glowered.

"Oh! Mine!"

Frantically shaking a dog bell, the acting director of the Lyre Division pulled back the ferociously cute pup that had been gnawing the director's shoes, then stood up, face flushed, stammering apologies:

"Sorry! Our Lyre Division's director and all the senior Level One and Two members are frozen in the polar region—so I, the most senior left, was dragged here by the Star Palace to attend…"

"I… I may be the oldest here, but I'm actually weak—I only barely reached Second Rank last month. I couldn't resist the headquarters' suppression on anomalies, so I summoned a puppy just to look impressive. Sorry for the embarrassment, Director…"

This… although I'm senior, my actual strength is quite ordinary—I only barely advanced to Second Tier last month. I simply can't withstand the Central Bureau's suppression of anomalies, so I could only summon a puppy to hold up appearances. I apologize for the spectacle, Director…

So it's the Lyre Division—the second-worst performer. No wonder they're so weak…

With a wave of his hand dismissing her, the Cleanup Bureau's director turned to the division ranked first (last) in performance, frowned, and asked:

"Olivia, have your people explain—what exactly happened? Why did the Twin Division's director suddenly betray us?"

"Olivia, have your people explain—what exactly happened just now? Why did the Director of the Twin Branch suddenly defect?"

(End of Chapter)