Chapter 788: It

What the hell?!

After hearing the Taurus Director's opening remarks, Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman, who had been holding back a flood of bad news and ready to beg for help, both froze in shock.

Your Excellency Taurus! I have bad news to report!

Funny enough—I've got an even worse one here!

"What's going on?!!!"

Their plea for help was swallowed whole; the Red-haired Woman hurriedly asked:

"The Watch Palace has operated normally for years—never once had an issue! Why would it… wait! Could it be the Aquarius Director? Could he have tampered with the Watch Palace?"

"The Aquarius Director? Isn't he dead?"

"He… never mind, we'll talk about him later!"

Hearing that the Cleaners' strongest asset had malfunctioned, the Red-haired Woman frowned with deep concern:

"Your Excellency Taurus—what exactly is wrong with the Watch Palace?"

"The Watch Palace… it seems to have been affected by something."

Suppressing her shock, the Taurus Director frowned as she explained:

"You know that the Throne Occupant who ascends the Watch Palace can review all past events and foresee certain possible futures."

"If the Throne Occupant detects a future anomaly—a threat capable of endangering the Cleaners or even all humanity—they issue an early warning, sending vague clues so we can neutralize the danger before it manifests."

"So… this ability has failed?"

"It hasn't fully failed, but part of it has malfunctioned."

Pulling a stack of pale moon-white slips from her robe and holding them up to the Celestial Mirror, the Taurus Director looked utterly baffled:

"At the start of each year, the Watch Palace sends down many slips listing the key events we must watch for—like being cautious of prehistoric humans awakening in the polar regions, or monitoring how much the Moon People have hollowed out the moon."

"This year, the Watch Palace sent down many slips too—most were normal, but one had a problem: critical information was missing, completely unreadable… here, this one!"

Hearing the Taurus Director's words, the tense Red-haired Woman immediately fixed her gaze on the slip held before the mirror.

'The soul known as…, from an unknown world, after three years of dormancy, has joined…, established itself in…, and after coming into contact with the Cleaners'…, suddenly gained the strange ability to block my observations.'

'According to the partial futures I once saw, he will become…, launch a… against the entire Cleaners, and destroy…, shattering…—it must be dealt with in advance!'

"Sounds like a malevolent soul plotting something?"

After reading the slip—seven or eight key details missing, almost no vital intelligence—the Red-haired Woman's brow tightened in deep frown.

"According to this, he'll likely clash with the Cleaners, has already made contact with them, and may even have allied with someone inside… Li Ang, what do you think?"

"…"

What do I think… I think this is describing me!

Staring at the slip again and again, his eyes scanning the keywords "from an unknown world," "three years," Li Ang's scalp prickled with dread.

"After coming into contact with the Cleaners'…, suddenly gained the strange ability to block my observations." If he wasn't mistaken, the blank "…" must refer to the Taurus Director. After all, it was after meeting her that he learned of the Watch Palace's existence—and his 【Materialism】 had been activated by the intelligence he gained, shielding him from the Watch Palace's influence. Everything matched perfectly.

…

"I'm shocked…"

After honestly answering the Red-haired Woman's question, Li Ang's cheeks twitched slightly as he pointed at the "after coming into contact with…" portion of the slip, sounding a little guilty:

"Do you think the person who allied with him could be the Aquarius Director?"

"Huh? Why do you think that?"

"Uh… I'm just guessing."

Meeting the two directors' puzzled stares, Li Ang forged ahead with a wild theory:

"Think about it—the Aquarius Director was a genius in the Secret Art of Aberrant Creation. He's always been obsessed with studying the Watch Palace, and spent years preparing just to ascend it."

"With his talent, after all that research, he might've truly discovered a way to block the Watch Palace's observations. And after encountering that soul from the unknown world, he passed that method on to it."

"I'm not saying it's definitely him—but logically, his suspicion is the highest, right?"

"Agreed."

After listening to Li Ang's bold hypothesis, the Sagittarius director, who had been silent all along, nodded from the other end of the celestial mirror.

After endorsing Li Ang's speculation, the middle-aged man with a square, stern face—radiating an air of upright simplicity—frowned deeply:

"If we must name someone in the Cleaners who possesses the ability to block the Watch Palace's observations, I can't think of anyone besides the Aquarius Director. This is almost certainly tied to him… By the way, you said the Aquarius Director is still alive?"

"Yes! The Aquarius Director is not dead!"

Hearing the Archer Director's question, the Red-haired Woman nodded gravely:

"Many years ago, he severed his own soul—more thoroughly than the Pisces Director. Aside from shared memories and identical goals, he's essentially two separate beings now."

"The half of his soul sent to the Death Realm by the 【List of Designations】 and the 【Street Lamps of the Dead】 was only one part. The other half remains hidden, allying with the Nightmare King to aid his descent, using the Dream Realm's power to repair his damaged soul."

The Nightmare King?

Hearing the Red-haired Woman's words, the Taurus Director's expression shifted as she rummaged through her slips and pulled one forward.

"Olivia, are you referring to this one?"

'The Abyss of Fallen Souls is about to merge with reality. The Nightmare King has a slight chance of descending through it. Must expel followers of the Black Cult of Nightmare, and destroy the ritual guiding his descent, to ensure…'

"That's the one!"

After skimming the slip's content, the Red-haired Woman drew a sharp breath, then clenched her fist in helpless frustration:

"I received this message, but the document was delivered by the Aquarius Director. The locations and times marked on it have almost certainly been altered by him."

"Your Excellency Taurus—can you or Your Excellency Archer teleport via the Star Palace to help me stop the Nightmare King?"

"I can't go…"

After a brief hesitation, the Taurus Director sighed and shook her head:

"The Nightmare King's power is nightmares—he can easily corrupt human souls upon entering reality. My soul has been nurtured for nearly a decade and is now in the final stage of Ascension. If it's tainted by him, all ten years of work will be wasted."

"Even if I could endure another decade, I'm worried about the Watch Palace's condition—I want to ascend early to investigate. I've already begun the ascent and cannot risk exposure to the Nightmare King…"

Slightly pulling open her collar, she showed Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman her soul—already seeping out of her flesh as a blazing white light—and turned to the square-faced man beside her with a faint apology:

"Your Excellency Andrew, could you go in my place?"

(End of Chapter)