Chapter 790: Secret Art Seal

"I'm sorry..."

With a sigh from the square-faced middle-aged man, the golden emblem of the Archer Centaur emerged directly from the mirror's surface and floated before Li Ang and the Red-haired Director.

"I don't want to refuse to help, but the Watch Palace cannot afford any loss, so..."

"I understand."

After glancing in surprise at the floating Archer emblem, the Red-haired Director's face broke into a smile; she seized Li Ang's wrist and nodded slightly.

"You had no choice. Ensuring the safety of the Watch Palace is more important than our side."

"I... sigh... thank you for your effort."

Feeling somewhat guilty toward the Red-haired Director, the Archer Director sighed and turned to leave—but upon noticing the movement on the other side of the Celestial Sphere Mirror, he spun back around in utter shock.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Seeing the Red-haired Director grasp Li Ang's hand and prepare to press it onto the golden emblem, the square-faced middle-aged man cried out in alarm:

"Stop! That's meant for you! What use is my Secret Art Seal to a Level Three Cleaner like him?"

"Rest easy, Director Archer."

After pressing Li Ang's hand firmly onto the golden pattern, the Red-haired Director shook her head.

"Li Ang is far more capable than you think. Even if you gave this Secret Art Seal to me, it wouldn't let me catch up to the King of Nightmares—but giving it to Li Ang might just produce a miraculous effect!"

"..."

"Fine, do as you please!"

Glancing at Li Ang—who had remained silent since the beginning, radiating no aura of strength—the disappointed square-faced middle-aged man shook his head and pulled the curious Fish Director away from the Celestial Sphere Mirror's range.

The Taurus Director, also visibly surprised, glanced at the small red cross on Li Ang's collar, then his eyes showed a flicker of understanding; he immediately softened his expression and smiled encouragingly:

"Do your best, kid. If you truly help Olivia weather this crisis, I'll give you an excellent gift!"

"..."

"Ah!"

After a sharp pinch on his upper arm jolted him back to awareness, Li Ang immediately thanked her:

"Thank you, Director Taurus! I'll do my best!"

"Mm, but remember to be careful. If there's truly no chance, don't force it—Olivia, you too..."

After warning Li Ang and Olivia to stay safe, the Taurus Director seemed to recall something; her gaze swept over Li Ang's face, then she hesitated slightly:

"Also... if you still want to drink, once this is over, I can send you a batch of liquor without any Word-Spell enchantments..."

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Unprepared for her sudden mention, Li Ang—still inspecting the Secret Art Seal—remembered that brutally spicy wine from the Dead Realm; his face flushed crimson as he frantically waved his hands:

"Quit! We've quit! No need to... hmm?!"

"Drink! We're drinking!"

"Alright, wait for it!"

Watching Li Ang's mouth being forcibly shut, the Taurus Director chuckled and turned off the Celestial Sphere Mirror herself.

Not bad—unexpected bonus.

Pulling her hand away from Li Ang's mouth and rubbing it against his shoulder, the Red-haired Director happily sealed away the Celestial Sphere Mirror, then asked with a grin:

"Have you fully understood the Archer Director's Secret Art Seal?"

Hearing her question, Li Ang instinctively checked his panel.

【Name: Archer Palace Secret Art Seal (Secret Art, Temporary)】

【Appearance: A golden half-centaur emblem holding a longbow; when struck directly by sunlight, it emits a radiant halo like a solar corona and reveals three bright golden arrow patterns】

【Ability: Temporarily use the Archer Palace's "Abnormal Enhancement" Secret Art】

【Cost: Each use targeting an Abnormal Object consumes one arrow. When all three arrows are spent, this temporary Abnormal Object vanishes automatically.】【File: Moved by Chief Olivia of the Virgo Branch's conviction and burdened by guilt over being unable to assist, the current Archer Director of the Cleaner Bureau forged this seal using three years of his own life as sacrifice. It can be used three times total.】

【When locked onto by this seal, an Abnormal Object's effect will be massively amplified the next time it is activated, lasting until that activation ends. The degree of enhancement matches exactly what the Archer Director would achieve with his own "Abnormal Enhancement" Secret Art.】

【Evaluation: This is three life-saving hairs the Archer Bodhisattva sacrificed his years for. Monkey, treat it with care—don't use it to enhance your forged Abnormal Objects.】

【Contamination Level: 0. 】

"I think I've got it..."

Looking at the file's note—"sacrificed three years of life"—Li Ang's expression grew complex.

"Actually, though the Archer Director is stubborn and his words sound cold, he seems like a decent person."

"Mm."

Hearing Li Ang's words, the Red-haired Director nodded.

"The Archer Director is upright and strict, deeply values rules. He's not as warm as Director Taurus, but he's no bad man. The Fish Director is a bit odd, but still trustworthy. Or rather, among the eleven directors besides Aquarius, though each has minor flaws, most are still decent."

Or put another way, among the remaining eleven directors, though each had minor issues, most were still decent.

Most are still decent... meaning one or even several are terrible, maybe even monstrous?

Catching her implication, Li Ang, speechless, asked:

"Even directors aren't necessarily good... Director, has the Cleaner Bureau always been this lax? For instance, now—with the King of Nightmares invading—why can the Scorpio Branch Chief, who dislikes you, just refuse to help? Over all these past directors, hasn't anyone tried to clean things up?"

"Someone did try to clean things up—but how?"

The Red-haired Director sighed, helplessly spreading her hands.

"As for directors, whether they inherit the Secret Art depends entirely on talent. In the past, the Bureau often couldn't even gather twelve directors. The Star Palaces and Secret Arts they represent are among the Bureau's most vital trump cards. Even if the qualified person is a scoundrel, having a director is better than none—after all, no matter how bad, he's still human, never truly siding with demons or entities seeking humanity's destruction. At critical moments, he usually still stands up."

The red-haired director sighed and helplessly spread his hands.

"As for directors, whether one can inherit the secret arts depends entirely on talent; in the past, the bureau often couldn't even gather twelve directors, and the star palaces and secret arts they represented were among the bureau's most vital cards.

"As for the branches, it's even more complicated."

Patting Li Ang's shoulder, the Red-haired Director continued:

"Each branch's Cleaners are mostly recruited personally by their Chief, even trained hand by hand. Most Cleaners below the Chief have never set foot in Headquarters in their entire lives. They have no direct channel to contact the Bureau; orders are always relayed by their Chief. They're utterly unfamiliar with Bureau affairs... For example, you and I—if a Bureau order conflicts with mine, whose do you follow?"

"As for the branch bureaus, it's even more troublesome."

Li Ang answered without hesitation:

"If you haven't drunk, I follow you. If you've drunk, I follow the Bureau."

They have no direct channel to the headquarters, and the orders they receive are always relayed by the branch director—they're utterly unfamiliar with the headquarters' situation... For instance, you and I—if a headquarters order conflicts with mine, whose will you follow?"

Ugh, should've picked a different example...

Watching Li Ang give his answer without a single second's hesitation, the Red-haired Director rolled her eyes, then muttered irritably:

"In short, each branch Chief holds immense power and autonomy. Non-Zodiac branch Chiefs are weaker; they can only reliably suppress ordinary True Gods by relying on Star Palaces, so they're relatively obedient. But Zodiac branch Chiefs, like directors, have Li Ang Values between 60 and 70. Without Secret Arts, their strength is roughly equal. And I—my Li Ang Value, with Star Palace enhancement, can exceed 70. My strength surpasses many directors. As long as I don't openly defy Bureau rules, the Bureau has no real way to stop me. Understood?"

"I get it."

"Then get to work."

Leaving several strands of crimson hair on Li Ang's shoulder, the Red-haired Director withdrew her hand, rose, and walked toward the stairwell.

"Come on, follow me upstairs to get something. We might need it when facing the King of Nightmares!"

The directors of non-zodiac branches were weaker, relying solely on their star palaces to firmly suppress ordinary true gods; relatively speaking, they were more obedient. But the directors of zodiac branches, like the directors, had Lyon values between 60 and 70—without secret arts, their power was essentially equal.

I, with the Star Palace's enhancement, can reach over seventy Leon points—stronger than many directors. As long as I don't openly tear up the rules and defy the bureau head-on, the headquarters has no good way to stop me. Understood?

I more or less understand.

If you understand, get to work.

After leaving several strands of crimson hair on Leon's shoulder, the Red-haired Woman retracted her hand, rose, and left the office, walking toward the stairwell.

Come on, come upstairs with me to get something—we might need it when we face the Nightmare King!

(End of Chapter)