Chapter 818

"Alright."

After hearing the instructions from the Water Bearer Director, the female journalist nodded, took the glass lantern from his hands, but did not immediately set off for the Dream Realm; instead, she bit her lip and hesitated to say:

"Director, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

Hearing the journalist's words, the Water Bearer Director—whose face appeared remarkably young but whose eyes betrayed deep weariness—turned his head and smiled gently, his expression kind:

"Nicole, ask whatever you want. If I can answer, I will tell you… Also, you don't need to be so formal with me. You're one of the few people I truly trust, and I hope you can trust me a little more."

"Alright…"

After hearing the Water Bearer Director's words, the journalist's demeanor relaxed slightly, and she asked softly:

"Director, the Virgo Branch has repeatedly sabotaged your plans, even caused you soul damage, forcing you to play along with the Nightmare King… Don't you harbor any resentment?"

"You're not really asking whether I harbor resentment—you're wondering why I didn't strike just now to eliminate Blood-Haired Lady or that Li Ang, are you?"

"Mm…"

After seeing through what the journalist truly wanted to ask, the Water Bearer Director did not answer directly; instead, he smiled and asked in return:

"Nicole, tell me—what kind of person do you think I am?"

Hearing the Water Bearer Director's question, the journalist froze, then lowered her head slightly and whispered:

"You're my benefactor. Without you, I would have died at age seven. You rescued me from the privateer ship of the Saio Kingdom, gave me the power and the chance to seek revenge…"

"Nicole, you know I'm not asking about our relationship—I'm asking how you truly see me."

Interrupting her evasive reply, the Water Bearer Director let out a wry laugh:

"Never mind… Though you chose to avoid answering, you've indirectly answered my question already.

In your eyes, I'm probably a man obsessed with aberrant creation arts, willing to do anything to fulfill my lifelong wish—sacrificing anything and everything to reach my goal. A wicked, irredeemable madman, deserving of death… right?"

"No!"

The journalist exclaimed in alarm:

"Director… you may have extreme methods, but you've done many good things, saved countless lives. You're actually…"

"I am, in fact, a bad person."

After defining himself thus, the Water Bearer Director's smile faded slightly, and his expression turned calm:

"To you, I am a benefactor. But to far more people, I am truly deserving of death."

"…"

"Though the number of people who died because of me is far fewer than those I've protected over the past hundred years—even less than a fraction of a percent."

"But in my research into aberrant creation arts, I've genuinely committed many evil acts: abandoning those in despair, secretly pushing them toward ruin, even directly causing tragedies that destroyed their lives—all to create aberrant objects or obtain materials for the arts."

"Even rescuing you as a child from the Saio Kingdom's privateer ship wasn't out of kindness—I noticed your exceptional talent and saw you as a promising vessel for a top-tier aberrant object."

"Nicole, though you've always refused to admit it, I am, without a doubt, a bad person."

"…"

Looking at the silent journalist, the Water Bearer Director smiled:

"Let me ask you—when the Krok Kingdom's automata imprisoned their royal family, sealed off the Twin Branch, and secretly took control of all Cleaners, do you know why I saved only you?"

The journalist hesitated before answering:

"Because… I'm a Level One Cleaner? And the strongest in the Bureau?"

"No."

The Water Bearer Director shook his head:

"Because you're a good person."

"???"

"Heh. You're different from everyone else in the Bureau who follows me. Though they obey my orders and even conceal my violations, they don't truly believe in me."

"Those others either are used to obedience, or fear my power, or seek stronger aberrant objects. Only you are different—your reason for following me is simple gratitude: gratitude that I saved your life, gratitude that I gave you the means to seek revenge."

"…"

"When my actions are exposed, those who obey me out of habit will obey the Cleaner Bureau without hesitation; those who fear my power will fear the stronger Cleaner Bureau; those who seek benefits from me will naturally be swayed by better offers from the Bureau."

"Nicole, only you follow me for the purest reason—you simply want to repay your debt."

Looking at the silent journalist, the Water Bearer Director smiled and began counting on his fingers:

"Though you deeply dislike my actions, you've secretly sabotaged my experiments, destroyed many potential aberrant objects, and even reported me to the Bureau several times, hoping someone would stop me."

"Even this time—you could've stolen Blood-Haired Lady's purse without ever showing yourself. But you went there anyway, didn't change your appearance—deliberately reminding them that besides the Nightmare King, they must also watch out for me. Isn't that right?"

"…"

Here, the Water Bearer Director paused slightly, then continued smiling:

"Yet at this moment, you—who tried to warn Blood-Haired Lady about me—are far more reliable than those in the Twin Branch who've never opposed me."

"As long as you remember I saved your life, raised you, and helped you seek revenge—so long as you feel you haven't fully repaid your debt to me—you'll never truly betray me."

"…"

"Hmm… When you get old, you start rambling. I seem to have strayed a bit off-topic."

Looking at the journalist, who had unconsciously pressed her lips together, the Water Bearer Director smiled:

"In short, I am a bad person—but I act with purpose. I'm not some madman who revels in killing and destruction. My alliance with the Nightmare King is purely out of necessity."

"I have no grudge against the Kingdom's people, so I have no reason to harm them. And if the Nightmare King truly invades the real world, it won't benefit me—it'll make me his puppet. Of course I won't help it."

"As for why I didn't strike when they were distracted—why I didn't ambush Blood-Haired Lady and that Li Ang to eliminate these two pests who've been harassing me… well, there are many reasons, but the main one is simple: I can't beat them."

"Huh?"

"I genuinely can't beat them."

Pointing at the Dream River, rapidly dissolving under the rising sun, the Water Bearer Director winced:

"In just half a night, Blood-Haired Lady has killed nearly a million nightmares—and this is even though she's focused mainly on preventing nightmares from breaching the real world, not actively hunting."

"Her over one hundred million 【Blood-Death Hairs】 are the Cleaner Bureau's most powerful physical-damage aberrant objects. If she expended them without restraint, she could pierce through the Moon in fifty hours."

"Any being that relies on flesh is naturally at a disadvantage against her—and one of the fundamental rules of the real world is that one must depend on flesh to remain here long-term. In the real world, she is nearly invincible."