I! Cleaner!
Chapter 250 - 250: 0211 The Secret of Aquarius (Part 1)_1

"I think I understand why you grabbed my hand..."

After trying to pull away three times and finding his right hand tugged three times by an inexplicable force, Leon recalled "Young Joshua's" premonitory dream and suddenly understood, saying,

"Just like how the King of Nightmares makes the two Joshuas have nightmares together, in the judgment of the Cunning Hand of Fate, these two Joshuas should be one person with two fateful paths, so there appear two 'items' that have the greatest influence on him.

And if I'm not mistaken, the shadow on the left should be the thing that most influences Middle-aged Joshua, while my right hand is probably the thing that most deeply impacts Young Joshua's fate, which is why it appeared among the options as well."

"..."

In that case, it barely makes sense?

After hearing Leon's guess, Jerry nodded slightly in agreement, then asked with some puzzlement,

"Leon, what's with your hand? Why does it have such a significant impact on Prince Joshua's fate?"

"Uh... it's really nothing, just slapped him a couple of times..."

After briefly recounting the big brawl during the inheritance ritual and the incident when he and Senior Emma investigated and gave his real brother-in-law a thorough beating, Leon explained with rightful confidence in the short man's horrified eyes,

"I didn't use an Anomalous Object; it was just a pure hand slap. In the agreements of the main bureau and various royal families, it only states that you can't use an Anomalous Object to influence or harm Royal Family Members; it doesn't say you can't directly beat them up, right?"

"..."

The agreement indeed doesn't include that clause, but that's because for a normal person, the likelihood of attacking a prince and killing him is higher than the likelihood of slapping him in the face, right?

You sure are... I thought stealing from the royal family was outrageous enough, yet there's someone like you. No wonder you're part of our Virgin Branch; you're certainly not one to be trifled with!

After giving Leon a wordless thumbs up, the short man changed the target of the Cunning Hand of Fate, reaching toward the vaguely trembling unknown entity on the left.

Although they couldn't determine which was the Beyond the Gate before, now that they knew the one on the right was Leon's hand, the real Beyond the Gate was naturally on the left. Next, as long as he stole it out... huh?

The anomaly reappeared.

Accompanied by a soft popping noise, the shadowy entity on the left burst forcefully the instant Jerry grabbed it, then, like a beast that caught the scent of fresh flesh or a ghost finding a thread to escape purgatory, it crawled madly along Jerry's right hand!

?!!!

Witnessing this bizarre scene, the two immediately realized that something was wrong. Jerry didn't immediately pull back his right hand; instead, he reached his left hand toward the office window glass and let out an urgent dog bark.

"Woof!"

With a crisp and clear response, the golden retriever's head flashed across the window glass, instantly placing an unsharpened short dagger into Jerry's left hand.

Grabbing the short dagger etched with strange patterns, he vigorously pulled back his captured right hand while tightly placing the blade against the skin on the back of it, slicing off a small piece. Meanwhile, Leon tore the red hair tied around his neck and threw it at Joshua's heart.

"*Mabu Bu!"*

Accompanied by a bizarre roar half-furious and half-despairing, the arm that was grabbed by the shadowy entity suddenly turned into the small piece of skin Jerry had voluntarily cut off.

Following his pulling motion, a small part chasing out from Joshua's heart was instantly sliced into countless bits of flesh emanating black gas by the blood-scented red hair from the director, smeared all over the carpet.

Where's the Beyond the Gate that was promised? What the heck is this thing?!

...

"Don't go!"

Just when Leon and Jerry were still recovering from the scare, seemingly having recognized their race, the shadowy entity spoke human words in an unknown language.

"Take me out! Take me out!"

Following the fluctuations of the Cunning Hand of Fate that hadn't yet dissipated, the entity pursued all the way to Joshua's heart, hammering desperately from the inside, creating intense ripples on Joshua's heart, while furiously howling,

"Wealth! Power! Youth! Even eternal life! As long as you can get me out, I can give you anything!"

"Go to hell!"

Forced to use a dull knife to cut off a large piece of his own flesh to escape this unidentified entity, Jerry couldn't help but angrily curse, preparing to stop the Cunning Hand of Fate immediately, letting this clearly dangerous entity roll as far away as possible.

But just as he was about to stop, Leon reached out to hold him back.

'Wait, let me ask it a few questions!'

Using soul transmission to halt Jerry, Leon first took out a bandage to wrap around Senior Jerry's hand, helping him heal the wound, then stared intently at the now clearer shadowy entity, asking rapidly,

"What exactly are you? And what is your relation to the Aquarius Director of the Purification Bureau?"

"Aquarius!!"

At the mention of the Aquarius Director, the strange entity suddenly got agitated, howling,

"It was him who imprisoned me!

He grinds my bones! He cuts my flesh! He drains my blood! Damned Aquarius! If I get out of here, I'll make sure he personally experiences the torment I have endured for over two thousand years!"

Two thousand years?

Hearing the howls from the unknown entity, Leon and Jerry were shocked and exchanged glances, then Leon continued to ask,

"Are you saying... the current Aquarius Director has already lived for over two thousand years?"

"Live two thousand years? As if!"

After angrily cursing the Aquarius Director a few times, the entity seemed to regain some sanity, understanding that the two humans in front of it couldn't possibly release it, likely just probing for intelligence. The entity sneered mockingly,

"You wretched short-lived species, no matter how powerful you become, you can't transcend the binds of the body. Unless you replace your body, a hundred and fifty years is your human limit!

The Aquarius who imprisoned me wasn't this current loser; it was the Aquarius Director fifteen generations ago! These damned bastards made me their family's property, passing me down for fifteen generations!"

Remembering the endless torment it had suffered over two thousand years, the entity unleashed another bout of hysterical cursing, mixing in some incomprehensible ancient languages, accompanied by a strange, harsh sound like a knife scraping glass, stabbing Leon and Jerry's ears with pain.

After a thorough and satisfying vent of curses, seeing that the two humans "outside" were clearly uncomfortable but not leaving, the mysterious entity nodded approvingly, then sneered,

"Enough with the nonsense. I can tell, no matter what benefits I promise, neither of you bastards would take me out.

But you're obviously not on Aquarius's side, and the reason you found me is probably to get a hold on him... so hurry up! Ask whatever questions you have before Aquarius notices someone contacting me!"