I, The Janitor! Chapter 604: Illusion Warehouse - Novel Cool - Best online light novel reading website

Chapter 604: Illusion Warehouse

Chapter 604: Illusion Warehouse

As if time had reversed, the moment the short, red-gold dagger pierced his heart, the scattered illusions in the air instantly reformed, coalescing into the hunched figure of Pisces Director.

I underestimated you...

After glancing down at the blade protruding from his chest, Pisces Director closed his eyes briefly, then, without any futile struggle, he slowly sat down cross-legged with the support of a strong hand.

"Your courage... is still as great as ever."

"More or less!"

The amiable-looking Aquarius Director, who appeared to be in his thirties, smiled lightly, then twisted his wrist that held the dagger. He turned to the violently shaking Pisces Director and said in a gentle voice, "Don't bother with unnecessary actions. Since I dared to come here directly, it's impossible for you to spread the news."

"That's true..."

Pisces Director nodded in agreement, then recalled the illusion that had wrapped around his tongue. He calmly asked, "So, with such a huge risk, what are you really trying to achieve by infiltrating the Dream Realm? It can't be just to stab me out of spite, can it?"

"Of course not."

Aquarius Director shook his head and smiled, and said, "Taurus is about to ascend to the Zodiac Star Palace. If I don't get rid of Taurus first, even if I successfully kill him, I won't be able to ascend. As long as you open the Illusion Warehouse in time, everything I've done will turn into an illusion."

"Cough... Cough, cough! So... what's the point of stabbing me?"

After coughing painfully into his hand several times, Pisces Director wiped the blood from his palm onto his robe, then said expressionlessly, "Although I was momentarily caught off guard, and you took advantage of that moment, but as soon as you pull out the knife, the fact that you stabbed me will also turn into an illusion, and even the torn clothes will be restored. You... you still can't do anything!"

"Your words are still as stubborn as ever."

"This isn't stubbornness; it's the truth."

After another bout of violent coughing, Pisces Director said, "The current truth is that you, a temporarily sealed Aquarius Star Palace member, no longer have the ability to kill me. In fact, if I hadn't been distracted, you wouldn't even have had the chance to ambush me!"

"That's true."

Without arguing further, Aquarius Director maintained the 'backstabbing' position and sat behind Pisces Director. He pointed at the fiercely fighting Lyon and asked with a smile, "Do you see the knife in his hand? I gave it to him, and when he was almost digested by the guards of Death, I saved him."

"So what?"

Pisces Director gave him a cold look and said, "You don't expect me to believe that Lyon, who publicly exposed your plans and almost killed you twice, is actually your man, do you?"

"What are you implying?"

Aquarius Director waved his hand and said, "He's not my man, nor anyone's."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

As Aquarius Director dug his fingers into Pisces Director's heart, he explained with a smile, "This person, although a cleaner, may not necessarily stand with the Cleanup Bureau. He has a very strong set of beliefs and almost never compromises. He will only do what he wants to do.

His choice to become a cleaner and help you deal with me is only because your ideals partially align with his. If, on a certain matter, my choice aligns more with his desires than the Cleanup Bureau's, he will also turn to me without hesitation."

"Hmph."

Pisces Director scoffed disdainfully, "Your plan is amateurish. You don't expect me to be wary of him or even take action against him just because of your words, do you? Many cleaners join the bureau with their own agendas, only seeing their role as a means to an end. If we were to take issue with every one of them, most cleaners would be driven away!"

"Hmm... you're not wrong."

After listening to Aquarius Director's words, Pisces Director nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, many within the Cleanup Bureau don't take the mission of 'protecting humanity' seriously. Lyon, though strange, may not necessarily have less thought or ambition than those people. Now, stop the nonsense!"

Seemingly tired of the endless back and forth, Pisces Director coughed blood from his chest wound, then said impatiently, "My Illusion Warehouse...

"I've been conscious this entire time, and in your current state, there's no way you can kill me. Even if you dare to take a single step away, I'll break free from your control instantly. You have no hold over me!"

The same goes for these Cleaners who came for the promotion examination. They're here only in spirit, and they're all within the fragments of the Lost Paradise. As soon as I break free, I can send their consciousnesses right back."

"If there wasn't a guarantee to handle your attack, this promotion examination would have been postponed. Not only can you not harm me, but you can't even lay a finger on these Cleaners!"

"Rest assured, even though the Bureau nearly killed me, I don't hold a grudge to the point of wanting to destroy the Cleaning Bureau. It's just that..."

The Waterbearer Director shook his head as he glanced at the Cleaners, over three hundred of whom had been felled by Leon. It had been a while since anyone dared to approach them.

"Is the quality of these Cleaners not a little too poor?"

Upon hearing the Waterbearer Director's words, the Twin Fish Director's expression froze momentarily, but the Waterbearer Director seemed oblivious and continued, "Before I stabbed you, I took a quick look at their performance. Forget about comparing them to our batch; this batch's level is probably not even up to par with the one ten years ago, which was deemed the worst in three centuries.

Among the Cleaners here for the promotion examination, aside from Leon, there are barely five who have the qualifications to challenge the Zodiac Star Palace."

"..."

"If I remember correctly, it takes around thirty to forty Cleaners of this caliber to have a chance at challenging the Zodiac Star Palace, right?"

The Waterbearer Director seemed genuinely concerned as he watched the last few brave "challengers" get chopped down, their bodies scattered across the ground. With no one else daring to step forward, he sighed and said with a worried expression, "If the subsequent batches of Cleaners are of the same proportion, then the situation will become dire.

When the current Zodiac Twelve Bureau members pass away and new directors take their place, even with the blessing of the Zodiac Star Palace, it will be difficult for them to reach the level of Pillar Deities. If director seats become vacant in large numbers, the Cleaning Bureau might face a shortage of successors."

"..."

So, you came all this way just to stab me in the heart, and even that wasn't enough? You had to twist the knife with your words too?"

Twin Fish Director struggled to turn his head, glaring at the Waterbearer Director with annoyance. "Shut up!"

"These matters have nothing to do with you! You're a traitor who joined the Slaughter King Society!"

"I didn't exactly join the Slaughter King Society. I just chose to cooperate with them for certain purposes."

Observing the Twin Fish Director's anger, the Waterbearer Director shook his head. "I may not be on the same page as the Slaughter King Society, but I actually think what they're planning might be a good thing for the Cleaning Bureau and even humanity.

The Cleaning Bureau has been too sheltered by the Watchtower Palace, rarely encountering any crises. As a result, the Cleaners' standards are declining with each new batch. If this continues, eventually, they'll reach a point where even the Watchtower Palace can't protect them.

From this perspective, I think it's better to let the Slaughter King Society stir up some trouble, killing off the royal family members of seven or eight kingdoms, giving future Cleaners more opportunities to train."

"Nonsense!" Twin Fish Director exclaimed in anger. "Do you know what you're saying? The Watchtower Palace has grown to its current size thanks to the efforts of countless Seated Palace members. With just a few words, you want to undo all their hard work? You're simply..."

"Hey, don't get worked up." The Waterbearer Director spun his hand again, interrupting Twin Fish Director. "I don't mean anything by it. I'm just killing time while waiting for the anomaly to take effect, and since I ran into an old friend like you, I figured we could chat casually. There's no need to take these words to heart.

Once the time is right, I'll continue with my plans, and you can do as you please. After all, we were once friends, and there's no need to argue over such matters."

Anomaly taking effect... Time is almost up?

Twin Fish Director's heart skipped a beat as he caught the Waterbearer Director's key phrases. He immediately retorted, "It's useless. As long as the Illusion Warehouse is intact, no matter what you do to me, the moment I have a slight change of mind, everything that happened during this period will be as if it never occurred. And without the Star Palace, you have no chance of breaking my Illusion Warehouse."

"Yes, I can't do that."

At these words, the Waterbearer Director nodded, then smiled and said, "Your Illusion Warehouse is indeed a powerful tool. As long with the 'anchor' points recorded in advance for restoration, it can almost erase any reality you dislike and forcefully steer events in a direction favorable to you."

"But all of this still has a prerequisite: you must be yourself, and you must actively generate the thought of 'using' the Illusion Warehouse."

I must be myself?!

The Pisces Director's expression changed abruptly, and the Waterbearer Director's wrist turned again, twisting forcefully in a clockwise direction.

"It seems you've already figured it out."

The Waterbearer Director smiled, "Although your Illusion Warehouse is nearly flawless, and even in an unconscious state, it can still activate automatically. However, your soul has a significant weakness.

Due to past events, your soul has been divided into four, and with the passage of time, it constantly shifts between the forms of male, female, old, and young. Following the most powerful 'old' soul is the 'young' Milky, representing 'youth'.

Based on my understanding of Milky, her innocence and naivety make it unlikely that she could control the Illusion Warehouse, let alone recognize all the anomalies you possess."

So... your real intention is to have Milky's soul come out early to replace me! And this knife stabbed into my heart has been secretly 'shaving' my time?!

As the Pisces Director witnessed the short blade slowly twisting clockwise through his chest, he faintly guessed the truth. He quickly activated his secret technique to identify the blade, and indeed, he discovered the unique mark of a time-related anomaly.

With each twist of the Waterbearer Director's wrist, the time experienced by the Pisces Director's soul seemed to accelerate significantly. After so many twists, the 'appearance' time of his soul seemed to be approaching its limit.

No! Milky must not come out now!

Sensing the gradual revival of his body and the struggle for control from the innocent Milky, the Pisces Director clenched his teeth and began to fight desperately.

Even if Milky could passively trigger the Illusion Warehouse and avoid being killed by the Waterbearer Director, without his protection, these cleaners participating in the examination would fall into the hands of the Waterbearer Director.

What's more, the time for the Bull Director's ascension had been set and couldn't be changed. If Milky were to replace him at this critical moment, losing the protection of the Illusion Warehouse, then...

"Don't move recklessly, or your soul will shatter."

The Waterbearer Director placed a hand on the Pisces Director's shoulder, steadying his violently trembling body, and said gently, "I won't harm these cleaners. This time, my target is only you.

Considering our past relationship, I didn't even intend to hurt you. I just want to have Milky, who can't control the Illusion Warehouse, come out early and replace you, preventing you from using the Illusion Warehouse to cause me trouble. That's all I want."

As for these cleaners of mediocre quality... their fate depends on your actions."

The Waterbearer Director smiled and warned the Pisces Director, who glared at him, "You know I don't like killing indiscriminately. If you don't cause trouble, I won't harm them. But if you insist on taking the risk of your soul shattering and forcefully preventing Milky from coming out... then I'm afraid I'll have to apologize!"

"..."

"If you're still not convinced, I can do a calculation for you."

As the Pisces Director's body continued to tremble uncontrollably, the Waterbearer Director quickened the twisting motion and whispered in his ear, "The probability of you perfectly suppressing Milky is at most one-fourth. As for the remaining three-fourths, it's the possibility of your soul shattering due to conflict, causing the Illusion Warehouse to become imperfect, and then all four hundred cleaners being killed along with you.

If you choose to follow my arrangement and let Milky emerge from your soul, although the Bull Director will lose the protection of the Illusion Warehouse, both you and these cleaners will survive."

"..."

"Come, make your choice."

(End of Chapter)

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