What is this bizarre badge...
Upon seeing the effect that "increases the healing effect on the body after removing the patient’s head" from the Head-off Doctor, Leon’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly, finding it hard to maintain his composure for a moment.
The robber brother, who had died once and was resurrected, had already sat up with a bewildered expression, staring blankly amidst the splattered blood plasma on the ground, while the robber sister, who had awakened earlier, was already shaking as she stood up, incredulously inspecting her own body.
"It’s gone! Everything’s gone!"
Seeing her arms, now as fair and clean as those of other children her age, without the dense blood spots that sent chills through the heart, and feeling a body no longer in constant, strange pain, the robber sister couldn’t help but cry tears of joy and turned to hug the still-dazed robber brother, exclaiming:
"Brother! We’re saved! We don’t have to die!"
The robber brother, still processing the experience of dying and coming back to life, scratched the back of his head and said blankly:
"But I feel like I died... but also like I didn’t... I..."
"Better leave the thinking to your sister; this kind of brainwork isn’t your thing."
Unable to resist a quip, Leon waved his hand before the robber sister could express gratitude, quickly reiterating the earlier instructions, and then patted the glass behind him.
"Alright, get inside, remember to hide well, don’t let my efforts go to waste."
"I... thank you! We’ll hide well!"
Without saying anything about repaying the favor, the robber sister simply gave Leon a deep look, memorizing his appearance, then knelt and bowed twice forcefully, before dragging the still-bewildered robber brother into the mirror leading to the mirror world as a young pup barked.
"What an extraordinary child."
After the robber siblings left, the Black Goat in Leon’s hand opened its mouth, and Frankie’s soul emerged, carrying a fishing rod, saying admiringly:
"Even experienced Cleaners like us require moments to react after the shock of having our souls separated from our bodies upon sudden death, but she managed to react quickly, indicating really great talent on a soul level."
Following Frankie, female Cleaner Mona emerged, her expression complex as she remarked:
"The child’s physical talent may be poor, but her mental resilience is remarkably strong. Apart from her past of abnormal suffering, she possesses an obsessive personality and intense emotions, making her a born candidate for a Cleaner."
After the female Cleaner emerged, Ruben, his soul bearing petal-like wings, also came out, clicking his tongue in amazement as he remarked:
"In my soul state, I am much more perceptive. Earlier, I faintly sensed that in her previous state, she seemed just a step away from giving birth to an abnormal object, a slight trigger might have pushed her over.
With her displayed talent, as long as she doesn’t encounter missions certain to result in death too early, she might become a Level 1 Cleaner before turning twenty, or even an elite like ’Executioner Emma’. You Virgin Branch folks have found a promising talent."
Uncertainly, Leon shook his head and glanced into the mirror at the diminishing figure of the robber siblings, sighing slightly:
"Though the benefits and salaries of us Cleaners are decent, the death rate is unfortunately high, making it not the best job.
The two have already had enough misfortune in the first half of their lives. Instead of risking it as Cleaners, they might be better off returning to the Kingdom to live as ordinary people, taking care of each other like a regular brother and sister might."
After hearing Leon’s words, the three veteran Cleaners exchanged glances, seeing a sense of helplessness on their own souls’ faces.
Although becoming a Cleaner grants power far beyond ordinary people’s and even grants temporary command over military forces, it also means being bound by the Bureau’s regulations, executing countless high-risk tasks.
And the most fatal part is, before officially executing a task, it’s impossible to know which one will be lethal, coupled with the ever-changing abilities of abnormal objects, even the strongest Cleaners can encounter uncontrollable dangers.
To say nothing of if Leon hadn’t risked going to the Realm of the Dead to forcibly retrieve the three of us; none of us would have survived, all would have been counted in the Scorpio Branch’s "death rate" for the year.
Moreover, our department head was ambushed, although his soul didn’t reach the Realm of the Dead, his body was destroyed, just like us, which also counts in the death rate, Scorpio Branch has had terrible luck this year.
"Alright, predecessors, let’s end the chit-chat here."
While the veteran Cleaners wore rueful expressions, Leon glanced at Crolock Palace in the distance, and then turned back with a serious expression:
"Whether we can deal with Prince Andre hinges on this! Understand, predecessors, what will happen next could be very painful, even the potential for soul-shattering exists, if you can’t withstand that..."
"If we can’t stand it, consider it returning the favor for saving our lives."
Before Leon could finish, the most passionate female Cleaner, Mona, interjected:
"Had you not pulled us back, we’d have been devoured by that Death Eater already; now there’s at least a chance of survival, the worst outcome is simply death, I’ve been prepared for that since becoming a Cleaner."
After the female Cleaner finished speaking, Frankie and Ruben exchanged a glance, their expressions peculiar:
"Actually... Director Edward sort of hinted to us about you, suggesting you’re dangerous and advising caution around you.
At the time, I joked that, no matter how crazy you are, as a Cleaner, you wouldn’t eat us, would you? Turns out it was a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Alright, enough chatter!"
Frankie, being patted on the back by Ruben, took a deep breath and stood before Leon.
"Eat up! Our souls are yours!"
"Thank you, predecessors, for your trust."
After looking at the expressions of the three veteran Cleaners, confirming their readiness, Leon clenched his fist slightly and then kicked away the sneaky Black Goat, opening his mouth toward the souls of the three Cleaners.
Accompanied by a clear inhaling sound, the souls of the three Cleaners slightly shuddered, then lost their human forms, turning into faintly glowing mist, flowing toward Leon and forming a smoke pillar outside his sensory organs, crazily rushing into the orifices of his seven orifices.
As the "Death-Watcher Canine", the Three-Headed Canine Deity’s "salary" for guarding the Realm of the Dead’s gate is the ability to freely select souls entering the Realm and devour them as sustenance.
By killing the Three-Headed Canine Deity and inheriting its power, Leon was commencing his first "feast".