I! Cleaner!

"Phew..."

Unaware of the drastic changes occurring in the Realm of the Dead, after swallowing a piece of the Canine Deity's "flesh," Leon couldn't help but let out a long breath as he felt his soul quickly filling up.

Even though the process was somewhat nauseating, he finally managed to replenish his empty soul. The previous feeling, where a mere gust of wind might disperse him entirely, was truly unsettling.

Picking up the small knife again, Leon carved a strip of black muscle from the back leg of the Canine Deity, thicker than a tree embraced by three people, and then turned to invite the female journalist.

"Want a bite?"

"No thanks..."

"Your soul has also been digested quite a bit; you should have a bite to replenish it!"

Seeing the female journalist's embarrassed look, Leon sincerely suggested:

"Trust me, although it looks a bit disgusting, it actually doesn't have much taste, not fishy or smelly. It's like chewing unsalted beef jerky; apart from having to chew a bit, it's basically like chewing cold water."

"But..."

"Trust me, it's fine."

Nibbling on another strip of Canine Deity meat and feeling the soul power quickly spreading in his mouth, Leon couldn't help but squint happily, then continued to persuade:

"You know, the Canine Deity's body doesn't consist of pure flesh; seventy percent is materialized death energy, and the remaining thirty percent is the purest soul power. If you consider it as the purest energy entity, you won't feel awkward about eating it."

"Then I'll just have a little... um... maybe not..."

Initially somewhat tempted by Leon's persuasion, the female journalist's thoughts quickly vanished upon seeing Leon's blood-red stained teeth. She shook her head wildly, saying:

"I... um, I have a weak stomach, can't eat raw things, so maybe not!"

"Alright, it's your choice."

Leon was rendered speechless by the female journalist's reason and nodded without further persuasion.

However, after eating for a while, Leon realized in confusion that although his soul had become extremely solid, there was still a strange emptiness; his soul felt a perpetual "hunger," as if something was missing.

"I don't know much about soul matters, but if I had to guess, your original soul hasn't successfully returned yet."

After hesitating a bit with Leon's inquiry, the female journalist responded uncertainly:

"The Canine Deity's body is too large; the soul you were digested was scattered throughout its whole body. So, although you've replenished your soul's strength, not much of the original soul that belonged to you has returned.

And your soul itself has always longed for that 'original' completeness, hence your feeling of emptiness, like something is missing."

"I see..."

Feeling the instinctive longing within his soul, Leon frowned slightly and continued asking:

"I remember Aquarius went through some trouble to repair my soul before. Would there be any impact if I don't recover my original soul?"

"It probably wouldn't."

After some thought, the female journalist answered:

"Although most of the soul was missing in both cases, he lost parts of it from being killed, whereas your soul is still complete, so the circumstances are quite different.

If we were to compare, hypothetically speaking, if your souls were like a word, his would be like erasing half of a word, turning 'good and evil' into just 'good,' changing the meaning without completing it.

In contrast, yours is like having the word written on paper that faded over time. The overall picture remains intact and doesn't hinder recognition; you just need to retrace it with ink, and it's still your own soul."

"But will this post-repair hold up as well as the 'original'?"

"Uh... if you're worried about that..."

After some contemplation, the female journalist tentatively suggested, pointing at the Canine Deity:

"Why don't you go inside and eat?"

"?"

"What I mean is, the core part of the Canine Deity surely isn't the physical flesh, but... er... places like the heart or brain.

After your soul was digested by it, only a small portion went to the limbs, with most likely gathering at these more central locations. If you're looking to reclaim your soul, eating those parts should be more effective."

"I see... I'll give it a shot!"

Considering the female journalist's suggestion, it seemed reasonable to Leon. He then took the small knife left by the Aquarius Director and sliced open the Canine Deity's belly, bending down and heading towards the heart's location.

As the female journalist breathed a sigh of relief, relieved not to witness Leon's gluttonous act again, the Cliff of 'Death' flanking the Gate of the Deceased lit up with the nests of Crows of Death Report.

Soon, two Crow Feather People with blood-red heads and black wings peeked out from two enormous Crow Nests and cautiously gazed at the massive canine corpse outside the Gate of the Deceased.

When they saw the female journalist standing beside the Canine Deity's body with a relaxed look on her face, the two Crow Feather People jumped in fright, seemingly not expecting the "killer" of the True God to still be there, instinctively wanting to retreat.

But amidst the cries of countless Crows of Death Report, they crawled out of the nests, tightly clutched their wings to their backs, and bravely approached near the female journalist. Bowing deeply upon meeting her, they immediately inquired:

"May I ask, are you the one who killed the guardian of the God of Death?"

These crow-headed ones... Are they Crow Mother's kin? The heralds of the God of Guiding Death?

"No, no, no! It wasn't me!"

Realizing how quick the reaction of the dead realm was, not long after the Canine Deity died before the Overlords of the Dead Realm sent emissaries, the female journalist quickly waved her hands.

"I just... I just happened to be passing by, noticed it was dead, so I came to take a look! Yes! I was just here to see!"

"..."

Discovering a True God was slain, wouldn't one hastily flee instead of coming over to look? Are humans today really so nonchalant?

After hearing the journalist's answer, the two Crow Feather People exchanged glances, clearly not quite believing her words.

But observing her anxious expression and the hurried explanation fearing to be misunderstood, they felt she indeed didn't seem like a god-slaying murderer, so they simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, their slightly bent figures straightening back up.

"Then, did you see the perpetrator who killed the Canine..."

"Glug, glug…"

As the two Crow Feather People were about to continue asking, a sudden roar of waves surged from the Yellow Springs River at the foot of the No Return Path. A voluminous murky yellow stream ascended the bank, forcefully carving out a yellowish tributary on the black ground of the realm of the dead.

Soon afterward, dozens of enormous yellow fish with closed eyes surfaced from the tributary, opening mouths likewise closed towards the Canine Deity and the female journalist.

"May we ask..."

The gigantic single eyes of the fish watched the female journalist momentarily before suddenly opening two eyes, revealing two mouths filled with teeth and tongues. The melodic voice courteously and softly asked:

"Was it you who killed the guardian of the God of Death?"

"No... I was just passing by..."

"Then did you see the perpetrat..."

"Whirl!"

As the yellow fish attempted to continue questioning, a ghostly, cold black wind suddenly gusted from the depths of the dead realm, transforming into Black Robed People, draped in black robes, skeletal, and their faces obscured.

Consequently, the cries of the deceased on the No Return Path echoed as white bones prematurely shed inwardly from bodies, blinking pairs of non-existent eyes, turning back toward the Gate of the Deceased.

Meanwhile, in a more distant area, the colossal stone statues originally standing on both sides of the No Return Path, mountain-like in size, began marching heavily, thunderingly converging here…

"..."

Blood-Head Crow, Netherworld Fish, Silent Wandering Souls, Shedding Evil Skeletons, Unspeaking Stone Idols...

Looking at the death omens, normally hard to spot and uncertain where to find, now emerging like popping dumplings, appearing one after another, the female journalist's scalp tingled.

Leon, oh Leon, I'm begging you, please stay inside without making a sound, absolutely don't come out! If you emerge now, we could be in serious trouble!