I! Cleaner!

Staring at Leon, who had changed into armor, the gray mist giant noticed he still hadn't sustained any damage. It pondered briefly, then raised its right hand and forcefully grabbed its left arm, which extended out of the mist.

"Crack!"

With a sound like shattering glass, the sharp nails with hooks at the end sliced through the shriveled flesh of the King of Nightmares' left arm. An immense amount of murky, frenzied nightmares peeled off like flesh, worming into the gray mist beneath the giant's feet like swimming fish, shaking their heads and tails as they pursued Leon.

Facing this "physically robust" Cleaner, the best solution was to directly consume him, using the countless nightmares within its body to erode his spirit, bring about the collapse of his will and the dispersal of his soul, leaving him an empty shell devoid of knowledge and awareness.

But considering his memory full of strange contamination, directly consuming him might carry the risk of being polluted by him, so it was necessary to move this process of erosion "outside," thus even if contaminated, it could be discarded directly!

...

The nightmare descends again.

The armor on Leon twisted and transformed, turning into a lightweight hunting outfit. The desert in front turned into a dark forest, and a giant bear with a pale white crescent on its chest stood up, swinging claws seven or eight inches long at him.

It was a warrior's nightmare earlier, and now it's the hunter's nightmare?

Listening to the giant bear's fierce roar, smelling the beast's stench surging with the night wind through the forest, Leon knew this thing couldn't break the Immortal in Wine, so he simply took the bear's claw to his face, crashing into the giant bear and shattering it into countless bubbles. He then turned his head and shouted to the Snow Woman behind him:

"Can you still use your ability? If so, keep going quickly!"

"Huh? I can still use it..."

Also now in hunting gear, the Snow Woman asked somewhat bewildered upon hearing this:

"But my ability was given by it, using it in front of him will definitely be interrupted, and you just got to this level, won't you look for the Scorpio Bureau Chief?"

"Not looking!"

Having changed into a miner's clothes, Leon slammed through a collapsed mine passage, dragging the Snow Woman, face covered in coal dust, continuing to run forward, urging:

"This desert is too vast! Even if he's on this level, there's no way to find him! Quickly take me to the next level!"

"..."

Ugh... seems like he can still struggle a bit longer.

During the conversation, they switched into sailor outfits, and after Leon dragged her through the illusion of a submerged ship nightmare, the Snow Woman, unable to resist the snaky scroll, listlessly exhaled a small breath of icy air filled with ice crystals, quietly surrounding the two of them.

"Snow Woman?"

Noticing this scene as the two were about to separate from the Boundless Desert, the King of Nightmares in the distance furrowed his brows, and in the next moment, a hoarse, low voice eerily reached them.

"You intend to betray me?"

?!!!

No... my shirking has been quite obvious, right? Why are you getting anxious?

Faced with the stern questioning of her former boss, the Snow Woman's figure halted slightly, a hint of panic emerged in her ice-blue eyes.

"I..."

"Although I crushed your nightmare core, I let you go through the previous dozens of nightmares, which can be considered sufficiently lenient."

The sandstorm-filled world slightly "folded," transporting the gray mist giant in front of them, and the King of Nightmares looked down on Leon and the Snow Woman, squinting coldly, saying:

"Having snatched a life thanks to my mercy, you actually plan to release my target right in front of me? Is this how you intend to repay my kindness?"

"..."

Ah, this, is there not a possibility that I am not doing this of my own volition?

As the King of Nightmares slowly raised its finger, understanding that her former boss was indeed about to strike her down, the Snow Woman hurriedly opened her mouth and explained somewhat frantically:

"Are you pretending to be your mom?"

"?"

"?!!"

No, that's not what I meant to say!

Realizing that the words coming out of her mouth were completely contrary to what she was thinking, the Snow Maiden's mind buzzed, and she hurriedly explained:

"I've had enough of you for a long time!"

"You always act so high and mighty, as if you're something special, but in reality, you're just trash, you know that?"

"???"

"You do nothing all day, just hiding in that damn black sewer of yours, not daring to take a single step outside. I've never seen anyone as cowardly as you! You're the disgrace of the dream realm!"

"All the dirty, hard, and tiring work is thrown to us nightmare messengers, while you hide at the back, making us stall the Zodiac Bureau's Director of the Clean-up Bureau... where's your face?"

"!!!"

"Today, I'll go against you! Can't I? If you're angry, hold it back!"

"If you're so capable, go ahead and capture me back and torture me for ten thousand years! If you can do that, if I so much as utter a word during those ten thousand years, I'll be your granny!"

"..."

After arrogantly finishing these words, looking at her former boss's face as dark as the bottom of a pot, the Snow Maiden awkwardly turned her neck, her face turning pale as she glanced in Leon's direction.

As expected, that damned thing was holding that damned serpent-skin scroll, giving her an exceptionally friendly smile. Even though he said nothing, not even mouthing a single word, the Snow Maiden instinctively understood the meaning behind that smile.

'Work hard, after all, you wouldn't want the King of Nightmares to capture you back and torture you for ten thousand years, right?'

"..."

Great, the spot for the [Unfair Serpent Pact] might free up, and the new employee seems to be infused with adrenaline, working much harder than before.

Looking at the Snow Maiden, who used to put in the bare minimum and stall as much as possible, now puffing her cheeks in anger and blowing cold air desperately, Leon's lips slightly curved up, giving her an encouraging smile, which was only met with her angry glare of despair.

Glare all you want, as long as you work diligently, you can glare as much as you like! Whether or not we can escape from this desert depends on you!

With a careless smile, Leon picked up the unfortunate Snow Maiden sideways and continued to flee rapidly through various nightmares.

The effect of the [Unfair Serpent Pact] is quite limited, allowing only for the "use" of the Snow Maiden, but it doesn't make her genuinely acknowledge him, nor can it compel her to betray the King of Nightmares' information and weaknesses.

But the King of Nightmares can!

As long as the Snow Maiden can't explain, confirming the "betrayal" and "switching sides" facts, and with hatred maxed out, blocking her retreat, as long as she doesn't want to be captured and tortured for ten thousand years, she'll have no choice but to demonstrate her subjective initiative and work doubly hard.

...

"Don't tell me you really think you can escape?"

The King of Nightmares, unaware that Leon was silently coercing the Snow Maiden to fully side with him, either didn't notice or didn't care.

Watching Leon traverse through various nightmares, having changed over a hundred sets of clothes, the gray mist giant continued to spill new nightmares, trying to wear down Leon's spirit, all the while speaking coldly:

"The nightmare is my domain. No matter how far you run, it's just a single step for me. You can't escape."

That I know, after all, you've already demonstrated it once. I'm not an idiot.

Without responding to the King of Nightmares' provocation, Leon, using the Immortal of Liquor's ability, shielded the Snow Maiden, allowing her to "print tickets" without disturbance, while glancing at the long trail of footprints he left during his escape.

It should be about enough...

After calculating the number of footprints, Leon raised his right hand, grasping the [Dream Intruder] on his chest, then, to the Snow Maiden's astonishment, turned back to charge toward the gray mist giant.

Hmm? What does he intend to do?

Not understanding Leon's purpose in charging back, but knowing it would hurt immensely if his fists connected, the King of Nightmares frowned and immediately prepared to withdraw.

However, at this moment, the archer mark on the back of Leon's right hand slightly glowed, and one of the three small arrows suddenly shot out from his hand, stabbing into the [Dream Intruder].

In the King of Nightmares' astonished gaze, the footsteps Leon left during his escape began to shine with the same red glow as the [Dream Intruder].

Following this, from the footprint closest to the King of Nightmares, a faintly visible Leon stood up, raising his right hand adorned with the [Hand of Screams], mirroring the real Leon from a distance with a punching motion, striking the giant's toe before disappearing on the spot.

Then the second, third, fourth... Over a hundred dreamscape Leons, fortified by secret techniques, emerged from his previous footprints, one after another swinging punches.