Me! Cleaner!.

Chapter 1263: Fate’s Arrangement?
"who are you?!"

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Funiu duo in the holy land, Frederica, number 3, dressed in a white dress, quickly shielded the self-proclaimed "weak and powerless" Leon behind her, then shouted with wary eyes:

"This is a sacred place blessed by our ancestors, you'd better not cause any trouble! I..."

"I won't do anything, don't worry."

Pulling back the black hood slightly to reveal a face almost identical to Fu No. 3, except that the eyes had lost their liveliness, Fu No. 2, the black-robed version, looked at Leon with a complex expression and said:
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Lyon."

"You were the original Frederica?"

After tugging at Fu No. 3, who was still confused, and telling her not to worry, Leon decisively gave up explaining what had just happened and stared straight at the old ox under Fu No. 2 with a stern face.

"It seems to me that you weren't controlled, but rather brought her to me willingly? Did she say something to you?"

"Let me tell you..."

Smiling at her wary counterpart, she released a small amount of dream essence, silently sending the white-clad Fu into a dream. Then, Fu #2, dressed in a dark robe, gazed intently at Lyon and said:

“Ah Huang is not a native of your world, but comes from my world. Because your soul and its aura are mixed, I in your world took the wrong aura and sent you directly to my world when I pushed you down Huan Shi Mountain.”

Your world... so you are the original owner of the old ox?
After glancing at the old ox secretly nodding at its head below Fu 2, Leon nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, and then continued to ask:

"Anything else? If it were just based on this relationship, knowing Ah Huang as I do, it shouldn't have brought you to me. So how did you convince it?"

"Using another possibility..."

After repeating what she had said to the old ox, Frederica No. 2 took a deep breath, then jumped off the ox's back, stepped barefoot into the orchid bushes, and said sincerely:

"Leon... I'll call you that for now. Whether you like it or not, the tests at Mount Huan Shi are correct. You must be the 'external force' sent by 'fate'! I hope you can cooperate with me and return to the distant past, to a time before time was born..."

"I reject."

"why?"

"The reason is simple: I don't trust you."

After sensing the complete fourteen sources within Fu2's body, Leon said expressionlessly:

“These are all just ‘stories’ told by you. I have no way of verifying their authenticity. Neither Frederica in my timeline nor you, who have completely destroyed a timeline, can make me give my trust… Is that reason enough?”

Enough, of course it's enough.

Faced with Leon's unequivocal refusal, Fu2 sighed softly and fell into a silent silence. The old ox beneath her hesitated for a moment before finally speaking:

"Moo... (Leon, I don't think she's...)"

"It's not a matter of whether they look alike or not."

After interrupting the old ox, Leon squinted at Fu No. 2 and said:

"You may know her, but she is definitely not as honest as you see her... She clearly thought I was a fugitive who needed to be guarded against, but from the moment she met me, she took the initiative to show kindness and tried to confide her regrets and remorse to me, and then just happened to have a way to save everything."

While this isn't entirely inexplicable—perhaps after destroying her own world, she couldn't bear the inner torment of endless loneliness and devised a way to find another path—it's far too coincidental.

The world you arrived in after she sent you away happens to be the same world where I, this 'external force,' exist. And right after I was pushed down, I met her, who wanted to change everything, and the conditions for changing everything just happened to come together… I don't believe there could be such a coincidence.”

“I know it sounds too coincidental, but it is the work of ‘fate’.”

After Leon finished speaking, Fu No. 2 pursed her lips slightly and calmly said:

"Without having personally... been stuck in a timeline, I wouldn't have wavered under the torment of guilt. If it weren't for the familiar scent of Ah Huang on you that made me feel close, I probably wouldn't have been willing to express my goodwill towards you."

"And without the entanglements between Ah Huang and you, and the small fragment of your soul you left behind to save it, I wouldn't have been able to find you no matter what I wanted to do... Leon, no matter how you see it, I always believe that this is 'fate's' arrangement."

Fate is bullshit, I don't believe in that!
Leon still felt that she wasn't telling him the truth, that she seemed to be hiding something crucial, and decisively shook his head again:

"I will not cooperate with you, neither you nor Frederica from my world are worth it in my eyes..."

"What if I'm willing to help you get rid of her?"

"?!"

Ah Huang told me some things about you.

After a brief silence, seemingly having figured out how to persuade Leon, Fu2 slowed her speech and said softly in a gentle tone:

"The reason you have always been so hostile towards me, apart from the fact that I am the sinner who destroyed a timeline, is probably more due to another version of me... another version of me who intends to complete the ultimate mission, and there seems to be an irreconcilable conflict between you and me."

So, to convince you of my sincerity, I'm willing to first accompany you back to your world to eliminate the part of me that you feel threatened, ensuring the safety of your timeline. Then, you'll accompany me back to the past to try and see if we can change everything... Is that alright?

……

"Isn't it almost time to end?"

Looking down at the pure white Mother Goddess, who had two chicken wings perched on her head and was trembling as she maintained her primordial essence, keeping her outside the mortal world, Frederica couldn't help but frown and say:

“I have already proven to you that Leon has been sent back to where he belongs and will never come back. I only need your roots and have no need to kill you.”

"Considering we were once all of the same race, you, Number 4, and Number 9, as long as you hand over the Root, I will not harm you. Then you can live, like Number 2 now, until the day the ultimate mission is completed."

After hearing Frederica's words, the already frighteningly pale-faced Pure White Mother paled even more, and a hint of hesitation appeared in her eyes. However, she ultimately shook her head, replying with a somewhat uncertain expression: "Giggle...giggle! (No...no!)"

Normally speaking, if I were facing someone who has more than ten sources of information, I would definitely surrender without hesitation. After all, continuing would only lead to certain death, so I might as well surrender and try my luck. Maybe you would actually have a change of heart and I could survive.

The problem is that you only banished the God of Cookery, instead of actually killing him. What if he comes back and finds his house has been robbed, and I surrendered without even putting up a fight, handing over his family? Wouldn't I be doomed?

Recalling the Abyss Overlord being devoured right in front of her, and the Dream Overlord's screams that lasted for two and a half months, the Pure White Mother's wavering expression quickly hardened again, and she roared... and pushed upwards again with a low roar.

Honestly, rather than having your source taken away first, then constantly worrying about the raging God of Cookery returning, and living a life of constant fear and trembling, it's better to just fight it out and die at your hands!
"..."

That's strange, is Number 6 really such a brave person?
Seeing that the Pure White Mother, instead of surrendering after being threatened several times, chose to intensify her attack, Frederica frowned and then increased the output of the Essence of Origin once again.

"Crack!"

Soon, with a crisp sound like shattering glass, the defenses that the Pure White Mother had tried so hard to maintain were completely crushed. She was no match for the enemy to begin with, and only had time to scream before she was completely overwhelmed by the torrent formed by the eleven roots, and had no power to resist.

At the very moment of her crushing defeat, a cone-shaped plane, only gray and white in color, emerged from the astral plane behind Frederica, casting a deathly gray hue over everything around her.

"Number 1!"

After deliberately calling out to Frederica, the Lord of the Grave, whose entire body was buried in the grave soil, pushed his head out from the top of the cone-shaped mound and roared angrily:

"you……"

You could have just thrown it at me directly, why did you have to call me over?

Frederica glanced at the Lord of the Graveyard, who refused to launch a sneak attack even now and insisted on calling out his name first. She shook her head slightly and then beckoned to the starry sky around the Graveyard.

The next moment, the grave soil, which had just been squeezed out of the astral plane, suddenly trembled. Starlight from the countless stars descended like cold chains from the deep sky, binding the gray grave soil tightly in place.

Immediately afterwards, a radiance unique to the source essence flashed, and Number 4, whose entire body was buried in the grave soil, fell back into the grave soil with a thud, like a groundhog that had been hit on the head by a heavy hammer. He was pressed down and could not move, and could only let out a series of unwilling roars.

ended.

With a slight clench of her fist facing the graveyard, sealing the curses of the Graveyard Ruler within the graveyard, Frederica tethered the Star Ruler, who wanted to follow, to the Graveyard Ruler's tombstone, and then fell alone towards the mortal world.

Including Number 9, who tried to escape with the present world, and the Cleanup Bureau, who tried to drag the sun over and perish with me, I should have captured all the people who control the Root.

All that's needed now is to find the real Number 3, hidden by Leon, by following the previously left markings, and then take him to the Source Room of Number 3. Then I'll have successfully gathered all the Sources and can begin working on the ultimate mission. And once the ultimate mission is complete…

High above the capital of the Journeying Thrush, looking down at the bustling city below, and watching the pedestrians who were unaware of the impending apocalypse and were still busy making a living, Frederica couldn't help but bite her lip, and for a moment she was hesitant to fall.

Even though he had made up his mind to reclaim his people no matter what, the moment he washed the blood from his heart and emerged from the holy pool, but...

But I'm no longer worthy to look back!

Recalling how she had followed her own guidance and ventured deep into the old land, only to become another group of "people" of the very essence of the roots, a faint sadness and a deep sense of self-loathing appeared in Frederica's eyes.

Regardless of the reason, his hands were stained with sin. To his "kind" from the root, he would be the hero who saved everything, but to those who were sacrificed, he was the undisputed villain.

Even if you try to comfort yourself, returning to your roots is not true death, but simply completing the process of life ahead of time and becoming a part of the world again.

Even after regaining the consciousness of his people and stabilizing the timeline, he could slowly atone for his sins and spend the rest of his life restoring those who had returned to their roots.

But all of this is ultimately false. Just as the people who became the descendants of the Roots are no longer the same people they once were, those who were restored are no longer the same as they were before. And those beings who died in the process of collecting the Roots did not even have the chance to be restored.

So no matter how I explain or try to make amends, I am the sinner who destroyed everything for them, a truly unparalleled demon. Sometimes I can't help but wonder, what if I had met 'fate' back then...

"Cluck cluck?!!"

A joyful rooster crow came from behind, interrupting Frederica's chaotic thoughts.

Sensing the presence, she turned around and was immediately astonished to find that the Time-Rending Mountain had cast a clear reflection in her direction without her control.

Leon, who should have returned to his original world but was left behind by his other self, rode on the back of the old ox and stepped out of the time turbulence with an aura that was extremely familiar to him, looking at himself with a furrowed brow.

"Why are you……"

"hand."

Interrupting Frederica's surprised question, Number 2, shrouded in a black robe, offered no explanation. Instead, she extended her right hand towards Frederica and silently gazed into her eyes.

Seeing Leon and the old ox behind Fu2, Frederica, unaware of their intentions, instinctively took a small step back, wanting to refuse this ambiguous handshake.

But when she saw the eyes of another version of herself, noticed the pity and hatred within them, and understood the hope and longing within them, she inexplicably stopped in her tracks and took the hand that was exactly like her own.

As she clenched her hands, a flood of memories, deeply etched into the other's heart, mixed with endless regret and loneliness, surged forth like a tide, and like a tsunami crashing against a fishing boat, instantly shattering her already crumbling soul into pieces.

So that's how it is. Is this the fate I'll face after deciding to complete my ultimate mission?
After exchanging a glance with her other self, Frederica finally understood why she looked at her that way. She couldn't help but chuckle softly, then loosened her clenched fist, took out a carving knife with a bone handle, and plunged it into her heart without hesitation.

"for you."

After pulling the carving knife from her heart and wiping the blood from her pale arm, Frederica casually handed the bloodstained knife to her other self. She then turned to look at Leon, whose eyes were filled with astonishment, and whispered, her face pale:

"Leon, please believe the other me. She didn't lie to you. You really have a chance to change all of this. Also... I'm sorry."

(End of this chapter)