Chapter 229: A Foxian Tale of the Haunted 『 Part Four 』
「 "So, so powerful… Just sensing your existence is delicious enough to make me shiver!"
"Let me have a taste… Let me see what the one capable of driving away Phantylia tastes like!"
A cluster of ghostly green flame suddenly surged up behind Stelle. Seizing the moment, she turned her head, caught completely off guard, it drilled into her body with a sharp whoosh.
In the next second, Stelle's eyes snapped open. She lowered her head, staring blankly at her own hands… At this moment, her entire body was radiating the same spectral green fire characteristic of a Heliobus.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I'll just temporarily reside in your body, okay?"
That shrill voice finally manifested a physical form, transforming into a flame spirit dominated by a massive eyeball, looking significantly uglier than Mr. Tail.
To this, Stelle was unexpectedly chill: "Sure, stay there. Just don't cause trouble."
The eyeball widened instantly: "…Whoa. Your emotions are so relaxed, it's like this body doesn't even belong to you. Sister, what makes you so open-minded?"
"Also, what is that thing deep inside your body? A sun? It's so hot!"
The Heliobus called herself [Cirrus]. She clamored on, claiming she couldn't stay in Stelle's body for long and simply wanted to leave this hellish place. She proposed a partnership: she would help Stelle escape this illusory maze, and in return, Stelle would help her evade the Ten-Lords Commission's pursuit.
Seeing no other way out at the moment, Stelle had no choice but to agree to this strategic cooperation and take things one step at a time. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Jujutsu Kaisen World, Future Timeline 〜
"This Cirrus doesn't look like much of a threat."
Kusakabe Atsuya remarked, flicking the ash from his cigarette.
"As long as they don't fully possess a host, the threat level of a Heliobus seems very limited. Honestly, it feels less dangerous than a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit over here."
Shoko silently lit a cigarette of her own and asked,
"Kusakabe, then do you think Phantylia is a threat?"
"Phantylia… Now that is a massive threat. If that kind of monster appeared here, she could probably crush the Earth like a grape in minutes."
Kusakabe still felt a lingering fear from witnessing that earth-shattering battle; it was on a scale completely beyond human participation.
"Then you might want to consider why Cirrus could sense Phantylia's aura, and… when Phantylia emerged from the fabricated body of 'Tingyun,' what form did she briefly take?"
"…"
Kusakabe closed his eyes, following Shoko's train of thought. From Phantylia's modus operandi of never showing her true self, to the need for a physical body forged by the Power of 『 Abundance 』 for combat… As he thought deeper, a bead of sweat the size of a bean slid down his forehead, and the stiff cigarette in his hand drooped like a frost-bitten eggplant.
"Phantylia… is also a Heliobus?"
"Uh-huh."
A smile finally tugged at Shoko's lips.
"You aren't completely hopeless, Kusakabe."
"Furthermore, I prefer to interpret the Creation Furnace as the Luofu Xianzhou's version of the 'Prison Realm'—precisely because those little will-o'-the-wisp balls are actually that dangerous, they have to be suppressed by such a supreme treasure of the Artisanship Commission. Who knows if there's a latent powerhouse hiding in there, hoping to become the next Lord Ravager?"
—
「 With Cirrus's assistance, Stelle was on the verge of walking out of the illusion. However, upon entering the next small chamber, Huohuo's figure suddenly appeared before her eyes.
"Stelle, it's you! I-I've finally found a living person!" Huohuo gasped for air, overwhelmed with relief. "Waaah, I… I thought I was going to be trapped here forever… It's so good to see you!"
Huohuo hurriedly asked about Guinaifen's whereabouts. Stelle intended to say, "She's probably trapped in some corner too," but the words that left her mouth were diametrically opposed to her thoughts.
"Stop looking. Guinaifen has most likely already been eaten by a Heliobus, don't you think?"
The tone was cold to the extreme, devoid of any trace that the two were companions just moments ago. It was as if Stelle's blood ran colder than Jingliu's ice.
Stelle was horrified internally, but the next second, Cirrus's extremely punchable snicker echoed in her ear: "Oh my, the vocal cords are the easiest muscles in the human body to manipulate."
"Stelle, surely you can find the way out! Please, you have to take me with you…" Huohuo looked at her with a pitiful expression.
"The Great Mr. Tail just can't stand that cowardly look of yours. As a judge of the Ten-Lords Commission, why are you always thinking about begging others for help?"
Hearing this, Huohuo felt even more aggrieved. "You know I'm not cut out to be a judge at all. I used to think that after serving in the Ten-Lords Commission for a long time, I'd develop courage, but now I realize… if you can't do it, you just can't."
Seeing Huohuo cowering like that, Tail was furious, practically grinding his back molars to dust. "Tch, useless thing. How the hell did I end up sealed inside you?"
Huohuo glared at Tail with a face full of resentment, complaining in a whisper, "All you do is strut around and act tough. One moment of carelessness and we both fell into someone else's trap together… So who's really the useless one here!"
Stelle, controlled by Cirrus, cast a cold glance at the pair bickering on her face, then turned her head, intending to leave. "It's useless for you to follow me anyway. I'm leaving. You can stay here alone. Goodbye!" 」
「 ..... 」
〜A Certain Magical Index World〜
"You have got to be kidding me… That guy, Cirrus, never intended to cooperate properly from the start!"
Watching Cirrus act with such impunity, Misaka Mikoto finally understood why the Xianzhou had to suppress all these seemingly harmless little spirits. This… was simply too dangerous! If even someone like Stelle couldn't resist, letting something like this loose would throw the massive Xianzhou into chaos in an instant.
"Using someone else's body to say things they don't mean just to hurt others… that kind of despicable behavior is, is just…"
She couldn't bear to watch the screen, yet she couldn't stop herself from looking, getting angrier by the second. In the end, her rage caused electricity to crackle and condense around her tea-colored hair. The bzzt-bzzt sound immediately drew the attention of quite a few people in the café.
"Hey, you… calm down a little,"
Kamijou Touma, sitting opposite her, advised in a hushed voice.
"Don't get too angry. The Great Mr. Tail will definitely step in when the time comes."
Touma pointed at the flame cluster beside Huohuo.
"As a fellow Heliobus, the Great Mr. Tail must have already noticed something fishy, right? Didn't he say he was from the most dangerous tier of Heliobi? You have to believe in him."
"W-What if Tail isn't a match for that guy?"
Misaka Mikoto took a deep breath, trying hard to level her emotions. After cooling down slightly, she voiced her concern.
"Tail is currently in a sealed state. If he wants to unleash his full power, surely Huohuo needs to break the seal, right? They bicker so much—what if he gets mad and runs away? Wouldn't that mean the Ten-Lords Commission personally released the most dangerous Heliobus?"
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