Chapter 233: A Foxian Tale of the Haunted 『 Part Eight 』
「 Naturally, Cirrus's assistance did not come without a price. She struck a bargain with Xueyi: should she help the group defeat Ignamar, Xueyi would petition the Ten-Lords Commission on her behalf to grant her freedom.
Despite Ignamar's overwhelming power, his weakness lies in his child-like temperament. His sole obsession is the outcome of his duel with the General. To bring him down, one needs only utter three specific sentences.
With that, borrowing Stelle's body, she ascended to a high vantage point and began to call out to Ignamar, who loomed over the Fyxestroll Garden.
"Ignamar! IGNAMAR—! It is far too early for your duel with the General. Why don't you and I settle our score first?"
A faint voice drifted from the distance, growing clearer as it rode the wind, laced with a hint of disbelief: "Is that… Cirrus? You little plaything, what right do you have to challenge me?"
"I have turned this garden into my stronghold and reduced the puppets of the Ten-Lords Commission to my thralls! I await only the General's arrival to reenact that ancient war. Why should I clash with my own kin now?"
Cirrus sneered, mocking the 'rabble' Ignamar commanded, before pivoting to boast of her own prize: "By a stroke of luck, I have possessed a magnificent pawn—the very one who once drove Phantylia away!"
"…Phantylia? …Phantylia! I remember now! I remember! I want such a fine pawn for myself!" Ignamar, true to his childish nature, craved the interesting toy the moment he saw it.
"You may send your heliobus-possessed guards to find me. If you can defeat this Nameless traveler I inhabit, I will gladly let you consume me, contributing my strength to your battle against the General. What say you?"
"It's a deal! My pawns and I are coming for you right now!" 」
「 .....」
〜Chainsaw Man World〜
"Hahaha! Ignamar is such a hilarious moron! He's even easier to handle than you, Denji!"
Watching Ignamar get played like a fiddle by Cirrus on the light screen, Power slapped her thigh, doubling over with laughter.
"When will I ever get to meet a dummy like that! Hmm… though I guess they don't last long. A fool like that would get killed instantly, even if they were a devil."
"Hey, hey! Power, why are you dragging me into this?"
Denji, sitting across the dining table, protested while prying open a can of beef.
"It's because you're stupid enough to get tricked by that wicked woman, Makima! Hmph… if you had even a tenth of my supreme intellect, you wouldn't have been wrapped around her finger."
Power rested her chin on her hand, her lips curling into a punchable smirk.
"If I were Ignamar, I'd just possess Fu Xuan, Yukong, Bailu, and Qingque all at once! Then I'd force the General to show himself!"
"Forget it. You're no match for the General."
"Who said anything about a fair fight? I'd use Fu Xuan and the others as hostages. If the General didn't behave, I'd kill them. As long as I control the General… I could rule the Luofu!"
"Then I could eat meat every single day! I'd raise the Luofu's sales tax to 100%, lead a fleet to rob the Interastral Peace Corporation, and become the richest Devil in the galaxy—no, Heliobus! Hahaha! And then I'd put a bounty on Kafka!"
"Huh? What's Kafka got to do with this?"
Denji felt like Power's daydream was taking a wild leap.
"Because she's just like Makima!"
At the mere thought of Makima, Power felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine.
"I don't want to see anyone even remotely like her in this galaxy!"
"Of course, if that day ever comes, Denji… I'll permit you to touch some chests. Yukong, Fu Xuan, Bailu, whoever you want. I'll even let you touch Jing Yuan's chest if you're into that."
"Tch, I'm not interested in guys."
Despite his words, Denji's face couldn't help but flush red at the mention of the topic.
"Denji, I thought of you first for such a grand reward! Shouldn't you be weeping with gratitude?"
Like a little girl waiting for praise, Power wagged her head back and forth.
"Yeah, thanks,"
Denji muttered dismissively.
"You're welcome!"
Power grinned. In the next heartbeat, a dining fork made of blood materialized in her hand. With lightning speed, she snatched every piece of beef from Denji's can, skewering them like a kebab.
She then shoved the entire lot into her mouth right in front of him.
"Consider this a token of your sincerity, Denji. I won't forget you when the opportunity arises… if it ever does."
—
「 The next task was to face their own colleagues who were being controlled by Ignamar. This made Huohuo hesitate to strike. After a moment of silence, Xueyi pulled the two aside and placed a ritual vessel into Stelle's hands.
The vessel was known as the 'Moon-Sheltering Gourd,' specifically designed to contain fragmented Heliobi. Furthermore, she entrusted Stelle with Huohuo's safety, requesting that she show mercy to their possessed comrades from the Ten-Lords Commission.
With the instructions given, Xueyi split off from Huohuo's group. Once the Heliobi were suppressed, they were to rendezvous at the Pavilion of Cessation to activate the 'Form-Binding Exorcism Formation.'
Along the way, Huohuo asked Cirrus curiously, "Ignamar is so powerful, why was he so willing to split himself apart?"
Cirrus merely chuckled. "The more powerful one is, the more recklessly they despise their opponents… conversely, sometimes weakness is the ultimate key to survival."
As expected, Stelle and the others encountered many underworld guards possessed by Ignamar's fragments. However, possession clearly did not increase their physical resistance; two swings of Stelle's bat sent them into unconsciousness, making the collection of the Heliobi a simple task.
Before long, the gourd was nearly full.
The pair proceeded to the Pavilion of Cessation as agreed, where Huohuo spotted Xueyi and Guinaifen from a distance.
Huohuo was relieved to see Guinaifen unharmed. But just as she produced the ritual vessel, Guinaifen expressed a desire to see the Ten-Lords Commission's exorcism tool up close. Tail reacted instantly, shouting for Huohuo to stay back… but it was too late.
Guinaifen snatched the vessel away, a glint of eerie green light flashing in her eyes. She swung the gourd high—CRACK!
The jade-like gourd shattered instantly. Spirals of ghostly green flame erupted from the shards, coalescing in mid-air. The fragmented, ethereal voices of the Heliobi echoed excitedly over Fyxestroll Garden as a biting wind whipped through everyone's clothes. 」
「 .....」
( Translator-kun: hmmm.... I liked Power Idea... ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) )