Chapter 235: A Foxian Tale of the Haunted 『 Part Ten 』
〜DC Extended Universe, Earth-1〜
On the outskirts of Gotham City, within the library of Wayne Manor, a ghostly azure flame danced in the reflection of Bruce Wayne's eyes as they fixed upon the light screen. He leaned back into the sofa, his gaze locked onto the images of the Xianzhou floating in the night sky.
"It appears Master Bruce's reading schedule for the evening has been postponed."
Alfred remarked, entering the room with a silver tray.
"Your black tea, sir."
Bruce accepted the cup, though his eyes never left the screen. He scrutinized every movement of the Heliobus. When Huohuo unsealed the talisman and Tail slammed headlong into Cirrus's form, the tension in Bruce's body suddenly broke, releasing in a long, heavy sigh.
"To be honest, I thought seeing a scene like this again would leave me unmoved,"
Bruce said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
"It seems I overestimated myself. Tail knew exactly what it meant to break the seal and become part of Cirrus. To lose freedom, to embrace danger, likely to be suppressed once more… for who knows how many years. If only… if only he could have waited a little longer… until the General made his move…"
"There are no 'if onlys,' Master Bruce,"
Alfred said softly.
"Furthermore, one cannot leave every problem to the General, just as one cannot leave all of Gotham's chaos to you… Someone must always make the sacrifice."
"However, Tail was able to protect the girl he had watched over for decades and strike a heavy blow against a rival he despised. For a sealed Heliobus, to burn one last time at the very end… that is already a magnificent conclusion, sir."
"You're right,"
Bruce said, almost grinding the words out through clenched teeth.
"Now, I hope Stelle takes that bat and smashes that thing until it scatters into smoke."
—
「 Due to Tail's interference, Cirrus's physical form became extremely unstable. Finally, amidst a wailing shriek, it expanded rapidly like a balloon filled to its absolute limit—and with a loud bang, it exploded.
It dissolved into specks of scattered flame, drifting across Fyxestroll Garden.
Though the group had narrowly won, Huohuo had lost Tail. She could not stop her choked sobbing. This Heliobus calamity had ultimately dissolved into a sky full of raining fire. Yet, Cirrus had not completely dissipated; amidst the chaos, it possessed a Ten-Lords Commission messenger, attempting to turn the tables once more.
Stelle approached the possessed messenger boy. Now powerless to even truss a chicken, Cirrus continued to scream hysterically, cursing Tail in a display of impotent rage.
"One day, I will tear you all to shreds! I'll chew your bones until they crack and snap, drain every ounce of your strength, and spit you into the cracks of the earth like phlegm…"
"Do you want to go back to mommy?" Stelle blinked at it.
"…When it comes to malice, humans really aren't inferior to Heliobi at all." The messenger boy's originally pale face turned visibly red.
Stelle couldn't be bothered to tease it further, turning instead to comfort Huohuo. Huohuo was heartbroken over Tail's disappearance. Recalling every little moment she had shared with him, her heart was filled with regret.
"I've thought countless times about how comfortable my life would be without that guy, but… but when the moment actually came for him to leave… I… my heart feels empty."
"I really am hopeless. The thing I've looked forward to for so long finally happened, but I can't smile at all."
Stelle expressed understanding; after all, some things are only truly appreciated once they are lost. 」
「 .....」
〜DanMachi World〜
"Phew—"
"Mmhmm~ Seeing that Cirrus is still alive, I'm relieved."
Watching the flustered and exasperated Cirrus in custody on the light screen, Hestia let out a long sigh of relief, her twin tails swaying gently as she nodded.
Bell looked at the goddess with a confused expression.
"Eh? Why do you say that, Kami-sama? Isn't Cirrus a bad guy?"
"Heheh, Bell-kun, Tail's whereabouts are unknown right now, but he definitely hasn't disappeared. After all, if a weak little Heliobus like Cirrus can still exist, there's no reason for Tail to have dissipated. We just need to find him."
"So, you mean Tail is currently hiding from Huohuo?"
"Not necessarily. After such a huge battle, Tail must be healing or hibernating somewhere, right?"
Hestia spread her hands, her ample chest bouncing vigorously with the motion.
"Or maybe he is trying to avoid Huohuo, purposely not seeing her."
Bell hurriedly averted his gaze, the tips of his ears turning slightly red.
"Is… is that so? But why would Mr. Tail do that?"
"Obviously for… observation!"
Hestia suddenly leaned in close, the tip of her nose almost touching Bell's face.
"Huohuo and Tail have been together for so many years. He probably wants to see how much Huohuo has grown now that she's left him, don't you think? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—maybe Mr. Tail's true intention was to let Huohuo use this Heliobus crisis to temper her mindset properly."
—
「 Two days later, Stelle received messages from Guinaifen and Sushang. By personal decree of the Ten Lords, they were to form a ghost-hunting squad to capture the Heliobi scattered across the Luofu.
Guinaifen, having been assigned such a task for the first time, was practically vibrating with excitement, her eyes nearly glowing. "Shangshang, did you hear that! This time I'm not just useful, I'm super useful. To have the chance to serve as the hawk and hound of the Ten-Lords Commission and help everyone out… It's just too good!"
Sushang scratched her head.
"Uh, I'm not exactly well-read, but 'hawk and hound' isn't really a compliment, is it?"
Among the four members of the team, Sushang and Stelle were responsible for combat, Huohuo for personnel deployment, and Guinaifen for creating accounts to gather intel from across the net under the guise of solving supernatural mysteries.
The group held a brief meeting in Fyxestroll Garden. After a simple discussion, they concluded that to deal with the Heliobi, they first needed to understand how the Heliobi think. And right now, the only communicative Heliobus was Cirrus, which might serve as a decent breakthrough point.
Cirrus was detained at the Verdant Terrace by the Ten-Lords Commission. With no one to talk to, it had become so bored that it would spit insults at passing flies. Seeing the four of them approach, it finally perked up with some interest.
Upon learning their intentions, Cirrus laughed loudly. "Hahaha… You want me to help you? To sell out my own kind?"
But then, it fell into a long silence. Hiding behind the messenger's eyes, it repeatedly sized up everyone present before finally speaking—
"I have one condition. I wish to resume the contest between the Great Heliobus Ignamar and the General from all those years ago. As long as you can bring the current General of the Luofu before me… There is room for negotiation." 」
「 .....」