DC Universe
In the suburbs of Gotham, inside the library of Wayne Manor, the cyan ghostly flames on the screen danced in Bruce Wayne's eyes. He leaned back on the sofa, staring at the Xianzhou scenes floating in the night sky.
"It seems the young master's reading plans for tonight will have to be postponed." Alfred entered the room carrying a silver tray. "Your red tea, sir."
Bruce took the cup, but his gaze never left the screen. He carefully observed every move of the Heliobus. When Huohuo tore off the seal and Tail charged straight into Cirrus's body, Bruce's tense posture suddenly relaxed. He let out a long sigh.
"Honestly, I thought seeing a scene like this again would leave me completely unmoved." Bruce gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Looks like I overestimated myself."
"Tail knew exactly what tearing off the seal and becoming part of Cirrus would mean. Losing his freedom, embracing danger, possibly facing suppression again… for who knows how many more years. If only he could have waited a little longer… until the general made his move…"
"There are no 'ifs,' young master." Alfred said softly. "And we cannot leave every problem to the general—just as we cannot leave all of Gotham's chaos to you… Someone always has to make the sacrifice."
"Still, for Tail to protect the girl he's watched over for decades, to severely wound an opponent he despises, and as a sealed Heliobus, to burn brightly one last time… this ending is already quite splendid, young master."
"Yeah." Bruce almost gritted his teeth as he spoke each word. "Next, I hope Stelle uses that bat of hers to hammer it until nothing but smoke remains."
——
[Thanks to Tail's interference, Cirrus's body began to grow extremely unstable. Finally, with a wail, it rapidly swelled like a balloon inflated to its limit—"bang"—and exploded.]
[It turned into countless specks of fire, scattering throughout Fyxestroll Garden.]
[Though the group had won by a stroke of luck, Huohuo had lost Tail. She couldn't stop sobbing. This Heliobus calamity ultimately became a rain of fire across the sky. But Cirrus had not completely dissipated—instead, she took advantage of the chaos to possess another Nether Envoy from the Ten-Lords Commission, attempting one last comeback.]
[Stelle approached the restrained Nether Envoy child. Even now, powerless and sealed, Cirrus continued to hysterically curse Tail, putting on a full display of impotent rage.]
["One day, I'll tear you all to shreds, crunch your bones until they crack, drain every last bit of your strength, then spit you into the dirt like phlegm…"]
["Want to go back to mommy's arms?" Stelle blinked at her.]
["…When it comes to venom, humans are truly no less than Heliobi." The pale face of the Nether Envoy child visibly flushed red.]
[Stelle couldn't be bothered to tease her anymore. She turned to comfort Huohuo. Huohuo was grieving Tail's disappearance, recalling every moment they had shared, her heart filled with regret.]
["I've thought countless times how comfortable life would be without this guy… but… but when the moment he actually left came… my… my heart just feels so empty."]
["I really am hopeless. The thing I've wished for so long finally happened, yet I can't even smile about it."]
[Stelle said she understood—some things you only realize how precious they are after they're gone.]
——
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
"Haa—"
"Mm-hmm~ Seeing that Cirrus is still alive puts my mind at ease."
Watching the furious, restrained Cirrus on the screen, Hestia let out a long breath of relief. Her twin tails swayed gently with her nodding motion.
Bell looked at the goddess strangely: "Eh? Why would Lady Hestia say that? Isn't Cirrus a bad guy?"
"Hmph hmph, Bell-kun, Tail's whereabouts are unknown right now, but he definitely hasn't disappeared. After all, even a weak Heliobus like Cirrus can still exist—there's no reason Tail would vanish. Right now we just need to find him."
"Then according to Lady Hestia, Tail is hiding from Huohuo?"
"Not necessarily. After such a big battle, Tail is probably recovering somewhere or sleeping it off?" Hestia spread her hands; her ample chest bounced dramatically with the motion. "Or maybe he wants to hide from Huohuo on purpose and avoid seeing her."
Bell hurriedly averted his eyes, his ear tips turning slightly red: "I-Is that so… But why would Mr. Tail do that?"
"Of course because… observation!" Hestia suddenly leaned in close, her nose almost touching Bell's face. "Huohuo and Tail have been together for so many years. He probably wants to see just how much Huohuo has grown without him around, right?"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance—maybe Mr. Tail's real intention was to use this Heliobus crisis to let Huohuo temper her mindset properly."
——
[Two days later, Stelle received messages from Guinaifen and Sushang. By direct decree from the Ten-Lords, they were to form a ghost-hunting squad to capture all the scattered Heliobi across the Luofu.]
[Guinaifen, on her first assignment of this kind, was practically bursting with excitement, her eyes sparkling: "Shang-shang, did you hear that! This time I'm not just useful—I'm super useful! Getting the chance to help everyone as the Ten-Lords Commission's loyal hound is amazing!"]
[Sushang scratched her head: "Uh… I may not be very educated, but 'loyal hound' isn't exactly a good term, is it?"]
[In the four-person team, Sushang and Stelle handled combat duties, Huohuo managed personnel coordination, and Guinaifen was in charge of creating accounts and gathering intelligence across the net under the guise of investigating strange and supernatural incidents.]
[The group held a quick meeting in Fyxestroll Garden and briefly discussed their plan. They concluded that to resolve the Heliobus issue, they first needed to understand the Heliobi's mindset. The only communicable Heliobus at the moment was Cirrus—she might be a good starting point.]
[Cirrus was detained by the Ten-Lords Commission at Qingqiu Terrace. With no one to talk to, she had become so bored she was even taunting passing insects. Seeing the four arrive, she finally perked up with some interest.]
[After learning their purpose, Cirrus burst into loud laughter: "Hahahaha… You want me to help you? Betray my own kind?"]
[But then she fell into a long silence. Hidden behind the Nether Envoy's eyes, she repeatedly sized up everyone present before finally speaking—]
["I have one condition. I want to settle the score from back then between the great Heliobus Blazing Prairie and the general. As long as you can bring the current general of the Luofu before me… everything is negotiable."]