Shang Shang, are you trying to scare me to death so you can inherit my account?" Guinaifen patted her chest.
For a moment there, she really thought the Ten-Lords Commission had come knocking on her door!
Su Shang grinned. "I was just watching your stream and thought I'd prank you... Come on, quick, shake it off. Let's keep going."
"This troublemaker finally shows her true colors!" Guinaifen pinched Su Shang's cheek in retaliation before continuing with the story.
At that moment—
Cirrus erupted into maniacal laughter, the sound dripping with triumph.
"Hehehe, hahaha~"
"Thank you, honorable judges, for clearing the obstacles and gathering the Heliobi fragments for me."
"I did say I'd leave your body, little pawn~"
Green flames burst from Stelle's chest as the escaped Heliobi fragments in the area surged upward, converging in the air. Cirrus welcomed them all, greedily devouring their power!
In no time, what was once a small flicker of fire had transformed into a massive, hovering inferno—with a single sinister, mocking eye at its core.
"I feel..."
"Unprecedented..."
"POWER!"
"How about another round, pawns?"
The fallen kights twitched to life like marionettes, their bodies now puppets under Cirrus's control. Ghostly flames hovered around them, a clear sign of their complete subjugation.
[Entering Battle]
[Cirrus cannot be targeted or attacked. Eliminating other enemies will reduce Cirrus's HP.]
As wave after wave of underworld soldiers charged, Guinaifen couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! So Cirrus's gimmick is forcing us into endless mob fights?"
"We're so screwed—I take back what I said earlier! We're missing a strong Erudition DPS!"
"What a coincidence—I just unlocked Argenti after finishing [Night of Universal Hallucinations]! Perfect timing!"
"Wait, what if Yu Ling designs a future dungeon like this, where you have to clear mobs?"
"Jing Yuan and Himeko: Please release this dungeon ASAP, thanks."
"Why can't we just attack Cirrus directly?! This guy's infuriating!"
"I swear, if I could, I'd jump into the screen and punch it!"
"Let's be real—if this actually happened on the Luofu, all of us here would be Cirrus's puppets."
"Excuse you? With our stamina? We'd be lucky to make it up five flights of stairs... If Cirrus controlled me, I'd drain its energy in seconds."
"Work's exhausting... Maybe Cirrus can possess me and clock in for me instead..."
Meanwhile, in the courtyard—
Huohuo was nervously watching the stream. Unlike the others, she was practically on the frontlines. If the [Creation Furnace] really malfunctioned, this could very well be the future they'd face.
And more importantly—
She refused to let her in-game self lose!
Tail scoffed beside her. "See? SEE?!"
"I told you I should've just eaten it!"
"Now look at this mess. Good luck cleaning this up."
"Bet you're gonna run off to find backup, huh, little coward?"
Huohuo gulped. "P-probably..." But her eyes stayed glued to the screen. The situation was dire—even escaping might be impossible now.
Sure enough, the next scene made her jaw drop.
Xueyi appeared heavily injured, hunched over with one arm limp at her side.
"This fiend... is troublesome..."
"It's absorbed too many Heliobi..."
"If we chip away slowly... we'll exhaust ourselves before defeating it."
Tail let out a derisive snort. "Not necessarily, puppet."
"By its own logic, Heliobi fusion creates a fragile equilibrium."
"You know what to do, right, Huohuo?"
Huohuo stammered, "B-but..."
"Scared? If I'm gone, you'll finally have the peaceful life you wanted, won't you?" Tail's tone was almost flippant.
Off-screen, Huohuo's eyes widened.
Wait—shouldn't they be running? What was Tail implying?
A terrible realization dawned on her. She clenched her fists, biting her lip. She wanted to keep watching but dreaded what might come next.
Meanwhile, Tail narrowed its eyes.
It hadn't expected this either!
Since when did it become the self-sacrificing type? Shouldn't it be laughing at Huohuo and Xueyi's predicament?
"Tch. Must be because I hate that smug Cirrus!"
"There's no way it's because I care about this crybaby's safety!"
Cirrus's voice boomed: "Bored now. These pawns are dull. Why don't you join them?"
A crimson light erupted from its massive eye. Green flames engulfed Stelle and Xueyi, their bodies lifting helplessly into the air.
Stelle resisted briefly before succumbing completely. Xueyi, however, gritted her teeth, red energy flaring around her as she summoned chains to anchor Stelle and herself.
Chat erupted:
"XUEYI IS SO COOL!"
"Xueyi, my savior!! Marry me—"
"Stellaron! DO SOMETHING!"
"Bro, you have a Stellaron inside you. Cirrus's really out here playing with fire."
"Protagonist status: REVOKED (rip)"
Huohuo, meanwhile, was quietly sobbing.
Tail's fur bristled in frustration. "Useless! You—"
"GET IT TOGETHER!"
Huohuo shook her head, tears streaming. "W-we can't win... It's unkillable..."
Even Xueyi was struggling now, the chains groaning as Cirrus's pull intensified.
"You still have me, don't you?" Tail bared its teeth before morphing back into Huohuo's tail.
Huohuo stared at the seal—then, mustering all her courage, ripped it off.
Tail was free.
With a roaring laugh, it shouted: "See ya, Huohuo!"
And like a cannonball, it slammed into Cirrus's form.
The arrogant Heliobi convulsed, its red eye flickering blue.
"Y-you—! Get OUT!"
[Battle Resumes]
This time, when Cirrus tried buffing its pawns, the screen flashed: [Nothing Happens.]
"YOU—! AARGH! GET OUT OF ME!"
Tail's laughter echoed: "Why not try absorbing me, Cirrus?"
"Have you lost your mind?! Why side with humans?!"
"Reasons? Who needs 'em? But if you insist—"
"I just hate scheming losers like you!"
A prompt appeared:
[Huohuo is a Ten-Lords judge too! She'll support you with talismans!]
"I—I can't let Tail's sacrifice be in vain!"
"T-Talismans, heed my call!"
"Talisman! Talisman! TALISMAN!"
Huohuo finally stepped up, periodically healing the team and cleansing debuffs.
Guinaifen was floored.
What started as a chaotic Heliobi brawl had turned into an emotional showdown.
"Tail Uncle... He really— I'm crying!"
"Huohuo, you got this!"
"Cirrus, I'm ending you!"
Without Cirrus's buffs, the enemies fell quickly. After several waves, Cirrus's HP finally hit zero.
The Heliobi shrieked, its form swelling violently before—
BOOM!
A rain of fire scattered across the sky.
Huohuo wept openly.
"Tail..."
The screen faded to text:
[An unforeseen "Heliobi Calamity" dissolved into embers. Cirrus, possessing an underworld officer in the chaos, was contained by the Ten-Lords Commission. But Tail... was nowhere to be found.]
Guinaifen blinked.
"Wait. That's it? Tail's gone?"
"YU LING, GIVE TAIL UNCLE BACK!"
"This arc was legendary!"
"Tail Uncle sacrificed itself for us..."
"It was protecting Huohuo all along..."
"I'm sobbing! That gruff exterior hid a heart of gold!"
"NOOOO! TAIL UNCLE CAN'T BE GONE!"
"Hold up—I thought this was a space comedy?!"
To be continued…
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