["This humble one is codenamed [Hanya], serving as a Judge of the Ten-Lords Commission, overseeing the final duties among the four divisions of Arrest, Binding, Punishment, and Interrogation. Thus, I am not entirely ignorant of you two."]
[Hanya's tone was calm and indifferent. Her gaze shifted to the red-haired girl opposite her: "Guinaifen, an outsider, unemployed… who entered Fyxestroll Garden the day before yesterday together with Cloud Knight Sushang."]
["Eh, unemployed?" Guinaifen put her hands on her hips, emphasizing righteously: "I'm a street performance artist and a streamer who chases current hot topics! A streamer! At least it's a proper job!"]
[The three Xianzhou civil servants opposite exchanged glances, then turned their eyes to Stelle: "As for this one here…"]
[Stelle immediately surrendered: "Sir, it was all Guinaifen's idea!"]
["T-This fast selling me out?!" Guinaifen's eyes widened with a "whoosh"—this betrayal was way too quick!]
[Hanya stressed that this place had been designated a restricted zone, and unauthorized persons were not permitted entry. Regarding Guinaifen's idea of filming supernatural ghosts, Xueyi corrected: "I have already said that there are no ghosts on the Xianzhou. This is absurd superstition. As residents of the Xianzhou, we should neither believe nor spread rumors."]
[Guinaifen completely disbelieved this seemingly perfunctory explanation. With no other choice, Huohuo had to continue supplementing: what they had seen that day was a type of energy parasite known as [Heliobus].]
[But Guinaifen still didn't believe it, simply thinking Heliobus was another name for ghosts on the Xianzhou. Seeing persuasion was ineffective, Huohuo helplessly had to call upon Mr. Tail.]
[She lowered her head to glance at the tail behind her butt, from which eerie ghostly flames emanated, and softly called: "…Mr. T-Tail?"]
["I heard you, I heard you! So noisy… This great one isn't some rare pet bird serving humans."]
[Accompanying the arrogant voice that appeared before Guinaifen's eyes was a flaming dumpling radiating a dangerous aura all over.]
——
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!
"Eh? So Heliobus is this fox girl's pet? It's way too cute! I want one just like it!" Aqua's eyes sparkled with envy, her body twisting excitedly in her seat.
Kazuma shot her a disgusted glance, not wanting to admit this constantly drooling idiot was his companion. Ever since the screen appeared, Aqua would want anything new and cute she saw, and she'd freeze in place at any handsome guy from another world… How the heck did someone like this become a goddess?
"Hey hey, you idiot, you've completely missed the point, haven't you?" Kazuma couldn't help interrupting her. "That fox person named Huohuo—you didn't notice she has no tail at all? That Heliobus is replacing her tail. Doesn't that look super weird no matter how you see it?"
"Hehehehe…"
From the side, Megumin suddenly covered half her face with one hand, letting out a profound, mysterious laugh, then spoke in a deliberately deep voice: "I see… I have fully grasped everything now. This must be the Xianzhou Luofu's [Contractual Tail], right? An ancient sealed evil spirit, residing in the body of a fox person in the form of a tail…"
"Contractual Tail? What's that supposed to be? Hey hey, Megumin, what weird setting are you imagining again? How could an ancient evil spirit show up in such a cute form?"
These two are seriously abnormal…
"But this thing that looks like a ghost does feel kinda familiar. Have I seen it somewhere before?"
Kazuma seriously examined Mr. Tail's appearance, racking his brain: "When that Emanator named Phantylia was defeated, it seems like it also left behind a similar clump of ghostly flames on the spot…"
——
["Tail… Mr. Tail?" Guinaifen stared incredulously at the ghostly dumpling before her.]
[Tail's attitude was both cocky and ferocious: "That's right, this old man is a Heliobus, the ghost monster you thought I was. Got it? If you get it, scram!"]
[Guinaifen sucked in a cold breath. After forcefully suppressing the fear in her heart, she awkwardly scratched her cheek: "Uh… um, could I maybe chat with this, this Mr. Tail for a couple more sentences?"]
["Scram, this old man has no time to bullshit with you." With that, Tail prepared to return to Huohuo's body.]
[Now that they'd seen what needed to be seen, Xueyi planned to directly escort the guests out.]
["Sister, don't be angry. You usually go out on missions and rarely deal with receiving people. Why not leave this matter to Hanya to handle." Hanya looked at Xueyi, her tone gentle as water.]
[But when her gaze turned toward Stelle and Guinaifen, her tone instantly shifted from sunny to cloudy, reverting to that flat, seemingly indifferent voice toward everyone.]
["You two have surely heard about the incident where the Creation Furnace of the Artisanship Commission was damaged. The Heliobus demon sealed within escaped and is now entrenched here. The Ten-Lords Commission has also been ordered to capture it."]
——
Gintama
In the Yorozuya living room, Gintoki was lazily sprawled on the sofa staring at the screen. Suddenly, his brows furrowed, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Wait! I get it!"
Shinpachi suddenly raised his head, looking at Gintoki with a serious and shocked expression: "Hm? Get what? Don't tell me you're about to say the biggest effect of the Ambrosial Arbor hair growth is destroying this Creation Furnace and freeing the Heliobus? That's just a side effect…"
"No, something way more important. I realized…" Gintoki mysteriously lowered his voice, "this Hanya is totally a siscon!"
"…"
Shinpachi couldn't take it anymore: "You bastard! That's not the focus at all, is it?! Right now the Xianzhou is clearly facing a new crisis—that's the key! Whether she's a siscon or not doesn't matter at all!"
"Who says it doesn't matter? This sister pair is super important." As he spoke, Gintoki suddenly stroked his chin in thought. "But come to think of it, this gap moe really has market appeal. The older sister Xueyi is the silent type, while the little siscon younger sister not only has a fuller figure but is surprisingly good at chatting… This is peak JUMP-style setup!"
"So after all that, you completely ignored the Heliobus?!"
"Oh… you mean that flame dumpling that looks like a Pokémon?" Gintoki finally reacted, waving it off casually. "Stuff like that you just catch with a Poké Ball. No way that ghostly little flame can possess anyone, right?"
——
["According to the Divination Commission's classification, they are energy parasites from beyond the heavens, appearing in the form of eerie flames as [Starfire Essence]."]
["They are like moths that love chasing heat sources. Except this heat source isn't anything else—it's the thoughts of sentient beings."]
["Then isn't that very dangerous?" Stelle asked.]
["Yes. They love to parasitize intelligent lifeforms, drawing out their experiences and savoring their emotions. Gradually, the Heliobus will take root in the host's nervous system, exploiting their inner desires and weaknesses to make them produce all sorts of delusions, manipulating them like chess pieces or puppets."]
["At that point, the host will obey the Heliobus completely. We call this [possession].""]