"Alright, alright, chit-chat time should be about over now."
Cirrus spoke up impatiently, interrupting their conversation,
"Excluding Tail, we just need to defeat that big dumb Furynox. It's gathered almost all the Heliobus fragments and has probably taken over Fyxestroll Garden by now, planning to use it as a base to fight against the General."
"It's taken over Fyxestroll Garden?!"
Huohuo exclaimed in shock,
"Then, then what about Lady Xueyi and Lady Hanya...?"
"Hehe, it must have sensed that the illusionary maze it set up was broken, and it's probably getting anxious. Although Furynox is the strongest among us, its mind is more childish than a child's, obsessively fixated on 'winning and losing'," Cirrus said with confidence.
"As soon as it learns that someone has overpowered it in strength, it will surely come looking on its own."
No sooner had its words fallen than an ear-splitting roar abruptly erupted into the sky.
"Who is it? Who broke my illusionary maze?!"
A terrifying power flooded the entire Fyxestroll Garden like a torrent. Furynox was brazenly unleashing its aura and strength, seemingly trying to lure out the one who had broken its labyrinthine illusion.
"Hee hee, it's getting desperate."
Cirrus flickered more joyfully, its will-o'-the-wisp-like form circling around Felicity.
"It has most likely reabsorbed all the Heliobus fragments, otherwise it wouldn't have the confidence to challenge the entire Fyxestroll Garden. We just need to defeat it and make them submit to being devoured by me."
"Sounds simple enough."
Felicity raised an eyebrow and quickly made a decision.
"In that case, let's go find this Furynox directly."
"Yay! Let's go ghost-hunting!"
Bailu was the first to raise both hands in approval.
"W-wait a minute, shouldn't we report this to the Ten-Lords Commission first..."
Huohuo spoke weakly, but as she looked around, she saw that the group, led by Felicity, had already started walking ahead on their own. Not daring to be left behind alone, she could only follow the main group with a tearful face.
"W-wait for me..."
...
"This fiend... why did it suddenly erupt..."
Xueyi stared expressionlessly at the giant beast floating in the air, which seemed to be composed of cyan flames.
Beneath the beast, countless Wraith Wardens advanced tremblingly, like mindless, walking corpses.
Heliobi possessed the ability to steal one's mind and mimic human behavior. This one was nearly identical to a grand Heliobus; with a single thought, it had stolen the minds of all the Wraith Wardens present.
Xueyi fought back with all her might, but to no avail. Her puppet body was nearly shattered.
Fortunately, things had not yet reached the worst-case scenario. Hanya had already left the Fyxestroll Garden during the chaos to return to the Ten-Lords Commission for reinforcements.
Even so.
Though her movements had become sluggish, Xueyi still did not retreat. She tenaciously gripped her two short blades, holding them before her once more.
"Having already become a puppet, death is no longer a fearsome thing to me. I will use my body to block the path of a fiend like you!"
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot!!!"
Furynox roared and took a step forward. Cyan ghost flames exploded around its body as it prepared to open its mouth and blast the mechanical puppet before it to pieces.
But in the next moment, as if sensing something, it abruptly raised its head.
"Who's there!"
It bellowed, a ball of cyan fire forming in its mouth. The ball condensed into a furiously burning sphere, which spun at high speed and suddenly erupted into a laser beam.
Meanwhile, a verdant green light shone in the sky. Specks of emerald light drifted down like snowflakes. When they landed on the Wraith Wardens on the ground, they surprisingly broke Furynox's control over them.
Xueyi watched this scene, bewildered, only to be stunned to find that the green specks of light were healing her as well.
"...Who is it?"
Even though her puppet body no longer had emotional fluctuations, she couldn't help but look up at the figure floating in the air.
The pillar of cyan fire slammed viciously into the figure in the sky, yet it dissipated abruptly as if it had struck something invisible.
And the brilliance of the green silhouette in the sky only grew brighter, showing no sign of having been attacked at all.
A tree vine suddenly shot out from mid-air, binding Furynox's massive body in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the giant flame beast was slammed back to the ground, unable to even struggle.
"This is..."
Xueyi stared at the scene, stunned.
She saw a girl with flowing platinum-blonde hair, one hand forming a sign while the other was held behind her back. A big-eyed Heliobus followed along on her shoulder.
She looked like an immortal descending upon the mortal world.
"You're the one who broke my illusory maze!?"
Pinned to the ground, Furynox struggled with all its might. Seeing Felicity ignore it, its rage intensified. It simply disintegrated its body, scattering into countless motes of essence fire. It didn't flee, however, but instead spread out in all directions around Felicity, forming a massive encirclement.
"It's you, Cirrus! I smell you! Where did you get such a fine pawn? I want one too! Give her to me!"
Furynox poured out its thoughts like a child, and its countless fragments swarmed toward Felicity in a kamikaze-like attack.
However—
Felicity simply raised a hand.
"Oh? You want her? Then you can have her."
The smile on the girl's face was exceptionally brilliant. Just as she had done with Cirrus, she generously granted Furynox full access.
Countless streams of cyan flame slammed into Felicity's body and vanished, while Furynox's divine soul coalesced within her.
"Hahaha! Such powerful energy!"
Furynox let out a wild laugh. It could feel the majestic power of Abundance flowing through it, gradually filling its Heliobus body.
But soon, it realized something was wrong.
"W-wait, that's enough! It's enough!" it shouted in a panic.
The overwhelming power showed no signs of stopping even after filling its Heliobus body. Instead, it surged even more violently, like water from a burst pipe.
It was like pouring an entire ocean into an empty cup. The water would quickly overflow, and then the cup would be submerged. If it stayed in this body, it feared it would become nourishment for the power of Abundance. The endless stream of life energy was about to make it burst.
"Ugh..."
Logically, a Heliobus shouldn't have such a biological reaction, but Furynox felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. It immediately abandoned all the power it had seized and attempted to flee from Felicity's body.
By abandoning all the power, Furynox could no longer maintain its own equilibrium. The Heliobus fragments that made up its greater form fell apart once more.
Countless dim will-o'-wisps shot out from Felicity's body and rushed impatiently toward Cirrus. A multitude of different voices shrieked as they scattered:
"Cirrus~ It's Cirrus~ Don't abandon us... Help us~"