Xueyi repeatedly glanced at Cirrus, then quickly looked away.
She remained silent for a long time. After doing this more than a dozen times, she finally spoke, "Ahem... I understand the situation now. However, this is not the time to worry about Cirrus. After all, she... has already been captured by you."
There were several slight pauses while Xueyi spoke. It was hard to tell whether she was holding back laughter.
After another brief pause, Xueyi straightened her expression and continued, "This maze has been dragged into an illusion by a powerful Heliobus. The judges sent to suppress it have also lost contact."
After speaking, Xueyi looked at Huohuo.
"Huohuo, if even Hanya and I cannot subdue that fiend, then the burden of dealing with it will fall on you."
"Huh? M-Me? I can't do it. I'm not as capable as you two. During battles, all I do is hide in a corner and tremble."
Seeing Xueyi and Huohuo raising what looked like a major responsibility flag, Stelle and Nero exchanged glances not far away.
Although they could both be considered powerful fighters, Xueyi had not come to them first, probably because they were not members of the Ten-Lords Commission.
Rules, personality, perspective, many things influence a person's choices and actions.
Neither Stelle nor Nero really cared about that. They simply watched Xueyi and Huohuo quietly.
They could say whatever they wanted. Whether they stepped in when the fighting started would be their own decision.
The moment Nero heard there was a powerful Heliobus, he became interested.
Although Cirrus had already been reserved as the psychologist for Aha's Fragmentum factory, there was still no suitable talent available for treating mara-struck soldiers with Heliobi.
Nero felt his idea was quite reasonable.
It might work.
It was worth trying.
Meanwhile, facing Huohuo's pessimistic view of herself, Xueyi said, "Do not belittle yourself. A Heliobus cannot possess a body that is already occupied by another Heliobus. That is your absolute advantage as a judge."
Tail also followed up on Xueyi's words.
"Got it, scaredy-cat? Pull yourself together. Among everyone here from the Ten-Lords Commission, not a single one is stronger than you."
Although Tail meant well, he was still as unpleasant as ever.
And saying that in front of Xueyi made it sound somewhat like he was putting down the Ten-Lords Commission to praise himself.
Xueyi glanced at him before calmly saying to Huohuo,
"Heliobi may be fierce, but they can never escape their craving for mortal flesh. Yet you have kept that fiend under control and maintained your sanity while serving the Ten Lords for thirty-eight years."
"You are already a qualified judge. You should have more confidence. Among all judges, no one surpasses you in this regard."
"Keep a fiend under control... But I don't think I really control Tail. Tail and I are more like... friends?"
Huohuo expressed a different view regarding Xueyi's use of the word "control."
Tail looked at Huohuo in fake surprise.
The next second, he immediately looked disgusted.
"Pah, pah, pah! As if I'd be friends with food!"
Meanwhile, Cirrus let out a teasing laugh and said in a mocking tone, "Hehehe... Lord Tail, little fragments like us no longer have the power to burn across the land."
"Even a child can easily subdue us now. Stop acting tough. Look at me. Haven't I been tied up and dragged around too?"
As she spoke, Cirrus even twisted her body a little.
"Shut up!"
Tail glared at Cirrus viciously.
Nero looked up at Cirrus thoughtfully.
This one seems a little wasted if she's only a psychologist.
With skills like that, she'd have a bright future as a professional trash-talker too.
While Nero's mind wandered, Cirrus suddenly shivered.
She inexplicably felt a sense of sudden clarity.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out why.
Could she have been targeted by something unclean?
That didn't make sense. She was a Heliobus. What kind of unclean thing could make even her feel...
Cirrus suddenly realized something and slowly lowered her gaze.
Her strange eyeball fixed itself on Nero.
Could it be this white-haired brat is thinking about something again?
No one knew about the silent clash between Nero and Cirrus.
Meanwhile, after hearing Cirrus mock Tail, Xueyi said, "Huiyan may be powerful, but if there were a way to split it into several fragments, there might be hope of suppressing it."
Hearing Xueyi's words, Cirrus rolled her eye around, or rather, rolled herself around, since she was literally just an eyeball.
She seemed to have thought of something.
"Oh, Judge, what a clever plan. Since the mood has already been built up this far, I'd like to offer an idea. Let's go somewhere more open first... like that Yanle Pavilion over there."
"Let's go."
Xueyi glanced at Cirrus and replied calmly.
Thus, the group moved together to the pavilion.
Cirrus began, "Everyone knows the story of the great Heliobus Ignamar fighting the General. It was the result of many Heliobi merging into one."
"But we Heliobi are all tainted by the emotions and desires we gain from our hosts. We dislike one another, and none of us want to merge together. It's like having multiple personalities in one head that keep fighting."
"A powerful Heliobus may be able to swallow weaker Heliobi and force them into temporary submission as a single entity, like Ignamar, or Huiyan, whom we're about to face."
"But once external pressure appears, that balance can easily collapse. That's why Ignamar became all of us after fighting the General."
"So causing Huiyan to collapse... that method may work."
Xueyi followed Cirrus's line of thought.
"Once Huiyan splits apart and its power weakens, the Ten-Lords Commission can seal the fragments one by one with magical tools."
At this point, Xueyi narrowed her eyes.
Her oppressive gaze fell on Cirrus.
"But... why would you betray your own kind? Why help the Xianzhou suppress your people?"
"A reason? Do Heliobi need reasons for what they do? Maybe I don't want Huiyan to swallow me. Maybe I look down on that big fool who only knows brute force. Maybe I want to fight the General. Or maybe I just want to escape this guy's clutches..."
As she spoke, Cirrus lowered her gaze toward Nero.
Xueyi followed her gaze and also looked at Nero.
The young man returned a confused look to everyone.
He seemed unable to understand why everyone had suddenly started looking at him in the middle of the conversation.
Whether every action needs a reason, Xueyi did not know.
But she did know that some people did things simply because the idea came to them. They acted on impulse because they felt like it.
Especially after meeting Nero, she had come to understand that more deeply.
Perhaps one of Cirrus's former hosts had a personality somewhat similar to Nero's in that regard.