Cirrus stared at Stelle for a while, then shook herself.
"Forget it. As long as you're willing to help. Anyway, from here on, I'll have to ask all of you to steel yourselves and fight Huiyan's puppets, in other words, your own coworkers."
"..."
Xueyi let out a light breath, then looked at Nero.
"Nero, art thou going as well?"
Nero nodded.
Xueyi lowered her eyes slightly.
"Though thy body was forged from a divine vessel, the Heliobi can slip through any crack... If they take possession of thy body, then..."
"It's fine. I can call for backup! Hard to say about others, but Aha shouldn't be a problem. They're pretty free anyway," Nero said casually, as if he had no idea how shocking those words would sound to almost everyone in the universe.
At that moment, even Xueyi's puppet-like divine body twitched twice.
"The Elation Aeon..."
"Besides, if I were really that easy to possess, why would Cirrus choose Stelle's body instead of mine?" Nero added. He even patted Cirrus beside him. "Am I right?"
"Right, right, yes, yes..." Cirrus dragged out her words, sounding very unwilling.
It was obvious she didn't want to admit it, but the facts were there, so she had no choice.
"Haha. If this kid could be possessed by a Heliobus, then nobody on the Xianzhou would be safe. Why would you all still be standing here discussing how to save Fyxestroll Garden?", Tail spoke up as well.
Though he hadn't spent the most time with Nero, because of certain special reasons, he was probably the person here who best understood just how bizarre Nero really was.
Since even two fragments of Greater Heliobi said so, and since the records of the Ten-Lords Commission, or rather, the entire Luofu, did contain plenty of accounts of this child's strange deeds, Xueyi no longer had much to worry about.
Besides, Nero had just said that he could call for backup.
When ordinary people called for backup, they meant friends and family. At most, they gathered forces from a few organizations.
But when this child thought of calling for backup, his first thought was bringing over an Aeon...
While others were still thinking about how to get ahead at the starting line, he had already flipped over the track and all the other competitors along with it.
The Xianzhou had a long history. Over the centuries, countless talented people had appeared. Across the long river of time, there were so many that describing them as carp crossing a river would not be an exaggeration.
There had been many capable and unusual people.
But someone this capable and this unusual... He was the first.
After a moment of silence, Xueyi spoke again, "...Forget it. I have something to give you. Come over here."
Stelle, Nero, and Huohuo followed Xueyi away from the pavilion and down below.
Xueyi handed an item to the three of them and instructed,
"Stelle, Huohuo, Nero. Take this before fighting Huiyan.
"This is a magical artifact made by the Artisanship Commission, the 'Hidden Moon Gourd.' The Ten-Lords Commission modified it somewhat."
"It was originally meant to trap Heliobi. After fighting the puppets controlled by the Heliobi, remember to seal the split-off Heliobi inside it. Also..."
Xueyi looked as though she wanted to say more, but Stelle spoke first, "Don't worry. I'll go easy on those judges."
Xueyi nodded, "The Ten Lords will surely remember today's good deed. I leave it to you."
It was a moment of pre-battle preparation.
Even Huohuo, timid as she was, felt a bit of excitement in her heart.
She turned to Tail beside her.
"Mr. Tail, we're about to face a very dangerous enemy. Please lend me your strength too."
Tail raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh? Didn't expect you to sound pretty convincing when you're trying to act tough. If your legs weren't shaking so much, I might actually believe you."
Even now, Mr. Tail's words were as unpleasant as ever.
Just like Cirrus, who never seemed to say anything nice.
Huiyan earlier wasn't exactly pleasant to listen to either.
Who knew if all the pieces that fell off Liaoyuan were like this?
That said, Tail secretly glanced at Nero and grumbled inwardly, 'Dangerous enemy? What dangerous enemy? Right now, the most dangerous person on the entire Luofu is standing beside you as your teammate!'
"P-Please don't expose me!" Huohuo gritted her teeth. Her voice immediately became flustered.
"It already took... all my courage to say that much! As a judge, I haven't really helped much along the way. I've just been hiding behind Miss Stelle and Nero...
"Lady Xueyi said that people possessed by Heliobi can't be possessed a second time. This time, I can help everyone too!"
"Oh my! I feel like a balloon that's been pumped full of air by this little scaredy-cat! What are we waiting for? Let's go, ! Hm?"
Tail laughed and was about to urge everyone to set off.
But then, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed Nero staring at the Hidden Moon Gourd in his hand.
His heart tightened slightly.
Before this kid caught Cirrus, he had stared at Huohuo's talisman paper in much the same way...
"Hey, brat, what are you staring at now? What crazy idea are you cooking up this time? Tell me too."
"Hmm... I'm thinking about something." Nero responded. Then he turned around. Instead of looking at Tail, he looked at Xueyi.
"Since this thing is used against Heliobi, even though it's called a magical artifact, it's basically a weapon made to deal with Heliobi, right?"
Xueyi blinked and thought for a moment.
"If one is not strict about the terminology, then thy description is not wrong."
"As expected. Then this will be much easier."
Nero nodded.
Then he casually tossed the Hidden Moon Gourd toward Black Cutter and called out, "Black Cutter, time for you to use some tricks."
Black Cutter immediately let out a sword cry.
Everyone watched as the Hidden Moon Gourd Nero had thrown suddenly froze in midair.
Then it twisted its body and actually spoke in a shrill voice.
"Ah, I've been lying around for so long. Good chance to stretch my body! What are your orders?"
Everyone present was stunned.
Including the two Heliobi.
Their blank gazes moved between Nero, Black Cutter, and the talking Hidden Moon Gourd, unable to understand what was happening.
Stelle and Huohuo were shocked that the Hidden Moon Gourd could speak.
The two Heliobi and Xueyi, meanwhile, were shocked by Nero's methods.
Not to mention Cirrus.
Tail and Xueyi had spent many years in the Ten-Lords Commission and had seen and used the Hidden Moon Gourd before.
But in their understanding, the Hidden Moon Gourd had never possessed an ability that made it seem alive.
So the issue was obviously with Nero and his sword.
It could grant intelligence and awareness to an object and make it speak human language.
'Absurd.'
'Far too absurd!'
Even Heliobi weren't this absurd.
Nero paid no attention to everyone else's shock.
He understood Black Cutter's ability, so he directly gave the order, "Go capture the Heliobi possessing those judges."
The living Hidden Moon Gourd immediately answered,
"Understood!"
The next moment, it flipped through the air.
After landing, its body suddenly expanded several times in size and grew strong arms and legs.
Without lingering any longer, the Hidden Moon Gourd took large strides forward, kicking up a whirlwind as it rushed off to carry out its mission.
Watching its departing figure, Nero curled his lips.
"Why'd it grow arms and legs? Looks kind of ugly."
Though he said it was ugly, he didn't dislike it that much.
After all, it looked a bit like the King Trashcan he had seen in Penacony in his previous life.
Abstract, but strangely cute.
Everyone stared blankly at the departing Hidden Moon Gourd.
No one noticed that Stelle's eyes were fixed on its arms and legs.
She couldn't help but think of her trash can friends in Belobog.
If they also grew arms and legs like this, what would happen?