Cirrus was shocked, not by the fact that the wooden sword had pierced its host, but because it felt pain. Real, excruciating pain, like its entire being was being torn apart.
In that moment, it understood what death really meant.
"It hurts!!! You—spiritfarers of the Ten-Lords Commission! You're just going to stand there and watch him harm your own kind?!"
Pei Guang replied, "Who said I'm harming him? The one I'm killing is you. You said you'd kill me? Then I'm sorry, before you get the chance, I'll kill you first. Sleep tight."
Pei Guang was polite to a fault, and that politeness actually made even Stelle shiver.
For the first time, Cirrus felt fear. All life feared death, even the Heliobus. The only reason they had shown no fear until now was because the Xianzhou Alliance had never been able to truly kill them.
But that one sword thrust told it that death was beckoning. It realized it had provoked someone far beyond its ability to handle.
Why hadn't Pei Guang revealed this kind of power earlier? Had he just been waiting until it was trapped with no way out?
No!
Cirrus couldn't just let itself be captured. At this point, it would rather be arrested by the Ten-Lords Commission than die here.
It tried to flee from the boy's body, but as soon as it attempted to escape, it realized it couldn't. Pei Guang's wooden sword had pinned it down, as though sealing it inside.
Seeing that Cirrus couldn't escape, Pei Guang snapped his fingers, and flames erupted from Cirrus's host body.
Pei Guang had a habit of naming his skills aloud when casting them, but never explained their effects to enemies. He simply watched as the flames consumed Cirrus.
Once, Cirrus would have scoffed at fire: flames were nothing but snacks for Heliobus. But now, against the mystical power of Savory Truefire, it was in unimaginable pain.
"AAAHHH!!!"
Aside from its screams of pain, Cirrus couldn't say a single word, while Pei Guang, watching it writhe in agony, remained utterly calm.
As a competent player, you never leave potential enemies behind. If Cirrus had held its tongue, or even begged for mercy, Pei Guang might've shown some compassion, perhaps sparing its consciousness and offering a chance at redemption.
But now, Pei Guang only wanted it dead. After all, the potential of a Heliobus was truly immense. For them, it was only a matter of time before they became capable of challenging even an Arbiter-General.
Becoming a Lord Ravager like Phantylia was far from impossible.
Though Pei Guang had already defeated a Lord Ravager once in Luofu, he didn't credit that to his own power: it was clearly a scripted win. Even before the plot twist that ended it, it had taken one Emanator and two quasi-Emanators just to suppress the thing.
Heliobus had the potential to become a Lord Ravager, and now this one, Cirrus, even wanted to kill him and his companions? There was no way he could leave it alive.
And so, Pei Guang pinned the Heliobus within its host's body using his wooden sword, then lit it ablaze, roasting Cirrus to completion.
Pei Guang wasn't someone especially cautious by nature, but when it came to enemies like Cirrus, who had both deeply offended him and had a real chance of realizing their threats, he wasn't about to leave them any room to recover.
At first, Cirrus screamed. But as time went on, the cries faded, until eventually, when it was thoroughly cooked by the Savory Truefire, Pei Guang pulled the wooden sword out.
With the sword came the fully roasted Cirrus. The Heliobus skewered on the blade had no chance of survival left. It was so thoroughly roasted that it even gave off a savory aroma.
Cirrus was completely dead, but a dead Heliobus could still be used in synthesis. The requirement was simply "a Heliobus", not whether it was alive or not. Even earlier, they'd been able to use a certain number of shards to count toward the same goal.
As he pulled the sword free, Pei Guang thoughtfully fed an all-attribute healing item to the young spiritfarer in front of him. Once he confirmed the boy was in no danger, Pei Guang turned his attention back to Cirrus.
He lifted Cirrus to his nose and sniffed. The roasted scent was so fragrant, he was actually tempted to take a bite. But remembering the item's upcoming purpose, he restrained himself.
Stelle came over at that moment and poked the roasted Cirrus. "It's really cooked?"
Pei Guang: "What else did you think?"
While Stelle was inspecting it, Tail showed up too. Looking at the now fully roasted, aromatic Cirrus, Tail swallowed hard. "Why does this thing smell so good?"
Pei Guang replied, "Because I roasted it. I used Savory Truefire. That causes magical damage—and magical damage cooked it through."
Tail: "Magical damage, seriously..."
He was at a loss for how to respond. Pei Guang glanced at it. "By the way, I remember you Heliobus can absorb other Heliobus, right? So, how about it? Want to find out what a roasted Heliobus tastes like?"
Tail: "Tch! Don't tempt me. Now I'm actually curious. Cirrus is the first Heliobus to be roasted, and I'd be the first to eat one. Why does that feel… off somehow?"
Pei Guang gave him a serious look. "Forget if it's weird or not. Just tell me: do you want to try it or not?"
Tail: "Try it?"
Honestly, Tail was curious about what it would be like to eat a Heliobus. After all, devouring their own kind was common behavior for them. Eating a roasted one... No Heliobus had tried that before, but Tail didn't mind being the first.
But just as it was about to give it a try, it felt Huohuo's gaze. It snuck a glance at her—and seeing her stunned expression, Tail took a deep breath, then put on a serious face and said:
"Forget it! Weren't you going to use this Heliobus to make something useful for the little one? I won't waste it. Let her have it. I don't want to see her bawling every time she sees one of these things."
Tail had come to realize that ever since meeting this little crybaby, its peaceful days were over. But somehow, after living together for so long, it found Huohuo kind of interesting. And since it'd had some fun this time around, it figured it'd give her some face and not scare her.
Pei Guang could tell what Tail was thinking. He just looked at it with a smile, and Tail, noticing Pei Guang's smirk, flew up to him with a serious look.
"Oi! What are you smirking at? Want me to beat you up?"
Pei Guang: "I believe you, I believe you~ But anyway, since you said you'd help Huohuo gather Heliobus, I'll be counting on you for the rest, Mr.Tail?"
That line made Tail shiver. "No no no! You're the real lord here. I've lived a long time, and this is the first time I've seen someone who can actually roast a Heliobus!"
Pei Guang: "Don't be so polite, come on, come on. Let's go catch some Heliobus for Huohuo. Once we collect a full set, I'll make sure you have a great time~"
Tail was shocked. "What? I get to enjoy it too?"
Pei Guang: "Of course! Don't you possess Huohuo sometimes? Once you're in her body, you can enjoy it however you want. By the way, what did you think of my weapon's special effect?"
Tail: "Honestly? Pretty awesome. But Cirrus was too weak: I didn't get to enjoy it enough."
Pei Guang: "No problem! Once we've got all the Heliobus, I'll make a special effect for you too. That said, interested in changing your catchphrase?"
Tail blinked. "To what?"
Pei Guang tempted it: "Calling yourself 'Mister', 'Lord' or using 'this guy' has that street thug vibe. I've got a better title for you: how about 'King'?"
Tail: "Tch, isn't that a bit much?"
Pei Guang kept tempting it: "What's wrong with it? You're the strongest, most discerning Heliobus I've seen. You're basically the king among them. If there's an emperor among the Heliobus, then there should be a king too, right? Calling yourself King fits perfectly. And if any Heliobus disagrees, well… you've got that."
Tail glanced at the toilet plunger in Huohuo's hands and suddenly felt Pei Guang made a good point! If it called itself the King of Heliobus and any other Heliobus objected, it could just let them taste the wrath of this little crybaby.
Tail: "Not bad! This King appreciates your suggestion."
Pei Guang: "Hehehe~"
Tail: "Hehehe~"
Stelle had no idea what Pei Guang and Tail were laughing about, but judging by Pei Guang's expression, she was sure he was thinking of some reference or joke only he understood, and was absolutely conning Tail into falling for it.
And judging by Tail's reaction… it definitely had fallen for it.
As for Pei Guang? The moment he saw Tail proudly calling itself "this King," he made a decision in his heart: no matter what, he had to get Tail a patched red hat and give him a scar on his face.
Honestly, ever since he first laid eyes on Tail, Pei Guang had thought he looked just like Wolffy. He just hadn't had the chance to mess with him before, but now the chance had arrived!