A few days passed after the fan appreciation video, and the Ghost-Hunting Squad caught quite a few more Heliobi.
During that time, they even ran into a Heliobus possessing a Mara-struck person.
When everyone found that guy, the situation was like this...
"...Quick, help me out." The Heliobus was actually asking everyone for help. "You all are skilled enough to subdue this fierce thing. Let me possess someone else and hide for a few days."
The Heliobus said it originally wanted to find an ordinary passerby to stay in, but this person had suddenly gone mad. It couldn't stand it anymore and desperately wanted out.
The Heliobus said this Mara-struck person was too crazy, and it simply couldn't control them.
To escape this Mara-struck body, the Heliobus was willing to do anything. It wouldn't even complain if it was stuffed into a gourd.
The obsession of the Mara-struck person had tangled around and trapped the Heliobus...
To get out of the Mara-struck person, the Heliobus was even willing to help fulfill their obsession. That person's obsession was to see a friend one last time and say goodbye.
Obviously, they couldn't just leave this Heliobus alone, so the Ghost-Hunting Squad had to get to work.
But as Nero watched the scene, his expression became more and more serious.
The Heliobus was trapped and couldn't do anything to the Mara-struck person...
What did that mean?
It meant his earlier idea of using Heliobi to treat Mara was ruined.
Just as the Heliobus was about to come out, Nero suddenly walked up and shoved it back inside.
"Eat it! I'm telling you to eat it! Eat her obsession! If you eat all those bad emotions, won't she recover? Then won't you be able to come out?"
Tail and Cirrus almost trembled at the sight.
Was Mara really something you could casually touch?
The poor trapped Heliobus thought the same thing. But under Nero's oppressive pressure, it ultimately tried to consume the prison that confined it, a cage formed from loneliness, coldness, and darkness inside the Mara-struck person.
In the end, whether Nero's idea really worked or something else happened, as the Heliobus completely devoured the Mara-born obsession, the Mara-struck person really did turn back into a human.
Meanwhile, the Heliobus that inherited those extreme emotions flew out and kept retching in pain.
However, although the person had returned to human form, she never opened her eyes again. Perhaps she had been trapped in Mara for too long.
Clearly, for the Xianzhou people, this thing was more than simply going insane. When the Heliobus took away those extreme emotions, it seemed to also take away the last bit of spirit she had left.
Afterward, the body was sent to the Ten Lords Commission, while the Heliobus, carrying that obsession, took on her appearance and went to bid farewell to her sister.
Nero's idea might be possible.
But it seemed it could only be used as preventive medicine.
Those who had already fallen into Mara could not return because of it.
Still, that was already very useful. However, Nero knew nothing about medicine, so he only found time later to tell Bailu about it.
In the following days, they caught many more Heliobi. After everything was over, the members of the Ghost-Hunting Squad even took a group photo as a keepsake.
As for the plaque Guinaifen had received, she ultimately didn't take it away. Instead, she left it displayed at the Ghost-Hunting Squad's gathering spot.
———
[Aboard The Astral Express, In The Parlor Car]
Today, they had returned to the Xianzhou to pick up Nero and the other two. There were still other plans afterward.
Suddenly, a green ghostly flame flew past before their eyes. Immediately after, Dan Heng saw an eyeball burning with ghost fire floating in midair, along with a voice.
"So this is the Astral Express?"
Dan Heng frowned and looked at Cirrus in confusion.
'How did this Heliobus get into the train?'
"Well? Nice, isn't it? This is the Astral Express!" Nero's voice soon sounded. Dan Heng turned his head and saw Nero waving.
"Teacher Dan Heng, Mr. Yang, I'm back!
"And this is Cirrus, a Heliobus. A creature kind of like a Wubbaboo. She's with me now!"
Hearing this, the puzzled Dan Heng and Welt both showed understanding.
'Got it. Nero had caught another living one this time.'
That kid's room was practically a museum already. Whenever he saw something interesting in a new place, he absolutely had to bring one back.
Stelle and March followed behind and walked over as well.
March stretched hard, her face showing that she still hadn't had enough of this Xianzhou vacation.
Stelle asked, "I heard the Express is about to have its big cleaning?"
Dan Heng nodded.
"Yes. I'm planning to join as well."
"If we're doing a big cleaning, a lot of what gets swept up should be Pom-Pom's fur, right?" Nero said as he grabbed Pom-Pom from behind and hugged them.
"Ah! Let, let me go, Pom!"
Pom-Pom struggled symbolically a few times before giving up.
Because there was no way to break free from Nero's arms.
Truly enough to make Bro Yellow Pee jealous.
Nero carried Pom-Pom and sat down on a nearby sofa. Pom-Pom sighed as if accepting their fate and said, "Passenger March, Passenger Stelle, are you ready? Once you're ready, we'll head to Wash Car Planet, Pom!"
The two nodded.
Then they looked at Pom-Pom with complicated expressions.
Although they had seen this scene many times...
Pom-Pom, the dignified conductor, had not the slightest dignity or authority in front of Nero. They were really being held like a stuffed toy...
Only after hugging Pom-Pom for a while longer did Nero put them down. Then Pom-Pom went to adjust the train's route and destination.
However, after operating for a while, something seemed to go wrong.
Pom-Pom became puzzled.
"Hm... that's strange, Pom. Pom-Pom just selected the route..."
"What happened?" Stelle asked from the side.
"The direction we're moving in is slightly off," Pom-Pom said.
"Let Pom-Pom take a look... The conductor's control over navigation has always been flawless. Even a slight deviation is already very strange, Pom."
"We need to stay alert! I don't know if there's some strange magnetic field nearby interfering with the train's movement... I need to go check the control room."
After saying that, Pom-Pom turned around and prepared to head toward the control room.
But at that moment, the train suddenly shook violently as though it had crashed into a planet. The lights embedded in the ceiling flickered on and off.
Under the violent shaking, Himeko quickly grabbed onto her seat. Although her body swayed along with the train, the hand holding her coffee remained exceptionally steady.
Of course, it might also have been because the half-solid fluid coffee was so thick that it couldn't spill at all.
March and Pom-Pom were directly thrown to the floor by the shaking. Stelle had managed to steady herself at first, but the following inertia knocked her over as well.
Dan Heng quickly summoned Cloud-Piercer and knelt on one knee, using it to support himself. Welt also took out the Star of Eden, planting his cane against the floor. Under the effect of gravity, he stabilized himself almost instantly.
As for Nero, it was as if his feet were glued to the floor. You could say he was standing steadily, but while the train shook, his whole body swayed around like a roly-poly toy.
You could also say he wasn't steady, but from beginning to end, he never braced himself or fell down. He simply remained relaxed, with his feet firmly planted on the floor.
A faint ghostly flame flashed by. Cirrus circled around Nero and landed beside his ear.
"What the heck's going on? Did your Astral Express crash or something?"