"You, you, you... did you do all this?"
Staring at Takatsuki as he put down the girl in his arms and walked over, the girl with dragon horns widened her eyes in sheer astonishment. Unlike the other onlookers who were backing away out of a profound dread of the Mara-struck, Takatsuki was one of the only two individuals who had actually approached the scene.
"I did. Didn't you say you wanted them to lie down and behave?"
Takatsuki cast his gaze toward the squad of Mara-struck Cloud Knights pinned to the ground by his Conqueror's Haki. Under the crushing suppression of his Haki, they were entirely incapable of moving even a single muscle.
"Ah, right! We need to get them to take their medicine immediately."
The girl produced a gourd she carried on her person and began pouring its contents down the throat of one of the prone Mara-struck soldiers.
"Is that medicine? I thought they said the Mara-struck state is incurable?"
Takatsuki squatted down right next to the girl, watching her administer the liquid to the Mara-struck soldier as he inquired.
"It is incurable. This medicine can only suppress it slightly to help them calm down temporarily."
"..."
"In that case, you might as well hold off on your treatment. Let us handle it."
The girl lifted her head to look up at Takatsuki. "Do you two have a way?"
"Seele, if you please."
"Alright, Takatsuki."
Requiring neither oral medicine nor any sort of intricate, convoluted procedure, Seele merely rested her hand gently upon the forehead of the Mara-struck soldier. An abundant surge of life energy instantly flooded into the recipient's body.
"Ngh... where am I?"
Though his outward appearance had undergone absolutely no physical changes, this Mara-struck soldier had fully regained his conscious awareness. Furthermore, his physical form had thoroughly mended its injuries amidst the rapidly swelling vitality triggered by the onset of Mara.
"What on earth?! He actually recovered his sanity?!"
The girl stared in absolute bewilderment at the now lucid Cloud Knight soldier.
"Lady Dragon Baird?! What happened to me?"
The Mara-struck soldier spotted the trio standing at his side and instinctively assumed that the Lady Dragon Baird had delivered him. Immediately after, however, he witnessed several other Mara-struck individuals around him steadily regaining their consciousness under the hands of a black-haired young woman.
"I fell... to Mara?"
Before he could even process his thoughts, Takatsuki had already taken Seele by the hand and stood directly in the center of the gathered soldiers.
"I expect you all know exactly what your current situation entails. Though this treatment can restore your reason, it comes with a definitive time limit. As for what you ought to do next, you will have to decide that for yourselves."
To the Long-life species, succumbing to Mara was practically synonymous with death. Restoring their capacity for reason, as far as these immortal beings were concerned, was no different from summoning the souls of the departed back to life.
Takatsuki had no intention of interfering further with subsequent matters.
"Wow, Seele! I can't believe you can actually treat the Mara-struck! We encountered so many Mara-struck soldiers along the way, and every single one of them had completely lost their minds," March 7th said, looking at Seele with a thoroughly shocked expression.
"Seele is just doing what Seele can."
"These Mara-struck are merely suffering from a fundamental mismatch between mind and body. When the mind is no longer capable of suppressing the wantonly surging physical vitality of the flesh, they end up like this. All we can do is provide a brief reinforcement to their mental state. Once this strengthening power dissipates, they will inevitably revert back to their original condition."
The moment his words left his mouth, a rather charming, melodious voice chimed in from the side.
"Might this gentleman be a friend of our benefactors? To think you have actually unraveled the mystery of the Mara-struck."
Takatsuki turned his gaze toward the speaker, discovering a beautifully dressed, gorgeous Foxian woman who held an exquisitely crafted folding fan in her hand.
"And this is?"
"This is Miss Tingyun, the Amicassador of the Sky-Faring Commission's Whistling Flames merchant guild. She is currently acting as our guide."
March 7th stepped forward on her own initiative to introduce the two groups. "These are Mr. Yang's old friends, Takatsuki and Seele."
"A friend of our benefactors is, naturally, a friend of this humble girl as well."
Tingyun offered a slight, deeply elegant bow, exuding immense poise.
"I..."
Just as he was about to speak, a crisp voice rang out right beside Takatsuki: "Big brother, was everything you just said just now really true?"
Following the sound, he looked over to find that it was indeed that dragon-horned girl from a moment ago.
"You're the Dragon Baird, right? What part of what I said did you mean was true?"
The girl placed her hands on her hips and huffed, "Even though this lady belongs to the Vidyadhara, my name isn't 'Dragon Baird.' I am called Bailu, a healer from the Alchemy Commission. Are the symptoms of the Mara-struck state you mentioned just now actually real?"
"They are absolutely real."
Takatsuki pointed toward the few Cloud Knight soldiers a short distance away who were still scratching their heads in confusion. "You can see for yourself. Seele's power isn't actually anything extraordinary; it merely possesses the capacity to briefly reinforce a person's mental state, causing their consciousness to experience a psychological overload. This forces the physical body to fail to keep pace with the speed of the mind. While this would represent an incompatible state for a normal individual, it happens to be a perfect countermeasure for these Mara-struck soldiers."
"To think that is actually the case! We had always assumed that the onset of Mara was intrinsically linked to the cumulative pileup of memories and intense emotional trauma."
Bailu nodded her head continuously, seemingly determined to commit this crucial piece of medical data to memory.
"Phrasing it that way isn't incorrect either. A person's spiritual mind has a definite lifespan as well. With the continuous passage of time, it will gradually undergo wear and tear. Complex emotions, in particular, accelerate the erosion of memories, imposing a heavy toll on one's psychological stamina."
Speaking up to this point, Takatsuki was suddenly reminded of an occurrence from the JoJo universe—namely, that humanity possesses definitive limitations, but the spiritual mind recognizes no upper bounds. Furthermore, a Stand, as the direct external manifestation of spiritual power, similarly knows no limits, though it remains inherently restricted by the physical condition of its user's body.
Truth be told, Takatsuki felt that his Heaven's Door had currently entered exactly this sort of state. If Heaven's Door's comprehensive attributes were displayed on a status profile right now, every single stat would likely be maxed out at an 'A' rank.
However, this was solely because it was being forcibly propped up by the energy of half a Stellaron that he had swallowed in a single gulp.
In reality, neither Takatsuki's mind nor his physical body had reached a level of raw strength capable of naturally sustaining a Stand of this caliber. As a result, Heaven's Door was working in reverse, feedbacking a colossal ocean of spiritual power into Takatsuki to allow him to barely meet the absolute minimum standard required to wield the Stand.
"In that case, perhaps I ought to look into developing some medical formulas designed specifically to refresh and clear the mind?"
There were still numerous patients scattered across the plaza, and Bailu clearly needed to continue administering medical treatment to them. After wrapping up her chat with Takatsuki, she prepared to depart in a massive hurry.
"It looks like this little dragon girl is quite the busy bee."
Watching Bailu scurry away, Takatsuki turned his attention back to the rest of the Express crew. "So, what exactly is the situation right now? Weren't you guys supposed to be hunting down a Stellaron?"
"Oh, that! Let me explain!"
The moment a story was mentioned, March 7th instantly brimmed with absolute enthusiasm.
"Don't exaggerate it too much."
Stelle chimed in with a rather deadpan reminder. Mr. Yang remained silent, which was clearly a silent endorsement of the warning.
Under March 7th's heavily embellished and dramatized explanation, Takatsuki gradually came to understand the events they had encountered since setting foot on the Xianzhou. To put it simply, under Tingyun's guidance, they had directly met with the highest authority of the Xianzhou Luofu and accepted his personal commission. Following that, they apprehended the Stellaron Hunter Kafka—the very woman who had projected herself onto the Express earlier.
Kafka's interrogation still required them to await further notification, meaning they needed to rest up on the Xianzhou for a period of time. Naturally, their expenditures during this interim would be fully reimbursed by the Seat of Divine Foresight.
"What about Seele's and my expenses?"
Takatsuki turned his gaze toward Tingyun at his side.
"A friend of our benefactors is, naturally, a friend of the Luofu as well. Your consumption shall, of course, be fully covered by the Seat of Divine Foresight as well."