novelraw Chapter 552: Ghostbusters (V)
Chapter 552: Ghostbusters (V)
When Sunny was led through Fyxestroll Garden — an isolated area in the Luofu redesigned for the sole purpose of containing the Heliobi that escaped from the Creation Furnace, he had expected to assist a professional group of ghost hunters, acting as the muscle of the group.
Instead, he got stuck with a team of... well, he wasn’t even sure how to describe them. On paper, they were as professional as you can get — a member of a Legacy Clan, a Cloud Knight, and a Judge-in-training for the Ten-Lords Commission, who also happens to have an Aspect suitable for dealing with Heliobi.
But, as is everything, nothing is as it seems.
Starting with Sushang, Sunny happened to hear of her from Dan Heng. If he were to use the Vidyadhara’s own words: ’She’s a very clumsy woman with a strong sense of justice. Emphasis on clumsy. She tries her best, though.’
It was clear he was not exaggerating. In fact, Sushang’s inability to grasp a flashlight, or even walk in a straight line with no obstacles was so unnaturally absurd that he was convinced that her clumsiness was her Flaw. He could only wonder how that extended to her usage of the sword...
In any case, she wasn’t even the worst of the three. Sure, her suspected Flaw made her extraordinarily incompetent, and she seemed to have a scatterbrained personality, but at least she wasn’t actively trying to hide in a corner or get some donations... which brought him to the next character he was unfortunate enough to babysit.
Guinaifen was someone he has only met once before. She went under the alias of ’Kaboom!’ in the Dreamscape, and faced Sunny at the end of the battle royale segment. He won, of course, but her explosive Aspect and excellent use of her bo staff left a deep impression on him. Naturally, he shadowed her without a second thought, devouring all the skills she developed over the span of her life.
There was also her Legacy status, which is a bit surprising to hear when you knew of her personality. Usually, Sunny assumed Legacies to be stoic and completely serious, not a wild mix of stimulants. He didn’t know what Clan she was apart of, but he doubted it was a big one. And by big, he meant the kind with a Saint backing it, or a large amount of Masters. She was clearly strapped for money, so maybe she was disowned?
In any case, that was exactly the problem — she wouldn’t stop streaming! It was all ’chat this’, ’chat that’, ’Ws in the chat’, ’thanks for the dono!’ It was annoying!
Actually, he didn’t even know how or why the Ten-Lords Commission allowed her to join in on this. Was there a secret agenda, or something?
Sunny shook his head, wondering what they could have possibly been thinking. Now, he had to be really careful when displaying his capabilities, knowing he’ll have a camera on him for the next couple of weeks. Not that it would be too difficult, considering he was really just here as a bodyguard for Huohuo to do her thing...
Oh, right. The worst of them all. Huohuo.
The thing is... Sunny and Huohuo had a history with each other. One he didn’t quite recall... because it was one of the many things he had no recollection of.
On the Forgotten Shore where only steel remembers, four Dreamers, mere Dormant humans, fought against the terrible conquerors of the Dark City and coral labyrinth. On their journey, they gathered the legendary Shard Memories, left behind by the olden heroes, and staged a rebellion against the tyrannical lord of the Bright Castle. Rivers of blood filled the streets, and the weak were culled...
The Dreamers that remained led an assault on the Crimson Spire in their mad chase for the Gateway. Only a couple hundred survived, thus escaping the Dream Realm and entering the Waking World once more.
...That was the abridged version, at least. Sunny, the one who liberated the Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore, didn’t even remember anything due to his absent memories. The point was, however, that Huohuo and Tail had been really nagging him earlier, acting as if he knew them.
And that was because he did, once upon a time. Both Sunny and Huohuo were each one of the four Dreamers who brought change to the hellscape known as the Forgotten Shore. In particular, Huohuo was who H2O was supposed to represent in the movie the Abyss Watchers jokingly made, Absence of Light. It wasn’t an accurate representation of her character, obviously...
The real version of Huohuo wasn’t invisible at all. Just short.
And she really didn’t seem to like him. She practically despaired whenever she so much as took a glance at his face.
As for how Sunny figured out her identity, H2O vaguely sounded like Huohuo, and Sparkle called her a cowardly fox, which she kind of was, considering she was a Foxian.
...Huohuo was an easily frightened individual. Her Flaw, most likely. Her fear was crippling, endlessly expanding, and deeply corrupting. It didn’t matter what it was — she found anything and everything terrifying in some way, shape, or form. A pebble could trigger a phobia, while the sky would trigger another. That wasn’t to say that all fear was equal. A ghost would naturally scare her more than the ground she walked on...
Which made her completely useless! Who would put an easily frightened individual in a profession that would trigger the worst of her fears?!
Then, there was her tail... Tail! A Heliobus that parasitically attached himself to Huohuo’s tail.
’That’s all they are... parasites!’
Sunny grit his teeth and waved his fist in the darkness, angered by the mere thought of their disgusting species.
"Heliobi trash... they deserve to be exterminated! Good thing I’m not as cowardly as Huohuo, and can actually get the job done..."
"Wh—What?"
Sunny froze, hearing an unfamiliar, ghastly voice. In the middle of the dark corridor, an azure flame hung in the air, flickering as it chased away the darkness. Then, it spoke:
"I’m not trash... you meanie!"
The Heliobus rushed at him.
Sunny blinked a few times...
Then, he turned tail and ran.
Nobody ever accused him of being a courageous fellow.