Defilement / A Flash of Inspiration

"You've changed. If it were the old you, you'd probably be too heartbroken to see anyone now."

"... Because of, Team Member Lin?"

"..."

Himiko down her wine cup and composed herself. "Listen carefully, Soul, I've seen many people fall before me..."

"I know."

"..."

Soul chuckled softly and said to the surprised Himiko, "As Team Member Lin said, sacrifice is not just about 'meaning.' If one becomes obsessed with the meaning of sacrifice, one will lose its true nature."

"Sometimes I think, how wonderful it would be if people were like pigs. If I cut them down with a knife, they wouldn't feel sad about losing their lives."

"In the eyes of the Honkai, are we just livestock to be slaughtered? That's why it kills us, killing us so casually..."

"Did you know? Humans are a particularly interesting species when it comes to lying."

A man dressed in a black suit and neatly tied a tie sat in his seat, glancing at the documents in his hand and flipping through them hastily.

"Sometimes humans lie not to benefit themselves, but to gain the approval of others."

The speaker chuckled into the communicator behind him, "It may sound strange, but humans do have a different kind of satisfaction than other animals. They use deception to gain recognition, not for survival or for profit, but simply for 'recognition'."

"But I do that kind of thing occasionally too."

"... Will that assassin stop harassing her?"

"Why interfere? She's fighting for all of humanity right now, isn't that in line with my initial thoughts? As for who's giving her orders, that's not so important." The Speaker pulled out Sakura's file, lit it with a lighter, and then threw it in a corner, watching it burn to ashes.

"Then why... did you make me fight her before?"

"As for why... wouldn't it be terrible if I just watched someone get killed by my hand? Besides, you actually wanted to kill Miss Sakura too, right? I'm just giving you a chance to vent. If a person keeps hiding their gloomy emotions, they'll go bad sooner or later."

"..."

The call was cut off. The speaker slowly wiped the smile from his face, looked at the bright light above his head, and fell silent in thought.

"I didn't see that person... By the way, are there more people at the nursing home now? Were there always this many people there?"

Pardo walked along the path, pondering the people and children she had just seen at the sanatorium.

It's probably just my imagination... I didn't go there often before.

Soon, she reached the front of the house, then jumped over the courtyard wall with practiced ease, only realizing what was happening when she arrived at the door.

"How did I end up here again without even realizing it..." Pardo turned around in regret, wanting to leave, but then she suddenly remembered that the man who seemed to have delusions had been in this room for a whole day, and she couldn't help but feel a little anxious, so she turned back to look at the door.

Although it's none of her business, but...

Her innate kindness made her still worried about Lin, so she decided to visit him one last time and pushed open the door to go inside.

"Gah—"

However, what she saw before her startled her.

The man was lying face down on the floor of the hall, his wheelchair overturned beside him. He struggled with a dazed look in his eyes, but he could neither stand up nor touch anything. He could only wave his hands and feet aimlessly.

"Are you... alright?" Pardo swallowed hard, stepped forward, grabbed his shoulders, and lifted him up.

Huh?

The man's muscles were surprisingly firm and well-defined, making him seem nothing like a disabled person in a wheelchair with atrophied limbs and Mental Instability.

But Pardo didn't think much of it. She lifted Lin back into the wheelchair, and only after he was back in the wheelchair did Lin stop struggling as if he were drowning.

After settling down, Lin looked around a few times with his unfocused and vacant eyes, then looked at Pardo and nodded to her. "Thank you, Anna."

"I'm not Anna! I'm Pardofelis, Pa-do-phi-lis, you can call me Pardo or Phyllis... Please remember that." Pardo corrected her, then sighed, "Why am I arguing with you? You can't buy my stuff anyway..."

Why this person was here, why he covered his face, and why he was Mental Instability — Pardo had no idea, nor did she care much.

If there's anything she's curious about, it's whether the man who gave her the key has been watching this place. If he really has been watching, then the fact that he hasn't come knocking on the door yet means... she hasn't done anything wrong.

After much thought, Pardo remained optimistic and thought that perhaps the key was simply inside the house, or that the man wasn't the boy in the photo.

"May I... have some of this?"

Lin picked up the fruit knife on the table and put it in his mouth.

Pardo was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. She dodged the fruit knife and turned around to place it where Lin couldn't reach it.

"They really are a handful..."

Pardo looked at Lin, who was still talking to himself, with a conflicted expression.

This person is alone in the house, it's so dangerous...

Chapter Eighteen Defilement

"Speaking of which, Lin, where did you go during the time you disappeared before?"

When Elysia asked this question, Lin merely glanced at her and saw the bright smile on her face.

"Dusk Street".

"Oh~ no wonder you brought Pardo back."

"... Don't ask about things you already know; it's pointless."

"How could that be? I had absolutely no idea!"

"..."

Lin was already used to Elysia's appearance. No one would be uncomfortable with it. Everyone would resist her at first, but in the end, they would all be forced to accept it.

"So, you met Chrono and Aponia around that time?"

"Ah..." Lin nodded without hiding anything. "I don't know what happened, but Pardo has been taking care of me."

"During that period, the Moth of Fire happened to be involved in that incident."

Mei struggled to resist the attack, which was completely different from the last one. The heat seemed to melt her, and each blow could split deep trenches in the ground. The enormous energy tore through her defenses, leaving her no choice but to dodge.

The Phoenix is made from the Key of Destruction, which is the most destructive Herrscher Core of Flame. In order to suppress its power, the core had to be separated and made into two guns. Only when the two guns are combined can its true form be revealed.

This Divine Key is Kevin's weapon. His Flame-Chaser ability allows him to freely use the Phoenix, which consumes him, while others who use it will be consumed by fire.

But Lin is now using the Phoenix without any obstacles. Even if this power is not the true Key of Destruction, it is not much different.

Recalling her previous battle with Lin, Mei realized that she couldn't just defend herself. She activated her Herrscher power and began to attack "Lin".

The mark of Mobius within Mei's body began to exert its power, allowing her to suppress the Phoenix for a time.

Very well, Lin is definitely not the best user...

As the blades clashed, lightning engulfed the flames. Lin was no match for Mei in strength, and he took a few steps back. The Phoenix in his hand disappeared, and his armor instantly turned green.

Sure enough, this suit of armor is—

"Boom!"

A raging hurricane appeared where it had been, and Mei stood amidst Kurikara's sorrow, looking down at "Lin" who had appeared in the hurricane.

He looked up, and the phantom of a weapon flickered in his hand.

"Oh? So now you're trying to stop me?"

Mobius stood before the anchor point, tapping his hands slowly and deliberately. His closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a cold-blooded glint in his serpentine pupils.

Lin stood behind her without saying a word.

"Judging from the three questions you asked her, you were intentionally guiding her to me. So, can I take that as a gift you're giving me?" Mobius said with a smile, "To Mr. Lin, with whom I have a 'good relationship'."

"... If you want to think in that direction, I won't deny it."

"Hey~ You would never have done something like manipulating others behind the scenes before. Have you been hanging out with Aponia for too long?" She turned her neck, her snake eyes narrowing into slits as she stared at the helmeted man. "After all, she admitted that the guilt of defiling the 'Flawless' is very addictive."

"However, she did not do anything like that."

"That's hard to say."

The exchange was sharp and confrontational... no, it was just Mobius's one-sided and incisive remarks, but Lin didn't show much willingness to refute him.

"Isn't that woman a perfect example of saying one thing and doing another? For her as Nun, her inner desires were a sin, but at the same time, she also believed that there would be pleasure in sin. If you think about it, many works are like this. Clergy commit sins for self-satisfaction, which is just right for our deified era."

"... Do you think so too?" Lin asked Mobius, who was grinning wickedly.

"Me? Lin, are you kidding me? To me, there's no such thing as 'defilement' or 'blasphemy,' as long as I can overcome the obstacles I want to overcome..."

Both of them fell silent.

Lin and Mobius were well aware of what they had done, what everyone in the Imaginary Tree had done, and how many of them had made mistakes.

Some went against human reason, while others went against their own conscience.

Neither Lin nor Mobius reached the end on the path of staying true to themselves.

Whatever the reason, they have indeed "betrayed" each other.

"However, I'm quite surprised that your reasons for those actions weren't based on your own will." Mobius spoke to Lin about the past while Mei was still engaged in fierce combat. "Back then, when reality, which most contradicted your own beliefs, was presented to you, you seemed so dismissive. But then came the 'betrayal'..."

She sneered, "As expected, you lived for others until the very end."

"... Then, what was your mindset when you stopped the Hypervariable Surgery at that time?" Lin looked at her shrunken figure, as if he had returned to the time when she could still stand side by side with him.

"Hmph... Is 'you're not suitable' a valid reason?"

"..."

"If that doesn't work, I have other reasons, such as poor air quality, not feeling well at the time, and your preference for spicy food. You can choose whichever you like."

Xuanyuan Sword.

Mei clashed with "Lin" while wielding her sword. A barrage of sword strikes came from the two swords in "Lin's" hands. The two Dominion Key in his hands were like two poisonous fangs, insidious and deadly.

Lin has now used the second, sixth, seventh, and Tenth Divine Key, and he can handle each weapon with ease.

These are not simulations of the First Divine Key Divine Key, but projections of the true Divine Key, just like the Feather of Dust in Hua's hand.

"Imaginary enemy."

These words that Lin once said came back to Mei's mind, and she seemed to be gradually understanding what Lin meant.

"But... why didn't it happen like last time..."

Mei still remembers that "Lin's" fighting style was not about large-scale, forceful exchanges; he would not do anything that would waste energy.

Could it be...?

"The mark of [Infinity]?" The mark within his body was radiating power.

"Lin" is a supercomputer, so it can identify who comes here. This time, it reacted to the [Infinity] mark in Mei's body because Mobius gave her all the marks, so it was identified as Mobius.

So, does "Lin" think that fighting Mobius means using all his strength at once to kill her?

That makes things much easier!

A glint flashed in Mei's eyes, and another type of marking within her body began to activate.

Chapter Nineteen: A Flash of Inspiration

"This thing is only this price?"

"Price? No problem."

The girl smiled with her eyes narrowed, a trick she had learned from others in business: narrowing one's eyes to hide one's emotions could make one appear shrewd.

The two men in front of her were both much taller and stronger than her. In the past, she would have been more cautious and rarely made deals with people like them.

80% of human society's problems can be solved through dialogue, but unfortunately, Dusk Street has gathered the remaining 20%.

"This bracelet is really expensive, it hurts my wallet." The blond man picked up the bracelet and carefully examined its exquisitely crafted and intricately carved surface.