I'm No MOTH Hero

"No, that's not it. Hmph, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Hahahaha..."

"I just occasionally want to help teammate Lin share the burden..." Soul sighed faintly, thoughts swirling. "To carry the will of those who have died... If only there were no sacrifices, no deaths..."

Hearing this, the man stopped his wild laughter and revealed the composure of a wise man. "Soul, it's impossible to have no sacrifice and death. Humanity's progress is precisely because of the contributions of those who came before."

"All we can do is accept it."

"But... even if it's just a fantasy, a world without death, where no one leaves, teammate Lin wouldn't have to bear so much..."

"Soul..."

"BOOM————————"

All words vanished in the flames.

Chapter 44: That Matter

"Meow~"

A perpetually unchanging black sculpture reached out a hand from the darkness, taking the document clutched in Canned Food's mouth, which was filled with coded messages. After patting its head, it gave Canned Food a bag of silver coins and a dried fish.

"Tell Pardo I'll be there to find her in a bit."

"Meow~"

With a nimbleness completely unsuited to its size, Canned Food bounced away and disappeared at the entrance to the Imaginary Tree.

"You can talk to cats?"

Mei walked over from a distance, watching the direction Canned Food had disappeared, then turned back to Lin, who was holding the document and examining it.

"No, but Canned Food understands what I say, and that's enough." Lin tapped his finger under a few distorted characters, and a cyan window lit up, indicating he had begun the decryption work.

"Speaking of which..."

"Raiden Mei, if you have something to ask, don't beat around the bush with me. I'll say what I can say, and what I can't, you won't get out of me even if you try to pry."

"..."

Looking on the bright side, at least Lin didn't mock or get angry as easily as Chrono.

"Pardofelis, she's also one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, your companion. And from my observation, you treat her much better than you do others, even better than Elysia..."

"Oh my? Did I hear someone calling my lovely name?"

Elysia appeared from seemingly nowhere. Mei was already used to her sudden appearances.

She sat down next to Lin with a grin, crossing her shapely legs and leaning back on the sofa. "Mei, you're so naughty, gossiping about Lin and me behind our backs."

"I'm not..."

"You could have just asked me directly."

"..."

Mei wasn't sure if she should believe Elysia, but seeing that Lin, the person in question, remained silent, Elysia probably wasn't lying.

She continued her previous question: "Lin's attitude towards that Flame-Chaser named Pardofelis is completely different from how he treats others. Is there a history behind this?"

"Before we talk about that, Mei, how did you notice Lin's attitude towards Pardo was unusual?" Elysia asked with a charming smile. "After all, Lin and I are also very close~"

"..." Lin glanced at her but said nothing.

"His name." Mei stated her observation. "Whether Lin says my name or yours, he says the full name. Even if there's a more convenient way to say it, like Raiden or Eli, he only uses the more formal full name. Only for Pardo does he use an intimate abbreviation."

Moreover, Lin would interact with Pardofelis's pet with a gentleness completely unlike his usual demeanor, something rarely seen in the cold and stern Lin.

"As expected of you, Mei, you noticed that."

Elysia nodded, then turned to Lin. "Lin, can I say it?"

"...Whatever you want."

Under the dim light, Elysia's smile became intriguing.

"How should I put this? It's a bit of a historical issue. Lin is generally gentler towards junior girls."

"...Elysia." Lin reminded Elysia, her wording was a bit... ambiguous, making Mei's disdainful gaze rather sharp.

"Oops, I misspoke." Elysia's expression showed no remorse, and she continued to laugh cheerfully. "Lin is actually pretty much the same with everyone, but he cares a little more for Pardo."

"Sigh..." Lin shook his head and put away the documents. "Raiden Mei, why are you asking about this?"

"I came here to find answers about the truth of the Honkai, but after arriving at the Imaginary Tree, I realized things were far more complex than I imagined." Mei looked at these two people in the Imaginary Tree, whom she found most inscrutable. The mysteries surrounding them were greater than she had imagined. "Especially you, you're not a Flame-Chaser, but others' evaluation of you is... 'powerful'."

Lin occasionally gave her a pressure comparable to other Flame-Chasers, and even that arrogant Chrono's tone softened considerably when he mentioned Lin.

"I'm not powerful." Lin never overestimated himself, but this time his statement was different. "But I'm not weak either. I always appear before the successors first to assess what kind of people they are."

"I thought it was because I'm a Herrscher."

"There's a reason for that. If you were a genuine Herrscher on the Honkai's side..." Lin said calmly, "I would have killed you before you could make any move."

He said this so casually, as if killing a Herrscher was nothing to him.

Yet Mei unconsciously believed that this so-called "ordinary human" had the ability to back up his words.

Elysia patted Lin's head. "There, there, why the stiff atmosphere? Mei, I didn't scare you, did I?"

"I won't be scared by this level of intimidation."

However, from this point on, she would have to be more wary of Lin. None of the people in the Imaginary Tree were simple.

"Oh right, Lin, is that MOTH data you're holding?"

"Yes."

Lin opened the data again. The densely packed ciphertext revealed no original meaning. MOTH had hundreds of encryption methods, and Lin only knew a few. But now, he had almost infinite time to decipher it.

"This is..." Elysia's eyes recognized the data's serial number. "Data from the Fifth Branch incident? Did you have Pardo help you find it?"

"Yes. Raiden Mei's arrival this time caused new changes in the Imaginary Tree, and things that should have been there but weren't have surfaced. So I asked Pardo to find this."

"I remember the final conclusion of the Fifth Branch incident was an attack by an unknown force," Elysia mused, recalling the incident that had shaken MOTH.

"If that were truly the case, then this data would not need to be encrypted."

Lin's fingers slowly clenched, deforming the data.

Everything began with that "accident," whether it was Spathi, Mei, Kevin, or... Soul.

The sky-high flames became the most glaring scene in the city.

Lin rushed back to the Fifth Branch at top speed. Even so, by the time he reached the base of the building, all he could see was the fire engulfing the main part of the Fifth Branch. It was immediately sealed off by layers of metal plates from the anti-diffusion device.

A crowd had gathered below, all staring at the accident happening overhead, which prevented Lin from entering through the main entrance.

He landed on a rooftop to observe the situation, and an abnormal figure precisely caught his eye.

A man, seemingly oblivious to the unfolding events, walked towards a secluded direction.

In the opposite direction was the Fifth Branch, where the accident had occurred.

After the moonlight was obscured, Lin vanished from his spot.

Chapter 45: Assassin

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The solitary man walked deeper into the area, the city's noise fading behind him, leaving only the chilling sound of footsteps echoing against the walls.

He was sending messages on his phone to the person on the other end, reporting the successful completion of his tasks.

The overall progress was smooth. All he had done was detonate a few bombs and release the contained Mortals. The most troublesome person wasn't present, giving him ample opportunity to act. However, he couldn't confirm the fate of his main target.

"Tap."

The footsteps stopped.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Years of being an assassin had honed his instincts, making him extremely sensitive to being watched. A gaze, originating from an unknown source in the darkness, made his back prickle.

Since he had been followed, it meant the other party had confirmed it was him. Pretending to be a passerby now would be useless.

The man casually closed his phone and, pretending to search for something, reached for the pocket inside his collar.

"Bang!"

A bullet hole appeared at his feet, freezing the man's movement.

This shot, fired without hesitation, was a warning not to act rashly. Any further move he made, and the next shot wouldn't miss.

However, this shot also revealed the shooter's position!

The man's face contorted with ferocity. With a hardened heart, he grabbed the pistol in his pocket and turned, firing three shots in the direction of the gunshot—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Wh—"

All three of his confident shots missed. The shooter, as if foreseeing his actions, had already left the spot after firing.

"Whoosh..."

A sound of air breaking, to the right!

In his astonishment, a dark figure had already appeared beside him, his fist, covered in a gauntlet, lunging like a cannonball.

It was an emergency, and he couldn't afford to consider anything else. The man instinctively blocked with his gun, while his other hand gripped something behind him.

"Boom!"

Both figures retreated. Lin's attack missed, and he extinguished the visible light, melting into the darkness. He nimbly moved into the man's blind spot to observe him.

The pistol had been shattered by Lin's punch, but it had served as a momentary block, allowing the man to draw out something that Lin found somewhat familiar.

A greatsword.

Yes, it was a greatsword with a design similar to the one Himiko wielded. The man had produced a folding device, which, when unfolded, transformed into this massive sword. It was an armament folding technology MOTH was developing but hadn't yet deployed.

Judging by the man's practiced movements, he had faced similar situations many times. His reactions and responses indicated techniques specifically designed against "humans."

He wasn't a MOTH warrior, but an assassin who specialized in killing "humans."

Lin put his gun away, gripped the hilts of the two swords on his back with each hand, and slowly drew out half of their blades.

[Lin, new mission communication]

"..."

A new mission at this time?

[A Honkai Energy leak has occurred at the Fifth Branch. Proceed immediately to provide support. The combat team is en route to MSA-079 coordinates. The arrest mission will be handed over to the combat team.]

"..."

The combat team's coordinates appeared on the screen, closing in on Lin's position in a pincer movement.

The immediate priority was indeed to support the attacked Fifth Branch; continuing to fight this man would only lead to further losses and casualties.

However, Lin sensed something more in this perfectly timed mission.

[Lin, communication from Doctor Mei]

"...I understand."

Lin decisively put away his weapons, abandoning the confrontation with the man, and sprinted towards the Fifth Branch.

After Lin left, the man thoughtfully sheathed his weapon. He didn't flee and offered no resistance until the arriving combat team apprehended him.

Kevin pulled the trigger, and bullets poured out, but the tall, white, monstrous silhouette flickered through the room like a gust of wind. The bullets only struck the pathetic afterimage left on his retina.

"A Loyal Ninja Mortal?" Seeing that his firearm was ineffective, Kevin decisively drew his combat dagger. He stepped on the numerous scorched documents on the floor with his right foot and flipped them up, the paper scraps instantly obscuring the Loyal Ninja Mortal's vision as it flickered before him.

"Ching—"

Holding his sword in his right hand, he burst through the paper curtain. The Loyal Ninja Mortal's crimson eyes flashed. Disregarding the incoming attack, it swung its dual blades downward, aiming for Kevin's shoulders.