After saying goodbye Elysia wiped the smile off her face and hurried toward the direction where Kevin and Van had left.
Arriving at the meeting room door, Elysia could already hear low voices coming from inside.
"Sorry." Kevin's voice was full of exhaustion.
Then Van's voice, which sounded much colder than usual.
"Kevin, this isn't your fault. The one who should take responsibility for what happened in Australia is me..."
At these words, Kevin suddenly raised his head, his eyes reddening, his expression pained as he said, "I killed... I killed our comrade with my own hands..."
As he said this, Kevin's tone carried a faint, barely noticeable tremor.
"Whenever I close my eyes, I see Himeko...
She's just standing there, smiling and reaching out her hand to me, like we'd gone back to that night's ball...
You were there too, Mei was there too... When I swung that sword, her face had that same expression..."
Kevin looked up, full of remorse as he looked at Van, "In the end it's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Himeko she..."
"Enough!"
Van abruptly cut Kevin off, scolding him for not trying hard enough,
"Kevin, you've disappointed me so much!
Look at you now — where is any trace of the Fire-chasing Moth ace warrior? So many people are still waiting for you to lead them to defeat the Herrschers. How can you just stay stuck here!"
Kevin was stunned by his shouting; deeper guilt and confusion overwhelmed him.
He avoided Van's gaze, drooped his head again in dejection, his voice so soft it sounded like he was talking to himself,
"Ace? What kind of ace am I? If I'd known this would be the result, I shouldn't have..."
"Kevin! Do you know what you're saying right now?" Van's voice shot up, the suppressed anger finally exploding.
He took a step in front of Kevin, grabbed Kevin's collar with both hands and forced him to look at him.
"Kevin, look me in the eye! You are widely recognized as the ace of the Fire-chasing Moth, the only fusion warrior, the 'savior' hero in other people's eyes!
If even you say such dispiriting things, then what are the rest of us supposed to do? What can we still rely on to fight the Herrschers!"
Yet, facing Van's almost roaring questioning, Kevin only stared at him blankly; the pain and confusion in his eyes did not lessen in the slightest.
Finally, as if he had exhausted all his strength, his lips moved a few times and he repeated those two words that made people hate him,
"...Sorry."
Van's hand tightened suddenly on his collar; his knuckles made a soft cracking sound.
In the end, he still let go despondently.
He stared at Kevin for a few seconds, snorted coldly with endless disappointment, then spun around and strode toward the meeting room door.
[No! It was fine just a moment ago, and now the plot suddenly takes such a sharp turn?]
[It's back, it's all back, Mihoyo's sugar-heart knife!]
[You think it's sugar? Wrong! It's a knife! You think it's a knife? Then it definitely is a knife!]
[Hahahahaha, can't tell them apart, really can't tell!]
[Alright alright, Mihoyo's dog screenwriter, let me see how many faces you have!]
...
Back to the livestream.
Outside, Elysia instinctively took half a step back.
The meeting room door opened, and Van came out.
When he saw Elysia at the door, he seemed stunned for a moment, forcing a smile onto his face.
"Elysia... you came at just the right time. Kevin that guy... is in bad shape, he might need some fairy-lady who's good at comforting people to... talk to him."
After saying this, Van didn't wait for Elysia's reply; he waved and hurried off.
That silhouette looked even tenser than Kevin had just now after enduring such tremendous psychological pressure.
Elysia watched the direction Van left in, frowning slightly.
She of course knew Kevin's state was off.
But compared to Kevin, Elysia thought Van's current state was even more wrong.
From his tone just now to his various behaviors during this time.
Elysia keenly caught a kind of urgency and anxiety in Van that she had never seen before.
As if something was chasing him from behind.
Although everyone had just defeated a Herrscher and the situation seemed to be improving,
he instead grew more and more nervous — why was that?
Just then, a cold, lonely voice sounded from behind, interrupting Elysia's thoughts.
"Elysia."
She turned and found Kevin standing at the meeting room door, though she hadn't noticed when he had come.
He stared in the direction Van had left, his ice-blue eyes full of worry.
Kevin's voice still sounded low, but it seemed slightly eased as if he had already vented somewhat.
"Rather than me, you should first go check on that guy. Right now, he probably needs comfort more than any one of us..."
"And... I'm a bit worried he might, because of Himeko's matter, make some irrational decision..."
"For example, go to Dr. Mobius, to restart that... plan which has already been strictly prohibited."
Elysia's eyes instantly narrowed; she looked at Kevin immediately, "You don't mean...?"
Kevin nodded heavily, "I hope I'm wrong."
Elysia's heart dropped.
She didn't hesitate; she told Kevin, "I'll go first," and turned, hurrying toward Mobius's laboratory.
She had to get there before Van.
———
[No, Kevin please stop being so mysterious, what exactly is the plan, tell us?]
[Makes my heart itch to know]
[Could it be a plan more dangerous than the fusion warrior?]
[I always thought Mobius calling Van 'little mouse' was just a habit, didn't expect it to be real!]
———
In the story, fortunately, when Elysia arrived at the door of Mobius's laboratory, she did not find Van anywhere nearby.
Elysia breathed a small sigh of relief, but her heart was still racing.
She stood at the door, took a deep breath as if making a resolution, then raised her hand and knocked.
Inside was quiet for a few seconds, then the door slowly opened.
Behind the door, Mobius looked at Elysia outside, surprise flashing in his eyes, followed by a playful yet complicated smile.
"Yo~ I really didn't expect this. The first person to come to me about this... would actually be you, Elysia."
Elysia met Mobius's appraising gaze and blinked playfully, "That's a bit much, Mobius. You know I don't want to fall behind Kevin, and I don't want to fall behind you either."
"Hmm, the former already has no chance, so the latter... I have to at least try."
At her words, a dangerous smile appeared at the corner of Mobius's mouth, "All right, then I'll let you cut in line. I was planning to find... forget it, since you're here, I of course am happy... to personally choose a 'death' for you."
Elysia shook her head, her eyes filled with determination, "That won't do, Mobius. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Before coming here, I'd already made up my mind."
"Elysia's fusion body... must be 'one of a kind,' right? So my plan must be decided by myself."
[T/N: My dear readers.... Unfortunately this is the last chapter the author has posted so there's gonna be no update until the author posts more. 😭😭]