Lín knew where the sense of difference came from.
It was Seele's "smile."
Seele's smile was cute and pure, unique to a girl of her age, and she often smiled. In the photos, she was mostly smiling, and Lín could feel the joy emanating from within.
Only in that group photo with Himeko and Dystopia did she not smile, looking at the camera with an unfamiliar expression, as if her soul was dead and only a husk remained.
And even though the current Seele was smiling, the feeling she gave him was identical to the expressionless one in that photo.
"Which photo does Team member Lín like?" Seele didn't seem to notice Lín's strangeness. She walked lightly to Lín's side, wrapped only in a towel, revealing a large amount of skin, and looked at the photos on the table. "These photos of Team member Lín were all secretly taken by me, oh~ I'm a little embarrassed to admit it."
"That one is a photo of me and my parents. This one is with the Captain. This one I took casually. And this one…" She paused for a moment looking at the last photo, then smiled calmly and naturally, "This one was taken when Dystopia joined the squad, right after Team member Lín left headquarters."
Lín intently observed Seele's expression. Her smile looked outwardly no different from the one in the photos, which made Lín wonder if he was being overly suspicious.
"Huh? Why are you staring at me, Team member Lín?" Seele noticed that Lín hadn't spoken but his gaze was fixed on her face. She shrank back shyly, but this posture only further highlighted her figure, which was only covered by a towel.
"No… it's nothing."
Perhaps he really was overthinking it.
Then, she mischievously leaned closer to Lín: "But if Team member Lín really wants to look…"
"Stay away from me."
Lín's pupils contracted, and he abruptly backed up two steps.
"…"
"I'll wait for you outside. Get dressed."
Lín walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.
Her bangs covered Seele's eyes. The smile on her face gradually turned into a dark, cold expression. She looked at the photos on the desk.
Outside the door, Lín lifted his sleeve and looked at his skin.
The lines hadn't spread to his arm yet, but it wouldn't take much longer.
Do not get too close to others. Mobius's warning still echoed in his ears.
He hadn't shown any physical discomfort symptoms yet, but the corrosion rate had almost reached the minimum requirement.
Death was approaching him. All he could do was push others away, distancing them from the death that stemmed from him.
…
"Yo~ Méi~" Elysia was comfortably sitting on a sofa flipping through a book. When she saw Méi arrive, she closed the book and greeted her. "Wait a moment, don't speak yet. Let me guess… you came to ask me for a favor, right?"
"…" Méi looked at her self-amusement flatly, tacitly agreeing.
"Haha, I guessed correctly~ We truly are of one mind." Elysia happily nodded. She seemed to be able to find happiness at any time. "Let me guess again. This matter is related to Lín, right?"
"That's right."
"Then let's do it the same way as with Mobius. Méi, how many clues and questions do you have now?"
Méi sorted through the information and said: "Lín, Fusion Warrior designation CM-00, was the first soldier of the Moth of the Flame to undergo the MANTIS surgery, and also the first person whose surgery failed. Based on the various testimonies I've collected, there were many reasons why he underwent the MANTIS surgery. One of them is that he himself was a top-tier human being."
An elite among humans, combined with the MANTIS surgery, could maximize the power brought by the surgery. It was probable that there were other outstanding soldiers considered for the MANTIS surgery at that time, but Lín simply chose to be the first.
"Lín defeated multiple Herrschers before Kevin became a Fusion Warrior. He was the human who defeated the most Herrschers."
"Mmhmm, that's right. Lín's strength is beyond doubt."
"Lín is unpopular within the Moth of the Flame. His actions and thoughts led to misunderstandings and deviations in the perception of most people toward him, causing him, despite his excellent combat record, to fail to become a leader or hero in the eyes of the public like Kevin."
Elysia's smile remained unchanged: "That's obvious, isn't it? But fortunately, everyone is here with him."
"This is the strangest part. Before Lín joined the Moth of the Flame, his ideological awareness was that of someone capable of sacrificing himself for the greater good of humanity. Yet, within the Moth of the Flame, because of the various reasons I just mentioned, he gradually lost trust in and even despaired of humanity, and in the end…"
"'Betrayed humanity.'"
Méi stared at Elysia after speaking. The pink-haired girl smoothed her bangs, then sighed—
"Méi, why would you think that of Lín?"
"Isn't it true?"
"Most of what Méi said is correct—his sacrifice for humanity and being misunderstood. But Lín has never despaired of humanity from beginning to end, oh~ From the first time I met him, he believed in humanity wholeheartedly."
"But he killed humans, didn't he? And it was at the time of his 'betrayal.'"
"Well…" Elysia lowered her head, not smiling. "Maybe it would be better to ask him directly, oh~"
"It's precisely because he chooses to avoid the topic that I came to ask you."
"Then I can't speak either, oh~ Lín and I made an agreement. As long as he doesn't reveal the truth, I can't tell anyone what happened at that time."
In the end, she was still brushed off.
Méi was silent for a while, looking at Elysia, and Elysia also smiled back at her. Both of them tacitly remained silent.
"One last question. What is Lín's Stigma?"
Méi had seen Lín's distinctive, clock-like stigma many times. She had also tried to enter the anchor points marked with the stigma, but every time, after defeating the enemy, his stigma wouldn't appear, and its name remained unknown.
Did this mean that Lín never intended to give her his stigma? Even though he was the first person to appear?
"Lín's Stigma, huh…" This time, Elysia answered. She narrowed her eyes, Méi's figure reflected in her pupils. "Méi, why don't you try to obtain Lín's stigma? Only by experiencing it firsthand can you truly understand."
"I can't obtain it."
"No, you can, oh~" Elysia said. "Méi, do you remember how the Flame-Chasers obtained their stigmata?"
"…Are you saying I need him to acknowledge me?"
"That's right. Haven't you noticed that Lín hasn't appeared here for a long time?"
Hearing Elysia, Méi realized that Lín hadn't appeared for a long time. He had been staying in the Elysian Realm.
Could it be…
"Then, let me go with you next time."