Yes, he expects that Mello might be surprised by the shift in his opinion. But he keeps building. Calmly, steadily, no tremble in the fingers even through the enhanced fear effect in this place.

"There was talk of channeling and bolstering her power." He frowns subtly at this, an expression of disdain. "This is already out of control, and they decided to strengthen it."

How no one seemed to think this was a bad idea is something that Near has difficulty comprehending. If the idea had been well thought-out in the first place, he might have been more supportive of the strategy. But this way . . . this way hardly qualifies as strategy at all. There could still be untoward consequences to killing the girl; Near has not abandoned that belief. But they had to be better than what would come from amplifying the power that is already threatening them all.