MGSFV?! Chapter 549: When the Sky Falls, Senti's Mouth Holds It Up; Rise, O Glorious Zenith
[If that's really the case… well, it fits with my understanding of Old Hua's EQ.]
[Honestly, yeah.]
Of course, banter aside, the truth was—
Fu Hua probably thought something along the lines of:
"I believe Senti will prioritize the big picture. Even if she acts a bit… off, as long as someone sincerely asks for her help, she won't say no. She's actually a good kid."
You couldn't say Fu Hua didn't understand Senti.
She clearly knew that most of Senti's biting words were just for show.
But… you also couldn't say she fully understood her.
She still operated based on her own logic:
If someone is willing to help, then if someone asks nicely, they'll agree.
That logic… kind of made sense.
At least to someone like Fu Hua, who was never great at refusing people.
After all, tsundere types were out of fashion.
Old-timers like her just didn't get it.
Unfortunately, the messenger—Li Sushang—didn't quite get it either.
She completely missed the essence of what Fu Hua had wanted her to say.
If it had been Elysia doing the talking, she would've absolutely emphasized things like:
"Fu Hua said you're warmhearted, kind, helpful, generous, and indispensable~ The world needs you, Herrscher of Sentience!"
"Beautiful, gentle, noble, gracious Senti-sama~ we can't go on without you~~ And neither can Old Hua~~"
Same objective.
But obviously, that kind of flattery worked far better on Senti.
...
With that in mind…
Sigh~~
Everyone could only sigh inwardly.
It seemed Li Sushang still had a few more hurdles before Senti would agree.
In-game, when Senti asked who taught her to say all that, Li Sushang honestly answered:
"Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein… and Grandmaster."
...She even went out of her way to mention Grandmaster.
Isn't that just reminding Senti of how Fu Hua once scammed her with the same speech?
Wasn't she worried Senti might just say, "Sounds nice, but I refuse."
This was not looking great.
Senti: "..."
She had no logical reason to agree to this request.
As expected, she fell silent, mulling it over.
The plot seemed to be heading in an ominous direction.
Tension rising, the players watched on.
Senti's inner thoughts began to surface.
In truth—even though this Herrscher was guided purely by impulse, with every action driven by "Because I want to"—
That didn't mean she wasn't sharp.
After facing Kevin on the Moon, she had reflected on her own strange involvement.
Because of her unique nature, the Stigma Plan had no hold over her.
She clearly had no stake in humanity's future either.
Hence why she had been grumbling about resting, and why she was just chilling at Taixu Mountain.
So, why had she done all those things that theoretically meant nothing to her?
Could it be… because of Fu Hua?
(Tch. That old fossil's not worth it!)
See? She'd never admit it.
But still—
Even though Li Sushang's persuasion was all over the place, with a near-zero success rate…
The result?
(Fine. Consider this me paying off a favor to that fossil. I don't want to owe her anything.)
Senti had already persuaded herself.
All because Li Sushang had sincerely mentioned… "Grandmaster sent me."
"...Alright, alright, I'm listening."
"Might as well be the good guy all the way—what's it this time?"
[Didn't expect it. Just one mention of Fu Hua and she gave in.]
["Also Grandmaster"—those words alone.]
[When the sky falls, it's Senti's mouth holding it up.]
[The serpent of the Previous Era… the Senti of the Current Era.]
...
The chat lit up with laughter.
Because Senti's brand of tsundere had a very different charm.
But she agreed in the end.
Her personality… was her fate.
Time passed...
Cut to Kevin's side.
This was after he and Durandal had parted.
He entered a new dreamscape.
And this new dream...
The moment it appeared—
Even the happy atmosphere created by Senti's hilarious tsundere antics vanished from the livestream.
Where were they now?
"Elysian Realm…"
Clang~~ clang clang clang~~
That familiar hall. That familiar BGM.
[???!!!]
[The dead blades are stabbing me again.]
[This place... it's too much.]
[I can feel my mental stability slipping again. Why did I say "again" like this happens regularly…]
[Relax, it's not like Elysia's gonna pop out again, right?]
[Don't jinx it, don't jinx it. Even if it's impossible… maybe a miracle will—WAIT NO, JINX HARDER!]
Yeah… these viewers weren't even pretending anymore.
They wanted to jinx it.
Hard.
Would it work?
Of course not.
Kevin stepped forward and found only… a portrait of Eden in the lounge.
No miracle.
Player: ...
[Just Eden's portrait, huh…]
[Are you disappointed?]
[No way! She's gorgeous! (serious face)]
They knew that little hope of theirs was completely unrealistic.
So they weren't that disappointed when nothing came of it.
Low expectations. No heartbreak.
Just like Kevin…
"Eden."
He clearly hadn't expected to find any old comrades here.
He calmly observed the Elysian Realm in detail.
Then he reached a conclusion.
"This really is the Elysian Realm—not some patchwork dream made from random memory fragments."
But—
The moment he concluded that, he shook his head and refuted it.
The Dream Collection wasn't all-powerful.
It needed existing materials to weave its wonders.
And right now, people like Raiden Mei, Hua, Klein… anyone who had ever seen the Elysian Realm…
Were not asleep.
[Then what is this place?]
There was only one possibility.
"This means… right now, I'm the one dreaming?"
Kevin. Dreaming.
But wait—
Hadn't they learned Kevin couldn't dream anymore?
Because of some restriction?
So in reality…
The game showed this line of text:
"Someone wants him to dream—but can't force him to sleep."
Hence this dreamscape.
And who could it be?
Kevin seemed to already know.
And outside the game, the players all thought of the same Herrscher at once.
It had to be her.
But they were still surprised at how quickly she'd made her move—
And that she'd targeted Kevin directly.
Last time she'd said, "Kevin, say the word first and then I'll…"
So why was she so confident this time?
They could sense something strange going on.
...
As they pondered—
Kevin walked forward to leave the Elysian Realm.
But the moment he moved—
Whoom~~
The dreamspace rippled violently, like it was having a nervous reaction.
"What is this…?"
Watching the screen carefully, they saw dream bubbles—distorted and surreal—swarming Kevin from all sides.
Was this an attack?
The surfaces of the bubbles shimmered faintly, revealing dreamscapes filled with…
Honkai Beasts.
[Oh, so Senti's using terrain advantage for a remote strike on Kevin? I was wondering why she wasn't scared anymore—turns out she's hiding and sniping.]
[Ah, that makes sense. Understood, understood.jpg]
But was that really the case?
Senti might use the environment to her advantage—but would she really just camp and snipe?
Among her four weapons—Too Much Talk, Direct Thrust, Backhanded Tone, Blade in the Sheath—
Not one was for ranged combat.
That alone said a lot about her.
Despite being a "support," she'd always had the heart of a carry.
And sure enough—
Just as the Honkai Beast dream-bubbles approached Kevin, they stopped.
No matter how much the Herrscher behind them pushed… they wouldn't budge.
Well, not exactly.
When Kevin stepped toward them—they backed off.
Like the sea parting before Moses.
The once-menacing horde of dreams… now trembling, opened a path before him.
Triumphant music swelled.
Each note hit the viewers like a war drum.
As Kevin walked forward, a rising wind and tension surged with him.
Everyone's focus reached 1,000,000%.
A light ignited.
And in an instant, it engulfed everything.
...
"Snap!"
"Mm?"
Elysia, who had been sitting upright and laser-focused, heard a sharp finger snap beside her.
She instinctively looked.
Beidou had raised a hand—and snapped his fingers crisply.
Wait—what was this?
Before she could ask, that familiar "Otto" voice echoed across the stream—
"Rise… O glorious Zenith!"
Ahem.
"I mean, let us now enter that once-familiar battlefield together."
[???]
[???]
[???]
The players, already at the peak of tension, were jolted by Beidou's dramatic Otto-ism.
It hit just right.
The music had reached its climax.
And then—
The blinding light in-game faded.
A new scene was revealed.
The stream interface also shifted—the flowing data turning red light that swirled around the room.
In a spectacular cyberpunk display, it reconstructed…
A giant sword piercing the heavens.
A Tai Chi-like platform spread beneath Beidou and Elysia's feet.
Chaos and cosmos.
Here—
The origin of all souls.
The seat of all sentient thought.
...
"Is this…"
As the commotion settled, Elysia looked around.
"The Herrscher of Sentience's inner world?"
"Yes."
Beidou nodded.
[I've failed before. Been betrayed. Lost everything. But now—I'll seize it all!]
[This is full Senti. Full Fu Hua. Full ME!!]
[Otto: The music should feel ancient-Chinese yet fashionable, evil but with righteousness. Music team: Got it (deadpan)]
[So many memories flooding back.]
The original Herrscher of Sentience PV (from this world)—
From the jokes (Senti forcing Otto into comedy skits),
To the music (ancient-electro fusion),
To the animation—
It was all legendary.
So now, seeing it recreated IRL…
[LET'S GOOOOOO]
[Hyped. But… with this level of build-up, is Senti really going to face Kevin head-on?]
[Hyped, but also nervous. Something feels off here.]
The vibe was too serious.
There was no way this was another "Kevin, say the thing first" scenario.
If not… then the only other option…
Was a direct fight.
But… was that really okay?
Kevin wasn't just strong—he was on a different level entirely.
[Senti isn't dumb. She wouldn't throw her life away. If she's not worried, neither are we.]
[Heh. Today, the Herrscher of Sentience returns to a 50/50 fight!]
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium