MGSFV?! Chapter 553: Is it Fu Hua? Yes; She's Here! A Power Named "Man-Made Collapse"!
She wanted to become anyone she wished, on her own terms.
In essence, what the Herrscher of Sentience was telling Kevin was just that.
Someone who never had a choice since birth always needed to make at least one choice of her own. Even if others found it absurd (?), it didn't matter to her.
If she thought it was right, then it was right!
Little Senti wasn't the kind of person who cared about what others thought of her.
"..."
And Kevin—
The fact that he continued talking with Little Senti for so long said a lot.
Of course, he hoped that the Herrscher of Sentience would come to this realization.
After all, her choice now resembled his own.
Think about Kevin back in high school… and Kevin now. The change was, frankly, drastic.
And the reason for that change—was indeed due to the choices he made.
Of course, perhaps Kevin hadn't changed at his core. But if the two versions of Kevin were to meet…
A sunny boy meets a stoic cool guy.
Hard to imagine what the two would even say to each other.
Sunny Kevin: Yo~~
Cool Kevin: …Cool~~
Like that???
Now that would be… a real problem.
...
But.
Since Little Senti's current choice reminded Kevin of his own past…
Then maybe it wasn't so hard to understand why players had noticed a shift in Kevin's tone lately.
A Kevin who once made a similar choice would naturally understand the thoughts behind the Herrscher of Sentience's words—how firm her resolve was.
And after confirming that—
From the Moon… perhaps even from long before he first met the Herrscher of Sentience…
Kevin had been doing one thing—
Measuring the distance between her and the Herrscher of Humanity.
Finally, he had a clear answer.
If even a Herrscher born as such could choose her own path…
Then the Herrscher of Humanity had truly blossomed.
Just like when the first human ever flew and returned safely—no one had believed it was possible until it happened. No one thought humans could conquer the skies, let alone outer space.
Now here was a Herrscher—born, raised, and formed in unique ways—who still chose the path of "being human."
That alone was already significant enough.
What? Corruption and Dominance were unique too?
Exactly. That's why, even after seeing examples like Kiana Kaslana and Raiden Mei, Kevin was still pondering.
Ultimately, it was the Herrscher of Sentience who proved the importance of nurture.
Isn't that the same as humanity?
Satisfied in a sense—
Kevin now had a completely different view of this battle.
"Now, I want this fight to last as long as possible."
O bird of rebirth…
"What... You've gone mad this early? I haven't even started yet."
That's what Little Senti thought, and said.
Of course, she would never admit it. Of course, she would keep teasing.
After all, her resolve was always to live as she wished.
And the current her was the type to say what she thought without holding back. No plans to change that for now.
Eat if she wants to eat, sleep if she wants to sleep, fight if she wants to fight—how refreshing is that?
...
Living like this really is freeing.
But this free-spirited, cheerful Herrscher of Sentience—could she have foreseen what's coming next?
??
What?
In-game—
Right after saying his line, Kevin raised his Judgment once again and unleashed a merciless strike on the Herrscher of Sentience.
Unable to dodge in time, Little Senti was struck, dissolving into feathers in the flames—only to reappear moments later from another cluster of feathers nearby.
"I…"
She only managed one syllable after reappearing.
The flames struck again, reducing her to ashes once more.
"..."
A battle might not end in an instant.
But victory and defeat?
Right at that moment—when the man swung his blade—the outcome was already determined.
Even knowing she wasn't a match… the sheer difference, far beyond expectation, shook her deeply.
Even in a dream, their gap was… impossibly vast?
Unknowingly—
The domain that once belonged to the Herrscher of Sentience was now nowhere to be found.
Clearly, in this tug-of-war, she was the one who fell behind first.
"I permit you to surrender again," Kevin said flatly.
"You… you wish!!"
[Little Senti exploded just hearing Kevin offer surrender again?]
[LOL I'm a Senti simp but I'm laughing like a Senti hater (manual dog head)]
[The fact that Little Senti could fight Kevin to a standstill—no one can say she's weak anymore. So why keep fronting?]
[If she didn't front, would she still be the Herrscher of Sentience?]
But—
Who said Little Senti's words were meant for Kevin?
"I'm going to beat him down myself!!"
Players quickly noticed—when Little Senti said that, she was facing the sky, not Kevin.
Hmm?
It didn't sound like she was talking to Kevin.
Then here comes the real question—
If not to Kevin, then to whom? Who could it be?
Now that's… an interesting mystery.
Maybe someone offered help, but Little Senti said, "I don't need it," "Kevin? I can handle him myself…"
Sounds exactly like something she'd say.
But Little Senti… you really sure you can handle Kevin on your own?
As the players said in the barrage—
The Herrscher of Sentience has done enough. No one's asking her for more.
In other words—Little Senti, if it's too much, retreat. Losing to Kevin is no shame.
...
"You…"
"Fine… fine..."
Just then, the Herrscher of Sentience's voice echoed again in-game.
At first—
Players thought she could hear their thoughts.
Obviously, she couldn't.
A whole dimensional wall separated them. If she could hear them, that'd be absurd.
So then…
It must mean—Little Senti finally agreed to let someone—who's probably been nagging in her consciousness channel—take her place?
Based on earlier plot points—
There were quite a few backup forces that could jump in here: Durandal? Theresa? Fu Hua? The OG trio??
First, rule out Theresa.
Not for any reason in particular, just because she already fought Kevin once. And sure, she tanked a Finality-level attack for several months (fog), but story-wise, there's not much reason to have her fight again.
Next, the OG trio also seemed unlikely.
So, after thinking it over—
[Is Fu Hua coming to help?!]
Sure enough, everyone thought the same during this scene.
Unanimous reaction from the entire playerbase.
So—
Hokuto couldn't let them down now.
"Ding—!!"
The next second—
A crisp clash rang out in-game.
In the blink of an eye, Kevin reacted on instinct, quickly turning to block with his weapon.
And the one who had suddenly appeared and launched the attack—
"…Durandal."
[Huh? It's Durandal? I thought it was Fu Hua.]
To be fair—
A lot of them had already typed up their barrage comments in advance.
Just waiting for Fu Hua to appear and tag in for Little Senti so they could send things like:
"Little Senti: Hua, someone's bullying me!"
…That sort of thing.
But—
Hokuto: Hmm, can't let you down, just… not yet.
[Still, Dudu might be the better choice? The two pinnacles of human civilization, clashing again after years.]
Even if it wasn't Fu Hua, Durandal showing up made perfect sense.
After all, she had already prepared for a battle with Kevin earlier.
As they mulled it over—
The game transitioned into battle mode.
Alright, time for the players to take control again.
Everlasting Flames, huh?
That thought flashed through their minds.
Players familiar with this battlesuit were already pulling off slick combos against Kevin.
Then, they all noticed a subtle detail.
Kevin couldn't be grabbed by Everlasting Flames' throws. Unlike others, he couldn't be lifted by her spear.
In a way, he preserved his cool factor?
Whether or not that detail was useful… well, it felt both pointless and meaningful at the same time.
Let's just say—
Someone understood how to handle "details."
According to the modern Chinese dictionary—
A detail: a small element or scene.
Perfect match.jpg
...
And for every seasoned Everlasting Flames player, there were others unfamiliar with the suit.
Honkai Impact 3rd now had way more players and way more battlesuits. Not everyone memorized every combo.
Take Moon Soul, Moon Wheel, Swift Feather… for example.
How many could name their basic combos?
Moon Soul's 2A charge and 5A charge or whatever…
Not many.
And since this was a main story stage, of course the design had to consider those players too.
So, how to make both skilled and unskilled players feel awesome?
Simple: give Everlasting Flames nearly infinite SP.
Once players followed the prompt, held the attack button, and unleashed the cosmic power within…
Whether they chose raw fistfights or endless ultimates—it was all up to them. However they wanted to enjoy it.
Of course, someone was bound to ask—
Infinite SP? Doesn't that make Everlasting Flames overpowered against Kevin?
Well… let's just say, there's always a bigger mountain.
Kevin's battle performance here was absolutely unreasonable.
Full-map AOE, unflinching super armor, unlimited counters…
It was like two players with cheat codes clashing in Honkai Impact 3rd. They were fine—but the battlefield beneath them was already rumbling, like it might collapse at any moment.
Even though it looked evenly matched—
Durandal slowly started to falter.
Undeniably, facing this original Kaslana—the bearer of Finality—there was only so much the girl who anchored the stars could do.
Even Kevin himself had no glorious record when facing Finality back then.
Fifty thousand years ago, he used his strongest blow… and only barely bought time for a few others, unable to claim victory.
What the girl was doing now—seemed much the same.
Meaning—
Durandal's clash with Kevin after taking over from the Herrscher of Sentience… finally bought someone else a chance?
But this "chance"… what exactly was it—
The battle ended.
Suddenly, the screen flashed into an ambiguous white light.
Players: ???
To be honest, at that moment, they felt something familiar.
Was someone really planning to cut them off right here?
If so… they were ready to type some beautiful, angry words in their native tongue.
But then—the light faded.
Endless flames surged wildly through the void.
Was it Judgment?
Didn't feel quite like it.
This fire, origin unknown, danced as if alive.
And just like that, the players' hands stopped above their keyboards.
No rush—better see what happens first.
If it turns out bad, then they could…
Heh, hard to say what they'd type then.
In-game, this battle—for both sides—had dragged on far too long.
But now, as everything unfolded according to some grand design—
The true reinforcement designated to "temporarily end" it—
She arrived.
Wielding the sword named [Durandal], and Finality's power seized from Kevin's shadow—
She revealed a form never seen before.
It was—
A power named "Man-Made Collapse."
[!!!]*N
The moment they saw the girl on screen—
The livestream fell silent for a moment.
[Fu Hua?!]
[Immortal!!]
[Man-Made Collapse·Fu Hua!! Huh?!!]
Then, wave upon wave of excited comments.
Told you—they'd go wild soon enough.
No Fu Hua fan stays sane. They just pretend.
[My husband!! So cool!! (Female Fu Hua fans ecstatic)]
See? Someone couldn't hold back already.
[I heard Fu Hua has lots of fangirls. Didn't think it was true…]
[Fu Hua 3rd!!]
[Fu Hua fans, it's New Year's!]
And of course, a true Fu Hua fan's standard ritual: screenshot it, save it, then rewatch her new look from start to finish.
But—
Looking closely, they noticed many unusual details.
For example—the red Honkai scars clearly visible on her neck.
"..."
Their hearts suddenly felt a bit heavy.
Man-Made Collapse Fu Hua…
So cool, so beautiful, everything was perfect.
And yet…
If Little Senti were here, she'd surely say—
Old Timer, oh Old Timer… always so serious, always giving it your all…
But maybe now it's time to listen to the great Herrscher of Sentience's advice—
Do something for yourself, for once.
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