MGSFV?! Chapter 552: Kiana Checks Out, Collapse Incoming; Senti: I Don't Even Need My Full Power to Fight Kevin
Speaking of memes that didn't originate from Honkai Impact 3rd's plot, there are actually quite a few.
For example, "Your group has caused unimaginable harm"—
Surprise! That's a Honkai Impact 3rd meme too (lol).
Unexpected, right? It even pulled in a fresh batch of new players back in the day.
But for memes like this… they're a bit too nuanced to warrant a proper revival.
Beidou wasn't about to force the bit just for the sake of forcing it.
Still, sometimes, looking back, you'd think:
"Oh, so Honkai 3rd really went through that phase once too, huh."
A weird kind of fond chuckle.
Anyway, back to the point.
After Kevin clearly signaled his intention to unleash a legendary NB attack, the livestream was quickly flooded by a familiar line:
[I will unleash an NB attack!] N times
"'Herrscher of Sentience, you seem to have overlooked one possibility.'"
The invincible Kevin spoke with calm certainty.
"'What if someone could wipe them all out in a single strike?'"
[I WILL UNLEASH AN NB ATTACK!]
"Feel it… feel the full might of the Archfiend."
Kevin slowly raised Judgment of Shamash.
At the same time—
His eyes flickered slightly as he gazed at the Herrscher of Sentience. Some thoughts began turning in his mind.
Neither the arrival of Finality nor the completion of the Stigma Project would endanger the Herrscher of Sentience.
Which meant—she had no real stake in this battle.
But…
If it was for a belief of some kind, then even after all their exchanges, Kevin hadn't sensed anything that transcended self or mortality in her.
So all of this… was she just doing it because of Fu Hua's influence?
If that's the case—
Yes.
He did, in fact, want to end this battle.
Just like the faint flicker of interest he had shown during their earlier skirmishes…
He thought that by comparing her to the Herrscher of Humanity, it might make this period somewhat worthwhile.
But the result… was undoubtedly disappointing.
He hadn't seen in her what he had hoped to see.
Not even agency...
His moment of consideration ended.
Kevin's attack, having been fully charged, finally descended.
From that weapon known as Judgment, flames erupted that no ordinary person could even hope to gaze upon.
They engulfed the entire mental realm belonging to the Herrscher of Sentience.
Since the beginning of this battle—this was the man's most powerful strike yet.
And the one who took it—
Didn't even have time to let out a single gasp before she vanished.
Except for "not truly dead," the Herrscher had indeed lost everything.
[One slash?? I mean… sounds absurd, but kinda makes sense...]
[Is this the move that, back with Moonlight Throne, helped freeze the Power of Finality?]
[SENTI NOOOOOO]
[Kevin's strength really is unadorned and absolute.]
[Unadorned? "Hua" just got slashed out of existence! (pun intended)]
...
"Time to leave."
Once the dust settled—
Not just Senti's body, even her entire realm had been obliterated by Kevin's attack.
Kevin returned to the hollow void of the outer world.
No mood for cold jokes.
He simply kept moving—wandering through this mental Eden, apparently aimlessly.
It seemed the battle really was over.
Even Beidou outside the game raised his hand and snapped his fingers again.
"Looks like… Senti…"
The ground beneath Beidou and Elysia began glowing faintly white.
[Is the setting changing? Looks like Senti's truly down for the count.]
[Wonder what comes next? Senti underestimated Kevin—can the others still salvage this?]
[I can't believe I actually thought Senti could hold her own against Kevin.]
[It's over.]
But!!
Really? Is it really over?
Clearly not…
As Kevin kept advancing through the mental Eden, he soon noticed something off.
Every time he tried to approach a dream and peer inside, the dream would vanish without explanation.
Once. Twice. Thrice…
Once is coincidence. But every time?
Something was up.
Kevin: "Hmm?"
"I've told you how many times now…"
Senti's voice rang out across the void.
Kevin: "?"
"In the realm of consciousness, do you really think you can do anything to the Herrscher of Sentience?"
The moment they heard that signature arrogant tone—
[!!!]
[SENTI'S STILL UP?!]
[THE COMEBACK QUEEN. LOSS? WHAT'S THAT?]
[She says it's a 50/50 fight, and she means it!!]
And so…
In the next moment—
Kevin found himself back inside the Herrscher's mental domain.
And outside the game, the glowing livestream set faded away once again—
The setting hadn't changed after all.
Oh wait—no. It was still Senti's mind-world, but now—
Red feathers drifted down from the sky, adding a solemn, ominous tone to this battlefield they all knew so well.
"Looks like… Senti hasn't lost yet." Beidou finally finished his earlier sentence.
[You did that on purpose!!]
[The way he baited us into thinking it was over… he's in on the script.]
[A bait-and-switch? No. This was a calculated tease. They signed a contract with the audience.]
Amidst all the chat reactions—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA~~"
The classic boisterous Senti laugh echoed again.
"We're not done yet!!"
Once more, she faced Kevin head-on.
As if to prove that—even if she couldn't beat him outright…
(Sure, she got smacked down repeatedly…)
Ahem. But even with a slight paper stat disadvantage—
Kevin clearly couldn't do anything to her either?
Kevin: "..."
"I see."
He caught a feather drifting from the sky and examined it closely.
"These feathers aren't from Feather Dust…
They're dream-based? Borrowed power from the dreamscape?"
"I understand now."
Cue Senti's next roast:
"Everyone says you're strong…
But no one's ever called you smart."
[...] N
At that moment, the mood in everyone's heart could be summed up with:
"Kiana checks out, can't hold the collapse back anymore."
Why—WHY—is it Senti of all people roasting Kevin for being dumb?
This is… peak drama.
Wolong disses Phoenix—truly poetic.
And Kevin?
Actually nodded.
"Indeed."
He wasn't offended. He actually agreed.
[Kevin's got a chill temperament, I'll give him that.]
[Wait… is it just me or is Kevin… kinda happy right now?]
[Come on, no way he's happy being called dumb.]
[No seriously, his tone—softer, lighter?]
[Wait, if that's true, it means miHoYo directed the VA to subtly change tone. Are they really that precise?]
[…Yes. Yes, they are. Never doubt Mr. Otto's obsessive perfectionism.]
"Kevin's tone here really does feel a little different…"
Elysia murmured softly.
She seemed to notice too.
As for whether miHoYo would go that far in directing… is that even a question?
Of course they would.
So then—
Why did Kevin's tone shift?
Let's keep watching.
In the story—
After nodding at her roast, Kevin continued:
"I should have realized earlier."
"Now that your essence resembles a Divine Key, it's only natural that you have this kind of power."
Even if people often saw Senti as childish due to her youthful demeanor—
She was still born as a Herrscher—a being of cataclysmic destruction and devastating power.
"You contaminated these dreams and converted them into your power, didn't you?"
"Exactly!"
Senti threw a thumbs-up and pointed to herself with pride.
"Used up all my trump cards? Get real! In the space of consciousness—
Everything you created is my trump card!"
With a smug expression that screamed:
"Can your other Herrschers do this? I think not."
Then—
"Come on, Kevin! You got what it takes to destroy everything?"
More provocations.
"Don't bother trying to rile me up, Herrscher of Sentience. I don't think you can hide the truth from me."
Kevin began steering the conversation where he truly wanted to go.
Just like...
His remarks about Senti being underestimated, but not unintelligent.
Or about Kalpas—how everyone said he was mad, but no one called him dumb.
And for Kevin himself—well, no one ever said—
Hmm. Okay, Prometheus once said he didn't even have a bachelor's degree.
But she's not human.
So—
Kevin's lived long enough to gain wisdom.
Baiting Senti into talking about what he really wants to know isn't too hard.
Especially when Senti's the type who'd notice the bait and jump on it anyway.
Oho? Kevin's trying to bait me? Let's see what he's after…
I bite.
That's probably her thought process.
...
Back to the story.
Kevin pushed the topic forward:
"You've been using humanity's dreams to resist my attacks, but they've never suffered any fundamental harm."
"When one segment couldn't hold up, you rotated them—replacing weakened dreams with fresh ones."
"Every time I knocked you down, I could tell—you still had energy left."
"And when they protected you—you also protected them. Why?"
[Redirect! Diffuse! Reframe!]
[Senti really got me sobbing. Giving everyone a turn to take a hit…]
[So Senti consolidated humanity's dreams to match Kevin—but refused to let anyone suffer too much?]
[And now Kevin's saying—Senti never fought at full power, out of concern for others.]
[If Senti says it = just bluffing.
If Kevin says it = totally legit.]
[This battle ends, and Senti can brag for life:
"I didn't even need full power to fight Kevin."]
"Hmph. Don't think I care whether they live or die. I just think fairness is most important."
Senti turned away.
"Otherwise—why do you think I don't even have a body right now?"
Kevin: "..."
After understanding her reasoning, Kevin nodded slightly.
Her tactics were extraordinary.
As a delay strategy—there was probably no better approach.
But the cost?
Also extraordinary.
"Even if you can keep rotating them—
You're still turning those dreams into part of yourself."
"If you fail to reverse this spiritual Eden…
Their influence on you will become permanent."
"What's more—
If this battle drags on past your expectations…
Then just ten thousand human wills
Could overwrite five thousand years of your memory."
Wait—
Kevin's saying that if she keeps going,
Senti might lose herself to the memories she's absorbing?
That the cheerful, devil-may-care Senti—
Might permanently disappear?
That's… a heavy price.
Many players felt their hearts sink.
But Senti?
"Who said it's a price?"
She didn't see it that way.
"Earlier, you weren't wrong.
Becoming a Herrscher—I had no choice.
Breaking away from the old fossil—I had no choice."
"Even if the chain's broken, it's still the same."
"If I just keep drifting like this…
Then of course I'll become nothing."
So this time—
She wanted to live life by her own will.
To act on her own goals, in her own way.
To live, fully, as the protagonist of her own story.
Yes—
She helped because she couldn't let go of the old fossil.
Yes—
She helped because she couldn't let go of her friends.
But—
That's just who she is.
No need to reject it.
No need to deny it.
Admit it. Accept it.
That's the Herrscher of Sentience.
That's the real "me."
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