MGSFV?! Chapter 546: VIP Seats for Drama Watching; It's Free Anyway—Might As Well Believe a Little
"Hmm…"
A few comment bubbles floated silently across the screen.
Hokuto tapped his chin in thought.
Should he head back to the Golden Courtyard early to grab a VIP seat for the show?
To, ahem, observe—purely as a bystander, of course.
After all, if something unexpected happened, he could still step in and say, "Keep it up!" …
Wait, stop them!
Stop them, seriously.
Kevin probably wouldn't care.
Kevin: "...?"
But the Miss Mei standing behind Kevin… was no ordinary person.
Though she'd behaved rather "normal" in this world, Hokuto clearly couldn't underestimate her just because of that—right?
He wasn't particularly interested in Mei vs. Golden Courtyard, Mei vs. Mobius and Vill-V scenarios.
Let's not even mention the fact that if something like that did happen, it'd be hard to say where Mobius and Vill-V would even stand.
Just hearing it sounded dangerous.
When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer.
If that happened, he might not be able to just stand by as he wished.
Hokuto suddenly found himself pondering all sorts of scenarios, wondering how he could control the situation later.
But did he ever consider…
That he thought he'd be a melon-eating bystander—maybe even the "referee"—
But was actually part of the drama himself?
Clearly, he did not.
...
Of course, it was still early.
No one could say for sure what accidents might arise along the way.
So the story's direction remained uncertain.
Just like the current in-game scene unfolding in the livestream chat.
Everyone thought they finally understood.
["That's why I want you to surpass it all!"]
["Come defeat me. Prove to me that you're more worthy to save this world."]
[This philosophical moment is god-tier.]
[You know, I always felt like Kevin and the main cast had one key difference…
The main cast still believes. Kevin, though—he's already stopped believing.
Can I say that out loud?]
Kevin had been through so much. Having that mindset wasn't hard to understand.
But then, now that I think about it—
Kevin may say things like "just idealists' wishful thinking,"
But what he does, and what he thinks, are all deeply romantic.
[He maintains his rationality for one reason: to carve out space for his emotions to survive. Kevin and Mei really are alike.]
What once seemed like a tenuous connection—
Was now clearly a perfect match.
[So this is KaeMei shipping, huh (lol)]
Viewers couldn't help but excitedly fire off barrage after barrage.
But the story quickly took a turn they didn't expect.
Because…
As important as Kevin's exchange with the philosopher was—
Here, Kevin was only recalling it as a sudden, accidental flash.
He had no intention of reminiscing right now.
The only thing he wanted to do—
Was fly to the heavens and seize the light before the sun fell.
If someone wanted to take that light back—
They had to fly even higher.
That was the logic of adulthood—beyond childhood.
So after just a brief pause, he waved away the fragments of memory around him.
And resumed his original task—leaving the children's dream and entering the endless dark void of the outer realm.
Where he encountered another who had "actively" come to meet him:
The strongest of the current era.
"The one of the Apex."
[Durandal?!]
[A challenge—or a confrontation?]
[Two peak human combatants from past and present civilizations—Kaslana ancestor vs. descendant.]
...
The two strongest people of their respective eras stood face to face.
They'd both reached the pinnacle of humanity—
But now stood firmly on opposite sides.
Yet here and now—
There was nothing but silence.
Logically, this wasn't ordinary silence, but the quiet born from immense power cancelling itself out.
But in truth—
Kevin: "..."
Durandal: "..."
Kevin: "......"
Durandal: "......"
[???] N
As their increasingly long pause dragged on, viewers couldn't help but drop question marks in the chat.
If you're gonna fight, then fight.
If you're gonna talk, then talk.
This… long, wordless... dot-dot-dot-dot exchange…
Is everyone just trying to act cool and silent?
Funny how no one noticed until now—
Kevin and Durandal are so alike.
Of course, they weren't entirely the same.
Until now, Kevin walked through time to watch the civilization he reshaped—
Chasing dreams in his own shadow, seeking memories of the past.
While this girl before him was doing the opposite.
With each step, she thinned out the dream, searching for reality.
Perhaps because of this contrast, they somehow formed a mutual, silent understanding.
[Yeah, we got the silence part. "Understanding"... not sure yet.
But I guess, for two people in such opposing positions, not fighting immediately is pretty friendly.]
[Still, I doubt it'll last. They're gonna fight.]
At this point, no one believed a mere conversation could resolve their conflict.
Kevin clearly hoped that the current civilization would come to him with resolve—
And defeat him, proving with actions that they could go further than he ever could.
As Kevin put it—
The logic of adulthood.
"Kevin vs. Durandal…"
"...Huh?"
"They're fighting here inside Adam's Psyche?"
Elysia wasn't questioning why they'd fight.
Compared to her own battle with Mei, their reasons were far more compelling.
She was just wondering...
"The last time they fought, the fallout wasn't small. And that time…"
Neither had used their full strength. Not even a tenth? A twentieth?
"And we already established earlier that if dreams are destroyed by force, people might lose hope altogether. So…"
"So you're worried their fight will cause collateral damage?" Hokuto caught her train of thought.
"Exactly," Elysia nodded.
"Don't worry. Durandal and Kevin will definitely change locations."
Hokuto glanced around and added, "We can change the scene, too."
"…Oh? We're moving base now?" Elysia asked.
Leaving this cybernetic Taixu Mountain to go somewhere else?
"'Moving'? No, just switching scenes. We don't even have to walk."
Hokuto shook his head.
"...Huh?"
Elysia looked confused.
"..."
"This place was engineered by Vill-V herself.
Each room is packed with functions."
Hokuto explained.
Plenty of surprises, too.
But he'd already done "quality control" on Taixu Mountain.
Filtered out any functions that exceeded normal mental tolerance.
Like…
Forget it. Better not mention it.
Might induce psychological trauma.
Better to just thank Raven for her dedication.
...
Back in the game—
Kevin and Durandal's mutual silence couldn't last forever.
Not when their positions were so opposed.
Eventually, the blonde girl broke the quiet.
"Shall we sit and talk for a bit?"
"An opportunity to interact with someone from this era—
That's not something you get every day."
Kevin didn't respond right away.
He simply stared at her for a moment.
Then opened his mouth:
"A comrade once told me..."
A sign of his willingness to engage.
"We are all merely living in a cave underground…"
[Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from The Republic.]
[So Kevin was comrades with Socrates now?]
[Or rather, was "Su" secretly "Socrates"? Like how "Watson" in Honkai is actually Hua.]
[Exactly! Sucrates, Huatson, and Kevin~in, always talking about survival of the fittest.]
[Come on... y'all serious?
We know Mobius said this to Kevin a few chapters ago. That comrade is her.]
[Ohh~ So it was Dr. Mobius!]
While the players debated—
Kevin, like a grandpa telling his granddaughter a story, explained the full allegory.
In short—
He wasn't like Otto.
He couldn't just abandon everything for what he wanted.
The Stigmata Project was something he couldn't let go of.
"Perhaps in your eyes, my arrogance is no different from his.
After all, I've been building coffins from the very start."
Durandal: "...?"
Coffins?
She didn't quite grasp Kevin's meaning at first.
He hadn't worked in funeral services, right?
But she quickly realized—
In peacetime, only undertakers build coffins.
But in an apocalypse, with people dying by the thousands,
The only ones who could lay the dead to rest were the survivors.
And the stronger they were, the more deaths they witnessed.
He survived—perhaps only he survived.
Then what meaning did that battle ever hold?
Was that what this veteran was asking her?
"The work we do, grounded in faith, is never meaningless—no matter the outcome."
"We protect the good, what may become good, and what we deem important."
"..."
[Ragna's words to Himeko.]
[Otto told Ragna. Ragna told Himeko. Himeko told Kiana. And Kiana told Durandal.]
[Actually, small correction:
Otto said: "Destiny has always passed down its beliefs through such means."
Ragna's line was her own interpretation of that.]
"No matter what, Kevin, you've always been part of this, too."
Why isolate yourself?
While striving to protect the seeds of beauty,
You yourself are also a seed.
One day, you too will bloom across the mountains.
[A teenager (Durandal) educating a stubborn old man (Kevin, age ~50,000).]
[Age doesn't determine wisdom. Or old people wouldn't be duped into buying snake oil.]
[If longevity meant intelligence, society would be much simpler.]
[Guys, the real highlight isn't that…
It's that despite having so little contact with Kevin, Durandal somehow knows exactly what he's thinking right now.]
...
Yeah?
That makes sense.
"Someday, the seeds you nurtured will bloom across the mountains..."
To Kevin, those words were the ultimate blessing.
Wasn't he hoping someone would surpass him?
[Actually, Durandal and Kevin have had contact.
In Legacy, Durandal even lived through a portion of Su's life.]
[Which means, maybe these words she's saying—aren't just her own.
Maybe they're what Su wanted to say to Kevin?!!!]
That series of exclamation marks reflected the sudden emotional spike among viewers.
And it wasn't surprising.
After all, Kevin and Su never had a proper farewell.
A lingering regret.
For both of them.
Now—through Durandal's voice—
That final regret could be laid to rest.
Truly, that would be the best possible conclusion.
[Too kind and gentle to be written by miHoYo's usual scriptwriters.]
[+1 +1 +1]
[So warm and uplifting—after this scene, I'm willing to believe again. Just a little.]
[It's free anyway—might as well believe a little.]
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