MGSFV?! Chapter 458. The Trashy Duck Who Changed Citizenship from Russia to France; I Am Senti!
"Elysia, your focus is as... 'peculiar' as ever."
"But actually, it's not like no one is still obsessed with the first version of the Stigma Project—there are indeed people trying to realize it in their own way."
As Hokuto spoke, he added an extra sentence.
"?"
"What do you mean? Someone now still wants to execute the first version of the Stigma Project?" Elysia couldn't help but ask.
"There's more than one lunatic in World Serpent—not just Kevin." Hokuto replied.
"Hmm…"
That's true.
Everyone in World Serpent is... at least a little off.
Including Mei from before.
For a time, the most normal person was actually Raven the Boom-Boom Islander—that Raven who marched, rolled, ran, and stood at the edge of the sea swearing, 'Humanity will defeat Honkai.'
Can you believe it?
And this was even after World Serpent had created the Elysium Realm—the so-called "Psychological Recovery Center."
This wasn't sarcasm either. Based on Mei's later behavior, she genuinely didn't spiral further because of the Realm—she was actually healed.
Elysia's psychological counseling: huge success~♪
Though... at a cost...
...
Given the nature of World Serpent as an organization—
Someone like Mistelin, full of deep internal contradiction and emotional confusion, fits perfectly into their core values.
To spiral upward amid conflict—
To cast aside one's "infinity" in crucial moments and entrust it to future generations—
And more than anything, to become the key to the Stigma Project.
Grey Serpent: Confirmed by eye contact—Mistelin is exactly the talent World Serpent needs.
And so—
In the next story segment, after Grey Serpent explained why he was inviting Mistelin to World Serpent, he willingly sacrificed himself.
He allowed Mistelin to use her ability to read his data and extract everything about him.
Through this highly sincere act—
He passed on the details of the Stigma Project to Mistelin, hoping it would move her.
As for whether he succeeded in moving her...
Well, based on earlier memory fragments—
He didn't.
Which begs the question:
What happened afterward to make Mistelin choose to join World Serpent?
After all, earlier on the moon, Hare once told Mei and the others—
"The reason I'm assisting World Serpent with the Stigma Project... is simply due to a ridiculous transaction."
A ridiculous transaction?
Now that sounds worth exploring.
With some curiosity in their hearts, players finished the third memory fragment.
And once again, the gameplay perspective returned to Bronya.
This memory showed her—
If she kept proceeding like this (viewing one memory at a time and altering each Conceptual Seed)...
She had no chance of defeating the prodigious Hare.
Hare was far more familiar with the rules of this game.
And if Bronya wanted to win from such a huge disadvantage, she'd need to take a gamble—
To make a bold move.
"Let's do it. In order to create the one true opportunity that can overturn the board..."
The girl raised her hand—
Around her, numerous weapons of varying shapes materialized in midair.
Under her control—
Their barrels swiveled in unison—
All pointing toward a single target:
The location in her body that housed the Herrscher Core.
Players: Huh?!
What was Bronya doing?
Under the players' bewildered gaze—
Bronya said something even more shocking.
"Bronya... concedes defeat."
Players: ??
"Bang...!"
A light sound of laser fire echoed out.
A blue-white beam pierced through Bronya's body.
[Ah??? She just gave up?!]
[Hey hey hey! I surrender too, Hare! What kind of Senti behavior is this?!]
[Bronya: I am Senti?!]
Senti: ???
Senti: What is even happening right now?!
She started furiously typing on her keyboard.
[What surrender?! This is called a tactical retreat! Even the great Herrscher of Sentience herself... everything she did was strategic!]
[Hahahaha, you guys really understand tactics.]
The players in the livestream room didn't take "Senti's" bullet comment too seriously.
After all—
You never know who's really behind a username online.
They couldn't have guessed that the one who just sent that message...
[Trashy duck who switched nationality from Russia to France.]
[French citizen, Russian-origin Herrscher of Reason（）]
...
Bronya's sudden act of surrender shocked not just the players, but also caught Hare "off guard."
Yes—
Even though Hare had successfully gained control over the Herrscher of Reason's power after Bronya stopped resisting...
She didn't look the least bit happy.
Instead, she looked... disappointed.
"...So it failed again, huh? Whether it's me... or her... or Bronya."
[...]
"Who's her? Cecilia?"
"Yeah, who is she? I'm also curious."
"?"
Wait, aren't you the writer? Why are you curious?
No words.
So... no one pressed the matter further.
With a light tap on the screen—
The story continued.
The somewhat disappointed Hare waited a moment longer, confirming that Bronya had completely fallen silent.
She sighed softly—
Then pushed away unnecessary thoughts and turned her gaze toward the mountainous terrain of her memories.
"Siberia... the Ural Mountains... come to think of it, I haven't returned here since then."
Just like Bronya, who had hacked into her memories earlier—
Her gaze began moving involuntarily.
"Even though this is a story I recorded...
I can only view it like that child did—from the perspective of an 'alternate me.'"
...Thinking about the person she once met in this place, the regret in her heart only deepened.
Who?
"I thought I could bring you some news about your 'family.'"
Huh? Family?
Given the context, does that mean bringing Bronya's news to someone?
And that someone is Bronya's family?
Players immediately launched into theory-crafting.
[Wait wait wait—don't tell me Hare has some sort of relationship with Cocolia?!]
[Did Cocolia even return to Siberia after the Second Eruption? Can't remember—maybe not her?]
[But if not Cocolia, who else would count as Bronya's family?]
Hokuto: ...
Please don't treat Bronya like she popped out of a rock.
Sometimes, even he felt players had too much imagination.
Their reactions often strayed so far outside his expectations.
He thought they'd focus more on why the script used quotation marks for phrases like 'myself', 'the other me', and 'herself'—
Could there be deeper meaning behind that?
Instead...
...
Amidst the discussions—
Hare took her next step.
Carrying strange emotions in her heart—
She began reviewing "her own" past memories as an outsider, taking over Bronya's viewing role.
This next memory's timeline was between the second and third segments.
Still in Siberia.
The same monotonous white. Other than loneliness, it evoked no further emotion.
But this time—
The area Mistelin was in didn't just have white.
It was tainted with dull, dark red.
Once again—
Simply because she was thrown into real space again—
A region that had once been inhabited by humans became another haunted wasteland in an instant.
(These disasters were later recorded as aftershocks of the Second Eruption.)
She looked around—
All that remained was devastation.
Everyone had died.
The only remaining life had already turned into undead.
Even so—
She refused to give up.
She was still trying to awaken the dying people's Stigmas, hoping to save them through incubation.
But...
These attempts never brought salvation—only deeper despair.
She wanted people to live.
She didn't want anyone to die because of her.
Yet no matter how hard she tried—
What emerged before her in the end...
"Conceptual Seed – The Legend of Nina",
"Conceptual Seed – The Legend of Domka"...
Were merely cold, lifeless stories.
In the end...
"I'm sorry... I couldn't do anything..."
Faced with cruel reality, she began to lose her grip on reason.
She muttered Honkai Impact 3rd's most iconic line!
[I shall sortie in a completely useless form!]
[So real, sis.]
["I can't do anything!" Password correct! Your cheat code is arriving shortly (meme)]
[Mistelin: Time to activate the hacks.]
However...
The one who activated the "hack" next wasn't Mistelin—
Or rather—
It wasn't her power that surged, but her luck.
Just then—
She heard a faint voice calling from a nearby house.
"Maxim? Vladimir?... Is that you?"
"——A voice?!"
Hare's expression changed, and she immediately rushed over.
"?"
"Hmm, shouldn't Mistelin keep a little distance here? I mean..."
"Her radiation radius isn't exactly small. That person is already well within it."
"So... Mistelin has finally found someone who won't be harmed by her?"
A miracle rain after long drought.
No one would blame Mistelin for being overly excited.
So this time—
The players didn't find her reaction suspicious.
Still—
Just before she reached the house, Mistelin slowed down and found a hidden spot to observe.
That swift-then-hesitant reaction felt... very real.
Upon observation—
Mistelin saw that the person inside was already near death.
She then injected her own energy into the person's body.
"Oh? Mistelin's trying to activate her Stigma? If she survived Hare's radiation, maybe she is a suitable vessel?"
"You used your brain!"
"...Thanks for the compliment!"
"...?"
Thanks for the compliment, seriously?
...
And indeed—
After Mistelin injected her power—
The woman who should've been dying began to recover.
And the previously dark screen gradually brightened.
A CG appeared.
"Is someone there...? Has anyone come...?"
A gradually strengthening voice continued.
Mistelin: "..."
But unlike Mistelin's silence—
All players who saw the woman in the CG reacted the same way—
[!!!]*n
"T-This is..."
Elysia hesitated slightly.
"Bronya's mom, right?"
"Oh? You recognized her at a glance," Hokuto gave her an affirmative nod.
"Well, duh—Mama Duck's turbocharged hair is way too distinctive." Elysia replied.
"That... I can't deny," Hokuto said.
In fact—
When drawing Mama Duck's CG, he had intentionally given her the iconic Kaslana-style "turbo hair" for instant recognition.
So everyone could immediately go—"That's Bronya's mom."
"Then... Mama Duck is currently pregnant with Bronya?" Elysia asked again.
"Of course," Hokuto nodded.
"If she's the biological Herrscher—then naturally she'd give birth to the Herrscher of Reason."
"The... biological Herrscher?"
Elysia's head popped up a question mark.
Did she hear that right just now...?
"Hm? Didn't you just say 'biological Herrscher'?"
"You didn't mishear. I did say 'biological Herrscher.'" Hokuto confirmed quickly.
Then, after a pause—
He asked with a straight face:
"Or... do you not understand what those words mean? Want me to explain?"
"...No, no need."
Elysia waved her hand.
She knew exactly what he meant.
Meanwhile—
The livestream chat had already exploded.
[Biological Herrscher? I'm dying laughing.]
[When it comes to memes—'Otto' is undefeated. I've lost track of how many iconic Honkai memes originated from him.]
Naturally—
Hokuto had the accumulated "wisdom" of billions of past-life users.
One person may be limited—
But billions of people's creativity?
Unstoppable.
With an entire alternate timeline as his support—
Making memes was nothing short of child's play.
[The more I think about it, the more "biological Herrscher" hits different.]
[Yeah, and who would've guessed—it was Mistelin who saved Mama Duck when she was pregnant with Bronya. No wonder Hare kept staring at Bronya during her debut instead of Kiana.]
[Hare: "Bronya... the last time I saw you, you were just a little duck egg. Can't believe you've grown into a fine young lady." (auntie voice)]
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