MGSFV?! Chapter 344. The Noblest and Most Precious Is the Resolve of Mortals
Players honestly couldn't understand why the scriptwriter brought Pardofelis out again at this point.
She's just a pitiful, small, helpless little Pardofelis, right?
In a situation like this, it felt like she couldn't possibly play any decisive role.
So… why was Pardofelis the "final piece"?
The more they thought about it, the more confused they felt about her being the last key.
But before they could figure it out—
Someone entirely unexpected appeared!
"...Alright, Pardofelis. Stop pretending you can't hear me."
A character that, by all logic, shouldn't appear again—Vill-V, now stood opposite her.
Huh? Vill-V?
"My existence as a 'backdoor' was precisely so that you could continue maintaining your sense of self… and clearly, it worked, didn't it?"
So Pardofelis hadn't lost her memories.
But when faced with the 'specialist's' inquiry, she refused to admit that she still retained her sense of self, brushing off the question repeatedly.
Until...
The 'specialist' pointed out a flaw in her previous behavior.
"If you truly have no memories of the Flame-Chasers… why weren't you confused when Su called you by name the very first time he met you?"
Pardofelis: "..."
"Only you can do it now—open the passage to the outside world and let Kevin's full-powered strike land exactly where it matters most."
Hearing this, Pardofelis visibly panicked. "U-uh… Boss, I really have no clue what you're talking about!"
"So, how about… you find someone else, and I'll just… sneak away."
And there it was—the reason Pardofelis was the final piece revealed itself.
So once again… it's door-opening duty for the cat.
?????
Does Pardofelis have a personal vendetta with doors?
Was this entire skillset designed just for that?
[Even though she has to open a door again, this time it feels… okay? Maybe she can open the door and just bolt?]
[...]N
Honestly, even Pardofelis herself was thinking the same.
She acted like she didn't want to get involved and took off running, but halfway there, her steps started slowing down.
"What a waste of time… I should've ignored her from the start."
"..."
"And besides… I already helped Su-bro find Boss Kevin earlier, didn't I?"
Just like Vill-V had said, the backdoor planted to preserve Pardofelis' self-awareness had worked.
But there was still one thing neither she nor Vill-V could control—
Even without being ensnared by illusion, the girl named Pardofelis didn't seem like the type who possessed "resolve."
"Tch… why does everyone have to go all out, life and death and everything?"
"Living inside this illusion… isn't that good enough? We're just data anyway."
Pardofelis just wanted to live.
She was a normal person—not someone with great ambitions, not someone who could shoulder so much.
She'd already done more than enough. Even if she didn't fight anymore, no one could say she was wrong.
"But…"
Pardofelis' tone shifted.
And everyone subconsciously tensed up.
She had said so much, made so many excuses—clearly, she really didn't want to get involved.
"All of this… this life I always wanted, it's right here. So why… do I still feel so unwilling to let it go?"
"..."
Her voice trembled—perhaps from fear, perhaps from dread.
"Fine… fine, if I'm really the only one who can do it…"
Even as she trembled violently—
It fit too well.
No one could handle this.
"Just this once! Just one last time!"
"Boss Kevin, please, don't act too fast…"
As her voice fell, the game returned to free control mode.
A subtitle flashed on screen:
[As long as I guide Boss Kevin's attack with Gate of Thousand Realms over there, I can escape immediately!]
"…?"
So now players had to personally send Pardofelis toward… that?
If this were earlier, they could've comforted themselves: "She'll open the door and run."
But look at the atmosphere now.
With how many flags were sticking out of the cat's back—
Even if she herself intended to run, could it really be that easy?
They admitted—they were scared now.
Let Pardofelis go!!
Don't do this to the cat!!
But…
No matter what they thought, what had to happen, would happen.
After staring at the controls in hesitation for a while, some players began slowly inching forward—literally step by step.
It took far longer than expected to walk Pardofelis to the activation spot.
Once there, the game prompted players to press a key to open the channel.
Their reactions now were the complete opposite of how sluggish they were moments ago.
A full-body jolt, fingers moved like lightning.
The door was opened at record speed.
"Alright, that should do it!"
They muttered in their hearts, urging—
Cat, run!!
"Ah! I've got to bail! Even the aftermath of Boss Kevin's strike would be way too much for me to handle—I'll die!"
Perfect! Just like that!
Run! Run!!
But…
Before she could run even a few steps, the door she had just opened visibly shrank.
"Huh?! The scale is too large to sustain itself…"
???
MiHoYo!!!!
You're not seriously going to let Pardofelis get annihilated alongside Kevin's full-power strike, are you?!
She already died once—are you really going to shatter her again?
And like this, of all ways?
Does every single person have to die?!
"I don't care… I don't care!!"
Pardofelis clearly realized what would happen if she stayed behind. She stood in place, shaking her head frantically.
"All I ever wanted was simple… just a little sunshine to bask in, a nice nap in the afternoon…"
"Why… why do I have to keep sacrificing again and again just to have that kind of life?"
At that moment, a cheery little melody began playing in-game.
Making the already tragic atmosphere even more unbearable.
"Miss Vill-V… you knew it would end like this from the start, didn't you…"
"No, I can't… I just can't… I'm terrified of dying!!"
Pardofelis' voice trembled as she slowly stepped backward from the narrowing door.
"Leave the hero stuff to the heroes. I'm just… just an ordinary person."
Thinking about the moment Kevin's attack would engulf her—
She could almost smell her body turning to ash.
[...]N
Players felt like they couldn't even tap the next line of dialogue anymore.
"Surely… the real me in reality made the same choice, right?"
Pardofelis tried to convince herself.
But…
The girl who most desperately wanted to live was now looking for a reason to justify not living?
That shouldn't be necessary.
"Going to the moon to fight the Finality and all that—I'm way too weak for something like that. Besides…"
"I'm the best at running away. No way I'd die there."
"Yeah… yeah…"
"The real me is definitely still alive, somewhere… basking in the sun…"
She kept reassuring herself.
There's no shame in running. There's no shame in wanting to live. There's no shame in hoping to see the sunrise again.
So then… why choose a path that leads only to death?
As players read on, some couldn't resist typing in chat:
"Don't think too hard, Cat. Just run already!"
But before they could hit send—
"There's no way… none of that's true."
"No matter how I try to spin it—if I can live… why would I go die?"
"But… but…"
But Pardofelis' steps—those that were supposed to lead her away from it all—
Why did they bring her back before that narrowing passage?
"..."
This line broke many of them instantly.
The cat could have lived… She wanted to live more than anyone.
She didn't have "resolve." She wasn't a hero—just a mortal.
And yet…
She still stood before death—voluntarily, willingly.
Even with no reason that could persuade herself.
Even while feeling like this decision was stupid—
She stood there, trembling, but firm.
"Since I'm just a mortal… it's okay to act foolish once in a while, right…?"
Pardofelis tried to smile.
Yeah, she was just an ordinary person. So being foolish sometimes, acting on impulse—it was all perfectly normal.
"Elysia… I never do things that don't profit me."
"So you… you'd better come back."
She reached out her hand.
It still trembled in her vision—but the passage, which had been fading, stopped its dimming descent.
"I know… if it weren't for sheer luck, I'd never have been chosen by you… never become one of you…"
"And I couldn't stay here with everyone, either."
"So… Elysia… at the very least, I won't let you regret your choice."
A faint gleam seemed to flicker in her eyes.
The greatness of mortals is the greatness of courage.
The hymn of mortals is the hymn of bravery.
And once again, just like 50,000 years ago, she made the same choice.
Back then, on Twilight Street beneath the moonlight—
Pardofelis had quietly buried her "last treasure," then rushed to the battlefield on the moon.
Even if there was no reason convincing enough to justify giving up her life.
That was what made mortal resolve the noblest and most precious of all.
"It's going to hurt a lot, isn't it…"
She could feel the heat intensifying around her—already becoming unbearable.
Her voice now quivered with sobs.
Imagining the surging flames that would soon engulf her, she trembled even more violently.
But she never took a single step back.
"It's fine… don't scare yourself… maybe it won't even hurt… I've always had good luck, right…?"
Yeah.
You're the luckiest little cat.
Maybe she'll survive even this. Maybe she'll still be lucky enough to make it out—
Players clung to the thought.
But…
The mood. The music.
Could that really happen?
No.
They watched with agonizing expressions as Pardofelis kept talking, kept reassuring herself.
"I… I'm Pardofelis…"
"I'm—"
"One of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers."
And it was Su who finished the sentence for her.
"I see now."
Kevin looked up at the sky. "Whatever happens, we must not waver."
"Then… let's begin—time to make the final move of our past."
Hearing that, Kevin fell silent.
And for some reason, he remembered Elysia's words:
"If one day, pulling the trigger on me could save 'everyone'… Kevin, what would you do?"
In reality, Kevin carried the fate of all humanity. He never had the right to choose for one person.
But now, within the realm of Elysian Realm, he'd been given that rare, precious second chance.
Even more precious—
Saving one person, and saving the world, finally aligned.
Defeating the Herrscher of Corruption, saving Elysia—meant defeating the Herrscher of this era and saving all of mankind.
So now, in the final moment of his life, he could finally answer her, even if she might never hear it:
"It's not about the future of mankind, not about the ideals of the many. This time, I load my life into the chamber—"
"Just to save one person."
At the same time—
Su opened his eyes.
"Just this once, Kevin—let me be your sword."
His entire dataset dissolved into stardust, pouring into Kevin's Judgment of Shamash.
Kevin and Su's voices overlapped:
"Skyfire—Unsheath."
And then—
That unstoppable strike, bearing the weight of three Flame-Chasers, surged through the passage opened by Gate of Thousand Realms.
Blazing light pierced through the Herrscher of Corruption's chest, bursting outward from within.
That radiance—
Like the death of a star.
[...]N
[I'm numb.]
[Everyone did everything they could. The Thirteen Flame-Chasers… are all heroes.]
[Herrscher of Corruption! Does it hurt? It better hurt! You're feeling this pain with us! (twisted face)]
Now, the only thing players could find joy in—
Was seeing the Herrscher suffer alongside them.
…Wait, was that a little weird?
Ah, whatever. After Elysian Realm, no one makes it out sane.
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