MGSFV?! Chapter 567: Against Kevin Armament Type 665; Pardo: I Don't Want to Open the Door
That direct, huh?
Hearing Kevin's words, Hokuto thought to himself: as expected, the guy was still so straightforward.
Normally, you'd soften things a little at a time like this, right?
Like, something along the lines of: "Through thick and thin, we share joy and sorrow. There's no such thing as betrayal between brothers…" Though of course, he himself would never finish such a line out loud—cough, he'd definitely never say the second half.
Anyway, now that he understood Kevin's intention, what would he do?
"All right."
"Let's head in together."
Hokuto smiled and beckoned Kevin to come in with him, seemingly unfazed.
"..."
"Okay."
Kevin nodded.
And so, the two, having reached an understanding, walked shoulder to shoulder into the Golden Courtyard.
This snapped Elysia, who'd been distracted in thought and a few steps behind, back to attention.
She quickly caught up.
Tap tap tap—
From the dark outside to the brightly lit interior, the sudden change in lighting made her instinctively squint.
She took a moment to adjust to the brightness.
Then scanned around, locating Hokuto and Kevin just ahead.
But before she could walk over, a young voice called out beside her.
"Miss Elysia."
"..."
Elysia paused and looked down toward the voice.
Long teal-blue hair. A petite figure.
She wasn't sure what the girl wanted from her.
"Gra—"
She had just said one syllable but quickly stopped herself. Then she raised her hand and gestured horizontally from her chest down toward the girl's head.
"…Griseo, I think you've grown a little taller recently."
"Hmm…"
Griseo tilted her head and touched her chin, looking at Elysia with mild puzzlement.
And when Elysia saw her adorable reaction…
"Aah~~ But no matter what, Griseo is still super cute! Let me squish your cheeks… Ahh, so soft~♪"
Just as expected, she couldn't resist and reached for Griseo.
Griseo: "..."
"You're just too cute! Nothing like your dad—thank goodness!"
Hua (somewhere): ????
"Aah~~ I really have no resistance when it comes to adorable little… little girls like you~~"
Elysia's actions were both gentle and utterly unrestrained—truly an envi—eh, admirable sight. Girls must really be careful when out and about these days, huh!
"Ugh~ Mm~~"
Otherwise, like Griseo now, you'd only be able to let out soft, helpless "mmms."
Eventually, once Elysia had her fill, she finally remembered—
"Right, Griseo, you came to find me for something, didn't you?"
"Mm."
Griseo nodded slightly.
"Aunt Mobius asked me to come get you, Miss Elysia, and take you aside for a bit."
"Griseo, you still call her Aunt Mobius, huh… You could probably drop that title by now."
"But Miss Elysia once said…" Griseo answered earnestly, "Even if future me tells me not to, she'd be lying—so I shouldn't listen."
Elysia: "..."
So even past me foresaw that?
Wow…
Truly impressive~♪ As expected of me!
"All right then, let's go have a little girls-only time."
"And I am a bit curious what Mobius and the others are planning."
…
Elysia took Griseo and walked toward a corner.
Meanwhile—
Hokuto and Kevin did indeed encounter someone blocking their path.
Mobius. Alone.
"Just her?"
Hokuto looked at the lone figure blocking the elevator, raising an eyebrow.
Really?
One person? She couldn't even handle Kevin, let alone him...
Still thinking of stopping them?
"Seems Kevin's worry was unnecessary."
Kevin: "..."
He nodded silently, expressing agreement.
Now—
It was Mobius' turn to twitch at the corner of her mouth.
She glanced around and, seeing that a certain Great Magician still hadn't arrived, couldn't help but lower her voice.
"Vill-V, what are you waiting for?!"
"..."
Her shout echoed.
Time passed.
Hokuto and Kevin stood facing Mobius.
The surroundings remained dead silent, broken only by a light, curling breeze.
Whoosh—
"..."
At this point, they were already feeling secondhand embarrassment—ready to toe-dig a whole three-bedroom apartment into the floor.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll just…"
Hokuto began inching toward the stairs—if Mobius was blocking the elevator, he'd just take the stairs.
"Ah! Miss Vill-V! Let go—let go, let go!"
"I thought we agreed, little Pardo. Why the change of heart?"
A sudden noise from the staircase interrupted Hokuto.
Vill-V appeared at the landing, dragging a very conflicted-looking Pardo.
"I thought it over—it's Kevin and Hokuto we're talking about, and you and Mobius, and… whatever. A plain ol' me doesn't need to get involved in that mess."
Pardo was still struggling in Vill-V's grip.
Sure, she'd said she'd "lend a hand" earlier, but that was impulsive. Now that she'd calmed down, she'd much rather stay out of it.
Let the gods fight—she's just a mortal.
"But Pardo, don't sell yourself short… I think you might have a decisive role to play."
"Th-that's probably just you overestimating me…"
Even though Vill-V patted her shoulder confidently, Pardo still looked very much like she wanted to run.
So, to firm up her confidence—
Vill-V whipped out one of her special gadgets.
Tada~~ Tada tada tada~~
Even mimicking a drumroll.
"Kevin Armament: Type 665—Just one digit less than Type 666!"
Kevin: ...
Hokuto (applauding): "Interesting."
"Interesting? Exactly! And I'm sure once you're in the thick of it with Type 665, it'll be extra fun!"
Vill-V looked more and more excited.
"In the thick of it?"
Hokuto glanced over at the oddly shaped Type 665.
He quickly compared his own physical endurance to that of alloy and steel.
This wasn't some Xianxia sect—so even as an elite outer disciple of the Taixu Sect, of course he'd lose.
Not to mention he didn't have access to any of Xiao Shi's signature Taixu weapons.
Those that "break all techniques with a single strike…"
So—
"Maybe not that kind of fun… I've got stuff to do. I'll be going first. We can talk another time."
Now's the time—run.
He turned to go—
Kevin (behind him): "Don't think about running off alone…"
Hokuto: "Of course not."
He flashed Kevin a "don't worry" smile.
Then immediately bolted.
Without pause, he dashed into the stairwell while Vill-V was "distracted."
Kevin was already prepared, so he followed right after him.
Though he couldn't help but wonder—
"This easy?"
"They meant to let us in."
"Hm?"
"Out there, we could retreat or advance. In here, we only have one direction: up. All they have to do is post guards ahead."
Kevin looked at him and, after a pause, asked:
"Then why walk right into it?"
"Because… this suits me perfectly."
Hokuto answered, but didn't elaborate.
He simply headed upstairs.
Soon enough—just as he predicted—someone stood in their path.
Kosma.
Silent and stoic, he stared at the two coming up.
A brief, wordless pause.
"This path is—"
"One-Way!"
"???"
"Pretty cool line, right?" Hokuto asked.
To anyone else, maybe not… but for Kosma? Perfectly fitting.
"…Cool." He nodded.
"Then make sure you remember it well."
Hokuto patted Kosma's shoulder like an older brother and naturally walked past him.
Kevin: ...
So… it works like that?
They continued up.
Another figure blocked the way.
"Su?"
Kevin recognized him. He quickly wanted to warn Hokuto—Su wasn't someone who'd be brushed aside like Kosma.
But Hokuto had already passed by him naturally, even chatting casually.
Huh?
Could it be Su was just coincidentally there—not one of the people stationed to stop them?
Thinking that, Kevin relaxed and moved to follow—
Only for Su to lift a hand to block him.
"Kevin…"
"I'd like to talk with you."
"…?"
…
Meanwhile, having noticed Kevin hadn't followed, Hokuto didn't look surprised.
In fact, he smiled.
But he didn't do anything odd—he simply kept climbing.
Without more obstacles, Mobius and Vill-V would be hard-pressed to catch him.
A ramen-fueled researcher and a mechanic whose chest might interfere with balance?
No way they'd catch a physically fit adult male.
This wasn't Honkai Impact 3rd—no one here was a Fusion Warrior.
Unless…
Ding~
The elevator doors opened.
Mobius stepped out in front of Hokuto.
The power… of modern tech.
"Just you, Dr. Mobius? I'm afraid…"
Hokuto said meaningfully.
"Heh, as if."
Mobius crossed her arms confidently.
"Vill-V is probably still downstairs playing with Kevin—using that 'Kevin Armament Type 665,'" Hokuto said casually.
Mobius responded calmly: "I already called Klein and told her to fetch Kalpas. By now, they should be…"
While Mobius and Vill-V might be limited by their physical stats, there was someone in the Golden Courtyard who could fight.
Kalpas.
Step… step…
"Doctor."
Only Klein appeared at the corner.
"Klein?" Mobius frowned. "Why are you alone? Where's Kalpas?"
"Um…" Klein hesitated.
"I think…"
This time, Hokuto spoke up with a grin:
"I think Kalpas probably said something like 'I'm busy right now,' didn't he?"
"Hm?"
Mobius raised an eyebrow and looked to Klein.
Klein nodded and said:
"Kalpas did say: 'I'm grinding this stage a hundred times—I have no time for your little games.'"
Mobius turned to look at Hokuto again.
"..."
"Because he's Kalpas, he'd do exactly that. Just as I expected—he'll always fight himself."
Repay even the smallest kindness tenfold.
Despite his rough appearance, Kalpas always returns what's given in kind.
"So this was all part of your plan…"
"Mmhm."
Hokuto spread his hands, smiling.
…
Vill-V: [So, he's already inside.]
About ten minutes had passed.
She received an update from Mobius.
Klein: [Doctor's stamina… really should cut down on the instant noodles.]
Mobius: [Just drink nutrient supplements every day. It'll be fine.]
Pardo: [So Snake-nee is still planning to eat instant noodles 3 times a day? With supplements?? Is that healthy or not healthy?]
Vill-V: [Little Pardo, why don't you go help Dr. Mobius now? This is your decisive moment, right?]
Pardo: [Huh?]
Mobius: [Yes… you can help me open his door.]
Pardo: [Uh…? Open the door???]
In real life.
Pardo exited the group chat.
Ding~
A new message popped up. At the same time, she felt Vill-V's eyes turn to her.
Her expression grew… complicated.
She—
"Little Pardo…"
Pardo (quietly): "Miss Vill-V."
Her voice lowered.
"Somehow… at some point, whenever I hear the words 'open the door,' my vision darkens and my knees go weak."
"?"
"I think I'm truly… 'doored' now."
Pardo looked at Vill-V with eyes unusually… clear.
"Miss Vill-V… I don't want to… open the door…"
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