Chapter 11-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Respected Crown Prince, may I be so bold as to ask, what crime did the attendant outside commit?"
Sykes let out a snort, as if he'd heard a joke.
The attendants around them pressed their heads even lower, and the bespectacled boy next to Sykes wore an expression of being unable to watch.
"Sei Curia Saintess, in my presence, know your place."
Sykes walked up to the gentle-eyed girl, slowly peeling off the black glove on his right hand, revealing a pale hand with distinct joints.
Bang!
The next second, his right hand mercilessly seized Ye Zheng's pale, slender neck. The girl's body slammed against the wall behind her.
"Your Highness!"
The bespectacled boy, panicked, tried to stop Sykes. As the Prime Minister's son, he had the duty to assist the Crown Prince. The royal family and the Sei Curia had always been a check-and-balance relationship. If the Crown Prince were to harm the Sei Curia Saintess, it would be like handing a weakness to those old fossils of the Curia.
Moreover, the Crown Prince had taken off his glove... This meant he was about to activate his SSS-rank talent, [Destruction]!
Sykes genuinely wanted to kill Ye Zheng!
Yu Tianming was so anxious his glasses barely stayed on. He had to stop the Crown Prince before the fragile healing-type Saintess completely lost her breath.
Ignoring his image, he pounced and clung to Sykes's hand. When he looked up, he saw that half of the Crown Prince's face was so dark it could drip water.
Yu Tianming turned his head to look at the girl pinned against the wall. To his surprise, Ye Zheng didn't show the ugly signs of death he had imagined. Her expression remained serene and beautiful. One of her hands calmly gripped the Crown Prince's right wrist that was holding her neck.
"So this is the SSS-rank talent, one of the rarest in the empire's history. It's much more powerful than I imagined."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for the lesson."
Sykes released his grip and flung Yu Tianming, who was clinging to his arm, away. He stared at the deep red mark on the girl's neck.
"Are you mocking me, Saintess?"
Fallen on the floor, Yu Tianming didn't even have the mind to complain about the Crown Prince's heartlessness. He lay on the ground, pushed up his glasses, and looked in disbelief at Ye Zheng, who was completely unharmed except for the mark on her neck.
Once the Crown Prince activated his ability, there was no possibility of mercy!
This was because [Destruction] was passive; it was a conceptual ability. As long as the Crown Prince subconsciously believed it could be destroyed, everything his hands touched could be destroyed!
Monsters, buildings, human bodies... and even more abstract things like memories.
Most ability users usually awakened their abilities around the age of 12, but the Crown Prince's ability talent was so high that he was born with the talent [Destruction].
The first time Crown Prince Sykes activated [Destruction]... was in the former Empress's womb.
The infant's stirrings to be born destroyed his own birth mother.
The Emperor mourned for a few days, then upon discovering Sykes's shocking talent rank, he was overjoyed and announced to the entire nation that an SSS-rank talent had reappeared after a hundred years, ensuring the eternal glory of the royal family!
Born with the original sins of death and arrogance, Sykes simply didn't understand what mercy was; he didn't even know what feelings were.
Yu Tianming's gaze was fixed on Ye Zheng's neck. Only now did he notice it was covered with a layer of glistening water—
Ye Zheng had used her own ability to block Sykes's deadly destruction!
Sykes kicked the half-dead boy on the floor, his gaze still darkly fixed on the girl rubbing her neck.
"Heh, our luck isn't so bad after all. We actually found someone who can be immune to [Destruction]."
Yu Tianming scrambled up from the floor. Even though Ye Zheng had a savage red mark on her body, her existence was still remarkable.
He looked down at his own missing thumb. It was his punishment from angering Sykes a few years ago. The golden-haired prince had only touched his thumb with his index finger, and in the blink of an eye, he was permanently missing a finger.
Ye Zheng's expression was calm. "So, does the Crown Prince have some important matter to discuss with me?"
Sykes glanced sideways at Yu Tianming beside him. It was this shrewd guy who had suggested bringing Ye Zheng over.
The ants in the lower district had been restless lately. The royal family and the Sei Curia were not in a position to continue their internal strife, as it would only give those lowlife commoners an opportunity.
A substitute position was added to the third phase of the ability tournament. Ye Zheng was both a member of the Sei Curia and a student at the Royal Academy. She was also known to be compliant and easy to control, making her a perfect choice as a signal of goodwill.
Sykes suppressed the surging brutality and desire in his eyes, his golden pupils shining with an astonishing brilliance.
Now it seemed Ye Zheng was a little different from what they had anticipated—
Much more interesting, wasn't she?
"Join our team for the third phase of the ability tournament."
The Crown Prince put on his special black glove again and extended his hand to the girl.
Ye Zheng looked down at the hand that had just been choking her. Before she could speak, the system's voice screamed in her mind.
[This is too dangerous! That guy was genuinely trying to kill you!]
The system was so nervous it could barely speak, nearly thinking its host was going to die prematurely.
Fortunately, as the female protagonist, the creator had given Ye Zheng some special settings... although it was to make it easier for her to block Sykes's [Destruction] for Percy in the future.
It hoped Ye Zheng would learn a lesson from this encounter. Villains were not to be trifled with. She had already joined the protagonist's team as per the original plot, so she shouldn't have any contact with Sykes outside of the story...
"Alright, but I have one condition."
Ye Zheng's eyes curved into a smile.
Sykes narrowed his dangerous golden pupils. "Speak."
"Whatever crime the person from before committed, please handle him according to the empire's laws, not through private punishment."
"As a future leader of the empire, what you did was a little unbecoming."
The people around them once again gasped. Should this Saintess be called upright and brave, or just clueless?
Even the Emperor wouldn't dare to point a finger at this violent genius and condemn him as an unworthy heir.
"Unbecoming? That man wanted to curry favor with me in front of everyone. I allowed him into the hunting grounds to entertain me; it was his honor."
"Since the Saintess is displeased, then bring the man back."
The attendant at the door immediately sprang into action.
"Your Highness is benevolent. My words earlier were inappropriate."
Having gotten what she wanted, Ye Zheng showed a genuine smile.
"The Saintess is truly as qualified as the rumors say, a kind and righteous little goddess."
Sykes let out a low, ambiguous chuckle.
"I hope you'll perform just as well in the ability tournament."
Yu Tianming's pupils trembled slightly, feeling a sense of foreboding.
He shouldn't have made that suggestion. The Crown Prince was clearly holding a grudge against this Ye Zheng, who was so good at offending his authority.
God, would this make the relationship with the Sei Curia even more strained!
By the time Percy and the others arrived, the banquet was at its liveliest.
The Cloud-Soaring Squad, from the lower district and undefeated in the national tournament, was uncharacteristically flustered. Everyone here was so radiant and beautiful, like a school of gorgeous, expensive ornamental fish. They felt like grey catfish who had stumbled into a noble's fish tank.
Fortunately, someone soon recognized them. A familiar opponent from the tournament, now a friend, greeted them.
"Hey, you guys look even more upper district than some of the upper district folks."
"Wait, I'm not being discriminatory, I just genuinely wanted to say you look good today."
The slightly reckless-looking boy rubbed his brown hair. He was the captain of the First Academy in the upper district, also from the upper district. He had been rescued by the Cloud-Soaring Squad during a match, which not only eliminated his prejudice against the lower district but also made him genuinely want to be friends with them.
"Isn't this place beautiful? It's okay, with your strength, you'll eventually be able to live in the upper district and enjoy days like this every day..."
Percy cut him off helplessly. "We came because we heard news about the next phase of the tournament would be released at this banquet."
The brown-haired boy wrapped an arm around him, looking unconvinced. "You're dressed so nicely today, you should just enjoy it! Don't think about boring tournaments."
Percy's ears were slightly red; they just didn't want to be too out of place at the banquet.
The young man, looking particularly handsome in his crisp black suit, suddenly changed his expression and looked up at the second floor as if he felt something.
"Thank you all for taking the time to be here."
The beautiful, arrogant voice showed no signs of humility or gratitude. As soon as Sykes's voice sounded, the entire hall fell silent, and all the musicians immediately stopped playing.
The magnificent ornamental fish neatly looked up, accepting the Crown Prince's scrutiny from above, as if he were the master of this fish tank.
Percy's gaze was heavy as he looked at the Crown Prince, his eyes holding no respect.
However, a light blue figure was even more eye-catching than the Crown Prince.
"No way, why is the Sei Curia Saintess standing next to the Crown Prince..."
"The Sei Curia and the royal family have always been at odds!"
The brown-haired boy next to him was in disbelief. Percy ignored him, his gaze somewhat stunned.
That was the legendary Sei Curia Saintess. Her acts of kindness in the lower district were known to all, and her beauty was a national topic of conversation, even though not many people had actually seen her.
"Ye Zheng..."
When Percy murmured her name, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
Why did her name come so naturally to him? It was as if the moment he saw the girl appear with her shiny black hair down and her light blue skirt swaying, Percy confirmed that she was the mysterious Curia girl who had saved him.
"For the third phase of the tournament, Ye Zheng will be joining the Royal Academy's team. A cheer for our Saintess!"
Sykes said nonchalantly, clapping his hands without much care.
The entire hall immediately erupted in thunderous applause.
Percy did not clap. He was squeezed in the middle of the crowd.
He stared motionlessly at the beautiful figure on the second floor until the girl turned her obsidian-like eyes and cast a glance in his direction.
The boy's mind was filled with a buzzing sound, as if the stalled gears of fate were finally beginning to turn.
After school, Li Yixin hadn't even had a chance to open the latest chapter of King of the Demonic Domain when she was bombarded by messages from her best friend.
"Ahhh, hurry up and read the new chapter! Good news, Sykes has appeared!"
Li Yixin's face first lit up with joy. "Is my Sy-Per ship getting a lot of fujoshi bait?"
Then she asked with confusion, "Is there also bad news?"
"The bad news is... the forums are in an uproar. A character who is allegedly the female protagonist has appeared!"
Li Yixin was in disbelief. Although her favorite new character was Zhao Mei, she had been shipping Sy-Per for a long time, and a sudden official ship would make her lose it!
So she opened the latest update of King of the Demonic Domain with trembling hands.
Author's Note:
Working two jobs, earning two popularity points, win!
A heads-up: the female protagonist won't belong to any faction. She will only use the protagonist and villain's power to achieve her own goals and will build her own faction.
Also, a plug for my finished novel, The True Heiress is the Master of the Infinite Stream, a female-friendly infinite stream novel!
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