Chapter 17-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Due to a major reform in the third phase of the competition, I, the Crown Prince of the Empire, Sykes Aston, will personally announce the rules."
Percy sensed something unusual. What kind of competition rules would require Sykes to make the announcement?
He was the Crown Prince and also a contestant in this year's event. This kind of action couldn't be called fair.
"Phase three of the competition: Time limit, one month. The objective is to… eliminate Demonic Domains."
Percy frowned. Phase two was about collecting tokens within officially controlled Demonic Domains, so it made sense for phase three to be a competition of eliminating them.
However, officially controlled Demonic Domains were usually very useful, containing valuable exotic plants, beasts, and ores. The officials would not destroy the core of such domains but would preserve and control them.
The fact that they were allowed to operate within these precious Demonic Domains during phase two was already a huge move by the empire. Now, they were being allowed to destroy these domains? How was that possible?
"The location… is naturally not within the Demonic Domains controlled by the empire." Sykes seemed to have guessed the murmurs in many people's hearts and countered with a wicked grin.
Then, his voice became solemn. "Recently, conflicts between regions have been constant. Although some of this is fueled by people with ulterior motives, the empire has reflected on this. Have we, because of our long-standing comfort, ignored the destructive danger of the Demonic Domains?"
"The reform of this ability user competition is a signal from the empire that we will never forget the pain brought by the Demonic Domains, nor the people who fought to protect the empire."
The arrogant young man slightly nodded, a faint hint of sadness appearing between his brows. His sharp features became much softer and more approachable.
A trace of confusion appeared on Percy's face. He had seen the Crown Prince's malicious and overbearing side, but did Sykes, as a royal successor, also have such a responsible and emotional side?
"The expression is so perfectly managed. This heir is more... qualified than we thought."
Percy turned his head. The black-haired, green-eyed boy still had his quiet and gentle demeanor, as if the slightly sarcastic words he had just said hadn't come from his mouth at all.
He was about to ask Babe-Mei what he thought of the Crown Prince's speech to appease the lower district, when Crown Prince Sykes dropped another bombshell.
"Therefore, the location for the third phase of the competition will be the entire lower district!"
"The rules are very simple. Points will be awarded based on the number and difficulty of the Demonic Domains that each team resolves in the lower district. The rankings will be based on these points."
Sykes paused here and then nonchalantly added another rule.
"Additionally, the royal family is adding a special prize for this competition—"
"The winning team will become the wielder of the Dragon Bones and share control of the Dragon Bones with the royal family."
"The announcement is complete. See you all at the competition."
As soon as the words fell, the tall, imposing figure disappeared.
Almost everyone waiting in front of a projector fell into a brief silence, then erupted in a huge clamor!
The Dragon Bones! The Dragon Bones! The Dragon Bones that could deter Demonic Domains!
The people in the bar seemed to have fallen into a frenzied nightmare, and they all looked at the teenagers in the corner. If the Cloudsoar team won, their lower district would be able to get the protection of the Dragon Bones!
The Dragon Bones would drive away the Demonic Domains. The lower district would no longer have to live in fear, and they wouldn't have to beg the upper district to send more people to deal with the Demonic Domains.
"Percy, the future of the lower district rests on you!"
"Everyone's right. You kids are indeed the hope of the lower district!"
"The empire hasn't forgotten us!"
...
Amidst the bustling crowd and chaotic voices, even the most composed Percy was so overwhelmed that he didn't notice that one of his companions quietly left in the midst of the fervent crowd.
"Saintess."
The tall female knight led the young boy, whose expression was calm to the point of being subdued, into the room.
This was Ye Zheng's hideout in the lower district.
She took off her wig, changed out of her disguise, and let her slightly sweaty long hair fall. She sat in the chair, silent like an inanimate doll.
"Saintess, everything went very smoothly. That person did indeed use your gun to kill that guy. Once she takes office, your influence in the lower district..."
"Wen De, did you hear about the new competition rules?" Ye Zheng interrupted.
"I did, but I'm too slow to understand why the royal family would suddenly make such a decision. It doesn't seem like the royal family's usual profit-first approach."
"No, this is the royal family's decision to maximize their interests."
Ye Zheng leaned her face close to the fish tank on the table and gently tapped the glass with her fingers, watching the fish swim inside.
"Tell me, if you don't feed the little fish for several days, what would they do?"
Wen De replied, "If I were a fish in there, I would want to break the fish tank, even if I would die of thirst on the ground. At least it's better than waiting to die in the tank."
"So just as you're about to break out of the fish tank, what if the owner suddenly throws in some bait?"
Wen De looked hesitant. "I... would probably stay in the fish tank first."
Ye Zheng smiled, her eyes still cold. "That's what the royal family is doing. It's more convenient to give them a vague piece of bait than to meet the lower district's demands and give up their profits."
"All they did was add the Dragon Bones control as a prize, and everything I did was crushed so easily."
"Wen De, I..."
The woman in soft armor walked over quickly and gently embraced the dazed girl.
White bone thorns struggled to grow from the woman's back, instantly spreading throughout the room like a dense steel spiderweb. In the stifling sense of oppression, Ye Zheng felt a strange sense of security.
"Everyone calls you Saintess, but forgive me for being disrespectful... you are still just a child." The woman's expression was loving, in stark contrast to her menacing ability.
"You're young enough to have plenty of time to hunt for success."
Ye Zheng's face, pressed against the woman's soft armor, was distorted. She wanted to tell Wen De not to hug her so tightly, but after hearing Wen De's words, she fell into a thoughtful silence again.
Percy finally broke free from the excited crowd and fled the small bar, scattering with his friends.
He walked in a daze, not yet recovering from the immense sense of mission.
Unknowingly, he looked up and found himself in a place that was both familiar and strange, a place he always wanted to visit but never dared to.
"'To commemorate the people who sacrificed themselves in the 'Blood Flower' Incident, the Holy Sei Empire will forever remember you.'"
A soft female voice lingered in his ears. Percy turned his head as if in a dream.
The girl held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and piously stroked the memorial stone tablet with the other. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, as if a goddess had descended from heaven to comfort the departed souls.
"...Ye Zheng?" Percy said blankly.
The girl turned her head, her moist black eyes blinking.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Saintess. Why are you here... I mean... I'm Percy."
Percy had never been so incoherent. It was strange; every time he met this girl, he had a peculiar feeling.
This was the first time he was talking to her face to face.
"This cemetery is where the lower district residents who sacrificed themselves in the Blood Flower Incident are buried. As a latecomer, I should come and see them." The girl answered with a polite and flawless smile.
Percy felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy. He should have known that Ye Zheng came from the upper district and couldn't be like him... but she was also kind enough, just like Babe-Mei.
"I'm here to see my parents," Percy said softly.
Ye Zheng looked slightly to the side. She could hear the restrained emotion in Percy's calm tone.
"I'm sorry, I seem to have come at a bad time and disturbed you."
Percy shook his head. "I'm glad that someone besides us victims' relatives can remember them. Thank you... Saintess."
"No one should forget such a sensational event from back then." The Saintess's voice was airy, like the cold fog that permeated the cemetery. Percy secretly watched the girl's profile, suspecting that he was still in a dream.
"And, you don't have to be so formal. We'll be opponents soon, Percy."
Ye Zheng's friendly smile was surprisingly lively and youthful, as if the aloof, foggy girl from before was just his illusion.
"Alright, Miss Ye Zheng, I look forward to meeting you in the third phase of the competition."
"For the sake of the lower district, I'll fight with all I have."
Percy's mood softened with the girl's smile.
"Don't you feel a lot of pressure? The future of the lower district has suddenly been placed entirely on your shoulders," Ye Zheng said conversationally.
The black-haired boy fell into a brief silence.
"That's why I've made up my mind. I absolutely can't lose."
"The lower district will only have a future if we possess the Dragon Bones," Percy answered with determination. The haze in his heart dissipated along with his spoken words.
He stared at the girl, seemingly expecting a reaction, but Ye Zheng still had that gentle smile.
It wasn't until Ye Zheng left that Percy retracted his gaze. He lifted his foot to walk deeper into the cemetery and suddenly remembered that Ye Zheng had been holding a bouquet of white flowers.
Who was she planning to give them to? Only the lower district residents who died in the Blood Flower Incident were buried here.
[There was no such plot in the original story, but the gravitational pull between the male and female leads has brought you together.]
[Don't you feel moved? You have the same ideals, and even... the same past.]
[You would be the best soulmates, working together to achieve the ideal of reforming the lower district—so, stop with the extra little tricks.]
The system's voice was almost seductive.
Ye Zheng walked in the gray, silent cemetery. She stopped in front of a tombstone, holding the flowers, and did not answer the system.
She stroked the name engraved on the tombstone, remembering a phrase her grandmother had read to her that left a particularly deep impression.
"'The bird struggles out of the egg. The egg is the world. He who would be born must first destroy a world.'"
The system was wrong, and Percy was wrong too. Her ideals were different from Percy's, and even different from those of this manga world.
So she and Percy were not destined to walk the same path.
After placing the flowers, Ye Zheng stood up, revealing a calm smile.
"You're right, system. I really don't need to do anything extra anymore."
The manga had already provided the main plot. The appearance of the Dragon Bones had disrupted her original plan, but couldn't it also be a new opportunity?
WAS THAT DEMIAN?
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