Chapter 67-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

Almost as soon as Ye Zheng landed, a swift impact came rushing towards her. A towering earthen wall shot up from the ground, only to be instantly shattered, blocking Sykes's attack for her.

"Muqing, cover me. I need to get close to Sykes."

Sykes couldn't die at their hands right now; that would cause immense trouble. She could only find a way to suppress him or bring him back to his senses.

"Get close to him? That's too dangerous," Bai Muqing's voice was laced with worry and disapproval.

The black gloves Sykes usually wore were nowhere to be seen. Now, a simple wave of his right hand could instantly pulverize anything around him. If a human body were to be touched by that hand, death would be certain.

"No need to worry. I'm the only one who can be immune to his [Destruction]."

[Your ability can only mitigate a small amount of the destructive power, especially against the current irrational Sykes.]

The System's anxious voice rang in her mind.

[Bai Muqing is right to be worried. In the original story, you only went to wake Sykes up with your ability after Percy had taken him down. Why don't you wait for Percy to act together?]

Ye Zheng said nothing more. She was meeting the gaze of those dark golden eyes not far away. The two stared at each other fixedly, neither making a move for a moment, like cautious predators sizing up each other's threat level.

The girl took a tentative step, and her opponent immediately charged over, his figure moving so fast it almost became a blur—it seemed he wanted to get rid of her immediately as well.

Very good, just what she wanted!

The drizzle, which could have been described as gentle and lingering, suddenly intensified. A downpour slanted across the devastated land, smashing into bouncing water droplets.

The sudden curtain of rain and its sound interfered with Sykes's sight and hearing. His figure swayed slightly, his ferocious assault pausing for a moment.

In the world of water, Ye Zheng's senses were instead sharpened. She immediately caught Sykes's opening and moved towards him.

Her hurried footsteps splashed on the water-covered ground. Hearing the sound, Sykes stopped moving forward and instead extended his right hand in the direction of the enemy's approach. The atmosphere grew tense, as if the surrounding air had become gunpowder waiting to be ignited, just waiting for the prey to walk into the trap.

Suddenly, his breath hitched. He covered the lower half of his face with his right hand, his golden pupils constricting.

His nostrils flared rapidly, but his mind only grew more chaotic—he couldn't breathe!

Bai Muqing had also seized the opportunity. Taking advantage of Sykes's pause, she had sucked away all the air around him.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Zheng had moved to Sykes's side, her sharp dark eyes locked on his right hand.

The blonde prince let out a low howl like a frustrated and trapped beast. If he were conscious, he would have quickly realized that moving out of this area would allow him to breathe. However, with his already muddled brain compounded by the lack of oxygen, he had completely lost his ability to think and judge.

Ye Zheng aimed for the back of his neck and struck hard, taking advantage of the moment. She didn't underestimate him, using enough force to break an ordinary person's neck.

However, Sykes only stumbled a step before turning around and grabbing fiercely at Ye Zheng with his right hand, his expression twisted in fury.

There was only one thought in his empty head: catch her! Destroy her! Annihilate her!

In a flash, Sykes's right hand quickly grabbed the girl's hand, because she had also reached out to him. Their hands clasped, as if they were friendly companions.

The moment they clasped hands, annihilation did not occur. A damp, cool sensation came from her hand. A flicker of confusion appeared in Sykes's golden eyes as he looked up at the girl. Through the downpour, her face was indistinct.

The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his wrist, and he was yanked forward by the girl opposite him.

Ye Zheng pressed his spine with her other hand, slamming him hard onto the water-covered ground.

Sykes raised his head, trying to throw off the force pinning him down. Suddenly, his neck was seized from behind, and his entire head was slammed into the filthy, pooled water on the ground!

"Time to wake up, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Ye Zheng unleashed her full physical strength, pinning the man beneath her down. Her slightly trembling voice was still gentle, but it carried an unnoticeable ruthlessness.

The noble prince was being held down in filthy water, his brilliant golden hair, a symbol of royal authority, so dulled in the muddy water that its color was unrecognizable. The scene made even Bai Muqing's breath catch. She materialized her physical form and walked to Ye Zheng's side.

After an initial struggle, Sykes seemed to lose all his strength and collapsed to the ground. Ye Zheng closed her eyes, carefully sensing the information the water currents brought her.

Sierra's mind-control ability wasn't very strong, probably only around C-rank. She just needed to soak Sykes's smooth brain (a Chinese internet slang for someone being simple-minded) in her [Stream] for a bit, and Sierra's control would soon be lifted.

However, she wasn't just trying to wake Sykes up. Taking this hard-won opportunity, she wanted to carefully study this monster.

The water flowed into Sykes's body. This was something Ye Zheng did most often as the Saintess, using her healing [Stream] to enter a patient's body for treatment. However, no one else knew that compared to the delicate work of repairing a human body, it was much easier for the [Stream] to enter a body and drain all its blood and water.

Ye Zheng sighed softly. It was a pity she hadn't had the chance for her [Stream] to try that yet, and this esteemed Crown Prince wouldn't be the one either.

Bai Muqing waited quietly by Ye Zheng's side, wary of the temporarily unconscious Sykes. Suddenly, she noticed Ye Zheng's body stiffen slightly, her dark eyes wide as if startled by something.

"What's wrong?"

"...Nothing. Sykes should be waking up soon."

Ye Zheng let go of Sykes, leaving him lying on his side on the ground, half of his face submerged in the pooled water.

She stood up, looking down at the unconscious youth on the ground, then turned to look at the massive white remains in the distance. Even without its flesh, the enormous skeleton exuded an imposing and awe-inspiring presence, its hollow eye sockets seeming to hold a deep gaze, ready to strike.

Ye Zheng was puzzled again. What exactly was the Dragon Bone? It should have been buried beneath the upper district, yet large quantities of it were appearing in the lower district—

And even inside Sykes's body.

Ye Zheng unconsciously rubbed her fingers. No wonder. Sykes's 3S-rank ability was probably not just a stroke of luck.

Sykes's body exuded the same aura as the Dragon Bone.

She had once suspected that Sykes, like her, had a Dragon Bone embedded in him, which was why his ability was so overwhelmingly strong. But based on her probing just now, it was less like a Dragon Bone had been implanted in Sykes, and more like the Dragon Bone had grown flesh and blood, and become Sykes!

Every bone in his body radiated the same aura as the Dragon Bone. This couldn't possibly be a later implant. It was as if the Demon Dragon had been reborn as a human...

Ye Zheng's lips curled into a smirk. The irony was that the Royal Family and the Sei Curia actually claimed he was the reincarnation of the legendary God of Hope!

What were those people trying to achieve by creating Sykes? They already possessed the greatest power in this world, so why create such a monster?

The blonde youth on the ground stirred, showing signs of waking. Ye Zheng exchanged a look with Bai Muqing, and they moved him to a more decent spot.

"You... Let's go check on Bai Mulin and the others. Let's resolve this Demonic Domain sooner."

Bai Muqing could tell that Ye Zheng was intentionally hiding something. Though curious, she didn't press further.

"Is it okay for you to appear here as Ye Zheng? Your other identity could easily be exposed."

Ye Zheng gave a helpless smile. "I have no choice. 'Ye Zheng' has to be here."

As long as the Saintess Ye Zheng's ability could wake Sykes, as a member of the Sei Curia, she could not ignore the Pope's orders. Besides, she also needed to gain the trust of the Sei Curia and the Royal Family.

But appearing merely as "Ye Zheng" was too restrictive in this perilous Demonic Domain. She still had to use the identity of "Zhao Mei" to hide her true strength.

"As long as you're willing to help me cover it up, I can still hide it this time."

"What about next time?"

"Next time, huh? Maybe there'll be no need to hide anymore."

As Ye Zheng and Bai Muqing chatted and laughed, she suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and first saw the Blood Flower high in the sky. Its once ostentatious crimson petals were now curled, seemingly withered from a fierce attack. It seemed Percy's group had been successful.

Her gaze then shifted in another direction. On the giant skull, that figure appeared particularly small.

The ground beneath her feet began to shake violently again. The surrounding collapsed crimson trees, as if summoned by something, began to twitch their dead branches again. They didn't attack them, but instead crawled in a unified direction, like devout pilgrims on a pilgrimage.

The two girls exchanged a look. They both understood that the Blood Flower was about to launch its final attack.

Bai Muqing grabbed Ye Zheng's hand and quickened her pace towards the Blood Flower. Suddenly, her hand felt empty.

"Muqing, you go support them."

"I still have things to take care of."

*

Atop the massive white skeleton, Sierra was sitting with her knees hugged to her chest. She tilted her head, her red eyes somewhat unfocused, as if her mind was completely blank.

"Sykes lost."

Sierra turned her head and saw the girl who had jumped back up at some point. Her face instantly darkened.

She stood up and approached Ye Zheng step by step.

"Did you come up here to laugh at me again? He's a good-for-nothing! A useless piece of trash!"

Sierra stomped her feet like a child throwing a tantrum, her voice high and shrill with anger. Even her blonde hair seemed to have bristled with anger (the original text uses 'zha mao', a slang term describing a cat's fur standing on end when angry), becoming even more messy.

Just as Ye Zheng was about to comfort her, Sierra's gloomy and angry expression vanished. She suddenly leaned in, her smile sweet, her voice laced with malicious teasing. "You thought I would react like that, didn't you?"

"Hahaha, I won't lose. Just you watch!"

Ye Zheng's figure swayed as the skull beneath her feet shook. The red branches supporting the skull grew again, lifting the white remains high into the air.

She looked at the Blood Flower in the distance. This time, she was much closer to it.

The sky was gradually darkening, yet it seemed to bloom anew in the night, ostentatiously swaying its now thicker petals. Beneath the flower, countless thick red branches surged, like a storm brewing in the sea.

The Blood Flower could also draw power from the Dragon Bone? It seemed Bai Muqing and the others were in for another tough fight.

Ye Zheng retracted her gaze.

"Aren't you worried? Your companions are all over there. Though I'll be sending you to hell to reunite with them soon enough."

"It's fine, I'm not too worried. They'll be okay," Ye Zheng said calmly, completely ignoring the other's provocation.

Not getting the expected reaction, Sierra's red eyes darkened again. She beckoned, and a red branch gently wrapped around her hand, rubbing against it affectionately.

"Go. Let's finish her."

Sierra and the agile branch attacked Ye Zheng together. She subconsciously wanted to summon her [Stream] but forced herself to stop. If her ability accidentally hit Sierra, it would disappear for a period of time.

So Ye Zheng drew the knife she had kept hidden on her person. Since Sierra was genuinely trying to kill her this time, she had to respond with the same resolve.

The agile and powerful red branches blocked Ye Zheng's movements. Sierra, having produced a knife from somewhere, glared at the black-haired girl, her eyes filled with a fiery madness.

Just as Ye Zheng repelled the branches, she turned to block Sierra's attack, engaging her in a fight, intentionally separating Sierra from the branches.

A stream of water silently coiled around the branch, controlling it. No longer holding back, Ye Zheng quickly suppressed the undisciplined Sierra.

Sierra couldn't stop herself from retreating several steps. She understood that it wasn't enough to defeat the person in front of her. Unwilling to give up, she beckoned, and another red branch appeared behind her.

Her only companion was the Blood Flower, the very monster that had once put her at death's door. But so what? She could control it, and there was no more loyal relationship than that.

"Go—Ugh!"

Sierra's red eyes suddenly widened. As the branch silently attacked her from behind, her instincts screamed at her to dodge. She managed to duck to the side in time, but her waist was still hit, and blood began to seep out.

Ye Zheng watched all this and quickly understood. The Blood Flower had probably absorbed power from the Dragon Bone, broken free from Sierra's control, and was even trying to turn on her.

She took a few steps towards Sierra. Sierra's eyes widened, and she took a few more steps back. Another branch shot swiftly towards Sierra. This time, Sierra managed to avoid it, but she accidentally lost her footing.

Before Ye Zheng's astonished dark eyes, the blonde girl's body fell from the white bone, plummeting down.

Sierra stared with disbelieving red eyes, the reflection of the black-haired girl's figure growing distant in her pupils. Her body was in rapid descent, while Ye Zheng once again looked down on her from above as she fell.

Her body felt incredibly light, the sound of rushing air humming in her ears, as chaotic as the crying crowd from ten years ago.

But this time, she wouldn't cry out. She wouldn't plead in her heart for that little girl, who was picked up by her relatives and handed to the Priest, to look at her, to take her along.

Back then, she was at that Priest's feet, craning her neck to look at the little girl held high above. The words "save me" hadn't even left her lips before she was knocked down by the pleading crowd behind her, all her words drowned out.

The moment she was trampled to the ground, her eyes met hers, just like now.

Ye Zheng stood at the edge of the bone, watching Sierra fall. This was the result of Sierra's own madness. But when her gaze met Sierra's, Ye Zheng's heart suddenly burned.

Those eyes, usually filled with madness, were clearly pleading, "Save me."

And so, Ye Zheng took a step forward.

She leaped.

Night quietly fell upon the Demonic Domain. A falling Sierra stared blankly at the blood-red moon in the sky. This was the sight she had seen day after day for the ten years she was trapped in the Demonic Domain.

It would also be the last sight she ever saw.

Suddenly, the blood moon vanished from Sierra's vision. A brilliant white radiance appeared, filling her entire field of view. Sierra's eyes widened, and she dazedly reached a hand upwards.

Her hand was caught.

The river on the ground suddenly broke its banks. The gushing flood instantly swept across the land. Even the massive white skull fell from its branch support, crashing into the floodwaters with a deafening roar.

The falling Dragon Bone stirred up monstrous waves, and two tiny figures fell into the flood together.

Author's Note:

First day as a student teacher. I feel like my inspiration is being drained by work...

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