Chapter 83-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

Ye Zheng looked up, observing the patterns on the tall stone wall: undulating waves, flowers, treasures... they were very similar to the decorations in a cathedral, even more intricately carved than those in the grandest church of the upper district.

Looking around, there were a total of twelve doors in the circular hall that trapped everyone. Each door was carved with a figure holding a sword, each in a different pose.

Ye Zheng stared intently at the figures on the doors. She suspected they depicted the God of Hope, but they were not quite the same as the image of the God of Hope she was familiar with.

The recorded and widely known image of the God of Hope was more imposing. He held a sword that gleamed with golden light, His face majestic and solemn, His figure tall and robust.

In fact, when Ye Zheng was looking through records, she found no clear mention of the God of Hope's gender, but most people assumed He was male, and in the widely circulated portraits, His form did indeed look more masculine.

The figures carved in this stone hall were slenderer, and even while holding a sword, their faces were compassionate.

"What on earth is this Demonic Domain? Are we sure we haven't accidentally stumbled into some church?" Roy muttered.

Lucy, following her companion's lead, began to observe the palace. After looking for a long time, she only felt that the figures carved on the doors were very familiar.

"Isn't that the God of Hope?" she said, pointing to a figure with lowered eyes and a gentle smile.

Everyone looked at Lucy in astonishment. Percy frowned, "Lucy, are you sure? The God of Hope in my memory doesn't look like this."

Lucy nodded with great certainty. "In a dilapidated church near my hometown, the God of Hope looks just like this! It was only after I came to the city that I realized the God of Hope here looks different!"

Ye Zheng's eyes widened slightly. What Lucy said was likely true. The western part of the lower district was the most untamed region in the entire Empire. Not only was it vast and sparsely populated, but the local customs were so rustic it was daunting.

In such a poor and unruly place, even the Sei Curia couldn't be bothered to expend much effort, so it was normal for some ancient traces to remain.

"Lucy, how many years has that church near your home existed?"

"I heard it's been four or five hundred years? I don't even want to go inside; it might collapse one day."

Hearing Lucy's answer, Ye Zheng had a good idea of when this stone hall was built.

Percy also realized it, his face showing disbelief. "In that case, is it possible that this place was also built by people from our Empire hundreds of years ago?"

Everyone fell silent. This completely contradicted their understanding of Demonic Domains!

Every citizen of the Empire knew that Demonic Domains were alien spaces that roamed outside the human world, filled with ominous disasters, foreign monsters that devoured humans and their living spaces.

How could there be traces of the Empire's people in a Demonic Domain? Building these things would require a great deal of time and manpower.

"You've got to be kidding..."

Caleb's hand unconsciously touched the exquisite patterns on the stone wall as he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he applied a little force and found that the stone door under his hand could be pushed open easily.

With a dull thud, a door slowly opened.

Percy's expression was grave. This Demonic Domain gave him a very strange feeling, not just because of its peculiarity, but also because in his recent, continuous dreams, he felt like he had seen flashes of these carvings.

Of course, what impressed him most in the dreams was that sword gleaming with golden light.

Could that dream really be a prophecy? Would he, as in the dream, raise that object that resembled the divine sword of the God of Hope?

Percy stared at the open door. A deep corridor was faintly visible behind it, with only small lamps burning on both sides, so dim that the end could not be seen.

"Since this door is open, let's go."

He took a deep breath and walked toward the door. The members of the Cloud-Soaring Squad followed him. This Demonic Domain was currently too mysterious; they could only press forward and explore.

Just as Lucy was about to step out of the stone door, she seemed to sense something and looked back. As expected, Zhao Mei hadn't followed them again!

"Zhao Mei! What are you writing?"

"If this place is a labyrinth, it's better to make some markings."

The young man, with no awareness of vandalizing a cultural relic, put away the pen he carried with him.

Lucy looked at Zhao Mei curiously. He was always dressed in plain black—she had no idea why he liked wearing black so much. He was elegant and handsome; he would probably look very good in white too.

Today, he was wearing a strange black robe that completely concealed his figure, just like a peculiar magician from the legends.

Seeing the young man put the pen into his black robe, Lucy felt even more certain that there was magic hidden under Zhao Mei's robe.

"Let's go, let's go, we won't be able to catch up with everyone!"

Lucy dragged the young man forward, not noticing that his green eyes were still focused on the statue on the door.

The postures of the God of Hope on the twelve doors were all different. On the door they entered, the God of Hope held the sword in a reverse grip, the horizontal blade blocking their chest.

Ye Zheng followed Lucy into the dim, endless, and narrow corridor. Ahead, the figures of several young men held up glow sticks to explore.

She tugged at her black robe, under which was a suit of light armor.

This kind of light armor was not very useful against the monsters in a Demonic Domain; it was suitable for dealing with humans, especially those skilled with swords.

—In order to obtain that sword, she had even considered the possibility of crossing blades with Percy.

Percy excelled at close combat, while her abilities were not suited for dealing with him. The fight would be very disadvantageous for her, so she had to make all sorts of preparations in advance.

This labyrinth was an enclosed space with a lack of water, which greatly limited her abilities.

Fighting Percy directly was the least ideal option, as the Cloud-Soaring Squad would surely choose to help him. But even if it came to that, it didn't matter. The Cloud-Soaring Squad was definitely not the only one to have entered this Demonic Domain.

This Demonic Domain had occupied a large area as soon as it descended. Sykes, who was crazily scoring points, wouldn't miss it. There was also the team from the Divine Academy; they were the closest team to this Demonic Domain.

"Why are there three more doors!"

The boys' shouts came from ahead. Lucy quickened her pace with the young man, catching up to the front.

At the end of the corridor were three doors, each carved with a different pattern.

Percy's face froze. His intuition told him it was best not to choose these doors randomly.

Although this place resembled human ruins, it was a Demonic Domain after all. Demonic Domains were always fraught with danger, and they couldn't let their guard down.

The fact that they hadn't encountered any danger yet made them feel even more uneasy.

Roy, using the light from his glow stick, carefully observed the patterns on the doors and whispered, "There must be some kind of rule here."

The first door was carved with people feasting and reveling. The second door was carved with collapsing mountains and surging rivers. The third door was carved with a ferocious beast sliced in two.

Percy said in a deep voice, "Let's check the stone walls on either side for anything else. If not, we'll retreat..."

"The door won't open!"

Lucy pressed against the door they had just come through, pushing with all her might, but the stone door remained unmoved.

Everyone's expression inevitably grew heavy, and their attitude toward the three doors before them became even more cautious.

Just as the young men were aimlessly wandering the corridor, searching for clues, a slightly hoarse voice echoed in the narrow space.

"The Divine Revelation, Volume Two, Page 89: The human world is on the verge of collapse, great mountains crumble without reason, rivers change their course without cause, all things are ruined. The deity resists with a sword; the collapsing mountains cease to crumble, the surging rivers cease to rage."

The second door happened to be carved with crumbling mountains and rivers, while the door they had entered through was carved with a deity holding a sword horizontally in defense.

Percy, who was feeling the stone wall, turned around in surprise. Lucy's eyes widened in admiration. "Zhao Mei, you can even memorize this? I don't even know what this book is!"

"You idiot, Lucy, what are you so surprised about then?" Roy retorted habitually.

Caleb scratched his head, saying embarrassedly, "This seems to be a book from the Sei Curia, detailing all the records related to the God of Hope. I glanced at it in my dad's study and lost interest. I'm so ashamed..."

Percy stared at the young man leaning against the stone wall. His green eyes were exceptionally deep under the dim light, quietly staying in the corner.

He never thought Zhao Mei would be so well-versed in the books of the Sei Curia...

Thinking about it, it wasn't strange. Almost everyone in the Empire was a believer of the God of Hope, just that some were particularly devout while others were more perfunctory. And for a healing-type ability user like Zhao Mei, taking the God of Hope as his faith and goal to heal the people would also be reassuring.

Feeling everyone's admiring gazes, Ye Zheng managed a smile, hiding the copy of The Divine Revelation in her arms more deeply.

Telling everyone that she carried such a thick book with her would be a bit strange. It was better to let everyone think she was a genius with a photographic memory. The readers who adored Zhao Mei might be even happier then.

She didn't quite understand adjectives like "beautiful, powerful, and tragic" or "white moonlight" (a term for an idealized, unforgettable person), but a label like "little genius" should also be popular, right?

Ye Zheng just felt that since the God of Hope's sword might be hidden in the Demonic Domain, it would be useful to bring something related to the God of Hope.

[I thought you had really memorized all of The Divine Revelation. In the original plot, you...]

The System spoke halfway and then suddenly swallowed its words.

"In the original plot, I also helped the Cloud-Soaring Squad find the correct path," Ye Zheng said slowly in her mind.

"Which means, I was the one who led the Cloud-Soaring Squad to the divine sword."

She had already figured it out. This stone palace was built around the God of Hope. Only the most devout believers could approach the deity. If one wasn't devout enough and chose the wrong path...

With a dull thud, Percy, walking at the very front, pushed open the stone door carved with the crumbling mountains and rivers.

White light instantly poured out from the door, illuminating the dim corridor. The young men closed their eyes against the piercing white light. When everyone opened their eyes again and saw the scene behind the door, they couldn't help but take a step back into the corridor.

Inside the empty stone hall, someone lay on the ground, soaked to the skin with a bloated abdomen. Someone else was crushed by a stone, their head twisted as they stared at the entrance, blood pooling on the floor and flowing all the way to the young men's feet.

"Is this door really the right choice..." Roy's face turned pale.

The black-haired, green-eyed young man pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. Lucy wanted to grab him, but his sleeve only lingered in her palm for a moment.

"Drowned."

"Crushed to death."

The young man in black squatted next to the corpses, pronouncing their deaths, like a legendary black cat that represented misfortune.

"The drowned body has already started to bloat, which means these people entered at least four hours ago."

After saying this, Ye Zheng herself paused.

This was strange. In hot weather, a drowned body would take at least four to five hours to start bloating and decomposing, yet this Demonic Domain had descended less than two hours ago.

The weather wasn't particularly hot; she wasn't even warm in her light armor and black robe. The bodies shouldn't have changed so quickly.

Could it be that time flows differently in the Demonic Domain? Or was the Cloud-Soaring Squad delayed by an hour or two in receiving news about this Demonic Domain?

Percy also squatted down beside the young man. He had no knowledge in this area; he was just worried that Zhao Mei would be in danger by rushing in.

"This place is indeed very dangerous." Percy's expression was grave as he looked around, worried that a boulder might suddenly fall from some corner.

"We pushed open the correct door. We won't be punished," the young man explained.

Percy was taken aback. "You mean, they entered the wrong door."

This palace also had several doors; these people didn't necessarily come in through the same door as they did.

If they had chosen the wrong door just now and entered one of the other two, would they have suffered such a tragic attack...

Percy pondered deeply. Zhao Mei, who was squatting beside him, suddenly stood up and turned to look at the members of the Cloud-Soaring Squad.

"From now on, everyone stick close to me."

"Only the most devout believer of the God of Hope can find the true path."

Everyone was stunned at first, but soon, their gazes turned to Zhao Mei, who was walking at the forefront, filled with trust.

Percy also nodded. The current situation was very clear: only a devout believer who knew the God of Hope well enough to recite the scriptures, like Zhao Mei, could find the correct path.

The black-haired, green-eyed young man responded to his teammates' trusting gazes with a gentle and firm expression, a faint trace of self-mockery flashing in the depths of his eyes.

It was a lie. She wasn't devout at all. The position of Saintess was just a calculated move.

She wouldn't waste time memorizing the Sei Curia's scriptures and disdained the act of placing hope in a deity. If she were truly a devout believer of the God of Hope, she should be helping Percy; he had already received a divine oracle in his dreams.

And she had never received one.

But so what? She would find the true path for everyone! As long as this one sentence was true, faith and oracles were no longer important.

The few who were still hesitating at the entrance heard the young man's slow and steady words and couldn't help but step forward to follow behind him.

Percy also stood up, closely following that quiet yet powerful black figure.

"Let's go. We're heading to the next door."

The young man's voice was even hoarser than before, like the calm, occasionally undulating surface of the sea before a storm.

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →