Chapter 87-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
[You killed Yin Kong? Just like that?]
It wasn't until Ye Zheng had walked to the foot of the statue that the System's incredulous voice rang out.
[He was a popular character, after all. Even if his recent appearances were few and his popularity was diluted by an out-of-nowhere popular character like you, his character popularity has dropped, but, but...]
"I gave Yin Kong a chance."
If she had been ruthless enough, she should have killed him decisively the moment Yin Kong revealed the details of that card and began to suspect her, instead of deliberately leading his prediction towards Percy to give him a chance to live.
"Neither of us are very good assassins."
Yin Kong also lacked sufficient resolve. Otherwise, he should have acted the moment he saw her; perhaps then he would have stood a chance.
These prophets, they should really take some time to pay attention to their own fates.
Ye Zheng sighed to herself, looking up at the face of destiny—
Within the grand and spacious temple, the statue of the God of Hope stood quietly. Its form was so imposing, yet its expression was serene and merciful. Its hands were crossed over its heart, as if looking down to question a lost child.
At the foot of the statue, a pool of bottomless clear water swirled, as if to block intruders from approaching.
But for Ye Zheng, this was no obstacle.
She stepped onto the clear water's surface, approaching the statue step by step, the small splashes dampening her black boots.
Each step she took left ripples on the glass-like water, like the water lotuses left by a fairy wading through the water in legends. But what the water reflected was a noble god of death in black clothes and silver armor, her taut profile like a snow-tinged white blade.
[You want to seize the sword, but your remaining action points are barely enough to support your actions. This is a very important plot point.]
The System couldn't help but ask with worry.
Ye Zheng didn't answer immediately. She walked on the water as if it were solid ground, circling behind the statue. She crouched down and felt around the hem of the statue's robe, finding a slight indentation.
"Found it."
The young woman moved away the stone block that was in the way. From the chipped corner, she first took out a heavy bone, then from within it, she pulled out a longsword that glowed with a golden light.
As expected, this statue was the one from the Divine Plaza.
Ye Zheng's fingertips brushed over the blade. This sword was expensive and well-made, exceptionally sharp, but it was just an ordinary longsword from the royal alchemy workshop, later taken by Wen De to be reprocessed to make it look more majestic and holy.
The blade seemed to tremble slightly, as if excited for the destiny that was to come.
A nameless sword from a nameless craftsman would soon become a world-renowned divine sword.
[!]
The System was shocked. It finally realized what Ye Zheng was about to do.
[You want to swap the fake for the real one? You want to deceive everyone here, even the entire empire?]
[The real divine sword hasn't appeared yet. Key characters like Percy and Sykes are on their way. The success rate of this deception is too low!]
"Then let's find the real divine sword first."
"I've already figured out the secret of this maze. This isn't a Demonic Domain—or more accurately, it's something like a shelter that can't be swallowed by the Demonic Domain."
Only this answer could explain the corpses in the maze who died before the Demonic Domain even descended, the suppressed levels of ability, and the statue that shouldn't have appeared in a Demonic Domain.
Furthermore, even if many residents had voluntarily evacuated because of Sierra, based on the observed area of the Demonic Domain from the outside, it was impossible not to see a single ordinary person in the maze!
Ye Zheng stroked the statue, looking up and murmuring, "The real Demonic Domain exists above this maze."
Ability users were summoned into the maze for trials, while ordinary people were suffering in the Demonic Domain.
"Was the statue moved from the Divine Plaza into the maze because it sensed danger? This is the most revered statue in the lower district, not just because it's large, but because the Divine Plaza area has almost never seen a Demonic Domain descend."
But now, even the protected Divine Plaza had been encroached upon by a Demonic Domain, and even the statue could only retreat underground.
It seemed the crisis from the prophecy was drawing nearer.
"This maze is a shelter belonging to this statue."
"Tell me, why do you think this statue is being protected so meticulously?"
This maze was a shelter to protect the divine sword, and also a test. Only ability users could enter, and those who passed the test could obtain the treasure within the statue.
Ye Zheng slowly raised the golden sword, pointing it at the statue's heart, which was covered by its crossed hands.
In the spoilers, Percy stood on the corpse of a Mutant Beast, the magnificent statue behind him nearly shattered, as he held the divine sword aloft.
This maze had no Mutant Beasts; they could only be from the Demonic Domain above. This meant that the Demonic Domain above would soon overrun this underground maze.
[You're going to smash the statue to find the divine sword? This is an important item, you'll be deducted a lot of action points! If you exceed the limit, not only will the action fail, you might also be... wait, what are you doing!]
Ye Zheng suddenly turned the sword's tip, pointing the golden sword towards her own abdomen.
This maze should be made of Heterogeneous Stone, just like a shelter, suppressing at least a third of her power.
Not enough, not enough. She needed more power to control the situation.
The tip of the sword pried open the silver light armor, cut through the tight black clothes, pressed against her flesh, and drew a line of blood.
The System was practically screaming silently, its display momentarily unable to load any human language!
Break open, insert, a stream of water becomes a thread, swiftly stitching it up.
Ye Zheng's face was pale. The closer the Dragon Bone was to her flesh and blood, the more powerful the strength it supplied. She had already tamed the small piece of bone in her palm; it was time to try going further.
"Only the benevolent and strong can lift the hilt of the Sword of Hope."
Her cold hands once again grasped the hilt of the golden sword. Ye Zheng suddenly thought of the sentence she had seen before entering the door, and a smile touched her bloodless lips.
Then, the girl let out a deep, sigh-like breath. The blood-stained tip of the sword pointed upwards. The clear water that had been flowing gently beneath the god suddenly surged, like a river flowing backwards to the heavens, coiling around the golden blade. The torrent of water followed the sword's tip ever upwards, finally forming a colossal, frozen wave that faced the standing statue.
Behind the great wave stood a tiny human girl, holding the sword with both hands, the blood-stained tip unmoving.
The System was still in a near-crashed state. It watched with wide eyes as Ye Zheng raised the sword, sluggishly thinking, is she going to smash the statue? Will she succeed? Will the laws of this world allow her to succeed? Are there enough action points to support it?
The next moment, it saw the sword's tip flick sharply upwards. The mountain-like wave immediately churned, surging with unstoppable force towards—the maze's dome!
The great wave grazed past the statue and shot straight up. The grand and solid dome, made of Heterogeneous Stone, instantly shattered into pieces!
Ye Zheng tilted her face up, rubble continuously falling around her. Dust stained her snow-white face and raven-feather-like black lashes. She had no time to wipe it away, her eyes locked on the dome she had shattered.
After a moment, amidst the billowing dust and smoke, a wicked, bronze-bell-sized red eye suddenly appeared behind the crack in the dome, like a perfectly round red moon hanging high, spewing an ominous aura.
A monster from the Demonic Domain peeked its head through the breach in the maze.
"Come on. This is your graveyard."
The young woman in black light armor shifted the tip of her sword slightly and said softly.
Above the maze.
The gray earth was thick with the desperate stench of death. A little girl, only half the height of a person, hugged her even smaller sister, hiding behind a withered tree, tears streaming down her face as she clamped her hand tightly over her sister's mouth.
She suppressed the terror in her heart and turned to peek out from behind the tree. In her tear-filled eyes, the bloody death blurred into patches of red and white. People lay scattered on the ground, and bird-like monsters with sharp beaks were pecking at the dead.
The little girl saw that the monsters were all in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. But a sharp pain shot through her palm, and she subconsciously let go. Her sister, in her arms, let out a terrified cry.
She hurriedly turned her head and came face-to-face with a massive, blood-red eye the size of a bronze bell.
Saliva was already dripping onto her head. She stood rigidly, hugging her sister, not daring to even blink.
The dragon will eat them! Mom said evil demon dragons eat bad children!
Mom, I'm sorry, we'll never cause trouble again, never again...
The little girl finally couldn't hold it in anymore and screamed for her mother. The giant dragon opened its mouth wide, filled with sharp teeth, and the stench of blood assaulted them!
Amidst her sister's cries, the younger sibling surprisingly stopped crying. In her innocence, she heard a loud noise from afar and tugged on her sister's sleeve.
The sobbing little girl looked at her sister in confusion, then tremblingly looked up ahead—the giant dragon was gone.
High in the sky, the monsters that were hunting and feasting on their prey all spread their wings, blotting out the sun as they flew in one direction.
Somewhere inside the maze.
Bai Muqing, with several cuts on her body, frowned at Sierra sitting on the ground. The golden-haired girl had a bloody hole in her shoulder—a wound she had indirectly inflicted using [Divine Domain], bypassing Sierra's [Damage Nullification].
It could also be that abilities were suppressed here, so even Sierra couldn't completely negate the damage.
"You could have killed me. Why didn't you?"
Bai Muqing said expressionlessly, "Your sins should be judged by the Sei Curia. I will not overstep my bounds."
"I will personally escort you to the Sei Curia to confess your crimes."
Sierra shakily stood up from the ground. She was about to say something more when she heard a noise from behind.
They both looked towards the main door. The stone door slowly opened a crack.
Sierra immediately wanted to run out curiously to see, but the floor beneath her feet suddenly cracked, and she let out a small cry as she fell.
Bai Muqing cautiously approached the section of the floor that had opened and closed. Her intuition told her that Sierra was probably fine; the maze was simply not allowing her to enter that door.
Closing her white eyes, she used [Divine Domain] to see the scene behind the stone door. Her eyes snapped open, her expression one of utter shock.
Another palace.
The messy floor was littered with cracks and fallen rocks. Even the surrounding stone walls were scarred, a testament to the intensity of the battle.
"You will regret not killing me, Percy."
Sykes clutched his bleeding abdomen expressionlessly, where Percy's metal-transmuted hand had just pierced through.
"I already know your trump card. Next time, your tricks won't work anymore."
Percy looked at Sykes blocking his way, a hint of impatience in his eyes, but he held it back.
"You are the Crown Prince of the empire. I have no desire to be branded a regicide."
"The door is already open. You may go in first."
He had never wanted to fight Sykes in the first place. It was Sykes who had attacked him with vicious, deadly moves from the very beginning, even forcing him to use [Death Rewind] again.
Hearing Percy's deferential words, Sykes let out an inexplicable, cold laugh.
"You've won this round, but I'll catch up soon enough."
"Savior, incarnation of the God of Hope... heh."
Percy walked towards the door. Before he could see the scene behind the slowly opening door, he suddenly heard a continuous series of sounds, as if something was collapsing.
His pace quickened, a voice inside him urging him on. The thing that had been calling to him in his dreams was there.
But the moment he placed his hand on the stone door, that calling voice seemed to vanish.
"This amount is enough to buy your life. Besides, I'm not asking you to die, just to let me beat you down."
"N-no problem, Young Master Yu!"
"Roy, be careful not to sprain your ankle!"
"Get your butterflies away from me first, I'm really scared of bugs!"
"Wait, is that an earthquake?"
More and more people were gathering towards the very center of the maze. In the crumbling center, the claw of a giant dragon had already reached in.
At the same time, the steadfast statue actually began to move. Its hands, crossed over its chest, flipped over, and a sword gleaming with golden light hovered above its palms.
"Only the benevolent and strong..."
Ye Zheng, using a pillar of water, leaped onto the statue, jumping into its palm and approaching the longsword that flowed with a strange light.
It was more dazzling than depicted in the book.
"...can lift the hilt of the Sword of Hope."
At that moment, Ye Zheng was more certain than ever that the divine sword before her was calling to her.
She had passed the maze's trial.
However, when she reached out her hand—
[Warning! Warning! Major plotline collapsing... initiating scan... eliminating... preparing to era—]
[No, no, that's not it! It's just a kid messing around!]
The System's urgent voice replaced the merciless machine's voice.
Ye Zheng clutched her aching head with one hand, retracting the hand that was reaching for the sword.
The dome had completely shattered. The giant dragon shrieked as it flew towards the statue that held up the divine sword!
From her angle, she could have met the enemy head-on, but Ye Zheng chose to jump off the statue, watching from the side as the giant dragon knocked over the sturdy statue.
The statue fell face-first into the water, which was already murky with rubble. The divine sword disappeared beneath the submerged statue, and the giant dragon stood on the back of the toppled statue, letting out a long roar.
Ye Zheng looked at the ordinary golden sword in her hand. Very good, at least her preparations had a chance to be used.
The rest was simple. Don't let anyone get near the divine sword hidden in the water.
Then, carefully select a location to present the golden sword in her hand as a divine gift.
Finally, in front of everyone, become the Godsent.
Fate had reached a dead end, forced to use such a heavy-handed method to stop her.
It didn't matter. She still had plenty of little tricks up her sleeve. Ye Zheng gripped the simple sword in her hand, a helpless smile crossing her face.
Author's Note: Drawing the sword and the big reveal next chapter!
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