Chapter 119-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

"Sir, where are you headed?"

In the central courtyard garden, the guard captain had never seen Bishop Kiran so flustered and anxious. Thinking some major incident had occurred ahead, he hurried over, only to be grabbed by the collar by Kiran.

"Take your men and kill Annabelle. Now."

The captain's eyes widened as he confirmed repeatedly, "Kill her? Right on the spot? Lady Annabelle is the—urgh!"

With an expressionless face, Kiran drew the glaring red dagger from the man's abdomen. He turned to the young squad member beside him, who looked terrified, and pointed the blood-dripping knife at him. "You're the captain of this guard squad now. Go at once and kill Annabelle... and everyone around her."

The young man, suddenly promoted, showed no joy on his face. He nodded frantically.

Kiran spared the new captain another glance and continued deeper into the base.

He should have realized it sooner. Annabelle had stayed in this base far longer than any leader had planned for a West District supervisor. Even if she had no access to those core secrets, after so many years, she must have noticed things she shouldn't know.

That was a position of absolute secrecy, known only to each successive West District supervisor—and he, as the emperor's appointee, was the sole exception.

And now, there was one more exception—Ye Zheng.

Urgent footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. Kiran entered his study, and at the sight of the disarray inside, the last flicker of hope in his heart vanished.

Ye Zheng was waiting for him in that secret location.

Kiran took a few steps forward, glanced at the bookshelf with signs of movement, but didn't approach. Instead, he rummaged in a small cabinet in the corner for a moment, then took the item and left the room, heading in another direction.

"Bishop Kiran, why have you come here?"

The young woman with red hair opened the door and, seeing the usually composed and handsome bishop with disheveled hair and sweat beading on his forehead, immediately ushered him in with pity.

"No, Lily. I'm here for one thing—to ask a favor of you."

The red-haired woman named Lily grew panicked. Had those fallen breeds outside already breached the protective barrier?

Suddenly, a chain was draped around her neck. Looking down, she saw a metal card pendant with Kiran Aston engraved on it.

"Listen, if I don't come back to you in thirty minutes, take this necklace to the central control room. Those people will let you through when they see it."

"There's a small room in the central control room. Swipe the card to enter. And the password is..."

The young woman shook her head in disbelief, tears flashing in her eyes. Why did these words sound more and more like Bishop Kiran's last words? Why entrust her with something so important?

"I trust you, Lily. If I gave this to those seemingly loyal men, they'd use it only to satisfy their own ambitions for power. But you won't."

"You're noble, selfless. I've known that since the first moment I saw you."

Her panicked, trembling hand was suddenly gripped, and in her tear-filled eyes, the man's gentle, affectionate face blurred. Lily nodded vigorously in a daze.

Watching the man's receding figure down the corridor, the young woman wiped away her tears and clutched the metal card tightly.

She had followed Bishop Kiran's example, voluntarily giving up her privileged life to come here, long prepared to dedicate everything—

To perish alongside the great Hope Project with him would be the most beautiful end for them all...

"Why are you crying?"

Lily startled and quickly hid the necklace. The brown-haired girl from the next room peeked out from behind her door, looking puzzled at her.

"Annie, shouldn't you be at the Hall of Saints at this hour?"

"Never mind. I'm going to rest."

Lily slammed the door shut.

When Kiran returned to the study, he first drew the ceremonial sword hanging on the wall, symbolizing glory. Then he walked to the depths of the room.

Facing the towering bookshelf, he took a deep breath, his hand trembling slightly as he touched it.

Despite being prepared, when the day truly came, he couldn't remain calm after all.

Ye Zheng was the girl chosen by the God of Hope, just like Percy and Sykes—both prides of the Hope Project. If not for her reaching this point, he wouldn't have harbored murderous intent toward her.

The bookshelf rumbled, parting to reveal a hidden door.

Kiran lifted his foot and stepped into the darkness.

He was still hesitating. Did he really have to kill Ye Zheng? She had found this place, and with her intelligence, she might soon uncover the empire's greatest secret about the dragon bone. If that secret spread, the entire empire would plunge into massive turmoil, the harm perhaps no less than that of an apocalypse-level Demonic Domain.

Yet the God of Hope had bestowed upon Ye Zheng the Divine Sword—a glory neither Percy nor Sykes had attained. Perhaps Ye Zheng was the key to saving the apocalyptic future.

Kill or not—either choice would plunge the empire into immense peril because of Ye Zheng!

His emotions churning, Kiran quickened his pace down the dim, winding staircase, soon reaching the small door at the end.

The door, which normally required a password, had been forcibly broken open. Beyond it lay a shocking sight.

The vast floor stretched endlessly, the dimly lit painted dome soaring high overhead. The angel fresco with countless eyes gazed down from above.

Below, the serpentine spine bones wound like an endless mountain range, nearly bursting the already immense underground space. Atop the dragon bone mountains sat a tiny, insignificant figure, like a rogue wave surging up or a white moth alighting briefly.

Kiran looked up, and upon seeing the youth's half-smiling face atop the white spine, he steeled his resolve.

Even if he didn't decide to kill her, he must confront her with the conviction of doing so.

Atop the towering white vertebrae, Ye Zheng was reading a book.

She had found something interesting in Kiran's study—an early document on the "Hope Project," densely packed with names.

Until she turned to the last page.

Our forebears wove benevolent lies for an inevitably doomed future, but we shall twist those lies into beautiful reality.

Where there is no deity, we create one. Where there is no hope, we forge it.

The Mother of All Things passed down through generations, the Hope Project carried like a torch, the unquenchable spirit of exploration—these are the finest gifts we leave to posterity.

—Saintess Marian

It was the signature of the second-generation saintess.

How strange. This document bore only women's signatures; the initial leaders and initiators were women, exploring the secrets between women and the dragon bone. Yet in reality, the Hope Project's leaders were all men?

Beyond mentioning the generational "Mother of All Things," the document gave no specifics on how the Hope Project proceeded. And aside from this file, Ye Zheng found no other records of the initiator, Saintess Marian.

Even setting aside the Hope Project, the mere fact of such a massive dragon bone buried beneath the West District would suffice to shatter the faith of all imperial citizens if exposed.

The dragon bone beneath her was rough and icy cold. Ye Zheng felt as if she sat upon a colossal edifice piled from lies, everything teetering on the brink of collapse.

Ye Zheng leaned back with one hand until she felt the surging power from the dragon bone. She took a deep breath.

In the silent space, footsteps suddenly echoed. Ye Zheng looked down at the approaching white figure below and tucked away the document, greeting the death-bound Kiran with a polite smile.

The two stood motionless, gazing at each other in dead silence. The thin air grew stagnant and thick.

"I figured you'd come alone, but still, applause is due. At least in your final moments, you cling to your foolish delusions."

According to the empire's official narrative, the demon dragon's spine was buried in the West She County of the upper district, safeguarding it from Demonic Domain incursions. Now it lay in the lower district's West District—a secret so subversive that Kiran wouldn't allow anyone else the chance to witness it firsthand.

"So, can you explain? Why is the demon dragon's spine here?"

Ye Zheng sat high on the white spine, her hair cascading as she asked.

"Perhaps one day you'll be told this secret, but not today."

Kiran shook his head with a smile.

"Secrets told by others are often unworthy of trust. I prefer to seek answers myself."

Ye Zheng leaped down, shedding the white robe used for disguise to reveal the gray vest and black trousers beneath, the black scabbard hugging her side.

She said, "Whether you guard the secret or not, you're doomed to die today."

"Your odds are good, but don't underestimate me, Kiran Aston."

After realizing Ye Zheng awaited him in the underground chamber burying the dragon bone, Kiran had analyzed countless scenarios and countermeasures in his mind.

His greatest disadvantage stemmed from the location itself.

For certain reasons, the mausoleum housing the dragon bone was built from heterogeneous stone that isolated powers. The moment he entered, he felt profound suppression.

Ye Zheng was similarly restricted by the mausoleum, but unlike him—she could draw power from the dragon bone!

Countless experiments had shown that only women could attune to the dragon bone. A woman fused with it would absorb and control its power even more adeptly.

Kiran gripped his sword tightly, slowly pointing it at the saintess before him.

Ye Zheng's ability was A-rank. Under the mausoleum's suppression and the dragon bone's boon, her displayed strength wouldn't exceed A-rank.

As for his current power...

"I won't underestimate my opponent, Kiran Aston. You possess a 2S-rank ability, master hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, and control this entire base. If I underestimated you, I wouldn't have endured until now—endured until this place."

Ye Zheng also drew the gleaming golden sword from its ordinary scabbard.

Precisely because she never took any opponent lightly had she come this far. But Ye Zheng admitted her own recklessness; now wasn't the ideal time to kill Kiran, yet she proceeded anyway.

Kiran was right—Zhou Yun, who threatened the lives of fifty thousand people, was the greater danger. Even presenting Kiran's head might not sway Zhou Yun in negotiations... In the end, it was her soft heart. She didn't want to see another woman die here.

—But so what? The more righteous they were, the more they deserved to die!

If even she bowed to this oppressive righteousness and maintained so-called rationality, what right did she have to lead them in rebellion?

Water slowly coiled around the sword blade like a supple white serpent, lunging in an instant toward the sword-wielding man not far away.

Kiran's pupils contracted. He swung his sword to sever the snake-like water flow, then activated his ability. The water lost its downward gravity, floating in midair.

Ye Zheng's expression unchanged—she had long known of Kiran's gravity-related power, so she didn't rashly close in.

"Though rumors claim the saintess's [Stream] is a healing ability, I suspect it's actually water manipulation?"

Kiran flicked away the water droplets hovering near him with his sword tip, smiling as he stepped closer.

"Based on Saintess Ye Zheng's feats—and that Zhao Mei's in the tournament—your [Stream] lacks inherent overwhelming force. You can't summon tidal waves, but you can control them."

"But regrettably, this arid mausoleum isn't your home ground."

Ye Zheng watched the man's approaching figure without flinching. "Regrettably, your gravity under this mausoleum's suppression won't hold for long either."

"You're right. So I must kill you quickly."

Before Kiran's words finished, his swift form was already upon Ye Zheng. His movements were agile, unlike a church bishop's—more like an elite knight's.

Bang bang bang—three gunshots rang out. Ye Zheng switched to holding the sword left-handed, gun in her right, using bullets to halt Kiran's advance.

One bullet veered off behind Kiran; the other two, just before striking his body, suddenly floated up.

Kiran instinctively retreated a step, thrusting his sword at Ye Zheng again. The saintess, usually presented as serene, proved remarkably agile, dodging each strike. The two retreated steadily until they reached the shadow of the towering, endless demon dragon spine.

The shadow enveloped them. The man glanced up at the dragon bone nearly blocking the view above and chuckled. "The closer to the dragon bone, the stronger your power, right?"

He thrust rapidly with his sword, each strike aimed at vitals, while bantering as if still firmly in control.

The slender sword light came head-on. Ye Zheng's body dodged left-backward, but suddenly her step sank, her movement slowing. The sword tip nearly grazed her nose.

Ye Zheng jumped back, arching a brow slightly. "Your range is one meter?"

She had just entered his domain, where he manipulated her gravity.

Evidently, his ability manipulated objects within a certain range, but the heterogeneous stone mausoleum limited him—his control over range and objects was constrained.

"It was originally ten meters, and more than just this effect."

Kiran answered with utmost sincerity.

Even if he couldn't kill Ye Zheng, she could scarcely kill him— no attack could approach him!

Under Ye Zheng's wary scrutiny, Kiran suddenly released his sword. It clattered to the ground as he spread his empty hands toward her, his handsome face adopting an utterly sincere expression.

He said, "Ye Zheng, I give you two choices. First, abandon your hostility and join us fully. You're the child chosen by the God of Hope. The empire will grant you the highest honors."

As he spoke, Kiran even stepped back voluntarily, widening the distance to show his harmlessness.

"The empire's highest honors? A holy vessel?"

The girl's face instantly lost all expression, her gaze turning utterly cold. Her gun hand clenched tighter.

Kiran lowered his eyes, taking in every subtle motion of hers.

He continued slowly, "No, you'll be more precious than the base's holy vessels. They won't implant dragon bone life into you as with the base, because Sykes's existence provides a more natural method. It was predetermined from his birth, and now you're the most suitable candidate..."

Bang bang bang!

Bullets fired in rapid succession until the barrel smoked, venting the owner's fury. Kiran watched the shots fly toward him unmoving, unsurprised, a corner of his mouth hooking up, a trace of pitying sorrow in his eyes.

As expected, Ye Zheng would be provoked by such words. Even knowing bullets were useless against him, she'd fire in instinctive rage.

She was indeed bold, meticulous, and peerless in intellect and valor—her overall qualities even surpassing the meticulously nurtured Percy and Sykes. If only she were more rational, with a longer view, he dared not imagine how far she'd go!

Yet today, she was fated to end here.

The bullets halted at the white-clad man's side, just as before. Kiran sighed, and the suspended bullets didn't fall—instead, they reversed direction, hurtling back unexpectedly toward Ye Zheng!

He had deceived her. Even restricted, his ability's range spanned three meters!

His power wasn't merely negating gravity—it could also direct it!

Kiran had awaited this moment—the instant the prey was caught off guard and counter-killed. His pupils dilated in excitement or sorrow, reflecting the pale-faced girl not far away.

In a flash, the bullets assailed Ye Zheng in succession, sealing off all evasion. Kiran saw her frozen in shock, unmoving—perhaps she'd lost the will to react, or simply accepted the inevitable end for defying hope and justice!

His heart pounded wildly, Kiran watching breathlessly in exhilaration. Suddenly, his expression changed, hand clutching his abdomen, a wet sensation on his palm.

He looked down—viscous blood.

Kiran looked up in disbelief. Not far away, Ye Zheng stood unscathed. All bullets lay scattered on the ground around her.

No—six bullets. One was... in his belly.

"Impossible... Your ability is clearly..."

Kiran felt a chill slice across as his hand on his abdomen grew cold. Straining his eyes, he finally discerned a thread-fine, nearly invisible water line.

In agony and dizziness, Kiran glared at Ye Zheng with bloodshot eyes. The saintly white robes were nearly half-soaked in red as he staggered toward her, propping himself up.

"I have a 2S-rank friend with a similar range-based control ability. I knew right away you were lying just now."

Ye Zheng stepped forward, slowly approaching the hunched Kiran. He could no longer stand straight, collapsing to the ground.

"You hid a trick, so I hid one too. Fair, isn't it?"

She drew her longsword again, pressing the golden tip to Kiran's throat. More perilous than the blade was the coiling, serpentine trickle of water upon it.

In that instant, Kiran's pupils shrank to pinpricks, confronting the living water flow.

He understood! Ye Zheng hadn't fired the shots solely from rage—or rather, amid her fury, she had coated each bullet with an imperceptible [Stream], trailing the trajectories.

When he activated his power, he'd noticed only the bullets. As he manipulated gravity to rebound them, Ye Zheng had silently wrestled with him via [Stream].

Through a water thread finer than a needle's eye, she had overridden his gravitational law, reversing one bullet back at him!

"You're right—[Stream]'s water volume is minimal. Its brilliance lies in supreme control."

"Ha... You're really only A-rank... Or did Wen Jian use the dragon bone to upgrade you higher?"

"I've always been double S-rank. Just like you, I enjoy hiding a hand."

Bang—Ye Zheng drawled leisurely as she reloaded the magazine, firing another shot at Kiran's twitching left arm.

Kiran could no longer maintain even a sitting position, sprawling fully on the ground. He gazed at the colossal white remains overhead, his pain-twisted face forcing a smile.

"I knew you could kill me, so I made other preparations."

"Ye Zheng, even if I don't win, I absolutely won't lose."

The pallid, bloodless man lifted his neck, even pressing his throat onto Ye Zheng's sword tip, drawing blood.

"The moment you raised the Divine Sword, the Hope Project succeeded... You know the legend of the Divine Sword, don't you?"

Originally, the Divine Sword was the God of Hope's gift to the empire. Later, it vanished due to a group of extreme Hope God devotees. Legend held it was the God of Hope's profound disappointment with the empire, reclaiming the sword and withholding further protection.

Kiran closed his eyes, placing one hand over his chest where his most cherished photo lay.

Soon he would join them. His life and death had been devoted to humanity's future; surely he would ascend to the divine realm.

And it was Ye Zheng who killed him—not Percy or Sykes. This outcome even pleased him more, filling him with contentment.

To die by the God of Hope's Divine Sword—a blessing beyond compare!

"Ye Zheng, thank you... For ending my life this way, I'm satisfied."

"Kill me with the Divine Sword, and fulfill our final glory..."

The handsome man lying on the ground closed his eyes, like a newborn angel awaiting divine embrace.

"Kill you with the Divine Sword?"

Ye Zheng crouched to Kiran's left, bringing her right profile close, peering at him with wide, puzzled eyes.

"But I don't have the Divine Sword."

Kiran snapped his eyes open.

"Besides, I don't plan to kill you myself."

Ye Zheng stood, looking toward the mausoleum's depths where a viscous black mass writhed toward them.

On her way to the study, she had passed the incubation chamber. Thinking to sow more chaos in the base, she smashed a glass tank—and unexpectedly, this dragon bone-spawned monster, scenting the dragon bone, had slithered here.

"You—you said no Divine Sword—what do you mean!"

Kiran raged with bulging eyes, his throat pressed again by the sword tip, like a fish pinned to the board.

"The thing at my throat is clearly the Divine Sword—the Divine Sword!"

"This sword was forged by the royal family's finest craftsmen. The one who commissioned it would surely be honored to hear the legendary Bishop Kiran so adores it."

Kiran’s face twisted further as countless possibilities flashed through his mind. Perhaps the Divine Sword was too precious, and Ye Zheng had brought only a replica outside—the royalty and church wouldn't allow such a perilous item in a dangerous place.

"The true Divine Sword—is it held by the royal family? Or the church?"

Kiran breathed cautiously, his gaze holding an unwitting gleam of expectation, pleading toward the girl above.

"The true Divine Sword? It refused to be drawn for me, so I tossed it into a Demonic Domain."

Ye Zheng said lightly, her downcast eyes flickering with cunning mischief as she deliberately curled her lips.

"It entered Percy's dreams, guiding him to seek it. Something so disloyal, unusable for me—why keep it?"

The black viscous mass had crept to Kiran's toes, tentatively climbing upward, yet the man seemed oblivious, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What have you done—what have you done!"

He disregarded the sword at his throat, roaring hoarsely, blood trickling from his neck.

"By the way, the dragon bone wasn't implanted by Wen Jian. I found it and implanted it myself—utterly unrelated to your Hope Project."

"You—this..."

"Do you know why? Because the two children you raised, just like your Hope Project after centuries of effort—"

"Are trash."

Ye Zheng murmured softly, her teeth grinding each cruel word, each one carving into Kiran's heart. He glared, convulsing nonstop, as if desperate to rise and kill the usurper, the blasphemer before him with his last strength!

Yet the black viscous mass had enveloped most of his body, secreting corrosive acid.

Author's Note:

I'm fine with any opinions or discussions as long as they don't turn into personal attacks. Regarding Zheng's hair issue, it's something I've planned for ages as an adult ceremony highlight—I think placing it there holds the most meaning. It's not because I didn't want to cut it for Zheng.

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