Chapter 127-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Clang—
The two sharp swords clashed fiercely once more, locked in a stalemate for a moment before both fighters retreated simultaneously. Sykes threw the sword in his hand aside, and along with it fell his black glove. Ye Zheng also sheathed her golden sword.
She extended her hand, spreading her five fingers into the mist. A pale blue trickle of energy darted like lightning, linking the water vapor in the white fog before her, condensing into a pale blue net.
Sykes's golden eyes darkened. He stood still without advancing, merely clenching his fist toward the front. A rush of air blasted forward, stirring up the surrounding dust and mist.
The pale blue water net shattered like a broken vase, splashing water droplets that connected into streams of water lines. Sykes kicked off with his back foot, lunging toward Ye Zheng in an instant. His right hand nearly seized her neck, her face mere inches away, yet she showed no panic—only displeasure as she tilted her head back.
His arm was suddenly yanked by an unseen force. Sykes turned his head to see countless threads of water color wrapping around his arm. He strained to break free, and the water lines snapped entirely. Just as he turned to mock Ye Zheng's little trick, he realized she had vanished.
The thick white fog and chilling dampness enveloped him, robbing him of his vision and his sense of normal temperature.
Sykes understood now: Ye Zheng was manipulating the water in the fog, controlling the entire environment around them. This dense mist was her ideal battlefield!
"You coordinate well with Zhou Yun."
Sykes curled his lips in a smile devoid of amusement, lowering his head to watch as water vapor crept up his body, carrying a suffocating chill intent on drowning every inch of his skin. His expression shifted slightly; at some point, even his eyelashes were coated in a layer of water film, lying dormant quietly as if waiting for a chance to gouge out his eyes.
"Your ability—it's called [Stream]?"
This was the first time Sykes truly acknowledged the Saintess's power. Though he had long sensed her abilities beyond healing, he had never cared to learn more.
No one responded to his words in the deathly still white fog. Sykes fell silent, closing his eyes to sense the surging undercurrents of water vapor.
In the landscape constructed by his mental world, he "saw" countless fine, dense water lines ensnaring him. His body stiffened, his breathing steadying as the flowing water lines hid within the thick fog, as if they might tighten and sever his limbs at any second!
Sykes abruptly opened his eyes, unable to resist a deep breath to calm his racing heart. This was the first time he had felt like the hunted—infuriating, and yet... exhilarating.
In this moment, he had forgotten all about positions and betrayals. It didn't matter which side Ye Zheng stood on; now, he only wanted to utterly defeat her!
Curling the fingers of his right hand, Sykes pressed his fist to his chest. His golden eyes churned with dark emotions as he spoke: "You've shown me your stream—allow me to return the courtesy—"
Before his words finished, the slowly drifting fog suddenly stagnated. Countless killing intents besieged Sykes. The golden-haired youth stood motionless amid them, then suddenly lifted his gaze toward a point in the vast whiteness. The surrounding water mist exploded outward, and the fine, dense water lines snapped in unison!
His vision cleared considerably. Sykes stood in the open space, his upper clothing reduced to not even fragments. He first lifted the corner of his mouth, but upon hearing the youth's voice, it pressed back down.
"Thanks for the lesson, Your Highness. So, you usually just concentrate [Destruction] in your right hand."
The neatly dressed and valiant Ye Zheng approached slowly, her face bearing an expression of sudden realization.
It was said that Sykes unleashed [Destruction] with his right hand, but from the recent probe, it was actually his habit to focus [Destruction] there—for ease in suppressing and releasing his power.
In actual combat, he could extend [Destruction] to every inch of his body, just as he had moments ago. Once close, one would be counterattacked by his ability.
Ye Zheng's eyes darkened as she glanced sideways at the hand dangling by her side. Water droplets trailed powerlessly from her fingertips, like flowing blood.
The core of [Stream] was only one liter of water, yet it could merge into any place with water, its threads thick or thin enough to stir winds and clouds.
When she had just manipulated the water vapor to assault Sykes, a trace of [Stream]'s core had approached him as well. Sykes's ability had inflicted severe damage on that trace in an instant.
Fortunately, when [Destruction] dispersed, its power also scattered. Ye Zheng suspected that facing [Destruction] at full strength would likely annihilate her [Stream] entirely.
Sykes's ability could destroy not only tangible bodies but also abilities—and even more abstract things...
Ye Zheng suddenly raised her eyes to stare at Sykes's head. Speaking of which, what exactly had caused Sykes to lose his memories?
"Let's continue, Ye Zheng."
Sykes's golden eyes stared at her darkly as he raised both arms, as if welcoming the next round of battle. "Show me all your abilities, your righteousness, your choices."
Ye Zheng's gaze traveled from his face downward, touching on his bare torso, then quickly withdrew.
The youth's fingertips twitched slightly, and the white mist encircling them flowed once more. Sykes let out a satisfied chuckle, his eyes burning with even fiercer battle intent. His blood surged excitedly, the scorching heat concentrating toward his right hand—
"Your Highness, are you alright—your clothes?!"
"Quick, bring clothes for His Highness!"
Sykes's expression stiffened. He turned his head to see the white mist not surging up again but receding like a tide, revealing the clear streetscape and the group of people who had just caught up.
The red-haired youth immediately pulled out a fresh set of clothing from his luggage. Ryan remembered that His Highness the Crown Prince had lately preferred dressing more conservatively—how could he tolerate such indecency in public? He quickened his pace, handing the clothes to Sykes.
It wasn't just Ryan; the hundred knights and those few commoner boys with Percy had all caught up, their gazes fixed on the oddly charged Crown Prince and Saintess.
Under the crowd's stares, Sykes swiftly donned the clothing, his face ashen enough to drip water.
He looked toward Ye Zheng, only to see her innocently shrugging her shoulders. "My apologies. Your willingness to so generously display everything to me is truly touching, but I've already feasted my eyes today. Take care of your health—don't catch a chill, Your Highness Sykes."
Ye Zheng spoke with pointed implication, her black eyes brimming with amusement as she brushed past him.
Learning today that [Destruction] could cover his entire body was enough. She had more pressing matters to attend to.
Sykes turned to glare at Ye Zheng's retreating back, grinding his teeth unconsciously. The ever-dutiful follower Ryan sneaked a glance, then immediately averted his eyes.
What generosity? What feasting the eyes? Was this something he could listen to?
Percy, seeing Ye Zheng unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Sykes hadn't had a chance to strike lethally yet—perhaps he'd even suffered at Ye Zheng's hands. Look at their stances just now; Ye Zheng appeared far more composed.
He turned his head, only to see Sykes shoving Ryan aside and striding toward Ye Zheng, seemingly intent on picking a fight again. Percy reached out to block him, advising, "Your Highness Sykes, our top priority is pursuing that black dragon. Don't act on impulse."
Percy had originally intended to find Zhou Yun; they had already pinpointed her location. But midway, they encountered the bizarre and shocking black dragon. His instincts told him that dragon was the true danger.
While Sykes had been eager to track Ye Zheng, Percy had entered that villa and made an unexpected discovery.
"We've just confirmed Zhou Yun's death."
Percy said gravely.
"I don't think Ye Zheng is Zhou Yun's accomplice, after all, she is—"
"Saintess!"
A resounding call came from nearby, cutting Percy off mid-sentence as he looked toward the source.
A group of white-clad knights advanced methodically toward them. Percy's expression flickered with surprise; he recognized that unit, for the Empire had only one knight order composed entirely of women.
The white-clad knights positioned themselves behind Ye Zheng. Though they were generally not tall, their presence was no less imposing than the knights Sykes had brought—in fact, their spirits seemed even stronger, their crisp white uniforms standing firm and solemn.
"...after all, she is the Empire's Saintess." Percy paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, the three of us share some fate, don't we?"
Kiran had told them that Ye Zheng was also a product of the Hope Project; they were all tragic test subjects. Now, with the Hope Project's legacy on the verge of endangering the entire Empire, they should clearly unite their strengths to stop it all.
Sykes ignored the voices around him, his gaze fixed on the Saintess in the distance and the crowd surrounding her. It seemed he couldn't continue the fight today.
He had never encountered anyone more cunning than Ye Zheng—she had even secretly brought her own team. How many more tricks did she have up her sleeve?
A long, shrill cry pierced the clouds, drawing everyone's eyes upward in unison, their faces struck with awe, as if hearing the call of an ancient deity. But they quickly realized it was merely a flock of monsters with dragon bodies screeching.
At the center of the crowd, Sykes clutched his forehead hard, the pain like shards churning in his mind. Memories flickered vaguely, only to shatter inch by inch.
Damn it! What exactly had he forgotten? This place was growing more irritating the longer he stayed!
Sykes lifted his eyes, glancing at Ye Zheng, who was conversing with her subordinates nearby, then closed them in suppression. No matter what, he would never seek healing from Ye Zheng again.
Perhaps it was her doing. In this world, even his nominally closest father could betray him—how could he entrust his body to someone else? Especially someone like Ye Zheng—cunning, strange, unfathomable.
Ye Zheng exchanged a few words with Wen De. When she entered Zhou Yun's villa, Wen De and the others had been consolidating the team.
As they conversed leisurely, Ye Zheng shifted a step, her gaze casually drifting toward the back of the formation.
Disheveled golden hair hid beneath a cap; Sierra, being small, blended unnoticeably among the group of older sisters.
Sierra poked her head out curiously, and Ye Zheng quietly shot her a look to stay calm and obedient.
Ye Zheng had had Sierra and the female ability users she brought mix into the Holy Journey Knights Order, donning the uniform outfits and standing at the rear of the formation.
Otherwise, if Sykes spotted Sierra—the fugitive who had once manipulated him utterly and was still at large—he'd likely fly into a rage. The imperial family was still offering a massive bounty for Sierra, and rumor had it the Crown Prince had sweetened the pot several times from his private coffers.
Ye Zheng glanced sidelong at Sykes, whose anger hadn't yet subsided, thinking he might be jumping the gun.
Gazing at the massive black shadow gradually receding into the horizon, Ye Zheng already had a plan in mind for how to control the situation, stopping the dragon-bodied humans without bloodshed.
Sierra's primary ability could control the dragon bone construct Sykes as well as the blood flowers. Though over a hundred ferocious dragon-bodied humans might pose a slight challenge to Sierra...
But that mountain-range-sized demon dragon spine might just compensate for the flaws in Sierra's ability.
[Even if you temporarily control the Fallen Breed... what then? They truly are mindless monsters.]
"In the original work, Lucy turned into a Fallen Breed too, but she just went temporarily offline, which means there's a way to revert them. (temporarily sidelined in the story)"
The smile at Ye Zheng's lips deepened. "I suspect the key to reverting is—[Mother of All Things]."
"The [Mother of All Things] entrusted to Wen Jian."
It was also the most vital legacy left by the Hope Project's initiators.
[!]
The System could only express all its emotions with a single exclamation mark.
In the original work, Lucy's transformation into a Fallen Breed and brief offline period was to add new challenges for Percy and the others; otherwise, the competition arc would feel too thin.
When Ye Zheng said "entrusted," her tone carried a subtle nuance. The System had a premonition that Wen Jian's hold on the [Mother of All Things] wouldn't last long.
Author's Note:
Sykes will die in a way that's profoundly useful to Zheng...
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