Chapter 214-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Ye Zheng!"
Following the voice, the griffin flew toward a corner of the hunting grounds that had been reduced to rubble. Ye Zheng flipped off its back and pulled Bai Muqing up from the debris.
Bai Muqing's clothes were torn in several places, seeping blood. With Ye Zheng's support, she rose and said, "They're all fine. I can sense them."
"I shifted obstacles to block its line of sight. For now, you don't need to worry."
Ye Zheng nodded and reached up to touch Bai Muqing's collar. [Stream] flowed from her fingertips downward, healing the small wounds—at a glance, it looked as though she were simply smoothing the wrinkles in her companion's clothes.
"What happened outside just now?" Ye Zheng asked.
"Percy and his two companions were fighting it outside, and then... Sykes was knocked all the way here."
"I'm sorry—they were some distance from the hunting grounds at the time. I didn't warn you in time."
"...It's fine. Just a minor hiccup."
Originally, she had planned to lure Sykes to the hunting grounds under the pretext of restoring his memories for a private meeting. He had unexpectedly gone berserk at the banquet instead, yet after all the twists and turns, he had ended up here anyway.
Ye Zheng hadn't expected Sykes to find her this way. The gravity of fate had delivered him to center stage in an almost farcical manner.
Looking around, the grand hunting grounds and castle had largely collapsed. Everywhere she looked was nothing but crumbling walls and ruins, with stones still tumbling down. In the distance, the palace was engulfed in billowing smoke and roaring flames—like the brilliant lights that should have been shining on this night's celebration.
The scene was an almost perfect recreation of that spoiler panel from the comic, save for the weather.
Ye Zheng looked up. The structures above had been obliterated when Sykes crashed through. The night sky's stars blinked serenely overhead—utterly beautiful.
Today had been lovely weather. Bright sunshine by day, clear stars and moon by night.
Ye Zheng leaned against a broken pillar behind her, her expression growing subdued. "Muqing, will it rain tonight?"
"Given the conditions, no." Bai Muqing's tone was entirely certain.
In the original storyline, it had clearly been a night of torrential rain. Now, at the moment she needed a downpour most, the sky was cloudless.
"Ye Zheng, the Sei Curia's Knight Order is standing by near the gates. Perhaps you could send someone to bring them over."
Bai Muqing seemed to hesitate for a moment before making the suggestion.
"No. If we can't handle this, sending them in will only increase casualties."
This wasn't some ancient military campaign. Truly powerful monsters couldn't be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
More importantly, her enemy wasn't just the Sykes before her. The Royal Family still hadn't sent any capable ability users to stop Sykes—who knew what they were planning. Under these circumstances, it was all the more necessary for Wen De and the others to hold position outside with their forces, watching for any moves from the Royal Family, and awaiting her return.
Ye Zheng cast a fleeting glance at Bai Muqing's profile. She looked weighed down by something.
The situation clearly called for powerful reinforcements, and both of them knew it. The person who should have come, by every measure—social standing or family duty—was Bai Muqing's father, Bai Yi.
Yet he still hadn't appeared. Ye Zheng was now virtually certain he wasn't coming.
"Muqing, can you sense where Percy and his group are?"
"They're hiding over there." Bai Muqing turned her head to the right. "Percy is badly wounded—seems to be unconscious. His two friends are watching over him."
Ye Zheng was somewhat surprised. Percy had already triggered one [Death Rewind], and now he was critically injured and unconscious. He must have fought hard.
Given how badly Percy had fared, perhaps he had dealt Sykes considerable damage as well. After all, the two were supposed to be fated rivals.
"Also, Percy has a sword. That sword is..." Bai Muqing seemed unsure how to continue.
"Mm, I know."
Ye Zheng peered past the broken pillar. The black dragon was perched atop a mountain of gray rubble, its head swiveling in search. It was visibly agitated, its black tail flicking and smashing a fleeing hunting-ground monster into a pulp of shattered flesh.
Its body was covered in black scales. The relatively soft, scale-less belly bore a deep, heavy gash running across it.
The belly was nearly dyed red with blood, but on closer inspection, the gruesome wound had already stopped bleeding.
Ye Zheng then examined its eyes. Not long ago, Bai Muqing had controlled a building to pierce one of its eyes. That eye was now half-open, its golden pupil clouded by a white film.
Its regenerative ability was formidable.
Ye Zheng decided she couldn't wait any longer. Sykes was temporarily still, but perhaps only because he, too, was biding his time.
Ye Zheng took a bone from inside her white robe and pressed it into Bai Muqing's hands.
"Take this. Give it to my mother and have her go to the deepest part of the tunnel."
The monster-holding tunnel was actually the best-preserved structure in the area. To prevent monster riots, it had been built with the most Heterogeneous Stone—extremely sturdy, and capable of blocking energy signatures.
Bai Muqing accepted the white bone. At a time like this, Ye Zheng choosing to protect her mother and keep her out of danger was understandable. What puzzled Bai Muqing more was the bone itself—it gave her an inexplicable sense of unease.
"Wu Shu and I will back you up, Ye Zheng. Go."
Ye Zheng had already leaped atop a pile of rubble. Hearing this, she turned back with a smile—her face gentle yet resolute in the hazy moonlight.
"Good. Let's stay in contact."
Within [Divine Domain], Bai Muqing could communicate with her through thought.
In the distance, the black dragon suddenly let out a charging battle cry, spread its wings, and dove from on high at terrifying speed. Ruins on either side surged toward it as if alive, forming wall after towering wall in a miraculous display.
The dragon didn't slow in the slightest. Its crown of horns smashed through barrier after barrier. Stones rained from the sky like the world itself was crumbling.
It seemed Sykes intended to settle this with absolute, overwhelming force.
Ye Zheng took a deep breath and raised her hand. Water erupted from underground, forming a curtain tens of meters tall—like a magnificent waterfall.
In the original storyline, she had been the healing Saintess who could partially resist Sykes's [Destruction]. In that plotline, her ability seemed tailor-made to support Percy—she had shielded him from Sykes's killing blow.
But Ye Zheng knew that the "Ye Zheng" of any timeline fought for herself and her ideals.
[Stream] could resist Sykes's [Destruction]. It was destined that she would have this battle!
The moment the tens-of-meters-tall dragon collided with the water curtain, it was like an insurmountable mountain toppling into a surging river. The muffled impact echoed through the rain-drenched night, and the surrounding ruins shuddered and fell.
Bai Muqing closed her eyes. The swirling dust couldn't touch a single thread of her clothing. She focused all her attention on Ye Zheng, channeling [Divine Domain] to amplify Ye Zheng's power.
Her body was already exhausted, yet her mind remained intensely active. A muscle in her face twitched. She heard Ye Zheng's voice.
Bai Muqing's white eyes snapped open in shock.
In [Divine Domain]'s field of vision, the water curtain shattered like glass struck by a hawk, dissolving into lifeless puddles on the ground. The black dragon stood in the puddles, head thrown back in a triumphant howl, its tail slamming the ground and sending up sprays of cold water.
...Where was Ye Zheng?
Where had Ye Zheng gone?
Her mind ground to a halt like a stopped clock. The world was reduced to nothing but a buzzing drone. Bai Muqing turned mechanically, barely managing to recall Ye Zheng's whispered words.
"Protect Shu Wan."
*
At the walls below, the gathered crowd watched the dragon's sudden movement, and another wave of panic swept through them. A portly man in a top hat fainted on the spot, caught by his flustered guards.
In the crowd, the esteemed Duke Bai, surrounded by Knights, loudly reassured everyone that the Royal Family had already dispatched people to clear the monsters and the Demonic Domain would soon dissipate, allowing them to leave.
Bai Mulin stood at the crowd's edge, watching his father. Seeing the crowd calmed once more, he silently stepped forward, took Bai Yi by the arm, and hurried to a secluded, empty corner.
"Father, why are we deceiving them? Why aren't we sending people to actually deal with that monster!"
"I'm not deceiving them. We've already sent people to find this Demonic Domain's core."
Bai Mulin froze, then pointed at the distant dragon. "The core isn't right there? Is there something in this Demonic Domain even stronger than that?"
The strongest monster was the Demonic Domain's core—common knowledge even a three-year-old in the Empire would know.
Bai Yi stood with his hands behind his back and silently shook his head. "It's not the core. It's... the demon dragon."
Bai Mulin grew even more agitated. "Regardless of what it is, we have to deal with it! And my sister is in there—Muqing is in there!"
"Your daughter is in there!"
The middle-aged man turned his face away, avoiding his son's gaze laden with disappointment and accusation.
"Muqing is my proudest child. The Bai family will always honor her."
Bai Mulin's eyes went wide. He understood the implication behind those words.
"Stay here quietly. Once the Demonic Domain disappears, leave—don't do anything foolish. Your mother and I cannot bear to lose a second child."
"Blame me. Resent me. When everything is truly over, Mulin, you'll understand why I did this."
The man's voice seemed to age decades in an instant. Bai Mulin could no longer comprehend what he was saying.
"Only by letting go can one go further. This is true for you, for the Emperor, and for the Empire... as well."
Bai Mulin stared in disbelief at his father's retreating back. What had happened? Why had his father abandoned the rescue plan after meeting with the Emperor? Even abandoned Muqing?
What was that creature's origin? They were just going to let it rampage... This was the Aston Royal Family's seven-hundred-year legacy, and the Emperor was turning a blind eye.
Bai Mulin gazed into the distance. The black dragon spread its wings once more, its massive body nearly blotting out the moon, merging with the boundless night.
A Demonic Domain descending without warning, a mysterious black dragon appearing from nowhere—could this be the prophesied apocalypse?
*
Ye Zheng looked up at the black dragon in the sky. The moment she revealed herself atop the ruins, it had instantly turned its gaze toward her.
"Come, Sykes."
Ye Zheng murmured in a perfectly ordinary tone. Across the scarred wasteland and the distance between earth and sky, the black dragon seemed to hear her words clearly, answering with a roar as it dove toward her!
A light, agile shadow leaped across the ruins. Ye Zheng tore off her outer robe. Her silver light armor gleamed with a sharp, cold light as she charged toward the black dragon!
In a matter of breaths, the sky-blotting shadow had already blocked the moonlight overhead. Ye Zheng leaped off a boulder, nimbly dodging the swooping talons.
She looked back. The boulder the talons had touched hadn't been smashed to pieces—it had dissolved into ash, vanishing into thin air.
—Sykes had activated [Destruction].
Ye Zheng let out a short laugh. [Stream] silently coated her skin.
The black dragon wheeled overhead and changed direction. Its mountainous body landed before Ye Zheng, shaking the earth. It lowered its long neck, and the growl from its throat was powerful enough to send debris skittering across the ground.
It completely blocked Ye Zheng's path. Its shadow swallowed the tiny human figure—an impassable mountain.
Ye Zheng stopped. She drew the sword from her hip.
Seeing this, the dragon's golden eyes narrowed. A few breathy sounds escaped its throat—as if laughing in mockery.
—Just moments ago, I witnessed the legendary dragon-slaying Divine Sword in action. It was nothing special. And you're merely a blasphemer wielding a fake.
The dragon looked down at Ye Zheng as she raised the sword high.
It watched the blade rise, its tip aimed at the dragon. But in the next instant, Ye Zheng gripped the hilt with both hands, lifted it above her head, and drove it downward with all her might!
It was such an unremarkable, almost laughable thrust—yet it triggered a massive tremor.
The already-crumbling ground instantly split wider. As the blade plunged in, it was as though the very earth had been pried apart by the sword. Cracks radiated in every direction.
Those lofty golden pupils constricted. As if it had been made a fool of, the dragon roared in fury and raised a forepaw to stomp down—but halfway through, a powerful resistance halted its motion.
Ye Zheng, gasping, wrenched the blade free and staggered back. What followed was a column of water erupting skyward!
The geyser shot up, piercing the heavens. Dense water droplets rained down from above. The chaotic patter of raindrops hitting the ground drowned out everything else—like a sudden, violent downpour.
The torrential night of the original storyline and today's clear sky had only one explanation—it wasn't fate's mercy granting rain. It was "Ye Zheng" who had created the storm!
The Imperial Palace's underground drainage system connected to the moat beyond the walls. Her thrust just now hadn't been aimed at Sykes at all—guided by Bai Muqing, she had been searching for the optimal breach point, and had finally found the underground pipe linking to the moat.
Cold raindrops pelted the dragon's black scales. Under the sudden onslaught of the water column, it staggered backward. Seeing the situation turn against it, it spread its wings to take flight—but a blade of water sliced through the column before it and struck at its belly without warning!
Right where the old wound was. The unhealed gash tore open violently, and the dragon threw its head back in an agonized howl.
Ye Zheng watched it with cold eyes. Today, even if she had to drain the entire moat dry, he would die here!
Author's Note
Barring any surprises, he should be able to die tomorrow. These past few days I've been rushing my graduation thesis, so busy I could fly, which is why the writing's been slower...
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