Chapter 244-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

The sky was overcast. Sierra sat high above, backlit, her expression impossible to read through the curtain of rain—but Percy could feel her contempt clearly. The veins on his sword hand bulged as he focused with everything he had.

When he finally took in the full scope of the colossal skeleton beneath her, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The remains under Sierra consisted of a single skull and half a body connected to a spine—already towering far beyond any ordinary person's reach. He had to crane his neck to its limit just to make out Sierra above.

The skull was not unfamiliar. He had seen it inside the Blood Flower Demonic Domain, where Sierra had perched atop it just as casually as she did now.

From the skull alone, it was impossible to tell what kind of creature it had been.

Where Sierra had found the remaining bones was anyone's guess, but they were fitted together seamlessly, forming what looked like a dragon lying half-prone…

"A dragon?"

The staggering guess flashed through his mind, but before Percy could seize the thought, Sierra leaped down from the remains.

There was no room for distraction. Percy swung his arm—it transformed into a heavy metal greatsword—and charged with blinding speed.

Sierra stood lazily in place, utterly unfazed by his approach. She raised a hand and scratched the back of her neck.

Percy vaulted off a rock and launched himself upward. The metal greatsword cleaved straight down toward Sierra's head. She looked up, crimson eyes reflecting the razor-sharp gleam of the blade—calm, yet carrying a quiet madness.

Bang! The ability vanished the instant it was about to touch Sierra. His arm reverted to normal. Sierra's hand caught his arm mid-swing and used his own momentum to slam him into the ground.

Percy tumbled across the dirt in a humiliating roll, his sword clattering away.

"Seriously? Coming at me one-on-one when you're this stupid—"

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, as if sensing danger, Sierra's rain-dampened hair bristled upright. She threw herself backward just in time to dodge a blade aimed straight at her.

Sierra's fingers brushed her cheek. Warm blood.

She looked at Percy a short distance away—his arm had transformed into a sharp blade once more. The contemptuous smirk vanished, replaced by fury and disbelief.

"Impossible—why didn't your ability disappear?!"

Percy shook his right arm, now a golden sword. Raindrops dripped steadily from its tip. A confident smile surfaced in his blue eyes.

"Because it's not an ability."

Before the words had fully left his mouth, a relentless barrage of lethal strikes bore down on Sierra—denser than the rain itself. She dodged frantically, seething as she tried to think.

Her ability, [Damage Nullification], didn't just cancel ability-based attacks. Guns, swords, explosives—all weapons had their effectiveness drastically reduced under its influence.

His metal ability had clearly been nullified. So why could his arm still transform?

Sierra's eyes locked onto the golden blade swinging at her—and then went wide.

It was the sword doing this!

Sierra clicked her tongue and began steering her evasive path toward a specific spot.

Focused as he was, Percy didn't notice—until Sierra feinted aside and his thrust drove straight into the white skeleton behind her, leaving a tiny nick on the hard bone.

Percy stared at the mark in surprise, panting slightly. A full-force strike with everything he had, and all the Divine Sword could manage was a barely visible scratch?

Sierra seized the opening and sprang up onto the massive skeleton. She, too, was surprised—what on earth was that sword, to actually be able to scratch her Dragon Bone?

Percy looked up, watching Sierra leap higher and higher. He tried to press the advantage but was repelled by an invisible force, crashing to the ground several meters away.

"Now I'm actually angry."

Standing inside the skull's hollow eye socket, Sierra gazed expressionlessly down at the figure below, muttering.

The rain had grown heavier without anyone noticing. Icy water sluiced over her wounds, blood seeping into her clothes. Sierra tore off a damp sleeve and roughly bandaged the deep gash on her left arm, cut nearly to the bone.

The sword hadn't struck her directly, but its ferocious edge—rivaling a top-tier ability user—had engulfed her, leaving her nowhere to hide.

"Hate the rain… hate getting hurt… hate the Empire… hate people…"

Sierra's trembling red eyes stared into the void, the words spilling out in a neurotic murmur.

"Why don't you all just die!"

Far below, Percy couldn't hear what she was saying. But even if Sierra had fled to somewhere beyond his reach, he had a way to bring her down.

Percy drew a deep breath. The metal transformation on his arm dissolved, and a golden sword materialized in his right hand.

Under General Bai Yi's training, he had mastered the art of merging with the Divine Sword. His strength now far surpassed what it had been the last time he faced Sierra.

Gripping the sword with both hands, Percy raised it slowly overhead, as if gathering earth-shaking power. The sheets of rain warped and twisted; the barren ground seemed to tremble faintly.

A crack split the overcast sky. Golden light burst through.

Sierra glanced down. The air around her rippled abnormally; her wild golden hair exploded outward.

The situation was growing dire—yet her anger faded, replaced by a slow, spreading smile.

"I was going to be gentle about this… but you made your choice."

The sudden sunlight draped over the pale skull. Even the cold raindrops caught its warmth, pitter-pattering onto the barren earth.

A hand even paler than the bones reached toward the sky and snapped its fingers, light as air.

"Resonance."

The whisper was swallowed by the clamor of the battlefield.

In an instant, every dragon on the plain unfurled its wings and cried out in unison. The gust they whipped up knocked the battling humans off their feet. Ability users with bloodshot eyes were forced to halt, staring blankly at the sky.

Swarm after swarm of black dragons swept overhead, blotting out the fleeting sunlight—as though darkness had reclaimed the land.

Percy looked up, expression grim. Sierra had used the same move in the West District to flee with her dragons. Was she retreating again?

No—this time felt different. A slight tremor ran through his body as a wordless dread spread outward.

Atop the white remains, Sierra threw her head back and laughed down at the dumbstruck crowd. Over a hundred black dragons swarmed around the massive skeleton, lifting it slowly into the air. The moment they left the ground, the earth exhaled with relief—shuddering deeply.

"Stop!"

Percy swung the raised Divine Sword forward with all his might. An invisible edge of force tore through the earth in its path, kicking up clouds of dust. Several black dragons shrieked and plummeted—but it wasn't enough to stop the rest from carrying Sierra and the white skeleton higher.

Rain blurred his vision. Yet Percy already knew what that skeleton was. He simply refused to believe it.

The remains of the demon dragon. The true Dragon Bone.

The very thing his earliest wish had been built around. The "blessing" the people of the lower district had longed for. The Empire had dangled Dragon Bone as bait time and again to quell unrest in the lower district.

If this truly was the demon dragon's remains—why was the skull and spine, supposedly buried in the upper district, here in the lower district?

Percy could no longer lie to himself. Back in the West District, he had seen the dragons carrying something suspicious and white. The chaos at the time had been too overwhelming to think about it—or perhaps, deep down, he hadn't dared to.

The Fallen Ones were a product of the Hope Project. They couldn't have traveled to the upper district. There was only one explanation: the demon dragon's spine had always been buried in the West District of the lower district.

And if there was Dragon Bone in the West District—well, one could still rationalize that as a consequence of the Hope Project. But the demon dragon's skull turning up inside the Blood Flower Demonic Domain in the East District strongly suggested it had been buried in the East District of the lower district all along.

Then what about the South District and the North District? Was Dragon Bone buried there too?

The claim that Dragon Bone repelled Demonic Domains was a lie. If anything, it was the opposite—Dragon Bone attracted them. Why had the Empire deceived them?!

No one was there to answer Percy's churning questions and fury. He could only watch as hundreds of dragons, cradling the white skeleton, roared overhead—like a true, world-ending demon dragon.

Percy spun around and realized the forces that should have been fighting had all fled toward the city wall. Only the Disciples remained on the open plain, their white robes nearly dyed red, kneeling in fervent worship of the dragons above, heedless of the blood still flowing from their wounds.

"Percy, let's go!"

Roy and Keller had regrouped with him. Roy grabbed his arm and started running in the opposite direction.

"Sierra, that lunatic—what the hell is she doing?!"

Roy cursed as he sprinted. Sierra's madness, of course, was well within the expectations of his distinguished father, who was probably sitting in the Imperial Palace right now, sipping wine, watching the Projection, wearing a triumphant smile.

This farcical spectacle was meant only to terrorize the Empire's citizens. The more people feared the demon dragon, the easier it would be to use the dragon narrative to topple Ye Zheng.

But Roy, caught in the middle of the chaos, couldn't bring himself to smile. All he wanted was to get his companions to safety before things got worse.

More importantly, Percy hadn't managed to slay the insurgent and the monsters in full view of the Empire as planned. Getting the real Divine Sword into the spotlight had failed. The priority now was keeping Percy alive.

"No. We have to stop Sierra."

"We can't let her reach the South District!"

Percy wrenched free of his companion's grip and planted his feet. His face was drenched, his whole body ice-cold—yet in that moment, there was an edge of iron resolve to him.

Whatever the Emperor and Ye Zheng were scheming, he held the Divine Sword. That meant the responsibility of protecting the people fell on him.

"Find somewhere safe to hide. I'm going after Sierra!"

He could not retreat any longer. He had once lost to Ye Zheng on a rainy day just like this, and ever since, every drop of rain felt like a blade poised to slit his throat—bringing a bone-deep chill.

—He would prove to the entire Empire that he was the true Chosen One!

Far away in the upper district, nobles and dignitaries sat in a spacious, comfortable theater, watching the colossal Projection with expressions of concern mixed with relief, gasping in amazement—as though watching an epic drama unfold.

Some cursed the incompetence of the task force. Others thanked their stars they hadn't been assigned to this campaign.

The upper district had seen its share of incidents lately, but it was still safer than everywhere else. At the very least, some brute couldn't just waltz in with monsters. As for the creature that had appeared at the Imperial Palace—well, even if Dragon Bone could ward off Demonic Domains, the occasional stray was bound to slip through. A freak occurrence. They stroked their beards, eyes on the Projection, and reached for their wine and fruit.

Inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor was clinking glasses with several lavishly dressed elders—among them the Imperial Prime Minister and an archbishop of the Sei Curia.

"Your Majesty, this doesn't look promising…"

One of them stared at the palace's Projection—black dragons dominating the sky, the task force all but routed—and set down his knife and fork.

The insiders in the room exchanged glances, cunning smiles flickering in their aged eyes. No one said a word. Someone picked up a bottle and refilled the man's glass.

The Emperor dabbed the corner of his mouth at a leisurely pace. "No need to worry. Even if the South District falls temporarily to those thugs, we have countless ways to reclaim it."

The man looked as if he wanted to say more, but one glance at the Emperor's expression and he wisely held his tongue.

The Emperor's gaze was locked on the Projection with singular intensity. Beneath his calm exterior, his heart pounded with excitement. His golden eyes blazed with startling light.

What a shame these Projection devices were still so bulky and primitive. If only someone could carry one close enough to capture the raw, visceral carnage—now that would be truly entertaining!

He hadn't witnessed a scene like this in five hundred years, and even now it paled in comparison to what he'd seen back then.

Watching the Projection, the Emperor found himself unexpectedly admiring Sierra. She was far more agreeable to look at than Percy. In that moment, he actually hoped Percy would fail to kill her and put the Divine Sword on display.

Let Sierra take the South District. Let her slaughter it. Let the entire district be sacrificed! That would drive the people's hatred and terror to their peak.

The Emperor sipped his wine at ease. He was rather grateful to Margaret, truth be told. If she hadn't bestowed power upon this world's humans, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy his reign as sovereign for so long.

But this world needed only one true god—him.

Margaret, Mahi, Ye Zheng… none of them could rise above him.

Ye Zheng especially—she had gotten her hands on far too many secrets, and far too much power and authority that should never have been hers.

Suddenly, someone at the table cried out. Every eye snapped to the Projection. A trembling finger pointed at the screen. "Sierra—she isn't going to—?!"

Wherever the black dragons passed, violent winds ripped the earth apart—not even the stubbornest roots were spared. Percy, chasing after the dragons, stared wide-eyed. They were diving. Were they landing?

No. Percy's gaze found the distant city wall, and understanding struck.

The sky-darkening horde of dragons surged toward the wall like a towering black tidal wave, carrying apocalyptic force.

Sierra didn't mean to fly into the South District—she was going to smash straight through the wall!

Across every district in the Empire, those who witnessed this through the Projection froze in shock, hands clamped over mouths or eyes.

*

At that same moment, the Papal Palace was perhaps the calmest place in the entire Empire.

So calm that Bai Yi, seated in the reception room, felt a creeping unease. He picked up his teacup, set it down, picked it up again.

He was here for one purpose: to keep Ye Zheng pinned down.

Ye Zheng had killed Crown Prince Sykes. He had to admit her strength was formidable. As long as he kept her in check, nothing could go wrong with the plan.

Perhaps Ye Zheng had already figured out that this campaign was really aimed at her. But unless she could teleport to the South District a thousand miles away, there was nothing she could do about it.

Powerful ability users could sense each other's presence. Bai Yi could feel that she was in the Papal Palace, completely still—no fluctuations whatsoever.

Ye Zheng staying put in the Papal Palace was good news. And yet… she showed no reaction at all. That was strange. If she wasn't even surprised…

Then it could only mean she had known their objective all along—and already had a countermeasure in place!

Bai Yi shot to his feet. He recalled a recent report from a subordinate: Wen De, one of Ye Zheng's most trusted people, had been spotted in the South District. And the Public Security Bureau squad leader dispatched to the South District had an unusual connection with Ye Zheng.

Impossible—without Ye Zheng personally intervening, those two alone couldn't possibly turn the tide!

*

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