Chapter 253-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Wu Shu looked at the document now titled "Hope Project," then back at Ye Zheng.
Ye Zheng tilted her head slightly upward, her wide dark eyes dotted with tiny points of light. Wu Shu felt a sudden tremor in her chest—what Ye Zheng was about to do was so terrifying, yet at this moment she wore an expression of childlike innocence and longing, as if anticipating a spring outing.
A barely audible sigh escaped. Wu Shu lost all desire to press for reasons.
Ye Zheng was absolutely the most reckless person she had ever met—an inescapable vortex, the eye of a storm.
She had planted the spell of "winning together to the very end" in her heart.
*
After Wu Shu left, Ye Zheng sank into deep thought at her seat.
Overturning the public's image of the demon dragon as a destroyer in the short term was impossible. She could only use the pretext of centralized Dragon Bone disposal to dig them up first.
Wen De had already confirmed the locations of Dragon Bone in the South District and North District of the lower district. For the Middle District's Dragon Bone, she had dispatched Wu Shu to investigate.
As for the East District of the lower district, Wen De had searched it once and found no Dragon Bone.
Ye Zheng stared at her right hand. It was precisely in the East District of the lower district that she had first detected signs of Dragon Bone, which had led her step by step to the Empire's earth-shattering secret.
The Emperor would never cooperate willingly, but the Bai ancestors had been charged by Aston XIV with burying the Dragon Bone. There might be useful information to be pried from Bai Yi.
"Ye Zheng, it might be a bit early, but I think you should start preparing carefully for… what comes after awakening the demon dragon."
Marcy's calm voice broke into Ye Zheng's thoughts.
Ye Zheng propped her chin on her hand. She had almost forgotten about Marcy—Marcy was the one who had actually lived through the cataclysm all those years ago, spending every day under the demon dragon's shadow. Her fear of the demon dragon should have been more intense than anyone's.
"Do you still have doubts about what I've told you, Marcy?"
She had already told Marcy the truth about the demon dragon: it was Aston XIV who had brought the Demonic Domains. Margaret had chosen to accept the demon dragon's power and then passed that power on to humanity. From that point on, the Empire had ability users who could fight back against the Demonic Domains.
According to Marcy, the reason people believed the demon dragon had brought the Demonic Domains—aside from Aston XIV's misdirection—was one crucial fact: wherever the demon dragon had passed was where Demonic Domains appeared most frequently.
And simultaneously, where the greatest number of ability users emerged.
People at the time never connected abilities to the demon dragon, chalking it up to humanity's latent potential surfacing under threat—or to the mercy and grace of the so-called gods.
Ye Zheng had witnessed with her own eyes the origin of the catastrophe five hundred years ago. Without Margaret, those alien dimensions would have long since conquered and carved up this world, rather than merely opening the occasional small rift as they did now.
She theorized that the Demonic Domains were drawn to Dragon Bone in order to slowly erode its power—or to destroy it entirely.
Their abilities as ability users came from Margaret. Once the Dragon Bone was destroyed, their powers might vanish along with it… and this world would be left utterly defenseless against the countless invading Demonic Domains.
Over five hundred years, the Emperor had never sought a way to destroy the Dragon Bone. Instead, he had buried them deep, exploiting the Demonic Domains' attraction to Dragon Bone to create safe zones for himself, while keeping fragments for research. Evidently, he understood this as well—
The Dragon Bone must not be allowed to disappear.
The unidentified otherworldly being that had entered Vincent's body—once it had become drunk on this world's supreme power, it had thoroughly become human.
"I believe what you've said… After all, I was the one who fabricated the God of Hope for the world."
Marcy sighed softly. She had been surprisingly unsurprised upon hearing the truth—and had even felt a deep sense of remorse.
When she was crafting the God of Hope and establishing the Hope Curia, she had inevitably painted the demon dragon as an utterly villainous figure in order to bolster her own authority and that of the God of Hope.
"I'm deeply sorry. That's why… I don't want you to be hated, Ye Zheng."
The Sei Curia's scriptures had been largely created under Marcy's direction five hundred years ago. Most of the stories were "facts" she had collected, but a portion had been fabricated to serve the creation of a deity.
For precisely this reason, Marcy understood better than anyone that the fear and hatred she had sown could unite hearts—but could just as easily scatter them, plunging people into fervent, irrational hysteria.
Marcy knew that Ye Zheng was also a master at reading and shaping hearts. There was no way she didn't understand the consequences of awakening the demon dragon.
"I understand what you mean. You were a victim of deception—there's no need to feel sorry, Marcy."
"If you hadn't founded the Hope Curia, the Aston Royal Family's grip on power would have been far harder to shake."
Ye Zheng said gently.
Without the God of Hope, the deity worshipped by the masses might well have been Aston XIV himself—Ye Zheng was certain that man had the audacity to do exactly that.
As for what would happen after the demon dragon awakened… When the people discovered that the Sei Curia's most trusted leader had sided with the world-ending demon dragon, their reaction would be far worse than mere disappointment.
"All this time I've been suppressing and intimidating opponents, consolidating every controllable force—all to ensure that the plan proceeds smoothly after Margaret is awakened."
She had made a promise to the people of this nation: she would eliminate the Demonic Domains once and for all. Awakening Margaret was an indispensable step.
"Once I've resolved everything, people will understand."
Ye Zheng lightly twirled the pen in her hand, her voice serene.
"It's just that, in the process of resolving things, I'll have no choice but to employ certain forceful, unpleasant measures."
"Whether they love me or hate me—I have never acted for the sake of their love or hatred."
Marcy was momentarily stunned.
Ye Zheng rose and walked to the stained-glass window.
A gentle breeze drifted in. Motes of dust danced in the sunlight, and Ye Zheng's features dissolved into the light, her silhouette edged with a soft glow.
In that overly tender light, the faint, elusive melancholy between her brows also melted into forgiveness.
Ye Zheng could anticipate the public's reaction to every step she took. But what she was least sure of, in truth, was herself.
The human heart was ever-changing. Yet Ye Zheng hoped the love in her own heart would never waver.
*
Meanwhile, in the lower district.
"General Bai, please allow me to take you out of here. Your family, the Bai household, and all of us—we need you."
Percy had infiltrated the prison holding Bai Yi alone, speaking in a hushed voice.
The middle-aged man sat in the cramped cell. He wore no heavy shackles, yet his spirit was visibly drained.
He said, "Percy, you're a good kid, but… I've chosen not to leave."
Percy looked shocked and bewildered. "Why? Why would you stay here?"
"Ah, you tell me first—how is the Bai family doing?"
Percy's face fell. He chose his words carefully. "Your wife has returned to her maiden family. Young Master Mulin is with the Royal Knights… carrying on as usual."
"Miss Bai has recently settled in the lower district. I hear she's been frequenting Demonic Domains. Given her abilities, there shouldn't be any concern for her safety."
The middle-aged man managed a weary smile and shook his head.
"With the way Ye Zheng's momentum is going, those who kick people when they're down won't make life easy for the Bai family—and what about my knight order and the guards?"
"With you absent, there have been some troubles lately… But if you return, your prestige would surely reunite everyone."
Bai Yi's expression didn't change. There was no light in his eyes.
"The moment I go back, it will only accelerate the Bai family's fracture and decline."
Excommunication had given everyone a legitimate reason to abandon and ostracize him. If he appeared before them looking so defeated, the last shred of the Duke's remaining authority would evaporate.
The man closed his eyes wearily, murmuring, "I thought Muqing and Ye Zheng were on reasonably good terms—that she might look after her a little."
"It seems I overestimated the Pope's sense of friendship."
Percy frowned. He seemed somewhat anxious.
"If you're worried about Miss Bai, then come with me. Even without power and wealth, you still have the strength to protect your daughter."
"Sitting here doing nothing—that's the true disservice to the Bai family."
A look of silence crept over the middle-aged man's face. Then, abruptly, he asked:
"Percy, you didn't come just to break me out, did you?"
Percy hesitated. Meeting the general's sharp gaze, he slowly began to speak.
"That's right. As I said, it's not just the Bai family—we need you too."
"Ye Zheng is collecting Dragon Bone."
"She appears to be planning to awaken the demon dragon."
Bai Yi lifted his drooping eyelids, his pupils quaking. But recalling the expression Ye Zheng had worn during his attack on her, it didn't seem surprising at all.
*
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