Chapter 254-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Does Ye Zheng… truly have a reason to do something like this?"
Through the iron bars, Bai Yi murmured in confusion.
As a woman, Ye Zheng had already attained fame, power, and status that most men could never dream of rivaling. She was still young—she had all the time in the world to savor her victories or push even higher, cementing herself as the most illustrious figure in the Empire's history.
Percy said, "The Emperor must have told you as well—the demon dragon will revive by feeding on human power. Once it returns, it will be the end of the world."
"I know, but what human being would want to awaken the demon dragon?"
Bai Yi looked utterly incredulous.
"Throughout history, there have been those who betrayed humanity and aided the demon dragon."
Percy said, lowering his eyes to conceal the complex emotions within.
In the story of the God of Hope, there was a notorious "traitor"—someone who had attended the secret council where the plan to ambush the demon dragon was devised. Because of this traitor, the demon dragon learned of the ambush in advance. Not only did it avoid the trap, but the Empire suffered devastating losses, and even the God of Hope was gravely wounded.
The reason this piece of history was etched so deeply in his mind… was because of Ye Zheng.
Wearing a disguise and the alias "Zhao Mei," she had led them through a labyrinth, unraveling trap after trap, before voluntarily taking the seat of the "traitor" and sacrificing herself so they could escape first.
Back then, he had truly believed she was the most reliable, most trustworthy friend he could ever have.
Under the moonlight, her words—"to bear for you all the burdens of glory until they become unbearable"—had moved him deeply.
It was only later that Percy came to understand what Ye Zheng had really meant.
"Ye Zheng knew from the very beginning that I was the one truly chosen by the Divine Sword."
He said in a low voice.
For a long time, Percy had assumed that it was he who had revealed his dreams about the Divine Sword to Ye Zheng, and that she had learned of it through him and made her arrangements accordingly.
During this period, freed from competition and pursuit, Percy had calmed down and retraced every interaction he'd ever had with Ye Zheng—from the moment Zhao Mei appeared carrying a cat, to the last time he saw her in person: Ye Zheng killing the dying Sykes under the night sky, without a shred of hesitation or deliberation.
Everything was poised and unhurried, as if it all fell within her plans and her control.
The more Percy thought about it, the more things didn't add up. Why had Ye Zheng always appeared at exactly the right moment? Why did her gaze upon him always carry a kind of pitying condescension?
The fake Divine Sword she had prepared in advance; rescuing Lucy, who had stumbled into the Hope Project base, at just the right time; killing the mutated Sykes without a moment's doubt…
And the very first thing—the one that defied explanation the most: she was a Saintess of the Sei Curia, yet she had disguised herself and joined the unremarkable Cloud-Soaring Squad mid-competition.
…It was as though Ye Zheng knew what the future held!
A flash of golden light momentarily illuminated Percy's somber expression. The iron bars broke apart without a sound, and the cell door swung open.
Percy sheathed his sword again.
"Come with me—we're running out of time."
"Ye Zheng possesses some extraordinary power. If she claimed she could see the future and the past, I wouldn't be surprised. I can't be certain whether she'll actually revive the demon dragon, but she undoubtedly has the ability to do so."
Percy looked at Bai Yi with earnest eyes. "You know where the Dragon Bone is. Together, we can find them all."
"Before Ye Zheng does—we deal with the Dragon Bone first. That way, we prevent the demon dragon's revival and solve the Demonic Domain problem at the same time."
Bai Yi was struck speechless. He studied Percy's sincere expression, then said abruptly:
"Don't you resent us? My ancestors used the Dragon Bone to push all the Demonic Domain threats onto your people… I'm sorry. That's something I've been wanting to say."
"I can't say my heart is entirely free of resentment. But I want to give you the chance to make amends."
"General Bai, if you truly feel sorry—then join us. Let's correct the wrongs of the Dragon Bone together."
Bai Yi looked at the outstretched hand. After a moment of silence, he gripped it firmly and stepped out of the cell.
The moment they left the cell, chaotic footsteps echoed from outside. With no time to hesitate, the two swiftly made their escape.
*
Inside the Papal Palace, Ye Zheng received the transcript of the prison conversation. She skimmed it, and the laughter that followed made the teacup in her hand tremble.
It seemed Percy still couldn't let go of his glorious savior identity.
Collecting all the Dragon Bone before her—not a bad idea, but the Dragon Bone wasn't something they could easily destroy. They would simply be saving her the trouble of locating them.
After a moment's thought, however, Ye Zheng's gaze suddenly turned serious.
The Divine Sword in Percy's hand.
Five hundred years ago, the God of Hope, Hopei, had received the Divine Sword from the Emperor and successfully stopped the demon dragon. The dragon's body was cleaved into several pieces and buried in different locations.
Ye Zheng did not like the Divine Sword, but she had to acknowledge that it was a truly extraordinary artifact—one with power worth being wary of.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the desk. Ye Zheng summoned System.
"In the original plot, it was Percy who killed the dragon-ified Sykes, correct?"
[In the original timeline, by this point Sykes had fully mastered the power within his body. He could summon Demonic Domains and transform into the demon dragon at will.]
[Due to his loss of control and the hatred festering inside him, Sykes replicated the catastrophe of five hundred years ago. Countless Demonic Domains descended simultaneously, corpses piled everywhere, and the world became hell.]
[Then Percy killed Sykes, ending all the disasters. People celebrated, and the manga's story concluded there.]
Because of her agreement with Lin Zhixing, he had granted System higher permissions to better assist operations. The restrictions on spoilers were no longer as strict as before.
Unfortunately, spoilers were of little use to Ye Zheng's plans at this point.
From the moment she killed Sykes, the so-called plot had completely collapsed. The predetermined fate was thrown into chaos, hurtling toward the unknown.
Ye Zheng hadn't seen any manga spoilers pop up on her phone in a long time. Presumably, the spoilers had nothing left to say to her either.
"The frequency of Demonic Domain activity has been declining recently."
Ye Zheng wore a pensive expression. A declining frequency was good news, but before a great storm, the sky was often beautifully clear.
The original manga's plot points might not be finished yet.
Having learned the truth about this world, Ye Zheng understood that the original storyline was a record of events on another timeline—or rather, events that were supposed to happen on this timeline. When System found her, the track had branched, and a new timeline belonging to her was born.
Although the current course of events differed greatly from the original, the fundamental premises remained the same.
Sykes was dead, but that didn't mean the catastrophe from the original story wouldn't come.
The Creator had assumed the mass Demonic Domain invasion was summoned by Sykes after he became the demon dragon—just like five hundred years ago.
Ye Zheng didn't think so.
It was the Dragon Bone's power that upheld this world's defenses. If a large-scale Demonic Domain invasion were to occur, it would have to mean the Dragon Bone's power had been compromised!
The palace fell utterly silent. Ye Zheng sat with her head bowed in thought for a long while.
She recalled the Emperor's words. He had told her that creating Sykes wasn't solely about crafting a powerful body for himself—it was to prevent a disaster.
For the Emperor, what constituted a "disaster"?
Perhaps not a mass Demonic Domain invasion, but the demon dragon's revival.
He had used bones from Margaret—not dragon bones, but the bones of Margaret's human body—to create Sykes.
Dragon Bone power could only merge with women, yet the Emperor had forced that power into Sykes's body.
Suddenly, Ye Zheng reached into a drawer and pulled out an invitation—an invitation from Heath to attend a birthday banquet.
Ye Zheng smiled wryly. She remembered quite clearly that Heath's birthday was in summer.
This wasn't Heath inviting her on her own behalf. Heath was relaying a message from the Emperor. Under Ye Zheng's relentless pressure, the Emperor could no longer sit comfortably on his throne.
Perfect. She, too, wanted to see whether the great Aston XIV could still keep that perpetual smile on his face.
Ye Zheng set the invitation aside and picked up a thick roster of names from the desk.
She intended to let Percy's group operate freely for now. She needed to choose the right person to shadow and surveil them. Bai Yi had far more experience than Percy, and his guard would be even higher.
The people Ye Zheng had sent to bug the prison and transcribe conversations were actually ordinary people with no abilities. Precisely because they had no abilities, Bai Yi couldn't detect any energy fluctuations from them. But this approach wouldn't work for more agile surveillance.
Just as Ye Zheng was feeling a slight headache, there came a knock at the door. An elderly Nun entered and said, "Your Holiness, the execution date for Duchess Qin Lu has been set."
Ye Zheng nodded calmly, showing no visible reaction.
"Understood. Thank you for your efforts."
She only needed to send people to the execution grounds to extract Qin Lu. Even if someone guessed she was behind it, no one would dare point the finger at her now.
Once she dealt with the Emperor, she could fabricate any excuse to clear Qin Lu's name, and Qin Lu could walk free in the open.
The old Nun bowed and was about to leave, then remembered something and added:
"Oh—the one overseeing this execution will not be the judge."
"It will be Princess Heath."
A ripple crossed Ye Zheng's calm eyes.
*
Comments
Post a Comment