Chapter 274-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
A sudden downpour hammered the world outside the window, as if the whole earth were capsizing in the violent rain. Percy stared blankly out the window. Before long, the sky cleared.
Stepping out of the tavern where he'd taken shelter, Percy carefully sniffed the damp, post-rain air. It carried the scent of earth—nothing out of the ordinary.
At the very least, he couldn't detect the distinctive aura of the Dragon Bones.
In under two weeks, they'd successfully located the Dragon Bones buried deep beneath the South and North Districts. It seemed all the Dragon Bones in the lower district had now surfaced.
Through battle after battle, Percy's strength had skyrocketed. When Sierra's overwhelming power suppressed his abilities and the situation hung by a thread, he'd used the Holy Sword's power to break through her lockdown. He hadn't managed to kill Sierra, but he'd succeeded in cleaving the Dragon Bones in two—just as Hope had done.
Bai Yi told him this was the first time since Hope's disappearance that anyone had possessed such power to sever Dragon Bones.
If Percy could fully merge with the Holy Sword, he might accomplish what Hope never finished—eradicating the Dragon Bones from this land entirely, becoming the first person in history to rival the gods!
Before Percy could even feel excited, Bai Yi revealed a shocking truth that instantly cooled his emotions.
"Who would've thought—the very road beneath our feet is part of the Dragon Bones..."
East District, lower district. Percy stared at the rain-puddled road beneath him, murmuring to himself.
Bai Yi had told him that five hundred years ago, a portion of the Dragon Bones had merged with the East District. The cause was unknown. The Bai family ancestors had been vague about this particular set of bones, leaving him with no means to deal with the Dragon Bones so deeply fused with the district.
Percy walked forward with his head down, his expression grave. Bai Yi's description had been too abstract; he still couldn't comprehend exactly how the Dragon Bones had melded into the East District.
He'd finally gained the power to sever Dragon Bones, yet his blade could only cut tangible things. The East District's Dragon Bones existed in some formless, intangible way—he had no idea where to even swing his sword.
The narrow streets were so congested he couldn't see the end. Percy squeezed through the crowd, inching forward. Tall enough to easily see over everyone's heads, he watched the vivid expressions of every passerby. The East District was where he'd grown up—every person, every corner was achingly familiar.
Even if the Dragon Bones were formless, the East District fused with them was tangible enough to see and touch.
Without realizing it, Percy reached out and touched a weathered wall plastered with advertisements—then yanked his hand back as if burned. He took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
The fleeting, insane thought left him shaken. How could he even consider destroying his homeland just to eliminate the Dragon Bones?
Destroying the Dragon Bones was meant to give the people of this land a better life—not to strip them of their home and leave them as refugees.
Even if the people of the East District were given the choice, Percy was certain most would rather coexist with the Demonic Domains. Life under the constant threat of Demonic Domains was terrifying, yes, but five centuries of experience had produced well-established countermeasures. If their ancestral home were shattered, they'd face nothing but the unknown.
Percy couldn't help but smile. Even if he wanted to do it, the East District was the most prosperous area in the lower district—home to hundreds of thousands. His sword could split one street at best.
The whole idea was sheer lunacy.
But his smile quickly faded. He realized with helpless frustration that beyond destroying the East District, he had absolutely no leads.
Was the East District doomed to coexist with the Demonic Domains forever?
"Still worrying about the Dragon Bones?"
Roy sidled up to Percy. Normally the sharp-tongued overthinker, he now wore a relaxed expression as he tried to reassure his friend.
"Ye... well, and Sierra too—they're not invincibly powerful on their own."
Roy kept his voice extremely low, eyes alert to the passersby around them.
"Percy, haven't you realized what makes them so formidable? We only know how to fight one-on-one with our abilities, but they already have scores of ability users charging into battle for them."
Percy listened, his brows tightening imperceptibly. "Until I prove that what I hold is the real Holy Sword, people have no reason to follow us—though when it comes to destroying the Dragon Bones, we might find more like-minded allies..."
Roy circled around to Percy's front, blocking his path. His gaze cooled, turning sharp.
"Percy, I have both the standing and the means to bring many loyal followers to our cause. Don't I?"
Percy blinked. "Roy, did the Emperor say something to you?"
Roy was a prince—and a bastard. Under Church law, illegitimate children had no right of succession. But there were always exceptions.
Percy didn't know if this qualified as an exception. What he saw on Roy's face was an ambition and resolve he'd never witnessed before.
"His Majesty wants me to return. He has matters to entrust to me."
"Percy, come back with me. His Majesty shares our stance on the Dragon Bones. Even if our positions once clashed with the crown's—"
"Once I... we and the royal family will be one and the same."
Under Roy's blazing gaze, Percy took a step back, staring at him in disbelief.
Roy was saying the Emperor intended to name him as the imperial heir?
If Roy truly reached that position, Percy would of course be sincerely happy for his friend. But something about all of it felt deeply off.
"Caleb and the others will be happy for you, Roy. But until the Dragon Bones issue is resolved, I can't bring myself to go to the upper district in peace."
Percy said it offhandedly, but Roy's expression turned subtly peculiar.
"Percy, do you know why Bai Yi brought us back to the East District?"
Wasn't it because of the special Dragon Bones fused with the East District? Percy looked confused.
"Something big is about to happen in the East District." Roy smiled mysteriously. Without noticing, the two had drifted away from the crowd into the shadows of some secluded corner.
"Ye Zheng has been too brazen lately." With no one around, Roy finally dared speak her name.
"There are many who want her dead. From the palace to the cathedral, people who hate her could form a line stretching to the horizon."
Percy recalled Ye Zheng's recent New Diocese initiative. Even he could see that such a plan was bound to enrage the powerful.
"They plan to kill her in the East District."
"...Ye Zheng can't be killed that easily. Besides, the East District still has her Holy Journey Knights Order." Percy said.
"This is no petty assassination attempt. Those people have been cultivating ability users and knights for years. They've resolved to unite for the sake of their interests—"
"They're going to wage war against Pope Ye Zheng."
Percy's expression shifted to utter bewilderment. "What does any of this have to do with us?"
"Sierra made such a huge scene that Ye Zheng must have noticed our involvement with the Dragon Bones by now. She might've been using us all along to locate the Dragon Bones. The moment she decides she wants them—do the few of us really have the power to resist her?"
Percy's blue eyes gradually darkened. He seemed to understand what Roy was getting at. To defeat Ye Zheng and destroy the Dragon Bones, they'd need to mobilize every resource at their disposal.
And yet, something still felt wrong.
The East District was the homeland he couldn't bear to see harmed. If those people chose to attack Ye Zheng there, innocent people would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.
But if Ye Zheng was allowed to continue unchecked... an ominous premonition stirred in Percy's heart.
Author's Note:
Defense went smoothly today!
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