Chapter 286-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

What crumbled along with the Statue of the God of Hope was the last shred of hesitation and expectation Percy held for Ye Zheng. It dissipated as lightly as rising dust, and his heart, relieved of some heavy burden, became all the lighter for it.

From this point on, his blade could point at Ye Zheng with righteous conviction—standing against her, he was undoubtedly justice!

His trembling hands slowly clenched into steady fists. The last time he had faced her in direct combat was in the West District. Today the sky was clear without a single cloud, and Divine Plaza was several streets away from the nearest river—not a favorable battleground for Ye Zheng.

Defeating Ye Zheng was not impossible.

His right arm transformed into a greatsword. With a roar, he pierced the ground, and cracks slithered like serpents toward Ye Zheng—only to halt abruptly at her feet.

Facing the enemy's fierce and surging fighting spirit, Ye Zheng stood slightly sideways in place, hands clasped naturally before her. Her expression was exceedingly faint, as if mildly curious watching a child wave around his toy—but that was the extent of her interest.

A flicker of confusion crossed Percy's mind. From the very start, Ye Zheng seemed to be waiting for something. She had already obtained their Dragon Bone, so what else did she need—

Boom—

Another thunderous crash from above. The Dragon Bone plunged into the ground like a sword, its violent tremor shaking the already crumbling buildings into collapse. In an instant, the area around the plaza was reduced to rubble.

Percy choked on the sudden dust, coughing. Through the hazy smoke he looked over—a new figure had appeared beside Ye Zheng.

"Ye Zheng—cough—I'm still on time, right?"

Wu Shu rested one hand on Ye Zheng's shoulder, coughing herself from the dust, while her other hand carelessly wiped away a streak of blood.

She had been ambushed just as she neared Divine Plaza. Two giant birds were slain, and to keep the Dragon Bone from enemy hands, she made a desperate gamble mid-air—grabbing hold of the bone and activating her ability to flash-teleport the massive, impossibly heavy Dragon Bone above the plaza.

It was her first time attempting to move something so enormous. Fortunately, she succeeded.

Ye Zheng glanced at the pale-faced Wu Shu, discreetly supporting her back. Cool water seeped in silently, mending the severe injuries within her body.

"Right on time. I'm always at ease leaving things to you."

Wu Shu tugged at the corner of her mouth. Her greeting hardly matched her spectacular entrance. She actually had much to say to Ye Zheng, but now wasn't the time.

It no longer mattered whether Ye Zheng's ideals would bring rebirth or destruction—many things could only be understood once seen through to the end.

Besides, she was never one to pursue justice. Her origins were ordinary, her abilities unremarkable, yet even so, she yearned to make her mark, to be seen, to be remembered by this world!

Chaotic footsteps closed in from all directions. Above the ruins, figures emerged in an endless stream, drawing nearer—perhaps attracted by the commotion, or perhaps lying in wait from the start.

Percy was first surprised by Wu Shu's appearance, then stared in bewilderment at the crowd attempting to surround Divine Plaza. Judging by their attire, they didn't belong to the forces arranged by Bai Yi and those nobles—yet had somehow slipped into the East District.

He looked more closely and recognized several of them—all renowned S-rank ability users of the empire.

The answer was obvious. Even Percy could guess—they must be the Emperor's hidden hand.

Percy clenched his teeth. So he, and Roy and the others, were merely cannon fodder used by the Emperor to wear down Ye Zheng's strength. The true elites the Emperor placed his hopes on had simply been waiting for the moment Ye Zheng was isolated and vulnerable to close in for the kill!

The massive white remains stood tall at the center of the plaza. Ye Zheng watched these suddenly-appeared elites and let out a brief laugh. Wu Shu laughed even more brightly—amid the wary, murderous gazes of countless enemies, she laughed until she coughed, her weakened body leaning against Ye Zheng's shoulder.

"Ye Zheng, looks like I really am going to go down in infamy with you."

"Isn't that interesting?"

Ye Zheng smiled. She extended her hand, palm up, cradling the gentle sunlight as water flowed from her fingertips in a steady trickle, seeping into the cracked earth.

Like a traveler cupping a handful of clear spring water in the mountains—utterly composed.

This harmonious scene was so eerie that the bloodthirsty warriors all stopped advancing in unison, their vigilant eyes locked unblinkingly on Ye Zheng.

Though they considered themselves powerful—their confidence unshaken even after hearing of the base garrison's crushing defeat—when they laid eyes on Ye Zheng, this legendary Saintess and Pope, an inexplicable reverence stirred within them. She showed not a shred of surprise at their arrival, as serene as if receiving believers at the Papal Palace...

What unnerved them further was that they could sense no power fluctuation from Ye Zheng whatsoever—neither strong nor weak. Not a single ripple.

"Ye Zheng, as Pope you've conspired with heretics and attempted to resurrect the Demon Dragon—do you dare admit your crimes!"

A man strode forward fearlessly, his accusation ringing out as though he had been waiting for this very moment to display his righteous valor.

Well-maintained as he was, the deep lines on his face still betrayed his age. His silk garments and gold-lettered ornaments proclaimed his noble status, and his composure under pressure left no doubt he was a formidable figure.

This face had been familiar to the empire's people over a decade ago. In his youth, he had hunted in the lower district, driving out Demonic Domains. His noble birth and righteous deeds had earned him great admiration.

Until a certain incident erupted, and he vanished from public view entirely.

"Count Owen."

Ye Zheng identified him precisely.

"Before you question me—have you confronted your own crimes?"

Percy turned his head in shock.

A vein throbbed at the man's temple. He raised his volume, voice booming like a bell. "If you're referring to the Blood Flower Incident all those years ago, the mastermind Wen Jian is already dead! I was trapped inside the Demonic Domain back then and had no way to stop what happened outside—Ye Zheng, don't try to slander me to change the subject!"

Yes, back then they had been trapped in the Demonic Domain. The Blood Flower never stopped feeding on flesh, and it was a sycophant like Wen Jian who devised that vicious scheme—sending innocent people into the Domain in exchange for their survival, indirectly killing many...

Under Ye Zheng's all-seeing gaze, Count Owen couldn't help but offer further justification.

"We merely called for help from outside. No one ordered Wen Jian to use that method! After surviving, I too was tormented day and night, leaving the upper district for a remote fief to pray for the dead, hoping the gods would forgive my sins..."

He seemed to realize his momentum was waning and abruptly cut himself off, his words turning fierce again. "Ye Zheng, do you dare look into the eyes of the people who admire you? Do you think you can trample on others' lives without consequence? Today we will not only stop you—we will make you pay!"

He seemed utterly oblivious that his every word was an indictment of himself.

Ye Zheng thought, if Sierra were here, she probably wouldn't bother arguing either—wouldn't bother listing Owen's crimes one by one. She'd simply split him in half with a savage grin, or drag him back for torment.

Whether Owen and his companions' call for help back then contained other orders—only they themselves knew. Sierra, as a survivor who lived through it, had watched with her own eyes as they hid behind barriers, leaving the innocent people herded into the Domain to be devoured by the Blood Flower, until the flowers gorged themselves to bursting and they escaped with their lives.

"Do you know why I never came to settle accounts with you?"

Ye Zheng didn't respond to his tirade. She simply posed a question of her own, her enunciation soft, yet audible to everyone present.

Count Owen stared at her, an inexplicable chill creeping up his spine. What did Ye Zheng mean? Could she have some connection to what happened back then?

After that incident, he had never set foot in the lower district again—until today.

It suddenly occurred to him that what drove him into seclusion on his Middle District estate wasn't just guilt. After the incident, something rather sensational had happened—the judge handling the Blood Flower Incident had died under mysterious circumstances.

Even though the judge had been declared dead from accidentally drowning in a lake while drunk, the young Owen was terrified, convinced it was divine warning. He truly had indirectly caused those deaths; he ought to atone. And so he abandoned his promising life.

Today, setting foot on East District soil once more to stop Ye Zheng—this was his atonement to those innocent people from years ago!

Roar—

With a furious bellow, the man's body rapidly swelled and deformed, transforming into an armored giant three stories tall, like the mighty giants of ancient myth.

His form was indestructible, its shadow engulfing the ground around Ye Zheng—an overwhelming presence.

As the man charged at the vanguard, the others hesitated no longer. Across the battered ruins, staggering energy erupted—gales, frost, lightning, blade-shadows and other bizarre techniques wove together in dazzling display, eclipsing even the sun overhead in an instant.

The armored giant at the fore raised both fists and slammed down with bone-crushing force—enough to crack the earth's very core.

Percy's thoughts were thrown into chaos by the sudden turn of events. He stood frozen, watching helplessly as they closed in on Ye Zheng from all sides. Under their combined all-out assault, he could only catch a faint, flickering silhouette—even Ye Zheng seemed small and fragile in this moment.

"The reason I never came for you."

Suddenly, a clear voice extinguished the roar of battle and screams, reaching every ear. Percy, standing not far away, shuddered.

Ye Zheng's fingertip stopped a fist many times larger than her entire body. Owen, transformed into a giant, seemed to have lost all his strength—unable to advance even a centimeter more.

She raised her eyes, dark pupils carrying a smile, like an image of death seared deep into the man's bell-sized pupils.

"Because I knew you would inevitably stand in my way. I didn't need to arrange anything—you were always destined to be swept into the trash."

"Wh-what did you do..."

The armored giant's body shrank rapidly. The skin beneath the armor withered bit by bit until he was smaller than Ye Zheng, forced to look up at her sculpted features.

He clutched his shriveled face in both hands, staring at Ye Zheng in terror. He could clearly feel it—his power was draining away at a terrifying speed!

The others likewise halted their attacks. Someone's flames singed their own hand; someone tripped onto another's ice spike; someone's weapon slipped from control and clattered to the ground. The dazzling, murderous torrent of power was snuffed out like sparks under a shoe. Amid the ruins they cried out in disbelief, in panic—louder than any battle cry before.

Off to one side of the fray, Percy stared fixedly at his own hands. He too could no longer metallize his body.

"...It's [Mother of All Things]."

He looked up in sudden realization. That ability Ye Zheng rarely displayed in public—the one they had all dismissed as support-type—it was Ye Zheng's ultimate trump card!

Could it be that simply stepping within a certain range subjected one to [Mother of All Things]'s control? If he left this area now, perhaps he could break free...

Percy slowly backed away. His expression abruptly changed as he sensed something. He looked down at his ankle.

Threads of water so fine they were nearly invisible—and imperceptible—were coiling around his ankle.

He was no stranger to them. Ye Zheng's water threads had once nearly killed him. That cool, lethal intent was something he could never forget.

Percy stomped hard, then crouched to tear at them with his hands—but threads made of water couldn't be torn. They simply kept winding up, sapping his strength and vitality!

"Ye... Zheng..."

One by one, people collapsed as if their spines had been ripped out. They lay on the ruined plaza, helplessly feeling their power drain away, straining to lift their heads to watch Ye Zheng pass by, calling her name in voices weak with hatred or supplication.

In that moment, they had completely forgotten why they came. They desperately wished Ye Zheng was the benevolent divine messenger the people praised—one who spread blessings, not death.

Ye Zheng stepped over a suit of mighty armor. A flash of water, and dark blood seeped from the armor's joints.

In his final moments, Owen finally remembered—this legendary Pope, Ye Zheng, came from an unremarkable noble family. The same family as the judge who had died under mysterious circumstances all those years ago. And her mother hailed from the lower district. Ye Zheng's water ability... the drowned judge...

Yet this truth could not grant him peace. His eyes bulged grotesquely, and he died in hideous contortion.

Ye Zheng supported Wu Shu, passing by one after another of those writhing in agony because of her, her gaze unmoved.

A hand suddenly seized her white robe. Ye Zheng looked down.

"D-do you remember me? You saved me at the East District cathedral... I was nearly dead, couldn't afford a healer. I heard the Saintess had come, and I dragged myself into the cathedral with my last breath..."

The young man lying on the ground was sobbing, tears and mucus streaming. Ye Zheng showed not a trace of disgust at his state, watching him in silence.

"You gave me this life—the chance to climb higher. I finally... managed to become a knight serving a noble house with my abilities. I was about to join the Middle District, about to live the life I'd dreamed of..."

"But you—you incited conflict between the districts. They questioned our loyalty, refused to give us another chance, even abandoned us... You saved me, then ruined me!"

"How many futures have you destroyed, Lady Saintess! Your Holiness the Pope!"

The man's voice was nearly a shriek. The hand gripping her robe bulged with veins, then fell away limp—yet his eyes still gazed at Ye Zheng, pleading.

That familiar look stirred a faint memory in Ye Zheng. She had saved too many people. Precisely because of this, she held no expectations of them—and felt no disappointment now.

"I've saved many people and killed some. I have never once regretted it."

"Just as now—I don't regret saving you, nor will I hesitate over killing you."

Ye Zheng looked away. Behind her, a flash of water passed, and the young man fell silent.

She walked to the edge of the plaza and handed Wu Shu over to Wen De, who had been waiting silently nearby. Wen De looked at her wordlessly for a long moment before turning to carry Wu Shu away.

Ye Zheng watched the two depart. She let out a soft sigh, feeling the immense power surging through her every limb via [Stream]. The overflowing energy pulsed against the rubble on the ground, as though something was about to burst forth.

This was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Ye Zheng, so whether it's us or the Emperor—we were all part of your plan."

She turned.

Percy approached trembling, raising the golden sword at Ye Zheng. His upper body was drenched in blood—stripped of his ability, he had torn open his own flesh barehanded to retrieve the Divine Sword.

He couldn't understand. Even Sierra had been unable to strip his ability with the Divine Sword's protection, yet Ye Zheng had effortlessly stripped over a hundred people of their powers.

But of one thing he was certain—Ye Zheng was amassing power for only one reason. Right here, right now, she would assemble the Dragon Bone and summon the Demon Dragon!

The golden sword erupted in blinding radiance. Its speed surpassed lightning—a blade-shadow imperceptible to the naked eye reached Ye Zheng's face in an instant.

Percy unleashed power beyond anything he'd ever shown, driven by a single conviction: stop her, defeat her!

Yet in the next instant, he and the Divine Sword were hurled skyward by ground that surged upward. The blade only barely grazed Ye Zheng's nose.

"Percy, if you want to play the righteous knight stopping the evil Pope—you're not qualified."

Ye Zheng lifted her chin with faint disdain, and an unstoppable flood burst from the earth!

The ground split apart completely. Merciless currents clawed out from every corner of the district like countless hands reaching from below, tearing everything asunder.

Under bright sunlight, the floodwaters swept over the battered ruins, swallowing those lying on the ground, churning heavy soil in every direction, washing away all trace of human presence.

Percy tumbled through the flood, his expression one of despair as he watched it all unfold. He could think of no way to reverse this—Ye Zheng's power far exceeded anything he had imagined.

Was there truly no one who could save this drowning district?

Through his blurred vision, he glimpsed a white silhouette—whiter than Ye Zheng, and colder.

*

Divine Domain, second stage—Spirit Control.

Bai Muqing moved so fast she was nearly invisible, and wherever she passed, monsters burst apart. The largest ones she cut down personally.

One Demonic Domain vanished, and she immediately raced toward the next—until she felt the massive energy pulse emanating from the city center. She furrowed her white brows, heart beating heavily.

Bai Muqing blinked slowly. She "stared" at a nearby weaker Demonic Domain. Before long, its white barrier slowly dissolved.

Divine Domain, third stage—Boundary Break.

She appeared without warning beside a White-Clad Knight, telling her that all the Demonic Domains to the east had been cleared and evacuation could be directed there.

Ignoring the other's astonished expression, Bai Muqing turned to leave—when a somewhat familiar young voice called out to her.

"Bai Muqing!"

She turned to look. It was the little girl she had once rescued from a Demonic Domain—a tiny admirer of Ye Zheng who didn't seem to like her very much.

"Where are you going? I heard we can leave now. Come with us!"

"Too many people. You need a wider road."

The little girl pouted. "Why do you pretend to care about us? Everyone says you're imitating Ye Zheng for attention. They even dump garbage at your door..."

Bai Muqing didn't know how to respond. She gave a vague "mm," patted the girl's head in a somewhat perfunctory manner, and turned to leave.

"Be careful—"

The little girl shouted after her, drawing glances from many. All they saw was a streak of white wind racing past, and then they pressed forward, jostling to leave.

Suddenly, someone screamed that the flood was coming, and the crowd surged forward in greater panic.

By the time Bai Muqing was drawn to the city center by the floodwaters, it had already become a vast expanse of churning currents.

Power surged within, like an all-encompassing net reaching deep underground, as though excavating something scattered below.

Ye Zheng stood atop the massive, intact skeleton of the Demon Dragon, gazing down over the entire district.

Bai Muqing stood on a rooftop nearly submerged by the flood, looking up—toward Ye Zheng's direction.

Across the rushing torrent, Ye Zheng gazed back at her, as if looking at a tiny grain of white sand.

Ye Zheng apparently had no intention of offering any explanation.

Why destroy the East District? Why attempt to summon the Demon Dragon? Why stand there alone?

A flood of questions yearned to pour out, but Bai Muqing merely blinked once—white lashes fluttering—then blinked again, faster than normal.

Ye Zheng stood upon the majestic white skull. Bai Muqing couldn't see her expression—not because of the distance, but because she did not perceive the world through sight.

She could sense that Ye Zheng's emotions were intensely active in this moment—exhilaration and joy intertwined with a strange heaviness and sorrow.

Ye Zheng looked in her direction. Suddenly, she placed her left hand over her heart, bowed slightly—a standard Curia greeting—then extended her right hand toward her from afar.

Bai Muqing widened her white pupils slightly. When she and Ye Zheng first met at the Saintess election, Ye Zheng had greeted her this exact way, then extended her hand.

Back then, fourteen-year-old Bai Muqing had not taken that friendly hand. She despised someone so cunning and arrogant.

"...I understand."

Bai Muqing extended her hand toward Ye Zheng in return, and slowly clasped it.

The two of them, separated by the raging flood, reached a silent understanding.

—Divine Domain, fourth stage—Boundless Realm.

In that instant, Bai Muqing experienced a flash of enlightenment. She closed her eyes, and before long, pure white points of light descended without end.

Beneath the blazing sun, a snowfall drifted solemnly into the rushing floodwaters. An invisible force lifted those who had accidentally fallen in, holding back the waters about to crash into the station.

Ye Zheng laughed, barely audibly. She had waited for the final piece to fall into place.

Her gaze settled on the water's surface, complex and unreadable. She slowly raised her right hand, as if summoning something.

Even more violent currents burst from the ground, toppling every building in sight. They carried sand and debris from all directions, converging on Ye Zheng as if screaming to devour her.

Yet Ye Zheng showed no fear.

She spread her arms wide, sinking into the towering waters along with the massive white remains.

The waters rose and fell, then calmed for a moment—as if sated.

Boom—

A colossal wave surged skyward, and a terrifying black Giant Dragon burst from the water!

---

Author's Note:

Tomorrow's chapter is forum-style. I really have gotten entangled with those incel trolls—life imitating art more and more, haha.

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