Chapter 291-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
The sun sank slowly toward the horizon, its crimson glow bleeding across the vast expanse of water—serene yet eerie.
The upper half of a Bell Tower jutted above the surface. Ye Zheng stood at its peak, and at a certain moment, as though sensing something, she turned her gaze in a particular direction.
Warm light traced strange hues in the depths of her eyes—bright joy, laced with a thread of inexpressible sorrow.
She could feel it. The instant the Demon Dragon returned to this land, a long-lost, overwhelming power was surging back—erupting!
Her heart thundered. Her blood boiled. Perhaps countless women were feeling this same pulse of power alongside her.
They would not lose.
Entrusting her mother with the fight against Bai Yi had been a gamble, yet she was the first person who'd come to Ye Zheng's mind. In the battle against Sykes, Shu Wan had already proven herself—a reliable warrior. The days spent at the base had given her leadership skills and the ability to adapt on the fly.
She shouldn't use a daughter's love as an excuse to shackle her mother in the name of protection.
So Ye Zheng hadn't hesitated. Both of them understood the price of the gamble, yet neither would stop. Recklessness and daring ran in their blood.
Suddenly, Ye Zheng's reverie was broken. Clear, resonant cries rang out from every direction—sounds she knew well.
Unlike the menacing roars they usually made, their voices were uncommonly light and buoyant. Black Dragons of all sizes alighted on the surrounding buildings, and atop their dark bodies, the human torsos lifted their heads to gaze at the majestic yet tranquil Giant Dragon at the center.
The Dragon-Bodied Humans seemed drawn by some unseen call, rushing headlong toward the Giant Dragon that had suddenly descended.
Ye Zheng reached out and stroked a Dragon-Bodied Human perched beside her, then walked across the water's surface as though it were solid ground. She drew close to the Giant Dragon and craned her neck as far as it would go, yet still couldn't see its head. It was simply too enormous; next to it, she was no more than a tiny droplet.
"Margaret, is this what you meant by 'coming back'?"
Ye Zheng leaned against the Giant Dragon and murmured softly.
She was too close to take in its full form, but she was certain this Giant Dragon was not the Demon Dragon Margaret had once become.
Because this was a life she had created with [Mother of All Things], using Margaret's remains.
She had assembled the Dragon Bones, turned the entire East District upside down to find every trace of Margaret she could—including the small fragment of bone she'd always carried with her—and poured it all into the torrent of creation, attempting to bring Margaret back to life.
Was her power still not strong enough? Or was resurrection simply impossible?
Ye Zheng's fingertips trembled faintly; she clenched them into a fist.
Rather than an independent being, this Giant Dragon was more like an outward manifestation of the ability [Mother of All Things]. Its mind was linked to hers—it felt what she felt, thought what she thought. The surging power within it was too immense to belong to this world; it was a higher, mightier creature from another world entirely.
It might well deserve the title of Demon Dragon, but it was not Margaret—not that fiery, spirited woman weighed down by layer upon layer of chains, the one who had said, "We'll meet again"...
"You... you... we... us..."
A voice so hoarse it was nearly unintelligible suddenly spoke. Ye Zheng whipped her head around, an involuntary flicker of hope crossing her face.
A Dragon-Bodied Human leaned down toward her. For the first time, that face—one that should have been human—showed an emotional expression. No longer ashen and rigid, Ye Zheng could even make out what she must have looked like before the transformation: a kind, friendly young woman.
Ye Zheng stood frozen for a moment, then quickly stepped closer.
She held back a storm of emotions, her expression perfectly patient as she listened to the halting words.
"You... I... always... watching... want..."
Ye Zheng considered for a moment, brow furrowing then relaxing.
"You mean you've been watching us all along, thinking of us... Your consciousness was always there; you just couldn't control this body."
The Dragon-Bodied Human fell silent—her stillness a tacit agreement, or perhaps an immersion in some inconsolable grief.
Ever since the Demon Dragon had vanished from this land, ability users had grown weaker with each generation. Ye Zheng had noticed this while reviewing historical records after becoming Pope. The power of ability users originated from the Demon Dragon that Margaret had become, yet the Dragon's remains had been sealed underground.
The cumulative impact was impossible to quantify. Even now, Ye Zheng couldn't be certain what changes bringing the Demon Dragon back into the light would bring.
Seeing the women who had lost their lives to the Hope Project beginning to regain consciousness, Ye Zheng allowed herself a faint smile. Just this alone made every effort she'd poured in worthwhile.
Ye Zheng gazed at the Dragon-Bodied Human's dazed face. Her eyes were still entirely black, yet she was undeniably a person with self-awareness now.
"If you've been watching all this time, then you should know me."
Ye Zheng pointed at her own smiling face.
She had shed her piercing killing intent, looking gentle and approachable—even as several enemy corpses still floated in the water, their faces twisted in death.
"I once said I would save you all. You must have thought me childish and arrogant at the time."
The Dragon-Bodied Human shook her head, then nodded. She seemed at a loss, flapping her black wings with force. The other Dragon-Bodied Humans joined in, their hoarse voices weaving together into an indecipherable chorus—but Ye Zheng understood what they meant.
"My 'salvation' seems so trivial compared to your perseverance. It must have been so hard all these years. Thank you for holding on until now."
Ye Zheng's eyes curved warmly. Her gratitude was genuine. She might not have managed to resurrect Margaret... but she had brought their identities back to life.
The void in her heart was slowly being filled. Ye Zheng, too, was overwhelmed with emotions beyond words. She blinked once, forcing down the sting in her eyes.
Margaret, is this what you meant by "coming back"?
She asked the question once more in her heart, directed at someone who no longer existed.
You were tormented from childhood by the fate of becoming the Demon Dragon. Yet when the outside world invaded, you accepted the invitation of the Higher-dimensional World's creations without a moment's hesitation—then betrayed Them, refused to become one of Them, chose to stay in this world and willingly embrace the Demon Dragon's fate, becoming a guardian force even if it meant being misunderstood and despised.
I won't ask whether it was worth it. I understand you. We can see reflections of ourselves in each other.
But I am different from you.
"Now that you've regained consciousness, is there something you want to do?"
Ye Zheng asked, yet her gentle face held not a trace of doubt or hesitation, as though she already knew the answer.
The women, still clumsy with speech, said nothing. In unison they fell silent, their massive dragon bodies hoisting their human forms high. They looked down at Ye Zheng from above, their black eyes brimming with emotion so intense it was almost tangible, radiating a terrifying pressure.
Their vast, dark bodies trembled faintly.
—Rage! Rage! And more rage!
Ye Zheng found her answer in their fury.
Those who had participated in the Hope Project were either orphaned girls on society's margins or women tricked by their own families into sacrificing themselves. In that one-sided ritual of offering, not a single woman had gone willingly. They didn't need anyone's hollow sympathy pressuring them to forgive. Their fury demanded an outlet—someone had to pay.
"This world has dismissed our rage for far too long. That is its chronic disease."
Ye Zheng said, then turned and placed her hand on the "Demon Dragon" she herself had created.
It lowered its head, meeting her gaze with eyes full of sentience and compassion.
A glow began to emanate from her palm. Suddenly, the Demon Dragon's body faded away, and in the last light of the setting sun, it transformed into a single bone resting in Ye Zheng's hand.
Five hundred years ago, the Dragon-Bodied Humans from the Higher-dimensional World had delivered a Bone Blade. Margaret had driven the Dragon Bone into her own chest, gaining power that surpassed this world.
Now, Ye Zheng pressed the Dragon Bone against her own chest.
Before this, she had carefully embedded a small sliver of Dragon Bone in her palm. It had granted immense power, yet carried the risk of making one lose control.
But the Dragon Bone in her hand was different from Margaret's of five hundred years ago. It held the power of the Demon Dragon from the Higher-dimensional World and, at the same time, existed by virtue of Ye Zheng's [Mother of All Things].
Once again, Ye Zheng stepped up to the gambling table with unwavering resolve and absolute confidence.
The seven Demonic Domains that had appeared in the East District today had revealed the Emperor's hand. He was trying to recreate the hell of five hundred years ago to stop her.
She would never back down in the face of his threats. She would advance—keep advancing—never stop advancing!
Only by becoming an existence that transcended this dimension could she fulfill that brazen, audacious promise—
"I will save everyone."
Ye Zheng whispered. Her exhausted hand trembled as she mustered the last of her strength and slowly drove the Dragon Bone into her chest.
A stern voice immediately rang out in her mind. Marcy said: "Stop, Ye Zheng! Even Margaret may not have been able to keep her sanity back then. She lost to Aston. You can't be certain—"
"Marcy, I am certain."
Blood stained her white robe red, yet Ye Zheng wore a carefree smile. This was the only wound she'd suffered today.
"Marcy, haven't you realized? The prophesied Destroyer is me."
"The [Mother of All Things] you passed down to save the world is the very ability I cannot do without."
Ye Zheng's understated words struck Marcy like a sledgehammer. This first-generation Pope, whose consciousness had endured for five hundred years, gradually grasped an astonishing truth...
...Ye Zheng truly had the potential to become an existence that transcended this dimension.
Ye Zheng focused on driving the Dragon Bone the rest of the way into her flesh. She couldn't help but gasp, her face pale—yet her dark eyes blazed with searing intensity.
Margaret, even if you departed without a single complaint, content and at peace, perfectly passing the torch of hope to generation after generation—
I will find you, sooner or later. This has nothing to do with your wishes, because it is my will!
In the setting sun, the "Demon Dragon" perched at the city center vanished in an instant.
A different kind of invisible, daunting pressure spread outward—like the approaching nightfall, inescapable—but without a doubt, it was the prelude to dawn.
*
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