Chapter 302-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
The day the attempt to seize the Dragon Bones failed, Sierra made a snap decision and led her remaining people out of the East District. She didn't return to her home base in the West District—instead, she headed straight for the upper district.
Sierra grudgingly admitted that Ye Zheng was better at stirring up trouble than she was. The mess that woman had unleashed happened to give Sierra the perfect cover to act. This was a golden opportunity.
Her original plan had been to take Ye Zheng's Dragon Bones, then assault the upper district. As for what to do after breaking in—Sierra hadn't thought that far ahead at all.
Even without the Dragon Bones, it didn't stop Sierra from fantasizing about smashing through the upper district's gates with overwhelming force. Now she had waltzed in with laughable ease, swaggering the whole way, yet a lump of frustration sat heavy in her chest.
The cobblestone streets weren't as neat and gleaming as she'd imagined. Scattered debris littered the road. Sierra kicked aside a black leather shoe blocking her path—who knew which poor soul had lost it.
The air, at least, was clean—none of the lower district's persistent stench of industrial waste and sewage. The sky seemed especially clear, too.
Bright, floor-to-ceiling glass display windows lined the streets. Sierra pressed both hands against the glass and peered inside, curious.
A dazzling array of jewels and treasure blinded her. She let out an irritated yelp, kicked the door open, found not a single person inside, stuffed a few pieces of jewelry into her pockets, and left.
Her followers erupted in jubilant shouts, following hot on Sierra's heels, looting every valuable in sight. Some even came to blows over the spoils.
"Where is everyone?"
Sierra noticed something was off. Her excitement faded quickly. She tossed aside the jewelry she'd grabbed—too much dead weight—leaving it carelessly on the curb.
She crouched by the roadside, just like when she was very small, finishing a clown act and eagerly waiting for passersby to toss coins. But the vast majority scattered, leaving nothing behind. Her little tin box held only a few stray coins, clinking pitifully.
Sierra scrunched up her face in utter bewilderment. Why wasn't anyone coming out to stop her?
She had been fully prepared to paint the place red. She would crush anyone who stood in her way, smash their exquisite wares, burn their grand buildings to the ground—only that could possibly quench the fury that had never once died down inside her!
...And yet they dared to treat her with such indifference.
Anger and the desire for vengeance had driven Sierra through every waking moment in the Blood Flower Demonic Domain, kept her alive until today. Sierra would not allow her rage to be dismissed.
The youth stood up, grabbed a stick she'd picked up along the way, and went smashing down the street, dragging a few trembling people out of the shops.
"Talk. Where did they all go?"
"Y-you mean the lords and ladies? They should be safe in their estates. We truly don't know anything..."
"Where's the upper district's shelter? Take me there."
The person answering looked confused for a moment, then replied, "We don't have shelters in the upper district. There are no Demonic Domains here... there never used to be any that required sheltering from."
Those she'd seized fell to their knees, begging for mercy. Sierra kicked them aside impatiently and looked toward the white barrier of light in the distance.
This appeared to be a commercial district. She estimated roughly three Demonic Domains in the area. Anyone of consequence was either trapped inside one or already holed up somewhere safe, guarded by high-level ability users—Demonic Domains wouldn't even be a concern for them.
Sierra laughed and let out a whistle. The reveling Disciples instantly fell obediently into line beside her.
"So they're playing hide-and-seek with me."
"I like that game."
*
"Your Excellency, your wisdom is truly admirable! Without you, we'd probably still be struggling in some godforsaken place."
An oily, heavyset man fussed around the elderly Bishop. The old man in white robes snorted coldly, rapping his cane hard against the floor several times, his aged voice ringing with authority: "Don't let your guard down. Staying here is only a temporary measure. We must not grow complacent."
"The real threat is in the East District of the lower district. We must eliminate the source of this evil!"
The vigorous old Colonna rallied them with a thundering voice. Everyone present echoed their agreement—part performance, part genuine fury and hatred.
The Demonic Domains had come too suddenly. Before they could even digest Ye Zheng's staggering words, blinding white light erupted across the peaceful upper district, quickly engulfing vast swathes of land.
Those inside were alive or dead—no one knew. Those lucky enough to remain outside were thrown into panic.
Though they were nobles, and generations of selective breeding meant most possessed abilities, few had ever actually entered a Demonic Domain. At best, they'd observed the creatures from outside a cage, marveling with idle curiosity.
But if those monsters were suddenly let loose right in their faces, they'd probably react exactly as they had during the incident at the Pope's coming-of-age ceremony—scrambling to flee, too terrified to even hold a sword steady.
Fortunately, the Sei Curia's senior Bishop, old Colonna, had generously shared his wisdom. He had cleverly located a Demonic Domain with a threat level of roughly E and led them all inside.
An E-rank Demonic Domain posed virtually no threat to ability users. At a time like this, voluntarily entering a low-level Demonic Domain was actually safer—it let them avoid running into a lethal high-level one outside.
They sat on grass. The monsters had been mostly cleaned out, and a floating purple jellyfish was confined in a glass dome, serving as the core that maintained the Demonic Domain's space.
Some were noble ministers, others high-ranking clergy of the Sei Curia. The Demonic Domain's space was quite small, so they hadn't brought anyone extra. A few people of significant standing had brought one or two high-level ability user guards.
"I've been saying it for ages—Ye Zheng's been like a different person these past couple of years. That behavior was nothing like a Saintess of the Sei Curia. She was probably a monster all along!"
"The Hope Curia and the Empire were both deceived by a heretic—what an utter disgrace!"
"Hope God above, how could such an obedient, clever child turn into that? We beseech You to descend once more, to set things right and cleanse all evil..."
Some were cursing, others praying. A flicker of amusement crossed old Colonna's cloudy eyes, his excitement barely contained.
Ye Zheng had finally shown her true colors! The honor, status, wealth she'd stolen from the Colonna family, and the lives of its members... it was time to take it all back.
Five hundred years ago, the Hope Curia had risen to prominence amid turmoil, establishing an unshakable position. Five hundred years later, the same kind of disaster had returned. The world was about to be reshuffled—why couldn't the Colonna family rise to become the next colossus?
Hope God above, in recognition of their centuries of devout service, let the Colonna family become the rulers of the next era!
The old man closed his eyes and prayed in silence.
He was nearly eighty, and his hearing was failing. By the time he noticed the sounds around him had all but vanished and opened his eyes, a group of uninvited guests had already barged into view.
At their head was a figure with striking golden hair. It had been a long time since old Colonna felt his eyesight was still passable—yet he made out those red eyes in an instant, catching her half-smirking gaze completely off guard.
"...Sierra?"
The upper district's chief of the Public Security Bureau heaved himself to his feet, the fat on his face visibly trembling.
Her name was infamous. He had cursed it over and over in his office. Her crimes warranted the gallows dozens of times over, yet she remained at large, a source of endless frustration.
No—this time she'd come gallivanting right to his doorstep.
"It's over..."
He collapsed back onto the ground, watching helplessly as someone nearby charged forward, oblivious to the danger, trying to drive away this group of strangers.
They had absolutely no idea who they were dealing with!
Sierra's ability to nullify other abilities alone was terrifying enough. Even the Crown Prince had fallen at her hands back then—let alone her cruel and cunning nature. For ability users, she was no less dangerous than an S-rank Demonic Domain!
"Who are all of you?"
The person asked, her voice carrying a ring of innocent curiosity at first listen.
*
"F-Father."
In another secluded corner of the upper district, Heath stared at the blood-smeared young face, reverence in her voice but unable to mask her fear.
"As expected of my cleverest daughter—you recognized me right away."
The man wedged his hand against the door and forced his way into the hall. Heath retreated step by step.
"Where's the gift you prepared for me? I can hardly wait to unwrap it."
Heath didn't answer immediately. Her pupils contracted involuntarily, her mind racing.
Something must have happened to him on his way here—an encounter with a high-level Demonic Domain, perhaps, or a brush with mortal danger.
She had already identified this body as belonging to one of the Emperor's attendants.
"It's upstairs, Father. Consider it my apology for failing you."
Heath slowly ascended the stairs, glancing back with feigned nonchalance to monitor the man's movements.
He followed.
Author's Note
Was packing up dorm stuff today. After getting home I'll try to write more~
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