Gospel of Blood

A flash of crimson-gold light passed through Charlotte’s pupils, and her golden-red eyes turned into a brilliant blue.

Her silver hair was once again dyed a pale gold, and her slender form shrank. Soon… Charlotte reverted to the appearance of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old human girl.

Her aura was human, her appearance was human, and aside from her exquisitely unreal, dreamlike beauty, she seemed no different from an ordinary person.

But something was undeniably different.

A faint ripple of divine power circled around her, radiating pure and majestic divinity.

Under that ripple, any being that sensed it would involuntarily feel a mix of reverence and fear, a compelling urge to bow down and worship.

However, Charlotte didn’t feel much joy from her successful ascension.

Deep within her consciousness, in the crimson star sea that represented the bloodborne, the “sun” that represented Abaddon… had extinguished.

Only a shattered stone gate remained in the place where the sun once was, standing like a tombstone for a myth.

No, that was no longer Abaddon.

Though still clad in Abaddon’s armor, he had reverted to the form of a young knight, appearing rather youthful.

He was Daniel, the brother of Susan, the head of the Gray Swan Orphanage, a missing Judgement Knight chosen by the Sun Temple to be the vessel for the Blood Demon Archduke’s descent.

His eyes were closed, but his breathing was steady, and the wound caused by the trident of the Sea King had disappeared.

Charlotte’s gaze grew even more complex.

After a long silence, she murmured.

“You were a great bloodborne warrior, you did not fall completely into darkness.”

“I will accept your gift and ascend to that position.”

“Rest assured, when that day comes, I will reignite the divine flame and call you back.”

A gentle breeze swept by, and the demon armor on the young knight shattered, drifting away like sand, as if offering a final response.

In the crimson star sea, the shattered stone gate, like a tombstone, also dissolved into the purest origin power, which was ultimately absorbed by the divine core.

A sudden emptiness filled Charlotte’s heart.

She felt as if she had abruptly forgotten something.

Yet, she couldn’t recall what it was.

She only knew that she felt a deep, heavy weight on her heart, suffocating her.

Even though… she had just defeated the Sun Temple and successfully ascended to true godhood, even though this should have been a time for cheers and celebration.

Wait…

What had she just said?

How had she defeated Helios again?

It seemed she had used the spirit of the Sea King’s Trident to counter Helios.

It seemed she had resolved to ascend to the highest rank.

But… why did she feel like something was missing?

Charlotte was growing agitated.

Her gaze swept around, focusing on the demons kneeling around her.

These demons were minions summoned by the Sun Temple, beings projected from higher dimensions, wreaking havoc and bringing destruction.

Yet now, after ascending to true godhood, Charlotte realized she seemed capable of communicating with them and even giving them direct commands.

Charlotte didn’t recall ever having such an ability.

Perhaps this was a power inherent to the True Ancestor of Blood, a part of the dark path?

But Charlotte couldn’t remember the dark path possessing such an ability.

Strangely, Charlotte felt herself becoming increasingly irritated.

She didn’t like these demons.

Nor did she care for those bloodbornes who mingled with demons, walking the dark path.

Those fallen and treacherous bloodbornes had brought her endless trouble after she had transmigrated, even nearly sacrificing her at Castell Mansion.

Yet, for some reason, as she looked at the demons kneeling on the ground, Charlotte no longer had the desire to eliminate them all.

“Begone, leave Myria, and never set foot in this world again!”

After a long silence, Charlotte glanced at the leading demon, Valaroka, and spoke.

The demons stirred.

Under Varaloka’s lead, they bowed respectfully to Charlotte, then fled into the void, ultimately vanishing from sight.

With the demons gone, the Holy City regained its peace.

Priests and citizens emerged from the sanctuaries, cheering in celebration, while the Legendary priests of the Holy Court, led by the Guardian Scepter, gathered before Charlotte.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty the Savior!”

The Staff of Guardianship bowed reverently.

Angus, the Grandmaster of the Holy Knight Order, and other priests hesitated.

Fear, reverence, doubt, and complexity…

Various emotions flickered across their faces.

At last, as if making a decision, Grandmaster Angus stepped forward and bowed to Charlotte.

“Thank you for your salvation and protection, Your esteemed… Majesty.”

With Angus leading, the other Legendary priests also bowed.

“Thank you for your salvation and protection, Your Majesty.”

Charlotte looked at them.

Titles carried meaning.

Clearly, after the divine battle with Helios, her true identity had been revealed to the church leaders.

Of course, for Charlotte, now a true God and the wielder of the Sea King’s Trident and the Dreamy Moon’s Heart, no worldly church, including the Holy Court, could threaten her anymore.

But she still felt a void in her heart, as though she had lost or forgotten something.

With a soft sigh, she said,

“For now… you may all stand down.”

Noticing Charlotte’s lack of enthusiasm, the priests wisely retreated.

Only the Guardian Scepter remained.

“Your Majesty, you seem… troubled?”

It asked.

Charlotte glanced at it, ready to reply, but a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Harald cannot be trusted!

Be wary of Him and His followers!

Charlotte hesitated.

She didn’t know why this thought had come to her, but an instinctive sense of self-awareness told her it was a heartfelt warning.

“Who is it?”

Charlotte looked around, confused and unsettled.

But she received no response, as if the thought was meant to appear in her mind.

Charlotte lightly pursed her lips.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will bloom and bear fruit, making it hard to eradicate.

Charlotte didn’t understand why she had such thoughts, but when she looked at the Guardian Scepter again, a sense of wariness had unconsciously formed in her heart.

The Guardian Scepter was loyal.

It had always been helping her.

But even Charlotte had to admit that there were still secrets hidden within the Guardian Scepter that she was unaware of.

Thinking about this, she paused and said,

“Nothing, I just want some time alone to feel this new… regained power.”

The Guardian Scepter was silent for a moment before respectfully withdrawing.

After watching it leave, Charlotte withdrew her gaze.

She had not lied to the Guardian Scepter.

Her thoughts were indeed a bit chaotic right now, and she truly wanted to clear her mind by sensing her newfound power after ascending to godhood.

With that thought, Charlotte temporarily set aside the distracting thoughts and gently closed her eyes.

The enhancement in strength after condensing a divine core and ascending to the status of a true God was significant.

Just by closing her eyes and sensing, Charlotte could clearly feel the changes within herself.

In her perception, the world around her had never been so clear, and her senses had never been so sharp.

Whether it was the breath of a hidden mortal in a corner of the Holy City or the conversations of Nightshade followers in the Starfall Kingdom miles away, she could hear them all with crystal clarity.

Vast amounts of information continuously flowed into her mind. Wherever her gaze and faith extended, everything was within Charlotte’s perception.

And those who mentioned “Nyx,” “True Ancestor,” “Queen of Starfall,” or even “Charlotte de Castell” and “Her Holiness,” had their scenes and voices imprinted in her divine consciousness.

Wherever there were words, they would be known.

If, during her time as a Demigod, this ability was a vague and limited passive perception, then now… anyone who mentioned Charlotte’s name, her powers, her divine name, or even her titles would be directly locked onto by her with complete clarity.

Not only their location but even basic information about the speaker.

If Charlotte so desired, the related past experiences and vague destinies of the speakers could flash through her divine mind as if watching a film.

And all of this happened within Charlotte’s thought.

This is what it means to be a true God.

Every moment, every second, a true God receives vast amounts of information from the entire world.

Such sustained and immense information intake could not be handled by a Demigod; only a true God with a “divine core” could manage it.

The “divine core” acts like a supercomputer embedded within the true God.

Under the operation of the divine core, a true God can know, with a single thought, about anything or anyone sensed miles away.

During her time as a Demigod, Charlotte had to rely on artifacts or statues to serve as the core of the faith network, but as a true God, her very existence became the living core of faith.

No.

More precisely, faith is essentially the overflow and spread of a true God’s power.

Only by becoming a true God can one truly understand what it means to be a true God.

Faith… arises only when a God’s power overflows, serving as a way for a God to gather more power, akin to “herding.”

At the same time, Charlotte could sense that her connection to the world had grown stronger.

Of course, to be more precise, her connection to the “extraordinary powers” of this world had strengthened.

She could sense the “reverence” that the surrounding magical energy had for her.

Magic had no consciousness, no life, yet she could feel that sense of “reverence,” or perhaps… “submission.”

If she so desired, all extraordinary powers within her perception could be mobilized by her; if she so wished, they could form her divine domain.

Charlotte could feel that her absolute power had greatly increased compared to her Demigod state.

If this were during the era when she traversed history, when the magical density of the world of Myria could directly sustain a true God’s power, her combat strength would easily suppress any Demigod.

Even in the present era, with her ascension, the overall concentration and activity of magical energy had increased, and while it was still insufficient to support the full manifestation of a true God’s power in Myria, it was enough for her to suppress and defeat Demigods.

However, the increase in magical energy concentration was a double-edged sword.

With it, the power of artifacts also strengthened, and those once difficult for mortals to wield would now be easier to control.

Throughout history, the era when mortals most easily slew Gods and ascended was often a time when the world’s magic was not enough to sustain a full manifestation of a true God but sufficient for mortals to harness artifacts.

And now, that era was returning.

Of course, for Charlotte, who was at her peak and wielded the Gospel of Blood, this was not a major concern.

The ones who might have headaches were the Gods who, with the further rise of magical power, would awaken from their slumber still in a weakened state.

Yet, Charlotte was not without her own risks.

After a moment of contemplation, she extended her right hand.

Crimson blood divine power bloomed in her palm, and the surrounding magic, like obedient children, gathered around it, enhancing the divine power. What had been a “spark” of divine power was now a “flame,” its aura multiplied.

But as she gazed at the “flame” in her hand, Charlotte fell into thought.

The control and influence a true God has over extraordinary powers far exceeds that of a Demigod.

Charlotte, now in such a state, could unleash a far greater power with the same divine power under the enhancement of magic.

Yet, she could sense that the magic enhancing her divine power was not entirely stable.

Though they heeded her call, though they obediently submitted to her control, Charlotte could still faintly perceive a subtle resistance.

It was a very delicate feeling.

To draw a comparison, like the relationship between a monarch and their ministers—she was the monarch, and magic was the minister—but there was no true unity between them.

It felt as though she was not a legitimate ruler but rather a conquering ruler from the outside, and magic, while respecting and yielding to her strength, did not truly accept her and even harbored a subtle repulsion.

Only because she was too powerful could she ignore this resistance.

This resistance was not only directed at her, Charlotte could even sense it being aimed at other bloodborne.

The repulsion was subtle, and it had not just emerged today. However, as a true God, Charlotte could now perceive it and even understand what it was.

It was… the bloodline curse upon the bloodborne.

Charlotte’s heart stirred.

Magic is a part of the extraordinary, and the extraordinary is a part of the Creator.

Bloodborne are an anomaly, and she, even more so, is an anomaly among anomalies. Thus, it was natural for the extraordinary powers of Myria to repel them.

During her ascent to godhood, she had already felt the world’s rejection. If not for that sudden voice suppressing the repulsion of the extraordinary and quelling the origin powers trying to invade her, her smooth ascension to godhood might have been challenging.

Reflecting on this, Charlotte recalled that crucial moment during her ascension when she heard a voice in her consciousness saying, “Silence.”

That voice… was calm, indifferent, and weary.

But it was also incredibly familiar to Charlotte.

Because it sounded almost identical to her own voice, only more transcendent, more ancient.

Yet Charlotte was certain.

The one who had issued that command was… definitely not her.