Gospel of Blood

2nd Day of the 10th Month, Year 1450 of the Holy Calendar.

An Evil God Cult, the Sun Temple, summoned an Evil God and a legion of demons in the Holy Capital, aiming to overthrow the Holy Court.

The Queen of Starfall, the Holy Court’s Saintess, Charlotte de Castell, a chosen one of both shadow and sanctity, used herself as a vessel to channel divine descent. She slew the Evil God and banished the demon army, saving the Holy Court and the millions of faithful in the Holy City from disaster.

On the 3rd Day, the Cardinal Council of the Holy Court received a divine revelation, officially recognizing the God Nyx as one of the Holy Court’s myths and legitimizing the Nightshade Order as a branch of the Holy Court. They declared Charlotte, the Queen of Starfall, as the only legitimate Saintess of the Holy Court and the divine incarnation on earth.

On the same day, Angus de Valais was appointed as the new Pope, known as Valais II.

On the 4th Day, based on the divine revelation and at the proposal of Valais II, the Cardinal Council unanimously abolished the millennium-old “Blood Hunt Decree,” ceasing to list the bloodbornes as heretical entities, and integrated them into the world of order.

On the 10th Day, the ceremony for the new Pope was held at the Holy Palace. Due to the extensive reconstruction efforts in the Holy Capital, the ceremony was kept simple without grand festivities.

—

A Week Later

A modest carriage rolled smoothly, carrying a beautiful young girl with golden hair and blue eyes northward.

The girl leaned against the carriage window, gazing at the receding forest with a distant look in her eyes.

Beside her, a plump black cat nibbled on dried fish while skimming through an official decree released by the Holy Court just days prior.

After a moment, the cat set down the decree and looked at the girl with some puzzlement, asking,

“Your Majesty, True Ancestor! Are you sure you don’t want to seize this opportunity to take control of the Holy Court? Now that the Creator God is your descendant and currently missing, you are naturally the legitimate heir to the Holy Court!”

“That’s the Holy Court we’re talking about! If you take it, all the holy believers will become your strength!”

Hearing the cat’s words, the girl shifted her gaze from the distant forest.

She glanced at it and shook her head slightly.

“The Creator God is the Creator God, and the True Ancestor of Blood is the True Ancestor of Blood. Abolishing the heresy trials of the Holy Court against bloodbornes is sufficient. There’s no need for more, and it isn’t realistic now.”

“Why not realistic? Haven’t you already mastered divine power? And… don’t you need a massive number of believers?”

The cat asked.

The girl paused and shook her head.

“No, it’s different now. I once sought to have a vast number of believers to quickly accumulate power, but now… it’s no longer necessary.”

Indeed, it was no longer necessary.

Charlotte once aimed to expand her order to oppose the Holy Court and find a way to grow divine power.

But now, the Holy Court was no longer her enemy, and she had ascended as a true God, making the need for divine power less pressing.

Moreover, after absorbing the millennium-old cursed pages and the Faceless Statue of the Holy Court, Charlotte’s divine power had grown to an extraordinary level.

Instead of amassing power, she felt it was more crucial to fully integrate and harness what she had gained.

Still, there was something odd.

Whether due to her inheriting Lilith’s status or the nature of the Gospel of Blood itself, despite absorbing such immense divine power, she only felt somewhat unfamiliar and unaccustomed to the new strength, without any other discomfort.

It felt as if the power she absorbed was tailor-made for her, indistinguishable from the blood divine power she already commanded.

Regardless, Charlotte no longer had to worry about power.

As for the Holy Court, Charlotte had no intention of turning it into her own sect.

At least, not now.

Although the higher-ups of the Holy Court had learned the true origins of the Holy Court and Charlotte’s true identity, the vast number of lower-level believers were still unaware.

The Holy Court had battled with bloodbornes for a millennium; some truths could not be revealed overnight without causing greater turmoil.

When the decree to remove bloodbornes from the list of heretics was announced, it already sparked disturbances across the Theocracy, even after Charlotte saved the Holy Capital.

Changing beliefs takes time.

Forcing a shift in worldview would cause most people, apart from the steadfast, to suffer from a collapse in faith.

The Holy Court was no longer what it used to be.

With the Divinity Descent Day approaching and magic power in Myria intensifying, awakening dormant myths, Charlotte could not afford internal strife within the supportive Holy Court.

The high-ranking members already knew the truth and, after “equal” discussions, recognized her status.

The rest would come in due course.

Besides, Charlotte had already gained partial control over the Holy Court’s faith network.

She could already draw upon holy power through the network, though she couldn’t yet seamlessly convert it with her blood divine power.

Even without making the Holy Court her sect with herself as the main God, she still held sway over its amassed power.

Unless… Harald awakened.

At that thought, Charlotte lifted her gaze toward the Wisdom Artifact, the Guardian Scepter, still manifesting as an old man in holy robes, sitting across from her.

To be honest, Charlotte found the Guardian Scepter quite suspicious.

Not only it, but even this era’s Harald… might not be fully trustworthy.

Charlotte didn’t know why she felt this way.

But instinct told her to heed it.

She also wished to understand why she felt this way.

It seemed like there was something she had forgotten, something overlooked.

“Guardian Scepter, are you sure the entrance to Harald’s place of slumber is in the Western Yunette Empire?”

Charlotte asked, looking at the Guardian Scepter.

“Yes, Your Majesty, True Ancestor. My master slumbers within the divine Eternal Realm he created. When I sensed the Sun Temple infiltrating the church, I used the Creator’s framework to exile its coordinates.”

“Three days ago, using your power to re-mark and summon, I located it again, and the new entrance… lies within the Western Yunette Empire.”

The Guardian Scepter respectfully responded.

Charlotte nodded slightly, refraining from further questions.

A week earlier, after resolving the crisis in the Theocracy, Charlotte had not planned to return to the Starfall Kingdom immediately.

Instead, she sent the delegation from the kingdom back and created a divine power avatar as a decoy to accompany them. Traveling with them was Sebastian, who, after Helios’ fall, was eager to return to Luna Island and check on the elves’ homeland.

Charlotte herself, however, intended to pursue another matter.

She had once promised the Guardian Scepter that she would help rescue its master, Harald, when the time was right and she had the power.

Before her ascension, the Guardian Scepter was vague, evading explanations.

But after her ascension, it finally confessed.

Harald was indeed asleep.

Moreover, like Helios, Harald might be in a state of “corruption.”

The Guardian Scepter’s request was to journey to Harald’s resting place and awaken his true consciousness.

Frankly, Charlotte had hesitated upon learning this.

She couldn’t be sure if the Guardian Scepter was trustworthy or if it was a trap.

But after careful thought, she decided to agree.

The Guardian Scepter had assisted her greatly, even shielding her during her divine battle with Helios.

If it harbored ill intentions, it had ample opportunity to strike; there was no reason to let her ascend to a true God unopposed.

Despite its secrecy, it had not harmed her thus far.

This conclusion was logical based on her current understanding.

Emotionally, she remained cautious.

But Charlotte was also intrigued by Harald’s state.

And not just Harald.

According to the Guardian Scepter, the Eternal Realm where Harald slumbered was also a sanctuary for other myths of the Holy Court.

Charlotte wondered why she couldn’t sense these myths through the faith network.

After confirming no immediate danger in this venture, Charlotte decided to accept the request.

She would act based on the situation as it unfolded.

After that, it was a matter of locating Harald’s resting place.

Technically, she was summoning an entrance to the realm where he lay, rather than pinpointing a physical location.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the ancient nature of the coordinates, the summoned entrance didn’t appear in the Theocracy but instead in the Western Yunette Empire to the north.

Hence, the current journey.

Even without the Guardian Scepter’s request, Charlotte had reasons to head north.

After absorbing the divine artifacts of the bloodborne from the Holy Court, she had completed her ascension.

But Charlotte sensed that the Gospel of Blood was nearly complete, save for one final part.

That missing element was the Wild Path and Mental Path.

The Wild Path were controlled by the Vadallat Clan, while the Mental Path were held by the Szellem Clan. These clans resided mainly in Eastern Yunette Blacklands, Western Yunette Empire, and the Coria Kingdom, but their headquarters were in Coria.

Charlotte knew these clans also held pages of the Gospel.

These missing pages were what the Gospel of Blood needed for its final completion.

Lilith had hinted that true transcendence could only be achieved with the Gospel, so Charlotte had to secure these pages.

Even without the Guardian Scepter’s plea, she would have headed north to meet these clans in the Coria Kingdom.