Gospel of Blood

“Great True Ancestor, have you already found those divine items?”

The Prophet Margo asked respectfully and curiously.

Charlotte didn’t answer directly. Instead, she picked up the crimson book from her lap.

“This… this is…”

Margo’s eyes narrowed.

“This is what dropped after defeating the monster yesterday—a partially formed divine artifact.”

Charlotte explained.

As she spoke, she gently opened the book. Charlotte then tore out a page, causing a crimson light to burst forth.

In the Prophet Margo’s astonished gaze, the torn page transformed into a vague ball of light.

Her eyes widened.

“This book… did it merge the sacrificed divine artifacts into this book?!”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

“Exactly.”

“Although Rowena’s ascension ritual failed, it wasn’t without results. The result is this Grimoire of Blood.”

“If my guess is correct, her original plan wasn’t to ascend directly but to forge an artifact that could suppress the power of curses and then use this artifact to aid her ascension.”

“Of course, she ultimately failed, and the ‘artifact’ she forged has been preserved in this semi-finished form.”

The Prophet Margo’s heart stirred.

“So… those divine artifacts didn’t disappear, they merged together, and their power is now within this grimoire?”

Charlotte nodded again.

“You could put it that way.”

With that, she tore another page from the grimoire. Again, a crimson light shone, and another shadowy image appeared in her hand.

“The items were indeed damaged, but their essence didn’t disappear. Instead, they reverted to their most original form, or rather, the form of divine power.” 𐍂ἈƝОꞖĘṧ

“This Grimoire of Blood is composed of such divine power.”

As she spoke, Charlotte’s hand glowed once more. The crimson Grimoire of Blood shattered, transforming into numerous phantom pages. These pages shifted and eventually formed various shapes of illusory “divine artifacts.”

They circled around Charlotte, including the Cursed Pages and Faceless Statues once owned by the Harcos Clan.

In addition, besides the Cursed Pages and Faceless Statues, there were three dark red glowing divine artifacts. These three divine artifacts appeared much more solid than the others: a cloak, a rose badge, and an orb.

“These… these are the Queen’s three divine artifacts!”

The Prophet Margo’s eyes widened.

As she continued, realization dawned on her.

“No wonder I couldn’t find them. It turns out they were also used by the Queen in the ritual? Are they all destroyed too?”

Charlotte nodded.

“Yes, all of Rowena’s divine artifacts and the sacred objects you collected were destroyed, or rather, fused.”

Then she looked at the Prophet Margo.

“So, there’s no need to search for those divine artifacts anymore.”

“All the divine artifacts are actually here.”

The Prophet Margo finally understood. She gazed at the various light clusters representing different divine powers in Charlotte’s hands and couldn’t help but ask.

“Great True Ancestor, you said this is a partially formed artifact, so does that mean… the Queen failed?”

Charlotte sighed softly.

“Of course.”

“I can roughly guess what she was trying to create, but unfortunately, with her power, she could only produce this fragile semi-finished product.”

“Her failure to ascend was probably because of this reason.”

With that, she clapped her hands lightly, and the floating light clusters gathered again, reforming into the Grimoire of Blood.

After a sigh, Charlotte said,

“Margo, I need to meditate for a few days. During this period, unless it’s urgent, do not disturb me.”

“The proclamation three days later can proceed according to your plan. Although I won’t appear in person, I will observe everything in secret.”

“If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”

…

After reporting the losses in the Sanctuary, the Prophet Margo left.

The castle gates closed, and crimson light spread. Charlotte used the blood divine power to create a magical barrier, isolating herself from the outside world.

Then, she looked again at the Grimoire of Blood in her hand, or rather, the “Gospel of Blood” imitated by the Crimson Queen.

Yes, an imitation of the “Gospel of Blood.”

After initially investigating the Grimoire of Blood and analyzing its composition, Charlotte was certain that this book was intended to replicate the Gospel of Blood.

Unfortunately, there must have been a mishap during the forging process. Aside from the appearance, the Grimoire of Blood’s power was nothing like the Gospel of Blood.

No, that’s not entirely accurate.

In Charlotte’s perception, the divine power and rules within the Grimoire of Blood were very close to the Gospel of Blood. At least, the moment she obtained it, she felt the Gospel’s yearning.

It was a desire to replenish “power” and “laws.”

This was not just because the book contained remnants of the Gospel of Blood, but also because it sought to convert all fused divine power and laws towards the Gospel of Blood.

In other words, the Crimson Queen Rowena might have been trying to “complete” the Gospel of Blood using those cursed pages as a blueprint and various divine artifacts as materials.

Through recent experiences, Charlotte had pieced together most of the reasoning behind Rowena’s desire to “create” the Gospel of Blood.

“Unlike other bloodbornes, the curse of the Harcos Clan’s bloodline isn’t just a typical bloodborne bloodline curse. It incorporates some other kind of power.”

“That power… is likely the same as the white mist behind the eerie stone gate.”

“My ability to purify their ‘curse’ using the Gospel is another piece of evidence. That feeling… is very similar to when I used the Gospel to absorb the white mist that escaped the stone gate.”

“Clearly, the Gospel of Blood can suppress that power. The Crimson Queen Rowena probably knew this, which is why she wanted to ‘imitate’ the Gospel of Blood.”

“But… what exactly is that white mist? How did the Harcos Clan get entangled with that power?”

“Is Stargazer Casey’s ‘disappearance’ related to this?”

“No, it’s not just Stargazer Casey. Regarding the True Ancestor of Blood, the Harcos Clan has detailed records. Although like other blood clans, they seem to have completely forgotten about Lilith, their records mention—”

“The True Ancestor of Blood… once went mad…”

“The True Ancestor of Blood mentioned here is probably Lilith. Why did she go mad? Could her madness be connected to the power that drove the Harcos Clan rampaging?”

Charlotte couldn’t come to a conclusion. She just didn’t have enough information right now.

The white mist was too mysterious, and even though the Gospel of Blood had the power to suppress and absorb it, her sharp intuition told her that it was extremely dangerous.

The last time she felt something similar was right after she transmigrated, facing her “old hag” grandmother.

“Let’s absorb this ‘Grimoire of Blood’ first. Since it shares the same origin as the Gospel of Blood, it can replenish the Gospel’s power and laws.”

Charlotte muttered to herself.

The Gospel of Blood was her greatest trump card. Since this was just a semi-finished imitation, it had no reason to exist anymore and could serve as nourishment for the Gospel. Moreover, the divine power contained in this semi-finished product was real. Although Charlotte had put on a show of great power, the consumption of divine power was indeed significant.

Though she had accumulated a considerable amount of divine power, she didn’t have a stable source of it yet.

Followers could provide some, but it was still too little. This was the disadvantage of being a latecomer.@@novelbin@@

Charlotte still didn’t understand how other Demigods replenished their divine power besides relying on followers. From an efficiency standpoint, she could only use a rather crude method of “seizing” and “absorbing” divine power.

A unique ability of the “bloodborne myth.”

The divine power within the “Grimoire of Blood” was substantial. Absorbing it would replenish her divine power.

With that thought, Charlotte’s hand glowed, and divine power began to circulate again.

She used the bloodbornes’ inherent “devouring” ability. An ethereal book appeared in her other hand.

The book was thicker, more ornate, and even its aura was deeper.

It was the projection of the Gospel of Blood.

As soon as the Gospel of Blood projection appeared, the “Grimoire of Blood” in Charlotte’s hand seemed to sense another magnet, eager to merge with it.

Charlotte didn’t stop it.

The crimson light flickered, and the “Grimoire of Blood” quickly “melted”, transforming into a golden-red energy that fused into the projection of the Gospel of Blood.

In Charlotte’s perception, the Gospel of Blood in her consciousness rapidly flipped open, with new pages appearing one after another.

Its aura kept rising, becoming deeper.

At the same time, Charlotte sensed a pure divine power flowing back into her body from the Gospel of Blood.

That was the divine power absorbed from the “Grimoire of Blood.”

These mixed divine powers were purified by the Gospel of Blood, becoming the purest blood divine power.

In an instant, her previously depleted divine power was fully replenished, and her reserve of divine power increased significantly.

If her previous divine power reserve was 100, it had now doubled!

This realization brought another issue to Charlotte’s mind.

No wonder the monster’s power didn’t seem as strong as she had expected. It wasn’t just because it was an artificially created being with forcibly gathered divine power, but also because most of the Crimson Queen Rowena’s accumulated divine power had been poured into this “Grimoire of Blood.”

Chaotic laws and insufficient divine power were the main reasons Charlotte could easily kill the monster.

Now, all that divine power belonged to Charlotte.

As the divine power entered her body, Charlotte’s aura grew deeper, and at the same time, various pieces of information flowed into her mind along with the divine power.

That… was the power of laws.

In a mysterious sense, Charlotte felt a surge of new knowledge in her mind, not just the bloodborne inheritance from the Gospel of Blood, but also deeper understanding of divine power.

A burning sensation rose from her chest, and Charlotte felt the divine flame within her heart burn more fiercely, as if it was gathering something.

Her heart fluttered, knowing that this was due to “devouring” the Grimoire of Blood, indirectly absorbing the Faceless Statues collected by the Harcos Clan.

Though it wasn’t enough to form a divine core, it gave Charlotte a deeper understanding of the existence of Demigods.

A familiar drowsiness crept in, and Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat.

She knew she might need to “slumber” again.

Fortunately, this time the drowsiness wasn’t as intense. With her current level, she could suppress it to some extent.

After some consideration, Charlotte decided to hold off on the “slumber” until a more appropriate time.

The crimson light flickered as the “Grimoire of Blood” was fully absorbed by Charlotte.

However, just as the last page of the grimoire turned into light and merged with her body, a dark red glow suddenly bloomed in her palm.

In Charlotte’s surprised gaze, a leather-bound notebook appeared in her hand.

It wasn’t formed by divine power but was a tangible item, looking quite old and having a typical Elven-era style.

Moreover, Charlotte couldn’t sense even a trace of energy from it, indicating that it was just an ordinary object.

“Was it sealed deep within the ‘Grimoire of Blood’, so I hadn’t discovered it?”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, thoughtful.

She pondered for a moment and curiously opened the notebook.

Inside, the parchment had discolored, and many places were damaged, but even so, many pages were still intact.

The pages were densely packed with text written in a mix of Elvish and Common Continental languages.

Charlotte randomly opened a page and began to read.

“Prophet Era 508, Flower Month, 13th Day, Sunny.”

“Today is the day I was officially appointed as Legion Commander. Her Majesty asked me what name I wanted for my legion. After thinking all night, I decided to follow my heart.”

“My bloodline… is one that strengthens flesh. My essence is closer to Her Majesty than other Legion Commanders…”

“To be appointed as a Legion Commander as one of Her Majesty’s maids is both an honor and a test…”

“I’ve always hoped to be Her Majesty’s support and backbone.”

“Therefore, my legion will be named after the Elvish term for the Wall of Flesh—Harcos.”