Gospel of Blood

“Oh, Great Master, Supreme Lord of Darkness! You have finally agreed to meet your humble servant, Albrecht!”

In the solemn and majestic palace, a Legendary Bloodborne in a black robe respectfully and theatrically bowed to Charlotte, who sat high on her throne.

Seeing his familiar black tailcoat and his exaggerated movements and posture, Charlotte’s lips twitched slightly as she smiled mockingly.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been frequently traveling between Starfall and the Northern Territories these past few years, and that you’ve developed quite a good relationship with one of my stewards. So… have you changed your dressing style and are planning to apply for the steward position as well?”

“Well, I heard you prefer this style of clothing. Many of the palace attendants dress this way, and over the past two years, this tailcoat style has become popular among the nobles and bloodbornes of Starfall. What the upper class likes, the lower class will follow.”

Albrecht replied with a smile.

After speaking, he bowed respectfully to Charlotte once again.

“Of course, if you are willing to appoint the humble Albrecht as a steward, it would be my greatest honor.”

Charlotte: …

She had also heard of the “tailcoat trend” that had become popular in Starfall as a result. But she never expected even Albrecht, a Legendary Bloodborne, to be influenced by it.

Of course, she knew Albrecht was flattering her.

Legendary Bloodbornes have a much keener sense of extraordinary power than others.

As Charlotte’s power grew and she became a true myth, she could feel Albrecht, a Demonic Bloodborne forcibly turned into her blood thrall, becoming increasingly respectful.

“Enough with the digressions. Tell me, why have you been so eager to see me?”

Charlotte waved her hand.

Seeing Charlotte steer the conversation back on track, Albrecht also became serious.

He adjusted his glasses, which were clearly just two pieces of glass, and asked.

“Your Majesty, I heard that you plan to accept the Theocracy’s invitation to attend the Holy Court’s ceremony in three months?”

Charlotte glanced at him.

“Why, is there a problem?”

“Of course there is! Great Master, this is a conspiracy. The Nightshade Cult has been too high-profile in the Starfall Kingdom these past two years. From what I know, the new Pope of the Holy Court is not only from the pro-Crescent faction but also an Inquisitor. Inquisitors despise heretical splits in faith, and now that the Theocracy has signed a treaty with the Crescent, anyone with some insight would realize this is aimed at you. Not to mention safely reaching the Theocracy, you might even be attacked by religious zealots on the way.”

Albrecht said.

“Oh? So you’re worried about my safety and want to persuade me to abandon the trip?”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes.

Albrecht shook his head.

“How could that be? You are the great True Ancestor, a walking God. Your decisions must have been carefully considered, and your power is beyond ordinary comparison. I just wanted to remind you of the risks involved, for… it is the Theocracy, a place where not even myths can guarantee absolute safety. If you decide to go, you must be thoroughly prepared.”

“With adequate preparations, I fully support and believe you need to make this trip.”

Charlotte’s interest was piqued. She looked at him with a half-smile.

“Oh? Hearing you speak, it seems you have some exclusive information about the Theocracy? And it sounds like you know other reasons why I must go there?”

Albrecht smiled slightly.

“Of course, the best-informed about the Theocracy are always its enemies. I am the Third Apostle of the Blood Demon Cult, which has fought the Holy Court for over a thousand years. Naturally, our cult has some precious information about the Theocracy, information even your priests might not know.”

Saying this, Albrecht lowered his head and took out a beautifully decorated scroll from his robes, presenting it with both hands.

Charlotte noticed Albrecht’s expression was complex and somewhat self-mocking when mentioning the Blood Demon Cult, as if there were other hidden matters.

She casually gestured, summoning the scroll with magic, and began to read through it.

Her expression grew surprised.

Albrecht wasn’t exaggerating. What he presented was indeed valuable information about the Theocracy.

The documents not only detailed the current Cardinal Priests of the Theocracy but also recorded the factions within its upper echelons, extraordinary powers, and even information about mythical restrictions and artifacts that could threaten Gods.

Even more astonishing, the documents included internal maps and various secret intelligence about the Theocracy.

Charlotte even found reports on her within the documents, including the various factions’ views on her and different plans for dealing with the Nightshade Cult and her as the “Wild Saintess.”

However, what Charlotte valued most in the documents was the last part.

It contained information about the “Fallen Artifact”, the Cursed Chalice.

Of course, “Fallen Artifact” was just the name used in the documents.

Its real name should be the Bloodborne Sacred Artifact, the Blood Chalice that could sense the remnants of the Gospel of Blood.

The documents indicated that this relic, which Charlotte had tasked Albrecht with finding, had fallen into the hands of the Holy Court and, along with a batch of cursed pages confiscated from various dioceses, had been transported to the Theocracy’s headquarters.

The Holy Court’s Cardinal Priesthood had decided to use it as bait in the upcoming succession ceremony three months later, to test the Queen of Starfall, suspected of being related to bloodborne royalty, and publicly verify her “Saintess” identity.

They planned to use the church’s divine artifact to publicly destroy these “demonic items.”

After reading Albrecht’s information, Charlotte’s expression turned solemn.

She glanced at the respectful demon bloodborne below and said,

“Albrecht, I want to know the true source of these documents.”

“As you saw, these documents were obtained from within the cult.”

Albrecht replied.

“The truth. I want the truth. This level of information, even within the Theocracy, would only be known to the high-ranking Cardinal Priests. Don’t tell me the Blood Demon Cult has spies within the Cardinal Priesthood of the Theocracy.”

Charlotte said.

Albrecht sighed.

“Great True Ancestor, in fact… this is precisely why I was so eager to visit you.”

“I did not deceive you. This intelligence was indeed obtained from within the cult. More accurately, it was from the memory of the Fourth Apostle, who was in charge of the Eastern Yunette Blacklands branch. It’s not so much that the cult has spies within the Holy Court, but rather… the Eastern Yunette Blacklands branch of the cult has already been infiltrated by the Holy Court.”

Charlotte’s interest was piqued.

“Oh? So you mean that during your investigation of the sacred artifact, you discovered that the Fourth Apostle of the Blood Demon Cult was working for the Holy Court, and you obtained this intelligence after reading his memory, correct?”

Albrecht sighed again.

“Exactly.”

“When did this happen?”

Charlotte asked.

“About half a month ago.”

Albrecht replied respectfully.

Charlotte fell silent.

The intelligence Albrecht brought was crucial and also very coincidental.

It’s normal for different factions to infiltrate each other, but obtaining such clear and complete intelligence at this delicate moment seemed a bit too coincidental.

“So… what happened to that Fourth Apostle of the Blood Demon Cult?”

Charlotte asked.

“He is dead. After I forcibly read his memory, he died from divine flame, likely due to a mythic restriction placed within him. In fact, without the strong power I gained from you, I wouldn’t have been able to read his memory. The memory revealed that the Fourth Apostle had been working for the Holy Court for over a century. Many of the pages collected by the cult over the past hundred years were sent to him, and now… they have likely all fallen into the hands of the Theocracy.”

Albrecht sighed.

Charlotte nodded slightly.

The remaining pages of the Gospel of Blood and the bloodborne artifact capable of locating them were essential to her.

Her blood divine power had reached its limit, and to advance further and consolidate her divine core, she needed to perfect the bloodborne bloodline path.

The quickest and most direct way to do this was to complete the Gospel of Blood.

If the intelligence Albrecht brought was genuine, she had no choice but to make a trip to the Theocracy.

However, she still found the timing of the intelligence too coincidental.

Shortly after receiving the invitation from the Theocracy, Albrecht brought this intelligence. It seemed as if someone intentionally delivered it to her.

But on the other hand, her enmity with the Blood Demon Cult was well-known, and Albrecht’s defection was a secret.

Moreover, only she and Albrecht knew of his mission to find the bloodborne’s tracking artifact.

Under these circumstances, even if someone wanted to deliberately send her intelligence, either to lure or warn her, it shouldn’t be through the Blood Demon Cult.

Could it really be just a coincidence?

“Albrecht, I recall you mentioned that the Fourth Apostle was even more elusive than you. How did you find him?”

Charlotte asked.

“It’s quite a coincidence. I could never find his whereabouts, but six months ago, a stronghold of the cult in the Eastern Yunette Blacklands was raided by Holy Court Demon Hunters. I happened to be nearby and followed the trail.”

Albrecht said.

Quite a coincidence indeed.

Charlotte fell into deep thought.