Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel

Golden fingers may be late, but they never fail to arrive.

When Charlotte saw the dialogue box in her vision that resembled a novel's system, she knew she had been saved.

She... could actually intercept the old witch's sacrifice?

Intercept!

She must intercept!

Growing more exhausted, Charlotte no longer had the extra energy to think further. She was acutely aware that she couldn't last much longer, the breath of death was drawing near.

Without any hesitation, Charlotte made her choice.

[Error...]

[Interception... failed...]

[Detecting... missing Holy Scripture information...]

[Self-repair beginning...]

[Repair completed...]

[Great Master of Holy Scripture]

[Please devise a symbol uniquely yours]

Charlotte: ...

The text continued to change, and the ritual did not halt.

Charlotte felt as if she made some connection with something in the depths of her being.

A virtual parchment appeared in her vision, with a variety of patterns that changed constantly following her will.

Damn! Why is it so troublesome!

Charlotte almost went crazy as her consciousness grew increasingly blurry.

She knew if she didn't stop the sacrificial ritual, she would die.

Biting the tip of her tongue, she gathered the last bit of her energy and reflexively projected the pattern of thorny roses from the canopy over her bed that she saw every morning upon waking up.

[Symbol designation complete]

[Interception beginning]

In a daze, Charlotte only felt a mysterious force suddenly act upon her.

Amid the rising and falling chants, her consciousness became clear again, yet her vision underwent a miraculous change.

Once again Charlotte could "see" her surroundings.

However... no longer from "Charlotte's" perspective, but from a bird's-eye view like that of an observer.

It was as if she had arrived in a towering, ethereal castle, seated high upon the Blood Throne, with an ancient blood-colored tome floating before her.

Beneath the throne, she could see everything in the basement.

The blood-colored Magic Array, the cold crucifix, the girl hanging, the old crone praying fervently...

Everything seemed to crawl at her feet.

Countess Castel, within the Array, was continuously bowing, facing Charlotte's gaze.

That feeling... it was as if they were worshipping Charlotte herself.

A sense of being high above, looking down upon lesser beings, emerged within the girl's heart, giving her the impression that she was the sovereign of all...

A new dialogue box slowly emerged—

[Successful interception of the Bloodline Sacrifice Ritual]

[The recipient of the ritual modified to: Charlotte de Castel]

[Proceed with termination or modification of the Magic Technique?]

The girl's eyes widened as she read the new text.

Remembering the old witch's hideous grin, the pent-up anger churned within her once more.

Without any hesitation, Charlotte shouted in her mind:

"Modify! I want to modify!"

"Exchange the offering and the donor!"

"The offering is her, the donor is me!"

You want to perform a Blood Sacrifice on my soul?

To hell with that!

Let's see who's sacrificing whom!

...

Countess Castel was excited.

Ten years...

For this very day, she had prepared for a full ten years!

Once the Bloodline Sacrifice Ritual was completed, she could successfully seize the Castel family's inherited Bloodline, bid farewell to her aging body, and regain her youth!

Furthermore, should the Otherworldly Soul be successfully sacrificed, she stood to gain a favor from the deity!

That was the legendary Divine Grace!

The Divine Grace mortals yearn for in their dreams!

Once obtained, she would possess unbelievable power and become a Divine Apostle of legend!

Imagining the glorious future, Countess Castel's excitement intensified.

"Great Duke Blood Demon, cast down your gaze upon me!"

She lifted high the bloodstained page, calling out fervently.

The glow from the Array grew intensely bright, and moonlight like blood poured in, turning into a crimson mist.

A sense of ancient and majestic presence slowly converged in the basement, as though some ominous and fearsome being was Crossing myriad dimensions to cast its gaze at this very moment.

It's here!

The watchful eyes of the deity have arrived!

Countess Castel's breathing grew heavy.

Struggling to lift her head, she peered through the haze, her gaze filled with unprecedented fervor and anxiety.

Through the bloody fog, an austere and venerable ethereal throne slowly took shape.

Upon the throne, a confluence of sanguine radiance gathered, as if some ancient and majestic being was slowly descending...

My Lord!

My lord!

My lord's gaze is upon me!

Countess Castel's eyes widened, she held her breath, her face flushed red, her whole body shook, and anticipation filled her gaze.

Brilliance converged, forming a human figure.

And then—

She saw a familiar, petite figure…

Countess Castel: …

"Char…Charlotte?!"

She was suddenly stupefied.

At the same time, Charlo, sitting high on the throne, smiled faintly at her, her voice ethereal and elusive:

"My dear grandmother, I have accepted your sacrifice."

The Sacrificial Array suddenly lit up, and a crimson brilliance soared into the sky.

In the horrified gaze of Countess Castel, the blood-like light instantly devoured her…

"Ah ah ah ah ah—!"

Countess Castel immediately screamed in excruciating agony.

Her already aged body aged rapidly and withered under the illumination of the bloody brilliance.

Meanwhile, Charlo on the cross felt a warm current surge into her abdomen from the tentacles, like a shower after a longtime drought.

A bizarrely warm force roamed within her, and her fatal wounds began to heal rapidly.

The sensation was quite strange, indescribable in words.

If one had to describe it, it was like being in a warm, comfortable bath, or the afterglow of vigorous exercise.

Refreshing, intoxicating, addicting, and endlessly memorable.

Charlotte transformed into a ravenous glutton, greedily seizing and devouring everything from Countess Castel.

"Ah ah ah—!"

"No! Don't! Don't take my power! Don't take my power!"

"You… no, you, who are you?! Who on earth are you?!"

Countess Castel screamed frantically, struggling incessantly.

However, the crimson light, as if alive, bound her tightly within it.

Once started, the sacrifice ceremony could not be stopped.

"Stop! Please stop!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

"Demon…! You damn demon!"

"My lord will not forgive you! My lord will not forgive you!"

"…"

Gradually, Countess Castel's voice grew fainter, her struggles weaker.

Finally, after about five minutes of devouring, she lay completely still.

The menacing aura that had filled the surroundings dissipated in an instant, and with a series of "thud thud" sounds, the maids and servant living corpses kneeling around the Array collapsed to the ground.

Like having lost their power source, they turned into ordinary decaying corpses.

Inside the Array, the glow also slowly receded, revealing Countess Castel wrapped within.

She had become a desiccated mummy, her shriveled face still retaining expressions of horror and confusion.

The moonlight outside the skylight was once again covered by clouds, and the Magic Array on the ground faded to darkness.

In the entire basement, only Charlotte remained alive.

Her abdominal wound had completely vanished, not even a scar remained, only the terrifying bloodstains lingered.

And her expression still carried a hint of ecstasy.

That amazing devouring feeling seemed addictive; at this moment, the girl felt a profound sense of regret and longing.

She felt as though she had consumed some potent restorative, her thought processes becoming quicker and clearer than ever, her body seemed to flood with inexhaustible vigour, ready to break free from the cross at any moment.

I want…

I still want more!

An indescribable hunger surged, with a powerful addictive allure.

Charlotte swallowed a non-existent saliva, forcibly suppressing that trembling that almost became instinctual.

She did not like the feeling that was akin to a drug addict craving a fix.

Fortunately, the hunger lasted only a moment before vanishing.

She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply:

"Finally… it's over."

At that moment, the tightly shut iron door of the basement was suddenly smashed open with a boom.

Through the swirling dust, four or five knights wearing black robes, carrying crosses and silver swords, burst in.

The one at the lead held parchment high, his voice icy and serious:

"Countess Castel, we are knights of the Demon Hunting Institute."

"Based on a sworn report, we have reason to suspect that you have been tainted and become a Bloodline Deceit Demon, related to the recent Blood Demon cases in Bold City, and that you attempted a Blood Sacrifice on your granddaughter, Charlotte de Castel, you…"

He stopped mid-sentence, utterly shocked by the gruesome scene before him.

The huge crimson Magic Array.

Hundreds of decaying bodies of unknown age.

The recognizable figure of a lady's mummified corpse lying in the Array.

And the badly wounded, pitifully beautiful girl on the bloodstained cross…

Charlotte too was momentarily taken aback upon seeing the strangers breaking in.

But she quickly caught on.

Mists of confusion swiftly filled her watery eyes, the girl sobbed in a weak, pitifully tender voice:

"Whimper whimper whimper…"

"It hurts… it hurts so much…"

"Knight uncle… I'm so scared and in pain…"

"Whimper whimper whimper…"

"…"