Gospel of Blood

Outside the window, the sun hung high. But inside the office, Nice felt a chill in his hands and feet, shivering all over. His fur stood slightly on end as his hoarse voice trembled a bit.

"An Evil God? Damn! So... are you saying that last night's sacrifice awakened an Evil God?"

Dean Raoul nodded.

"More accurately, it's very likely that Lady Castell had contacted something before the sacrifice, drawing the attention of certain entities."

He exchanged a glance with the female knight, their expressions turned serious.

"The conversation with the young lady from the Castell family just now confirmed this. Similar symbols have long appeared in Castell Manor."

"Meow... forgive me for being blunt, are you sure this is true? To me, this pattern looks more like the furniture patterns popular in Koria..."

The black cat picked up the parchment and turned it over, feeling it resembled the decor on its imported cat bed from the Kingdom of Koria. That was a gift from a priestess at the Church academy.

"Nice, be serious, this is not a joke!"

Dean Raoul's expression was stern. With a long sigh, he continued.

"Actually, this is the most terrifying part."

"If this symbol has appeared long ago, do you know what that means?"

"It means that the mysterious God may have been planning its resurrection for a long time..."

"As for Countess Castell, perhaps unknowingly, she has already been tainted by another Evil God."

"We speculate that she thought she was offering sacrifice to the Bloodborne Demon Duke, but in fact, from the beginning, she was sacrificing to another sleeping Evil God."

"The symbol she drew was not the Bloodborne Demon Duke's divine symbol from the start, but this pattern."

"And this mysterious Evil God... likely used this sacrifice to successfully descend into the world in the guise of the sacrificer."

Hearing Raoul's words, Nice couldn't sit still.

"Meow! This is a big deal! No wonder I heard that the Inquisition is going to intervene... such a dangerous matter, didn't the district high priest going to report it to Archbishop?"

It paused, then quickly answered its own question.

"Of course not! The High Priest will have a chance to compete for the position of Archbishop in less than a year. Once successful, he can leave this poor place behind..."

"He definitely doesn't want any accident during this crucial time that his competitors could use against him. He'll try to suppress this news as much as possible and let his subordinates handle it themselves!"

"Even if he delays his responsibility, once he's promoted, it won't be his problem anymore!"

"The only bright side is, recently revived Evil Gods are generally weak. As long as we can find it, even mortals have a chance to banish it again before it fully recovers!"

Suddenly realizing something, it paused.

"Wait a minute, so... from the beginning, you weren't checking on the girl's injuries, but suspected that she, completely unscathed, was actually the descending Evil God?!"

"Meow! You... were investigating her true identity? Checking if she was possessed by the Evil God?"

Dean Raoul and Kara exchanged a glance, nodding slightly.

"That's right."

"And the result? Hmm... she should be fine now, otherwise you wouldn't be here chatting with me."

"Yes, she passed the test of the Sacred Fire, she's a devout believer and a good girl."

"A devout believer? But as far as I know, the heir of the Castell family has been weak since childhood, barely leaving the estate these years, she hasn't even attended the noble academy. How could she become a believer?"

Nice was puzzled.

"Perhaps... it's because of Countess Castell's influence. She has hidden her identity as a Bloodborne for years and openly appeared as a devout believer, donating a lot of gold to the Church hospital."

Dean Raoul shook his head.

"That makes sense."

Nice also found this explanation reasonable. Extending its paw, it scrutinized the symbol on the parchment again.

"So... the next task is to find this hidden Evil God, right?"

"That won't be easy. As a well-traveled cat, I know that it's hard to find Evil Gods once they hide. Carelessness could lead to the emergence of an evil cult a dozen years later... Damn, if what you said is true, Koria might already have one!"

Dean Raoul nodded.

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"That's right, but... its condition should not be good, or rather, very poor. As long as It wants to recover Its strength, it will definitely show Itself."

"It healed Charlotte, so It probably isn't one of those crazily chaotic Evil Gods. These Gods... generally have certain boundaries and lean more towards order."

"But it's still an Evil God, an enemy of the Holy Court, something that needs to be sealed and banished!"

Nice reminded solemnly.

"I know that."

Dean Raoul nodded slightly. He put away the parchment, pondering.

"The Blood Demon cult has been restless recently, likely planning something big. If this resurrected Evil God finds out, it won't miss this opportunity."

"If the Church handles it properly, it's also an opportunity to wipe out the Bloodborne influence hidden in Boulder. And if we're lucky, we might even seal and banish this mysterious Evil God, killing two birds with one stone!"

Nice had a thought.

"Wait, was the girl's injury healed by the Evil God?"

"It's just speculation, and the most likely one."

Nice's cat face turned serious.

"Raoul, every move of the Gods has a purpose."

"If it healed the heir of the Castell family, it means she had caught that God's attention."

"Have someone keep an eye on her, the key to finding this evil god may very well lie with that girl!"

"But! Beware of those foolish nobles! They're a bunch of greedy jackals!"

"Uh, also... each Divine's symbol is unique, and while history may change, the core of the Divine's symbol remains unchanged."

"Thorns... roses..."

"Look into it, find out which Ancient God this symbol belongs to."

Raoul glanced at the female knight and smiled.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kara will specifically investigate this matter. Also... Nice, your words reminded me, there's one more thing I want to ask of you."

"Don't wanna!"

"A jar of honey-glazed ridgeback dragon wings from the Northern Duchy."

"Slurp~! Fine, what do you want me to do?"

...

"Sigh... it's finally over..."

Charlotte lay on the bed, looking relieved and relaxed. She knew her identity was temporarily safe. The healing effect of the Sacred Fire was indeed remarkable. Though her hands and feet were still tightly wrapped, she could feel that her wounds had scabbed over. In a few days, she would be able to leave the hospital.

However, compared to her soon-to-be-healed wounds, Charlotte now had something more interesting on her mind. That was Gospel of Blood, whose origins and abilities she hadn't fully understood yet. This obviously blood-related mysterious book had saved her twice and introduced her to a more mysterious and vast world. And now, Charlotte was filled with intense curiosity about that world.

Thinking about it, she closed her eyes and sank back into consciousness. In her mind, the ancient book still floated with a crimson light and a hint of golden radiance.

On the Gospel, in the "Blood Calling" section, the cooldown showed progress reaching 81%. Although she didn't know the specific effects of this ability recorded in the Genesis Chapter, referencing the "Divine Ritual Counter" in the Divine Chapter, it surely wouldn't disappoint her.

Blood Calling, just as the name suggested, Charlotte speculated that this ability was likely to summon some creatures or servants. Now she was alone and weak, so having a few "helpers" would indeed be a useful card.

"There's still 19% progress left, and since I have nothing else to do, maybe I can use the Church's power in the next few days to recharge it through the Sacred Fire?"

"That girl named Kara is too dangerous, maybe I can ask Lottie for help under the pretext of healing?"

Charlotte pondered. Just as she was considering whether she could use Lottie's divine art to treat her injuries and recharge the Gospel with Church power, a gentle knock on the door sounded again.

"Miss Charlotte, may I come in?"

This is... Priestess Lottie!

Recognizing the voice, Charlotte's spirits lifted. She quickly opened her eyes, huddled under the blanket, and resumed her pitiful and fragile appearance, softly saying.

"Please... come in..."

As soon as she spoke, the door was gently pushed open, and the beautiful and dignified priestess walked in.

Charlotte smiled sweetly. She was about to start buttering her up, but Lottie spoke first.

"Miss Charlotte, the Boulder family wants to see you. They're waiting outside."