Gospel of Blood

“The Gospel of Blood?”

Looking at its appearance, which resembled the Gospel of Blood, Charlotte was slightly taken aback.

With a slight turn of her magical power, she brought the book into her hand.

A faintly familiar divine power ripple brushed over her, then completely dissipated into the air.

The dazed eyes of the Prophet Margo standing beside her gradually cleared.

“No! Your Majesty the Queen—!”

Charlotte only heard her exclaim, reaching out to the ashes, then fell to her knees with a thud, sobbing uncontrollably. Charlotte sighed softly but did not intervene.

…

The Prophet Margo cried for a long time.

Charlotte stood quietly by her side, waiting.

She did not offer comfort, allowing this devoted follower of the Crimson Queen to vent her grief.

A God is the sky to their followers.

The fall of the Crimson Queen was akin to the sky collapsing for the Prophet Margo.

Only after a long while did Margo finally shed her last tear.

She pulled herself together, giving Charlotte a difficult smile.

“I’m very sorry, Your Majesty… I lost my composure.”

Charlotte nodded.

“It’s good that you have pulled yourself together. Rowena valued you all deeply, she likely would not want to see her devout followers fall into despair.”

She sighed softly and said with some emotion.

“Do you know? The reason I was able to save the Harcos bloodbornes intact is because I sensed that there seemed to be some power within that monster protecting the souls of the devoured from being completely consumed…”

“I had a suspicion before, but now it seems that this was also a remnant of Rowena’s consciousness, her last effort for her clan.”

Hearing Charlotte’s words, the Prophet Margo was stunned, her eyes reddening again.

Seeing this, Charlotte inwardly cursed herself for being too talkative, as if trying to break someone’s resolve unnecessarily.

Fortunately, perhaps already having some suspicions, the Prophet Margo pulled herself together again after a brief period of sorrow.

In Charlotte’s somewhat surprised gaze, she saw the devout of the Harcos Clan gradually regain her determination, then knelt down before her with a thud.

“Great True Ancestor, Source of all Bloodbornes, Supreme Ruler of Blood…”

“I, Margo Harcos, am willing to lead all members of the Harcos Clan to renew our loyalty to you.”

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Charlotte smiled in satisfaction.

“Very well, I like those who keep their promises.”

She then looked at the light that rekindled in Margo’s eyes and asked,

“I saw something else in your eyes, Margo. Did Rowena say anything to you at the end?”

The Prophet Margo was slightly stunned.

“You… you know?”

Recalling the last wisp of divine power that had dissipated, Charlotte nodded.

“I sensed it just now. It must have been the divine power left by her lingering thoughts, right?”

The Prophet Margo fell silent.

Taking a deep breath, she said,

“At the last moment of leaving Her Majesty’s mental world, I received her final oracle…”

“Her Majesty ordered us… to swear our allegiance to you once again.”

Hearing Margo’s words, Charlotte was taken aback this time.

She glanced in the direction of the Queen’s Palace, her expression becoming complex.

“So that’s how it is…”

…

Bloodbornes busily moved about, directing blood thralls, fire demons, and giants to repair the heavily damaged Sanctuary.

In the relatively intact castle, the bloodbornes who had survived the monster’s attack were taking care of the newly awakened bloodbornes alongside succubi and illusion demons.

In the only relatively intact side hall of the Queen’s Palace.

The Prophet Margo was reading the presented statistical report while listening to the palace guard captain, Sophia, who still looked a bit pale and had not fully recovered from her weakened state, reporting the Sanctuary’s losses.

“Prophet, according to preliminary statistics, about one-third of the buildings in the Sanctuary’s center were destroyed, with 1,327 fixed magic arrays damaged, and many precious magical and artistic items destroyed. Rough estimates put the losses at over 1.2 billion gold tana.”

“Among these, the most severely damaged facility is the underground magic defense tower, which was a major target of the blood fiend tide. It will be difficult to rebuild it in a short time and it can no longer fend off blood fiend attacks.”

“Additionally, the restrictions left by Her Majesty have suffered irreversible damage, extending even to their parts on the Myria Continent. The magical barriers covering the Northern Grand Duchy have also failed.”

“Considering these were restrictions left by Her Majesty, rebuilding them will be quite challenging.”

At this point, Sophia lowered her head slightly, her expression somewhat disheartened.

The Prophet Margo’s expression was much calmer.

In her calmness, there was even a hint of nostalgia.

She sighed slightly and asked.

“What about the casualties?”

Sophia’s expression turned somewhat strange.

She hesitated for a moment before replying.

“As for casualties… three hundred seventy-one clan members were injured, fifty-three of them seriously, mostly from battles with the fallen bloodbornes.”

The Prophet Margo paused slightly.

She looked at Sophia and asked.

“No one… died?”

Sophia’s expression grew increasingly strange.

“Yes, no one died. All the missing clan members who were ‘devoured’ were found near the Queen’s Palace.”

“Most of them were unharmed, except for severe magic loss causing weakness, with no life-threatening injuries. Only a few had damage to their bloodline origins, causing a drop in their ranks.”

“Moreover… those who had long since fallen and emerged from the sealed place, the Clan’s Elders, also broke free from the curse. Some who recovered quickly have already awakened.”

“However, their bloodline origins were severely damaged, and most have dropped in rank to below that of a count, including several dukes and counts.”

Hearing this, the Prophet trembled slightly.

“The dukes… have all recovered?”

Sophia nodded.

“Yes, they have all recovered from the curse. But… perhaps because the dukes had been fallen for too long, their memories are severely damaged. They only vaguely remember their names and approximate identities from before their transformation…”

“Additionally, their power has greatly diminished…”

The Prophet sighed softly.

“Being able to recover from the curse is good enough. Memory and strength… can be slowly regained. After all, time is something we bloodbornes do not lack.”

“As for the underground defense tower and the Sanctuary’s barrier… if they’re broken, then let them be. Anyway… we won’t need these things in the future.”

Hearing the Prophet’s words, Sophia was slightly stunned.

She hesitated for a moment, seemingly both expectant and fearful, and asked.

“Prophet, could it be… is it true what those blood thralls said? The curse underground… has already…”

The Prophet nodded and said,

“Yes, the curse that plagued our Harcos Clan is gone. Although we still cannot escape the blood frenzy, at least… we won’t easily fall as we did in the past.”

She looked at Sophia.

“You should be able to sense the changes within yourself…”

Sophia lowered her head.

She extended her hands, her gaze at her palms complex. The Prophet was right.

She could feel the changes in her bloodline.

Until today, she had always sensed an invisible, intangible shackle deep within her bloodline, with a faint voice calling her, tempting her to follow that mysterious sound.

That… was the demonic voice of corruption, which all Harcos bloodbornes unable to withstand would eventually succumb to, transforming into blood fiends.

But now, she heard nothing.

She felt her bloodline power more active and free than ever, as if it had been purified and elevated by some force.

However, she did not feel complete joy.

She was the captain of the palace guard.

She knew more than her fellow clan members, though… not as much as the Prophet.

“So… does that mean Her Majesty the Queen… She…”

Sophia’s voice trembled.

The Prophet fell silent.

After a long time, she sighed and said,

“Her Majesty the Queen… has left us.”

“I failed Her Majesty’s trust, misinterpreting her divine oracle. For four hundred years… Her Majesty has been warning us to leave.”

“Her Majesty had already fallen, but until the very end, she protected us, even… during this great disaster caused by my arrogance and ignorance.”

The Prophet looked up at the sky, her eyes closing in pain.

“That Excellency said that during the ‘purification’ of the curse, she sensed a soul-protecting force within the ‘monster.'”

“It was this force that allowed her to easily purify the curse on everyone…”

“Perhaps… that was Her Majesty the Queen, who had transformed into the ‘monster’, holding on to her last gentleness to protect us.”

“Despite such a terrible disaster, no one died. Even to the end… we were under Her Majesty’s protection…”

At the end, the Prophet’s voice choked up.

Sophia was also stunned.

But she quickly noticed a detail in the Prophet’s words.

“That Excellency…?”

“Prophet, the Excellency you mentioned… could it be… is it…”

“The one who saved us from the corruption?”

The Prophet paused slightly.

“You… know?”

She looked at Sophia.

Sophia hesitated and then nodded.

“After being devoured, I… seemed to have seen.”

“I seemed to see a crimson light, a beautiful figure…”

“I think… I felt a very intimate aura.”

The Prophet fell silent.

After a moment, she sighed softly.

“I have more important matters to announce to the clan members.”

“Spread the word, three days from now, everyone is to gather in front of the Queen’s Palace. I will convey Her Majesty’s final oracle.”