Gospel of Blood

Chapter 164: Traitor

"Lady Charlotte, entrusting Reina to you fulfills my final wish, leaving me with no regrets..."

Anna said with a look of relief.

As she spoke, her body began to gradually turn transparent, tiny photons emanating from her form, signaling her imminent dissolution.

This happened so suddenly.

Reina's eyes widened, and she whimpered, "Ahh," while lunging towards the elderly woman, only to pass right through her and tumble to the ground.

Charlotte, momentarily stunned, instinctively stood up from her seat, only to witness the old woman vanish, leaving behind a thick scroll of parchment.

Sebastian was equally astonished.

In an instant, he dashed to the spot where Lady Anna had disappeared, sensing for a moment before picking up the parchment scroll.

Glancing at its contents, his expression shifted from initial disbelief to a look of understanding and a hint of sadness.

"Master, she’s dead. No... she has been dead for a long time..."

Charlotte took the scroll and began to read. The first page bore a confession to the great True Ancestor, filled with remorse but without specifying the cause. It also contained her hopes and regrets for Reina, explaining her condition.

She should have been dead already, or rather, she was already dead.

Anna had been a Bloodborne, but after awakening the Eye of Prophecy, she suffered from a familial curse that left her nearly depleted.

The current her persisted only to secure a future for Reina and to meet the True Ancestor foretold in her visions one last time.

With her wish fulfilled, her lingering obsession dissipated.

Yes, obsession.

The Anna they had just conversed with was merely the lingering will of Madam Anna.

After the Blazing Sun, an extraordinary individual’s mental power undergoes an unimaginable transformation, and at the Legendary level, one's will can significantly affect reality.

This Witch of Prophecy... she must have once been a Legendary figure.

Looking at the disheartened girl, Reina, sitting on the ground, Charlotte sighed. She cast a spell of mental calmness on her before calling for Sherry to take care of her.

Meanwhile, the tent's entrance shook, and the stout body of the black cat Nice burst in, exclaiming:

"Meow! What's happening? Has Sebastian ascended?"

Nice found himself staring directly into the eyes of the flame elf, both blinking at each other in surprise.

Sebastian: ...

His expression darkened momentarily before he quickly masked it with a gentle smile.

"Lord Nice, it seems you’ve eaten too much again and want to exercise to lose weight."

Nice: ...

"Huh? Weird... if it’s not you ascending, then who? I just sensed the aura of a spirit ascending..."

The black cat looked around, scratching his head in confusion.

But he quickly noticed the unusual atmosphere.

Charlotte and Sebastian were both staring intently at him.

Nice, feeling uneasy under their gaze, muttered.

"Meow... Lady Charlotte, why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"Spirit ascending?"

Charlotte raised her voice.

Nice became even more uneasy.

"Meow... did I say something wrong? Hmm... I had some unique experiences in my early years, making me sensitive to the auras of ascending spirits..."

Hearing Nice's words, Charlotte gave him a meaningful look.

This creature certainly had many secrets. Even though she controlled the Gospel of Blood, she couldn’t detect any such aura, yet he could. Who knows what he was before becoming a cat.

Of course, Charlotte’s inability to detect might also be because she hadn’t utilized the divine power of blood.

Thinking of this, Charlotte subtly connected with the Gospel of Blood, releasing the power of the True Ancestor's Liberation.

Instantly, her hair turned silver, and her eyes took on a golden hue.

At that moment, she indeed sensed a faint, dissipating aura in the tent.

The aura wasn’t repulsive; it even felt somewhat familiar.

It was the aura of a familiar bloodborne.

Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat, immediately linking it to the disappearing elderly woman.

She looked at the parchment left by the woman and asked suddenly.

"Sebastian, how much do you know about the Witch of Prophecy?"

"Master, I’ve only been on the continent for fifteen years, previously living on Luna Island. I’m not very knowledgeable about human civilization..."

Sebastian replied.

He continued.

"However, I’ve heard that the Witch of Prophecy is a powerful human mage, though I never expected her to be Madam Anna and even less that she was a bloodborne..."

"Really? The Witch of Prophecy? You should have asked me! I know about her! I even collaborated with her once... but that was a long, long time ago. The Witch of Prophecy I knew must have long been dead, the grass on her grave probably taller than me by now."

Nice chimed in proudly.

The Witch of Prophecy...

Charlotte frowned.

"Master, I don’t know what secrets Lady Anna was hiding, but... there’s one thing I’m sure of: we’ve known each other for over ten years, and she, like I once was, is an unbeliever."

Sebas pondered before adding.

"Heh, that’s likely true. The Witch of Prophecy could see many things, including some divine secrets. To make them believe in false gods would indeed be difficult for them."

Nice sneered.

Realizing his words might have been inappropriate, he quickly looked at Charlotte, stammering an apology.

"Of course! I didn’t mean you! I mean those hypocritical gods!"

Charlotte ignored Nice’s rambling.

She frowned slightly, feeling a sense of contradiction in the elderly woman.

An unbeliever, yet possibly ascending to the divine realm?

Strange, truly strange!

She felt that the elderly visitor was shrouded in mystery, but alas, all secrets were buried with her disappearance.

The only certainty was that the faint aura detected after using her blood divine power indeed linked the woman to the bloodborne lineage.

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"Prophets" are often eccentric, either living brief lives like mayflies or enduring like ancient turtles.

For some reason, Charlotte had a feeling.

Perhaps she would see Anna again in the near future...

For now, regardless of whether the other was alive or dead, at least Charlotte sensed no malice from her.

After thinking for a moment, she said to Sebastian.

"Sebas, take good care of that girl from the Kirali clan."

Reina was entrusted to her.

Regardless of the other’s motives for approaching her, perhaps everything was connected to this last bloodborne royalty.

...

In a grim and solemn castle hall.

The black stone walls of the hall were intricately carved with elaborate patterns and ancient reliefs depicting the myth of the Stargazer, Casey, following the Bloodborne True Ancestor in battles, ultimately achieving divinity.

In the center of the hall stood a solitary black coffin, wrapped in chains that emitted an ancient and timeworn aura.

Around the coffin, four black demon statues with bat wings stood at the four corners, holding tridents, standing tall like sentinels.

Suddenly, the coffin trembled slightly, and the black chains seemed to come to life, slowly retreating.

Next, the coffin lid creaked open, and grayish-black mist spilled out.

The mist quickly dispersed, revealing an elderly figure slowly sitting up from the coffin.

It was an aged woman.

If Charlotte were here, she would notice the striking resemblance to Lady Anna, though this woman, unlike the plainly dressed Anna, wore a luxurious and mysterious black nightgown that clashed with her aged appearance.

However, the elderly woman's appearance soon began to change remarkably.

As if reacting with the outside air, the wrinkles on her skin gradually vanished, her white hair turned brownish-black, and her once aged face regained its youth.

A beautiful and dignified woman emerged.

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of blood-red irises.

Simultaneously, the four demon statues around her began to move, their eyes glowing red.

With creaks and groans, they moved their long-neglected bodies, bowing slightly to the woman in the coffin.

"Lady Eugenia..."

The bloodborne woman, Eugenia, coldly surveyed the demon statues and asked.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Lady Eugenia, you have slept for seventy-three years."

The demon statues answered respectfully.

"Seventy-three years, lost almost five years..."

Eugenia frowned.

She rubbed her temples, sighing lightly, her expression filled with worry.

"The day of the prophecy’s fulfillment is drawing nearer..."

Saying this, she stood up from the coffin, snapping her fingers, transforming her nightgown into a formal and mysterious dress.

She walked towards the hall’s exit.

However, just as she was about to leave, the demon statues blocked her path.

"Lady Eugenia, the Duke has ordered that you may not leave until you are willing to prophesy again."

Eugenia’s expression darkened.

"However, the Duke also said that if you share the details of this ‘reincarnation’ and your prophecies with the clan, although you can’t leave the castle, you will have the freedom to move within it."

The demon statues added.

Eugenia narrowed her eyes, silent.

"Lady Eugenia, do not persist. No matter how you try to circumvent the seal, after each ‘reincarnation,’ you will inevitably lose most of your memories and be hunted by the clan..."

"No matter how many times you try, you will fail, because... you will never have your own node."

"Lady Eugenia, betraying the clan... will only lead to destruction."

The demon statue’s voice was solemn.

Eugenia glanced at it.

"Is this his warning?"

The demon statue bowed slightly, acknowledging.

Eugenia sneered.

"Then convey this message for me, I will never yield to the traitor."

"Traitors... will never end well, and all betrayals... will eventually backfire!"

With that, she turned and re-entered her coffin.

The castle echoed with her final sigh.

"That includes me."

...

Madam Anna's entrustment was just a small interlude.

Charlotte kept the girl, Reina, initially planning to have Sebastian take care of her, but later decided to keep her by her side as one of her personal maids.

Without Anna's company, the already silent bloodborne girl became even more reticent, stirring Charlotte’s sympathy.

Regardless of Reina’s true age, she seemed like a child to Charlotte, reminding her of her sister from her previous life.

Reina, after all, is a bloodborne, and a royalty at that. Keeping her close might be the best option.

During her spare time, Charlotte carefully read through the parchment Madam Anna left behind.

These records were indeed useful, detailing internal bloodborne information, especially the distribution of bloodborne forces in the Crescent Kingdom, the Falling Star Kingdom, and the Yunette Empire, as well as notable bloodborne within these regions.

The records were peculiar, mainly focusing on the Insight clan, Nez, spread across the Falling Star Kingdom and the Roman Duchy, and spanning a vast time period, often fragmented.

Charlotte figured many were things Anna had read from ancient texts.

The clearest records were from recent decades. However, Anna's experiences seemed unpleasant, as she was described as being continuously hunted by the Nez clan bloodbornes.

She barely remembered her past, only that she had betrayed her clan and seemed to be searching for something, though the details were vague.

Charlotte found the information somewhat confusing, but it wasn’t without value. At least, she gained considerable insight into the bloodbornes of the Roman Duchy.

The Roman Duchy neighbored the Castell County, making it the closest bloodborne society to Charlotte.

As for the Crescent Kingdom... those blood-crazed lunatics were better left unmentioned.

Thus, while browsing through Anna’s records and traveling, Charlotte and her companions finally exited the Violet Forest and arrived at the Castell territory.