Gospel of Blood

“Nice? He has been hiding a Faceless Statue?”

As Charlotte read the information about the Faceless Statues, her expression turned complex.

She hadn’t expected Nice to be involved. This creature had kept it hidden so well and hadn’t mentioned it to her for so long!

Charlotte made a mental note to “interrogate” the fat cat properly once she returned to her domain. For now, the distance between them was too great, and summoning him would require too much divine power, which she wasn’t willing to spend.

Meanwhile, in a certain location within the Count’s estate in Northport, a lazy black cat was half-lying on a velvet cushion, enjoying a servant feeding him small fish snacks.

Suddenly, his fur stood on end, and he shivered coldly.

“Hiss… who is bad-mouthing behind my back again?”

He cursed softly, feeling a bit guilty. He curled up even more and quietly cast a spell to prevent being tracked, moving as stealthily as possible.

Charlotte had no idea her sudden thought had caused such a reaction from Nice in the distant north.

The information about the Faceless Statues surprised her. She hadn’t expected the historical True Ancestor of Blood to leave behind so many ancient temples and statues.

According to Albrecht’s memories, the temples in the current world were only a fraction of what had been built. No bloodbornes could say for certain how many temples and statues there really were.

However, the Dark Prince Balov had speculated that there should be around 30, with the exact number possibly varying slightly.

As for the function of the Faceless Statues…

As someone who had successfully integrated with a statue, Charlotte found some validity in Albrecht’s memories. Matching them with her own experiences, she believed the theory that the statues could help one ascend to godhood was likely true. This would explain some of the transformations she had undergone.

But…

Dark Prince Balov?

This was the second time Charlotte had heard the name. The first time was also mentioned by Albrecht, who spoke of him with great respect.

Charlotte understood why. According to Albrecht, Balov was the one who had initially embraced him into the bloodborne.

Among the bloodbornes, princes were second only to the True Ancestor. Since he was called the Dark Prince, he was undoubtedly a myth-level bloodborne, likely a practitioner of the dark path.

Thinking it over, Charlotte requested.

“Retrieve information about ‘Gods’.”

A new “book” flew from the “library” and landed in Charlotte’s hands. She sank into her consciousness and began to read…

Albrecht’s memories contained a considerable amount of information about Gods. As a Legendary being who had lived for thousands of years, he naturally knew many secrets unknown to ordinary people.

In his memories, Charlotte easily found information related to the Dark Prince Balov.

The Dark Prince Balov was a third-generation bloodborne active during the Mythic Era and one of the earliest bloodborne princes nurtured by the True Ancestor of Blood.

He was the earliest leader of the Dark Clan Shedite, one of the six great Blood Princes. After the True Ancestor of Blood disappeared, Balov was defeated and devoured by the rising Blood Demon Archduke Abaddon, who inherited his bloodline and authority.

Reading this information, Charlotte was quite surprised.

The church’s records about bloodbornes didn’t mention such secrets. Even Sebastian regarded the Blood Demon Archduke as the original ancestor of the six clans.

It seemed her previous understanding had been flawed.

However, when Charlotte accessed information about the True Ancestor of Blood, the results were unexpectedly sparse.

Possibly due to the True Ancestor’s long habit of remaining hidden, Albrecht’s understanding of the True Ancestor wasn’t much greater than Yurst’s.

In his memories, the True Ancestor was elusive, and even the princes found it difficult to meet with her.

Like Yurst, Albrecht’s fear of the True Ancestor stemmed from her absolute control over the bloodborne and her view of them as “food”.

In the depths of his memory, Charlotte found images and symbols related to the True Ancestor of Blood.

This discovery excited Charlotte.

As the inheritor of the Gospel of Blood, she was particularly curious and wary of the True Ancestor of Blood.

She was a ruthless figure who would even devour her descendants. Who knew if she had left any contingencies in the Gospel of Blood?

Considering that Albrecht’s memories indicated the True Ancestor had prearranged the construction of temples and placement of statues, it was plausible.

Of course, there was nothing she could do if there were contingencies. The Gospel of Blood was her trump card. She couldn’t abandon it and could only think of ways to handle potential dangers.

The best approach was to grow quickly, reaching a level equivalent to the True Ancestor, and gaining the ability to negotiate.

With this thought, Charlotte decisively browsed Albrecht’s memories for the image of the True Ancestor of Blood. Having experienced “time travel” when advancing to Silver Moon, Charlotte had some speculative fantasies about history.

If her “time travel” was real, the True Ancestor of Blood Lilith might very well be her student!

Her mental strength expanded as she continued to sense…

What surprised her was that, despite the presence of information about the True Ancestor of Blood’s symbol and image in Albrecht’s memories, when she tried to access it, it appeared blurry and indistinct, as if shrouded in mist.

It felt as if some fog was obscuring Albrecht’s memory…

Charlotte frowned slightly.

Since Albrecht personally “copied” the memories, he couldn’t have copied something unclear.

The only explanation was that this part of the content was influenced by a higher level of power.

After a moment’s thought, Charlotte decisively used her blood divine power to enhance the reading process.

Crimson brilliance blossomed, and the mist in Albrecht’s memories slowly dissipated.

However, when Charlotte clearly saw the image of the True Ancestor in his memories, she was stunned.

It wasn’t the image of Lilith from her “time travel” into the past.

It was her.

No… To be more precise, it was her as an adult.

With long silver hair, crimson-gold eyes, a black divine dress… and sitting on a throne, with one hand on the armrest and the other supporting her head, exuding a lazy yet dignified and noble aura.

This… was exactly the same as her demeanor and actions when she “fooled” those unlucky ones in the Dark Night Castle!

“Me? It’s me? How can it be me? Did I travel back in time to become the True Ancestor of Blood?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Considering this possibility, she read the memory of the True Ancestor’s symbol again. With divine power assisting, the “mist” gradually dissipated, and Charlotte clearly saw the symbol in Albrecht’s memory— Thorns outside, roses inside, intertwined.

That was her own symbol.

Seeing the symbol, Charlotte was at a loss for words.

If it was just the image, there might be a chance of overlap or a very similar appearance, but the symbol… there was no mistaking it.

Compared to the changeable appearance, the symbol was the true essence of divinity.

Symbols are unique, cannot be repeated, and cannot be disguised…

Charlotte was certain it was the mark she had traced from the furniture patterns. Being recognized by the Gospel of Blood already signified its uniqueness, meaning it was just an ordinary decorative pattern before her.

So… did she really travel back in time to become the True Ancestor of Blood?

Charlotte was uncertain.

After some thought, she accessed memories related to “Lilith.”

Unexpectedly yet understandably, Albrecht’s memories contained no relevant content…

There were bloodbornes named Lilith in his memories, but they were little guys from the fourth or fifth generation, far from the Lilith she knew.

As for Lilith being the True Ancestor, there was no information at all.

Reading the memories, Charlotte fell into deep thought.

If Lilith wasn’t the True Ancestor, she would be surprised, but upon careful consideration, she could understand.

After all, no historical texts mentioned Lilith. Even the Gospel of Blood only recorded a sentence about Lilith as its prologue.

Charlotte considered Lilith the True Ancestor of Blood because of that sentence, but it didn’t necessarily indicate her identity.

However, even if Lilith wasn’t the True Ancestor, it was hard for Charlotte to associate herself with the ruthless and cruel True Ancestor described in various records.

Putting that aside, she couldn’t imagine devouring those she nurtured, those loyal to her, and those who fought for her!

Charlotte didn’t think of herself as a good person, but neither did she see herself as a bad one. Even as a bloodborne, she still upheld her moral standards and boundaries.

She believed that the True Ancestor of Blood described in historical texts wasn’t her.

Yurst’s description and Albrecht’s memories of the terrifying, tyrannical, and ruthless True Ancestor couldn’t be her either!

“No, conclusions can’t be hastily drawn. It’s just a possibility, but only a possibility…”

“Memories can be tampered with, and the Gospel of Blood might have a higher rank than ordinary artifacts. It’s possible that the Gospel interfered with Albrecht’s perception, replacing his memory of the True Ancestor with me.”

“This possibility can’t be ruled out. After all, if the historical True Ancestor of Blood were really me, the clans wouldn’t be unaware that the Thorny Rose symbol belonged to the True Ancestor! The furniture store in Coria wouldn’t have been able to use the Thorny Rose pattern safely for hundreds of years…”

“But if it’s memory interference…”

“Could it be that the Gospel of Blood’s rank is higher than I thought?”

“Is it really just a bloodborne artifact?”

Charlotte pondered deeply.

Reading Albrecht’s memories answered some questions but also brought more.

Simultaneously, she became more vigilant.

She couldn’t discern her true relationship with the True Ancestor of Blood, nor could she tell if there was a conspiracy involved.

But regardless of the truth, the one thing she could confirm was that her fate was indeed intertwined with the True Ancestor of Blood.

“Power, I need to increase my power… Only by becoming a true God can I gain control over my fate.”

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte murmured to herself.

After some thought, she focused again, accessing Albrecht’s memories on “ascension to Godhood.”

With her intent, a heavier “book” flew out of the “library.”

It was clear that Albrecht had always aimed to ascend to Godhood, gathering extensive information.

Now, Charlotte benefited from it.

She concentrated on reading…

The next moment, a crucial phrase from Albrecht’s memories imprinted itself on her consciousness.

“Condense the essence, transform divine power, ignite the divine flame, and forge a divine persona.”