Gospel of Blood

Ashes?

Were they… truly puppets?

Charlotte frowned slightly.

She contemplated for a moment and then focused on the crimson sea in her consciousness. She discovered that the crimson stars symbolizing Alec and Campel had already been extinguished.

Charlotte’s frown deepened.

The stars in the crimson sea represent all those with bloodborne traits. When a star goes out, it signifies death.

In other words, Alec and Campel should have fallen.

However, the crystal cores she saw in their “consciousness” and their dissolution like weathered puppets made it difficult for her to associate them with normal death.

“Their consciousness… seems to reside in those crystals. Their body structure doesn’t align with my understanding of bloodbornes.”

“After their death, I couldn’t even sense their souls.”

“They’re also different from elves like Sebastian. At least…Sebastian has a mental world and soul energy that I can perceive.”

“Elven Bloodborne… could they not belong to the true blood race? Perhaps they aren’t even natural beings?”

“Come to think of it, none of the historical texts mention the origins of the Nez Clan branch from the Luna Island. How did they first appear?”

“That crystal just now… looked very much like some sort of puppet core. Could they have been artificially created?”

“Someone who can destroy them silently in my mental world… must be no weaker than me, perhaps even stronger…”

Reflecting on everything she had just witnessed, Charlotte fell into deep thought.

Alec and Campel were definitely not remote-controlled avatars, Charlotte was sure of this because their expressions before “death” were not faked.

“In that case… there might be some secret to these so-called Elven Bloodborne.”

Charlotte murmured to herself.

Thinking of this, Charlotte delved deeper into the crimson sea.

In the crimson sea, the stars representing the Nez Clan were now distinct from the others, marked by a crimson halo around each star representing a Nez bloodborne.

Moreover, these stars, compared to others with weaker connections, felt closer and even surpassed the intimacy level of the Nightshade cult believers’ points of light.

However, Charlotte noticed that some stars with a similar aura to the Nez Clan had not formed this connection.

She hadn’t scrutinized them before, but upon examining them now, she found that the number of these stars was roughly proportional to the Nez Clan in the Starfall Kingdom and the Nez Clan from the Luna Island.

In other words, these stars, which hadn’t connected despite the Nez Clan’s submission, were from the Luna Island branch of the Nez Clan.

This sparked a realization in Charlotte.

“The Nez Clan’s submission should have activated the Blood Oath of the bloodbornes, but the Nez branch from Luna Island wasn’t bound by it.”

“According to the Gospel of Blood, the Blood Oath is a bloodline pact. When the majority of clan members swear the same oath, it’s recognized as a clan pact.”

“The Elven bloodbornes not being bound by the oath means they weren’t recognized.”

“Although this Blood Oath wasn’t initiated by me directly but by the Nez Clan’s voluntary submission, which might slightly weaken its strength, not being recognized means they are not part of the Nez Clan.”

“The Elven Bloodbornes on the Luna Island… likely aren’t true bloodbornes, perhaps not even elves, just beings with Nez bloodline masquerading as bloodbornes.”

“Judging by Alec and Campel’s reactions, perhaps… they themselves didn’t realize they weren’t true bloodbornes.”

Looking at the stars representing the elven bloodbornes from Luna Island, Charlotte speculated.

Of course, even if the Nez bloodbornes from Luna Island weren’t true bloodbornes, they still possessed bloodborne traits.

And as long as they had bloodborne traits, Charlotte’s Blood Summoning could forcibly summon them to the Dark Night Castle.

However, Charlotte didn’t attempt this.

Most elven bloodbornes were on Luna Island, far away and protected by a myth-level defensive barrier.

Even for her, bypassing this barrier to summon them wouldn’t be easy.

Furthermore, considering Alec and Campel turned to ashes shortly after being pulled into the castle, even if she managed to summon one, they would likely meet the same fate.

They might not even be aware that they weren’t true bloodbornes.

Pondering this, Charlotte fell into deeper thought.

Judging by the change in the Nez Clan’s status over the years and Alec’s maneuvers, Luna Island and Starfall Island were not unified and had many conflicting views.

There likely was a significant secret behind the elven bloodborne, perhaps even the Luna Island itself.

Maybe… the investigation into the elven bloodbornes’ secret could be handed over to the Nez Clan of Starfall Island.

With this thought, Charlotte collected the two piles of ashes and exited her consciousness space.

As for handling the ashes, she planned to hand them over to Nice. That guy was resourceful and might discover something.

Regarding Luna Island… even though she was now a Demigod, considering it was one of the top forces in Myria, Charlotte decided not to provoke them unnecessarily.

Elves were once dominant and had many hidden cards. They were even the ones who devised the earliest divine sealing rituals.

Manifested Gods were not invincible. If Charlotte went now and messed up, it would be catastrophic.

…

Wickes County, Nez Stronghold.

In the central castle, the Nez Elder Council, led by Bardock, was gathered in the hall, waiting patiently.

The throne in the hall’s center was empty.

But unlike before, now… no one dared to approach it.

After an unknown period, crimson light spread throughout the castle.

Countless black bats flew into the hall and eventually coalesced into a human figure on the throne.

“Your Majesty…”

Seeing Charlotte reappear on the throne, the Nez elders bowed respectfully.

Noticing her furrowed brows, Bardock felt a twinge of unease and asked.

“Your Majesty, did Alec and Campel… escape?”

Charlotte shook her head.

“No, I caught up with them.”

“Then they…”

Duke Yorok couldn’t help but ask.

Recalling the extinguished stars in the crimson sea, Charlotte paused and said,

“They… should be dead.”

Dead… dead?

The Nez elders were momentarily stunned, and then they were astonished.

Apparently, they hadn’t expected Alec and Campel to die, not even Duke Yorok, who had reported their escape.

They thought… Charlotte had just recaptured the two fleeing elven bloodbornes.

Dead?

Just dead?

That Alec died just like that?

They were Legendary!

Duke Yorok’s mouth hung open, his expression quite spectacular.

Noticing the mix of astonishment and growing fear on the elders’ faces, Charlotte realized they misunderstood, thinking it was her punishment for the fugitives.

Charlotte felt a bit helpless.

However, she didn’t bother to explain much.

Fear isn’t always a bad thing, she needed to establish her authority now, balancing grace with power.

From the perspective of the “True Ancestor”, she had already shown grace by not holding past “betrayals” accountable and promising future protection. For the Nez Clan, this already constituted “grace.”

Punishing those who persisted in their “betrayal” would thus be a show of power.

Sweeping her gaze over the Nez elders, Charlotte paused and said,

“From today onwards, the Nez Clan will have only the bloodbornes from Starfall Island, not the elves from Luna Island.”

The Nez elders were stunned.

“Your Majesty… are you planning to strip the bloodline power from the Luna Island branch, removing their bloodborne identity?”

Elder Robin couldn’t help but ask.

“Removing their bloodborne identity?”

Charlotte chuckled softly.

She shook her head and said meaningfully.

“They never belonged to the bloodborne race to begin with, so there’s nothing to strip.”

They don’t… belong to the bloodborne race?

The Nez elders were dumbfounded.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Charlotte realized these bloodbornes hadn’t noticed anything amiss about the elven bloodbornes. She paused and asked.

“The Nez Clan… originated from the North and the former Blood Legion. But as far as I know, there was no connection with the elves in the distant past.”

“So, can anyone tell me the origin of the elven bloodbornes from Luna Island?”

Upon hearing Charlotte’s question, all the elders looked at Bardock.

Bardock’s face turned dark.

“Don’t look at me. I’ve already said I have many memory gaps. If anyone knows, they should speak up.”

Clearly, after having Charlotte as their “support”, the former commander of the Free City Alliance’s Third Legion had completely relaxed, no longer playing the cold and ruthless role, and had reverted to his old, somewhat reckless self.

Helpless, Duke Yorok and the others turned to Elder Charles. Elder Charles, who hadn’t “lost his memory”, pondered for a moment before saying respectfully.

“Your Majesty, it’s a long story. The Nez Clan branch on Luna Island was established by an elven elder who was turned into a bloodborne after your disappearance.”

“His name is Femaror, a third-generation bloodborne. You should know him. If I remember correctly, he used to be your personal guard and was once praised by you for his height.”

“His name means ‘you are so tall’ in ancient elvish…”

Charlotte: …

What nonsense is this?

No, no…

She really didn’t know him. He might have known “her”, but she didn’t know him.

And the “her” he knew wasn’t actually her.

Of course, Charlotte knew the name Femaror. She had learned from Yurst that he was one of the three Legendary Bloodbornes of Luna Island and indeed used to be a follower of the “True Ancestor.”

Incidentally, Charlotte had observed that his star in the crimson sea hadn’t been included in the Nez Clan’s oath, indicating he was likely another “false bloodborne.”

As for how Charlotte determined the star belonged to him, it was simple. Among the remaining stars from Luna Island, only one had a Legendary-level aura.

This is the process of elimination.

After some thought, Charlotte mused.

“Investigate the elven bloodbornes of Luna Island thoroughly. Look into their origins, their methods of inheritance, and… their true identities and purposes.”

True identities… and purposes?

The Nez elders were all stunned.

Duke Yorok couldn’t help but ask.

“Your Majesty, Femaror and the others…”

“Their identities… are problematic.”

Charlotte said calmly.

Their identities are problematic?

The Nez elders looked at each other, their expressions complex.

Seeming to connect the dots, Duke Robin’s expression changed subtly.

He took a deep breath, bowed to Charlotte, and said respectfully.

“Your Majesty, I understand. I will arrange for a thorough investigation of the elven bloodbornes on Luna Island.”

“Be discreet, and keep it confidential.”

Charlotte reminded.

Duke Robin bowed deeply.

“By your divine command…”

After issuing orders to the Nez Clan to sever ties with the elven bloodbornes of Luna Island and to investigate them secretly, Charlotte departed.

This time, she truly left.

Thanks to the protective wards of the Nez Clan’s stronghold, the blood moon phenomenon Charlotte caused was confined within the castle.

This solved the issue of Charlotte’s identity being quickly exposed.

If the blood moon phenomenon had spread to the entire Starfall Kingdom, or even the whole world, every extraordinary power would have known that the “True Ancestor” had awakened.

For now, it was confined to the Nez Clan, who had already rejoined the True Ancestor and formed a pact with Charlotte.

With the constraints of the pact, they couldn’t reveal her identity without her permission.

Charlotte’s “True Ancestor” identity should remain hidden for a while longer.

One day at a time. If she were to be exposed, so be it. After all, she had just taken in so many bloodbornes.

…

Using the long-distance teleportation array from the Nez stronghold to return to Starfall City, it was just dawn.

It had taken exactly one night.

With Nice, the all-purpose tool cat, at her disposal, no one in the Red Palace noticed that the would-be queen had snuck out for the night.

Charlotte returned to her original appearance and changed into noble attire.

Just as she finished changing, a familiar aura approached.

Charlotte felt a surge of anticipation. Albrecht, whom she had sent out to find the “traitors” among the high-ranking members of Starfall Parliament, had returned.

Charlotte was instantly energized.

With the Nez Clan’s submission, it was now time to deal with the entire Starfall Kingdom.