Gospel of Blood

The Roman Sword is a very proud artifact.

Of course, it indeed has reason to be proud.

As a divine-level artifact with a soul, it naturally possesses a sense of superiority. Even without considering its soul, it is confident in its power, believing it ranks among the top artifacts in Myria.

Setting aside the supreme artifact, the Creation Gate, of the Creator God Harald.

Even compared to well-known powerful artifacts like the Eternal Divine Realm and the Scales of Covenant, the Roman Sword feels they are unworthy of even wiping its blade.

In the context of the True Ancestor of Blood, it believed its status to be exceptionally exalted based on inherited memories.

After all… its understanding was that the True Ancestor of Blood didn’t possess any powerful artifacts.

Of course, such a statement isn’t entirely accurate.

More precisely, the True Ancestor who once dominated Myria was so powerful that there was neither need nor interest in creating additional artifacts.

At most… during the craziest era, there were rumors about collecting various precious artifacts to forge the supreme artifact for bloodbornes.

And rumors are rumors because even up to the mysterious disappearance of the True Ancestor of Blood, there was no follow-up on the so-called “supreme artifact.”

Only various discarded items, tainted with divine power, resulted from the crafting failures.

The Roman Sword always believed this.

Until it acknowledged the other as its master under pressure and entered the depths of the other’s mental world…

The dazzling radiance was overwhelmingly brilliant, like a sun illuminating the world.

Each ray of light, each bit of warmth, contained incredible power that left the Roman Sword in awe.

The Roman Sword never expected to see such a thing in the mental world of a God.

It couldn’t even find words to describe it. Its inherited knowledge and a millennium of memories seemed insufficient.

It could only use the most direct impression, describing it as the “sun.”

But it was not the sun.

It was merely the presence deep within the True Ancestor of Blood’s mental world emitting laws and energy.

The laws were so esoteric and mysterious that even the Roman Sword, capable of severing “existence”, could not budge them.

In its perception, the gap in laws between it and this presence was like a stream to an ocean…

That book seemed like the only one in the world.

As for its power… the Roman Sword could not discern clearly, feeling as if it were shrouded in a profound crimson mist, with its divine power seemingly unfathomable.

It was an artifact.

Though the Roman Sword was reluctant to admit it, it indeed was an artifact.

A book-shaped artifact.

The Roman Sword had never heard of the True Ancestor of Blood possessing such an artifact.

In the presence of this artifact, it couldn’t help but tremble and quake.

It even had a ridiculous notion that the True Ancestor of Blood could erase its “existence” from the world of Myria anytime She wished.

It was an absurd thought.

When the Roman Sword became the True Ancestor’s artifact and entered the mental world to accompany this mysterious artifact, this notion naturally arose in its true soul…

The Roman Sword knew this was a super-sensory resonance to danger.

What shocked it even more was that the book was evidently incomplete.

Though it had a mysterious and heavy cover, many content pages were missing, and the laws surrounding it seemed full of holes.

This only made the Roman Sword more terrified.

Because even with those flaws, the laws in the book exceeded its imagination.

By the Gods!

How could such a thing exist in the world?!

Such complex and esoteric laws, even the divine essence of true Gods might not possess so much!

And this was still in a damaged state, what kind of monster would it be in its prime?

Moreover… what exactly are these laws?

It recognized the laws of the blood divine power, being of the same source, and there were many related laws seemingly just forming the artifact’s framework.

But what about the various other laws filling in beneath the framework?

Elemental laws, spatial laws, temporal laws… the Roman Sword identified almost all foundational world laws, not to mention various other laws it couldn’t recognize.

Any single law among these could create a powerful artifact, yet all these laws were gathered and fused into this book…

Is this really reasonable?

Even the Creation Gate of the Creator God isn’t this outrageous, right?!

It felt as if this “artifact” had formed by “devouring” the laws of countless Gods!

The Roman Sword’s spirit was in chaos, feeling its understanding of “artifact” was overturned in an instant.

But one thing was certain: this book was also an artifact of the True Ancestor of Blood, evidenced by the elegant of thorny rose symbol on its cover.

The Roman Sword’s initial proud demeanor deflated instantly.

Though this mysterious book lacked a soul, it sensed it had the “qualification” to birth one, just like itself.

Only, it was incomplete, hence lacking a “true soul”, yet it faintly felt a power akin to “emotion.”

A mix of curiosity, resistance, arrogance, and disdain.

Curiosity towards the Roman Sword as an intruder.

Resistance to the Roman Sword as an outsider.

And simply disdain for its lack of power.

The Roman Sword instinctively moved aside, making way for the central position in the mental world, huddling in a corner, shivering.

Soon, the resistance felt from the book’s “emotion” diminished, replaced by “satisfaction.”

The Roman Sword further confirmed its judgment.

Though it sounded absurd, the book indeed seemed to be forming a “soul”, contrary to its knowledge, yet true.

The Roman Sword regretted acknowledging the True Ancestor of Blood.

Had it known such a “monster” was hidden in Her mental world, it would never have entered.

It indeed became the True Ancestor of Blood’s artifact.

But clearly, there was little space for it in this realm. With this terrifying entity of unknown origins, it could only cower in the corner.

A bonded artifact is connected to its master’s mind. This was also true for the Roman Sword.

All its emotions—fear, confusion, shock, dread—were transmitted to Charlotte’s heart through the contract mark as it entered her mental world.

Charlotte’s heart stirred, and she descended into her consciousness, where she saw the Roman Sword huddled in a corner far from the Gospel of Blood, trembling.

Charlotte: …

“Roman, why did you run so far away?”

“G-Glorious True Ancestor, I… I’m fine. I really like this spot. I’m quite comfortable staying here…”

“Are you scared? What are you afraid of?”

“I-I’m not scared. I just wanted to be quiet for a while, yes… to think about the life of a sword…”

Charlotte: …

Seeing the evasive Roman Sword, she felt more and more peculiar.

Upon closer inspection, she finally understood.

“I see, you’re afraid of the Gospel of Blood?”

“Since you’ve become my artifact, let me introduce you. The book you see is my supreme artifact, also the supreme artifact of the bloodborne—the Gospel of Blood.”

As Charlotte spoke, the heavy Gospel of Blood emitted a faint glow, seemingly asserting its presence and sovereignty over the mental world.

“The… the Gospel of Blood? Is that this one’s name? Wait… the supreme artifact?!”

The Roman Sword’s tone changed instantly.

Charlotte’s heart stirred.

“Mm? Is there a problem?”

“No… no, no, no! There’s no problem! It’s just… just unexpected that you’ve really created a ‘supreme artifact’ surpassing the Creation Gate… Is this also your attempt to surpass ‘Gods’?”

The Roman Sword asked respectfully, with curiosity and reverence.

Now it was Charlotte’s turn to be at a loss for words.

She had no idea what the historical True Ancestor of Blood had done, so she could only reply vaguely.

“Yes… something like that.”

“Not… not surprising, considering your past as the great ruler of Myria!”

The Roman Sword immediately started flattering.

Charlotte: …

“Alright, since you’ve seen the Gospel of Blood, you should also notice it’s incomplete. I know you have ties with the Nez bloodbornes, and I have something to ask you about the scattered temples and statues across Myria, as well as the missing pages of the Gospel of Blood. Do you have any clues?”

Charlotte asked.

“Do you… do you mean your created temples and statues? Glorious True Ancestor, I don’t know much about your temples and statues. After all, I spent most of my time sleeping. But as far as I know, the various Blood Clans should have clues or even temples or statues.”

“If you want to quickly restore your strength, starting with the major clans might be easier. As far as I know… each clan still has a considerable amount of sealed blood divine power as a reserve.”

The Roman Sword answered respectfully.

After speaking, it “looked” at the Gospel of Blood at the center of the world and cautiously said,

“As for the Gospel, I… this is my first time seeing it, and I don’t know about its missing parts.”

Charlotte shook her head and said,

“No, you must have heard of it. The missing parts are the Cursed Pages.”

“I see… wait! Cursed Pages?!”

The Roman Sword’s voice changed again suddenly.

“Mm? Is there a problem?”

“N-no… no problem, it’s just unexpected that it’s the Cursed Pages… I see, I see… so, you did succeed back then…”

The Roman Sword murmured.

Listening to it, Charlotte’s heart moved.

She didn’t directly ask but instead used the contract mark to continue listening to the “thoughts” from the Roman Sword’s residual power in the Dark Night Castle.

She soon understood the secrets of the Gospel of Blood from the Roman Sword’s “memories.”

‘I see, the historical True Ancestor of Blood tried to break through the limitations of Gods. One attempt was creating the supreme artifact surpassing Gods…’

‘So, this supreme artifact must be the Gospel of Blood, which matches the description in the Gospel of Blood’s records—the Supreme Artifact of the Bloodborne.’

‘That explains the Gospel of Blood’s power far exceeding other artifacts.’

Charlotte pondered.

“Glorious True Ancestor, I don’t know much about the Cursed Pages either. However, as far as I know, the Blood Demon Cult is very interested in them and has been collecting them.”

“It’s said… they even have a divine artifact that can locate the Cursed Pages, which might help you.”

The Blood Demon Cult has a divine artifact that can locate the Cursed Pages?

Charlotte’s expression darkened.

Such an important matter, Albrecht never mentioned it!

But soon, she calmed down again.

With the contract, Albrecht couldn’t deceive her. He had already submitted all his memories about the bloodborne, and Charlotte had reviewed them without finding anything relevant, which meant Albrecht probably didn’t know either.

“Alright, I understand. The information you provided is important.”

Charlotte said.

Relieved by her acknowledgment, the Roman Sword breathed a sigh of relief.

Charlotte was about to say something when she suddenly felt a familiar presence rapidly approaching in the real world.

After checking the Dark Night Castle’s state, Charlotte felt the time was almost up and said,

“Alright, you’ve just awakened and used a lot of energy. Take a rest. If there’s anything, I will summon you again.”

“Gracious True Ancestor, thank you!”

The Roman Sword replied quickly.

Withdrawing from the depths of the mental world, Charlotte, sitting on the Blood Throne, slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the respectful Albrecht standing aside, Charlotte nodded.

“You did well this time.”

Relieved by her acknowledgment, Albrecht’s posture became even more respectful.

Sensing the time, Charlotte said,

“It’s almost time. Let’s leave.”

With that, she waved her hand, and crimson mist enveloped the entire world again.

The next moment, the world of the Dark Night Castle shattered abruptly.

Albrecht felt dizzy, and when he regained his senses, he had returned to reality.

The Roman Sword had disappeared.

He knew it was taken by the True Ancestor. Sensing the two familiar presences approaching from afar, Albrecht chuckled lightly.

“It’s Yorok and Alec… it seems they’ve reacted.”

He shook his head.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late.”

With that, he snapped his fingers, and his entire body dissolved into broken black mist.

Moments later, Yorok and Alec finally arrived at the place where the Roman Sword had disappeared.

“The aura… it’s completely gone. We lost the trail.”

Duke Yorok said grimly.

Glaring at the bloodborne elf on the other side, he said through gritted teeth.

“Alec, I will definitely impeach you before the council for this! Just wait for the Elder’s wrath!”

After that, he snorted coldly and left.