Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel

"Blood Secret Book?"

Charlotte was slightly startled as she looked at the shape of the book, which resembled the Blood Holy Scripture.

She turned the magic power in her hand slightly and took the book into her hands.

A wisp of divine power that she found somewhat familiar brushed past her, then completely dissipated into the world.

Standing nearby, Great Prophet Margo's confused eyes gradually cleared.

"No, Your Majesty—!"

Charlotte only heard her exclaim before reaching out to the ashes, then she fell to her knees with a thud and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Charlotte sighed softly and did not stop her.

...

Great Prophet Margo cried for a long time.

While Charlotte stood by her side, quietly waiting.

She did not offer comfort, simply letting the Divine Favored of the Crimson Queen vent to her heart's content.

Serving their god is the Divine Favored's heaven.

To Great Prophet Margo, the fall of the Crimson Queen was nothing less than the sky collapsing.

A long time later, the Great Prophet of the Harcos Clan finally cried out her last tear.

She picked herself up again and managed a strained smile at Charlotte:

"I'm very sorry, True Ancestor... I just lost my composure."

Charlotte nodded:

"That's all right, Royena held all of you in such high regard, she probably wouldn't want to see her Divine Favored fall into despondency."

As she spoke, she sighed again, saying somewhat emotionally:

"Do you know? The reason I could rescue the Harcos Bloodline unharmed was that I sensed within that monster, there seemed to be some power protecting the soul of the Devoured from being completely consumed..."

"Before, I only had suspicions, but now it seems that must have been Royena's lingering sentiment, one last effort made for her clan."

Hearing Charlotte's words, Great Prophet Margo was slightly dazed, and her eyes reddened once more.

Seeing this, Charlotte silently cursed herself for running her mouth, needlessly upsetting others' emotions.

Fortunately, perhaps having already faintly suspected this, after some more time of being disheartened, Great Prophet Margo again picked herself up.

Under Charlotte's somewhat surprised gaze, the Divine Favored of the Harcos Clan's expression gradually firmed up; she knelt before Charlotte with a thump:

"Great True Ancestor, source of all our Bloodline, the supreme Blood Sovereign..."

"I, Margo Harcos, am ready to lead every member of the Harcos Clan to pledge our loyalty to you anew."

Looking at the conviction in the other's eyes, Charlotte smiled with satisfaction:

"Good, I like those who keep their promises."

After saying this, she looked into the other's eyes, which had reignited with brightness, and asked:

"I see something else in your eyes, Margo. Did Royena say something to you in the end?"

Great Prophet Margo was taken aback:

"You... you know?"

Recalling the last traces of divine power that had dispersed, Charlotte nodded:

"I sensed it just now, that must have been the divine power fluctuations left by her lingering sentiment, right?"

Great Prophet Margo fell silent.

After taking a deep breath, she said:

"At the last moment before leaving Queen's spiritual world, I received the final Oracle from Her Majesty..."

"Her Majesty commanded us... to pledge our loyalty anew to you."

Upon hearing Great Prophet Margo's words, this time it was Charlotte's turn to be stunned.

She glanced towards the direction of the Queen's Palace, her expression growing complex and inscrutable:

"I see..."

...

The Bloodline members bustled about, directing Blood Servants, Flame Demons, and Trolls in repairing the Holy Land, which had been severely damaged.

In the castle, which had remained relatively intact, Bloodline Favored who had narrowly escaped the creature's onslaught were gathered in small groups, along with Enchanting Demons and Illusion Demons, caring for the Bloodline members who had just awakened.

In the only somewhat intact side hall of the Queen's Palace.

Great Prophet Margo Harcos watched the tally reports being submitted and listened to Palace Guard Captain Sofia, who was still pale and clearly not fully recovered from her weakened state, report the extent of the losses to the Holy Land:

"Great Prophet, according to preliminary counts, about one-third of the central structures of the Holy Land have been destroyed, and as many as one thousand three hundred and twenty-seven Solidification Arrays have been damaged, along with a large amount of precious magical items and artwork, causing an estimated loss of over one hundred and twenty million gold tanas."

"The most severely damaged facility is the Magic Energy Defense Tower underground. Due to being a primary target of the Blood Demon Tide, it is unlikely to be reconstructed shortly, making it unable to withstand Blood Demon assaults."

"Moreover, the prohibitions left by Her Majesty have also suffered irreversible damage. This damage even extends to parts of the prohibitions across the Mireya Continent, and the Magic Restrictions that covered the Northern Territory have been invalidated."

"Considering these were prohibitions left by Her Majesty, the prospects of rebuilding them seem quite daunting."

At this point, Sofia bowed her head slightly, her expression somewhat downcast.

Great Prophet Margo's demeanor remained much calmer.

Even within that calm, there was a hint of sighs.

She sighed lightly and asked:

"What about the casualties?"

Sofia's expression turned somewhat peculiar.

She hesitated and then responded:

"In terms of casualties... Three hundred and seventy-one Bloodline members were injured, with fifty-three severely so, most of them during the battle with the Fallen Bloodline."

Great Prophet Margo paused briefly.

She looked at Sofia and asked:

"No one... died?"

Sofia's expression became increasingly odd:

"Yes, no one has died. All members of the Bloodline who went missing after being 'Devoured' have been found near the Saintess Palace."

"Most of them are unharmed, save for severe magic power depletion that has left them rather weak, but not life-threateningly so. Only a few have sustained damage to the source of their bloodline, resulting in a demotion in Rank."

"Moreover... Those ancestors of the Bloodline who had long since Fallen and burst forth from the Sealed Land are now free of the curse. Some who have recovered more quickly are already awakening."

"However, they have all suffered serious injury to their bloodline source, and most have had their Ranks fall to below that of an Earl, including several Dukes and Marquises."

Hearing this, the Great Prophet trembled slightly:

"A few Dukes... have they all recovered?"

Sofia nodded:

"Yes, they have all recovered from the curse, but... perhaps because the Dukes have been Fallen for so long, their memories are seriously impaired. They only vaguely remember their names from before the mutation and their general identity..."

"Their strength has also fallen sharply..."

The Great Prophet sighed softly:

"As long as they have recovered from the curse it is good. Memory and strength... these can be slowly regained. After all, what our Bloodline lacks the least is time."

"As for the underground defense towers and the Holy Land's restrictions... Broken is broken, I suppose. We won't be needing those things anymore."

Upon hearing the words of the Great Prophet, Sofia was slightly taken aback.

She hesitated, as if she was both hoping for and fearing something, and asked:

"Great Prophet, do you mean... Are the Blood Servants telling the truth? The curse underground... has it really..."

The Great Prophet nodded and said:

"Yes, the curse that loomed over the Harcos Clan has been lifted. We still cannot escape the blood addiction, but at least... we won't Fall as easily as before."

After saying this, she looked at Sofia:

"You should be able to feel it too, the change within yourself..."

Sofia bowed her head.

She held out her hands, her gaze upon her palms complex.

The Great Prophet was right.

She could feel the changes in her bloodline.

Before today, she always sensed that there was some kind of invisible, intangible shackle deep within her bloodline, as if there was always a voice calling softly at the bottom of her heart, tempting her to follow that mysterious sound.

That... was the Siren's call of Falling, the destiny of all Harcos Bloodline who could not endure, eventually becoming a Blood Demon.

But now, she could hear nothing.

She felt that the power of her bloodline was more active and at ease than ever before; the sensation... was as if her power had been purified and sublimated by some force.

But she didn't fall into complete joy.

She was the Captain of the Queen's Palace Guard.

She knew more than the others of her clan.

Though... not as much as the Great Prophet.

"Then... that means Her Majesty the Queen... She..."

Sofia's voice trembled.

The Great Prophet fell silent.

After a long while, she finally sighed and said:

"Her Majesty the Queen... has left us."

"I have failed Her Majesty's trust, misjudging Her Majesty's Oracle, for four hundred years... Her Majesty had been warning us to leave."

"Her Majesty the Queen had Fallen long ago, but even until the last moment, She was still protecting us, even though... this immense disaster caused by my prideful ignorance."

Saying this, the Great Prophet looked to the sky, pained, and closed her eyes:

"That one, Your Majesty, said that during the 'Purification' of the curse, She sensed a power that protected the soul within the 'Monster'."

"It was that very power that allowed Her to easily 'Purify' the curse on everyone..."

"Perhaps... that was the last tenderness of Her Majesty the Queen, who had become a 'Monster', insisting on our protection."

"Such a terrible disaster, and yet not a soul is dead. We are still under Her Majesty's protection until the end..."

By the end, Great Prophet Margo's voice was choked with sobs.

Sofia was momentarily stunned.

However, she quickly noticed a detail in the words of the Great Prophet:

"That one... Your Majesty?"

"Great Prophet, the one you speak of... exactly who is... is..."

"The one who saved us from Falling?"

Great Prophet Margo paused briefly.

"Do you... know?"

She looked at Sofia.

Sofia hesitated, then nodded:

"After being Devoured, I... seemed to see."

"I thought I saw a crimson light, and I thought I saw a beautiful figure..."

"I felt... I felt a presence that was extremely familiar."

The Great Prophet fell silent.

After a moment, she sighed softly, saying:

"There is something even more important concerning this matter that I must announce to our people."

"Send the word out. Everyone is to gather in front of the Queen's Palace in three days. I will pass on the Queen's final Oracle to everyone."

——————

Sorry for updating late.

I'm a bit stuck.