Gospel of Blood

Northeast of Castell, Lagrisse Port.

As the name implies, this is the last direct territory of the Lagrisse family, the capital of the Lagrisse Viscounty, and the northernmost city in the Castell County.

Of course, it is also the final stronghold of the rebel resistance.

As a border port city, Lagrisse Port boasts fortifications on par with Northport, causing significant trouble for the Castell army’s siege efforts.

But it was merely trouble.

After the main forces of the Lagrisse family were annihilated, the fall of this city was only a matter of time. Especially after the arrival of the support fleet led by Viscount Roman-Four and Count Yurst.

Facing the formidable Castell fleet and the “extraordinary mercenaries” led by Count Yurst, the city had little chance of mounting any effective resistance.

In just half a day, Lagrisse Port, which had held out for many days, fell completely.

At Lagrisse Port, Castell warships had already retracted their cannon and docked at the port. At the pockmarked city gates, the orderly Castell army, under the command of noble officers, was entering the city in a disciplined manner.

The Lagrisse family’s banner atop the city walls had been taken down, replaced by Castell’s battle flag.

From today onwards, the history of the Lagrisse family’s rule over this city might end.

Strangely, however, after entering Lagrisse Port, the Castell troops found no members of the Lagrisse family. Only soldiers surrendered their arms, no members of the entire Lagrisse family were seen, as if they had vanished into thin air.

“Still no sign of them?”

In the Lord’s Castle of Lagrisse Port, Sebastian, the Flame Elf, frowned at the soldiers coming and going.

The soldiers shook their heads.

“Lord Sebastian, no one is here. Not even the servants or maids.”

“What do the surrounding residents say?”

After a moment of hesitation, a soldier replied.

“Lord Sebastian, the residents say they saw people coming and going from the castle yesterday. Last night, they saw the Lagrisse family gathering all the nobles. Many thought the Lagrisse family would make their last stand in the castle…”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

“Yet the castle is empty…”

“Interesting, the whole family and so many nobles disappeared into thin air?”

After a moment’s thought, he said,

“The Lagrisse family wouldn’t vanish without a trace. They must be hiding somewhere, or… they left through some means.”

“Search, keep searching. Dig three feet if you have to! Check if there are any teleportation arrays or hidden passages.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers respectfully complied and prepared to continue the search.

“Wait!”

As if recalling something, Sebastian suddenly called them back.

“Look for any special marks.”

“Special… marks?”

The soldiers were puzzled.

Sebas nodded.

“Yes, special marks. Like a rose, or maybe a cat’s paw.”

“In short… report back if you see anything suspicious.”

With Sebastian’s order, the soldiers resumed their search. Soon enough, they had a breakthrough.

“Lord Sebastian! We found the mark you mentioned in the castle’s storage room!”

A soldier ran over excitedly, panting.

“Oh? Really? What is it?”

Sebastian was surprised.

“It’s… a rose, a rose entwined with thorny vines!”

The soldier answered respectfully.

“A thorny rose?”

Sebastian paused, then smirked.

“I never expected that guy to start flattering Master.”

“Let’s go, show me.”

…

Led by the soldier, Sebastian quickly arrived at the storage room.

He immediately noticed the thorny rose pattern carved on the wall. The pattern was not very precise, as if clawed out. It was a miracle the soldiers recognized it.

Sebastian instantly recognized it as the work of the black cat, Nice.

“Looks like that guy is safe and was taken away by the Lagrisse family.”

Sebastian murmured.

He scrutinized the wall pattern for a while, his eyes glinting. Suddenly, he drew a sword from a nearby soldier’s sheath and slashed the wall with magical power.

The force far exceeding ordinary Silver Moon tier shattered the wall, revealing a dark passage.

“A secret passage! It’s a secret passage!”

The surrounding soldiers exclaimed.

“Stay here and guard. I’ll check it out.”

Sebastian ordered.

With that, he picked up the sword and entered the darkness.

…

It was a typical underground passage in a noble’s castle. However, as Sebastian ventured deeper, he realized it was more than it seemed.

The passage connected to a network of others beneath the surface, forming a vast underground city.

These brick-lined passages appeared ancient. Even with his centuries of experience, Sebastian couldn’t pinpoint its exact age.

As he went deeper, he found more thorny rose marks at intervals, guiding him further.

After an unknown time, he reached a spacious underground chamber.

Before him lay a grand underground palace.

No, it couldn’t simply be called a palace.

Sebastian’s heart stirred as he gazed at the ancient, towering wall engraced with murals depicting towers and war scenes, and the dilapidated statue at the palace’s front.

“Is this… an underground temple?”

Sebastian took a deep breath and searched for divine symbols, trying to identify which God this ancient temple belonged to.

Surprisingly, all the places where symbols should be had been intentionally erased.

During his search, he found another thorny rose mark.

Without a word, he followed the marks deeper into the temple, arriving at an ancient stone gate.

The enormous gate, at least twenty meters high, was adorned with blurred carvings and grooves emitting a strong scent of blood.

Sebastian spotted remnants of blood in the grooves. At the center of the gate was a freshly carved demon eye symbol, obscuring what was previously there.

“This is…”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.

“The mark of the Blood Demon Archduke…”

“Heh, who knew? There’s an ancient temple still here in the north. No wonder those Blood Demon Cultists are up to something.”

A lazy voice from behind startled Sebastian.

Instinctively, he drew his weapon and turned to see a handsome young man in black.

” Bloodborne?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the man’s crimson eyes. The young man smiled and sized up Sebastian.

“Red hair, tailcoat. You must be Sebastian, Countess Castell’s steward.”

“Nice to meet you, Sir Sebastian. You may call me Yurst.”