Gospel of Blood

Time rewinds to before Charlotte’s rescue.

When Charlotte first learned from Harald that Lilith had been captured by the followers of the God of Abomination and Deformity, she immediately knew it was a trap.

The reason was simple: Lilith and Harald were the pillars of the Free City-State. As the two most powerful extraordinary, their presence had allowed the city-state to withstand the Gods’ assaults.

While Lilith and Harald believed their extraordinary abilities and the artifacts left by the elves enabled them to resist the Gods, Charlotte, who was already a Demigod, had a different perspective.

After staying behind and personally “assessing” the two’s strengths, she concluded that although they were indeed strong, it would still be quite challenging for them to contend with divine entities.

In the past, the Free City-State could fend off the Gods’ followers because the Gods themselves hadn’t intervened directly. If they had, Charlotte estimated that neither Lilith nor Harald could have resisted.

Clearly, the city’s survival wasn’t solely due to the duo’s powerful abilities. It seemed the Gods were wary of something or waiting for a particular moment, hence their reluctance to intervene.

Thus, when Charlotte received the news of Lilith’s capture from Harald, though her heart sank, she wasn’t entirely surprised.

Lilith’s power far surpassed the followers of the God of Abomination and Deformity. If followers alone couldn’t capture her, the Gods must have intervened.

The Gods definitely had the capability to deal with the duo. Their previous inaction was likely due to some unknown reason.

Charlotte didn’t know that reason, but she understood why the Gods were acting now. The only recent variable in the Free City-State was herself.

Having captured the most powerful extraordinary, it made no sense to let the weaker ones go.

The fact that an extraordinary warrior returned with the news was evidently a trap, and it was clear who it was intended for.

The trap was obviously set for Charlotte.

Both Charlotte and Harald could see through this. Although Harald didn’t fully realize the Gods’ past leniency towards the city-state, he understood the power gap between Lilith and the followers of the other Gods.

The message brought back indicated that Lilith was captured during the fight, not as a rear guard.

The followers exhibited unprecedented power, which couldn’t have been their own and had to be God-given. Capturing Lilith but allowing the messenger to escape made the situation obvious to anyone.

Therefore, when Harald reported to Charlotte, he also suggested it was likely a trap for her.

But Charlotte still came. Knowing the trap was set for her gave her no reason to avoid it. To save Lilith, she felt she had to go, even if it was a trap.

But Charlotte didn’t come recklessly.

During her previous battle with the God of Abomination and Deformity, she realized she had underestimated her own power.

Though Alador had a deeper divine power reserve, Charlotte’s power quality was superior.

This might mean that while Charlotte’s divine power reserve was smaller, her combat strength in short bursts could potentially surpass her opponent’s. This realization dawned on Charlotte after Alador retreated. Her clash with Alador confirmed this.

Charlotte was surprised at her own prowess in a divine battle, able to fight a seasoned Demigod to a standstill and even force a retreat.

Charlotte already knew what kind of trap awaited her when she arrived.

Upon reaching the Silver City, the ancient runes kept flashing.

Although the Gospel of Blood was “sealed”, the divine ritual counter effect remained, allowing her to detect the opponent’s hidden divine ritual from the start.

With this knowledge, Charlotte dared to act decisively, despite knowing her divine power reserve was less than the other Demigods of this era, and confronted the God of Abomination and Deformity.

This was not only out of anger for Lilith’s capture but also to use the situation to her advantage, waiting for the hidden Gods to activate the divine rituals around the Silver City.

The divine rituals —『God Binding Chains』 and 『Prison of Secret Contracts』.

With ancient runes flashing in her vision, Charlotte’s expression remained serene.

When she arrived, the names and information of these rituals had already appeared in her mind.

Divine rituals are special ceremonies using divine power, magnifying its effect and allowing lesser beings to borrow divine strength.

Just like followers using divine power, Gods can use rituals to wield stronger forces than in normal combat, similar to a mage using a magic circle to cast a more potent spell.

Evidently, these two rituals were traps set by the hidden Gods for Charlotte.

God Binding Chains… Prison of Secret Contracts…

These rituals were designed specifically to deal with Gods, used for divine power restraint and spatial imprisonment.

But unfortunately…

If the trap was something else, Charlotte might have weighed the pros and cons and chosen to rescue Lilith and retreat. But since it was divine rituals…

This was precisely what Charlotte feared the least.

In fact, upon discovering the trap was a divine ritual, Charlotte changed her mind.

Charlotte raised her hands lightly.

Golden chains were instantly destroyed, and the dodecahedron imprisoning her was easily erased.

The divine rituals’ shining divine power was swiftly dismantled by her!

Witnessing this unbelievable scene, the God of Secret Contracts, Kul’kan, widened his eyes, filled with incredulity.

“This is… the power of ‘Divine Extinction.’ You possess the power of ‘Divine Extinction’! How is this possible?!”

“You… you… you are not just a divine agent but also one who has touched the forbidden ‘Power of Creation’?!”

“No… this is impossible! They have fallen! Those who peered into the ‘Origin’ have long been punished…”

“Who… who are you? Who are you really? Why do you wield the ‘Power of Creation’?!”

Divine Extinction? Origin? Power of Creation?

And…

“They”?

Seeing the shocked expression of the God of Secret Contracts, Charlotte sensed she might have unintentionally approached the core secrets of the Mythic Era.

But this wasn’t the time to be distracted by these mysteries.

With her divine power surging, Charlotte raised her hands again.

Closing her eyes gently, her divine ritual counter activated further, and her crimson divine power engulfed the rituals around the Silver City.

The terrifying pressure continued to rise, with crimson light gradually covering the sky.

When Charlotte opened her eyes again, phantom chains appeared around her, but this time, they were red.

Golden-red flames burned in her eyes, and phantom runes floated around her.

These runes were identical to those used by the God of Secret Contracts, but with a different core and reversed order.

“Seal…”

“Imprison…”

Charlotte softly uttered the incantations.

In the next moment, golden-red beams shot up, and the red chains reversed their direction, flying towards the God of Abomination and Deformity, Alador, and the God of Secret Contracts, Kul’kan!

“Divine Ritual Counter! This… this is a Divine Ritual Counter!”

The God of Secret Contracts, Kul’kan, was horrified.

With a scream, he unleashed a divine power stronger than Alador’s and fled.

Seeing Kul’kan’s sudden retreat, Alador was stunned but quickly followed suit, attempting to escape.

But it was too late.

To defeat and seal Charlotte, they had prepared divine rituals that would trouble even true Gods. Moreover, Alador had lured Charlotte into the optimal range for the rituals.

These rituals, intended to trap Charlotte, now turned against them after her counter.

Crimson light spread, and the dodecahedron reappeared, this time blocking the two Gods’ escape routes.

Seeing the familiar rituals, Kul’kan’s expression changed drastically.

With a roar, he unleashed a silver light from his forehead, revealing a nearly formed “silver crystal.”

The “silver crystal” shone brightly, and Kul’kan’s divine power surged.

To Charlotte’s amazement, Kul’kan smashed through the Prison of Secret Contracts.

Cracks spread across the “silver crystal”, but Kul’kan continued to unleash divine power, breaking free from the God Binding Chains and swiftly escaping…

In an instant, his figure vanished.

“Was that… a condensing divinity?”

Charlotte pondered as she watched Kul’kan flee.

She didn’t pursue. The rituals were effective only around the Silver City. Beyond that, she couldn’t use them to trap Kul’kan.

Moreover, the power Kul’kan just displayed far exceeded Alador’s. Charlotte wasn’t confident she could capture him.

However…

Though Kul’kan escaped, Alador wasn’t as lucky.

Charlotte shifted her gaze to the ground.

There, the God of Abomination and Deformity was trapped by the God Binding Chains, roaring and crashing within the Prison of Secret Contracts.

But the divine rituals prepared by the God of Secret Contracts were of high quality, and no matter how Alador struggled, he couldn’t break free, with his divine power thoroughly sealed.

He was now imprisoned.

Charlotte coldly looked at Alador, then used her blood divine power to further seal his strength before heading towards Lilith…