Gospel of Blood-Chapter 603 : The Sun Temple’s Conspiracy

One of them had already reached the pinnacle of power, while the other, though less powerful, excelled in various strange and esoteric magic, making the infiltration of the Inquisition relatively easy.

However, despite their prior expectations, they had not anticipated that the dungeon they intended to infiltrate was merely the tip of the iceberg in this underground world of the Holy City!

“No wonder our master instructed us to investigate quietly! The District Nine Inquisition’s dungeon is probably just one of the entrances. Judging by the direction of these passages, I suspect that most of the Holy City’s Inquisitions are connected to this place…”

“Indeed, the situation is more serious than we imagined. Over the years, the Inquisitions have acted extremely aggressively, arbitrarily accusing and capturing the extraordinary. Now it seems the Inquisitions in the Theocracy have entirely fallen under the influence of the Sun Temple.”

“They must be orchestrating something even bigger! If we calculate it correctly, our master should have already diverted their attention. We must seize this time gap and quickly delve into the core area!”

Sebastian and Nice quickly reached a consensus.

Following the passage, they continued deeper into the complex, eventually reaching its end.

At the end of the passage lay a vast underground ruin.

No, more precisely, it was a dilapidated temple.

The edges of this temple did not align with the surrounding passages, as if they belonged to two different worlds, or as if this area had been cut out from somewhere else.

However, the two did not focus on the ruins but rather on the countless cells that filled the space.

These cells, based on the ruins, extended into the darkness beyond, and from what they could see by the dim torchlight, the number of cells alone could reach into the thousands, not to mention those hidden in the deeper darkness.

Low growls echoed from the darkness, rising and falling, impossible to count, and within that darkness, countless blood-red, frenzied eyes made their scalps tingle with fear.

Sebastian’s expression changed.

“This aura… it’s bloodbornes! Thousands of bloodbornes are imprisoned here! We haven’t encountered any bloodbornes since entering the Yunette Peninsula, and now we know they’ve all been locked up here! Wait… their condition…”

“They’ve been turned into blood fiends, likely forced into this state by activating the curse in their bloodline!”

Nice remarked solemnly.

As he spoke, he closely examined the dilapidated temple. After a moment, he suddenly realized.

“Wait! I understand now! This place… it’s the one!”

“Oh? What did you discover?”

Sebastian asked, intrigued.

“The Ancient Temple! This must be the ancient temple discovered in the Theocracy! According to the chronicles of the Holy Court, the first ancient temple of the True Ancestor was discovered in the Theocracy, and it was the largest of all the ancient temples, even hailed as the core of all the palaces!”

Nice explained.

“The first ancient temple discovered by the Theocracy?”

Sebastian was taken aback and then asked.

“I recall you mentioning before that the ancient temples discovered in the Theocracy had all been destroyed?”

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“It seems they weren’t destroyed after all. The Sun Temple must have intercepted them. The Sun Temple’s infiltration of the Theocracy… is likely deeper and older than even the Wisdom Artifact suspects!”

Nice said gravely.

Sebastian quickly noticed the massive altar in the center of the ruined temple.

It was an enormous altar, over forty meters tall, almost reaching the ceiling of the underground space.

Beneath the altar was a large blood pool filled with black-red blood.

Intricate, mysterious arrays and runes spread out from the altar and the blood pool, extending in all directions, ultimately connecting to the cells of this underground world.

And at the very center of the array was a symbol the two were all too familiar with—a demon eye embedded with an inverted triangle.

“This is… the symbol of the Blood Demon Archduke? Why is the Blood Demon Archduke’s symbol here? Is this a sacrificial array… could it belong to the Blood Demon Archduke?”

Sebastian was momentarily stunned.

Nice’s gaze also fell upon the altar.

He looked solemn, and as he carefully studied the overwhelmingly complex array, his expression grew increasingly peculiar.

“No… this isn’t an ordinary sacrificial array… This is a directional sacrificial and summoning array!”

“A directional sacrificial and summoning array?”

Sebastian frowned, his expression slightly unusual.

“Wait… the Sun Temple intends to summon the Blood Demon Archduke in person?”

He couldn’t help but find this amusing.

The Blood Demon Archduke, as a bloodborne, is naturally suppressed by the True Ancestor.

If the Sun Temple planned to summon the Blood Demon Archduke to fight the True Ancestor, it would be akin to delivering themselves as sacrificial lambs.

As for why the Blood Demon Cult’s altar was here, after a moment’s thought, he was no longer surprised.

Since the high-ranking members of the Theocracy were largely controlled by the Sun Temple, it was likely that the Blood Demon Cult, an organization with even less structure, had been thoroughly infiltrated by them as well.

Going a step further, Sebastian wouldn’t be surprised if the mad Blood Demon Archduke himself had joined forces with the Sun Temple.

“Be careful. Let’s move closer and take a look, but make sure our identities aren’t compromised.”

Nice whispered.

The two of them soon pretended to be patrolling, quietly approaching the altar.

There were quite a few Sun followers patrolling the area, so they did not draw too much attention.

As they got closer to the altar and saw things more clearly, their expressions turned grave.

They saw a set of armor.

It was a majestic suit of armor, intricately decorated, radiating an ancient and timeworn aura.

The armor was located at the center of the array, seemingly the focal point of the summoning, and its helmet was adorned with exquisite elven runes.

“Wait… isn’t this ‘Zerora’s Salvation’? What’s it doing here?”

Sebastian was startled.

“Zerora’s Salvation? That legendary artifact forged to combat bloodbornes?”

Nice asked, intrigued.

Sebastian nodded, his expression turning solemn.

“Yes, that’s the one. When I was on Luna Island, I saw its description in an ancient book. This armor matches the depiction exactly.”

Nice seemed to ponder this.

“I’ve heard of it too. It’s said to have been crafted by Zerora, the greatest craftsman in Elven history, and is considered one of the most powerful artificial artifacts of the Elves. Its ability is simple—severing the power of bloodbornes.”

He paused, then looked around at the sacrificial and summoning array.

“Legend has it that Zerora’s Salvation can even block the divine power of the True Ancestor. Could it be… the Sun Temple plans to use it to give the summoned Blood Demon Archduke the power to oppose the True Ancestor?”

“That’s very possible! Our master’s power hasn’t fully recovered yet, and with other artifacts the Sun Temple might have prepared, she could indeed be in danger!”

Sebastian’s expression grew serious.

“No! We must report to the True Ancestor immediately! We might even need to invoke divine intervention!”

“Wait… invoke divine intervention?”

“Yes. You noticed earlier that this ancient temple is out of sync with its surroundings, likely transferred here from another space. Each ancient temple has its own unique subspace, meaning they can be relocated. This ancient temple seems to have been moved before, likely by the Sun Temple to ensure the success of their ritual. They have the power to move this area, and now that our master has likely alerted them, we cannot afford to let the Sun Temple have the chance to activate the sacrificial summoning or move this place again!”

Nice explained.

Having said this, he began to silently invoke Charlotte’s name.

However… there was no response.

“Wait, I can’t seem to connect with Lady Charlotte.”

Nice said with a look of alarm.

“Neither can I. My blood contract seems to be suppressed.”

Sebastian replied, his brow furrowing.

The two exchanged a glance, and their expressions suddenly changed.

“This isn’t good! We need to retreat, now!”

They moved to retreat almost simultaneously, but the next moment, they both collided with an invisible barrier.

A raspy, amused voice echoed in the darkness.

“Heh, it seems some clever little mice have snuck in.”

The dim torchlight flickered, and from the shadows, a hunched figure slowly emerged.

It was Chief Judge Francesco.