Gospel of Blood-Chapter 606 : The "Great Earthquake" in the Theocracy

The fully descended Blood Demon Archduke?

Charlotte frowned slightly.

“Keep all of it safe. There was quite a commotion just now. By my calculations, the Guardian Scepter should be arriving soon.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she sensed a large number of priests and church knights entering the underground palace complex, led by none other than the Guardian Scepter, disguised as Charlotte.

…

The Theocracy experienced another “great earthquake.”

No one had expected that such a vast underground temple complex was hidden beneath the Holy City, nor that the headquarters of the Holy Court would host such a large-scale evil sacrifice.

When Grandmaster Angus of the Templar Knights, Cardinal Selina, and many cardinals arrived at the underground caves, they were all shocked.

And when further investigations by the church knights revealed a list of those involved in the ritual, the entire Holy Court was thrown into chaos.

The list included the Pope Gregory XII, thirteen cardinals, and nearly a hundred other high-ranking clergy members—all of whom had participated in the evil ritual, betraying the Creator God!

This revelation sent shockwaves through the entire church, making it impossible for even the highest church authorities to suppress it.

The fact that the church’s leadership had turned heretic, with a third of the high-ranking clergy in the Holy City fallen into corruption, marked the greatest scandal in the history of the Holy Court.

Grandmaster Angus of the Templar Knights and Cardinal Selina immediately declared a state of emergency in the Holy City. The Cardinal’s assembly quickly announced the excommunication of all heretics, including Pope Gregory XII, and issued arrest warrants for them.

Suddenly, the Holy City was in an uproar again. The Templar Knights and the Inquisition mobilized all their forces, beginning a campaign to hunt down and purge the heretics.

In the days that followed, nearly every day saw the arrest of clergy members, filling the Holy City with tension and replacing the festive atmosphere with one of dread and severity.

…

The Holy Palace, Main Hall

Charlotte sat at the desk that once belonged to the Pope, reviewing the confessions of the heretics sent over by the Templar Knights.

Standing beside her was Sebastian, who had returned to his butler form, and the Guardian Scepter, now in human form and radiating a gentle holy light.

“Your Holiness, these are all the confessions for today.”

Reported Fabio, the deputy grandmaster of the Templar Knights, respectfully.

As he spoke, he curiously glanced at the “old man” standing beside Charlotte.

“Is there still no trace of the high-ranking clergy?”

Charlotte asked.

Fabio shook his head.

“Not yet. Cardinal Selina has found some leads and is currently pursuing them, but there are no results for now.”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

After Pope Gregory XII was excommunicated by the cardinals, Charlotte, as the Saintess who had performed a divine miracle in front of many, temporarily became the de facto leader of the Theocracy.

This did not mean that all clergy had submitted to her, but in a situation where nearly a third of the high-ranking clergy had been exposed as heretics, there was no one else who could maintain order except Charlotte, who was “recognized by the Divine” and possessed great power.

In the current chaos, Charlotte stepped forward at the right moment, gaining the support of both the Templar Knights and the Inquisition, and naturally became the temporary leader.

During this process, the Guardian Scepter naturally stepped into the spotlight.

Its original purpose was to overthrow the church’s traitors, and now that Charlotte had taken control of the situation, it no longer needed to stay hidden. It openly supported Charlotte as a divine artifact of the Creator God.

The Guardian Scepter even took credit for the battle in the underground cavern, leading all clergy to believe that it was the one who defeated the heretics there. Its appearance was portrayed as the Creator God aiding Charlotte due to her piety.

In short, this helped cover up Charlotte’s involvement.

There was no other choice. With nearly a third of the high-ranking members turning traitor, it would be normal for any organization to collapse entirely. Even if it didn’t dissolve, infighting would likely ensue.

In this chaotic time, the “attention” and “blessings” of the Creator God undoubtedly helped soothe the minds of the faithful, which was the significance of the Guardian Scepter revealing its identity as a divine artifact.

Of course, despite such a major event, the fact that the Holy Court was still functioning without internal conflict was mainly because, after Charlotte exposed the traitors, all the high-ranking traitors, including Gregory XII, seemed to have vanished like melted snow.

Charlotte had her suspicions about this, guessing that they were frightened by the power she displayed in the underground cavern.

Although the magic density of the Myria continent could currently only support power up to the peak of Legendary, and although the power of Demigods still couldn’t fully manifest on the continent, the strength Charlotte unleashed during the battle in the underground cavern, aided by holy power, was enough to instill fear in all beings below Demigods.

However, this did not mean that Gregory XII and the others had escaped. It felt more like the calm before the storm.

The disappearance of the traitors likely indicated that they were plotting something even more significant, or more accurately, that the Sun Temple’s plans to deal with Charlotte were still ongoing somewhere in the Holy City.

“How many divine artifacts were taken by the traitors?”

Charlotte asked, putting down the documents.

Deputy Grandmaster Fabio of the Templar Knights hesitated for a moment before replying.

“Aside from the divine artifact ‘Hand of Holiness,’ which belongs to the Pope, and the Inquisition’s divine artifact ‘Myrick Shrine,’ all other divine artifacts have been recovered. However…”

“However what?”

“However, all of the artifacts have lost their spirituality, and the holy power stored within them has nearly drained away, as if it was extracted.”

Spirituality and holy power extracted?

Charlotte frowned slightly.

Spirituality and divine power are the essence of a divine artifact.

Without them, the artifact can no longer be considered divine, at best a holy relic with the foundation of a divine artifact—but one without intelligence.

As for the Hand of Holiness and Myrick Shrine, Charlotte had done her homework in advance. These two artifacts were among the most powerful held by the Holy Court.

The Hand of Holiness is a staff, owned by successive Popes, and symbolizes the highest authority of the Holy Court. It has the power to amplify various spells, including divine magic, curses, and blessings.

Myrick Shrine, on the other hand, is a divine artifact captured by the Holy Court. It comes from an Old God named Myrick from the southern continent and is a rare spatial artifact.

It is said to contain an entire world within, used specifically to imprison high-level extraordinaries, and it even once held a Demigod.

At this thought, Charlotte had a sudden realization.

Could it be… Gregory XII and the others are hiding inside the Myrick Shrine?

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“Have you found the extraordinary items of the bloodborne?”

Charlotte asked again.

Fabio shook his head.

“No, the cursed pages and statues that were supposed to be destroyed during the ceremony are missing.”

Charlotte nodded slightly.

“Keep searching. They shouldn’t have gotten far. No… they should still be within the Holy City! Pay close attention to any signs of the Myrick Shrine. They might be hiding inside it!”

“Understood!”

Fabio stood at attention and saluted.

Then, he hesitated again.

“What is it, Lord Fabio? Is there something else?”

Charlotte noticed his expression.

Fabio hesitated for a moment before saying,

“I do have a question…”

He looked at Charlotte seriously and asked.

“Your Holiness, is God Nyx really a subordinate God of the Creator?”

Charlotte paused, thought for a moment, and replied.

“They are indeed a righteous God and has a close relationship with the Creator Harald.”

Fabio seemed thoughtful and respectfully bowed.

“I… understand.”

With that, he withdrew.

Shortly after Fabio left, another Judgment Knight hurriedly arrived to see Charlotte.

As soon as he saw her, he brought important news.

“Your Holiness! Lady Selina has found a spatial rift in the Third District of the Holy City, preliminarily judged to be the entrance to the Myrick Shrine!”