After Lottie finished feeding Charlotte lunch, she left. As a priestess of the church hospital, she was always busy.
Charlotte was left alone in the ward. But her keen senses told her that a Demon Hunting Knight still stood outside the door. That powerful aura was much more oppressive than the pressure her grandmother had exerted the previous night.
It was clear that although the Demon Hunting Knights had rescued Charlotte, the only survivor, from the cross last night, they had not dispelled their doubts about her. The knight outside was both a protector and a jailer. Even after escaping the blood sacrifice by her "grandmother," the maiden's survival crisis had not fully dissipated.
However, after hearing Priestess Lottie's explanation earlier, Charlotte fell into deep thought: "Divine arts... rituals?"
Divine arts rituals. This was the second time Charlotte had encountered this term. The first time was during the blood sacrifice. She clearly remembered that the ancient words that had appeared in her vision had referred to her grandmother's blood sacrifice as a divine arts ritual. Moreover, she had successfully intercepted and reversed the sacrifice ritual.
It was that sudden mysterious ability that had allowed Charlotte to survive, which led her to imagine... If blood sacrifice was a divine arts ritual, and the physical examination by the Demon Hunting Hall was also a divine arts ritual, then... might she be able to "intercept" the upcoming physical examination just as she had done in the basement last night?
This thought made Charlotte's heart pound wildly. She seemed to see a ray of hope! That mysterious ability was likely the cheat she had gained after transmigrating. However, she still didn't know exactly what this cheat was or how to activate it.
But she still remembered the name mentioned in those strange words at that time. The item that had detected the blood sacrifice and successfully intercepted it... Or more precisely, the blood-red book that had appeared beside her when she entered that wonderful state of overlooking the earth last night.
A throbbing from the depths of her heart welled up... Charlotte almost blurted out: "Blood of the... Sealed."
The cadence was strange, the pronunciation odd. It was not the otherworldly language from the memories she had inherited after transmigrating. More awkward, more ancient, yet it was uttered by her as if by instinct.
And as Charlotte murmured these words, her vision once again turned scarlet. In the depths of her consciousness, an ancient book slowly emerged in her mind...
The black-red cover was inlaid with gold, adorned with complex and mysterious thorny rose patterns. Upon it, in ancient and mysterious characters, was a name that Charlotte could understand—Blood of the Sealed.
Blood of the Sealed! Charlotte's spirit was invigorated. This book that had appeared in her mind was exactly the one that had been by her side when she entered that strange state last night!
The grimoire shone brightly, and its thick cover opened by itself. Unlike its heavy appearance, this Blood of the Sealed seemed to have experienced tearing and fragmentation, with most of its content lost. After the cover, there were only two sporadic blood-red fragments, which looked extremely familiar to Charlotte...
Wait, weren't these fragments the same blood-red pages her grandmother had held during the sacrifice? Charlotte's heart skipped a beat. Countess Castille was dead, and the blood-red fragments in her hand had likely been confiscated by the Demon Hunting Knights. Even though Charlotte was curious and astonished, there was currently no way for her to investigate.
She quickly focused her attention on the grimoire's remaining two pages. One was presumably the title page, and the other was a content page. The title page was still intact, featuring an illustration of a towering castle that seemed to have a life of its own, which looked somewhat familiar to Charlotte. Below the illustration, two lines of beautiful and resplendent golden script stood out:
"I stand in the darkness, gazing up at the light that belongs to you.
—Lilith"
Charlotte couldn't help but murmur these words in her heart. Crimson light instantly bloomed, and in the depths of her consciousness, she felt as if she had established a mysterious connection with the book. Under the light, the title page turned by itself.
Golden light flickered continuously, and a new line of text slowly emerged on the reverse side of the title page—
[Blood of the Sealed · Prologue Chapter]
[I dream of ancient eras and distant memories,
I recount lost myths and primeval progenitors,
I chant the ballads of bloodline descendants and the dawn before darkness...
Prologue Chapter abilities unlocked—
Lord of the Grimoire (activated), Blood Summoning (cooldown 0%), Progenitor Liberation (sealed)]
[Lord of the Grimoire: Charlotte de Castille]
[Symbol: Thorny Rose]
[Race: Bloodline]
[Clan and Bloodline: Shedim (Clan of Darkness), Half-Elf]
[Transcendent Rank: Blood Attendant (Apprentice Tier)]
[Bloodline Resonance: Darkness (introductory), Ferocity (unmastered), Flesh and Blood (unmastered), Spirit (unmastered), Divination (unmastered)]
[Darkness: Basic Blood Embrace Technique (Blood Spirit Arts)]
[Ferocity: None]
[Flesh and Blood: None]
[Spirit: None]
[Divination: None]
[Blood Descendants: 0]
...
Bloodline... she was truly of the Bloodline! Looking at the information before her, Charlotte felt both joy and anxiety. Joy that she had truly stepped into the realm of the transcendent in this otherworld with transcendent powers, but anxiety that this identity was completely unable to see the light...
There was much content that Charlotte couldn't understand. She could only roughly judge that this resembled a system's personal panel. "Blood Summoning? Progenitor Liberation? Are these the grimoire's abilities? One is cooling down, and the other is still sealed?" "Shedim, Clan of Darkness—so this is how Bloodline clans are divided? But what's with the Half-Elf bloodline?" "Apprentice Tier... I seized Countess Castille's power last night, so this should be the level of transcendent power I obtained, but it feels weaker than hers." "Five bloodline resonances—these should be different development directions for the Bloodline."
Charlotte quickly scanned the information, analyzing her current state. She soon focused on the only power she mastered: "Basic Blood Embrace Technique."
As she focused her attention, information about the Blood Embrace Technique emerged in Charlotte's consciousness.
Blood Embrace Technique. An inherent basic ability of the Bloodline, a fundamental spell of the Blood Spirit Arts. The caster can create blood descendants through the Embrace, transforming the target into a blood servant or a lower-rank Bloodline.
"Unfortunately, while this information and these abilities may be useful in the future, they don't help solve my current crisis." "What I need now isn't this, but the mysterious ability to intercept divine arts rituals like last night!"
Charlotte slowly shook her head, withdrew her gaze from the title page, and looked at the only other remaining content page. The content page was blank, with nothing written. However, when Charlotte focused her attention, a line of golden text soon appeared—
[Blood of the Sealed · Divine Chapter (damaged)]
[I shall be unstoppable,
I shall be overbearing,
I shall look down upon all living things!
Divine Chapter abilities unlocked—
Divine Arts Countermeasure (activated)]
[Divine Arts Countermeasure: As the supreme artifact of the Bloodline, Blood of the Sealed possesses the ability to detect divine arts rituals within a certain range (passive), and can intercept and modify ritual patterns of lower levels (active). Ritual modifications must follow the ritual's inherent mechanisms and cannot change the ritual's nature or function.]
"That's it!" Seeing this description, Charlotte's eyes instantly lit up.
Just then, a gentle knock on the door suddenly sounded, interrupting the maiden's exploration. Accompanying the knock was Priestess Lottie's gentle voice: "Miss Charlotte, Captain Kara has returned. May we come in?"