Chapter 332: Two Choices

A crimson radiance, distinct from the power of corruption, emerged.

It was deep, pure, mysterious, and vast.

The moment it burst forth, everyone, including the Blood Demon Priest who was conducting the God Descent Ritual, felt an ancient and timeless will descending.

A pressure originating from bloodborne power rose. The Blood Demon Priest felt as if his existence had been locked onto by an indescribable, terrifying entity. His bloodborne power surged uncontrollably, as if dominated by something even more terrifying.

It felt as though his extraordinary power was no longer his own…

"This… this power is…! No! This is impossible!"

As if realizing something, the Blood Demon Priest's expression changed dramatically, staring in horror at the crimson radiance.

He tried to turn and flee but was horrified to find his bloodborne power suddenly rebelling, no longer obeying his commands.

His brain ordered his body to escape, but his bloodborne power restrained his physical movements.

He attempted to activate the demon eye mark within his soul, seeking help from the Blood Demon Archduke.

However, upon sensing his power, he was terrified to discover his connection to the Blood Demon Archduke had been completely severed.

No, it wasn't simply severed but blocked and cut off from a higher realm!

Simultaneously, pressure like that felt by subjects before a monarch surged through his body, making his body tremble uncontrollably.

With the trembling came an instinctual emotion of reverence and submission from deep within his soul…

The Blood Demon Priest's fear deepened.

Under the crimson radiance, he felt himself rapidly losing control over his body.

It wasn't just physical control he was losing but control at the soul level.

He could clearly feel that under this radiance, he was rapidly losing his sense of self!

No…

It wasn't just about losing his sense of self.

Looking at his gradually transparent body under the crimson radiance, seeing his form disintegrate like broken photons, and the bloodborne power being absorbed by the crimson light, a flash of realization crossed his terrified eyes.

"This is… the power of… devouring…"

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in an instant, his entire body disintegrated like shattered clouds.

At the same time, the crimson radiance grew even brighter.

"The True Ancestor! It's the power of the True Ancestor!"

Feeling the boiling bloodborne power, Yurst's eyes widened.

He looked at the black cat in the crimson radiance with disbelief, his aura becoming increasingly mysterious and unfathomable.

Though he was merely a black cat, in Yurst's vision, it seemed he had transcended time, seeing a beautiful figure seated high on the Blood Throne.

That beautiful figure seemed to sense his gaze, glancing at him lightly with a smile.

In that instant, Yurst felt his consciousness blur, his entire mental world seemingly slowing down.

When his will cleared again, most of the crimson radiance had receded, and the world had returned to normal.

The Blood Demon Priest had vanished along with the dispersal of the crimson light.

Also gone was his incomplete God Descent Ritual.

Meanwhile, the terrifyingly corrupted Black Dragon was imprisoned in a crimson cage of light.

Though still struggling and roaring, it was helpless under the radiance.

All the bloodbornes around knelt, including Yurst himself, who didn't even realize when he had knelt.

Their target of reverence was the speaking black cat.

However, at this moment, the black cat's demeanor had completely changed.

He was now free, and his amber eyes transformed into a stunning crimson, vastly different from before.

Yurst instantly felt a mysterious connection to the cat and a stirring of his bloodborne power upon seeing it.

He took a deep breath, preparing to salute the black cat, but someone was quicker.

"Praise you, great Master! May your crimson light shine upon the world!"

Sebastian stepped forward, bowing skillfully, his posture impeccable, his gaze reverent, his expression devout.

The fluidity of his actions made him seem less like a proud elf and more like a seasoned sycophant.

Yurst: …

Bah! This groveling sycophant! What perfect timing!

Muttering a curse under his breath, he bowed deeply with the most ancient, standard, and respectful bloodborne etiquette he knew, towards the black cat.

"Praise to you, the Source of the Bloodborne, the Eternal Night Monarch, the Master of Darkness, the Supreme True Ancestor…"

"Your humble descendant, Yurst, offers you the highest respect…"

After speaking, Yurst bowed again and respectfully said,

"Great True Ancestor, please forgive Yurst's poor eyesight for not recognizing your identity earlier…"

But just as he finished speaking, he heard Sebastian chuckle beside him.

Frowning, Yurst looked over to see the elf, also imbued with powers, looking at him strangely, chuckling lightly.

"Sir Yurst, you might have misunderstood. Our Master's form is not as you imagine. Master is merely possessing Nice's body at the moment."

"Hey, Master's form is elegant and beautiful. Right now, she merely descended by possessing Nice's body."

Sebastian shook his head, almost flaunting the pride and superiority of having seen the true form of the True Ancestor of Blood.

However, Yurst's attention was elsewhere.

Wait…

Possession?

He stared blankly at the black cat with deep breaths, and this time, he finally noticed the faint thorny rose symbol on the cat's forehead.

This was… the True Ancestor's divine symbol!

Yurst was momentarily stunned, his expression quickly turning awkward.

As a bloodborne, he knew what it meant for a divine symbol to appear on a forehead—this indicated that the black cat before him was a pet marked by the True Ancestor!

By the True Ancestor!

He had mistaken the True Ancestor's possessed pet for the True Ancestor herself!

"Sorry, Progenitor, I misidentified your presence…"

Yurst spoke fearfully.

"You were unaware of the relationship between Nice and me. No need for apologies."

The black cat spoke elegantly.

Its voice was no longer the hoarse, low male voice but a clear, ethereal female tone, identical to the voice Yurst heard during his first summoning.

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Yurst was now completely certain that the entity controlling the black cat was indeed the returned True Ancestor.

But…

Nice?

Is this black cat named Nice?

Yurst's mind raced.

Wait…

If he remembered correctly, the Blood Demon Priest who was killed by the True Ancestor earlier had called it… Sir Nicholas?

Wait!

Nicholas?!

As he pieced things together, Yurst's eyes widened, looking at the black cat again, hesitant to speak.

However, Charlotte, now possessing Nice, was no longer focused on him.

Experimenting with Nice's body, Charlotte was amazed.

After possession, she could clearly sense that manipulating the blood divine power through Nice's body was almost identical to using her own!

She finally understood why the Blood Demon Priest intended to use Nice's body as a vessel to summon the Blood Demon Archduke.

This body was indeed very suitable.

Although it was a cat's body, it had an exceptionally high compatibility with divine power, almost as if it was designed to be a vessel for God's descent.

Even she had managed a long-distance divine descent with minimal effort.

She didn't know how Nice managed it, but this was definitely not his original body.

Curiously exploring the body for a while, Charlotte decided to confront Nice later to see if she could learn how to create such a remarkable body.

Then, she looked up at the still-imprisoned black dragon.

"Great Master, this black dragon has been corrupted by the Blood Demon Archduke's power. What should we do?"

Sebastian asked respectfully.

Corrupted, huh…

Charlotte looked at the struggling black dragon within the crimson cage, deep in thought.

She gracefully approached the cage, using her blood divine power to sense the dragon, and was surprised to find that the dragon's sanity was not completely eroded.

Although she was in a frenzy and her body nearly transformed into an undead dragon, deep within her soul, a battle between the corruption and her original sanity continued, with corruption currently having the upper hand.

In other words, the black dragon could still be saved, and with the Gospel of Blood, Charlotte had the means to do so.

But unlike the "devouring" ability she used to kill the Blood Demon Priest, the black dragon was not part of the bloodborne, and the battle against the corruption was at a soul level.

While Charlotte wielded divine power comparable to that of a God, her understanding of its use was still rudimentary.

Perhaps she could crush the black dragon's soul with overwhelming power, but saving it… that required a delicate touch she might not possess. Even if she could, the effort would be substantial.

On the other hand, another straightforward choice was to devour the dragon's bloodline power…

Dragons were powerful, and their bloodline could significantly enhance her own strength.

Although it wouldn't bring her to the level of the Blazing Sun, it would greatly enhance her abilities, especially the dragon blood's potential to improve her sunlight tolerance.

This was crucial for Charlotte, who was not a true God. Without using the divine power from the Gospel of Blood, sunlight could easily harm her.

This was a significant drawback, especially now that she was a Northern Lord and would need to appear under sunlight frequently.

Should she expend divine power to save the dragon and gain a powerful ally?

Or should she devour her power to enhance her own strength?

Charlotte pondered.

Divine-enhanced thinking was swift, and Charlotte quickly concluded.

Devouring the dragon's power would indeed strengthen her, but not enough to reach the Blazing Sun tier.

However, if she could subdue the dragon, she would gain a Blazing Sun combatant, a force that could openly participate in conflicts.

Moreover, having the dragon as an ally could provide a steady supply of dragon blood.

This was far superior to the extraordinary blood provided by Sebastian.

Over time, she could still enhance her strength by absorbing dragon blood, and sustainably so!

But this required the dragon's complete submission, whether willingly or through a contract like Nice's.

With this in mind, Charlotte stepped forward, approaching the black dragon.

"I am very interested in her. Let's save her."

She said, then used her blood divine power to float up, descending before the black dragon's head.

She extended Nice's plump paw through the crimson cage, placing it on the dragon's head.

In her mind, the Gospel of Blood radiated intensely.

Charlotte quickly connected with the dragon's mental world.

In her vision, the surroundings shattered, replaced by a dilapidated mining area.

"This is… the Castel silver mine?"

Charlotte was surprised by the scene.

This was the dragon's mental world.

A mental world's manifestation often relates to its owner's deepest memories.

Charlotte looked around and soon found the dragon's consciousness.

In the dragon's mental world, her consciousness or soul remained that of a black dragon.

However, she was unconscious, surrounded by black-red sludge, corrupted almost entirely.

The black-red sludge represented the Blood Demon Archduke's corruption power, one of Myria's most insidious powers.

Yet, to Charlotte with the Gospel of Blood, it posed no threat.

She approached the "black dragon", extending her hand, and the sludge melted away like snow meeting fire, transforming into pure blood divine power that she absorbed.

Simultaneously, a flood of memories surged into her consciousness as she purified the dragon…