Chapter 354: Eternal Sacred Realm

Since her transmigration, Charlotte has become quite familiar with the Gospel of Blood.

This Bloodborne's supreme artifact manifests as a book, with skills described in written form. Many skills, when used, are also displayed visually, much like the 'system' in her previous life.

Especially the ability 『Divine Ritual Counter』 that Charlotte activated at the beginning of her transmigration. Every time it was used, it would display text.

But now, there was none.

Charlotte looked at her body.

Although she had just been engulfed by the divine power of the Blood Demon Archduke, she was unharmed, not even a crease on her noble gown.

It was as if… the stinging pain she felt when engulfed by the divine power was just an illusion.

Wait…

An illusion?

Charlotte's heart stirred, and she suddenly had a bold guess.

She tried to communicate with the Gospel of Blood and contact the Dark Night Castle, but she found she couldn't enter her mental world.

The Dark Night Castle… had vanished.

As if it had never existed.

At this moment, Charlotte finally realized more was amiss. It wasn't just the 『Divine Ritual Counter』 that felt off.

More accurately, it was the Gospel of Blood itself that had a problem.

Charlotte recalled the "Crimson Star Sea" she used to detect bloodborne when she first entered the banquet hall.

She was multitasking and hadn't entered the Dark Night Castle for Blood Summoning, she had just thought about it and it naturally unfolded.

No… that's not right.

The Crimson Star Sea is an ability attached to Blood Summoning, without performing a Blood Summoning, it shouldn't be possible to unfold it.

The Dark Night Castle couldn't be summoned…

The Divine Ritual Counter had no text description.

All these anomalies converged, finally allowing Charlotte to grasp the truth.

"This is an illusion…"

She murmured to herself.

An illusion!

Unknowingly, she had been pulled into an illusion by someone using mental magic!

And it was probably an illusion constructed from her own mental world!

Because it was an illusion, the Divine Ritual Counter was fake, so it didn't appear as usual.

Because it was her own mental world, the Dark Night Castle, which was her mental world manifestation, naturally couldn't be summoned!

Thinking this, Charlotte looked again at the "Blood Demon Archduke" in front of her.

Ancient and vast divine power surrounded her, and the evil and terrifying divine might was like an abyss and ocean.

However, once Charlotte calmed down, she noticed the various flaws of the "Blood Demon Archduke" before her.

Charlotte vividly remembered the scene when the flame demon Valaroka broke free.

At that time, the entire sky seemed to be burning, an apocalyptic scene…

But now, despite being a stronger bloodborne myth than Valaroka, the entire banquet hall remained intact.

Charlotte didn't believe this was a demonstration of the myth's perfect control over his power because the other had already unleashed his divine power, and when it was unleashed, it was impossible not to damage an ordinary building.

Unless… this was an illusion.

"True Ancestor of Blood, where is your power? Have you given up resisting?"

The "Blood Demon Archduke" roared, looking down at her.

But Charlotte remained calm.

She raised her head, looking at the "Blood Demon Archduke", and squinted slightly.

She didn't know who had trapped her in this illusion.

But since it was camouflaged with her mental world, it naturally wanted to obtain information from her.

Or… make her do something.

Recalling the other's attack on her and the current high-handed provocation…

Charlotte… probably already knew what it was.

"It's True Ancestor's Liberation… the person creating the illusion wants me to perform True Ancestor's Liberation!"

"No… more accurately, they want to see me release the blood divine power!"

Thinking this, Charlotte looked at the "Blood Demon Archduke" with complete calm.

Now that she knew the illusion's purpose, she didn't need to use the power of True Ancestor's Liberation.

Next, she needed to find a way to break free from this illusion.

The "Blood Demon Archduke" seemed enraged by Charlotte's attitude.

Vast divine power suddenly erupted, plunging the entire banquet hall into a dark red world.

"True Ancestor of Blood! Release your power! Fight me!"

He roared angrily.

Charlotte shook her head.

"You are not the Blood Demon Archduke, you… are just an illusionary shadow."

"Roar—!"

The Blood Demon Archduke roared in anger.

The dark red divine power erupted again, transforming into scorching lava, rushing towards Charlotte.

Charlotte remained motionless.

She quietly watched the lava formed by the divine power approaching, watched it engulf her body, and watched her body burn in the flames.

However, when the flames dissipated, she was still intact.

An illusion was just an illusion.

Perhaps when she was unaware it was an illusion, she might have been harmed, but once she realized it was a false world, she could no longer be affected.

With this thought, Charlotte no longer paid attention to the "myth" in front of her but began searching for a way to exit this illusion.

Given the circumstances, there are many ways to leave an illusion.

The simplest and most direct way is to break it with her mental power.

But Charlotte didn't plan to use such a method.

Her mental power wasn't particularly strong, and if she wanted to use this method, she would still have to use the blood divine power.

Knowing the illusion's purpose, she no longer intended to use the blood divine power.

Besides this method, another way is to find the source of the illusion, the intersection of the illusion and reality, and then wake up on her own.

Thinking this, Charlotte began to ponder.

When did she fall into the illusion?

Meeting the young noble?

Stepping into the banquet hall?

Or… entering the manor?

No…

It was probably earlier.

This illusion wasn't perfect. Thinking back, it had many flaws, and Charlotte needed to find the initial flaw.

Charlotte thought again of 『Divine Ritual Counter』.

As the master of the Gospel, the power Charlotte could genuinely wield was far beyond her own, and any attack on her could trigger the Gospel of Blood's counter.

Especially in the mental world.

Charlotte's mental world was clearly protected by the Gospel of Blood. Even the mental interference of a Blood Duke couldn't succeed, so only a force stronger than the Blood Duke could trap her in an illusion.

That would be divine ritual.

A divine ritual so powerful that it rendered the Gospel of Blood's 『Divine Ritual Counter』 ineffective.

So… when was the last time the 『Divine Ritual Counter』 didn't display a text description?

Charlotte fell into thought.

She soon had the answer.

"The church…"

Charlotte murmured, her gaze becoming clearer.

"It's the church, it was when I visited the church yesterday…"

"Or more accurately, when I entered the prayer room and met the Diocese Archbishop!"

Charlotte's memory quickly flew to yesterday, to the Lutecia Cathedral, to the moment she stepped into the prayer room.

She saw the Archbishop of the Crescent Diocese, felt the dazzling holy power radiating from him, her 『Divine Ritual Counter』 activated itself, and she was unharmed under the holy light…

At that moment, she saw… the sun!

Charlotte suddenly looked up, gazing out the window.

A blazing sun rose, illuminating the darkness.

The Blood Demon Archduke was gone, the dark red divine power was gone, and even the banquet hall was gone.

Golden sunlight bathed the world, and Charlotte's vision was filled with a radiant sun and a white expanse.

Burning pain spread throughout her body, accompanied by intense dizziness, and familiar blood-red text floated before her eyes—

["Gospel of Blood" detects an ongoing divine ritual—]

[Spell Name: Eternal Sacred Realm]

[Caster: Bernard de Champagne]

[Recipient: Charlotte de Castell]

[Ritual Effect: The solidified divine magic of God Harald's artifact, "Eternal Sun", capable of drawing the target into an illusionary world constructed from their mental world.]

[Intercept?]