Tome of Blood

Chapter 594-93- Silencing
The walls made of rough stones were covered with mottled moss, and dim torches flickered in the cold air.

The thick iron fence was covered with traces of rust, as if they were the tears of time. In the darkness, the flickering candlelight cast mottled shadows on the gloomy walls, exuding a heavy and depressing atmosphere of despair.

Inquisition, dungeon.

This is the most terrifying and most solid prison cell on the continent of Miriam.

A corner forgotten by the world.

Every brick and tile here is engraved with complex runes and is equipped with magic-banning and surveillance spells. Even a mosquito cannot easily escape from here.

Occasionally, the sound of dragging chains and low groans could be heard from the depths of the darkness, accompanied by angry roars like monsters, which was chilling.

Outside the dungeon, in a dim single cell.

Cardinal Filiberto had disheveled hair and a listless look. His hands and feet were bound with magic-forbidden chains, and he even had a magic iron ring around his neck to seal him.

The holy priest robe he was wearing was also stripped off, leaving only a messy prisoner uniform. He looked as if he had aged by dozens of years.

With the sound of creaking iron bars, the door of the cell was opened, and several judgement knights in black robes walked in.

They stood on both sides, expressionless.

Filiberto raised his head slightly, and his dull and turbid eyes gradually regained a bit of clarity. When he saw the hunched figure walking in under the protection of the Knights of Judgment, a glimmer of hope quickly flashed in his eyes.

"Your Excellency the Grand Judge! Your Excellency the Grand Judge! You are finally here! Are you going to let me out?"

Filiberto rushed up tremblingly and said excitedly.

But the next second, the expressionless Knight of Judgment stood in front of him.

"Your Excellency, Grand Inquisitor?"

Filiberto's eyes widened.

The shadows were dim in the dim torchlight. Chief Inquisitor Francesco also had a blank expression on his face, and his gray pupils were full of coldness:
"Filiberto, do you admit your guilt?"

Filiberto was stunned.

"Your Excellency, the Chief Judge, please stop joking. This is no longer the Holy Palace, and the one from the Blood Clan is not here either. Quickly let me go. Time is running out, and I still have to prepare the divine magic array for the God-Slaying Plan!"

He laughed dryly.

"God-killing Plan? Humph, you still remember the God-killing Plan!"

Chief Inquisitor Francesco snorted coldly, his old voice filled with annoyance and anger:
"You know, because of your impulsiveness, our plan almost failed completely!"

"Because of you, more than half of the priests in the Holy Palace now firmly believe in the identity of the Queen of Falling Star as a saint. Because of you, a loser, our plan to split the faith almost failed! Our plan to seize the artifact was almost exposed! Now I'm afraid even Angus and Selina have begun to doubt us!"

After hearing what the Chief Judge said, Filiberto opened his mouth and stammered:

"But...but I also prepared it according to the order given by Chief Ni..."

"Orders? You still know orders? The order given to you was obviously just to monitor her, why did you take direct action? You even exposed our three legends!"

Francesco said angrily.

Filiberto swallowed his saliva and gritted his teeth and said:
"I... I had no choice. She has noticed my problem. I even felt that she had locked onto me. If I don't take action, she will probably attack me next."

"In that situation, I...I can only take the initiative."

As he spoke, Filiberto raised his head and said:

"As for you, why didn't you and Chief Ni take any action? She didn't bring many guards with her, and she has already stepped into the range of the Holy Palace's magic. If you and Chief Ni had taken action together, we might have captured her!"

"Foolish! That is a god! Not a legend! Even if it has only been a few years since its resurrection, it is still a real god! Moreover, it is the main god who once opened up an era! Doesn't such an existence have a backup plan?! You, a little legend, can't deal with it!"

Francesco cursed.

"But...but..."

Filiberto stammered.

"But bullshit! Even if she hasn't recovered all her divine power, even if her power hasn't broken through the limit, don't forget that Paladin Angus is right next to her, and Demon Hunter Cardinal Selina has also returned to the Holy City. With these two legendary priests holding divine weapons, do you think you can succeed?!"

Francesco roared angrily.

"Then...what should I do? My identity has been exposed. I'm afraid I can't stay in the Holy Palace anymore. My missions haven't been completed yet..."

"Your mission, Chief Ne and I will arrange it. As for you..."

Francesco glanced at Filiberto indifferently and said coldly:

"Her Highness the Saint has announced that you will be put on trial publicly. After seeing the final investigation results, the Cardinals and the priests have taken this very seriously and have proposed a public trial to the Inquisition."

"Public trial? No... Absolutely not! Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor, I absolutely cannot stand a public trial!"

Filiberto widened his eyes and said in fear.

Francesco sneered:
"Of course you cannot stand trial in public. You know too many secrets. Our Lord's plan is about to be completed, and we cannot allow any mistakes to happen at this time. So..."

Francesco smiled gently and continued:
"I am here to see you off for the last time."

"You...you want to kill me? No! You can't kill me! I am a legend! One of the few legends in the temple! A loyal believer of the Lord! You can't kill me!"

Filiberto's eyes widened.

"Of course I know that you are a legend, and of course I know that you are a fanatical believer of our Lord, so... you should just realize your final value as a legend and a fanatical believer!"

Francesco said.

After saying this, he waved slightly to the Judgement Knight behind him.

The Knight of Judgment immediately took action.

Along with messy footsteps, an iron cage covered with seals was pushed over.

Inside the iron cage was a hideous monster imprisoned in chains. It was wearing tattered aristocratic clothing, and was surrounded by black mist. It had sharp fangs and teeth, and its body was covered with swollen tumors. Its horrific face vaguely resembled a human figure.

"Roar--!"

It kept roaring and banging against the bars of the cage.

"Legendary...Legendary Blood Demon?! Francesco! What...what are you going to do?!"

Filiberto looked horrified.

"Don't worry, we will continue the action you expect. Your blood, your flesh, and your soul will become part of our god-killing sword."

Francesco said.

After that, he signaled the knight to open the cage door.

The iron bars opened, and the ferocious monster rushed towards Filiberto like a predator that smelled blood, and quickly knocked him down.

The low roar accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, mixed with Filiberto's shrill screams, echoed far away in the dungeon.

……

Deep inside the Holy Palace, in front of the tall statue of the God of Creation.

The chief archbishop Gregory XII put down the scripture in his hand and ended his prayer.

"Your Excellency Chief, the Grand Inquisitor has arrived."

The accompanying priest said respectfully.

"Let him in."

Gregory XII slowly opened his eyes and spoke gently.

"Your Excellency, Chief."

Grand Inquisitor Francesco, who entered the prayer hall, bowed to him.

Gregory XII glanced at the accompanying priest, who tactfully withdrew, leaving only two legendary priests in the hall.

"Solve it?"

Gregory XII asked.

Francesco nodded:
"Solved, Filiberto, and the three legends who were promoted have been fed to the sacrifice."

"What a shame. It's not easy to train four legends."

Gregory XII sighed.

Francesco said in a deep voice:

"There's nothing we can do about it. If that person hadn't already arrived at the Holy Palace, there would be a risk of being discovered. Otherwise, we would have had four extra legendary sacrifices."

"It's almost the same, just the icing on the cake. Our sacrifices are enough, so we should not make any mistakes at this last moment."

Gregory XII said.

"Your Excellency, Chief, how are the Demon Hunting Institute and the Knights Templar handling this matter? They should be investigating Filiberto's death, and... that 'Saint' will probably be paying attention to this, too."

Francesco asked.

Gregory XII glanced at the shining statue of the god and said:

"Push those believers who abandoned the faith of the royal court out as scapegoats. Someone has to be held accountable for their deaths. This can also divert the attention of the Templars, Demon Hunters, and that guy Luo Xing."

"Push them out? Your Majesty, although they have lost the faith in the royal court, they are all devout believers of our Lord! Moreover... most of them are fanatical believers!"

Francesco couldn't help but remind him.

"Yes, they are indeed devout believers of our Lord, but don't forget that from the moment they abandoned the faith of the royal court, no matter how fanatical their faith in our Lord was, they had already lost the meaning of their existence."

Gregory XII said calmly.

After saying this, he looked at the Chief Inquisitor Francesco and said with a smile:
"Your Excellency, Grand Inquisitor, do you know what the most wrong thing Filiberto did was?"

"It's...what?"

Francesco asked.

"He was the one who betrayed the faith of the 'God of Creation'."

Gregory XII said.

He stroked the Royal Court Sacred Scripture in his hand and said calmly:
"Never forget that we are believers of our Lord, but also believers of the 'Creator God'. Our Lord chose us not because of how fanatical our faith is, but because of our identity as holy believers."

"The faith of our Lord cannot be forgotten, but the faith of the 'Lord of Creation' cannot be betrayed either. Only in this way... can we help our Lord take everything that belongs to Him!"