Tome of Blood

Chapter 597-96- That is not true faith, it is an evil god!
The Knight of Trial's promise was fulfilled within a few days.

On the first day of the second month, the trainee knights from the Ninth District Inquisition personally delivered 300 quintana temple offerings to the orphanage.

300 Quintana...

This is equivalent to the annual income of six ordinary families in the Holy City. It is also a huge sum of money for the Grey Swan Orphanage, enough to support their operation for two months.

If Susan's monthly donation of 60 quintanas is added, the orphanage can even further expand the scale of its assistance and provide black bread to more homeless poor people.

But Susan wasn't happy.

In the Holy Royal Court, the monthly salary of an apprentice clergyman is 15 golds. After entering the rank, it will triple or quadruple to about 5-60 golds. After becoming a Silver Moon, it can nearly double again to 100 golds.

From the time when the brother and sister were discovered to have an affinity for divine power, Daniel showed a stronger talent and was promoted to Silver Moon one step ahead of Susan, becoming the greatest support of the Grey Swan Orphanage.

However, even for Silver Moon, even for a Knight of Judgment, a month's income is far from reaching 300 Gold.

Susan is very hopeful that the financial situation of the Grey Swan Orphanage can improve.

But it shouldn't be in such a worrying way.

"This is definitely not a true offering, Bell. I know you are a knight brought up by your brother. Tell me the truth, what is your brother doing?"

"Sister Susan, Captain Daniel is a knight valued by the Priest Group. In addition to the normal offerings, the rest are subsidies issued by the Priest Group."

"Subsidy from the High Priestess? This... is impossible. My brother is no longer..."

"What's wrong, captain?"

"No...nothing..."

"Sister Susan, don't worry! The captain is upright and aboveboard. These quintana are his legal income. I heard that the captain was selected to be part of the Saint's guard team! He was chosen by High Priest Filiberto!"

"Saint... Saint Lady?"

"Yes, it's the Queen of Falling Stars, Charlotte of Castel. You must have heard of her, right?"

"Ok, I know."

"Right, right, everyone in the Holy City knows her. Although there are many rumors about her, I have a distant relative who works in the Castel Mine and has seen her display divine power with his own eyes! Not only that, I heard that she has elven blood and is as beautiful as an angel. There is even a portrait of her collected in the Holy Palace, but unfortunately I have never had the chance to see it."

Speaking of the upcoming visit of the Saint, the trainee knight was quite excited.

Susan's expression was a little complicated.

As a priest, Susan had of course heard of the various rumors about the saint.

Not only that, because of the influence of her brother Daniel, she even paid special attention and learned more.

For example, the origin of the portrait in the Holy Palace is said to be that when Charlotte of Castel was performing miracles in the Crescent Kingdom, she was painted by a passing painter and later presented to the Holy Palace.

For example, regarding the rumors about the saint and the heretical sect, Daniel once said that the queen of the fallen star had a close relationship with the vampires and was likely even a vampire herself.

Susan didn't know which of the news was true and which was false.

The adult world is always full of lies, and only the faith in one’s heart is the final pure land.

But what Susan knew was that her brother was hostile to the "saint", and she knew that her brother's faith was no longer devout.

And yet...even under these circumstances, he was still selected for the Guard.

Is this my brother's decision?

Is this the decision of the Tribunal?

Is this... the decision of the cardinals?
What is my brother going to do...

What exactly do the Inquisition and the High Priestess want to do?
Thinking back to her brother's anger when he talked about the church, and his hostility when he talked about the saint, Susan felt more and more uneasy.

She knew that her brother had embraced "heresy".

But she has always thought that this kind of "heresy" is most likely just a "sect" within the church that does not agree with the current mainstream beliefs.

The evidence is that his brother still loves light, still advocates justice, and still yearns for the sun that symbolizes the sacredness.

This kind of "sect" is not uncommon in history. Although it is contrary to mainstream beliefs, it is harmless, so the royal court often turns a blind eye to it.

But now it seems... that is not the case.

"No... No, I have to see my brother again!"

Susan murmured.

Susan never met Daniel again.

"Lord Daniel? He was transferred by the High Priest Group. It seems he is participating in the training of the Guards."

"Daniel... I haven't seen him for a few days. Maybe he was sent on some mission again?"

"Don't worry Susan, when I see that brat, I'll tell him you're looking for him."

As the days passed, the celebratory atmosphere of the change-of-power ceremony in the Holy City grew stronger and stronger.

Chief priests from other dioceses arrived one after another, and the number of priests and nobles in the city increased.

But Susan never heard from her brother again.

"He serves as the Saint's guard. When the Saint arrives, I will definitely be able to find him!"

Susan thought so.

But when the famous saint finally arrived in the holy city, Susan... still didn't find her brother.

That was the first time Susan saw the rumored "Her Royal Highness the Saint".

Although she only saw it from a distance, the exquisite and beautiful face, as if created by a god, left an indelible impression in her heart.

Angel……

Susan felt that Apprentice Knight Bell's description was quite apt.

She could even feel the warm glow from the beautiful girl, which was divine power.

"She is truly a saint."

Susan couldn't help but think.

But this did not reassure her, because even though she looked around the guards of the Knights of Judgment, she did not see her brother...

Susan is having another nightmare.

She dreamed of a sea of ​​fire and an endless abyss. She dreamed of herself falling into the abyss.

She saw the end of the abyss, which was a dark red sea of ​​blood. In the sea of ​​blood were countless ugly and deformed monsters, holding up strange sun emblems and singing and worshiping fanatically.

She saw that one of the monsters was wearing the same clothes as her brother. She saw it struggling and turning its head with difficulty, and its unrecognizable face met her eyes.

The rotten, pus-oozing mouth opened and closed slightly, and the lifeless eye sockets seemed to have a faint light.

"Quickly...escape..."

That was the last voice uttered by the brother in the nightmare.

Susan woke up suddenly.

Not long after, she learned another series of shocking news:
Cardinal Filiberto was bewitched by the evil god and intended to assassinate the saint, but was eventually caught.

All the Knights of Judgment who participated in the assassination were arrested and sentenced to the Judgment of Holy Fire.

The cardinals degenerate and become the running dogs of heretics. Various inside stories about heresy within the church are also revealed, including human experiments, human trafficking, blasphemy...

Gregory XII was furious and ordered that all apostates be identified within a week.

In a flash, the Holy City was in turmoil. New clergy were arrested every day, and apostates were judged by holy fire in the Holy City Square every day.

Even the Ninth District's Court of Inquisition experienced an unprecedented earthquake, and nearly half of the Knights of Inquisition were arrested.

The charge was apostasy.

Susan panicked:

"What about brother?"

"Where is my brother?"

"How is my brother?"

"My brother is an upright man and a true knight. He would never do anything to hurt others. Although he can no longer use the divine power, I know that in his heart he still agrees with the core teachings of the Lord God."

"What he...does not agree with is actually the current church."

"No, I have to find him as soon as possible! I want to know the truth, I have to... find a way to save him!"

Susan clenched her fists and planned to go to the court to find out what was going on, but when she was about to go out, she heard a weak knock on the door.

"Who?"

Susan was instantly alert.

"Miss Susan...it's me...Leon..."

Susan perked up.

Leon, that is his brother Daniel's deputy, a first-level judgment knight.

She quickly opened the door, and a strong smell of blood hit her in the face.

The young Knight of Judgment was seriously injured. His knight's uniform was stained with blood, his face was abnormally pale, and several wounds on his body were so deep that the bones were visible.

"Leon?! What happened to you?!"

Susan exclaimed.

"Miss Susan..."

The Knight of Judgment bit his teeth, took out a blood-stained letter from his arms, and struggled to hand it to the female priestess.

Susan's eyes fell on the letter.

Gradually, her eyes widened, and her expression was filled with indescribable fear and shock:
"This...this is..."

"This is the letter that Lord Daniel gave me..."

"Master Daniel has been betrayed. We have all been betrayed!"

"That's not true faith, nor is it heresy. It's an evil god! The real evil god!"

"They are going to call down the gods! They are going to destroy the holy city, and they are going to sacrifice everyone here!"

"Please find a way to pass it on to the Saint of Falling Star!"

After saying that, without waiting for the girl to answer, he struggled to get up and staggered out of the orphanage.

Soon, noisy voices came from the street:

"There he is!"

"Stop him! Kill him!"

The sound of swords clashing soon began, and ended with the screams and voice of the Knight of Judgment.

Not long after, a series of footsteps were heard, getting closer and closer.

Along with the footsteps, there were also low-pitched discussions:

"Did he just...come in here?"

"It seems so."

"Wait, Gray Swan Orphanage? This is the lair of that guy Daniel!"

"So it's here, no wonder..."

"Go in! Search—!"

A hoarse voice came, with indifference and viciousness.

Susan turned pale.

She protected the frightened children behind her, then gritted her teeth, crumpled the unfolded letter into a ball, and swallowed it in one gulp...