Tome of Blood

Chapter 597 -96- That’s not true faith, it’s an evil god!

The promise of the Judgment Knight was fulfilled within a few days.

On the first day of the second month, the trainee knight affiliated with the Ninth District Judgment Division personally delivered 300 Quintana to the orphanage as a shrine offering.

300 Quintana…

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

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

But Susan was not happy.

In the Holy Royal Court, the monthly salary of a trainee priest is 15 quintana. After entering the rank, it will increase three to four times, to almost 5-60 quintana. After becoming Silver Moon, it will be 15 quintana. It can nearly double again to 100 quintana.

From the time when the brother and sister were discovered to be compatible with the divine power, Daniel showed stronger talents and was promoted to Silver Moon earlier than Susan, becoming the biggest supporter of the Gray Swan Orphanage.

However, even Silver Moon and even the Judgment Knight's monthly income is far from reaching 300 Quintana.

Susan is very hopeful that the financial situation of Gray Swan Orphanage can be improved.

But not in such a worrying way.

"This is definitely not a real offering, Bell. I know you are the knight led by my brother. Tell me the truth, what is he doing?"

"Sister Susan, Captain Daniel is a knight valued by the officiating group. In addition to the normal offerings, everything else is a subsidy issued by the officiating group."

"Subsidy from the officiating group? This... is impossible. Brother, he is no longer..."

"What happened to Captain?"

"No...nothing..."

"Sister Susan, don't worry! The captain acts aboveboard and aboveboard. These quintana are the captain's legal income. I heard that the captain was even selected to be the escort of the Holy Lady! This was appointed by the priest Filiberto! "

"Holy...Holy Lady?"

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

"Ok, I know."

"Right, right, no one in the Holy City doesn't know about her. Although there are many rumors about her, I have a distant relative who works in the Castel mining area and has seen her show her divine power! Not only that. , I heard that she has elf blood and is as beautiful as an angel. There is also a portrait of her in the Holy Palace, but unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to go in and see it. "

Speaking of the saint who was about to visit, the trainee knight was very excited.

Susan's expression was a bit complicated.

Of course Susan, as a priest, has heard all kinds of rumors about the Saint.

Not only that, because of her brother Daniel's influence, she even paid special attention to him and learned more about him.

For example, the origin of the portrait in the Holy Palace is said to have been painted by a passing painter when Charlotte of Castres was performing miracles in the Crescent Kingdom, and was later given to the Holy Palace.

Another example is the rumors about the Saint and the heretic cult. Daniel once said that the Queen of Fallen Star has a close relationship with the Vampire Clan, and may even be a Vampire Clan herself.

Susan didn't know which of these messages were true and which were false.

The world of adults is always full of lies, and only the faith in the heart is the final pure land.

But what Susan knew was that her brother was hostile to the "saint". She knew that her brother's faith was no longer pious.

However... under such circumstances, he was still selected as the escort.

Is this my brother's decision?

Is this the decision of the Tribunal?

Is this... the decision of the cardinals and priests?

What on earth is my brother going to do...

What do the Tribunal and the Officiating Group want to do?

Recalling her brother's anger when he talked about the church, and his hostility when he talked about the saint, Susan's uneasiness became stronger and stronger.

She knew that her brother believed in "heresy."

But she had always thought that this "heresy" was probably just a "sect" within the church that did not agree with the current mainstream beliefs.

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

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

But now...it doesn't seem to be the case.

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

Susan murmured.

Susan eventually failed to meet Daniel again.

"Lord Daniel? He was transferred away by the officiating group and seems to be participating in the training of the escort team."

"Daniel... I haven't seen him for a few days. He must have been sent on another mission, right?"

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

As the days passed, the festive atmosphere of the election ceremony in the Holy City became stronger and stronger.

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

But Susan never heard from her brother again.

"He has served as the Saint's bodyguard. When the Saint comes, I will definitely be able to find him!"

Susan thought so.

But when the famous saint finally came to the Holy City, Susan... still couldn't find her brother.

That was the first time Susan met the rumored "Her Royal Highness the Holy Lady".

Although she only glanced at it from a distance, the exquisite and beautiful appearance that seemed to be created by the gods left an indelible impression in her heart.

Angel……

Susan felt that the description of the apprentice knight Bell was quite appropriate.

She could even feel the warm radiance from that 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 at the Judgment Knight's escort team inside and out, she did not see her brother...

Susan had another nightmare.

She dreamed of a sea of ​​fire, of an endless abyss, and in the abyss, she kept falling.

She saw the end of the abyss, which was a sea of ​​black and red blood. There were countless ugly and deformed monsters in the sea of ​​blood, holding up strange sun badges and constantly singing and worshiping fanatically.

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

The rotten and oozing mouth opened and closed slightly, and the empty eye sockets seemed to have a glimmer of light.

"Quickly...escape..."

That was the last sound made by the brother in the nightmare.

Susan woke up in vain.

And not long after, she learned another series of shocking news:

Cardinal Priest Filiberto was bewitched by the evil god and intended to assassinate the saint, but was eventually caught.

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

The Archbishop of Cardinals surrendered and became the lackeys of heretics, and various inside stories about heresies within the church were also revealed, including human experimentation, human trafficking, blasphemy...

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

In an instant, the Holy City was turbulent. Every day, new clergymen were arrested, and every day, apostates were judged by the Holy Fire in the Holy City Square.

Even the Judgment House in District 9 experienced an unprecedented earthquake, and nearly one-half of the Judgment Knights were arrested.

The charge was apostasy.

Susan panicked:

"Where's my brother?"

"Where is my brother?"

"How is my brother?"

"My brother is an upright man and a true knight. He will never do anything to harm 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 God Lord."

"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 want... to find a way to save him!"

Susan clenched her fists and planned to go to the trial house to find out. However, 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...Lion..."

Susan perked up.

Leon, that is his brother Daniel's deputy, a first-order trial knight.

She quickly opened the door, and the rich smell of blood hit her face.

The young Judgment Knight was seriously injured. His knight uniform was soaked in blood, his face was abnormally pale, and several wounds on his body were deep enough to show the bones.

"Leon?! What's wrong with you?!"

Susan exclaimed.

"Miss Susan..."

The Judgment Knight bit it, took out a piece of blood-stained letter paper from his arms, struggled and handed it into the hands of the young priest.

Susan's eyes fell on the letter.

Gradually, her eyes widened, and her expression showed unspeakable fear and shock:

"This...this is..."

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

"Lord Daniel was betrayed, we were all betrayed!"

"That's not true belief, nor is it a heresy, it's an evil god! The real evil god!"

"They are going to summon 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... to... the Saint of the Falling Star!"

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

After a while, noisy sounds came from the street:

"There he is!"

"Stop him! Kill him!"

The sound of swords sounded quickly, ending with the screams and voices of the Judgment Knights.

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

Accompanied by the footsteps, there were also low-pitched discussions:

"Did he just...enter here?"

"It seems so."

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

"It turns out this is here, no wonder..."

"Go in! Search—!"

A hoarse voice came, with indifference and sinisterness.

Susan turned pale.

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