Gospel of Blood-Chapter 634: The Awakened Deity

The Moon Temple stood at the very center of the Luna Island, its towering white spire adorned with the symbol of the Moon Goddess piercing the clouds, the tallest structure in the entire Moon City.

Unlike the memories Sebastian held, the high temple spire, besides its white façade, was now entwined with verdant green vines. These vines coiled layer upon layer, densely covering nearly the entire tower.

Though Sebastian had anticipated abnormalities, his expression darkened involuntarily as he entered the ancient temple.

Inside, the temple was devoid of any living soul. Scattered across the floor were piles of ash, gray and black, with an appearance Sebastian found chillingly familiar.

The vines had invaded every corner of the temple, transforming the once-spacious sacred space into a verdant paradise. They climbed over the chairs, windows, and even the long-dimmed crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The statue of the Moon Goddess at the temple’s forefront was similarly enwrapped by the lush growth.

The vines appeared to radiate outward from the statue as their center. Upon closer inspection, Sebastian identified them as a plant known in the elven records as “Emerald Moonlight,” a species native to the western continent.

This plant, described as the Moon Goddess Artemis’s favorite, was said to bloom like a silvery moon, enchanting and dreamlike. In the Elven language, its name signified “pure moonlight, sincere love.” It had once been a symbol of the Moon Goddess and was even etched into temple reliefs. In ancient elven traditions, the Emerald Moonlight was used as a token of affection during courtship rituals.

Yet Sebastian clearly remembered that these plants only grew in the heart of the western continent and had long gone extinct following its destruction. To find them thriving here on the Luna Island was beyond unexpected.

“Lord Sebastian! There’s a temple log here!”

The report of a soldier snapped Sebastian out of his thoughts.

Turning, he saw a soldier standing near a vine-covered pulpit. From a drawer in the altar, the soldier had retrieved a worn-out logbook.

Sebastian hastened over, flipping through its pages. It was written in Elven, documenting the temple’s rituals across various generations. But when Sebastian glanced at the dates, his eyes narrowed.

The last entry was from 120 years ago—the very year he had left the Luna Island.

Every Moon Temple maintained a tradition of recording its activities in a logbook, and only logs in active use were kept in the altar’s drawer. Given the elves’ meticulous nature, the placement of this logbook would not have been accidental.

The final entry being 120 years old implied that the temple had been abandoned for over a century.

This starkly contradicted what Sebastian knew. Though he had left the Luna Island a hundred years ago, he had stayed in touch with other elves active on the continent. The island, to his knowledge, had always upheld its ceremonial traditions.

Only a few years ago, an old friend had even brought him ceremonial tea from the island’s rituals.

So why did this logbook date back to 120 years ago?

Frowning, Sebastian flipped through the pages. Toward the end, he found a torn record.

Though most of the page was missing, the remaining scrawled words were unmistakable. The handwriting belonged to the Luna Island’s elder who had once exiled Sebastian:

“Corrupted… All corrupted… The Lady Goddess… something has gone awry!”

“It has returned… It has returned… Must… preserve… the spark… leave…”

“To any who find this, beware… of all living things on the island!”

The fragmented and hasty writing spoke of panic and desperation.

Sebastian’s expression hardened.

“Lord Sebastian! There’s a pool behind the statue! It’s full of vines! And behind them, there seems to be something else!”

A shout drew Sebastian’s attention. He saw several soldiers gathered behind the goddess statue.

Only now did Sebastian notice a massive pool behind the statue, etched with densely packed runes. Its waters brimmed with thick, vigorous Emerald Moonlight.

What alarmed Sebastian was the realization that, as a Legendary being, he had failed to sense the presence of this massive ritual pool until it was pointed out.

A wave of unease washed over him. As the soldiers began pulling at the vines in the pool, the last words from the torn log flashed through Sebastian’s mind.

Beware… of all living things on the island!

Living things?

The bizarre and eerie sights Sebastian had encountered since arriving on the island resurfaced in his thoughts. His face darkened as he shouted.

“Stop! Do not touch the vines!”

But his warning came too late.

One soldier had already grabbed a vine. The moment he made contact, the vibrant green tendrils sprang to life, wrapping tightly around him.

The soldier screamed in terror as the vines lifted him into the air and pierced into his body.

Sebastian moved in a blur, slicing through the vines and freeing the soldier, who fell to the ground. Yet, horrifyingly, green tendrils began to sprout from the soldier’s eyes, nostrils, and ears.

Under the horrified gazes of those present, the soldier transformed within seconds into a monstrous entity entirely composed of vines. With a guttural roar, the creature lunged at Sebastian.

Sebastian’s expression was grim as he severed the abomination in two with a single stroke.

As the creature’s body hit the ground, it underwent another horrifying transformation: the once-living vines decayed into putrid tentacles, oozing a black, unidentifiable liquid.

“ROAR—!”

A furious roar erupted from the pool.

“ROAR—!”

More roars echoed from all directions outside the temple.

Staring at the corpse on the ground and feeling the unsettling magic that instinctively made him uncomfortable, Sebastian seemed to realize something. He hurriedly reached into the depths of his being to connect with the blood seal within and silently chanted.

“Blood Pact: Insight Path – Dispelling All Illusions!”

Dispelling All Illusions was a legendary spell of the bloodborne’s insight path that Sebastian mastered after reaching the legendary rank. Since he was also a divine apostle, he could draw upon divine power to enhance the spell, making it strong enough to dispel even Legendary-level divine spell.

A crimson radiance flashed around him, expanding outward. Wherever the light passed, the vines transformed into grotesque tentacles.

The light spread further, and flowers became glaring eyeballs, grass turned into bulbous tumors, and the towering trees on the island morphed into layers of grotesque flesh.

The most terrifying of all was the altar pool within the temple.

The green foliage receded, revealing its true form: the pool housed an enormous, grotesque eye!

The eye, with a radius exceeding ten meters, was embedded in a massive tumor of flesh. Surrounding it were dark-gold chains etched with sun symbols. However, those sun symbols had grown dim, seemingly losing their power.

The next moment, the enormous eye abruptly opened.

A pitch-black pupil, cold and indifferent, stared at the gathered group, brimming with madness and chaos.

With just one glance, soldiers and mages who made eye contact exploded into clouds of blood mist, and even the highest-ranking archmage wasn’t spared!

Sebastian felt a sharp pain in his eyes as his eyeballs burst, and destructive energy surged from his eye sockets throughout his limbs, tearing through his body like a merciless tide.

His form began to swell and crack, as if he too was about to explode.

“A God!”

“This is an awakened God!”

Sebastian was utterly horrified.

Just as he was about to disintegrate like the others, a cooling force emerged from the depths of his soul. It quickly coursed through his body, calming the terrifying chaos within him and finally reforming his eyes.

It was the blood divine power.

Sebastian regained control of his body. Scrambling to his feet, he hastily retreated from the temple. Seeing him escape, the enormous eye seemed to grow enraged.

A furious roar reverberated from all directions. The ground trembled violently, and the entire Luna Island shook with upheaval.

Buildings collapsed, the earth split open, and in Sebastian’s horrified gaze, a monstrous beast over 500 meters tall emerged from the depths of the ground!

The creature dwarfed even legendary sea monsters like Kraken. Its massive body and octopus-like head were covered in writhing, grotesque tentacles, exuding a dreadful aura of chaos and despair, dripping with foul, black ichor.

Thick chains bound its massive form, snapping one by one as it struggled. With each broken chain, its terrifying presence grew more overwhelming.

“Ar…te…mis…”

A deep, broken growl rumbled, filled with suppressed pain and a profound, incomprehensible emotion.

But the next moment, the growl turned into a frenzied, chaotic roar.

Massive tentacles lashed toward Sebastian.

Under the immense pressure of divine might, Sebastian turned pale. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

No escape!

He quickly realized that under the crushing divine power, he couldn’t even twitch a finger, let alone pray for protection.

The monstrous tentacle came crashing down.

Just as Sebastian thought he would be crushed into a bloody pulp, a crimson radiance suddenly erupted from his body.

Blinding light filled the air as a complex, mystical array appeared before him.

From the void, a pale hand reached out, effortlessly catching the descending tentacle.

Crimson flames ignited, reducing the grotesque limb to ash in an instant. Then, Charlotte’s figure appeared before Sebastian.

“M-Master!”

Sebastian’s face lit up with fervent relief and awe.

The giant beast let out a pained, furious howl and shrank back slightly. Its crazed, chaotic gaze locked onto the small figure standing in defiance.

Charlotte stepped forward.

Suspended in mid-air, her black divine gown rippled with crimson radiance. Her silver hair billowed in the wind, and her golden-red eyes carried a complex blend of emotions.

Gazing at the colossal beast, oozing black pus and exuding an aura of corruption, her expression reflected sorrow and fury before softening into a sigh.

“Oceanus…”