Gospel of Blood

“Noah, take a close look. Do you recognize anyone among these zombies?”

Charlotte shifted her gaze from the zombie miners to Noah.

The young werewolf was clearly shaken by the sight, whether from the cold or fear, as he continued to tremble.

However, upon hearing Charlotte’s request, he mustered the courage to peek at the zombies digging the mine.

As he looked, he quickly froze in shock, almost crying out.

“Dorr… That’s Uncle Dorr! Oh my gosh! It’s him!”

“He’s still wearing his favorite Coria tunic!”

“He… he wasn’t eaten, he’s turned into a zombie!”

“Kubo! And Brother Kubo, he’s here too! He disappeared a month ago, and he’s here!”

“They’re the missing miners! They’re all here!”

“Sister Resa, they’ve all been turned into zombies!”

In the darkness, Noah’s voice trembled as he looked at the vacant eyes of the zombies.

Charlotte sighed lightly, confirming her suspicions.

“So, this is the secret of the mine. The mithril mine wasn’t exhausted; it was deliberately sealed off. Someone is turning the miners into undead to continue mining mithril!”

“This is too big to cover up easily. Master, it seems the waters run deeper in the County than we thought.”

Sebas couldn’t help but comment, even changing his address for Charlotte.

“Master…?”

Noah stared blankly at Sebastian, unsure if he should still show surprise or confusion.

Charlotte considered the attitudes of the territory’s nobility toward her and nodded slightly.

“Indeed, it needs to be sorted out.”

Nice looked at the blank-eyed zombies and after a moment of examination, said.

“These zombies are not very intelligent, very sluggish. The necromancer who turned them must be of a low level, probably not above Silver Moon.”

“They can only do simple, mechanical work; they can’t do much else.”

“However, I see many zombies have been here for some time, some even showing signs of skeletal transformation, indicating this operation has been running for years.”

Hearing Nice’s analysis, Charlotte became thoughtful.

She looked at Noah and asked again.

“Noah, when was the mithril mine sealed off?”

“Seven years ago. It was sealed seven years ago, and the miners started disappearing around that time.”

Noah answered, his face pale.

“Seven years ago…”

Charlotte recalled the records she had read, realizing the income from Castell County began to plummet around that time.

Incidentally, it was seven years ago that her stingy grandmother dismissed all the high-ranking nobles following the Castell family and sent them back to their territories.

Seven years ago, the Castell family lost control over the local nobility.

And seven years ago, the mithril mine had its incident.

Covering up the mithril mine and arranging thousands of zombie miners to continue mining required the cooperation of the mining workshop’s high-ranking officials.

Clearly, there were nobles involved behind the scenes.

The Castell’s mithril mine represented the interests of many nobles, and hiding the truth about the mine wasn’t easy. To keep such a big operation hidden for so many years, there had to be significant power involved.

Or rather… a figure uniting all the relevant nobles!

Charlotte thought over the family records again. There was no such dominant local power among the Castell nobility.

In fact, the Castell family had always been far more powerful than their vassal nobility.

This made Charlotte ponder deeply.

“Noah, the rumors of a dragon in the mine also started seven years ago?”

Sebastian suddenly asked.

Noah, still dazed by the shocking revelations, kept his eyes on the horrifying zombies but mechanically nodded.

“If it’s a rumor, yes, but… my brother said it’s been here much longer.”

“Really? Sebastian, do you think it’s related to that black dragon?”

Nice’s eyes widened, looking incredulously at the flame elf.

Sebastian nodded slightly.

“Although it sounds unbelievable, it’s not impossible.”

“I’ve heard that some powerful dragons can even take human form. Dragons always love wealth, and precious mithril is just as attractive to them…”

“Is a black dragon controlling the Castell nobles to mine for it?”

Nice gasped.

“Wow, you really dare to think that. A black dragon infiltrating the human world… You’re treating black dragons like silver dragons! Such a creature, even if it mastered transformation, wouldn’t bother turning into a human.”

“Not to mention, black dragons are magic idiots, with all their talent in magic resistance and physical strength. Except for those ancient ones, most black dragons can’t master transformation.”

“And for those ancient ones, a small Castell County wouldn’t even catch their eye.”

Sebastian looked at Nice in surprise.

“You seem to know quite a lot.”

Nice looked smug.

“Hey, unlike a certain useless elf, I have a wealth of adventure experience! Back when you were still sipping honey, I was already rubbing shoulders with legendary dragons!”

Sebastian: …

“Oh really? Then how did such an experienced adventurer end up as a cat who can’t even defeat a low-level bloodborne?”

He smiled slightly.

Nice’s cat face turned black, clearly hit where it hurt, and he bristled instantly.

“Who says I can’t beat them! A single Void Banishment from me could take it down! Forget bloodborne, I’m not afraid even if they are resurrected evil god! The Holy Court once asked me to seal an evil god!”

“Mm-hmm, and then you became a pet constantly on a diet.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement.

Nice: …

The cat and dog stared at each other, looking ready to fight again.

“Silence!”

Charlotte glanced at them.

“Hmph!”

They snorted at each other and turned away.

Charlotte: …

Both of them had good abilities and plenty of secrets, but they couldn’t seem to cooperate without bickering.

But a black dragon…

Charlotte considered Sebastian’s theory.

Though it sounded plausible, something felt off.

As she looked again at the piles of mithril in the cave, she realized what was wrong.

A greedy dragon wouldn’t leave so much mithril unprotected, nor would it seal the mine with an easily breakable seal.

With this thought, Charlotte looked at Nice again and asked.

“Nice, do you sense any dragon’s aura here?”

Nice immediately became serious.

“That’s what puzzles me. I don’t smell any dragon’s aura here. Either it left a long time ago, or it never existed.”

Sebastian: …

He looked at Nice speechlessly.

"Since you didn't smell any trace of the dragon, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Nice let out a sly laugh.

"Why say it earlier? I enjoy watching certain people squirm when their judgments are wrong."

"You—!"

A cat and a dog were on the verge of another fight until Charlotte's cold gaze swept over them, silencing them both.

Charlotte turned her gaze back to the undead in the cave, a faint light flickering in her eyes. After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and said.

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"These undead are indeed of the lowest rank, even inferior to those that attacked us the other day."

"Despite their terrifying appearance, they aren't dangerous. They likely just follow the caster's orders mindlessly..."

"I haven't sensed any mental waves from a necromancer, so these undeads must have been left here to mine on their own."

"Let's go. We should investigate further, maybe we'll find something."

With that, she took the lead and entered the cave.

Sebastian and Nice quickly followed, flanking her on either side, with Luff behind them. Little werewolf Noah, though trembling with fear, felt even more anxious staying behind and hurriedly caught up.

As Charlotte moved deeper into the cave, just as she had anticipated, the mining undeads paid no attention to the intruders.

They continued their rigid, mechanical mining motions. Only those that appeared to have been recently transformed seemed to have a bit of awareness, turning their stiff heads towards Charlotte's group with glowing green eyes.

Some, not yet fully decayed, still had their original eyeballs, making their rotting, hollow faces especially eerie. This sight caused Noah to turn pale with fright, clutching Luff's coat tightly as he hid behind him.

"If you're scared, you don't have to look at them."

Luff said, glancing at the little werewolf.

However, despite his fear, Noah's gaze remained on the undead, seemingly searching for something.

Charlotte noticed this and asked.

"Noah, how long has your brother been missing?"

Noah's ears drooped.

"Seven years."

Charlotte sighed.

"This place should be safe for now. We're short on time, so let's split up. Luff, take Noah to look around the more decayed miners."

Seven years... If Noah's brother had been turned into an undead, it might be hard to recognize him now.

Luff nodded silently and led the little werewolf toward the older-looking miners.

"Sebastian, check out the workshop area."

Charlotte instructed Sebastian.

There was nothing unusual about the workshop, but its design seemed elven. Sebastian might discover something.

Sebastian complied and left, while Charlotte continued examining the undead miners, hoping to find something new.

As she passed one that seemed to have been recently transformed, it suddenly reached out to her.

Even though Charlotte's keen senses had prepared her, she was still startled. However, the undead didn't attack. Instead, it trembled and, with a vacant look, said:

"Help... help... me..."

Charlotte was momentarily stunned, then her expression turned solemn.

This undead still retained some consciousness.

But when she looked again, it had resumed its stiff mining actions.

"Living transformation... This is a method even the most wicked necromancers find abhorrent!"

Nice, beside her, spoke with a grave tone.

Charlotte's heart stirred.

"Living transformation?"

"Yes, some evil necromancers, lacking sufficient skill, will forcibly turn living people into undead to retain more of their sentience."

"They're dead, but not completely. Before they truly die, their souls retain their consciousness. They witness their own decay, and feel the pain of their bodies being eaten away, until their sentience fades, turning them fully into undead. Their bodies then eternally repeat their final commanded actions..."

"Because it's so cruel, even among necromancers, living transformation is a forbidden practice!"

Nice explained solemnly.

Charlotte fell silent.

She glanced at the vacant-eyed undead and extended her hand before it.

Soft light flickered in her red eyes.

At that moment, just like she had done for the tormented young female spirits before, Charlotte initiated a memory-sharing with the undead.

But this time, instead of memory fragments, all she received was a bone-deep terror and pain.

It was the miners' agony—their suffering as they were forcibly turned into undead, losing control over their bodies, watching themselves rot, feeling the worms consume them, their souls extinguishing bit by bit!

That fear and pain were like an endless abyss.

When Charlotte withdrew from the memory-sharing, her back was drenched in cold sweat. She panted slightly, that immersive pain and fear making her shudder.

"Lady Charlotte, you shouldn't read memories of undead created through living transformation."

Nice said gravely.

"Even though it's strange for a little cat like me to explain this to you, it seems you've forgotten more than I thought..."

Charlotte was silent.

She gave up on the memory-sharing.

After another glance at the trembling undead, she sighed and moved forward.

But as she walked, Nice suddenly stopped.

Charlotte turned, noticing he was staring at a patch of mushrooms on the ground with a peculiar expression.

"What's wrong, Nice?"

She asked.

"Lady Charlotte..."

Nice's expression was odd.

"Perhaps Noah was right. There might have been a dragon here."

"Hmm?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

Nice pointed to the mushrooms on the ground.

"Lady Charlotte, these scaly mushrooms are called dragon spittle mushrooms. They only grow where dragons have been..."

"However, these mushrooms seem to be deteriorating, suggesting the dragon left a long time ago, which is why I couldn't smell it."

A dragon had really been here...

Charlotte pondered.

Soon after, Sebastian, Luff, and Noah returned.

The little werewolf looked a bit disappointed but also somewhat relieved.

"Didn't find anything?"

Charlotte asked.

Noah nodded with a complicated expression.

"Not finding anything might be a good thing, it might mean your brother is still alive."

Charlotte consoled him.

She then looked at Sebastian.

"The workshop only has a few working undead... Um, master, did you find something?"

Sebastian asked after reporting.

"Nice found some dragon spittle mushrooms."

Charlotte said.

"Dragon spittle mushrooms?"

Sebastian was surprised.

"So, my guess might have been right?"

"Who knows? But... we might find out soon."

Charlotte looked at the surrounding undead miners.

With that, she closed her eyes again, extending her hands as magic surged around her.

Nice's eyes widened.

"Lady Charlotte, are you planning to..."

"Free them. They are in too much pain."

Charlotte sighed.

"And, by doing so, we might draw out the one behind this."

Necromancers and their undead share a connection. Even without a contract, they can sense disturbances among their creations.

Having discovered the secret of the mithril mine, Charlotte was done playing hide and seek. With her trump card as a True Ancestor, she feared nothing. She would destroy this place and force the mastermind to appear.

However, just as Charlotte finished speaking, a lazy voice echoed through the cave.

"Oh? Draw out? Were you referring to me, lovely werewolf lady?"

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