A vast memory surged into Charlotte's mind, shattering her vision abruptly.

No, it wasn't her vision that shattered.

In reality, she had her eyes closed.

What shattered was her perception.

After a burst of light, Charlotte found herself in a magnificent world.

More precisely, it was a world of dreams.

She discovered herself standing in a long floating corridor, surrounded by darkness, with countless shattered mirrors floating on either side.

Each shard emitted a faint halo, like slides playing independent images.

Some glowed brightly, radiating soft light, peaceful and serene.

Some gleamed with blood, emanating a chilling aura, causing intense discomfort just by looking at them.

Charlotte chose the shard closest to her.

In the next instant, her view shifted, revealing an adorable little girl giggling, sitting in a shabby room celebrating her birthday with her modestly dressed parents.

On the crude wooden table, the food was not plentiful, just some simple black bread and a small piece of stale cheese cake.

However, gazing at the girl's innocent and radiant smile, at the indulgent gazes and gentle eyes of her parents, one could vividly feel the family of three's simple, easily contented happiness.

But in the next moment, the scene was engulfed in flames.

Amidst the harrowing cries, the girl's parents collapsed in a pool of blood, while a blood cultist in black robes grabbed the girl by her hair, roughly stuffing her into a sack...

The scene continued to flicker, Charlotte saw the girl being imprisoned, saw her being auctioned in the Dreaming Salon, saw the confusion and terror on her face...

She saw the girl being violated, saw the Blood Demon Cultists pursuing her after the Dreaming Salon, and saw the girl slowly approaching death in pain and fear.

Charlotte quickly retreated from the fragments of memory, the immersive despair and agony chilling her heart.

With a slight perception, she judged that browsing through memories had only taken an instant.

Although she saw many scenes, the vast memory information had actually flooded into her consciousness in an instant.

Hesitating for a moment, Charlotte looked towards the next memory fragment...

The view changed, and another new girl appeared in the scene.

This was another girl's memory.

Still, it was a memory of happy moments.

However, the simple happiness was soon once again consumed by blood and despair.

Charlotte saw the appearance of the Blood Demon Cultists again, saw them abducting the girl, saw in the midst of desperate cries, they used the girl as a sacrifice, pushing her into the abyss of death...

Charlotte quickly withdrew from the memory fragments again.

Her mood grew heavier.

Looking at the countless fragments around her, she knew that each one represented a girl who had met a tragic end.

The memories here were the most profound memories of their short lives.

Happy memories, fearful memories...

Painful memories, desperate memories...

Even in death, their memories lingered like remnants of their souls.

Charlotte was a little hesitant to continue.

The immersive sense of despair made her heart cold, and her soul trembled.

But she knew she had to continue.

The secrets of the Blood Demon Cult were likely hidden in these memory fragments.

She continued to look towards the next fragment...

One after another...

Charlotte didn't know how many memory fragments she had seen.

She only knew that she saw one shattered happy family after another, saw one innocent girl after another being consumed by despair...

She saw the evil and brutality of the Blood Demon Cult, she saw the decadence and darkness of the nobility.

Watching, repeatedly watching, she felt herself growing numb.

In her heart, there was only disgust and anger towards the Blood Demon Cult and the corrupt nobility.

After watching countless memory fragments, Charlotte suddenly paused in front of one of them.

In this memory fragment, she actually saw someone she knew.

Kara, the chief captain of the Borde Demon Hunter Bureau!

However, this wasn't Kara's memory fragment. It was a little girl's.

That little girl bore a striking resemblance to Kara, and in the memory fragment, Kara had no scars on her face.

Moreover, Kara in the memory fragment looked quite young. She appeared to be at most eighteen or nineteen years old.

It was a beautiful memory of two sisters.

As a mercenary, the elder sister took care of the younger, adorable sister.

They depended on each other, living happily, though not wealthy, but warm and joyful.

The beginning of the memory was still a simple and beautiful one.

But when the thugs appeared, everything changed.

Charlotte saw the girl being abducted and saw Kara severely injured.

She saw the female knight, bearing gruesome scars on her face, awakening extraordinary power in despair, yet could only watch as her sister was taken away.

Hmm?

Thugs?

Wait a minute...

Not the Blood Demon Cultists?

Charlotte was stunned.

And the subsequent development of the memory images was different.

Charlotte didn't see the Dreaming Salon.

Instead, there was fire.

Blazing fire.

She heard countless vague voices reciting praying.

She heard people praising the abyss and darkness, heard them extolling corruption and decay.

She heard fervent voices, shouting the title of the Bloodborne Archduke!

She saw the girls locked in the dungeon embracing each other in fear, looking out through the window into the night, at the towering figure engulfed in flames...

The sinister goat head, the roaring flames, the deafening roars!

That was a terrifying Flame Demon!

Charlotte instantly realized.

This memory fragment was even older, from ten years ago!

What she was seeing now was the scene of the Flame Demon Disaster ten years ago!

The little girl who looked like Kara's sister was not one snatched by the Dreaming Salon in recent years, but one abducted by Count Brois ten years ago!

After realizing this, doubts quickly arose in Charlotte's mind...

Wait a minute.

If she remembered correctly, ten years ago, the Flame Demon Ritual originated from Count Brois.

According to records, during the Flame Demon Disaster, all underage girls who were abducted ultimately died in the sacrifice.

As for the Dreaming Salon, it only gradually appeared after the Flame Demon Disaster.

But here is beneath the Dreaming Salon...

If Kara's sister was abducted ten years ago, how could her memory fragment appear here, in the ritual sacrificial site of the Dreaming Salon?

Wrong.

In the memory, the girl saw the Flame Demon.

This indicates that she didn't die at that time.

Not only that, but none of the girls imprisoned in the dungeon died.

So... what happened later?

Charlotte's mind was full of doubts.

But soon, her doubts were answered.

With an angry roar, the Flame Demon disappeared into a brilliant light.

After who knows how long, the dim dungeon was smashed open with a loud bang.

Blinding light descended, piercing through the despairing darkness, and bringing comforting warmth.

A figure clad in pure white robes appeared in the girls' view.

It was an elderly priest.

His expression was full of exhaustion.

When he saw the girls in the dungeon, he hesitated for a moment.

Then, quickly, he smiled kindly.

Stretching out his hand, he gently stroked the head of the girl closest to him.

The old man's voice, gentle and kind, sounded slowly in the girl's ear.

"Child, you are saved."

His smile was incredibly kind, incredibly gentle.

So gentle, even somewhat fake, sending shivers down one's spine.

That priest was none other than the highest-ranking clergy of the Borde Duchy, High Priest Leonard.