novelzi Chapter 67
Chapter 67
“Conceptual Tier: The Recorder, The Creator, The Life Overseer
Planetary Tier: The Watcher, The Dragonslayer
Local Tier: Fiore Afsiti, Paura Fame.”
The rankings of the foreign entities and their respective names were neatly written by the Saint on the paper, which he now stared at thoughtfully. It seemed like he was pondering where to begin his explanation.
Resting his chin on his fingers, the Saint seemed to have reached a conclusion, snapping his fingers as he nodded.
“Good. I believe it will be easier for you to follow if I explain everything step by step from the beginning.”
With that, he circled the word "Local Tier."
“The term 'Local Tier' is one that our order uses to describe entities whose influence is limited to a specific region. The Gardener and the Chef are prime examples. The Gardener can only exert great power in a garden of her own making or under certain conditions. The Chef, likewise, must have a place where she can cook in order to fully use her abilities.”
The Gardener and the Chef.
Indeed, the Gardener’s powers were greatly reduced if there weren’t any corpses around for her to utilize.
But a question arose in my mind.
“Pardon me, I have a question.”
“Yes, what is it?”
The Saint smiled, seemingly pleased that I interrupted with a question.
“You mentioned that the Gardener is powerful within her domain. So considering she was within her 'garden,' the Knights should have noticed her presence. How did that go unnoticed?”
“Haha, excellent question. It would have been a shame if you hadn’t asked.”
And to be honest, during my battle with the Gardener, while I certainly felt the overwhelming presence of a Greater Entity, it didn’t seem that powerful. If the Gardener had been at full strength, I doubt I’d have survived, let alone persuaded her.
The Saint nodded as if he had anticipated the question.
“As you may have guessed, Sir Tanton, the garden you encountered wasn’t originally 'Fiore Afsiti’s.' The Knights know it as the original Gardener’s Garden. Local Tier entities like her are highly dependent on their domains. The Gardener drew strength because her power happened to align with the domain’s conditions, but it wasn’t her own garden.”
That explained everything.
The difference in combat strength when compared to Bell, and the weaker influence compared to the Chef’s domain.
Now, within her true domain, she could wield her full power against me.
“With this explanation, I hope you now understand the concept of Local Tier entities?”
“Yes.”
I was starting to grasp the idea. If that was the case, Planetary Tier entities would be more intuitive.
“...It seems you've already figured it out. Correct. Planetary Tier entities can exert influence across the entire 'planet.' The Watcher and Dragonslayer are excellent examples of this category.”
The Watcher and Dragonslayer.
Bell's sheer toughness and the Dragonslayer’s combat ability, where she toyed with White Mask—it made sense that they were on a completely different level.
“First, let’s talk about the Watcher. The Watcher's power, as you know, is the ability to 'watch.' No matter where the target is, even on the other side of the world, the Watcher can monitor them. Those being watched will not only sense that they are under surveillance but will also experience a rapid mental collapse.”
This reminded me of what the Hunter had said about Agartha’s symptoms—the constant whispers, urging her to end her own life.
“The Watcher’s form is said to resemble a cross between a wolf and a Saluki dog breed. Its appearance is not just for show, as it possesses overwhelming physical abilities. This information is likely bait left by the foreign entities themselves, since no human could have documented such things.”
The Saint coughed, almost retching, as if recalling something unpleasant. His eyes looked a little unstable, suggesting that he hadn’t come out unscathed from his encounter.
“...Are you alright?”
“Apologies. I won’t let personal reasons interrupt this explanation. Anyway, that’s the Watcher.”
Next, the Saint circled the words "Dragonslayer."
“As the name suggests, the Dragonslayer is based on the mythical creature known as a dragon, a being once called the master of the skies.”
The master of the skies.
Its influence spanned the entire planet.
“In other words... it can control everything that happens in the sky?”
“You understand correctly. No matter where the target is in the sky, the Dragonslayer can track them down. If it wishes, splitting the sky in half would be an easy feat.”
Back then, the Dragonslayer seemed intent on capturing me, not fighting seriously. It felt more like an adult casually shaking off a child clinging to their leg.
...Hearing all this, I realized just how overwhelming these foreign entities really were, far beyond the appearance of mere 'pretty girls.'
「W-wait! What kind of childish ranking system is that?!」
「What does it matter? The idea that a weed could even be my rival is laughable.」
「Oh, is that how you want to play? Let’s settle this once and for all!」
「I’ve been waiting for this. Just don’t regret it later.」
「L-ladies? Please don’t start fighting all of a sudden...」
「Fighting is bad! But also kind of exciting...?」
What the heck? They’re bickering over the ranking system? And Bell, why are you encouraging them instead of calming things down?
...This is driving me crazy.
Since the Saint hadn’t finished his explanation yet, I decided to ignore the chaos for now.
Hello, everyone! Today we’re...People can always fall into depression, and regarding that...Today, I’ll review a great restaurant located on 3rd Street, 5th Building of Rondon...
Just hearing about it weighed heavily on me. Why?
...It must have something to do with the Knight Commander’s disappearance.
Sigh.
From what I’ve heard so far, the Saint seemed like a genuine occultist. And if he was working under Agartha, he should be trustworthy enough. Plus, I needed to investigate the Recorder anyway, so there was no reason to refuse.
If he ever tried to pull something, I could always just annoy Agartha in return.
“...Alright. I accept your offer.”
“Aah, finally! Now we can take another step closer to the Recorder.”
“But I have one question.”
“Ask anything! As long as it’s not about sticking your head into the mouth of a foreign entity, I’ll gladly answer!”
...Why was that such a specific request?
It was probably best not to question what went on in the heads of occultists.
“Then, what rank is the Torturer?”
“The Torturer... hmm. The Torturer is a particularly ambiguous entity. Not many people know about it. When Lady Agartha first mentioned it, even I was momentarily confused.”
The Saint nodded as he spoke.
“If I had to guess, the Torturer could be a Local Tier, a Planetary Tier, or maybe... even a Conceptual Tier entity. The Torturer absorbs the 'pain' of its victims.”
Pain?
Hold on a second.
Something incredibly important was being revealed, almost in passing.
“Pain, you said?”
“Yes. It’s just a theory, but considering how it spreads its 'children' and mutilates its targets, it seems to thrive on their suffering.”
The moment I heard that, everything clicked into place.
Asti, who didn’t kill me but inflicted pain equivalent to death.
The corpses that were mutilated beyond recognition.
And the common red aura emanating from those children.
It all made sense.
I didn’t even need to read a book to figure it out. Thankfully, I’d saved myself some time.
“...Thank you. It seems my reason for visiting the library has disappeared.”
“Oh! That’s great news.”
“One more thing.”
The Saint looked at me with eager eyes, ready to answer anything I asked.
“Do you know anything about a foreign entity called 'The Observer'?”
If this occultist knew so much about the Torturer, he surely knew something about the entity that the old man kept calling "The Observer."
If the ability to foresee the future wasn’t the old man’s own power but rather that of The Observer, then it would truly be on par with the Recorder.
But the Saint tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“The Observer? Hmm.”
He shook his head.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
-------------------
After that, we exchanged countless more words, but since I didn’t have solid information yet, most of it went in one ear and out the other.
Still, it was a significant gain to have met someone who seemed likely to be of great help with my future tasks.
With a lighter step, I headed back to the Knights' headquarters to report my return.
“Tanton, I’ve been looking for you.”
I was greeted by the Deputy Commander, wearing a serious expression.
“We have a major problem. It might even be more serious than the Hearth crack incident from before.”
And just like that, the Deputy Commander hit me with news that was already starting to give me a headache.