"The one the Mist Veil Society wants to awaken is him as well."
Old Crowley sat on the sofa, exhaling a puff of blue smoke as he chimed in unexpectedly.
Elias leaned back against his chair, feeling his worldview being ground into the dirt and ruthlessly trampled.
"A Divine Scion can have its own followers?"
He couldn't help but raise his voice, his tone filled with disbelief.
"A Divine Scion can actually bestow favors upon its followers?"
"And it can follow a faint thought across half the Velen Continent to mail me those indescribable 'local specialties' directly?"
Elias fired off a barrage of questions.
The mere thought of those monsters crawling out of the sea on White Tower Island—covered in tentacles and eyes—made him feel a wave of nausea.
That was genuine physical damage coupled with mental pollution!
"And there's more!"
Elias suddenly leaned forward, staring intently at the old sea dog.
"I saw it with my own eyes in the sewers of Hope County!"
"His followers were actually trying to summon a projection of him to descend!"
Elias thumped his cane heavily onto the carpet.
"Is that something a mere Divine Scion is capable of?!"
After hearing this...
Old Crowley nodded, his expression very grave.
Though the old man was bewildered and had no idea what the kid meant by 'mailing local specialties,' he understood the general logic.
"Correct."
Crowley tapped his pipe.
"Since he is a 'Chosen' selected by an Outer God, after so many long years of accumulation and mutation..."
"Perhaps his strength has long since surpassed the limits of mortals, reaching the God's Domain of the Scale system."
God's Domain.
As soon as those words were uttered, the air in the room seemed to turn viscous.
Ms. Sophia held her crystal glass and picked up where Old Crowley left off.
"The so-called God's Domain."
She spoke elegantly, her voice like an ancient whisper.
"Refers to the final three levels above Scale Seven in the transcendent Scale system."
"Scale Eight, the Divine Attendant."
"Scale Nine, the Demigod."
"And that legendary pinnacle..."
Sophia took a deep breath.
"Scale Ten, the True God."
"Someone can actually reach that?!"
Elias was so shocked he nearly jumped out of his chair.
This was a complete blind spot in his current understanding of the world!
After all, during countless boring late nights...
He had discussed the pinnacle of the supernatural system with Old Ed in his mind multiple times.
When that dead old man bragged, he rarely spoke of the 'God's Domain.'
Old Ed's topics always focused on the 'Saints' of Scale Seven.
It was as if Scale Seven was already equivalent to a god walking the earth.
Now, a Scale Ten had suddenly appeared; the leap was even more ridiculous than going from a primitive society straight into the steam era.
"It might be difficult now."
Sophia shook her head, a hint of longing for ancient glory flashing in her eyes.
"In this era where spirituality is gradually drying up, a Scale Seven is already a regional hegemon."
"But thousands of years ago, in those lost eras..."
"There were indeed people who could reach that level."
Just as Elias was immersed in this grand world-building and about to ask more questions...
"Wait..."
Old Crowley suddenly thrust out a large, calloused hand.
He interrupted their conversation.
The old captain's cloudy eyes suddenly went wide as saucers, staring fixedly at Elias.
"I just realized something."
Crowley's voice jumped an octave, even cracking slightly.
"What did you just say, kid?!"
He pointed at Elias's nose, his finger trembling slightly.
"You said in Hope County, the Mist Veil Society was going to summon a projection of that Lord?!"
"In the sewers?!"
Old Crowley looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Then how the hell are you still alive?!"
This little brat had to be making up stories!
Crowley had roamed the waters of Moon Bay for over twenty years; what kind of evil ritual hadn't he seen?
But he had never seen—not even once—a scene where cultists successfully summoned a Divine Scion's descent!
How could a rookie keeper like this kid have seen such a scene in the damn sewers of Hope County?!
What was even more absurd was that he was sitting here in one piece, drinking tea and chatting.
It was like going to a farmer's market to buy rare medicinal herbs, only to wander into the senior center next door and find them being handed out for free.
Absurd!
Facing Old Crowley's questioning look of a collapsed worldview...
Elias simply blinked innocently.
"I just... lived through it."
Elias spread his hands, his tone as casual as if he were saying he had a fried egg for breakfast.
He couldn't exactly tell the old man...
That he had used a 'reasonably' enchanted revolver in the sewers back then...
And then blasted the Divine Scion's projection away with a single shot, could he?
If he spoke of such a ridiculous achievement, not only would Old Crowley not believe him, but even Elias himself felt like he was dreaming when he looked back on it.
To prevent the old sea dog from dwelling on this issue and potentially uncovering more of his cards...
Elias decisively changed the subject.
"So..."
Elias suddenly remembered the primary purpose of this conversation.
"You've gone in such a large circle, yet you still haven't told me what the Pendulum actually does."
He forced the conversation back on track.
"Don't be in such a hurry."
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Old Crowley could only force down the shock in his heart.
"Do you remember the Abhoth's Comet I mentioned earlier?"
"Of course."
Elias nodded, his expression becoming serious.
He certainly remembered.
That cursed comet was the culprit that triggered the Dead Tide and loosened the seal.
"Moon Bay's Dead Tide will return because of the comet's arrival."
Crowley's gaze became very deep.
"And the Pendulum is absolutely not just a simple key to open the underwater ruins of Moon Bay."
"It is also a lock."
"According to the 'Principle of Binding' of sealing spells, the Pendulum is also a core means of reinforcing that ancient seal."
Crowley's voice echoed in the empty room.
"As long as the Pendulum is in place and the reinforcement of the seal is successful..."
"Then for many years to come, the entire Velen Continent can rest easy."
At this point...
Old Crowley fished a handful of tobacco from the pocket of his tattered trench coat.
He stuffed it into his pipe.
Without any warning, crackling flickers of deep blue electricity appeared on his fingers.
Then, using lightning magic, he lit the cheap tobacco in his pipe.
He took a deep drag and exhaled a thick cloud of white mist.
The movement was extremely practiced, a display of luxury and wildness existing side by side.
Watching this, Elias ignored the old man's posturing.
His attention was entirely captured by the new term.
"What is the Principle of Binding?"
Elias secretly called out to the semi-automatic encyclopedia in his mind, Old Ed.
"It's actually the underlying principle of sealing spells."
This time, Old Ed didn't let him down and immediately provided a professional answer.
"Any core medium used to 'seal' something must also be the sole and necessary condition to 'unseal' it in the future."
"Conversely, if you want to reinforce the seal, you also need the same medium."
The old man paused, trying to explain in simpler terms.
"You can think of it like this..."
"When you cast a seal, you are actually using this medium to define a one-way closed spell circuit on the 'Origin Web' of the spirit world."
"This circuit itself is the 'lock' that imprisons the monster."
"And that medium is the 'geometric center' of this circuit."
Old Ed's explanation was very detailed.
"In the future, whether it is to be opened or reinforced..."
"The exact same medium must be used to reactivate that circuit so it can be reversed or completely locked down."
Isn't this just a symmetric encryption key from modern cryptography?
One key for one lock; the same thing is used for both locking and unlocking.
"I understand."
Elias summarized quickly in his mind.
No wonder the Resurrection Society was so anxious to find the Pendulum.
As long as they got it, they could re-weld that firewall at the bottom of the sea that was about to collapse.
Just as Elias had cleared up all the logic and was about to continue asking questions...
Knock, knock, knock.
The heavy oak double doors were suddenly knocked on urgently from the outside.
The door was pushed open a crack.
The half-demon bartender with goat horns, Bloodsong...
Carefully poked half his head in.
He first quickly scrutinized Elias sitting in the chair.
A flash of obvious bewilderment appeared in his slit pupils.
It seemed he had only just realized that this cold and stern young man was a completely different person in appearance and aura compared to the guy downstairs who had raised his hands in surrender.
However, Bloodsong was professional and did not ask questions.
He immediately turned his head and reported to the two big shots in the seats:
"Sorry to interrupt, but there's trouble in the outer hall."
Bloodsong frowned, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
He looked back at Elias.
"This... gentleman."
"The girl you brought with you is being harassed downstairs."
That was how low-level taverns were; a lone woman with even a bit of beauty was like meat thrown into a pack of wolves.
"Hmm?"
Elias was stunned for a moment.
Ophelia was being harassed?
Wasn't that silly reporter holding the warding charm he gave her?
Couldn't she just smash it and be done with it?
Seeing Crowley and Sophia instantly cast gossipy and inquiring glances...
Elias did not hesitate for a second.
He decisively pointed a finger, showing no mercy, at Old Crowley, who was currently puffing on his pipe.
"What are you looking at me for?"
Elias didn't even blink as he shifted the blame.
"She's here to see you."
Hearing this...
Ms. Sophia immediately turned her head.
She looked at Crowley, whose name had suddenly been called, with a suspicious gaze.
Bloodsong was also full of curiosity.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Old Crowley was nearly choked to death by his tobacco smoke from this sudden massive blame-shifting.
The old sea dog coughed violently, his beard trembling wildly.
"What does an ordinary little girl have to do with me?!"
Crowley's eyes went wide.
"Why are you all looking at me?!"
Rate on N.U.
