章 59: Calamity is Divided into Six Levels

Luca only sat there as he listened to Noah. Though the witch didn't get too detailed about the whole story—leaving out Caliga and Mephisto—in the encounter with Bomberman and his escape from the station, Luca realized that it did seem like a chance encounter.

However, being paired with the things he heard from Richard, Luca arrived at a conclusion.

"You were singled out." That was the first thing he said after Noah finished his narrative. "That time you entered the elevator, you were already singled out. I have a feeling they were waiting for you to come in before executing the plan.

"A regular employee walking up to the CEO's office is not common. They probably knew you were connected to the Connors in some way… that Randy Connor would meet you no matter what time you came to see him."

Just hearing about it that way made Noah a lot angrier. He was unaware of these things, and the Connors didn't bother him whatsoever even if they allegedly bought him from his auntie.

Richard was only getting close because he was the Vice President of Finance. He normally went to see their supervisor, and that supervisor's favorite coffee boy was Montana.

Now, he was actually used to execute a murder he didn't know he should really be involved in?

Noah's brows knitted in a glacial, murderous glare; however, he wasn't glaring at Luca in particular. It was just his hatred for Nadin had been shared among the entire coven he belonged to.

The plan wasn't just his; everyone there had an involvement… if that was an act of revenge against Randy Connor who killed his demon handler.

It's just that… Noah was still sick. His head started to hurt while his heart ached just the same. He then groaned… and whined. "Luca… why do I feel so hot?"

"Ah, I… I don't know…" Luca used his sleeve to pat Noah's sticky forehead and picked the strands that stuck on it. "No one knows. Erm, but I have to say… you're so brave. I'll never fight a level seven alone in my entire life…"

"Level seven?"

"Yes, the demon from yesterday. I've confirmed with the Order that the demon was level seven."

Noah squinted at the hunter. What level seven? Were demons supposed to be judged according to levels? He first heard it from Luca when they neutralized Not-Randy, but he didn't care about it. Now that it seemed to be integral for him to understand, he wanted to know.

Luca was actually smiling when he was praising Noah; however, the look in his face made Luca confused. He then returned the squint with a frown. "You… don't know what I mean, do you?"

"No."

"You're a level five witch, and you have no idea?"

"Don't scold me. I never heard of levels before." Noah whined again. "When I was with my friend and Mephisto, they only spoke of chaos grade, disaster grade, and calamity grade… and that I am in fact calamity grade already."

Luca's brows lifted. He then understood. "I see… let me explain what these levels are.

"In the beginning, we only did use only these three grades, but as witches and demons grew stronger, we had to expand it. Levels one and two are for the chaos grade while three and four are for disaster grade.

"Calamity grade is divided into six levels, but only the first three are attained by witches and hunters. Levels eight to ten were reserved for demons. A level eleven might appear sometime, but that's actually a code for the demon princes.

"Mariz is registered as a level six while our checks on you put you in level five. Since the difference between levels doubles each time, it's normal for you to experience difficulties in fighting Mariz even if you're both calamity grade."

Luca paused and looked down as he spoke softly, "Alessa, the woman you fought last night… is a level seven. She's bound to break through level eight soon, and no other hunter has done so before."

Noah only stared and then blinked. That explains why she was able to effortlessly destroy that demon. He was fighting something that had quadruple strength than his. Listening to this explanation then flashed a spark across Noah's eyes. "What about Bomberman?"

Luca then sighed. "He was recently promoted to level five. He's not making any moves at the moment so we believe he's training as well. He almost lost his life when you fought him. That bastard was only lucky he managed to hit you, or else he's dead.

"Don't think about him for now. Try to recover as fast as possible." Luca rubbed Noah's face before realizing his intimate action. However, Noah only leaned into his touch as he closed his eyes.

"The cuffs hurt. They're too cold," Noah murmured.

"You were hurting yourself so the nurses had to cuff you. Don't worry, you won't have to deal with them when your fever goes away."

"Luca…" Noah opened his eyes slowly, his lashes fluttering.

The hunter stared at him before leaning closer. Their lips then pressed against each other's, and Luca sipped at him a little.

Noah's face was still unnaturally hot, and it wasn't the same when they were making out. This made Luca think that Noah was still sick and was asking for protection. If he couldn't move, what use did he have for his powers?

Just that… someone cleared their throat from the door.

Luca quickly shot up and turned to the source of the coughing. It was a nurse, and she had a trolley. It was time for Noah's drips to be changed. The hunter quickly hid his red face from view, and the nurse only kept her giggles.

"I didn't mean to disturb you two, but helping your boyfriend recover his health is more important, right?"

The nurse teased them as she changed the drips. "Moreover, we advise you not to kiss for now. We still don't know if Mr. Rocco has a viral infection. It might get on you, Mr. Allsworth."

"Yes, yes, I understand." Luca nodded, but he still avoided the nurse's gaze.

"No kiss? Look at him—how am I supposed to resist that?" Noah chuckled and joined the nurse in teasing the hunter. Luca then shot a glare at Noah, but his red face was too cute to be taken seriously.

…

The fragrant smell of tea wafted in the air as a man sat on his own at a table in the most hidden corner of the dining hall. The hotel was hosting a tea party, and he booked a spot—an entire table—for him and for his daughter.

He was about to pick up his cup when the servers came to place towers of desserts on his tabletop.

His sharp gaze didn't lift past his straight eye level. That was how the servers were spared from his deathly glare. The only person courageous enough to meet his eyes was a young adult woman who seemed to be in the same age as Noah.

Alessa sat down with a mug of white blended drink with chocolate drizzles and chocolate chips on top. A wafer stick looked like the straw, but she had a metal one at hand. She smiled at the desserts next to her and took a small glass of panna cotta to feast on.

"Alessa…" The man cleared his throat and spoke in his very low voice. "Is this bad news of yours enough to make you eat a whole dessert shop?"

"Yes, Father. I had an encounter with death. I felt like I lost ten years of my life so I will eat my fill of desserts in case it happens again," Alessa answered so simply, ignoring the stern-looking people sitting at the tables around them as if a mob protecting the man and his daughter.

"Hm, maybe you are designed to be shameful to take to tea parties so I have something to miss about that imbecile brother of yours." Orpheus Allsworth brought a hand to his forehead and pinched it as if all his children had sinned against him.

When they were only teens, Luca was the worst and had to be given away to be disciplined properly. However, as they all entered adulthood, Orpheus realized that Luca might have been the most normal among them.

Whether it was because he grew up outside the Allsworth's main family household or not, Orpheus didn't want to know.

It's just that… Luca stopped being as good as his siblings. Just take Alessa for example, who was already half-a-step into becoming a level eight. Even if Luca was working hard, his skills were never enough anymore.

However, Orpheus couldn't risk the Order's reputation to be in shambles if he sends his borderline-sociopathic children to the board.

That was why Luca was still an investment he was willing to make.

That was also why they couldn't sit tight and let Luca live alone in the USA. Just now, he was supposed to be in Massachusetts, and yet Alessa found him protecting a level five witch in New York.

"Ten years, you say. What about it?" Orpheus only shook his head and endured the headache. He wasn't even supposed to be the one accompanying Alessa and her sworn sisters, but his wife kicked him out of their house to make sure Luca would be safe.

"…Ten…" Alessa was already halfway her milkshake and had already consumed half of one of the towers. However, her happy indulgence turned sour as she remembered the fear that coursed her body.

"I met a level ten demon last night, Father. He said I shouldn't kill the witch if I do not want to incur the wrath of his level eleven handler."

Orpheus only stared at her, his mouth opened slightly. Level ten demons weren't supposed to be in this plane, but they were known to be pets of the demon princes. Upon hearing so, Orpheus glared straight at his daughter.

"The handler… was it Asmodeus?"

クリエイターの想い
droopyghost

Don't be scared if you didn't find the next chapter around 9 AM server time. Time slot for November will be changed to 6 PM! OwO Thank you so much! I owe all of this to you guys who decided to stick with me!

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