Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 742 High-Ranking Extraordinary Beings?
“Stronger than the [Named One]?” Beatrice was taken aback. “Are you planning to deal with Lina?”

"You know Lina too?"

"Of course I know. She did most of the records of the Candlelight Society related to the [named individuals]. She may not be very active in recent years, but several hundred years ago, she was quite famous."

"Several hundred years? With such a prestigious reputation?" Hughes was somewhat surprised, realizing that he didn't seem to know much about Lina.

All he knew was that Isaac was being thoroughly beaten by Lena, and that Lena had suffered several defeats at the hands of Big Gwen, and after confronting Little Gwen, she cursed a few times and then retreated.

They don't look that impressive.

Looking at Hughes's expression, Beatrice understood somewhat. Although this border count had the loyalty of many superhumans, his understanding of the superhuman world was not very deep.

"Superhumans are categorized by their methods, each with their own strengths. There are the [Nymphs] who excel at stealth, the [Skinners] who excel at direct combat, the [Investigators] who excel at everything, and the [Knights] who excel at nothing. In short, although each has its advantages, the overall difference is not too great."

"They are the extraordinary beings, the backbone of a church, supporting the entire extraordinary world."

"And above these extraordinary individuals are the second-tier extraordinary individuals."

"Second tier!?" Hughes was completely stunned. "There's a second tier? Does that mean there's a third tier, a fourth tier, and then a Saint tier, a Demigod, and so on?"

"What is that?" Beatrice asked, puzzled. "But second-tier transcendents are generally not considered 'humans'; in some ways, they are more like objects, such as the 'cocoon' of the Fire-Chasing Moth. You've probably seen that before."

Beatrice knew that Hughes had the Fire Moths loyal to him, and she was initially quite afraid, but after spending more time with them, she found that they were actually quite friendly and not as crazy as she had imagined.

Yeah, the banshee is a bit crazier.

"【cocoon】?"

Hughes had indeed heard Chloe mention this name before, saying that it could hold a soul. He had initially thought it was some kind of vessel, but now it seemed to be a superhuman.
"Yes, and there are also the 'Guardians of the Candlelight Society.' They are all second-tier transcendents. Transcendents at this level cannot exist in the mortal world and can only survive in the Sea of ​​Ignorance. If you've been to the Gate of Three Points, you'll see a lot of them. But then again, those who go to the Gate of Three Points basically never come back."

"If it cannot exist in this world, then what is it here?"

“Projection.” Beatrice seemed to recall something and gave a nostalgic look. “In short, there’s no need to worry too much about second-tier superhumans. They have very little impact on the world and only have some special abilities.”

"Alright, but I have a question: why are they called 'Second-Tier' transcendents? Can you advance to become a [Guardian]?"

"Uh, I'm not sure about that, but even if it were possible to advance, no one would do that, right? Cocoons can't move and can only communicate with the outside world by writing, and Keepers of the Secret can only stay in a room and can't come out. They don't have any powerful abilities, so who would want to become like that?"

Hughes frowned, feeling something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What about the [named individuals]? Who is stronger, them or the second-tier transcendents?"

"It's difficult to compare them. Second-tier superhumans are generally unable to fight. Even those who are mobile, like the Guardians, cannot leave the Guardians Council's building. Therefore, they are difficult to consider as combat power."

"So, only first-tier superhumans can actually fight freely? Are there any third-tier ones?"

"Ordinary superhumans also have various limitations. For example, we [Investigators] sometimes have bad luck. The [Nymph] only has a human shell, and its body has no human structure at all. The [Buried One] can't even die if it wants to. If it gets caught, it will be very troublesome."

Hughes' eyes lit up: "Wouldn't that mean if we capture the [Buried Ones], we can make them work for generations? Isn't that a perpetual motion machine?" Beatrice curled her lip: "The Silent Sanctuary has launched several holy wars because of this."

Fighting to avoid working overtime is indeed a holy war.
"As for higher-level transcendents, I can tell you very clearly, there are none. Even second-level transcendents are unable to move, so how could there be higher beings?"

“But there are indeed many strange and unusual superhumans,” Beatrice added after a moment’s thought.

"For example, a dual approach?"

"Yes, Isaac and Jules, they both had dual pathways, but they both obtained them by accident during that disaster, and there was no stable method to become one."

"And this is even more true for those who have given their names." As she said this, her eyes dimmed slightly.

There was a time when she also wanted to be promoted to "Named Person", but it turned out to be nothing but a scam.

Looking back now, I suspect someone set a trap for her. If Castells hadn't sent someone over at that time, she probably would have been finished.

Beatrice clenched her fists.

Don't let her know who it is, or she'll be in big trouble—she's known as the legendary fountain!
"So, which is more powerful, the [Named One] or the dual-pathway?"

"It depends on which two paths are being referred to. Besides, you're underestimating the [Named Ones]. Their power is unimaginable!"

Can't imagine?
Hughes only remembered that Gwen could easily chase after Lina and beat her every time.

Aside from her medical skills, Gwen doesn't really have much that's "unimaginable."
At least she couldn't physically withstand the dragon's breath cannon.

“The Vatican conducted an experiment before. Uncle Jules could easily deal with a team of five investigators, while the ‘Named Ones’ required at least twenty-five people to fight them head-on in order to capture them.”

"Twenty-five people?!"

Hughes was somewhat taken aback by the number.

The Investigator's ability in direct combat is definitely not weak, and can even be described as very strong. At least Nora admitted that the Burial One could not beat the Investigator in a one-on-one fight.

In other words, one Lina is worth twenty-five Noras?
This was quite unexpected.

That [Named One] is indeed strong. Isaac definitely couldn't defeat twenty-five superhumans, not even the [Knight].

“To mobilize twenty-five investigators, we need to gather from multiple parishes, which involves a large number of people and a large target, making logistics very troublesome.” Beatrice’s expression gradually became serious: “But the [Named Person] is only one person, which is much more flexible.”

"If the [named individuals] are determined to cause trouble and then leave, there are almost no good ways to deal with them."

Will the [named person] try to cause trouble?

"Yes, for some reason, the [Named One] keeps causing trouble all over the world, and it's not just targeting the Candlelight Vigil. Have you dealt with the [Named One]?"

(End of this chapter)