Blood Assimilation

"Huh?"

Incarnation Randy was startled by their reaction and confusedly asked: "What's so shocking about requesting your names?"

""What do you mean by 'what's so shocking' about your request?!""

The two armored men felt that the young man in front of them was a lunatic for even asking them such an innocent question. They believed he was pretending he didn't know what was wrong with his demand to mess with them.

Incarnation Randy stated: "I mean, didn't I just introduce myself by saying my name to you? As a courtesy, aren't you supposed to reply in kind with your names as well?"

"That's beside the point here!"

The shield-wielding armored man was livid with a contorted expression, but he kept his cool and calmly asked: "So… Didn't you already know our names before coming here?"

"Not really."

Incarnation Randy shook his head and replied: "We only just met, so how could I know your names?"

"This bastard…"

The shield-wielding armored man wanted to beat him up if he could, but he knew doing so would only create unwanted commotion, as he wasn't confident he could subdue him without going all out.

The sharp-eyed man intervened and said: "Forget it. If that is the case, then I will introduce myself first."

Then, he stared straight at Incarnation Randy for a brief moment before he introduced himself.

"My name is Zante. A Holy Knight."

Once the sharp-eyed armored man was done with his introduction, he turned to look at the shield-wielding armored man, who was hesitating to say his name.

At this time, Incarnation Randy was also staring at the shield-wielding armored man in anticipation.

"..."

Noticing the piercing gazes of the two of them, the shield-wielding armored man eventually gave in and crudely said: "Fine! I'm Barian. A member of the Church of Light's Holy Knights. We're in charge of protecting the masses from demons as well as solving demon-related incidents. So who are you really? Although Zante said you're not from the Church of Darkness, your way of doing things suggests that you're from that place."

"Surely you jest!"

Incarnation Randy laughed as if he had heard a funny joke and said: "How could I be a member of the Church of Darkness? What I have on right now is merely a piece of equipment that I got my hands on for protection, nothing more. It doesn't suggest my affiliation as you insinuate."

Then, he stared into the eyes of the two Holy Knights and continued: "In fact, I have always admired the Holy Knights of the Church of Light ever since I was a child. I have always respected you, honorable knights, who uphold the justice of this city. That was even more so when I came across passionate knights like you who give your all to protect civilians from the dangers of the demons."

"...I-Is that so."

"Indeed. The white and golden color of your armor symbolizes the goodness of the Church of Light. However, as impressive as it looks symbolically, it is the ones who don the armor who are more impressive and fascinating to look at. After all, the moment you put them on, it means you are willing to lay down your life to protect the masses."

The shield-wielding Holy Knight called Barian was pleased with his words and said: "You're right. It's an honorable calling and not many could take on the mantle of a Holy Knight. It is not something to take lightly. There is much to give and much to sacrifice, after all."

"Exactly!"

Incarnation Randy agreed, feigning humility and saying: "To be honest, I wanted to join the Holy Knight, but I just didn't feel like I was altruistic enough, so I gave up my dream to become a Dungeon Hunter instead."

The shield-wielding armored man was taken aback by his unexpected reply and didn't know what to say next.

Even the sharp-eyed armored man, who was impatient after hearing them beat around the bush, began to soften his expression a bit after hearing Incarnation Randy's passionate responses, which were full of genuine praise. However, he still acted indifferently and merely listened without a change in his expression.

Incarnation Randy engaged them further in a long conversation, talking about his experiences as a Dungeon Hunter. He talked about his first mission and how he spent many days inside the Dungeon, including how he almost starved himself to death. He also talked about his encounter with two demons during his first request and how he was almost killed by the two fierce demons that were snooping around his mission site.

Naturally, all of the descriptions and timeframes he gave them were fabricated to make sense. Furthermore, he made sure to exaggerate the events by stating both his personal experience and his main body's experience dealing with the two demons.

The two Holy Knights listened to his graphic descriptions of his fighting scenes, including his struggles with attentiveness. They both forgot that the young man sitting with them was the same person who came to cause them trouble.

The main reason for their attention being drawn so easily was because of the identities of the demons that Incarnation Randy described, which were undoubtedly genuine demons. From his vivid descriptions, they could tell that the demons he met were most likely very strong demons with ranks of at least a lieutenant. They too had faced off against some demons in the past, but those demons were mere foot soldiers.

Foot soldiers were weaker compared to lieutenant-rank demons. After all, foot soldiers had levels that were within the range of 30 to 50. Level 50 to level 60 were elite foot soldiers. Meanwhile, level 60 to level 70 were lieutenant-rank demons.

With that information in mind, the more they listened to Incarnation Randy, the more awed they became by his achievements. At the same time, they realized that he wasn't bluffing when he said he could defeat the two of them all by himself.

At some point, Incarnation Randy finished telling his adventurous narrative as a Dungeon Hunter. Then, he took the opportunity of them still being immersed in his tale to bring up the main reason for meeting with them.

"Gentlemen. I don't know if this question of mine would offend you, but if it does, please forgive me for asking."

The two Holy Knights were silent for a moment before they gestured for him to continue: "G-Go ahead."

Incarnation Randy nodded but still spoke carefully: "I heard some rumors about the greatness of the Church of Light, but I wasn't sure if they were true. Therefore, I was curious about it and decided to see you gentlemen to confirm the truth of the matter."

And then he finally asked: "The thing is, I've heard some stories about some secret ceremonies and also some forbidden knowledge withheld by the Church of Light. Is there any truth to these stories?"

At this point, Incarnation Randy was simply throwing a random and baseless question around in order to check the waters for any waves before asking about the main question.

However, when Zante and Barian heard his casual question, they immediately scowled with foul expressions on their faces without saying anything.

Incarnation Randy noticed the change in their expressions, and then carefully added: "Of course, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to. I was personally curious about it. That had nothing to do with what I planned on exchanging with you in the first place."

The two Holy Knights exchanged glances, and then nodded with relaxed expressions after hearing his words.

Zante then answered: "Well, there are some things that are kept hidden from the public. But it's all for the greater good of everyone. Furthermore, we must protect the purity of the Church of Light at all costs. The same holds true for the other churches as well."

Incarnation Randy nodded in understanding, and then as if interested, he asked: "I understand, but I can't help being curious about it. What kind of secrets are we talking about here? The secret of the demon's rituals or the reason behind their steady increase in strength?"

Incarnation Randy was merely throwing out possible facts based on what his main body had learned from Acruxia. He hoped to learn more about demons while he had the opportunity.

Although Zante and Barian hesitated to speak when they heard him, considering that he only cared about demon related topics, they thought that it wouldn't hurt to tell him. Furthermore, they believed that as a result of his encounter with the two demons, which had most likely traumatized him, he would want to know more about how to face them in the future.

Hence, they began to talk more freely. They told Incarnation Randy about some pieces of information that they learned from the ancient tomes kept in the Church of Light. Those ancient tomes appeared to contain theories about the sudden influx of powerful demons that defied the world's laws.

They even told him that they performed some rituals to purify themselves before facing off against the demons in battle. They did so in order to avoid being corroded by the enigmatic evil force they exude when they transform.

Incarnation Randy listened carefully, trying to remember every detail of the information. After cross-referencing the information with his main body's experiences, he realized that the information he was receiving was quite useful despite it being randomly asked.

Thus, Incarnation Randy was able to learn some key information regarding the demons as well as the types of demons and their ranks. Although the information he was receiving wasn't what he was most interested in at the moment, he still made sure to commit every detail to memory.

Even though he personally didn't care about what they said, he thought that there was a chance that the pieces of information he was gathering might come in handy for his main body.