Blood Assimilation

Shifting focus back to Brawler Randy…

Despite facing rejection from Liena several times in a row, he persisted in following her for the next few days, imposing himself on her mission against her will.

A few days ago, after emerging from the Assassin Guild's building, Liena assumed that Brawler Randy had been driven away by the Gatekeepers after her little scheme. However, to her despairing gaze, he was still standing there, greeting her with a smirk on his face outside her Guild's building, causing her to unconsciously step back.

Subsequently, she attempted to elude Brawler Randy in the same way as before, but, without much surprise, she once again came to the realization she couldn't get rid of him. Brawler Randy clung to her like a pest, refusing to let go.

Relenting, she chose to allow him to follow her but warned him not to make any hasty decisions or confront anyone he met, even if he assumed they were criminals, as that could jeopardize her mission if the wrong target was apprehended. Brawler Randy concurred and acquiesced to her words.

He also vowed to adhere to her other wishes as he accompanied her during her mission, promising to only be a bystander. Liena only rolled her eyes, not believing his words or trusting in his accountability. She was glad that they were away from her Guild before deciding to allow him to follow her, as due to the confidentiality of her mission, she was not allowed to bring anyone with her.

With that development, Brawler Randy closely followed her with a gleeful expression, as if someone who had just won a lottery.

Although following Liena was not Brawler Randy's initial intention, as he merely wanted a tour of Mercenary Street to familiarize himself with the various establishments within the street, he deemed the current development not a bad one. Looking on the bright side, he realized he could learn more from an experienced person like Liena, who had a double occupation as far as he was aware.

Presently, Brawler Randy followed Liena to track down a criminal who allegedly was a pawn of the demon race, with the verdict for him being extermination, the same verdict for any accomplice. Brawler Randy thought it was cruel but he didn't comment on it.

They had visited a teleportation station and arrived at the outskirts of the human territory in the western part of their continent. The location they teleported to was an outpost for the army of humanity. Their purpose was to detect any anomalies concerning demons.

After making their way from the outpost, they continued their journey to the very edge of the western territory of humanity. This location had many villages scattered around the land, inhabited by the poor or those who preferred to live a carefree lifestyle, away from the city where everything was extremely expensive or restrictive.

As they made their way to the destination of Liena's mission, Brawler Randy, despite claiming to only be a bystander, fervently asked Liena a plethora of questions regarding her mission out of curiosity.

"Didn't you promise to only be a bystander? Why are you asking so many questions? You do realize that this is a secret mission that involves killing people, right? Normal people were not supposed to be aware of the details, let alone become curious about it." Remarked Liena, vexed by his persistent inquiries throughout their journey.

As far as she was aware, this was the first precedent of someone asking about the details of an assassin's job rather than outright being scared of the notion of killing someone in cold blood. She felt that Brawler Randy wasn't normal or something was wrong with his head.

Her thoughts made the image of Randy siphoning the blood from the body of the Vampire Man resurface in her mind, causing her face to turn solemn.

Returning to her senses, she squinted her eyes and secretly turned to briefly look at the enigmatic person walking side by side with her on the same road, her thoughts hidden, but her furtive gaze met Brawler Randy's scrutinizing eyes. He stared at her pondering face with a smile on his face.

This caused her to be stunned and agitated as she didn't know Brawler Randy was staring at her until she turned to face his direction, blaming it on her distracted thoughts.

To her queries from a moment ago, Brawler Randy unexpectedly replied: "I did say I'll be a bystander and not interfere in your mission, but I never said I wouldn't inquire about your mission. Also, so what if your mission involves killing people?

I don't think you're a cold-blooded killer from what I've seen earlier, so I'm assuming those people you've killed as an assassin might've done something to warrant their death, am I right?"

His reply caused Liena to be at a loss for words, as his words made sense from a general perspective. Only people with narrow minds would assume the job of the Assassin Guild that openly established their Guild in Imperial City would dabble in reaping the lives of the innocent.

Additionally, she was slightly moved by his assessment of her character, that she wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Although she didn't know why Brawler Randy assumed she wasn't a cold-blooded killer when they barely knew each other, he was right to assume that her targets indeed deserved death as they were all criminals or traitors of humanity.

Despite being touched by his words, Liena still felt exasperated and still wanted to cut him down for his pestering from before till now, but she held back her anger and chose to answer his questions.

"Fine. Whatever. It's not like you'd stop pestering me if I kept my mouth shut, so I'll answer all your questions at once, and then I want you to stop bothering me afterward. I need focus, not a distraction while I'm on my mission. Otherwise, I'll give up on the mission, and I'll make you take the blame.

You won't like the result, I guarantee you." Liena said in frustration, her tone carrying a hint of threat.

"Deal." Brawler Randy nodded in affirmation.

Through his back-and-forth conversation with Liena, Brawler Randy learned about a piece of new information regarding people given the title of Demon Seed Bearers. Demon Seed Bearers, according to Liena, had Demon Seeds planted in them by demons.

As explained by Liena with a discernible scowl of disgust on her face, the targets of these Demon Seeds were mostly individuals who were far away from the protection of the Imperial City's specialized guards that warded off demons. Usually, the countryside cities were subjected to most attacks from demons or captured to become sacrificial lambs for their rituals.

Their target this time was someone who made a deal with a demon to preserve his family by taking a Demon Seed that granted unimaginable power. Unbeknownst to them, the Demon Seed also functioned as a means to create disposable demons to wreak havoc on the human territories.

When the Demon Seed fully germinates, they turn into mindless beasts, with the only instinct being to destroy all life in their vicinity until they run out of steam and eventually die.

These poor people were never shielded or protected by the demons after they transformed into hideous monsters to do their bidding. Additionally, as their sanity was gradually corroded, there was a possibility of them killing their family members with their own hands instead of protecting them as they had wished.