Unexpectedly, the Velari was still somewhat suspicious and baffled by Simon’s choice of his title.
He knew about the past era where the Demon King of Death was the sole ruler of the entire demon realm.
He knew about the great war between the strongest Hero of Earth and the Demon King of Death.
It was a terrible war that nearly sundered the demon realm in two.
For a moment, the Velari suspected if Simon was a human in disguise or if Simon was a demon who was secretly supporting the humans, but he knew that such thoughts were outrageous.
’A human cannot disguise him or herself as a demon and successfully sneak into the clan, and from his words, it seems he doesn’t know what the word Halo truly means.’
The Velari decided to educate Simon.
"Halo was the title given to the past Hero of Earth who slayed the Demon King of Death. He was called many things, The Demon Slayer, The Hero of Earth, and also The Halo of Earth. You choosing to have his nickname can cause some demons of that era to be displeased and suspicious of you."
Some of the Initiates who were listening attentively had expressions of realization, and they could not help but look at Simon, wondering if he’d change his title after the words of the Velari.
Simon could feel all the gazes of his classmates, but he wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
"Thank you for enlightening me, but I still wish to have that title. Because of my existence, I gave my people hope. I was referred to as the hero and the hope of my people, and like I said a particular elder told me that a hero was referred to as the Halo."
"As a child who has failed his parents and my people, I want to call myself the Broken Halo so that I would forever recall my mistakes and my past failures."
The entire hall went silent, but a few seconds later, a clap echoed in the hall.
Clap
Clap
Clap
Sniff
"That’s my third brother. What a man. What a warrior. Who would choose to remember their failures instead of forgetting them? I’m proud of you third brother!"
Simon’s lips twitched behind his mask, and he had the urge to speak and strangle Thorgan due to his cringe words.
However, he also thanked Thorgan for his words because it completely shifted the thoughts of the Initiates and the Velari himself.
’Not bad, Thorgan. Not bad.’
"I see... If you’re hellbent on having such a title, then so be it. You’ll only have yourself to blame if you encounter any future troubles because of your title."
’Besides, it’s not everybody that knows that the Hero of back then was also called The Halo.’
Simon nodded. "Thank you."
The Velari indifferently waved his hand, then he gestured at Simon.
"Bring your right hand, let me give you your mark."
Simon did as he was told, then he handed over his right hand to the Velari.
The Velari grabbed his hand, faced his palm upward, then he used his sharp index black nail to draw the symbol of the clan on Simon’s palm.
Simon felt a sting across his entire body, but he didn’t flinch or make a sound.
It was nothing compared to everything he had gone through.
"Aside from your mask and title which would be used to identify you, this symbol would also be used to be identify you, especially when you’re outside the clan without your masks."
The sound of Simon’s flesh being seared drifted into his ears, and Simon’s gaze was on his palm.
’When I saw him do this to the others, I thought he was simply drawing a tattoo, but I can see that it’s more than that. He’s drawing the symbol of the Shadowgrave Clan with chaos runes. The symbol serves several functions... I need to have some understanding on how chaos runes work.’
Just as Simon had this thought, the Velari continued his words.
"The clan’s symbol on your palm would have your details like your title, your rank, your achievements, your merits, and so on. It is very important to you."
"What if my right hand is cut off?" Simon asked.
"Then you’ll get another one on another part of your body."
"Can it be used to track my whereabouts?" Simon asked another crucial question.
"Yes. We’ve used this to recover the corpses of some clan members, and to also avenge them."
Simon’s expression remained unchanged. "I see."
He remained silent for a while, then he asked another question as the Velari engraved the symbol into his palm.
"And it can also be used to know the life and death status of a clan member, right?"
The Velari glanced at him with slightly raised brows behind the mask.
"You sure do have a lot of questions."
"That’s my last."
The Velari shook his head slightly. "Well, I guess it’s not a bad thing for an assassin to want to know more about something. Information can be what saves them from the jaws of death."
Simon remained silent and just kept on staring at his palm.
"For your question... Yes, the clan can know the life and death status of a member. It’s actually common in forces as powerful as ours."
Simon nodded slightly, and just like he said, he asked no more questions. However, he had more questions in his mind.
’He answered my question in a roundabout manner. I asked if the symbol could be used to figure out the life and death status of a clan member, but he said the clan can know the life and death status of a clan member.’
’I guess the clan has another method aside from the symbol? Or maybe it’s the symbol and he just didn’t specify? Or maybe I’m just overthinking it?’
’And if it’s the symbol the clan uses to track clan members or to know the life and death status of a clan member... Can I bypass this by cutting off my hand?’
’Would they still be able to track me or any member if their hand was cut off?’
Simon had these thoughts and many others as he watched the Velari engrave the clan symbol on his palm.