Directly below the cliff lay the eastern beginning of a long, though not especially wide, mountain gorge. Shade and Sivie continued west along the gorge, and before long, they felt the air grow slightly warmer.
As they continued forward, they saw a man walking out of the raging flames ahead.
The wild flames had already melted the snow from nearly half the gorge. The flowing fire had now turned the gorge into a "river channel," as though it could devour everything in its path.
A Destiny Ring floated behind the man who had summoned the flames to cast his spell. Nine Rings was a fairly high level, the same as Shade's. But Shade was not concerned with his level. It was the metal holy emblem hanging from his chest that caught his attention.
"The Misfortune Order."
Unless they entered a city, cultists generally wore their holy emblems openly on their chests. The higher a Ring Arcanist's level, the more likely they were to do so, making them easy to identify.
Because he was maintaining a full-force spell, the unfamiliar Cultist's senses had also been heightened to their limit. As a result, Shade and Sivie, approaching him head-on through the gorge, were discovered before they could hide.
The two sides froze at nearly eight hundred meters apart. Before Shade could ask, "Do you know playing with fire is forbidden on Fatumonster Mountain?" the unfamiliar Cultist raised both hands and shoved them forward.
"Thaumaturgy—Fire Dragon Roar!"
Surging flames engulfed him from behind, then rushed down the gorge toward Shade and Sivie.
"The Nun mentioned this thaumaturgy to me. It isn't merely a change in the flames' form. Since the learning ritual includes dragon blood, it also contains an element of Dragon Breath."
Shade gestured for Sivie not to intervene, then touched Chloe's