In an instant, the entire hundred-meter clearing was bathed in gold and crimson. The flames cast a scarlet glow over the passersby's faces. Amid their screams, the figure laughed uproariously as he walked past under their distant, watchful gazes.
The flames seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, yet they acted like this man's loyal servants, submitting to him and shying away as they wound around him, leaving an oval-shaped opening.
"Wildfire from the Chaos Elemental Vortex!?" The holy cleric Old Ryan, who happened to be passing by, immediately recognized the nature of the flames.
"Who is this Sorcerer, my lord...?" Viscount Cassina, who was riding in the same carriage as him, asked with concern.
Old Ryan smiled wryly. "If I'm not mistaken, he's Lord Faola Sandru from the neighboring province, a rather famous Sorcerer Master. He was granted residency after helping the lord defeat a tribe of giant ogres that had tried to conquer Lothar City. Even His Majesty the King recognizes his status."
Having the king's approval was one thing. Whether everyone else felt at ease around him was another.
Several city guards assigned by Earl Ramanque to keep order here still rested their hands lightly on their sword hilts, despite seeing the five-pointed star insignia on the man's shoulder.
There was no other reason: the newcomer was a human-demon hybrid, known as a Half-Demon, or, more precisely, a Tiefling.
Even though the man had distinctly human features, he still resembled a humanoid magical beast bathing in flames.
His face was remarkably rubbery, and long horns sprouted from his head. His skin was an unnatural crimson, his muscles knotted, and his burly frame stood taller than the average human.
But what drew the most attention were the long, sharp claws on his hands and his flexible red tail, which twisted