In Ereel, "fiend" was generally a collective term for demons and devils.
From Archdukes of Hell to Demon Lords, these beings might oppose one another and wield different powers under different alignments, but mortals often grouped these inherently evil otherworldly beings together, treating them as synonymous with extreme danger.
The Vrock Renato had previously killed in Sammoril was one of the lowest-ranking fiends. Vrocks possessed little intelligence, their behavior closer to that of beasts, driven only by instinct and hunger. Even so, they remained a disaster ordinary mortals could scarcely handle.
For Klauthsura to specifically warn him that its energy level was considerable, the fat knight encased in plate armor before them was clearly no mindless, low-ranking fiend like a Vrock. It was probably several tiers more dangerous.
Renato tried everything he could to get around it, offering one excuse after another. First, he claimed he needed to visit an old acquaintance on the other side of the hall, then suggested looking for the white-haired mage who had accompanied them. Finally, he simply pretended that a dish on a table had caught his attention, hoping to use it as an excuse to slip past.
Yet the tall, fat knight remained in front of them like an inescapable shadow, the voice coming from beneath its iron helmet never changing:
"Sir Renato, Baron Morlock invites you to meet him in his private room."
Listening to its words repeat like a broken record, Renato pressed his lips together and quickly scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.
An almost imperceptible change was taking place in the banquet hall. More and more guests were beginning to reveal their "inner selves."
A thorn-covered appendage quietly emerged from beneath the cuff of a gentleman holding a wineglass. A narrow slit opened at the