Chapter 353: Burned Knees

"Alicia, bring our guests in here," Ryan ordered from his imposing seat. His voice resonated coldly, cutting through the heavy atmosphere of the throne room.

"As you command, Your Majesty," the beastwoman replied without a single second of hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, demonstrating her characteristic agility, Alicia vanished from her position in front of the dais and reappeared almost instantly at the hall's wide entrance. With firm, elegant steps, she walked out into the cold corridors to fetch the infamous group of demons who had come as emissaries from the Ignis nation.

Since Helen and Mirian weren't present to form Ryan's usual, fearsome military escort, the dragon maid Lise and the young apprentice Chloe quickly took up that position, standing on either side of the throne.

Lise exuded a dense, menacing reptilian aura, ready to kill at the slightest false move, while Chloe stood tall, striving to project the image of an unwavering royal guard.

Down below, at the base of the stairs, the messenger Addy swallowed hard. Realizing he was about to witness a high-level meeting between demonic powers, fear began to take hold of his limbs.

"Your Majesty... do you want me to leave now?" the messenger asked, clenching his fists at his sides. His voice trembled slightly.

"No, stay," Ryan replied, looking down at him. "It will be much faster and more efficient if you tell your city's leader exactly what you witnessed regarding the outcome of this meeting. You'll save me the trouble of sending a report."

"As you command, Your Majesty." The man quickly stood up, bowed deeply, and backed away to the side, almost blending into the hall's stone columns to stay out of the way.

'So, let's see exactly who we are dealing with,' Ryan thought, narrowing his green eyes as he watched Alicia walk back through the tall wooden doors.

Behind the beastwoman marched the silhouettes of three entities who brought with them an abrupt and suffocating increase in the room's temperature.

Their intense red hair was the most striking feature from the very first second.

Leading the group walked a male demon, unusually tall, with an athletic build and a handsome face. His mid-length red hair fell gracefully over his shoulders, and he wore extremely elegant clothes embroidered with fine gold threads and black silk that betrayed his aristocratic status.

Ryan didn't recognize him visually, but given the authority with which he moved and his refined appearance, he immediately assumed this was Demon King Rohan's eldest son.

Right behind him, another demon stepped forward with much slower, heavier steps to position himself at his side.

For a brief moment, Ryan thought this newcomer might be the famous Igniel, but that unusual hairstyle immediately proved otherwise: he had long hair of an even deeper red, tied back in complex braids that were held firmly behind his head by a pair of sharp, crossed daggers.

Unlike the classic eastern hairstyle that used wooden or metal sticks to hold up the hair, this demon used a pair of lethal weapons.

It was the exact same characteristic hairstyle he had when he first encountered Ryan's group in the depths of the Varvylon dungeon. Ryan instantly recognized him internally.

'Solaris. I should have guessed,' Ryan reasoned, remembering. And with that thought in mind, his eyes locked directly onto the third entity of the group.

A stunning woman who, upon making direct eye contact with him, showed neither fear nor submission. Instead, she flashed him a slight, provocative smile, as if she were greeting an old friend.

'Irnina.' Ryan identified the fire dragoness without flinching.

The three entities advanced down the long red rug and stopped right in the center of the hall, lining up in perfect formation just three steps behind Alicia, who stepped aside to give them the floor.

And before Ryan or Alicia could utter a single word to begin the diplomacy, the elegant demon who appeared to be the eldest knelt before the throne with impeccable fluidity, bowing his head in a sign of submission.

Irnina followed suit immediately, taking a knee on the red rug with a graceful movement.

However, Solaris seemed to remember Ryan very well from their past encounter. Although they hadn't faced each other directly in combat that time in the dungeon, Solaris had fought to the death against Helen.

Perhaps remembering that humiliating fight, his pride prevented him from kneeling. Solaris remained completely motionless, standing, turning his head and looking at his surroundings with obvious nervousness and hostility, desperately trying to find that terrifying human swordswoman among the shadows of the hall.

But his silent defiance didn't last long.

"Ah!" Solaris grunted suddenly, his face contorted in pain.

The braided demon dropped sharply to his knees on the stone floor, his bones slamming against the ground.

"You didn't have to do that, Aedan," Solaris hissed, glaring resentfully at his older brother.

"Silence. You must show your absolute respect in this court. Remember well the orders our father gave us before we left," Aedan replied in a low, serene tone that was nonetheless laden with a lethal threat. The older brother hadn't even bothered to look at Solaris when he attacked him.

Ryan watched in fascination as a small but dense trail of black smoke rose directly from Solaris's burned knees, accompanying the faint smell of charred flesh in the air.

'It seems this Aedan used his own fire magic to burn Solaris's joints and force him to his knees,' Ryan analyzed, resting his chin on the back of his hand. 'I definitely didn't expect to see so much formality and respect directed toward me by the royalty of Ignis. I have to admit, I'm impressed.'

With the three emissaries finally kneeling and humiliated before the throne of Kowarre, the beastwoman took a step forward, breaking the tension with her impeccable protocol.

"Your Majesty, allow me to officially present to you the direct emissaries from the nation of Ignis," Alicia said.

Her voice resonated with its usual professional tone, maintaining perfect control of the situation, just as befitted her position when it came to formal, diplomatic meetings.