February and January were such troubled months. 😭

The highlight of the day had finally come. At the center of the arena was a tented space. Beneath the cloths were potrusions, framing silhouettes of objects they could not guess. Despite the Twelve wanting for a last minute practice, it was nearly impossible, especially since there were already spectators.

People were expecting a fight, especially since the past few days had been like that. The audience tend to have misconceptions and are often misinformed. For sure, they would be taken aback by the performance the Twelve prepared. Not a fight, but an equally good show.

The Twelve had decided to go with their regular uniforms. It looked formal enough and seemed only proper, especially since they were representing the academy. At the end of the day, although it took a lot of effort and perseverance to stay and continue studying, people ought to know how to have fun. The academy wasn't only made of duels or learning to slay demons, but living life the way one wants while showing discipline and responsibility.

Valeriana was wracked with anxiety. This would be the first time for her performing in front of such a large crowd. In just a few moments the presentation would start. The other rankers looked giddy with excitement. Genevieve was being bothered endlessly by Tamara. She was finally smiling after a while.

"Good afternoon, folks!" echoed a voice. "Let me introduce to you Celeste Academy's pride and glory! The Celestial Twelve!"

The audience quieted and the Twelve entered the arena. Keelan took the liberty of grabbing the ends of the cloth covering the stage and pulling on it to reveal the set. The cloth fluttered and collided with the wind as a round of gasps rang once eyes landed on the instruments.

The Twelve and one extra proudly took their place. Zion grabbed his electric guitar, earning looks of curiosity from the audience. Rowe took his place and found a comfortable position to play the guitar. Charles did a few finger positions with the bass and strummed softly enough that it was subtle. Valeriana took her seat behind the drums while Corvan sat before the piano. Tamara stood before the Valemnian version of the microphone--the resonance device made from resonance stones. As second voices, Aneeka and Elfre took their place as well. DJ Keelan stood before his post.

After a brief testing whether the instruments were in tune, Tamara was given the signal to start.

"Hellloooo, everybody!" Tamara said. "I bet you're not expecting this. Don't worry, you came to see a show so we'll give you one. We picked a couple of songs and adapted a form of human technology at Valeriana's suggestion."

"Human technology?" people chorused.

"So the first song we're going to perform is Eyes Open by the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The message from this song is very timely and relevant to us so we picked it as an opening. We'll then follow it up by Maroon Five's Sugar to add a dash of sweetness to this performance, then The Band Perry's Done and Avril Lavigne's Alone for some wild wild feels! After that, we got Brave by Sara Bareilles. We'll close it all up with Long Live for a hint of nostalgia." She winked at the audience, who looked beyond lost. "Anyway, if you did not understand any of those, no problem. We'll make you. Guys!"

Valeriana did a swift drumroll, making the audience gawk further. Headmaster Kylon and Seraphina were beyond astounded while Lord Aeron was clapping--cackling like his usual self. Lord Lienhard was smirking the entire while and nodding his head approvingly. After the drumroll, Valeriana did the signal count.

"One, two . . . one, two, three!"

Zion hit the opening notes with his electric guitar and Tamara sang.

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"Everybody's waiting." She softly hit the notes, closing her eyes as she gripped the shaft of the resonance device. "Everybody's watching. Even when you're sleeping . . . keep your e-eyes open!"

Once Tamara got the last note down, Valeriana hit the drums. Everyone played in chorus and in perfect timing. Corvan's fingers ran down the length of his keyboard while Rowe and Zion played in chorus. Charles bobbed his head as he strummed energetically, getting the rhythm down along with everyone else. Keelan added an air to the music with a soft accent of beats.

The suddenness made hearts lodge to throats, a thrill of excitement running a full course throughout their entire body. Chill bumps trailed their skin and the beating in their chests accelerated. No one knew how to react, but they were oddly taken with the song.

"The tricky thing . . . is yesterday we were just children--playing soldiers, just pretending, dreaming dreams with happy endings." Tamara hit the last note beautifully. It was full of feeling and nostalgia, as though she longed for that past. "In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords. But now we've stepped into a cruel world. Where everybody stands and keeps score."

Elfre and Aneeka came in for the second voice. "Keep your eyes open."

The beat dropped. "Everybody's waiting for you to break down. Everybody's watching to see the fallout. Even when you're sleeping, sleeping. Keep your ey-eyes open!"

The instrumental part rolled in. Lord Aeron nudged Lord Lienhard by the shoulders and they both yelled, "WHOOOOOO!"

As though a bolt of lightning fell down from the sky, life was struck into the audience. They found their limbs moving with the beat very subtly--fingers or feet tapping and head bobbing. Eyes wide and mouth open as they looked about in confusion and a sense of anticipation.

"So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard. Every lesson forms a new scar. They never thought you'd make it this far!"

They entered the second chorus moments later. The band was full of energy. They did not pay attention on how the audience reacted and they could honestly care less. They were all busy harmonising with the others and playing their hearts out, fingers dancing and hearts in chorus.

"But you got something they dont, yeah you got something they don't! You just gotta keep your eyes open!"

Aside from the entertaining music, the Twelve wanted to show off the skills they learned from all the intense late-night practice they went through. Valeriana threw her stick in the air and it spun before landing back perfectly in her fingers, just in time to hit the next note.

The calm part rolled in and the music toned down a bit. This part was where most of the feelings poured in and the notes were played softly, only intensifying at the end of the segment.

"Keep your feet ready. Heartbeat steady. Keep your eyeees open. Keep your aim locked. The night goes dark. Keep your eyes opeeennn!" Tamara's ascend to the high notes was smooth. Her voice echoed melodiously.

The climax shot through the roof and the playing intensified. The spectators could not hold it in anymore. They knew the next words. From how many times it was repeated, they could not help--they sang it out.

Soon the arena was bursting. "EVERYBODY'S WAITING! FOR YOU TO BREAK DOWN! EVERYBODY'S WATCHING! TO SEE THE FALLOUT! EVEN WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING! SLEEPING!"

The Twelve was surprised at the enthusiasm and how accepting the audience suddenly were. Soon, the arena was filled with unified voices, all screaming the same line.

"KEEP YOUR E-EYES OPEN!"

"That's right everybody!" Tamara exclaimed, smiling and waving out her hand. "Keep your e-eyes open!" She concentrated on the high notes. "Keep your e-eyes open!"

Zion ended with a tremor of notes from his electric guitar and Valeriana ended it all with a moment of finality. The entire music faded slowly and it felt like having to step back down to the ground after floating on cloud nine.

The adrenalin was running a steady course, and the crowd was so riled up, their screams seemed to occupy the entire vicinity. Seraphina smiled and clapped proudly. The show exceeded all expectations.

"Not bad," Kylon commented. "That music had a lot of energy."

"Whoaaaa!" Tamara said, smiling at the crowd.

Valeriana could not hold back her grin. It felt so good to have a crowd this riled up. Looks like the opening gave them a little taste.

"The next song will be a little more toned down, just to get all that energy lowered," said Tamara. "This song was sung by a guy, but I don't think that's any problem for me. Ladies and gentleman, Sugar."

Keelan dropped the opening beats as the DJ. This time, the guy would take in a big part for the song. Valeriana would be accompanying him and add in the notes for a more lively beat. Zion, Rowe, and Charles were ever active with the guitars. Corvan on the keyboard will add more accents.

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The beginning was soft and steady. Tamara dropped the thirsty sigh at the beginning, clicking her tongue. "I'm hurting, baby, I'm broken down. I need your loving, loving. I need it now."

The audience were set to life for the second time. Although the energy was lower, the groovy and catchy beat got them swinging on their feet. While they were expecting a fight, they weren't expecting a musical performance! There was no trace of disappointment at all.

Zion steadily strummed in harmony with Rowe and Charles. Valeriana calmly struck at her drums, enjoying the way the mood was going.

"I don't wanna be needing your love. I just wanna be deep in your love. And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby," Tamara sang. Her voice was oddly suited and sexy in this one. Aside from the aura she was putting up, her tone quality and the timber of her voice never failed to force a chill down the Twelve's spine.

Who knew that such a talentless, all-brawn, reckless Tamara would have such a good voice?

"Your sugar. Yes, please!" Tamara's ascend to falsetto was as smooth as butter. "Won't you come and put it down on me?"

The intensity increased at the chorus. It didn't take too long before the spectators fell in love with the new music. Although the style was certainly unheard of, there went a saying that music was for everyone. Art chose no one. There were no qualifications needed for such beautiful, stimulating creations to be enjoyed.

"I want that red velvet, I want that sugar sweet. Don't let nobody else touch unless that somebody's me."

Sweet and sincere. Tamara had such a good depiction of the song.

"Your sugar! Yes, please!" The audience sang along.

"Sh-sh-show me good loving, make it alright! Need a little sweetness in my life!"

Elfre and Aneeka did a lot of second voicing near the ending. Valeriana put more energy into her beats and nodded at Keelan at their great teamwork. Soon, they found themselves at the closing.

Well, that was unexpectedly fast.

When the last note was dropped, they were showered with applause. Valeriana looked around smiling, looking up to where Seraphina was. The woman gave her a nod of encouragement, clapping her hands along with everyone else. Coincidentally, she saw a man approach the headmaster and whisper something in his ear. The calmness was set aside on Kylon's face and he stood up with urgency.

Kylon stood and told Seraphina something. The movements of their lips were all she could discern. They were too far away and the crowd was too noisy in order to hear. Whatever it was, it didn't look good.

"Valeriana," Corvan called her attention. "You need to focus."

"Oh right." She nodded and looked away, a sense of dread flooding in.

"Once again, folks!" Tamara said. "If ever you have someone you're angry at, this song is for you. Vent all of it here! Here we go! Done! And I'm not saying we're finished--it's the name of the song!"

She really found the time to drop a joke?

"One, two . . . one, two, three!"

Rowe struck at his acoustic guitar, suddenly the highlight of the show. His display of skills earned him looks of admiration, from girls especially. Aneeka subtly rolled her eyes at the sight of his smile. Despite Rowe being such a quiet person, he really enjoyed the attention.

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"Whoooo!" Tamara started. "Here we go! Hmmmm! Ooooh oh oh oh! Yeaa-ah! You've been wearing that crown and tearing me down." Tamara pointed to her head and flicked her wrist sassily. "It's been a while since you've treated me right. You strung me along for far too long cause I never gave up the fight. Until now!"

Valeriana steadily struck at the drums, giving Zion a brief look as he hit a vibrato. The dexterity of his fingers was astounding indeed. Rowe did not shine any less. His swiftness made girls sigh.

"Oh my, oh my, huh!" She shot her fists in the air, moving her feet against the floor energetically. "Mama always told me that I should play nice but she didn't know you when she gave me that advice. I'm through with you. You're one bridge I'd like to burn. Bottle up the ashes, smash the urn. I'm through with you, la dee da!" There was a force of anger behind her voice, growling out the notes occasionally as a look of fury appeared on her face.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" yelled someone from the crowd.

Surprisingly, someone took off their shirt and threw it in the air.

She turned to her band, dragging the resonance device with her as she pushed at Charles' chest while giving him a knowing look. The Twelve could not help but react with smiles and shakes of their head. Perhaps, they were the only ones who got the gesture.

"I don't wanna be your "just for fun". Don't wanna be under your thumb. All I wanna be is DONE."

Charles glared at her but continued playing. She smiled at him teasingly, winking before she turned and faced the audience once more.

They proceeded to the next chorus smoothly, their energy continuously rising.

"Done," Elfre and Aneeka chorused.

"With your selfish ways!" Tamara breathed.

"Done!"

"With all the games you play! I'm through with you and everything you saaaaayyy!" She belted out the last note, leaning the microphone-like device over as she leaned forward. After the instrumental part rolled in, Zion and Rowe took over the spotlight. Their guitar solos was practically bringing the entire arena down.

"Hawww!" Tamara yelled, pointing at the rowdy crowd. "Ta!"

The music toned down and Tamara lowered her voice a bit. "Mama told me that I should play nice, but she didn't know you when she gave me that advice."

A short pause and the beat dropped once again. Valeriana poured in all her energy to that note that it brought the energy skyrocketing once again, just when they thought it would slowly climb down.

"All I wanna be is done! All I wanna be is done!" A pause. All music stopped for a moment. "Ugh!"

The beat resumed and Tamara continued.

"I wanna be done. So done! So done . . ."

With a stroke of finality, the drums, the guitars, and everyone else finished in one beat.

The silence with the band was immediately broken and the applauses poured in, screams and cheers rolling like thunder. Tamara and the others took a few short moments to breath. After three songs in one go, they suddenly felt tired. Valeriana's arms ached so she stretched out.

"Thank you! We'll take a few seconds to breathe."

Genevieve, who sat with Raziel managing the wires from the background, ran forward with bags of water in hand. She handed one to each member and relayed a message.

"There's an emergency call from the headmaster," she said. "The Twelve is being called on to help."

"What?" Keelan spat out the water, shocked at the ninth's words. "But we . . . but we . . ."

"What's going on?" Corvan asked, his frown deepening.

"A series of attacks outside the barrier. Aside from that, demons have appeared within the academy. If no solution is laid down, it may take the life of the guests!" Genevieve told them.

Charles and Corvan's eyes flashed and they exchanged a look.

"How the heck did that happen?" Valeriana said, standing. "What about the barrier?"

"Lord Lienhard is checking on the condition. It seemed to be of a similar instance to the demon attack that happened with you a few months ago, Val."

"What do we do?" Keelan asked, his brows furrowing.

"No, do not panic. The audience are still watching. If we look distressed, they'll think something had gone wrong." Rowe calmly swept out his hand as he held the length of his guitar in one hand.

"That's right. We're the face of this presentataion, we can't panic." Aneeka nodded.

Much to their surprise, Tamara burst out laughing.

The Twelve looked at her with questioning gazes.

"What are you doing?" Zion asked.

"Not showing the people I'm panicking," she replied casually, the big grin on her face.

"Are you nuts?" Valeriana shook her head as a look of incredulity crept on her face.

"No, I'm Tamara."

"Stop that. We cannot linger. We need to do something," Charles said with urgency.

"Protecting the academy is our responsibility, but we also need to get this show forward without showing the people something's wrong," Corvan said. After a few moments of silence, the young lord turned to Tamara. "You have an acoustic piece?"

"Well, uh . . ."

"She has," Charles said. "We were going through Valeriana's music player and found some."

Valeriana looked between the fourth and third-ranker, confused. "Since when did you do that?"

"A lot of things happened when you and Corvan weren't around. Without the pianist and drummer and the duels as well, we were expecting the worst case scenario so we played different songs that did not need a full band to play. Now that I think about it, doing that had been advantageous." He looked at Rowe and gave him a nod. "Rowe should stay with me and Tamara while the rest of you go. At most, the time we can buy you is ten minutes."

"Will that even be enough?" Elfre asked.

"We have no choice," Corvan said. "Ten minutes it is, then. Let's go. Everyone, come."

Tamara looked at Charles. "Are you sure about this? I thought you didn't want to sing."

"I can do something simple for the sake of the saving this show and the audience."

"Don't worry," Tamara told him, placing a comfroting hand on his shoulder as she took chairs, Elfre's resonance stone, and pulled them all in front of the stage. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You may not be that good, but you can hit the right notes."

"Shut it." Charles sat on the other chair, positioned the bass guitar on his lap and strummed simultaneously with Rowe. Since he was planning on singing, he'd just do a couple of accents to the music.

"We can do this, we'll see this through," Rowe told them.

The audience got excited. "Is Lord Charles singing?"

While they were getting ready, Tamara decided to entertain the audience. They looked confused seeing the rest of the Twelve walk out and leave the three on the stage.

"Okay, folks. Change of plans," she told them. "We've prepared a little surprise that's not part of the original set, but we think you'll enjoy it so we decided to present it anyway!" She then sighed. "The Twelve and I had gone through a lot of ordeals lately. We went on a mission without telling the headmaster so we were tasked to do the arrangements for the festival! I didn't expect it to be this fun at all."

She took a sneak peek and found her comrades retreating as fast as they could.

"Anyway, I won't be dawdling too much. The title of this song is The Last Time. It's a duet and I'm stuck with this stick-in-the-mud with me."

"I do not appreciate being made fun of," Charles replied casually. He did not expect his voice to ring across the entire arena, resulting to a few laughs. Although the fourth-ranker's glare was serious, it came off different especially with Tamara onstage.

"This guy, really. See what I mean by stick-in-the-mud?" She rolled her eyes playfully, earning more laughs. "Lord Rowe will be playing for us. This segment is very calm and tranquil so I recommend you guys just sit back and enjoy. Are we ready?"

Rowe gave them a nod. "One, two . . . one, two, three."

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Rowe strummed as Charles started. "I find myself at your door, just like all those times before. I'm not sure how I got there. All roads-they lead me here."

His voice was simple and had a cool feel. Although it wasn't extraordinary, it fitted the song so well it didn't matter. No fancy vibrato. The notes were hit straightforwardly and was oddly calming.

"I imagine you are home, in your room, all alone. And you open your eyes into mine. And everything feels better."

Tamara then began to sing with him when the chorus came around. Their voices blended perfectly. The way it came off was harmonious and a blanket of calmness settled over the arena. The rowdy audience were given a time to breathe, a time to relax.

"And right before your eyes, I'm breaking. No past, no reasons why. Just you and me."

The sound of Tamara and Charles' singing reached the other rankers' ears. Although it was distant, Valeriana started wondering what sort of hidden talents the Twelve had in them all along. Perhaps they weren't planning on revealing it at all unless the situation called for it.

"Charles can sing?" Valeriana asked as they trailed behind Genevieve.

"Nobilities are trained in various subjects, so it's no wonder," Keelan said.

"Can you sing, Keelan?"

"Nah, maybe. Just a bit. Not very good at it, though."

"You guys are honestly surprising. When the gods showered blessings, you were all awake. Corvan, especially." Valeriana sulked.

Seraphina was a few walks away, talking to Sir Hajji, a swordsmanship instructor. After a short exchange, they parted ways. The man disappeared to the direction of the borders where the barrier was.

The lady knight saw them coming and approached. "Good. You're here. The demons were spotted in the year one building at the west wing, the year five building, year three at the alchemy laboratory at Development Department's section and the main building before the library. Listen, you all," she said. "I will explain later about everything. For now, split up into different teams. The headmaster and I will be protecting the academy's barrier just in case. The attacks are ceaseless."

The barrier above them trembled and various sounds permeated the air. With the noise from the arena, it was hard to hear, but now that they were out in the open it was more discernible.

"Is the situation that bad? If it is, we should evacuate the audience," Elfre suggested.

"They cannot know and we will solve this problem without anyone knowing," Seraphina firmly said. "It may seem risky, but the future of the academy depends on this. Suspicions are that this attack is meant to sabotage the entire festival and ruin the academy's reputation. If we fail, this place is no more. Do you understand?"

They nodded.

"You are this academy's finest. Protect everyone as future Celestes." She took a deep breath, raised her elbow and fisted her right hand against her heart.

The Twelve stiffened at the sight of this. The salute of an official Celeste.

"You can rely on us, Lady Seraphina." Corvan gave her a firm nod. "Let's hurry, we have less than nine minutes. Valeriana," he said.

"Y-yes?"

"You and I will take the year five building."

She was a bit taken aback by that declaration. Genevieve shot her a knowing glance and hid a grin beneath her hair.

"Elfre and Raziel, take year three. Year one will be Keelan and Aneeka's. Brindon and Zion will take on DevDept. Genevieve," he said and gave the girl a look. "Go to your brother."

Genevieve gave him a grateful nod and dashed off. They all split up and took different directions, running for the spot they were assigned to.

Corvan glanced at Valeriana before nodding towards the direction of the year five building. They ran. Although Valeriana's pace was slower than the first-ranker, he was a bit more considerate than before. Last time they were chasing Lord Lienhard in Preluresia, this sadistic idiot made her dangle from a building just to make fun of her.

The year five building was vacant. Lady Seraphina had not mentioned a specific area like the other spots. She had a lot of questions for the young lord, but time was running and could not be wasted.

"Where are we going to start? This building is huge, that demon could be anywhere," Valeriana told him.

"I have my suspicions."

"What suspicions?"

Corvan did not answer and simply pulled her to the direction of the juvenile arena, leaving her breathless and confused once they got to the entrance. A chill ran down her back and a daunting sound of footsteps pounding against the marbled floor permeated the air.

Seemed as though Corvan's suspicions were right.

It was then that a tall figure stepped out, boots clicking. Corvan had already faced the demon by the time Valeriana turned. This guy's presence was so overwhelming that Valeriana's heart started palpitating. Her sensitivity to their presences was somewhat disadvantageous, but it wasn't as bad as before. Even so, with this aura and presence, he must be powerful.

"Helllloooo there, blueberry muffin," the demon drawled as wrists flicked and hips cocked. "I'll be damned, so fine."

Valeriana gawked and clumsily drew her weapon. She was having a hard time trying to stay wary of this demon with the way he was acting. Although it would be really fine if he was on hitting on her, that wasn't the case. She looked between the demon and followed his eyes up to Corvan. Aside from the chills she was feeling, the goosebumps appeared.

"My, am I lucky or what?" he giggled. "Looks like I hit jackpot with this one!"

Valeriana looked at him in incredulity and found that Corvan's frown was getting deeper.

"Uh . . . who the heck are you?" Valeriana asked him.

He turned his haunting eyes at her direction, raking his fingers through his short, black hair. "Not something I'm obligated to answer, you sunuvabeetch."

"Did you--did you just curse at me?!"

"Sunuvabeetch is a name of a demon, get your facts straight. It's the lowest of lowest demons. Crap. Trash. You should be honored I called you one."

Valeriana could not help but gasp. This demon--his insults! "You . . . you! Are you telling me there's another demon named muddafu--you get the idea."

"Why'd you think that?" he asked, quirking his brows.

"Valeriana, stop it and stay back," Corvan said, holding out his hand as though to block her. "This demon is no regular demon. He has a proper form. Demons with proper form are a force to reckon with. I'll handle this."

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Come at me," he coquettishly whispered. "And that can mean lots of things, take your pick."

Corvan's face was full of disbelief.

A look of confusion creased Valeriana's face, her brows furrowing. "What? What did that mean?" She looked at Corvan questioningly.

"He meant nothing," Corvan told her firmly. "Don't listen."

"Just kidding, just kidding. But really, I won't mind." He winked at the first-ranker. "And while we're at it, maybe you can hand over the keys too."

"Keys," the young lord repeated, frowning.

"You know what I'm talking about. You can't be that dumb."

The keys to King Friedel's tomb?

"You're in no position to demand. This is not your territory." Corvan brandished his sword and tilted it threateningly at him. "There are no keys to give."

"Dear boy, if it weren't for the barrier, we would've killed you a long time ago. This is the Dark Continent, not Aetheria, Preluresia, or any of those places." He counted with his fingers and practically slapped them with his gestures. "You've been slapping our faces this entire time flaunting your training against us in our own territory, you sunuvabeetches. Don't, in the name of Valdis, do you tell me this is not my territory. We've had enough of it. It's time to remind you how you still smell of your mother's milk!"

"At least it's not rotten fish you're smelling," Valeriana shot at him.

"Shut it!" he exclaimed. "You can act all high and mighty and proud but this is our time. Your poor excuse for a king is no longer that capable of keeping these things running and your dumb prince is turning into a demon. Tables will turn, you brats. We'll turn this place upside down!"

Well, that dropped the bomb. Corvan was slightly clueless but did not let it distract him.

"I'd like to see you try." Corvan ran forward struck at him with his sword. His movements were so fast that Valeriana could not react.

Even so, the demon's actions were swift. He caught Corvan's blades with his hands and held him in place. Corvan harshly wrenched it out of his grip, causing dark blood to pour on the floor. He didn't seem fazed one bit, staring at his stained and wounded hands. His eyes glowed for a moment as he licked his wrists, a low and manic chuckle reverberating from his chest.

"I think I'll enjoy this fight," he said.

In the blink of an eye, he brought out two knives. They came sliding down the sleeves of his long coat and flashed against the light as he grasped their hilt and assaulted Corvan. The first-ranker easily blocked his attack and kicked him away at the stomach. The demon stumbled but quickly recovered, swinging for his neck. The way he moved was straightforward and precise.

This guy was an expert. He wouldn't be easy to take down at all.

But what could Valeriana do to help? She feared that she would bring Corvan down with her. This kind of battle was not something she could handle just yet.

"We have at least five minutes left," she muttered as she watched. "Damn it, how can I help?"

She followed his movements with her eyes and took a closer look at his aura. Pure black, but there were flashes of red. A bit of white. Valeriana chewed on her nails. The demon weaved to the side and slashed at his shoulder. Corvan managed to evade by hair's breadth. Those blades of his were bad news. The last time she got in contact with those, she was almost killed by their poison.

"Ah, I feel so useless," she muttered. "Shucks."

But heck, it was like watching a movie. As she stood by, she found herself leaning to the right when Corvan did. Whenever he landed a punch, she would cheer. Whenever he was hit, she would wince.

"That's right!" she exclaimed. "Right! Left!"

"Shut it, you poor excuse for a bitch!" exclaimed the demon.

"You shut it, you wannabe bitch!"

He looked burned. That's right. Burn.

"You're one damned fighter. What rank are you?" he asked Corvan.

"I'm first." He sounded almost cocky. Which he was.

"Ah, no wonder. I want to end things quickly so I'll have to play dirty," he said, winking. He broke away from Corvan and put some distance between them before running for Valeriana. Valeriana was caught off-guard. She was not able to react properly. He brandished the knife and grasped her chin. However, the moment his skin made contact with hers, he was suddenly repelled. His flesh was seared and he fell on his rear screaming.

"Ack!" He pulled himself against the floor like a mop, dragging his back as he used his other hand to propell him. "Well, that backfired. Valdis, what are you?"

"What am I?" she asked, looking at him and his burned arm. "Not something I'm obligated to answer, you sunuvabeetch."

She threw a foot over his chest and pinned him against the ground, her blade against his neck just to warn him not to run off. His dark eyes traced her face, as though memorizing every inch of it.

He started laughing. "I never knew you had this sort of trump card with you. No problem, now that I have this information, once I escape--"

"Who said you will?" Corvan grabbed him by the scruff of his collar, pulled on his cravat and used it to bind his wrists together. "I will not let you escape."

"What, you really think you can keep me here?"

"Not me, of course, but for sure the Celestes would want something to do with you."

Valeriana and Corvan shared an exchange of looks as they dragged the unwilling demon with them. The recent incident had Valeriana's heart running a marathon. The ability to purify, and now this. What just happened back there, exactly.