It was odd finding about Cifaro's peculiar quirk. He couldn't cut any physical objects but he was able to defeat that demon just fine.

Usually, a sword would be used cut down the enemy, but it only further emphasized to Valeriana her role as a Direct Controller.

The rules about never harming and being selfless continued to come at her. Now, even the sword she was expecting to be put to use in her battle with Corvan was all out of the discussion.

Gone. Tossed.

And it looked so great too.

Even so, that wasn't even the end of it. There was one more horrible thing that she discovered.

Her own sword could cut her when it couldn't even cut Lady Seraphina.

This was starting to astound her more than anything else that happened so far--that was saying a lot considering she just found out the guy she punched was a prince. Not just any prince. He was the prince.

And he was the one, out of everyone else, turning into a demon.

"Holy shiznits." She whispered to herself. "My life's so strange. Things are getting weirder by the second this isn't exactly a plot you'll expect from a stupid fantasy novel. Who's writing this?"

(Lovely: Excuse you, Valeriana)

And she was realizing all of this just now when nothing had exactly been ordinary ever since she met her current guardian.

Valeriana studied the soul crystal Cifaro and sat by herself pondering. "What kind of sword cannot cut?"

Amril did warn her before. His words being, 'A weapon made out of a Holy Beast's remnants is powerful and indestructible. But one which is made out of the remnants of its soul should possess unexpected qualities.'

Oh, it was unexpected alright.

Utterly, undeniably unexpected. Frankly, a bit disappointing. However, in a way, it was somewhat cool. Lady Seraphina could not even scratch that beast and Cifaro managed to slice it in half when she hardly moved at all.

The fact that her life was saved went without saying.

"Thank you, Cifaro." She said to it, giving a smile.

In a sense, it felt as though it was really made for her. She hated having to hurt other people unnecessarily so having a weapon with the same goals was a plus.

Now, she just learned a lesson.

No matter what time of the day, what event, there was not enough reason to hurt others.

So, in her duel, what exactly was she supposed to do?

Feeling weary of the thoughts running inside her head, she stood and went downstairs to eat breakfast with the others. Charles didn't seem to need any help with the preparations lately. It was as though he was training himself for the upcoming part he was to play in the festival.

She coudn't be more correct with this though. Right when she entered the dining room, the table was brimming with food and an elderly-looking woman, just in time, had her hands full while bringing in more plates. The members of the circle were hanging out on their chairs, doing their own little things.

They weren't wearing uniforms. Why exactly?

"Oh, uh . . . do you need help?"

The woman had bright olive-green eyes and an equally bright smile. "It's alright, child. Please go inside and wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am certain."

Valeriana took her place before the dining table and eyed the bored-out-of-their-minds look everyone had on their face. It was strange seeing everyone out of their uniforms on a class day.

Was she missing out on something?

"Why are you in your uniform?" Aneeka questioned, eyeing her like she was some sort of freak.

"Um . . . why are you guys not in uniform?"

"Because it's holiday." Keelan cheered, chewing on a sandwich the elderly woman had kindly made for him. "No classes!"

"No." Brindon repeated, nodding lightly.

The eleventh looked adorable in his earth-colored vest with golden embroideries sewed onto the leather. His hair was a bit more tousled than usual, giving off a more casual vibe.

"Oh riiiiiigggghhhhtt!" Her fisted hand hammered on her palm as she remembered. "I have a lot going on, I forgot."

Seriously. How could she forget they had the two weeks off to prepare for the festival?

Tamara gave her trademark cackle and started elbowing the girl as they were neighbors on the table. "What happened last night? You came home late."

Now, the women of the Twelve were a deadly lot but Tamara's shape was incredible Valeriana felt jealous--small waist and flaring hips further accentuated by a corset it was making her feel self-conscious.

It was understandable since they worked out a lot. The third-ranker's arms were toned and her legs lined with strong muscles, it wasn't exactly too girly.

She wouldn't wonder if the other girl had a six-pack lining her abdomen.

"Let's just say a lot." Valeriana's weary mood was palpable, but her curiosity got the best of her even then. "Who is that woman, though?"

"Oh, right, you didn't get to meet her!" The third-ranker jumped. "Madame! Quickly! Introduce yourself! This is Valeriana!"

The elderly woman turned and met her eyes, her kind and approachable grandmother smile hanging off of her lips. "It's an honor or meeting you, my dear. I am Kloeschette but if that's a mouthful, then simply Kloe would do. Do approach me if you need anything, alright? Now, if you may excuse me . . ."

The brief introduction was not exactly brief since her way of speaking was somewhat turtle-paced.

Old people are . . . how should she say it? Cute.

"Kloe's a member of the Keiffer household for more than four decades, so she isn't a stranger." Rowe informed, looking up from the book he carried.

"I call her grandma!" Keelan exclaimed.

Corvan chose that moment to walk-in, his casual get-up a bit too flashy in a way that it came off as runway modeling. He had donned himself a plain white shirt with a ruffled, V-shaped neckline that exposed decent skin on his chest area. His long hair was gathered in a low ponytail and his pants were black in color, riding his hips with a red sash holding it in place.

Now there was only Raziel to wait for, the twins, Elfre, and Charles.

Valeriana looked a way, coughing, as Tamara whistled.

"Well, hellooo, Romeo. What sort of heaven did you come from?" The girl wiggled her brows it was embarrassing. "Or rather where are you going?"

"Whatever do you mean?" He questioned, that frown back on. He set himself down before the table sophisticatedly.

"She means you're looking handsome this morning." Rowe translated.

Corvan smirked arrogantly. "Aren't I always?"

"Oooooohhh!" Tamara looked knowingly at her comrades. "This is where I'm supposed to say--"

"Burn." Brindon continued.

Tamara Silver--always the joker of the group. Combined with Brindon, they were hilarious.

They shared a laugh at the puns they were learning.

"Ugh." Valeriana stood with an eye-roll and started walking away. "I'm going to change. I still wanna use this when we go to classes next time."

They said nothing and so she left quickly to change into some more casual clothes. Even so, she had trouble finding anything that was even close to what the others had on. After troubling herself, she found skinny jeans, the boots she usually wore, and a baggy shirt made of a heavy but soft fabric that hardly had any design on it in exception for a small blue heart between the left side of her chest and shoulder. The sleeves of her top were somewhat wide, so she had to wear an undershirt to prevent the unnecessary flashing of skin.

She then took off the bun, raked a brush through her unruly blond hair in attempt to smooth down the waves that was left behind by tying it too much. She struggled with her appearance.

It was hard not to feel self-conscious, with everyone looking awesome and all. It would be fine if it were the normal days, but problem was that it wasn't.

She couldn't help it. The insecurities.

When her hair was a bit flatter than before, she patted it down and took a deep breath. The bracelet her father had given her was sitting around her wrist, complementing her clothes and everything else she wore. After all the hassle regarding the mystery around it, it seemed to be not getting any attention as of late.

She ran back down to grab her breakfast as she was sure they already started. The moment she arrived, however, that was not the case. They were laughing over something she was uncertain of so she stopped by the door.

"Sorry I took long." Valeriana announced, hurrying to her seat.

"There." Charles seemed to have long taken his seat as well. "Now that you're here, I can finally say what I wanted to say."

"What is it?" She asked.

"In the Development Wing, your respective groups have already assembled and are ready to meet you. Please go there after lunch. I'm guessing you'll all head out for your respective practices for the tournament after this."

Some nodded, some remained silent. Either way, their answers needed no verbal confirmation. It was already clear enough.

"Anyway, don't forget our practice on the agreed time. Is that clear?"

When no one protested, Corvan leaned forward and said, "Let's eat."

And so they did.

But things were not as simple as Charles had said them to be. Aside from their own practices, the regular meet-ups for their music, and the collaboration with the DevDept, they had their own responsibilities. Valeriana was assigned to set up the entertainment, so she needed to get the stage ready for the performance day. It was just like how Charles was assigned to take responsibility for the food and stuff and Rowe for the social events.

No one yet knew about what the Twelve was planning for the finale, so a few were excited. Even so, groups were formed to help in the preparations and works were being divided among them.

As Valeriana made her way out, she met up with her aides and a separate team she managed to assemble to help her. Chavi helped her with everything, of course. If it weren't for her friend, she wouldn't have a chance.

This happened somewhere during her class hours and sort of became like this.

"How's it going?"

"Valeriana!" Chavi waved. "Good thing you dropped by, we were getting started!"

"Yo! Valeriana!" Zion's overenthusiastic smile flashed brightly, his blue hair swishing.

"Zion? What are you doing?"

"I'm part of the volunteers." He placed both hands on his waist. "And I brought some friends too." He waved to a group of people behind him.

Wow, they're many.

"T-thanks, I guess."

Hopefully, he already gave up in that sense. Valeriana rejected him after all.

"We were helping out, too, Ms. Valeriana!" Zoel enthusiastically held up a lantern.

"I see. That's good." She smiled at them and handed over a pile of sorted papers she went through. "I already had the layout plan finished. I also managed to reserve the Year Five building. The map's here with me and all the available rooms for our disposal. Do you guys mind giving me some ideas if you have any?"

"The Year Five building?" A girl from the volunteers said. "Not bad at all, miss."

"Valeriana is awesome after all!" Chavi winked at her, giggling. "Oh! But I do have some ideas we can incorporate. We can have a room that's full of the history of how the academy was put up and everything. Since we're basically trying to recruit, we also need to show everyone how great the feeling of being able to follow the footsteps of our ancestors is!"

"That's awesome!" She took out her notebook and speedily jotted down what her friend just mentioned. "Okay, so does anybody here wants to take the lead in setting up that room?"

"I can do it! Oh please let me!" Said an older girl with chestnut hair, bouncing up and down.

"What's your name?"

"It's Raine Valkyrie, miss!"

"I suggest her." Chavi told the girl. "Raine's good with this stuff."

"Yes, I do remember. I see you around in History class sometimes."

"That's me!"

"Okay, then, Raine. I'm giving you Room Twenty-Four A, ground floor. It might be pretty big, so just tell me if you need more people in your team." She smiled.

"Thank you!"

Well, in the end, the team they managed to gather was majorly of first years. These were the few who came to know her and somewhat respect her as a fellow student. Some were also from the preparatory level, courtesy of her aides.

"I'll drop by later before lunch and help since I have training. Do tell me if you guys need anything."

She then waved her goodbye and left quickly to meet with her guardian, Seraphina, for her training. Valeriana was undoubtedly lucky having someone as good as Seraphina supervising her that sometimes it was too good to be true.

But, it felt like she was relying on the woman a bit too much that it wasn't fair to the others.

Shouldn't she start figuring things out by herself already? She should find the right time to bring up the topic and tell her.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Lady Seraphina." She breathed out. "I had some things I needed to go and check out on my way here."

"It's fine. I haven't been waiting long." The woman answered, turning to meet her gaze. "I wanted to talk to you about Cifaro before we start since I have been really curious after last night."

"Yes."

"Bertram gives you his thanks for the help and asked me to tell you that he has been feeling a lot better than before. If ever you need a favor for anything, you can come and approach him."

Valeriana felt flattered. "Please tell him it has been my pleasure."

"Of course." She nodded. "Now, tell me, your sword was made from the soul crystal of a Holy Beast, am I not right?"

"It is."

"I have made a conclusion regarding your sword." Seraphina handed her a small book she had been holding since a while ago. "This book is composed of all things regarding the spiritual realm, it is relevant to auras so I am guessing it will be very useful for you to use as a reference and a guide."

"Thanks." She humbly accepted. "This is helpful."

"Fact is, Cifaro might actually be a form of an animus."

"He did look like a panther." Valeriana dumbly replied, mishearing the word animus for animal.

The lady knight laughed. "No. I meant an animus."

"Ooh."

"Anima are the vestige of a once living being, the quintessence of who they had been before. They may serve as special gifts to someone so their forms may take the shape of something they drastically need. It has been documented numerous times in history, and various anima have been recorded down."

Valeriana flipped the book open and scanned through the different illustrations available. She saw a scythe and something similar to an axe.

"You'll be surprised to know that anima are the weapons used by death to harvest the souls of the dead. That is the reason why they cannot cut through anything in the physical world, but only of those who belonged in the spiritual realm."

She looked up, unable to believe what she just heard.

"Then why did it cut me?"

"I am also uncertain about that. Perhaps, after you obtained him, you also established a special kind of connection. You might be of both worlds."

"What does that mean?"

"You exist in the spirit realm as much as you exist in the physical world. It is very rare, even to a Direct Controller." Seraphina smiled proudly.

This was . . . shocking. She couldn't help but feel as though she heard that somewhere before though. Was this the first time she was hearing this?

"But Cifaro still can't cut."

"He can. He is sharper than any other sword. So sharp, in fact, it is much worse because he can cut straight to the soul. That means instant death for the person, even further postponing the reincarnation, if not, permanently stopping it. It might cause the death of the very soul and the complete erasure of an existence."

"Whoa."

"But we might be able to use it to your advantage, even if you can't physically harm anyone."

"How?"

"Auras are connected to the soul, that means it can be affected as much. It is also of the other side. Don't get me wrong. Getting this sword means heavy responsibilities. Do not ever use it for selfish purposes."

"Here we go again." She sighed, weary of the word. "I really have to watch everything I do around here, it's sort of getting old."

"If you cut the aura, it will take a while to heal." Seraphina lectured, drawing her sword. "You might also be able to cut the connection that enables a person to wield any of the elements."

Valeriana's mood did a one-eighty. "Now that is freaking cool. But what about you? Were you cut before?"

Seraphina looked down on the palm she held out before for the experiment. "It seems not. If my aura was wounded, it shouldn't be big enough to impede me from performing my daily tasks. My control for my element seemed to have . . . well, let us just say, it is not as good before. But that should not be much trouble."

"Good." She felt relieved at that.

"However, because of the fact that this is under probation, I prohibit you from using Cifaro in your fight with Corvan."

"Aw."

"The worst outcome might be that if you cut the connection, that person might never be even able to regain his ability. You know how hard that will be for any Valemnian, especially the heir to the Arlandian throne. Please listen to me, Valeriana. We will find a good use for Cifaro."

"I see. I understand." Valeriana nodded, her face serious.

This news was certainly not ordinary. Heck as if anything had been ordinary at all.

"So, for now, we'll be back to using a normal sword. Do not, however, tell anybody you won't be using Cifaro. It is better after all, if you can leave them guessing if you'll use it or not."

With a smile, Seraphina threw her a sword. "Now, shall we start?"

"Right away!"

"And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You're dressed up nicely."