Valeriana never thought that she would dearly miss the academy. A lot had happened ever since they left that coming back never felt so . . . right. Yes, perhaps that was the word. She could not forget the times where she longed to leave the place, yet when she did and came back, she experienced rare happiness. It was then that she realized that maybe she enjoyed the life in the academy.

Like, yes, this was where she belonged. The fast-paced environment, high expectations, challenges, the adventure, the expectancy—the mystery. It was the only place where she felt she could truly improve and find out more about herself. At first, she assumed a good and famous college with a competitive system would do the trick, but this took it up to a whole new level. It was more than anything she could ask for.

Back when she was in high school, it truthfully felt like there was something missing. However, she had been devoid of that sentiment ever since she met Seraphina. Looking at the bright side of things, perhaps this was the best outcome that could've happened from all the countless possibilities that could've occurred instead.

Yet, even though it filled her now with a different impression, confusion tormented her more than it ever did. She was in that stage of her life when she found everything happening all at once. The troublesome mystery about herself, now, include what Zion had just stated before her. With mild reluctance, she forced her mouth to request the non-ranker's silence regarding the matter.

Although she was already in deep thought about, well, everything, he just had to add something else heavy to weigh her mind.

"You sound like you know Corvan like the back of your hand." She told him.

"I don't." He answered, bored stiff. "I know him like one plus one equals two. I don't really know the back of my hand." With that statement, he looked at his knuckles and was mildly surprised. "I never even knew I had a scar here."

"O . . . kay." Valeriana was weirded out by his strange antics, but did not comment on it. "Why is that?"

"I should know him that well." He lamented, exhaling loudly through his nose. "For lower nobles like me, I should know about the leader, right?"

"You're a noble?! But, you don't have a de or a von or a de la whatever in your name."

"What don't you get about lower nobles, Valeriana? Besides, my status is so low it's next to the merchants. Lord Corvan would become the boss of the boss of the boss of the boss—and multiply that by whatever number above fifty—of my boss and I'll have no choice but to do what he freaking wants me to do. That's the reason why he treats me no different from a commoner." He blew out his bangs sourly and crossed both his arms and legs as he leaned back. "I'm trying to avoid that. I don't really want to take the position of my late father and become his dog of some sort. I'm much better than that. If I somehow can finish my studies in the academy, I can become a Celeste. Then, we won't have to serve the nobles anymore."

"Then, if you're determined to change that, why don't you work?" She asked him.

"I am working my own way, but everything repeats all the time, it's boring. I don't attend history because it's boring." He then gave her a stubborn look. "And you can't say anything to me that will make me think otherwise."

"I wasn't planning to." Valeriana raised a brow at him in response.

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we're there."

Valeriana never felt so cold in the carriage that her body felt numb and stiff all over. However, she tried to show no signs of it and breathed loudly instead, choosing to push herself against the corner and lean against the wall to conserve some heat. She deserved it as much as she cared.

#

As the group ventured out to head back to the ports, certain adjustments had to be made to their original route. Since there was a debris blocking the path down the mountains, they opted to take the other path towards the rolling hills. It would not impede the journey much, but lengthen its duration for an hour or so—which made Charles feel more than frustrated at the schedule he was running after.

Even so, they had no choice. They had to go on lest they want to further delay the trip.

After a while, the carriages entered an open field of slippery ice with nothing to see except pure whiteness for a few kilometers or so. The winter horses were somewhat shocked by the change of surface texture, but the carriages got by fine since it had no wheels and resembled a sleigh more. However, the control went awry that they had to slow down and tread carefully.

"This is the worst thing that could have happened." Charles blew out a sigh as he snapped the book he was reading close. "We're starting to journey above a lake." He then knocked the wall behind him, opening a small hole that connected the passenger's and driver's seats. "I suggest you go on slowly since we're above a lake, if you don't already know."

"Uh . . . uh . . . sir, I . . ." The entire journey stopped.

"Charles, you need to look outside." Aneeka said.

Charles did as what was asked. Instinctively, he reached for his weapon and was prepared to take it out. "You have got to be kidding."

"What should we do?"

Courtney, on the other hand, was shell-shocked at the sight from outside. Rowe's reaction was a lot calmer, but even he could not refrain from frowning. "Demons hunting in packs . . . this is rather unusual seeing as this is a bit against their territorial instinct."

"Asking the horses to run away will only cause the ice beneath us to break, not to mention the instability of both the horses and the carriage will only lead to unwanted incidents. However . . . assuming that Tamara and I—no. That is too much work and this lake is too big. To support this entire weight with only the two of us doing the job . . ." He gritted his teeth, wracking his brain for an idea. "We'll just have to drive them away. We cannot fight them all. If we somehow can find their weakness, there is a winning chance."

"Do you know what type of demon they are?"

"They resemble panthers, but . . . I have never heard of this specie before."

"They look like the Mountain Raudes." Courtney stated, the look on her face beyond bewildered. "Raudes hunt in packs and they are not particularly very weak to demonic temptation."

Moments later, they heard Corvan yelling outside. "Everyone! Draw your weapons immediately! Disembark your carriages and—"

"Uuuaahhhh!"

"Dammit!" Someone yelled. "Hurry up, guys! These guys are a bit too faster than they look!"

Zion jumped from where he was. Seeing the chaos from outside made him feel excited and he hurriedly stepped out, calling from behind him. "Hey! Valeriana! Come on!" He shook her steadily. "Wake up! Hurry!"

Unfortunately, she could not be woken up that easily. "Leave me alone. It's Saturday."

Eventually, he lost his patience and decided he would just come back later. "Alright, I'll just get the weapons."

Corvan did not waste any time fighting off the demon that lunged for him. However, when he tried to push the flesh apart with his sword, he was unable to. Only after trying more than few times did he realize it was not effective against them.

"These beasts! They have thick hides! Blades won't work against them!" Someone else exclaimed.

Like he hadn't realized that yet.

"Everyone, regroup! Make your way to one place! Our numbers will help fend them off!" He instructed.

Everybody moved to do as he told.

A tremor woke Valeriana from a sleep she did not realize she had fallen into. This included the neighing horses and the sudden chaos from outside. Languorously, she stretched, only to have her body thrown backwards and her head hit the wall. Before she knew it, the carriage toppled over and she was sent hurdling throughout the entire place.

When it stopped, she groaned and massaged the spot where it hurt. "That's some way of waking someone up."

The window was broken and pieces of glass were all over the place. The shards had grazed her skin and left behind stinging abrasions. She protected her eyes and head the entire while, something taught to her during that survival camp place when she was still in high school.

There was a subtle chiming sound of glass chaffing against one another as she attempted to stand, her foot shifting unsteadily while she endeavored to regain her balance. She used the walls to support herself as she groggily looked up to discern what in the world just occurred. Concurrently, yells echoed from outside, both panicked, worried, and angry.

The carriage was sitting on the wrong side, specifically its side. She was about to laugh at the mental pun when tremor racked through the horse-drawn vehicle once again. The door—which was only a few inches from her head—was her only way out. She couldn't stand as tall as she normally was since the height of the carriage did not support that length.

Wait. Where was Zion?

"Zion?" She called out. "Zion? Where are you?"

There was a sudden holler from a distance. "Valeriana! Valeriana, are you alright?" There was a loud pounding against the flooring—or what it used to be.

"Who's there?" She questioned, feeling the fear coil inside her stomach. Her body reacted against a strong, uncomfortable force—an aura—that pushed against her own. "Demons . . . there are demons . . ."

"It's me!" Zion shouted. "We're under attack, so hold on and—"

A huge body then landed on the door—which she was hoping to be her only exit—and glowing eyes looked through the shattered windows, making the figure hazy and somewhat unclear until paws broke through it. Sharp nails swiped at her, making her bend down in an instant and cover her face from the shower of broken glass pieces. There followed another crash that came with a swift rush of heat and the sound of loud fire.

"What the heck is going on, you guys?!" Valeriana exclaimed. "I just slept for a moment and this happens?!"

Valeriana looked around in panic and tried to find a way out. She really wasn't one to bring along a weapon just in case. The fifth-ranker had left her guard down thinking that being in the carriage was safe. She left out the fact that they could get ambushed.

She tapped the walls, wondering which one she could kick to make a hole out of. However, there was a big chance she would only get attacked by these monsters once she was out in the open. So, now, what exactly should she do? Should she stay put and wait until someone saved her? Or should she find a way to survive on her own?

"Dammit."

She could hear the blasting of fire from outside that it was practically warming up the whole area. At first the warmth felt comfortable until she heard something crack from under her. Her eyes shot wide as she slowly gazed down at the floor. Pulling off the broken door, she saw ice. It wasn't the usual ice that covered the floor, but ice which was the frozen water kind—the one for ice-skating. She knew at least this much from her experiences.

"Holy crap. Zion! Stop blasting that stupid fire of yours!" She exclaimed, assuming it was Zion doing it. "You're going to break the ice, you know! If you melt it off, we'll both drown!"

The demon was still at her and it was slowly breaking apart the small hole it found. Judging by how it wasn't reacting to the harsh scratches it should be getting from the sharp splinters of the wooden carriage, it probably had a thick hide. Pulling off a part of the door which was halfway broken, she wondered out loud.

"Will this work?" She threw in the 'YOLO' mode and shrugged her shoulders before driving the whole thing towards the face of her assailant—which, by the way, she was so scared to do. This wasn't the closest encounter she had with demons. However, every time she met them, it was her who had the bites, the scratches, and the stab wounds. For at least once, she wanted to be the one to inflict the injury.

Unfortunately, it did not work. It only grazed the demon a bit. She cursed at the failure but cheered anyway for being able to do what she did. Apparently, she wasn't that ambitious and was a bit too happy.

Within a moment, the ice beneath her split apart, revealing ice-cold waters that exuded a cool air—not that the ice hadn't frozen her to death already. Fortunately, the carriage hung in a balance between the cracks. Banging her fist against the wall, she infuriatedly yelled.

"Zion! I told you I—"

The demon growled at her at the same time.

She glared at it, causing its ears to flatten against its head as she shouted, "Oh, shut up! I'm trying to talk to somebody here if you can't see already! I am sick and tired of people cutting me off when I'm trying to save my own butt from dying from hypothermia! So shut up! Shut the hell up, you demon hound! You guys don't have any manners at all! Why is everyone in this world so insufferable?"

The demon instantly quieted for a moment until the ice fully split apart, big enough to swallow the entire vehicle including the unfortunate demon sitting on top. Valeriana could not help but gasp and take in a huge breath as she was submerged into half-frozen water, stealing what was left of the body heat she tried hard to conserve. H2O flooded into the sitting compartment, causing her to take advantage of what little air was trapped inside. Within a few moments, she was wiggling and flapping around helplessly.

Beneath her was a large, gaping hole where the door she broke off once was. She swam through it as fast as she could, pushing her muscles to their limit. Surprisingly, she did it with ease—like being in water was now a very natural thing for her. She briefly gazed down at the sinking vehicle and up to the surface when she caught a figure from the corner of her eyes.

It was the demon hound from a while ago. Now, it was trying to swim up to the water, but because of the heavy weight of its body and insubstantial surface area of the paws, it was unable to go farther. Valeriana now started doubting whether she should save a beast which basically was a menace to the entire population of the Valemnian community, or save herself instead.

But something was nagging her . . .

Swimming towards the demon, she tried to grab hold of its hind legs when it leered at her and swung its paws. She gave it a pissed off look, making it silently give in to her will. Reaching for its strong back, she pulled it with her only to be blinded by a strong light. Sightless for a few seconds, she opened her eyes when the radiance faded and saw that the spot she made contact with turned its hideously dark coat into pure white. She touched a spot on its forehead with her forefinger. The white spot expanded and ate away at the black hide—like a ripple of disturbance on the surface of the water.

Shocked, she moved to touch it again, this time, fully embracing the creature with a look of skepticism. She squeezed her eyes close, feeling a burst of warmth from a sea of coldness seep through her skin.

After it subsided, a creature of snowy winter coat greeted her sight.

How beautiful. It had golden eyes and an ethereally exquisite fur.

Her lungs tightened from the lack of air so she hastily swam up, the creature behind her in tow. The ice crawled and hardened the surface, blocking her only path to freedom. It was weird. How could the water turn to ice that fast?

A few seconds afterwards, hazy figures were scaling the ice above her, so she immediately pounded on it, calling their attention to do something. Anything. Her face twisted in agony from the lack of air, her lungs squeezing—hurting from the urge to breathe in. Immediately, one figure motioned a brief gesture, cracking the whole thing open. A hand shot into the water just in time she held out her hand to reach for the surface, pulling her with it and out. She crawled, her hands against the slippery ice. Her lips had turned blue and the open air did nothing to help, add in the wet clothes and the freezing temperature.

Oxygen. Finally. Lovely, blissful oxygen-rich air. She took it in greedily, feeding her deprived deoxygenated blood rushing through her veins from the adrenalin.