To Valeriana's fright, she heard it right next to her ear. In a few moments' notice, a man appeared right next to her from the invisible force, his hands covered in gloves. He was holding her by the throat, pressing it to the point that the passageways of air in her throat was cut off.

"I'm wearing gloves. Can't burn me now, can you? I came prepared!"

She looked to the side and saw a familiar demon before her, with a sheathed machete by his waist.

"You sunuvabeetch, I told you I'll get payback, didn't I?" he told her. "Too bad, huh? Trying to help the king—or former king, how can I let you do that? Honestly, we didn't expect you to be this troublesome, daughter of Garvyn."

Valeriana's eyes widened.

The demon weaved to the side, dragging Valeriana with him as he avoided the slash of a sword. One arrow came flying at him, which he casually caught. A gunfire echoed and a bullet wheezed past his head. He looked around, chuckling as he stared at the numerous knights and warriors who have all drawn their weapon.

A strange force that surged from his body made him float mid-air with Valeriana in his arms. Her celeste opaque dress fluttered, the train hanging past her feet.

"Let go of her," Corvan said. "I warn you, I will shoot you down."

"Oh, milord!" he exclaimed, looking at Corvan below his feet. "You're so scary you're making me shiver. I would fancy you continue in your attempts however, we really don't have much time. Do you know what this is?"

He winked and held up a small vial of a purple concoction—god knows what it was.

"I suggest you don't make a move. Even if I die here and you get your former king back, there's no guarantee how many lives will be lost. We might've prepared to unleash chaos upon a certain city, though I don't know which. Not to mention if I crush this, nobody's certain how His Poor Majesty will survive."

They all froze.

Consequently, explosions racked the walls, shaking the ceilings and the chandelier that even rubbles fell from above in a series of thumps.

"Those must be my friends!" the demon yelled. "We have just literally crashed the party!"

Another explosion, this time, distant coming from the right.

Charles gritted his teeth and everyone else frowned. This was déjà vu at its finest.

"They're employing the same tactic they did with the academy. That means there's another summoner, we must get the one responsible for this connection and trap him in place—just before he manages to get these demons to escape again!" Kylon exclaimed.

"But how?" Keelan replied.                                                      

Bertram stepped forward and left his ill father's side, his fury evident. "State what you came here for."

"It's really simple, Your Majesty," he said. "I need you to come with me."

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed voices.

The demon rolled his eyes.

"Blah blah blah, stop yapping when I'm not talking to you people!" the demon exclaimed. "Talk about rude." He huffed. "If you're not too keen on my invitation, I can always bring this girl with me instead. She is a valuable asset to have under control, after all." He looked at Valeriana and loosened his grip on her throat a bit, causing her to breathe in deeply. "Sorry, you know, dressed like that you're actually kind of pretty. If you were a demoness, I think we'd have so much fun."

"Bastard, I thought you had the hots for Corvan." Valeriana glared at him. She reached for her fingers and slowly pulled off her own gloves.

"I can always have you both!"

"Demon!" the twins yelled from below. "Don't mess with our ship! You're crossing the line!"

The horror on Tamara's face, who was peeking from the crowd, could not be painted—what more Charles. Keelan was oblivious and dense enough not to understand what he meant by his words. Even so, Lord Aeron was trying to hold back his laughter and everyone else did not know how to react. Either that, or they did not understand.

"Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Look at you people, you're all soooo horrified. Come on, you're all so boring." He shook his head. "But really, I don't mind."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Valeriana asked, struggling from within his arms. She was afraid of squirming, being let go and falling. Even if she wanted to escape, her acrophobia was beating her desire. "You keep on appearing at these moments, don't you get tired?"

"Honey, if I get to choose my job title, I won't ever put myself in a place like this. Besides, my superior is out of commission, he has anxiety attacks."

Valeriana was speechless. "Anxiety attacks? Even demons . . . seriously . . ."

"Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes. "I happen to prefer my soft bed and a cozy cuddle with someone," he rolled his eyes. "And yeah, since this is our second meeting I guess I can tell you my name. But hey—what in the name of Valdis are you doing distracting me, you sunuvabeetch?!"

The current fifth-ranker decided to suck up her fear, not caring whether or not she would fall. Having herself held hostage by a demon was the last thing she wanted—especially today in front of so many people. Not to mention the king.

"Stop calling me a sunuvabeetch, you sunuvabeetch." Valeriana managed to gather her courage to throw her hand and slap the demon on the face, causing him to stagger as she burned his face. The simmering flesh made him scream in pain. Her gloves subtly came free and she braced herself.

Gasps erupted once more.

He let Valeriana go and continued flitting about in pain, his hands trembling in horror. The gravity pulled on the girl's feet and she fell freely to the ground—but not before she made a grab for the vial in his hands. Her stomach flipped as she feared the impact. Hopefully, this would only leave her with a bruise or two.

"Val!" some chorused.

To her surprise, however, instead of hitting the ground once more, she found herself cushioned against waiting arms. With only a grunt and struggling grip, she managed to come out unscathed. She swallowed and looked up to meet emerald green eyes.

"Valdis! You did not just burn my face!" the demon exclaimed, horrified. He growled threateningly at the girl as he continued floating, this time, more vulnerable than before. Without Valeriana's cover, he was very well open to attacks. "And you really got the audacity to act—"

Before he could finish speaking, chains shot out from the crowd and wrapped around his ankles, trying to drag him down. It wasn't the only weapon the came flying out—another arrow, sharp throwing blades, etc., until a group came forward with Seraphina pulling a sword from the wall and running down the aisle like her life depended on it.

Kylon crouched just meters away from her starting point, steadied himself into a kneeling position, and braced his shoulders when the lady knight jumped and used his back as a leverage to land a strike on the demon. The dress didn't prove to be much of a hindrance—especially since it wasn't too long.

Seraphina's sword swung and lashed. The demon look more irked than before as he deflated the blow by pulling out the machete from around his waist. However, this wasn't the end of Seraphina's assault. Her momentum enabled her to kick out her feet—god knows how she did it with that dress—and land a huge blow at the demon's face which Valeriana just burned.

"Leave! Now!" yelled a voice. "All those inexperienced knights, go out and make sure to escort the others!"

The battle with the demon continued and Valeriana climbed down Corvan's arms, not knowing what to say to the first-ranker. They had stayed like that for a little bit longer than necessary.

"Thank you . . ." she told him, breathing heavily.

He merely looked at her and said nothing, letting her down gently. Her hand caressed his shoulder and she felt how they tensed under her fingers.

Now that she saw him clearly, the demon wasn't actually floating. In fact, he didn't seem weightless, rather, he was standing on something invisible. His foot was flat mid-air and he seemed stable enough without any of the wobbling or hovering effect.

Still, there was no time to waste. She ran for the king—the former king—and handed Bertram the vial. He uncapped it and gave it to Laedin, who could no longer speak or breathe. The veins under his skin had turned dark purple and his lips turned pale.

Everyone else started panicking, leaving the room faster than dropping nuggets in hot oil. Brindon moved and so did Raziel, Elfre, and Aneeka. There was a panic, but they managed to get them out in the most orderly fashion possible—without the trampling scenario so common in movies.

The continental lords did not want to get themselves involved with all the ruckus—it would only make things end up chaotic.

"Rowe," said Lord Rupert. "Go get those people to calm down and make sure no one leaves the palace!"

Rowe nodded stiffly and ran out.

Rupert turned to the Denovegasian lord. "Dillian."

"I know. I will secure the vicinity."

Leiland held up his arm and said, "Polaris, come."

A cat materialised out of thin air—at least, it looked like a cat. The only difference was that it had curls of blue lining its silver fur. This must be his familiar.

"You know what to do," he told the Polaris.

The cat nodded and, within seconds, leaped and ran out of the room in such as a way as though its feet never touched the ground.

Rupert stepped forward. The ring of his voice knocked some sense into the present knights who were at loss at what to do. "Not all of you are needed here! Aodan, Kylon, Lord, Manilla, Eres—you all come with me!" He passed by the twins and sized them up. "You two as well."

"Us?" Gen and Zev chorused.

"Yes. We will spread to the different wings of this palace just in case this demon brought reinforcements! Leiland, stay and oversee the matters in here."

Kylon came forward. "We need to seek out the summoner!"

Rupert looked at Kylon. "Explain on the way. We'll add that to our list of agendas. Gather capable men. Spread out to all directions!"

The group left the room with the Arlandian lord casting one last glance at the situation. He gave Leiland a nod and the other lord returned it.

Leiland then looked at the Twelve. "Why haven't you all left?"

"You can't just expect us to leave!" Tamara exclaimed.

Charles's father, Lovis, stepped forward and took the initiative to carry the king with Bertram.

"Help me get him up. I will go and help secure the safety of His Majesty and King Bertram," he told the others.

The old bearded man ran to their side and helped. "I will accompany you."

Bertram threw his father's arms around his shoulders and helped him to his feet with Lovis. Valeriana was quick to act as support as well, helping push the king by the back. The aisle was long and the door out seemed like a mile away. Lovis, the old man, and Bertram carried the king, moving in unison as they ran for the door.

Valeriana was right behind them, watching the king's back just in case something happened.

"You are not going—" The demon began, however, something else caught his attention.

Lord Lienhard had long since lost his patience. He drew a sword from the wall, stepped forward, and let the wings from his back burst forth. The sudden explosion of light had eyes shifting to his direction but he neither looked right or left, training his eyes for the demon before him.

He jumped and came right at the enemy with surprising strength and agility. He manoeuvred through the air like it was his domain, wielding the sword adeptly. Valeriana's jaws sank to the ground at the unbelievable sight while Aeron was cackling—like always—and cheering him on.

"Lien, you can do it!"                         

"Hehe," laughed the archduke. "It's time to move these bones!"

Seraphina stopped short when she saw her father attack, pausing to sigh and shake her head.

The demon rolled his eyes wearily. "It is an honor being fought by one of Friedel's blood, but, honestly, it's a pain in the rear. And if you guys are forgetting, I hold the lives of a good few hundred people in my hand—oblivious people who don't suspect a single thing."

"Then we'll just have to find a way to capture you and save these people. After all, you're a valuable prisoner. How can we let you go?" Lienhard asked, quirking a brow as he made for another dive.

The others were working fast, trying to calmly get the situation under control. To let demons run around rampant right under their noses when experienced knights and Celestes were present would be an utter slap to the face!

A shot of gold illuminated the room for a moment, like a brief shower of warning. Leiland cursed under his breath at this.

"What was that?" someone asked.

"It's the barrier. It's reacting to the demonic energy. Within a few seconds it will contain this part of the palace and prevent anything from going in and out."

"Holy shiznits, that's advanced crap right there," Valeriana muttered. "We gotta get out then. But what about Lord Lienhard?"

Seraphina approached Lord Leiland and looked up at her father who was currently battling the demon before turning to the Circle. "This area will be locked down in a minute. You all need to leave," she told them. "Now! Leave this battle to us. You'll be able to help more if you head out. Now leave!"

They were all reluctant, but they started to head for the door. Another flash of gold. The air shimmered with an enveloping presence that Valeriana gasped when the strange energy darted around her like small sparks of electricity.

"This . . . the barrier?" she wondered aloud and faltered in her steps, her curiosity taking over.

Her mind was blown. It feels alive.

Corvan appeared by her side, grabbed her gloved wrists and started to head for the door. "This is no time to sightsee, we need to get out."

Charles, Tamara, and the two were running for it.

However, the demon was persistent. Despite his hands being full with Lord Lienhard as his opponent, he managed to release a wave of demonic energy that bombarded the auras of the people. When Valeriana saw it in action, she suddenly understood why they all felt weakened to such massive amounts.

One thing she learned was that the power system of Valemnia worked the same way as people breathing air. The power pressure supports the capability of wielding a matching element to the aura—the same way oxygen is supplied to muscles to enable movement and use energy. When demonic energy invades space, it's like pollution clouding the air, suffocating and cutting off the steady stream of power pressure. Weakness is the more obvious effects, but there are many more adverse results like passing out.

Immunity to demonic energy simply meant developing endurance of tolerating its presence—a prolonged exposure that would enable one's aura to develop several strategies to utilize the power pressure that seeps through.

Another flash of gold, this time, more urgent.

"You think I did not come prepared?" the demon quirked his sharp brows and threw a bottle against the floor, letting it break to pieces. What bubbled out was a gooey substance that spread like a rippling tsunami throughout the entire room, circling their ankles and seeping under their soles.

"What's up with the props?" Valeriana asked as she tried stepping back, only to fail horribly at it.

There came another flash.

Keelan had tripped when he tried to move and ended up falling to his rear. His hands were sucked into the substance, disabling his movements by gluing him to the floor. The gooey tar flowed past the door and stuck even the escaping group accompanying the king in place.

"This—" Keelan began as he pulled himself up in frustration—at least he tried. "—is literally what you call a sticky situation."

"This thing isn't flammable, is it?!" Tamara shouted. "Because if it was, I'll have to ask someone to burn this thing off! Like now!"

Flash.                                                                                                                     

"Even if it isn't flammable, haven't you thought that it'll still burn with us along with it?" Charles grumpily replied back.

"Whatever, I want out! How about I freeze it over?" She tried bending down to do her suggestion, but ended up having her hand stuck inside the tar instead. She tried to appeal to the water content of the glue around their ankles, but it was soaked with demonic energy that the ice was spreading too slowly.

"Crap."

Flash.

"This is utterly disappointing," Lord Aeron tugged on his feet—or, like Keelan, at least tried. "Someone do something."

"If you can't already see, Lord Aeron, we are all rendered . . . unmovable." Leiland sighed. "And although Tamara's idea seemed to work, it won't work in time."

Flash.

"The doors will be closing. We have to get the king out of this room!" Lovis said. Emmett, who had been quiet for the entire while trying to target the demon from the ground to back up the archduke, was not fazed at all.

Flash.

"Godsdamn it," Corvan muttered under his breath. "Avaro, come!"

Valeriana perked at the mention of the name as the twin-tailed alpha lion appeared before them in a haze of blue fire. His wings flapped behind him in powerful motions. His feet did not touch the ground.

The golden light sparked once again.

"Go and get the king!" the first-ranker commanded.

Avaro did not hesitate to obey and swept from one point of the room to another within the span of a breath.

Bertram looked at Corvan's familiar just as he arrived. "Take my father, I will stay."

"Bertram," Laedin groaned out.

Lovis looked at the former crown prince. "Your Majesty, you must leave with him."

"I will not run. Not anymore. I'm sorry, father."

Flash.

"Take my father and get him the attention he needs. This problem, I will confront with everyone else. If I run away right after my coronation, do I even deserve the title?"

'As thou wishest,' Avaro respected this decision grabbed the former king's shoulders under his claws, murmured an apology under his breath, and dragged the man out from being glued to the floor.

Finally, the entire room was bathed in gold and the shimmer of light started to materialize out of thin air. The little sparks of energy converged just a bit out the door, forming a translucent, golden wall.

Avaro had the strength, despite being airborne. Although the demon was irked seeing this, he was too busy fighting Lord Lienhard to actually do something about it.

"Hurry! The shutdown will initialize in a few seconds!"

The tar clung to Laedin's feet and stretched itself to an extent to show its tenacity—clinging until the last inch. Eventually, Avaro managed to rip the king out of his confines and flew straight for the doors. They slipped out just in the nick of time when the doors shut close.

The former king had left, however, they were all stuck inside the room, unable to move from where they stood. Valeriana grimaced at the dress as she tried to pull on the cloth, only to fail. On the other hand, Tamara pulled on the hardened tar and broke it apart. It shattered into dark dust under her fingertips. With her feet free, she looked at Charles with an arrogant huff.

"In your face, Charles."

Unfortunately, the rest of the tar flowed in and simply stuck at her feet again. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Charles smirked. "What did you say was in my face?"

Lovis gazed at his children and nearly rolled his eyes. "These two."

"What is this thing made of?!"

"Do you like my recipe?" yelled the demon. "That's my work right there!"

"Well gods damn you, demon!"

"I already am!"

Lord Aeron startedcackling. His boisterous laughing earned the attention of those who remained inthe room, but he waved dismissively. "Oh, don't mind me, I'm just watching."