Valeriana and her companions were curled up next to each other with her on the far end. They hugged their knees, a coat of blanket around their shoulders. Iolani temporarily shifted back to her old form to regain energy and rested. As a matter of fact, she immediately fell asleep as soon as they set off. She herself had a coat of her own and her head was comfortably resting over Keelan's arm—they slept like logs. Brindon seemed awake, but dozing. Valeriana, on the other hand, couldn't sleep from the restlessness.

Only the journey to Larkovia was left and they wouldn't get there for a few more hours. By ship, it would take days. Through Marius' friend, ten times shorter. The serpent's mouth and body temperature served as a shield against the freezing cold from outside, but even then Valeriana felt chilled to the bones.

"By the way," Valeriana said. "We don't know your name."

"Mariolin," the serpent replied. "Marius is my brother."

"Whoa. Where you to born from the same egg?" she asked.

Mariolin was silent for a moment. "We aren't twins . . . but we came from the same nest."

"Why wasn't Marius named something else? Like Luigilan? Now that would be epic. Because you know? Mario and Luigi like epic brotherhood crap going on and stuff."

Silence.

"No?" she continued. "Then I'm just going to stay here and die."

Valeriana figured he didn't get the joke as she nestled against Iolani's warmth—until she felt vibrations coming from his throat. She should feel it, seeing as she was inside his mouth. However, he surely hadn't been laughing at the joke itself, but at her. At least, he laughed.

It was dim inside, save for an ounce of light that came from the small ball Keelan had activated to help them see. Apparently, it was another invention and it should last a couple of hours. Valemnians had their own technology—only that it was more reliant on their extraordinary abilities rather than just nature itself. Perhaps that thought was very human. From a Valemnian's perspective, their technology relied heavily on nature too only differently.

"This one assumes thou knowest about what's going on with the undines. The Guardian of the Seas are no easy opponents. With their ocean pearls, they are ruthless among waters."

"Their ocean pearls?" She stroked Tiger's soft fur as the feline rested soundly on her lap.

"All undines are born with one. They help control the seas and manage the waves as well as the depths. The flow of the ocean is unusual and very out of sync. If this continues, rivers will flow in reverse and lakes will dry."

"I've never seen a river flow in reverse. Maybe in timelapses." She paused, then shook her head. "Are we almost there?"

"No," he said. "Do not worry, I shall inform thee. So tell this one what thou knowest."

The rest of the way had consisted of Valeriana telling the serpent Mariolin what she knew—that meant most of what she gathered so far. It helped keep her mind off the incoming trouble, which she occasionally drifted back too whenever she felt the chilling coldness that constantly gnawed at her bones.

The conversation kept on. Valeriana came to know that Mariolin had Marius' sense of humor, just not as deep.

"Do you mind?" she politely inclined her head to the ceiling—or rather, the roof of his mouth. It did smell quite a bit inside, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed, perhaps because she had gotten used to it. "I think I need a brief rest. I still haven't thought about what I'm gonna do when we get there."

"No problem."

Valeriana took out the jade sphere from her bag and held it in her palm. "You truly don't know a treasure until it shows its worth," she whispered. "Gold is rock in the hands of the blind."

She spent the rest of the time contemplating, imagining different scenarios of the confrontation. She used her previous experiences with the other guardians as reference and set some expectations so that she wouldn't feel as shocked as she did before.

She wanted to meditate, but figured this wasn't the best time.

"Valeriana."

Mariolin's voice brought her to activity as she then realized she was napping.

"Wake thy friends," he said.

Her heart jumped before she did. She felt the upward inclination that hinted of the ascent and she moved to shake Brindon before reaching out to Keelan. She felt them move. Immediately, they were alert and bright. They didn't dawdle. Keelan's face was instantly serious as he seemed aware why he was woken. Brindon stirred indifferently.

"Let's get ready," Keelan solemnly said. He stood from where he sat and gathered his weapon.

Iolani woke and burst into activity as well, seeming to have regained some of her vigor. Her wings spread and she flapped them eagerly.

"I feel my contractor," she said. "And it seems she is tired as well. I cannot tap on our mental link as it is far too weak."

"I hope the guys are alright," Valeriana whispered as she brought up Tiger to her cheek. The little feline affectionately licked away her worries.

The ascent was smooth, but the next second turned a hundred and eighty. Something hit Mariolin that sent them all shaking, and it wasn't a onetime big time deal. Like a plane in a turbulence, they shook, making it hard to move. Keelan, however, with an outstanding sense of balance, recovered immediately and continued gathering their things. Valeriana, with her ever so clumsy self, had stumbled a little. Thankfully, Brindon caught her by the shoulder and kept her still.

She nodded her thanks to him as she swung her backpack over her shoulders, Tiger clinging to her feet protectively.

"Hold on. We have to go against the flow of the water should we want to rise," Mariolin said. "It should take me but a few moments. Get thyself ready within ten minutes."

He didn't need to tell them. They were already moving before he even spoke.

Valeriana's heart was pounding and her hands trembled as she firmly set it around her sword. It gave her reassurance, a form of power against the upcoming tides. They braced themselves amidst the shaking.

With this sort of force bombarding them from outside—exactly how strong was the thing were they up against?

"Fear not, it's just the pressure," Mariolin reassured, seeming to have read their minds. "Although current situation entails it has something to do with this unnatural flow."

Finally, there were loud water splashes that sounded like breaking past the surface and Valeriana's breath lodged itself in her throat. Her abdominal muscles tightened as her stomach turned and twisted.

Mariolin's jaws cracked open and the group was greeted by the salty sea breeze. They were confronted by fairy lights floating amongst the waves—rather, they were ships with tall sails. There were more than hundreds of them spread out to all directions, fighting against the turbulent waters. A familiar serpent was on the forefront, slicing waves with his sharp tails. One tall wall of wave was sliced in half to part way for the ships and prevent sinking. The way it was done was very majestic—and impressive.

"Marius," Mariolin said, the normally enthusiastic beast looking lackluster. His normally white scales were covered in the same material as Iolani, though he didn't seem to be as bad as the state the bird was in before. "Brother, it is nice to see thee."

"Mariolin." The other serpent nodded in acknowledgement.

While there was no storm, the seas were surprisingly violent. Not to mention the waters were darker than they should be at night.

Mariolin set himself down, diving for one of the biggest ships in the fleet behind Marius. There were cheering from everywhere. Valeriana and the others jumped out to the deck, stumbling slightly as the ship tilted from being hit. As soon as they were in the open skies, they were showered by a strong splash of salty water, soaking their torso from waist up.

Tiger was repelled by the water, clawing at her arm the moment he was hit by the water.

"Ow, ow, little cat, no." Valeriana hissed in pain.

"Good for you to arrive," someone greeted—all too familiar. Iolani flew over and landed on the shoulder of the redhead standing next to the owner of the voice.

"You're okay . . ." Tamara crooned as she reached up to pet her familiar. "You made me so worried."

"Charles," Valeriana and Keelan chorused. They were glad to see him. In spite of the joy, however, there was solemnity.

They turned to see serpent after serpent rising from the waters—the sight of which seemed to be a relief for the men present. Their vibrant roars filled the air, so loud that the ships rocked and the water curled away.

"Wow, I didn't know they all came." Valeriana scratched her head.

Keelan, on the other hand, held his mouth as he wobbled unsteadily.

"They followed the moment they heard," Mariolin said as he spared a glance at his brother before he moved to help with the defence.

"I'm glad to see you guys," Tamara told them as she rushed forward to embrace Valeriana, who returned the hug wholeheartedly. She missed the redhead dearly. Tamara shortly broke off and did the same with Keelan and Brindon.

"Nice to see you're well, Tamara," Keelan said. "But you don't look very good."

"I'm just tired . . . good thing Charles kept a stash of that horrid drink." Her unruly hair's naturally bouncy waves had flattened into stiff curls after being soaked wet by the ocean water. She used no effort to keep it in place. "When I get back, I'm going to have this hair cut really short. I don't usually wear my hair this long." She rolled her eyes.

Charles gave her a brief glance then sighed. "You should just go bald."

"Ew. I like having hair, thank you very much."

"Come with me inside," Charles said, motioning for the cabin ahead. "I don't have much time to explain everything, but I'll tell you the important details."

The three nodded and followed him.

"Did you ask for the help of a Celestial Knight? This is serious business." Keelan looked inquiringly at Charles.

"Yes," he replied. "He's managing the defences and attack of this battalion as we speak. Although we lack the forces to counterattack. He's been competently maintaining the line for a while." He nodded to the other side of the area. "He's over there."

"Is it someone we know?"

"Yes. It's my uncle."

"Your what?!"

"Uncle Claude. I heard you two were already acquainted. If we have time, I'll bring you to see him later. But there will be many chances for that after we resolve this issue."

"So it is possible to be a lord and a Celestial Knight at the same time."

"You've met Lady Manilla, she's done it," Keelan said and Brindon nodded.

"But I thought it was a past time."

Wind whistled and roared past them—bitter cold and . . . demonic. Valeriana's eyes gravitated towards an ominous source, zeroing in on the rocky cliffs from afar that were like sharp javelins thrown and plunged into one target.

Charles immediately got to the explanation. "Here's the current situation." He opened the door to the cabin, talking nonstop as he encouraged his companions to enter.

"Hello, Valeriana," a deep, husky voice greeted.

Valeriana stopped short and stared at two, golden-tailed beings in front of her. They were sprawled on the floor carpeted by fluffy blankets, golden pearls shining vibrantly in their hands. Aura that belonged to water-type affinity was thick in the air. They exuded a type of presence that both encouraged reverence and fear—especially the pearls.

Tiger tilted purred curiously as he regarded the undines his blue eyes. "Meow?" He feistily squirmed out of Valeriana's hands, jumped on the floor and approached.

"Oh, but you don't remember us, do you?" the woman began. "But that's alright."

"Uh . . ." she stared at them blankly.

"These are Diana and Calder," Charles said. "Currently, they're helping us contain the waves. It is mainly due to their efforts that we haven't been defeated and in such a bad condition as we had been at first."

Valeriana got a déjà vu feeling. "Could it back that back then?"

"Calder gave you the Blessing of the Sea," Diana, the undine woman, said. She looked at Tiger, reaching out to pet the little cat as he neared. "Hello there, little one. How are you?"

"I see." She half expected that. "But . . . something's not right about this."

"It's because Clyte and Elvira are not with us," Calder stated. "Chit and Chat stayed back to watch over them. As of the moment, they are safely hidden."

"Chit and Chat . . . the dolphins!"

The undines nodded in reply.

Tiger sniffed Diana's palm before licking the tips of her finger after which he jumped on her lap and decided to stay.

Valeriana glared at the little feline who stared right back at her before lying down. She realized it must be his way of saying he wouldn't get on the way.

"How come you're . . . okay, though?" Valeriana asked. "I thought the undines were taken over, how come you're not affected?"

"We were exiled," Diana answered. "I would say it should've made sense to you seeing as we weren't with the harmony," she began. "But I just remembered you don't recall. Anyway, we came precisely because we sensed something was amiss. We were right."

Valeriana's brows met at the thought. Banishment for what reason?

"Val," Tamara's voice cut in. "I suggest your eyebrows stop meeting like that because you're starting to resemble Corvan."

"Huh, what?"

"Resemble." Brindon agreed.

Keelan snickered. Iolani cackled. Tiger sniffed. Charles . . . grinned.

Valeriana frowned even deeper—before realizing it was exactly what Corvan would've done if he were in her place. She smoothened the wrinkles on her forehead and shook out any distracting thought.

Charles pocketed his hands and cleared his throat. "Anyhow, we cannot get close to the undine territory with such waves, just making sure we don't sink with the attacks is gruelling enough," he said. "Calder and Diana are helping keep the waves in check—but of course, the strength of many overpowers them both. The best they can do is to maintain the spill within these parts."

"We have our limits," said Calder. "And we cannot keep this up for very long. The energy within these parts are interfering with our control."

They looked out the window, out into the violent sea. Parts of the walls were cracked and open. Any more impact and it would crumble.

"It was worse a while ago before they arrived," Tamara stated.

"With new reinforcements, not only are the morals boosted, we even have a bigger chance of fighting back."

Despite the looming dangers constantly towering over them—quite literally at the moment—the fourth-ranker remained arduously calm save for the frustrated frown on his face. He wasn't wearing glasses. It was reasonable, seeing as being constantly bombarded by water proved them useless.

"How long has this been going?" Keelan asked.

"I can't keep track of time, and I lost my watch in the water," he said. "But it's been long enough to be tired. Some of our ships have been broken and even the bottom of this one has a hole punched through it. It's troublesome enough to keep afloat but we can neither retreat." His voice was sharp as well as his eyes. "As you can see, aside from Calder and Diana's efforts, we are helping keep the spill contained with these lines," he referred to the long line of floating buoys. "These dividers extend as deep as the oil goes."

"That's one way of doing it." Valeriana nodded as she approached the window for a closer look. "Where'd you get this?"

"Disasters happen, sometimes," he said. "We've had an instance of natural oil seepage from a certain coast and we had to lay down a solution. We're acting on the same formation as before, yet there wasn't enough time to take into account all the factors to this . . . event, and I've lost nearly ten ships since the beginning of this task. Our formation is weak and vulnerable. Three more waves of attack and we will no longer be able to contain this. Your presence is welcomed, but we are—were—losing this battle."

"What do you mean?"

"Incoming attacks!" yelled a man from the lookout. "Sixth wave incoming!"

Tiger's ears perked at the sound and his tail bunched up. His ears twitched and he gave Valeriana a brief glance, but did not move an inch away from the undine woman.

They threw their heads back to regard the man's warning, rushing out of the cabin to check the situation. Valeriana glanced at Calder and Diana to see them holding tighter around their pearls.

"Protect the ships!" Charles exclaimed and his command was passed, echoed, and obeyed. "Hold all your positions! Maintain the lines. First barrier and second barrier, make sure the line is no longer breached! Keep those buoys floating and that line intact! The third barrier cannot be broken!"

"Sir!"

The serpents roared around them, floating mid-air in spring-like waves.

Tamara, who was unusually quiet and pale-faced, drew her weapon tirelessly and moved to the corners of the deck. The three followed her with worried gazes.

"What are you doing?" Charles glared at his half-sister. "Didn't I tell you to sit the next one out?"

"You don't expect me to do that." Tamara stubbornly refused.

The fourth-ranker's frown notably got deeper as he stared at Tamara. "Suit yourself. If you die here, I take no responsibility."

With that, he threw one hand on the edge of the ship and threw himself overboard. Valeriana stared agape, running for the edge just as Tamara did the same. She looked into the sea to find them standing, the water spinning so fast under their feet, it kept them afloat. Charles brandished his glaive and he took one step forward, the water following his movements.

"Goddamn . . ." Valeriana muttered. "In your face, Criss Angel."

Looming silence lingered for a few moments as they watched, frozen, with hands on their weapons. Brindon had stretched the string of his bow with an arrow in place, aiming soundly for the sea.

Keelan swallowed whatever was trying to come up his throat and held his spear steady.

Something akin to a crowd of dolphins springing on the surface was approaching—and it didn't look well-boding.

Indeed. It did not take more than a few seconds until sharp-toothed ghastly-looking creatures jumped onto the deck from the water, extended nails so sharp Wolverine would be put to shame. They had tails with scales so keen they scratched the deck as they moved, accompanied by water which mimicked lapping tongues—licking the sides of the ships and spitting on the deck.

They resembled Calder and Diana—only more demonic.

The ship rocked violently. Valeriana braced herself, bending her knees as she endeavoured not to slip across the soaked boards. That was when she noticed the marks on the floor, a sign this must've happened more than once.

Valeriana did not waste time. Her wet gloves were still grip-strong, as they were from the same material Team Five during the Ember Festival had made for her. She didn't discard them and drew her sword, preparing to face the opponents.

"How are you even keeping them back?" she heard Keelan shout out to Charles. The serpents added large force behind the ships, protecting the buoys conveniently from the air. They ducked into the waters, roaring at the demonized guardians that terrorized the barriers.

"Undines are instinctively territorial," Charles replied. "They are particularly averse to ships like ours. As long as something as a fleet of it hovers dangerously near their territory, they will set aside all their agendas to protect it."

"Charles," she followed. "What is your plan?"                  

"Was," he corrected as he waved his glaive forward and repelled the undine's sharp claws, using the blunt end to push her out to the water. "According to knowledge, the returning of the previous state of the undines is possible by seeking the spiritual facet of the Larkovian continent, similar to the Empyrean volcano in Arlandia and what happened back in Preluresia with the Gilerads. However, spiritual facets open only during certain seasons and close after a certain timeframe. And this isn't the time for that. Sacrifice is not an option. Not to mention it exists in there—the undine territory. So it is impossible to push that plan forward," he explained, deftly moving to strike one undine after another away. They were repelled by his strikes that they shortly dove back underwater and away. "We can't even think of getting close not to mention keeping this spill in place. We have three layers of barrier we painstakingly laid—it took more than four hours to accomplish. And that is the fastest we could go."

"So what now?" she asked.

"You."

"What?"

"Why do you think I asked Tamara to call for you through Iolani?" he asked, kicking away another enemy as Tamara shot a blade to his direction, accurately targeting the undine's shoulder that tried to tackle him from behind.

Valeriana gritted her teeth. "I see."

"Are you able, Valeriana?"

"I might be able to do something."

"Then do it. It's better than nothing. At the moment, we are able to contain the undines to this area. But the moment our line falls, they may leave and wreak havoc to other places. And we cannot allow that to happen. It'll be far harder to get them under control then. Not to mention this spill."

"I can't assure anything."

"Hope is all I need. Possibility. An opening. It doesn't have to be definite. Nothing ever is."

"Buy me time, I'll try to figure how this works."

"I can give you a while," Charles said.

She could always take advantage of the new discovery she made with the jade sphere. However, the 'pollen-seeds' didn't seem capable of growing on purely water—they needed land. It would be a waste if she tried and it failed. Even wondrous perks had their limitations. No matter how tenacious valerianas were in growing all over the place, it didn't guarantee their survival.

She took off her gloves and glanced at the mark on her palm, her ears keen on the sounds of battle that permeated the area. She pushed herself onto the wall by the entrance into the cabin, taking off her backpack to rummage for the small sash wherein she stored the few pollens she managed to pick up from Dirinia.

She thought about it on the way there. And truly, she had a few ideas. The only thing that needed doing was testing them out. However, her resources were scarce and too valuable for 'experiments', so she needed to minimize test-drives as much as possible, as the consequence it carried was heavy.

No matter what type of purification she did, even if she did not absorb the negativity into her body, the mark still got bigger. It was just that the impact was greater whenever she directly took in the impurities. Right now, she discovered she could project the energy inside her for purification and the effect of it was amplified further by the jade sphere. This abated the risks it carried by a few times.

"Val, you can do this," she told herself, taking out one-fourth of the pollens. She tried throwing them out to the sea, waiting for a few moments. When nothing happened, she tried throwing a pollen at one of the undines that jumped onto the ship. It simply bounced off the creature harmlessly and did nothing worth noticing.

Even if there was an effect, it was so small it wasn't even helpful.

She bit her lip and poured the half of the remaining pollens into her hand, wondering quietly to herself how she would go about it.

The ship rocked violently once more. She tried holding her ground, gripping the pollens in one hand. Her bad sense of balance, however, caused her to fall over still. The small sash where the other pollens had been slipped from her fingers and flew right into the water.

"What the actual hell," she cursed. "You can't be goddamn serious."

Now, she was left with just a few.

"Oh god, please, help me. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to do this. Come on."

She gripped the pollens hard, praying for a miracle as her stomach twisted and turned. But pollen stayed pollen. It remained as it was.

An undine came crawling towards her after landing on the deck. The sharp teeth and wide mouth was something to fear. However, the frustration was far stronger this time. Valeriana glared at the demonized Larkovian guardian, avoiding the slash of his sharp nails before kicking him on the stomach, using the blunt side of the sword to hit him on the back of his head.

He howled and Valeriana thoughtlessly threw the pollen-seeds in his mouth, kneed his stomach, and threw him overboard.

"Don't bother me! Goddamn mother of all sons of bitches!" she exclaimed. "Holy crap, I'm sorry. What did I just say? I can't purify if my mouth is so dirty . . ." she trailed off, scuttling back into the cabin where Diana and Calder was.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, they had smiles on their faces. Tiger gave her a once over. After seeing she was fine, he relaxed, but his eyes continued to follow her.

"What are you doing?" she asked them.

Calder shook his head as he chuckled. "You didn't change."

She disregarded the bemused smiles. "Do you have any ideas that can help?"

They exchanged glances. "Although we granted you the Blessing of the Sea, we don't have any idea about your abilities nor how you'll use it."

Their answer put her in a state without esperance and she slid down, back against the door, elbows on the knees, and hands in her hair. The frustration racked her nerves and she took out the jade sphere from the bag as the battle slowly concluded from outside.

"The wave has passed," Calder said. "And I'm starting to feel really dry."

The waves they had been talking about meant two different things. Wave one being the large tall waters that potentially knocked and turned over ships. Wave two was the undines attacking the formations, retreating after a while to recover their forces.

Even if Charles said the formation was weak, it obviously wasn't the case. The lineup was strong enough to be able to fend off these demonized guardians for such a long time.

The men battled like their lives depended on it—and they looked like experienced people. It made sense, seeing as Iolani mentioned something about them being the esteemed Marine Battalion of the continent. The name was indeed fitting.

"I can see that." Diana shot a glance at his tail, pointing out the split that was starting to form between his fins.

"What the hell," Valeriana muttered. "What's happening to you?"

"When undines stay a while out of water, dried," he began.

"We get feet," Diana finished.

"Oh."

Still, Valeriana was left with no results.

The door was pushed open from outside, forcing her over as Charles stepped in. Needless to say, she faceplanted quite literally.

"You didn't have to force it open so hard!" Valeriana exclaimed as she sat up, pouting.

Tige's tail curled as he stretched. He shot Charles a brief glance that carried some threat before dismissing him completely.

"Forgive me for being impatient and forceful. Any results?" the fourth-ranker inquire, seeming to be in higher spirits than when they first arrived.

"Not any," she replied.

"It might not be as effective, but there is little progress. In fact, I just fished something interesting out of the water."

"He didn't," Tamara said as she came in, dragging something from behind her. "I did."

She then harshly threw something into the room, leaving a wet trail as another undine was shoved into the room. He landed on the ground with a thud, seemingly weakened to an extent wherein he could not even move.

"Dastan!" Calder exclaimed as he reached out to pull the other undine close.

He was knocked out cold, but breathing fine.

Valeriana stared at his aura and found strange energy that had a tinge akin to white gold circulating around it, intertwining with the colors of his own, eating away at the traces of darkness that took over him. Although she was hopeful and glad at this, it came with disappointment and helplessness. After all, if they were to feed every undine a couple of pollen-seeds, it would not just be excessive. There was still the issue with the spill to consider. Although they were able to eat away at the bits that clung to Iolani from before, they didn't seem so capable with just a couple.

At the moment, perhaps Valeriana would have to activate the jade sphere for the third time and hope it would be enough to cover the area—with the vastness of it. But surely there was a way to make do and maximize its effect at the same time?

"So what did you do, Valeriana?" Charles asked. "I'm sure you're having a bit of trouble. Why don't we try laying down a few ideas? I'm not sure when the next wave of attack will be, but with the presence of the sea serpents, we have not much to fear. In fact, their mere presence had helped us fend off this wave much better. We have time to spare."

"But I . . ."

"Remember you aren't here alone, you have us," Tamara told her. "So don't be afraid to depend on us and consult our expertise." She winked encouragingly. "In this case, Charles."

She knew they were right. They were there for a reason. If she needed their help, she needed not to feel so shy.

She brought out the jade sphere and showed it to her companions. "The capabilities of this jade sphere amplify the effects of my purification by many times. It's sort of a long story, but this one transforms into a flower and releases pollen-seeds that can grow to many flowers of the same kind. These flowers have the same effect as my purification and they can cover a wide area."

Charles stared at the object in her hand, but did not touch it. He contemplated for a few moments before speaking. "If it can transform into a flower, is it capable of transforming into something else?" he asked, which made Valeriana's eyes shoot wide. "Perhaps the reason why it released these . . . pollen-seeds is due to the fact that it's a flower. If it is possible to change the form, then maybe the . . . product will be different?"

She scratched her head. "I've never thought of it that way," she said.

"Which is why I'm here." He smiled.

"Even if it can, I don't know how to control it," she whispered.

"How do you know you don't if you don't try?" Tamara crossed her arms.

"Val, you got the Blessing of the Mountains, did you not?" Keelan reminded.

"Got." Brindon nodded.

"Yes, I guess I'll give it a try." She nodded. "I might as well do it. But to what does it transform into?"

"What do you think suits the element of water most?" Charles asked.

"Which makes me think!" Keelan cut in as he shot a curious glance at Diana. "Valerianas grow from the earth, so what grows on water?" he asked.

"Seaweed?" Valeriana guessed as she tilted her head to the side.

Although her answer made sense, they could not help but shake their head as an answer.

"I'm guessing the flower you're talking about that the sphere transforms into is a valeriana?" Diana inquired softly.

"Actually, what I think this young man is trying to say is . . ." Calder cut in. "Like any other plant, their varies different kinds of the same family. There are valerianas that can live on water. Remember their tenacity. They have adapted into all sorts of environment to thrive. In fact, they have existed in the primordial times, when the gods were just creating the world."

"Holy crap, are you serious?" Valeriana was incredulous when she heard the fact.

"There's a reason they're lheuim ansur," Diana said.

"So they were part of the original creations or some stuff?" she queried.

"That's what it seems." Charles nodded.

"Think Valeriana and Valemnia," Tamara quipped as the sudden thought came over. "They are related, aren't they?"

"That makes sense as well."

"Holy crap." She stared at undines and her companions in disbelief. "Holy crap. Now that is cool. That is cool, you guys."

"You know what will be cooler?" The third-ranker pointed at her.

"What?"

"If you can actually pull it off."

"Perhaps imagination is a big factor in your control. Perfectly reasonable." Charles glanced at the fifth-ranker as he contemplated.

"I don't know how it looks like . . ." she trailed off.

"I remember Clyte giving you a hairpin," Calder said. "It's one of the special ones she had. There's a reason she gave it to you."

"You gave that hairpin?" she asked. "Are you saying that hairpin was a valeriana?"

"Valerianas, actually," Diana corrected. "Although I don't expect you brought it, so I won't make it really hard for you." She reached up to her fine hair and plucked out something from her hair. It resembled a long vine that kept her hair together while leaving trails of flowers budding on the surface. It curled around her ear, leaving the biggest blossom sitting on its webby shell.

Her hair cascaded down her shoulders as she handed over the long vines to Valeriana.

"They're one of the most beautiful flowers," she said. "They grow with long roots deep beneath the water's surface like hanging vines while blossoms as big as that one will grow the best in the open air. Smaller buds will bloom underwater."

"They're used as decorations within the undine's hall," Calder added.

"Their lines are strong and sturdy so they also make really good hair-ties," Diana followed.

"So that's a water valeriana," Tamara curiously leaned forward. "It does look good."

Valeriana traced the thick roots with her fingers. They were rough yet tender at the same time. They resembled bloomed vanillas with the beans, only that they didn't grow in bushes but vines—blooming underwater and on the surface as well.

"Okay, I think I know what to do."

"Then," Charles began. "How about we plan something out that can maximize the effect of this little experiment? The next wave should start any moment. We should have the scheme laid out by then."

Valeriana felt the thick determination in her heart as she nodded. "Let's do it."

"Oh yeah we will. And we'll do it in a way those demons get smacked on the face so hard they won't have any to show us the next time they try this crap with us!" Tamara popped her knuckles. "Oh hey, little undine boy's waking up," she quipped nodding to the undine they recently took to custody.

A/N: Preserving the message below I sent years 7 years ago. I am now 24 years old, turning 25 next month (weird how I'm reuploading this at roughly the same period lol). Currently, I'm pursuing my master's degree in Creative Writing.

I'd like to thank everyone for helping me live off my passion. To update, I'm able to write comfortably and make writing a career (for now but hopefully forever!). I also have my own website where I post my stories>> mylovelywriter.co.

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IMPORTANT A/N PLEASE READ:

1. I'm very well aware that the update took a lot of time, but it's partially because of writer's block and I didn't want to release a half-ass chapter. The other half is due to time constraints and several other loads of issue. Enrollment was hell and I almost didn't get enough units this semester to fuel my will to study.

2. Financial constraints--I don't think I need to explain this. I'm seriously considering serving as part-time in SM supermarket (lol). I'm just saying I'm no longer the kid writing on Wattpad like always before. I've been here for seven years and I'm turning 18 next month (O_O).

3. Updates will be scarcer, but the book will still go. I just don't promise updates as frequently as before, so please stop asking me when I'll update because I don't have an answer for that nor will I ever. I don't have update schedules and I write based on free time.

4. I still love you guys. ~(T.T)~ so please understand. Artists are beggars--and it's more often true than not.