Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Seventy ۞ Corvan vs Valeriana

The arena was crowded. The Twelve had gathered in their seats and the duelists were in their respective positions. The opposing sides, Corvan and Valeriana, were currently in the dugouts waiting for the commencement of the event.

Currently, Valeriana was filled with anxiety which she tried distracting herself from by bringing out her MP3 player and listening to Paramore.

Her aides had prepared a cheering squad in the audience area. In fact, they were beating drums and enthusiastically vocalizing their do-re-mi to the point that half the noise in the arena came from them. It was quite encouraging, to say the least. Out of all the ranking members of the Twelve, only Valeriana's side prepared a chant in advance. It had been a trademark of hers when she became the fifth-ranker.

"Roa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!"

The drum beats and the heavily-practiced song was becoming a highlight of the day, which made everyone else anticipate the impending fight.

Tamara was crazy excited. She had barely recovered but did not let the injuries hinder her from announcing once again. Aside from a few bruises and wounds she got from the fourth-ranker, she was in good condition. What she mostly worried about was the condition Corvan and Valeriana would be in. There was no doubt this fight would have a great impact on the performance the next day with the band.

"Hello ya'll excited folks," Tamara said. "I know I'm excited and I'm pretty darn sure in the name of the gods you're all too."

Charles massaged his forehead for an incoming headache. Despite yesterday's events, Tamara could still be this energetic. She was quite a stubborn one.

"Lord Corvan von Vaushna de la Wylden—he makes me tired just by saying his name, this guy—and Valeriana Kerrigan will be fighting today as a finale. However, we have an additional kaboom to show you all tomorrow. It'll be massive and it's a surprise. We don't want to get your hopes up, but we'll see at the end of this fight." Tamara continued announcing casually up the platform. "If you're interested in seeing the surprise, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It's a happy event. We all need to relieve the tension."

And she was right. With the way all the fights had gone, there was a need for an ice-breaker. The band would do just that. The entirety of the Twelve was pretty determined to do this one, so injuries were not excuses. That statement was negotiable, anyhow.

This time, most of the Twelve were present again. Rowe, Charles, Raziel, Aneeka, Elfre, Keelan, and Brindon were present. Even Femeron was among them. She had fallen asleep very soon after she was left with Keelan though. The Twelve were curious about the Arlandian dragon youngling and tried several times to interrogate Keelan. They came out empty-handed and was only given the answers Valeriana had given him.

There was also Vallore, but he sat in the common area inconspicuously.

Only Genevieve and Zevlin were still absent. By the looks of it, the older twin still had not woken up. Genevieve could not leave his side.

The Twelve themselves were also quite worried.

"Zevlin still not awake?" Aneeka asked.

"No. No sign," Raziel said.

"Anyhow, let's not delay this any further. Valeriana, Corvan! Duelists, come forth!"

The cheering got louder that the entire arena was practically in an uproar. The drumbeats were very effective in rousing the spirit. Valeriana was being fueled with all the support that she had no reason to be as discouraged like in her previous fights.

"She's got the eye of the tiger, a fighter! Dancing through the fire, 'cuz she is the champion, and you're gonna hear her roar! Roa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!"