Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Epilogue

Tamara put up a calm air while she sang the last lines of the second song. Charles and Rowe didn't look any different. However, their eyes said they were internally panicking. If the Twelve did not come back, what in the world would they do? They just couldn't leave them hanging like this!

Rowe ended the last song softly with a strum of his guitar, looking over Tamara as she hesitated for a moment. Charles gave them a knowing look and sighed softly. The audience cheered, but not as loudly as they did in the opening.

"Alright!" She smiled. "Well, I hope you liked those two songs. It's finally time to get the rest of the Twelve to continue the rest of the show. I'm guessing you all want to get at it, yes?"

"YES!"

"Oh well, we'll take a short moment. We promise to get your blood pumping in no time at all."

They stood from the stage and exited, taking shelter under the arena as they waited for the others. Tamara was slowly becoming restless. Zion, Brindon, Keelan, Aneeka, Elfre, and Raziel had finally come back. Only Valeriana and Corvan were left.

"So how was it?" asked Tamara.

"The situation in the DevDept was solved," Zion said. "It wasn't a regular demon but not too powerful either. But it was conscious."

"Same thing goes for us," Elfre said.

"How is the situation with the barrier?"

"The instructors are all defending the academy from outside. We weren't able to see the battle but it doesn't seem that bad," Elfre said. "I'm sure they'll be able to handle it just fine. I saw a couple of Celestes out there."

"So they already called for help," Rowe thoughtfully said.

"Attacks aren't unusual, but a full-scale one such as this . . ." Charles trailed off. "Not to mention they even appeared within the academy. I don't understand just what is going on."

"The arena is clear, isn't it? If there was going to be a place of attack, this would be the most suitable," Elfre told them.

"But there hadn't been any so far. If ever anything happens, we're still here," Tamara said.

The audience were going restless.

"Let's assemble and test the instruments," Charles told them. "Just keep a watch out for any suspicious movements. If anything happens, prepare to evacuate the audience. Usual protocols."

They nodded in agreement and entered the arena. The spectators were enlivened at the sight of them, cheering riotously as they took their places once more. A couple of minutes tuning the instrument and they pretended to adjust the strings just to put on a show.

Later on, Valeriana and Corvan came running in. The fifth-ranker was drenched with sweat as she took her place and Corvan himself looked exhausted. He took his place behind the piano.

"What took you guys so long?"

"We had to drop something in the containment area," said Corvan. "We'll talk about that later, let's just finish this show."

Although they successfully apprehended the demon, Valeriana could not calm down. Her senses were picking up an ominous presence which made her break in cold sweat. This wasn't the usual aura she was feeling around the academy. Despite the entire continent being filled with demons, the presence was not as strong.

This wasn't over. She wanted to warn the others, but they already started.

"The next song is Alone!" Tamara exclaimed.

"One, two . . . one, two, three."