I knock slowly on Madam Fron's office door. "Come in!" Madam Fron's enthusiastic voice greets me.
"Huh? You're invited, too?" I say, after seeing John and Aelita, sitting beside each other.
"Yeah, as you can see," Aelita grins.
"Well, then, now that everyone's here, I can finally start. Let me introduce him to you: Anwar Bahri," Madam Fron says. A man, sitting beside Madam Fron, smiles.
The man smiles courteously. He has short, black hair, his skin brown and his arm scarred. "Good morning, Mr Bahri," Aelita says as she shakes his extended hand.
"Just Mr Anwar," he insists, "formality isn't a trait I cherish a lot."
"He, like me, participated in the previous war against the demons," Madam Fron says, "he was the man who helped me last night."
"Now, to start. Truth be told, Irvine is facing a great danger. Our military is small. The demons and their allies are starting to move again," Madam Fron says.
"Correct," Mr Anwar says with his deep voice, "according to my sources, the White Witch is preparing her army. There are reported sights of demon Lords Abel, Jessica and Luke. The Dollmaster and the Puppeteer haven't moved yet."
"Also, there are rumors of new demon Lords: Caitlyn and Eugene, but they seem to be weaker than the senior three," Mr Anwar continues. Madam Fron nods slightly, her face looking concerned.
"Lay the map, Anwar," Madam Fron requests. Mr Anwar lays a large map of the continent.
"Look, I'm not going to tell you the entire history of the war, but they basically capitulated Francia and Al-Azhar, blockaded the dwarven island nation of Elaise and almost took our capital Batavia. As I said, they almost beat the crap out of us." Madam Fron points at different locations on the map with a wooden stick.
"Okay, cool. What's that got to do with us?" I ask.
"Well, you see. We need the three of you as Imperial Guards. Demon and dark mage catcher. Elite magicians," Madam Fron mutters.
Imperial Guards?
Those Imperial Guards? They're elite units! There are never more than forty Guards at any moment!
"That's kind of overstretching our abilities ...," John quietly says.
"I literally had to step in to prevent that blast of laser from killing the judges. Aelita transformed the entire battlefield to a forest. Vio almost sent a girl to her death. You guys are just too lucrative to ignore," Madam Fron responds.
"Let me check your ranks first. Hands, please," Mr Anwar says.
He inspects Aelita's hand first. "Mmm. Class III, lower end," he murmurs. John extends his arm. "Another Class III, lower end."
He touches the palm of my hand. "Oh! Class III, but a little bit stronger. Wait ... no, what is this? A Class V? No, no! W-"
Suddenly, Mr Anwar is repulsed backwards. "Anwar! What happened?" Madam Fron asks worriedly.
"At first, it was a Class III. Then, it turns to Class V. I suppose that's the demon's power. But ...," Mr Anwar says, "suddenly there was a power surge. Like, the demon's power can't even be gauged by the rank system."
"How's that possible? Even the most powerful demon Lords only possess the rank Class V," Madam Fron asks, "even freaking Lady Jessica is only a Class V!"
"There is only one possibility. The demon inside is not a Lord, but a King or Queen," Mr Anwar shivers.
Madam Fron falls to her chair. "No way," she mutters, her legs losing strength.
"But why would a demon King bother to enter me of all people?" I ask.
"Good question. Unfortunately, there isn't a definite answer," Madam Fron sighs.
"Perhaps, it's just a fraction of the King," Mr Anwar suggests, "after all, it's impossible for the King to enter our world. The cracks aren't large enough ... yet."
"That's possible, I guess. But why, though?" Madam Fron scratches her head.
At that time, another knock is heard. "Come in," Madam Fron says cautiously, her trusty glaive on hand.
Two men come in: one a bald, black man, another a white man with a long beard.
"Arctus! Charles! Long time no see!" Mr Anwar says.
"Heard a crisis is coming. I thought it would be prudent to stick together," Charles says. His body is well-built and muscular.
"Charles Moore and Arctus Pompey, former Grand General and Grand Admiral," Mr Anwar introduces them to us. We shake hands.
"Alright, look, Arctus, Charles, we have a problem," Madam Fron says.
"What problem?" Mr Charles asks sternly, his hands clenched together tightly.
"I did a little bit of talent scouting since our current Imperial Guards are child's play for anyone with half a brain, and found these three. One of them, this one, Violleta, has a demon inside her," Madam Fron says.
"Cool. We'll beat the demons with a demon then," Mr Arctus laughs. He rubs his long beard.
"The thing is that it's not a Lord inside her. It seems to be a King," Madam Fron gloomily says.
Mr Charles and Mr Arctus fall silent. "That's a major problem," Mr Arctus murmurs.
"Indeed. I think we have to attempt to establish communication with the demon," Mr Charles says.
"Only she knows how," Mr Anwar says.
"Who?" Aelita sneaks in.
"Agnes von Clauswitz, the most knowledgeable demonologist Irvine has ever seen. Also, kindly shut up and not interfere for the time being," Madam Fron hisses, causing Aelita to silence herself.
"Even though Agnes is elusive, we'll find her. However, until then, Anwar and I will train you," Madam Fron turns to John, Aelita, and I.
"Farewell," Mr Charles and Arctus murmur before leaving.
Madam Fron sighs. "We have no choice, then. Vio, John, Aelita, we are going to train you as Imperial Guards. You'll graduate in half a year–provided you manage to stay alive–and receive missions after that. Do you consent?"
I nod quickly. Who wouldn't? No more bullying, ultra powerful teacher protecting and training me, why not?
John and Aelita nod a few seconds after I do. "Excellent. I'll arrange for you to have dorms near my office," Madam Fron mutters happily.
"Fronica," Mr Anwar says, "you do realize that they will be 17,5 years old when they graduate, right? Isn't that a bit too early?"
"No," Madam Fron sternly replies, "not in this situation. The Imperial Guard training programme has fallen terribly. We have to interfere directly."
I wake up early this morning, and so does Aelita. "Ready for action?" Aelita laughs.
"Always," I answer.
Madam Fron puts her glasses back to place and undoes her ponytail. "Fronica Moonray is back," she whispers to herself.
John, Aelita, and I are brought to a training place outside the school. A wonderful open field nearby the seashore, the place looks exquisite.
"Yo, Richard!" Madam Fron laughs, "have you prepared my field?"
The owner of the place, Richard, frowns. "Yeah, but when you say you're bringing kids, I don't expect three Class III mages."
Madam Fron laughs again, "Kids are kids! Well, thanks, Richard!"
"Weapons, check. Barrier, check. Three hospital beds, check. Medication, check," Madam Fron chuckles as she observes the vast field.
The nearby duellists watch in awe, whispering like schoolboys and schoolgirls.
"We're in Ashville Duelling Club," Madam Fron says, "I saved the owner's great–grandfather from some demons during the last war, so I managed to secure a nice discount. First off, I'll round up the theories."
"First, you, Violleta. I have this for you," Madam Fron says. She hands me a pill.
"Demon cleansing potion pill. Not good enough to block the demon completely, but enough to control it," she says. I swallow it quickly without hesitation.
"Your blood magic is extremely versatile. You are the jack-of-all-trades on this Division. Usually, the strongest of the group becomes the leader, but it'll be up to you to decide," she says.
Madam Fron rapidly continues, "You, Aelita, play too offensively. Your nature powers are best used to defend and heal, not attack. Your vine tentacles are too weak, but is good as a distracting attack."
She continues, "For John, you are too shy. You flee and defend all the time, while your light powers have strong offense. Divine Judgement is an extremely powerful spell, and you have mastered it, yet you have failed to use it efficiently."
John, Aelita, and I take mental notes of Madam Fron's speech. "Let's start practice," she says.