Izy gulped as the beast stood before her. Whoever this Adreus was, he was bad news.

However, the performer's mood improved slightly as she smirked and said, "Well, I have to admit, you managed to genuinely scare me," Celeste raising an eyebrow as she added, "but I only feel it's fair to warn you that stronger doesn't necessarily guarantee you victory over my Utopia."

Eric was rather interested as Esmeralda nodded and said, "That's right, I have heard the stories of Utopia and how difficult it is to kill him," Celeste asking, "Well then, you seem quite knowledgeable for someone who knows nothing about my demons and how they work."

"Well, his power is written on the talisman," Izy replied with a shrug as the commander blinked and uttered, "Oh, yes, of course," Celeste replying, "Anyway, if you try to attack me, it'll be rendered meaningless as all I have to do is send one of the demons I used to summon him to the graveyard and it'll negate your demon's attack."

Adreus looked a tad worried before turning toward Celeste, the woman sighing, "Don't give me that look. You already know there's a way around this," the other knights curious as this was actually the first time they had ever seen Celeste summon the demon.

"Anyway, something worth note about demon heroes is that they all have abilities that are activated when you remove a demon that was overlayed to summon it," Celeste explained, "Adreus' ability is especially useful for getting around powers like Utopia's as at the cost of one overlay demon, I can remove any talisman of yours and have it sent to the graveyard."

"Wait, what!?" Izy retorted, her eyes and mouth wide open as Celeste put on an expression more serious than ever before, the knight tapping the talisman with Adreus on it.

This caused one of the two magic lights used to summon him to fly into her graveyard, reforming into the talisman it once was. As a result, Adreus pointed his dagger at Utopia and fired a red and black beam at the knight, piercing his armour as his eyes widened. With that, Utopia fell on his back and sank into the ground, Izy breathing heavily as she could not believe this.

She finally had the upper hand. This was the day she would win and pass the test. But no, now she had nothing to defend herself with and was going to lose, and all she had managed to pull off was four hundred damage to her opponent, a mere ten percent of what she actually needed to win this duel.

"I will give you credit where it's due," Celeste said with a frown, "You did surprise me, and that is not easy to pull off. Unfortunately, you are still unfit to be a knight."

The blond knight from earlier trembled as his teeth chattered, a tall woman next to him patting him on the shoulder but also looking rather sorry for Izy. Even Henry and Esmeralda looked disappointed, especially Eric who wanted Izy in the army so badly.

With all said and done, Celeste had Adreus charge at Izy and strike her armour with his dagger, the girl crying out in pain as the number on her gem went all the way down to zero. This caused the armour to crack open and fall apart, the woman falling to her knees, trying her best not to cry.

Celeste took a deep breath and returned her gauntlet to its normal state as the magic field vanished, the woman saying, "If I was an enemy, I would use this chance to end your life. That is how serious this is. Someone like you doesn't belong here!"

Izy slowly got up and took a deep breath, trying her best to calm down as she forced a smile and uttered, "It's okay. I'll just come back later when I'm good and ready," the commander sighing, "Please, your majesty, forbid this woman from entering our castle again! She is a waste of time and space!"

Henry was unsure of what to say, the other knights feeling rather intense while Esmeralda shrugged her shoulders. However, before either could say a thing, Eric stood up and exclaimed, "No! I deem this woman worthy of joining the army!"

The knights all stared at him in stunned silence as Celeste's mouth twitched. On one hand, the commander wanted so desperately to argue against this, but on the other hand, this was a member of royalty and while she could suggest actions from them, it was not her place to speak up against any final decisions.

Though shockingly enough, it seemed like Esmeralda agreed as she smiled and said, "You know, I, too, think Izy has proven herself worthy. Think about it. Did anyone here actually expect her to defeat our commander?"

The knights shrugged as one said, "Well, it looked like she had a chance, but yeah, no one would expect her to win at first."

Henry nodded and added, "And it's not because she failed the test but because, let's face it, not even our best knights have ever managed to overpower Celeste."

Izy looked confused as the man added, "The test was that applicants have to perform well in a duel with a high-ranking soldier, not actually win as that is unexpected of a newcomer. However, you did something today that no one else has ever done. You drew out Celeste's trump card in a test duel, a duel where no lives were on the line."

Celeste had a look of shock after hearing this as the king added, "Even you have to admit, that was impressive," the commander sighing, "I actually hadn't thought of that, but that is a good point."

Eric nodded and looked at Izy, the woman rather confused by all of this as the prince grinned, Esmeralda saying, "What I witnessed today may not have been masterful, but she definitely shows more promise than she used to. Besides, with someone like Utopia at her beck and call, it would be stupid not to accept her."

Izy's eyes sparkled, a big open-mouth smile forming on her face as Celeste sighed, "Well, if that is what you believe," the woman then walking over to Izy and saying, "Kneel."

The woman turned to her and nodded, saying, "Oh, okay," before bending down on one knee, Celeste sighing, "I would have preferred 'yes, ma'am', but that will do," before taking off her gauntlet and tapping it against each of Izy's shoulders while saying, "As decreed by the royal family, I now dub you Dame Izy."

Izy beamed brightly. There was no doubt about it. Today was the happiest day of her life and she could only imagine things getting better from here. Sure, she may not have won, but she never truly believed in being the best. She just wanted to protect people and this was her chance.

During this time, the other high-ranking knights were still off on the mission Celeste had assigned them to. Though they were all separated into teams of two.

Currently, two particular knights were in a cave where they were in the middle of a two-on-one duel with another knight, most likely from an opposing kingdom. One was a woman with red hair and a ponytail named Sevanne while the other was a young man with green hair named Nelson.

Despite the fact that these two were incredibly high in rank, they seemed outclassed as their opponent had summoned a dragon with five heads. This was one only heard of in legends and neither knight could believe anyone had gained possession of such a creature.

"I'll admit, you two certainly live up to your name," the opposing knight, who had been dressed in a cloak the whole time, stated, "Unfortunately for you, this guy here is hungry for fresh meat, and your demons will definitely suffice."

With that, all five dragons combined their breaths together to incinerate Nelson's demon, a red ogre with a hug club named 'Battleguard King'. Sure, this demon was tough, but the dragon's attack was more than enough to bring Nelson's gem down to zero thus shattering his armour.

Sevanne trembled as Nelson groaned, "Well, this is it for me," the woman shaking her head and pleading, "No, just accept your defeat and run! The kingdom needs you!"

"I've lost my armour," Nelson remarked with a sigh, "I'd rather die a hero than live a coward."

The enemy rose an eyebrow under his cloak as Nelson smirked, saying, "Yeah, you heard me right. Go ahead. Finish me off."

"I would, but you're not worth it," the cloaked knight remarked with a shrug before holding out another talisman and saying, "I only came here for this. I don't care whether you live or die."

Sevanne let out a sigh as she placed her hand up against her gem. This told the gauntlet that the owner had surrendered and thus the duel was instantly brought to a close, the cloaked knight bowing his head and saying, "Smart woman," before taking off with the talisman he had taken from the cave.

While Nelson was cursing the entire situation, beyond embarrassed to have dealt with all of that, Sevanne felt lucky that she and her partner had been spared. Whoever this cloaked figure was, he was certainly a threat to the kingdom.

However, the knights in the castle were ignorant to what was happening as two of them decided to show Izy around the areas she had not yet seen. These two knights in particular were the blond boy from earlier and the tall woman who had stood next to him during Izy's duel. The woman in particular had long black hair and a beautiful face. In fact, she was one of the few knights who was almost on the level of the kingdom's strongest.

"Say, I don't believe we've introduced ourselves yet," the woman said with a light smile, "My name is Taylor. It's nice to meet you," the blond man nodding and uttering, "I'm Neil."

Izy grinned and replied, "Well, it's great to meet you guys too. I look forward to working with you."

Neil then took a deep breath and said, "That was kinda cool the way you were able to stand up to Celeste like that. Even the best of us would be afraid to do that. I know I would. I'm pretty much scared of everything. I still think it's a miracle I was deemed worthy of being here."

Taylor gave the boy a warm smile and pinched his cheek, saying, "Someone's thinking negatively again. Remember what I said about that?" Neil groaning, "Okay, okay, I'll have more confidence! Just please stop doing that!"

Izy chuckled lightly and sighed, "Well, a part of me is kind of wondering if I really earned this. I mean, I didn't really do all that much during that duel."

"That's right," came a familiar voice as the trio turned to see Celeste standing there with a scowl on her face, Izy quickly giving an army salute and exclaiming, "Hello, sir, uh, I mean ma'am, I mean, um..."

"Save it," the commander retorted as she marched over to Izy and knelt down, glaring into her eyes, "I am absolutely certain the only reason the king and queen accepted that half-baked performance was because the prince was happy with it. I don't know what the prince sees in you, but I seriously doubt it's actual talent. I admit, you were more impressive than usual, but you're still not knight material. Just be glad rookies like you are only given low-level assignments."

Izy simply furled her brow and glared at the woman. She knew Celeste was strict, but it seemed the commander truly despised her, but why? What had she done to get on Celeste's bad side?

Even so, she knew better than to argue with her commander and as such, she said absolutely nothing as Celeste let out a sigh and said, "I can see logic is lost on someone like you. I need to speak with the king and queen about another new student anyway, someone who apparently didn't need to take the test."

As the woman left the area, Izy stared and asked, "What's her problem?" Neil uttering, "I-I don't know. She's strict, but she's never been this harsh before."

Taylor simply shrugged and replied, "Maybe she's trying to motive you, you know, tough love and all that. They say those with a lot of power are hard on those they see potential in."

Izy blinked and tapped her chin, saying, "You know, you might just be right," a light smile forming as she squealed, "Now that I've been accepted, she's using insults to get me to try harder! For a minute there, I thought she hated me!"

"She may be tough, but I don't think she hates anyone here," Neil replied with a grin, "I mean, I screw up constantly and I've never gotten on her bad side."

Of course, they were wrong as Celeste could not help but feel annoyed to have Izy under her wing. Even so, right now she needed to be calm as she was soon to have a serious conversation with the royal family. And it was not long before the woman stood before the entrance to the royal chamber.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, asking, "You wanted to see me, your majesty?" Henry smiling and replying, "Good, you're here. We have some big news that I'm certain will brighten up your day."

"Oh, yes, the new recruit," Celeste replied, "Is he really as good as you say?"

"Well, we know that in your care, he definitely will be," Henry replied as Esmeralda replied, "Especially since he has a lot of very strong talismans in his arsenal."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Celeste replied as Esmeralda grinned and replied, "Well, let's just say he's someone you know very well and is of very high status."

"Wait, you're not talking about-" Celeste uttered as Henry nodded and replied, "Yes, we are entrusting you with the responsibility of shaping our son, Prince Eric, into a great and powerful knight."

The commander stared in utter silence for a few seconds, a big part of her resisting the urge to smile. Henry was right. This really did brighten up her day. To think the prince himself would be her student. Sure, his decision to let Izy into the army annoyed the commander to no end, but there was still no greater honour than to train someone so important in the ways of combat.

But despite her excitement, Celeste continued to look professional as she gave an army salute and stated, "Understood, sire! Thank you for this incredible honour!"

"It's okay to show excitement," Esmeralda said with a warm smile, "Go ahead, we won't judge."

Celeste blinked and bowed her head, replying, "Thank you for giving me permission, but it is against my nature to act so childish," Henry rolling her eyes and saying, "We expect you to shape him into a true warrior starting tomorrow."

Celeste gave one last army salute before exiting, the king sighing, "So you're certain we made the right decision?" Esmeralda nodding and replying, "Trust me, honey, I truly believe he can do it."

Izy had just been shown to her quarters, specifically a barrack located outside of the castle. As was expected, she would not be sleeping in a separate room but would instead share a big area full of cots with the other knights. Though with so many in the army, it was a miracle there were enough cots for everyone.

"Well, this is certainly better than sleeping in a trailer," the woman said with a smile as Taylor nodded and stated, "You're actually quite lucky you joined when you did. There's literally only one cot that hasn't been taken yet, and best of all, it's right next to Celeste."

The woman then pointed at a bed located in the back of the room, Izy saying, "Cool, I get to sleep next to the commander. That might bring me good fortune."

At that moment, a few other knights entered the area as one of the females noticed Izy and said rather unenthusiastically, "Oh, hey. Welcome to the force. Hope you don't get killed on your first mission," Izy blinking as suddenly, something seemed to snap in Taylor.

The woman marched right over to the other knight and pointed at her, retorting, "Hey, were you mocking my new friend!?" the other knight sighing, "No, I was simply expressing concern," one of the men saying, "Hey, show some respect."

Izy smiled and bowed her head, saying, "Thank you, but I'm okay with ridicule," the man nodding and replying, "It is my pleasure," before bowing down and taking hold of Izy's hand, planting a light kiss on it.

Izy blushed bright when Taylor grabbed him by the back of his collar, saying, "Alright, that's enough, Will," the male knight groaning, "Aw, come on, you're such a buzzkill!"

"Don't let Will fool you," Taylor said with a serious look in her eyes, "He flirts with every new woman we get in the hopes that he can get some booty," Will retorting, "DO YOU HAVE TO TELL HER THAT!?"

Izy snickered and remarked, "Trust me, he wouldn't have gotten any from me," before looking around and asking, "Say, is this the only barrack?"

"Oh no, there is one specifically for men on the other side of the castle," Taylor replied as Izy sighed with relief, saying, "Oh, thank goodness. I thought I'd have to look at naked men every night before bed," the woman then asking, "So why are men allowed in here?"

"Because we're not changing during the day," another woman replied, "It's specifically the night and the morning that they can't enter, and it's the same for us. The only exception is if they have something urgent to report to us."

Taylor snickered and stated, "And to answer your next question, yes, we have had a few men try to take advantage of that exception," a few of the women glaring at Will as he retorted, "Oh, come on, I only did it twice!"

"And that's one too many times," came a familiar voice from behind him as the man quickly turned and gave an army salute, exclaiming, "Hello, ma'am, didn't see you there!"

Just as he said, Celeste was there now as she said, "Oh, good, you've already shown our new recruit to her quarters," Taylor nodding before asking, "Say, where were you anyway?"

"Showing our other new recruit where his quarters were," Celeste replied with a light smile, "I told him he didn't have to use the barrack as his home, but he insisted that we treat him like every other knight."

Will blinked as another man asked, "Um, what makes this new guy so special?" Celeste replying, "Oh, nothing, except that he's the prince," everyone in the room gasping.

"So, Eric's a knight now?" Taylor asked as Izy shrugged and said, "I figured he would be already. Lots of famous knights are members of royalty. Heck, it was a princess whose efforts legalized the right for women to fight."

Celeste blinked and said, "Well, you do have some knowledge of our land's history after all," the woman then clearing her throat and adding, "But yes, he will be training with us. Since he wishes to be treated normally, he'll be sent on rookie assignments for the first year or so like everyone else. That means anyone who's been with us for a little while might get a chance to work with him."

A few knights in the area looked excited as Celeste looked at Izy and sighed, "Unfortunately, that also includes you, but I'll try to keep that to a bare minimum."

"Look, I know you're trying to motivate me, but you don't have to be like that when we're not training," Izy replied with a grin, Celeste remarking, "What are you-?" the ex-performer then adding, "Especially since we're gonna be cot-mates in a matter of speaking."

The commander was rather confused until she suddenly remembered that the cot next to hers was the only one that had not yet been claimed, her eyes and mouth wide open. She wanted so badly to retort to this, but nothing came out. The very idea of sleeping next to someone so immature was horrifying.

Either way, Taylor said, "If it's alright with you, I'd like to show her more of the kingdom," Celeste simply nodding, her expression not changing for a second while the two exited.

However, while Izy was feeling good about this day, it seemed things were soon to take a bad turn as Sevanne and Nelson had returned to the kingdom. Nelson was stilled covered in bruises while Sevanne had him humped over her shoulder, the woman saying, "We'll have you resting in no time," the man remarking, "You don't have to carry me! I'm fine!"

Just who was the cloaked figure who had caused this? And was he even associated with the opposing kingdoms? Whatever the case, Nelson was happier to be alive than he let on. Still, there was no doubt things would get more interesting from here on in.