"After reviewing recent events, the academy has issued some changes. Several of you will be moved up in rank. Some of you will be moved to the second class due to extraordinary activities. We feel it is fair to recognize with you that we're involved in repelling the demon attack. Is this through their perseverance through adversity that we all stand here."

  There hadn't been an occasion where the entire academy had been in one place at the same time. They were all split up into their seven distinct groups. Each of the groups was a different size with the first being the smallest all the way up to the seventh being the largest. There was no distinction between them outside of the academy but here. Rank meant a lot inside the academy.

  There was a lot of unrest in the combined crowd. Ludere could feel it. None of them wanted to be out of class and this bit of mandatory extra instruction had not happened on his first time through. They would be dueling again, of course but his brackets would be completely different. The head grammarian went on to discuss the various changes to security that he was already implementing. Religion was for once listening to military. It might not have been the smartest thing for them to wait on these kinds of measures, a thing that the grammarian kept harping on.

  "Now we understand that we don't want this abrupt change in security protocols or posture to affect your work. You are all still the best and brightest you're or empire has. We expect you all to carry us to greatness. Sometimes asking the oath to greatness, one must pause to check one’s direction. That is all that we are doing now."

  There was a murmur of approval, but the crowd was mostly silent. Most of the students he had spoken with had been trying to keep strong, but the cracks were showing. Everyone was restless. Ludere was certain that he was the only one not shaken by the class losing more than twenty people to concerns.

  Each one had their own explanation of course. The administration was not going to explain any of them, though he knew one student had been selected early for a role with religion. The rest... The education that the academy was putting on was the best that they could get in the entire empire. This shakeup proved to be eventful. He had been in fourth class with Mila prior to the exodus. Now both were in the second class. This was unusual, but not unwelcome.

  His goal of making it to the first class was still attainable.

  "Bel made it to first class," Mila whispered into his ear.

  "What? That's crazy. How did you ...?" He whispered back.

  "Cire told me on the way here. They had to move him up first. Another several students from second didn't return, leaving enough spots for the two of us. I thought we would just go to third, but that's not what they did."

  "They didn't explain to me. Did they explain it to you? I think that's because of what we do with their demons. But if so, then Marcel should have moved up as well."

  Ludere had to think back to all his interactions with the fourth.

  "This means that his gang isn't going to be hanging around all day. Hector and Callie are still in second."

  There were twenty-four students in the second class. To be selected to move up from fourth class directly to second, their star had to rise significantly. He had no doubt that something was going to come in the form of an ask.

  One of the thirds would feel slighted at being passed over and they would try to leverage one of their parents’ positions. Being one step removed from the politics of the capital, this felt a little like a cat yowling for food. He could ignore it, but only for so long.

  "They must love that. There's going to be a lot of competition now for Bels seat."

  It was well known that to get into a spot you had to do better than somebody else and one of the ways to do better than somebody else was to have better test scores or to duel them better or to do outstanding things otherwise agreed upon by the academy.

  He had rooted out a demonic incursion and been moved up two classes. That felt like it should be enough. He was certain that if he was a headmaster he would have moved himself up, but it wasn't his call and he was unlikely to take that position if he could help it. Nothing about serving in religion sounded interesting, save for the opportunity to serve alongside the Oracle.

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  She had freedom of movement that he could only dream about. If she made up a vision, if she could go anywhere in the Empire to make sure that the vision got told to the person directly.

  People came up to her with their visions and she accepted them. This meant that for all practical purposes she could move around as much as she wanted but it was easier for his day. Every job that he'd seen talked about required him to leave the capital frequently. It wasn't that he didn't want to travel, but there's only so many times that he wanted to be at the scene of another incursion.

  If there was a way to reason with the demons to have to not try and invade his home. He would prefer that kind of peaceful end. So far, his best guess was that he would ever be able to die a peaceful death if things continue like this. At some point in time, the cat would run up energy to send him back through time and loop back through. He knew this to be something that could potentially happen. He didn't even have a handle on how he could even call out the cat for assistance. It just showed up what it wanted to and then left just as mysteriously.

  He needed a way to call it and get it to answer some questions. It wasn’t going to be easy. The cat was as unpredictable as lunch with a Senator. He’d only experienced that twice and wondered how Cire had grown up. It was probably different because they were related.

  ---

  Having a simple, open design, the academy precluded students from just sneaking away from the giant presentation. It was thus that Ludere found himself trying to hide in the crowd of the seconds as they moved to their class. He trusted Mila and his acquired cowled toga to keep his head obscured.

  “He’s not looking. Duck down,” Mila whispered.

  He knew better than to say anything. The cowled togas had come into fashion as of late. He didn't know if it was Bel and his people or if him wearing one had affected it.

  They were able to pass without any sudden intervention from Grammarian Luka. "We're on the other side now. You can uncover yourself Regnicus."

  One of the seconds gave them a look as if to ask what they were doing. Ludere just shrugged. One day he would be able to rest upon his achievements. This was not that day.

  They had seen Grammarian Baslin several times. Physically, he was the largest of the instructors. His calves were like tree trunks, his arms were much the same and he didn't have a single hair on his head. The seconds were following him for several minutes. They formed into two neat rows of twelve each.

  Mila and Ludere formed up at the back.

  They walked for what seemed like long enough that they would have already left the rather extensive compound. Ludere knew that the other classes were not in the same building but he hadn't picked out which one was which.

  Grammarian Baslin just kept walking around the perimeter until they reached the furthest point at which they could have been from where the assembly had happened. His eyes went black and several layers of sand flew off of a circular stone floor large enough that each of the seconds could lay down sprawled out. The floor had an intricate pattern that neatly divided in half with intersecting circles that each reminded him of the maze.

  The seconds all took a spot, sitting or kneeling around the center. This was either expected or normal. None of his inquiries about the Grammarians had returned with anything special about Baslin.

  Baslin looked up. "Well that was something. I thought we would pause our normal activities and talk about what just happened. Clearly the demons found a way into the academy and that's not something that we were prepared for. I understand that quite a few of your classmates were less than enthused about it. Demons are a part of the world. They can be attacked and killed. They are finite."

  Baslin seemed to lock eyes with every student at the same time. He crossed his arms.

  "Let's get one thing straight. Either you're directly fighting the demons, in the case with military and some of government, or you're supporting those that do. If they come to us, you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to fight back. To that end, I wanted Mila and Ludere, our two newest seconds to speak about how it is that they were able to kill so many. I don't mean to put both of you on the spot, but you must understand how rare of an opportunity this is. Demonic incursions are rare, though they have been happening with some more frequency as of late."

  Ludere knew that he was being given a chance to show why he deserved to be in the class. Mila was getting the same.

  He needed to thread this needle carefully. He stood tall."What you need to understand is how they work together. It's not a surprise that demons have a rigid hierarchy. The rank and file demons are about as competent in a fight as a basic legionnaire. However they have a weakness."

  There was a gasp.

  Mila stood next to him. "The succubi are more like a Grammarian at their top strength. On top of their own combat abilities, they cannot be defeated without someone with enough magical abilities."

  Mila went on and they went back and forth about how important it was to take demons seriously and to rely upon magical powers when those were available and to avoid them when it wasn't. One demon wasn't an issue. It was numerous demons plotting together which was what they tended to do. That entire line of questioning had them explain everything they knew for a roughly two hours.