The newly enrolled students had been gathered inside the Archangel Grandiose Assembly Hall. One of the biggest indoor auditorium in Abros nation; a marvelously planned structure that could withhold about 60,000 people, easily.

The students had formed a queue and stood patiently. Some exchanged greetings and names while some students were already former classmates who rejoiced and chattered. There were also some students who just stood without interacting with the other students. Some were shy to talk and couldn’t gather the courage. While some had little too much ego issues who thought that friends are a waste of time. Those were the spoilt brat from noble wealthy family or just a dead serious prodigal genius who excelled in everything.

At the balcony on the 3rd floor which gave a quite beautiful view, unlike the students who stood on the floor below. In the upper balcony, right above the students, some important looking officials took their seats. A tiny plump looking man with a french beard who was the main ringleader sat right in the middle. His vibrant clothes clearly stated that he belonged to a rich nobility. The other officials beside him were old men who had dressed in white robes and amulets around their neck. They also carried a couple of books in their arms.

The chatter within the hall increased every passing second and the students seemed to forgot their main purpose. The arrogant unfriendly students were little annoyed waiting as they watched other students vexingly.

Suddenly, Joneta Reeves made appearance on the stage as she lugged around her hefty books.

She crossed the theater stage and after a second or two she returned back after she dropped her books.

The mumbling noises stopped and the students stood at attention.

Reeves' face was soaked wet with sweat and she had a wry smile. She bowed twice or thrice as an apology and went right to the corner of the stage.

As soon she left, Madam Cecelia entered the stage and stood in the center.

The crowd started to clap on her entry. She was famous and heroic female commander also known as the one-eyed cyclops.

The claps echoed throughout the auditorium along with some cheers of students who were a die-hard fan of her tales. Even the proud students clapped against their will. The noble short-fat person also clapped and his subordinates followed him.

Cecelia wasn’t amused by the applause, she received. Actually, she looked very annoyed.

“Hey! Hey! What is this? Marriage ceremony? Stop this clapping! My head already in pain!”, yelled, Cecelia as her eyebrows twitched in anger.

What are you talking about? Reeves thinks

It’s your alcohol to blame for your headache and not the students

The claps stopped and the students were stunned as the silence invaded the room. The noble officials present on the balcony was also puzzled by her behavior.

Cecelia scratched her ear with her left-hand little finger and then flicked away the wax, casually.

Reeves became impatient and tense with every second and watched Cecelia from afar.

Mam, I said to be polite and act as a lady! You are acting like a wild ape!

“Well, now this silence is soothing to the ear’s, right? Anyway getting to the matter of the point right away! You guys wanna join the military? The Knights, right?”, asked Cecelia cheerily.

The student's crowd nodded as an agreement, while some shouted at the top of their lungs, gleefully.

“Great!”, exclaimed Cecelia.

All of sudden her expression changed with a stern expression.

“WHY?”, she asked with a very pressing tone.

The atmosphere again changed, and the cheerful students were once again hushed. The students took a second or two and then started to answer in a random coarse method.

Some shouted,

“For the nation of Abros!”,

While some added,

“To protect the citizen of Abros!”

“We will lay down our lives for the nation”, screamed enthusiastically, a fellow student.

Cecelia got infuriated and leaped down the stage, swiftly unsheathed her sword and placed right on the neck of that student.

The student startled and whimpered with fear. The crowd beside them scattered away to a distance.

“Well, you are eager to die for the nation! What a patriotic student, we got this year! Fortunately, our medical research team needs a fresh human carcass for study purpose. It would really be beneficial for the people of our nation. Are you willing to volunteer? Abros would be really glad for your patron!”, sneered Cecelia.

The student trembled like a leaf,

“No! Ple-please! I didn’t mean like this!”, pleaded the students.

“So how about a duel to the death! Just you and me! Whoever loses would volunteer!”, a smirk surfaced on her face, “If I win I would get a fresh corpse for the medical research, but if you win then you shall get a corpse along with my post as a commander! HOW’s that? Very tempting offer indeed! Straight from a training cadet to the post of commander of the Imperial Knight’s army!”

“I don’t … I can’t defeat you with my skills on a duel! Please mam, I apologize!”, wailed the student.

Cecelia had scared the shit out the student as he trembled and sweated in his boots.

“Why are you apologizing? You were ready to sacrifice your life for the sake of the nation, right? So why are you backing out now! You said you would die in the name of Knights!”

“No mam, I don’t mean to die, literally.”

“Hmm”, she replied and put her sword back inside her scabbard. She climbed the stage again and stood in the center.

“Listen up, you silly punk jerks! Being a knight doesn’t mean just to lay down your lives for the sake of nation! A nation is not just a chunk of land that we work our asses to protect, day and night! It’s the place where the people live and thrive who calls it, Home! When all the people gather up and live in harmony, in a lot bigger community- that is called a NATION! Even the soldiers are an equal part of our nation such as the citizen we protect, so don’t just blabber such stuff about your life, easily!”, lectured Cecelia with a fierce expression.

The students stood awestruck after hearing her words. They started to view the commander in a new light. Even the noble officials at balcony were in a state of shock after seeing the personal traits of the commander before their eyes.

“So tell me what do you think being a knight means? Anyone define knight in your own terms!”, asked Cecelia.

The students were in a state of bewilderment. They brainstormed for a minute or two and started to raise their hands one by one.

“You, There dog face! With a mole on your cheek! Speak up!”, thundered Cecelia.

“Eh? My.. name’s Jordan.”, replied the student.

“Just gimme the answer, dammit!”

The boy startles but he answers in seconds,

“A knight is an honorary post for a soldier that has the duty to serve the country and its people.”

A smile appeared on his face just after completing as he stood proudly.

“Huh? Even the common soldiers have the same principle, don’t they? So what’s the difference from an ordinary soldier guards? Are you retarded or what?”, refutes Cecelia coldly.

His smile vanished instantaneously and his pride took a heavy blow as well.

Some hands that raised started to fall down as they also had similar statements on their mind and don’t want to embarrass them as the guy with the mole, Jordan.

The few remained hands had full trust in their answers.

Cecelia's eyes searched through the midst of the raised hands.

“You there 4-eyes! The girl with blonde long hair like a horse tail! Answer me!”

The blonde student was shocked, she was one of the egoist students who was unsociable.

Her secretary Reeves quickly rushed towards Cecelia from the back and poked her in the abdomen.

"Hey! What's your deal? I am busy! Can’t you see?" Cecelia yelled at Joneta as she turns her head back.

Reeves grabs Cecelia’s arm, and pull her away from the stage near the corner.

"What are you doing!! Address your students with a bit more dignity, will you?" shrieked the secretary, timidly.

"Now don't start to teach me how to speak to my fellow students, will you! Just go back and stand in the corner like a puppy dog tied to a pole. I got this!", she replied with an evil grin as her eye shone.

Reeves tighten her grip and pulls Cecelia by her arm.

“That girl now you just mocked is the daughter of the Finance minister who personally came to attend the ceremony. He is seated on the upper balcony with his officials.

Cecelia turned her head towards the balcony where the officials who looked aggravated.

The evil grin disappeared from Cecelia’s face.

“I see…. What a pain!”, said Cecelia as she let out a big sigh.

Reeves loosened her grip and went back to her position in the corner.

“Now mam, remember the etiquette of a noble lady. Just heed my words, this one time!”

Cecelia returned to the front of the stage and glared at the blonde girl.

“So could you answer before the lunch break?”, taunted Cecelia.

The girl froze as tremendous pressure overwhelmed her along with mockery thrown from the commander, herself.

We are so dead! Well, it was nice serving you madam Cecelia!, thanked Reeves in her mind as she facepalmed to hide her distressed expression.

The blonde student took a deep breath and regained her composure.

“A person born with a courageous heart and wisdom, trained and ready for any battle. A superior soldier of a nobility that would serve the king and its people. A knight who has a fierce loyalty even in the battlefield. He/She is honored by a sovereign, that has the duty to lead soldiers and king to the path of Victory for the Kingdom. A person devoted to his county, solely.”

The commander continued to stare at her with an amused expression.

“Um… That’s all my lady.”, adds the blonde girl.

The students were charmed by her answer and started clapping. The officials clapped and praised the chubby minister who smiled with pride for her daughter.

“What are you babbling, nonsense! I didn’t understand a shit you just said! Courageous heart? Nobility? Sovereign? Can we eat it?”, scowled Cecelia furiously.

The claps stopped and the students were astonished as Cecelia commenced to dominate over their souls. Even the egoist and proud students were displeased with the commander's personality.

Commander leaned back and gazed back at the students. Now all hands went down because of her disapproved reaction as the students doubted that their answers would not satisfy the commander.

Seeing no one else left to answer.

"This is my domain, and here I am the order and I am the law!”, roared Cecelia, “If I say to sit, you will sit! I say jump. You will jump! If I say Die, you will Happily DIE!"

A spark of fear arose among the students. They sensed the intimidating aura of the commander, the one-eyed cyclops. All they could do was stand and listen.

“The most important thing in my academy, all the students of the Archangel academy would be treated equally! If you are some lowly peasants son or if some royal wealthy nobility offspring, I DON’T CARE! Your skills set and capability is the most crucial element of being a knight.”

Her voice echoed throughout the auditorium that even the officials on the balcony seemed uptight.

“Currently, you guys are nothing than a clay, useless! But this soul-crushing training and drills would straighten up your shit together. You’ll need to follow all the rules of the campus! Disobey rules mean disobeying ME! And you won’t like to get on my bad side! Trust me, you’ll regret it!”, grinned Cecelia who looked absolute evil.

Reeves lowered head in shame. The Officials and the minister stood dumbfounded.

A smile appeared on Cecelia’s face, once again,

“You all should get along with each other and respect everyone, including teachers as well as your fellow classmates. Later, you’ll be assigned to a team by the teachers to perform various tasks in hand! So it’s best that you get friendly with everyone!”

Then again the smile disappeared,

“Your classmates are your comrades from now on. Protecting your comrades is one of the top priority along with completing the mission, in hand! ‘A Knight protects the country and it’s citizen’, is okay. But if you can't even protect the person beside you, your comrades! Then what good could you be for the nation? And always prioritize your life second to nature, after the mission and the lives of your teammates! If you just get scared the shit out of you when the time calls for sacrifice than you are no good as dead! Get out my sight this instant, and don’t ever return back!”

Cecelia waited for a second or two than she took a deep breath and with all her lungs,

“Anyone has ANY doubts or questions, SPEAK UP NOW!”

Her scream echoed throughout the hall. The students were tensed and dumbstruck as they tried to interpret the things going around as well as the officials.

“Anyone at all?”, she asks in a sharp tone, “Well if anyone wants to bail out, now's the right time! You would be reassigned to normal soldiers post if you can’t keep up with Knight’s, which happens a lot! You can’t back out later and never ever would get the chance to become a Knight! Knight’s chivalry is no child’s play, don’t regret later.”

Every student stood still and didn’t even moved a muscle. The room's air suddenly felt heavier than before.

“Hmm, So now I ask again, are you willing to die if I order?”, asked Cecelia, sternly.

“Madam, we don’t wanna die!”, answered a random student after gathered a little courage.

“Hahaha! Well answered. Be honest with yourself, the will live is the biggest asset of a soldier.”, said Cecelia and smirk appeared,

“Welcome to Archangel Academy.”

A smile appeared on the faces of the student and they took a breath of relief.

The officials were in an uproar as they gossiped among themselves in dismay. Although the tiny-chubby minister seated in center, his eyes glowed with respect as he stared the commander.

Reeves also relaxed, In the end, all goes well. Even, Madam Cecelia is also in good mood. Thank God.

Everything seems good until the hall door creaked open. All the student's attention diverts toward the noise. To their surprise, it was a shabby looking boy in a pitiful state. He had dirt and sweat all over his body. His hair and clothes were an utter mess. Half of the shirt was tucked in his pants while the other half wavered in the air.

Cecelia’s behavior went under drastic change, all of sudden.

“Glad you made it, Samael Heller!”