Hostile Detection

Monday came and they were in Professor Stephanie's lecture. She was telling everyone about the Apostle-class Exorcists.

"Exorcists are divided into classes," she started. "D-class, C-class, B-class, A-class, S-class, and X-class. D-class Exorcists are those who can imprint their souls on their Reverence but cannot use Bring Out."

Devin couldn't help but feel small after hearing Professor Stephanie.

Am I a D-class? He asked himself.

Rodney placed his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, we'll figure things out."

Among their class, Devin was the only one who couldn't use Bring Out. The other students already woke their Reverence while he was still stuck.

The class went on until he heard the last part, "X-class are those Exorcists with exceptional talents."

Professor Stephanie unsheathed her sword, using her right hand to lift it high in the air.

"Bring Out, Rakim."

A white spark emerged from the tip of her blade and scorch of white flame engulfed her sword. The white light shrunk and encircled her wrist. From her middle finger, a line of white light formed a ring and connected from the light on her wrist.

Shaking her hand once to get rid of the light, a piece of jewelry was now trailing her hand. A white-colored chain bracelet was connected by a chain to a white ring on her middle finger. A sharp blade was connected through the chain from the bracelet. It twice the size of her middle finger and was now dangling around her hand.

"Professor, you mean…"

Professor Stephanie smiled, "Yes. I know most of you know, but I am a Bearer of an Apostle."

The room was filled with gasps. Apart from those who came from distinct Exorcist families, everyone else was shocked.

Silence followed the series of gasps before a loud cheering erupted.

"A Bearer as our class teacher?! Amazing!"

"She's so cool!"

"I wanna grow up just like her!"

…

While Devin was occupied with his thoughts, time went by and the class ended. Rodney nudged his arm that woke him up from his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Rodney asked.

Devin only nodded before he rushed home, leaving his friends behind.

"Is he okay?" Yuri asked. Realizing that his friend was in distress, the signature toothy grin from his face fell.

"Let's just give him some space," Kagura said, as equally worried as the others.

Opening his door, a waft of freshly baked bread entered his nose. He was sneaking up to the hallway that led to the kitchen.

"Hurry up, or he'll be here," Andrei said.

"I'm doing my best," Andrew retorted.

Without thinking clearly, Devin walked up to the twins and hugged them. The twins, that were unaware of his presence were surprised. They looked at each other and gave the other a knowing look.

We couldn't even feel his presence. Andrew thought.

"We're sorry Little Curls," Andrei said, returning the hug to the smaller boy.

"The Purgatory is a mess right now. We just had the time to excuse ourselves," Andrew added, putting the bowl of icing down the counter.

"You should've told me," Devin said while sobbing. "I'm so confused right now."

Devin told the twins about everything. About Morris, about his Reverence, about the guilty feeling he had every time he looked at his teammates. He was disappointed in himself.

"You're still young," Andrew said. "Actually, Liu only woke his Reverence when he was 18. His family was about to give their Apostle to his younger brother but he was lucky he successfully brought out his Reverence before that."

"Good thing Old Man Liu activated it huh," Devin said.

Andrei nodded, taking a bite off the cake. They baked a cake that said 'I'm sorry' to Devin. They did leave him at one of the most crucial moments of his life.

"You don't have to rush things," Andrei said. "Everything takes time."

"What if I don't activate my Reverence?"

The twins looked at each other before Andrew answered on their behalf, "Then you can trust your older brothers to help."

A smile made its way to Devin's lips. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Little Curls," Andrei said and hugged the younger boy.

They spent the night talking that the lump in Devin's throat disappeared completely. It was at that moment that he knew he needed others' help to thrive. Alone, he was weak. But with friends like the twins and his teammates, he knows he could do anything.

The next day, Devin apologized to his friends.

"I'm so sorry guys. I was being pathetic." Devin was about to bow to which Rodney stopped him.

"It's okay Dev, we understand," Rodney said and grinned. All seven of them entered the gymnasium together. They were laughing and talking but a boy in front made them stop.

It was Morris.

"Hey, Devin," he greeted. "It's good to have you back."

"Thank you."

Before they could talk more, Professor Maltoise called for their attention.

"Good morning everyone! Now, today we are going to start duels," the professor started. His plump figure stood out from the stage of the gymnasium. "You all know that in our duties, we may encounter a Stained Soul that is out of our level. This exercise will give you that experience."

He Woke Alaska. The sharp cutlass glimmered from his hand. He resembled a pirate captain of some sort. Although his belly was a bit big, his overall physique was not something to be messed with.

"I will first select three random teams," he said. "The first team I'll call will select a student from the two other teams. These teams will have a friendly battle. After that, I will choose another pair of teams and the winning team will select the student to participate. Clear?"

When the students nodded, Professor Maltoise lifted Alaska up. "Oh, a twist. I have a rather peculiar Sanctity." He raised his gaze and a white speck of light appeared on the tip of his blade. "Hostile Detection."

Three white lines shot from the tip of Alaska towards three teams.

Professor Maltoise's Sanctity was to detect and show hostile intentions towards a group of people. He modified his ability to point their group, rather than the specific person to avoid further conflict.

Lowering his gaze to see where the lines pointed at, a smirk formed on his lips. "Okay, Team Luna, Team Maxime, and Team Lea!"