My Cat is My Reverence

Devin and the twins were walking back to Devin's room when a question popped in his head.

"Do you know Dr. Xia?" he asked.

The twins stared at him before nodding. "Why?"

"If she could heal me, why couldn't she heal Orlando's wounds and the other's?" Devin asked, opening his door and was greeted with an unfamiliar coldness

"We all have our limits. She can heal external wounds but could only aid in repairing wounds inside," Andrei said.

Andrew was busy looking around the room. He went to Devin's room, the bathroom, kitchen, living room, then back to the entrance.

"Devin? I think Revelation is missing," he said, plopping down the sofa beside his brother.

Devin was cooking their dinner when he stopped, remembering that his cat was actually his Reverence. He thought it was only a prank or something.

He ran up to his sword that was in the breakfast table.

"Revelation? You silly little cat, why didn't you say anything?" he asked the sword. He was smiling. All this time, his Reverence has been with him. At his lowest times, the darkest, the loneliest, his weapon was his partner.

"What do you mean?" Andrei asked.

"My cat was my Reverence all along!" He grinned before strapping the scabbard of his sword to his waist and returned to the kitchen to cook, this time happier.

The twins looked at each other, confusion was painted in their faces. After a while, they just shrugged, fully knowing how crazy the world can get.

Meanwhile, two figures were talking inside the forest.

"I was mistaken. He's a good kid," Morris said. After seeing Devin fight, he was convinced that Devin was somehow clueless. He was suspecting that the boy was from an Exorcisting family that was going to betray the Union, yet Devin was far from that.

Maxime rolled his eyes, "This is why mother and father always looked down on you. You're too soft!"

"I can't kill him if that's what you meant,���� Morris retorted.

"You don't have to kill him," Maxime grinned. "Just injure him enough to urge that Stained Soul to come out. It would be fun to watch."

"You can't fight it," the younger sibling muttered. "You know how powerful that stained soul is. It would be at least Echelon 4."

"You can't fight it," Maxime repeated what his younger brother said mockingly. "You know I can. I am the pride of the Von Schweitzers. The 'Man Who Wields Zweihander With One Hand'."

Morris left his brother, fully knowing their conversation wasn't going to end in his terms.

Maxime stared at his younger brother before smiling. "Let's see how this is going to end."

He had always been praised for being strong. Their family members are known for wielding a zweihander, a sword that requires two hands. Maxime holds his weapon with a single hand and is able to par Licensed Exorcists with it.

Nearing their dormitory, Maxime looked at Devin's window. "What secrets do you hide?"

–

"Ha!"

Kagura was attacking Rodney rapidly. Her swift swings along with the use of her Sanctity to create a mirage was making Rodney have a rough time. Her movements were fast that he could barely keep up.

They were training themselves for an upcoming event.

"You guys are so early," Sofia said, covering her mouth as she yawned. "It's still 5 AM."

"The qualifying exams are in 2 weeks. What did you expect?" Kagura replied. She returned her sword in her scabbard and sat beside Sofia who was seating in the bleachers.

The others arrived except for Devin. They all sat on the bleachers, where they stared at the large banner. There was only an uncomfortable wave of silence between them.

"I'm worried about Devin," Sofia finally said. "But at the same time, I am amazed."

Yuri nodded, "Did you see how cool his outfit was? His Reverence was mighty!"

"That's why it took too long to activate," Adonis exclaimed. "Strong Reverences were usually always late bloomers. Like Liu Zhang, Tania Smith, and Franco Alastair."

"Dude," Rodney retorted. "Franco Alastair's Reverence was activated after his mother gave birth."

Rodney ushered his friends to come closer, "That's how The Exorcist Princess, Mary Alastair, died. She was killed in birth by Franco."

"Did you just say 'Franco'?"

The six whispering teens dispersed after hearing Devin. They were too busy talking, they didn't notice him come in and got closer to them.

"A-Ah, yeah," Rodney said. "Heard he was your guardian."

Devin pursed his lips and nodded. He knew they weren't talking about him and his relationship to Mr. Franco. "Yes. Do you know what that means? It's been a few weeks since I've been here, but he never even greeted."

There was silence before Kagura decided to speak, "Guardians don't act like your parents. They'll act as your mentor when – and if – the time comes."

"What does that mean?" Devin asked.

"Sometimes, the student doesn't make it–"

Sofia elbowed Rain before he could finish. She glared at him before turning to Devin, "What he meant is that, sometimes there can be accidents. And sometimes, students get hurt."

"And die," Rain added, earning him another elbow from Sofia.

"But anyway, do you know what'll commence in two weeks?" Rodney effortlessly swung his arm around Devin's neck. He was comfortable with the boy that a gesture like this was nothing.

When Devin shook his head, Kagura spoke, "There will be a Qualifying Match for Teams to be drafted into the Summit of the Six Exorcist Schools."

"S-Summit?"

"A team from each school will participate in a competition which determines the strongest school of the year," Rodney added, dragging the smaller boy towards their seat. "The winning school will basically have bragging rights."

"That's it?" Devin asked. The others looked at each other before scrunching their faces.

"That's it?" Sofia repeated rather strongly. Her sudden change of mood shocked everyone. She wasn't happy. "Did you know that when a school wins, Tina Godfrey will personally teach at that school for the whole year?! Last year it was Team Europe who won because of two sleazy dudes from our team ran out of stamina."

"From all the people here, she was the last person I expected to rant about The Summit," Kagura said.

The Summit was an event for all the Exorcist schools in the world. The six schools would engage in a friendly competition that determines which school would be the Center of Excellence from that year.

Not only that, Tina Godfrey, the Chief of Exorcists, would teach for that same year in the winning school. Students and faculty alike had been seeking for the chance to meet the legendary Exorcist.

Sofia scoffed before returning to her chair. "It's so unfair."

"If we won, there would be a power imbalance," Rain said. "There are already 4 Bearers at our school. If Tina Godfrey were to transfer here, the balance would tilt. It basically means there are no more Bearers for the other continents."

"The balance does not tilt," Rodney said. "The number of Bearers per continent does not mean anything. They only fight when there's a strong threat. And threats like that are rare. Regular Exorcists are usually the ones who fight with regular Stained Souls anyway. Gosh knows my sister had never seen a proper battle in months."

After their small discussion, Team Lea decided to proceed with their training. One by one, they activated their Reverences.

Kagura's Reverence – Sakura – was a white katana. Her weapon complements her fighting style, swift and targets critical areas. Sakura's blade was thin and sharp, making it light and could cut deep.

Xavier, Rodney's Reverence was a shortsword. It was only slightly longer than the original blade before his Bring Out but the details and markings on the sword vary greatly.

Sofia had a short knife that curved like a claw. Her Reverence was called Sayang and her fighting style was close combat. She discovered that she was better when fighting close combat at her friendly match after they were scolded by Professor Maltoise.

Devin could only watch as his friends activate their weapons one by one. He was holding the handle of Revelation tightly.

"Devin, it's okay if you sit this one out," Adonis said, holding his gun-type Reverence named Garrison. Yuri nodded while dragging his flamberge named Makarov.

"No, it's okay," Devin said.

Revelation, please lend me your power. He thought and closed his eyes.

There was a warm gush of energy inside him. It was Revelation accepting his request.

Devin held the handle of his weapon, gently unsheathing his blade from its scabbard. The engravings on the sword lit up slowly, like water gushing down a trail.

Raising his Reverence, he felt their connections getting closer. Like the two puzzle pieces gently fitting each other. He needed to synchronize with his weapon.

The more change a Reverence had after its activation, the more harmony an Exorcist needs. To Bring Out wasn't an easy task. It needs patience, strength, and trust.

Lifting his sword, Devin exhaled. An intense pressure came out from him. His sword lit up brighter than it lit up before.

After feeling his harmony with his weapon, Devin opened his eyes.

"Bring Out, Revelation!"