Pushing the Limit

Devin's clothing changed. His white glowing coat covered his uniform like the ones the Exorcists wore. The hem of the coat rattled from the pressure that was emanating from his body.

"Now, that's an entrance," Rodney remarked.

His new form was draining for Devin. A few seconds after activating his Reverence, his clothes disappeared along with the light that coated his sword. He fell to his knees in exhaustion, chasing his breathing.

"Devin!" the others yelled in worry and ran up to the boy.

It was as if he returned from the Purgatory after staying there for three days straight. Like all his energy was sucked out of him. He drew a sharp inhale before fainting.

"Are you okay, bud?" Rodney asked, letting Devin wrap his arm around his neck for support.

When Devin was unresponsive, Adonis picked him up and brought him to the bleachers to lay down. His breathing was now normal, and there weren't any signs of a problem.

"His Reverence is a double-edged blade." A voice that came from behind them made Devin's friends look over.

"I should've known this would happen." Mr. Franco walked up to Devin's unconscious figure. "This kid is so troublesome."

No one dared to speak. They still felt uneasy after talking about the man just a few minutes ago.

It's all Rodney's fault. Then others thought.

"Er– I–" Kagura stuttered. No words could escape her lips that she pushed Rain to talk for her.

"I think we must head to class," Rain said. "We'll take care of Devin, Mr. Fraco."

The man nodded before smiling, "Take care of him for me, please."

The students nodded before discreetly racing away. Adonis was still carrying Devin but it looked so easy for him.

Yuri grinned at Adonis, "You look like you're carrying your child."

"Shut up." Adonis rolled his eyes and looked at Devin. For his height, anyone would look like his child. Devin was more than 2 feet shorter, it made sense if he was mistaken as his dad.

What am I thinking? Adonis asked himself and shook his head.

They went inside the cafeteria after escaping from Mr. Franco. It was still early for them to go to class.

"Devin needs to increase his stamina," Kagura said after everyone got their snack. They were discussing how to improve Devin's capabilities.

Little did they know, Devin woke up a while ago. Although his body was still weak, he could hear his teammates clearly.

"If we want to qualify, we need Devin," Rodney added.

The conversation went on with everyone adding ideas. They were brainstorming on how to help their friend.

"It's okay guys," Devin said. He stopped his pretense and looked at everyone. "I'm sorry I'm weak, but I think I need to solve this problem on my own. I don't want to bother all of you– ow!"

Rodney pinched Devin's cheek. "Nonsense! You silly little kid."

Sofia shook her head, "We need you, Devin."

"Your powers exceed us," Rain said. "We have trained mostly all our lives. Yet you, who are still new to this, had exceeded our capabilities."

"I don't get it," Devin mumbled. "I'm just a burden to you guys."

"You're not a burden!" Yuri cheerfully said. "That's Adonis' role."

Adonis glared at the skinny boy and rolled his eyes.

That made Devin smile. Even after failing his team numerous times, they still accepted him.

"Thank you, everyone," Devin said. A tear slipped his eye that made him sob fully.

"We will help you," Kagura said. "But first, let us train."

–

"I don't want to train anymore!" Devin whined.

He was sparring with Rodney as his first training. A week after their conversation, they worked hard to train. Although they focused on Devin, their individual improvements were among their priorities.

The Lecture and Actual classes were suspended too. This way, they could focus on the upcoming qualifying exam.

Among Devin's training was a lot of cardio and flexibility exercises. He was a close-combat type, meaning he needed to be fast and agile.

"You're almost there, bud!" Rodney yelled, swinging his sword for Devin to block.

Since he still faints after activating his Reverence, they started training him with basic combat. It wasn't rare for Exorcists to fight without their Bring Out, especially if they were fighting lower Echelon Stained Souls. So knowledge in basic attacks is important.

"Wait," Devin said. He was panting when a thought popped in his head. "When I first met Andrei and Andrew, there was a floating star-shaped stone a few feet above their heads. What did that mean?"

Rodney's eyebrows met before realizing what the boy meant. "Oh, that was their Sigil."

"Sigil?"

"Each Exorcist bears a Sigil after their last form." Rodney returned his sword back in his scabbard and sat on the floor. Like Devin, he was exhausted. Kagura and him started training earlier than everyone else.

"Last form?"

Rodney nodded, "The last form is attained by Exorcists who had successfully merged with his Reverence on whole other level. When they do, a Sigil appears above their heads. You must have missed it, but there's something distinct about a normal Sigil and a Sigil from a Bearer."

"A Bearer, apart from the star-shaped stone, has a sword that resembles an unactivated Reverence a couple of feet up. The sword, which is called Runos, points downwards and its brightness depends on how strong the Bearer is. The brighter the sword, the stronger the Bearer."

"Did you know Tina Godfrey's Runos is as bright as the sun?"

Devin almost had a heart attack when Yuri spoke beside him. He grinned at the shorter boy. "It was said that only a few people knew what it looked like since she doesn't need to Bring Out to fight. But considering Old Liu had a very bright one, she must have something brighter."

"She doesn't activate her Reverence? Even when the Stained Soul is strong?" Devin asked.

Yuri shook his head. "Among all the Bearers, Tina can fight a 666 one-on-one. If the 666 wouldn't replace their members so fast, the Stained Souls would've been wiped out by now."

"Hail Tina," Sofia cheered with admiration. The others chuckled at her.

Their training went on for a few more hours until the afternoon. Kagura, who the team decided to be their leader, decided it was time to go.

"Let's rest guys. It's Wednesday tomorrow, meaning we have regular classes," she said. They all went to their separate ways after congratulating everyone for a whole day's worth of progress."

Devin was inside his room. The twins reported back to the Purgatory, meaning he was alone.

And this time, there was no cat who rubbed his head on Devin's legs.

Revelation's sword was always with Devin. Although it wasn't required for students to wear their scabbard belt, Devin wouldn't let go. In his classes, in his sleep, even when taking a bath, Revelation was with him.

A ringing of his phone interrupted Devin's thoughts.

"Hello, Morris?" he greeted.

"Meet me by the forest," Morris replied. "Bring your sword."

It was always Morris' habit to call and hung up after what he wanted to say. Devin was curious as to what Morris needed him for.

He walked to the forest and saw Morris there.

"Good afternoon."

"Use Bring Out," Morris ordered.

Devin's forehead scrunched in confusion, "What?"

"Activate your Reverence," Morris paraphrased.

"You know what happens when I activate it, right?"

Morris nodded, "That's why we're going to train you how to stop whatever happens from happening."

When Devin was still hesitant, Morris spoke. "My Reverence transforms from three-quarters of feet to over five feet tall. This requires great energy. Your body does not just get used to the drain when you want it to. You have to train yourself to get used to the exhaustion."

"Daliah Khumalo, the Exorcist who is famous for her large mask-looking shield slept for four days after activating her Reverence for the first time. Now, she's an A-rank Exorcist, capable of activating her weapon like any other Exorcist. She pushed her limits. Her exact words were 'If my limit is 10 seconds today, then tomorrow I will push it to 11 seconds.' And now you want your teammates to treat you like a princess just because you can't activate yours? Or is it the fact that your parents abandoned you that you're so fragile?"

A shift in the atmosphere, a drawing of a sword, and a bright coat covering Devin happened all at once. He dashed forward, bending his knee and threateningly pointed his glowing sword at Morris' neck.

"You don't know what I've been through," Devin growled.

"I know too well." Even with a sharp blade on his neck, Morris was calm.

"How would you know?"

"You're pretty easy to read, Devin."

Devin swerved his body and stood behind Morris. The blonde-haired boy was taller than him, making Devin lean up.

"Am I still easy to read?" Devin asked.

Morris was silent for a few seconds before he gave Devin a toothy grin. "Yes."

Devin removed his sword and took a few steps back. The orange leaves on the ground crunched as he did so.

"1 minute."

Devin raised his eyebrow before a sharp pain in his head made him kneel. He was panting. His body felt like it was a hundred times heavier.

Morris lowered himself in front of Devin. "You're so easy to read that you didn't even realize it took you three times the time your limit activates."

This was Morris' plan all along. To taunt Devin and distract him to activate his Reverence. Since Devin's focus elsewhere, he wouldn't realize that his Reverence had already sucked his energy.

"If you want more lessons, come back tomorrow," Morris said and took Devin's phone.

'Rodney, please pick me up. I'm at the forest by the clearing.'

Morris shook his head and turned, waving his hand goodbye.

I will not let my brother hurt you.