Measuring Device

Yuri fell to his knees with a bitter sense of defeat and exhaustion. He exerted too much energy but it still wasn't enough. The usual grin on his face was wiped off.

Felicia walked over, grinning as she did. "You did your best. But it wasn't enough, still. What will your father say?"

She looked at the balcony, "What will your teammates say?"

Felicia got near Yuri, whispering in his ear, "What will he say?"

The blonde girl walked past him, the chuckle from her did not escape Yuri's ears. Anger flooded his body. His pride and ego were trampled on, and his promise to his friend.

'I like you.'

'I will give you my answer after you win. So, you better win.'

"You think–" 

His anger was sucked out of his body when he felt an arm around him. He looked over and saw Adonis.

"No," he said. "It's not worth it."

"B-But I didn't win…" Yuri trailed off and looked at his shoes. "I guess I don't have your answer?"

Adonis shuffled the smaller boy's hair. "I bet you already know."

He walked towards their seat when he realized Yuri wasn't following him. 

A smile appeared on Yuri's lips. "Apicharit."

"So, that's why you were so obsessed with winning," Veronica said and stood beside Yuri.

"You're not disgusted?" Yuri asked.

Veronica quirked her brow at him and shook her head. Pointing at a woman in the bleachers, she waved her hand.

The woman grinned and raised her thumbs up. 

"That's my girlfriend," Veronica said.

Yuri formed his lips with an 'o'. "She's very pretty."

"The prettiest woman in my eyes," Veronica said that made Yuri scoff.

"Cheesy," Yuri remarked.

"Why didn't you… oh," Adonis paused and cleared his throat. "Hello. Are you Yuri's friend?"

"More like a guardian if you ask me," Veronica said. "Well, you better take care of him, or else I'll kick your guts. Tell him not to overexert his powers, okay? Cool."

Adonis scrunched his forehead in confusion. "Excuse me? "

Veronica rolled her eyes and walked away, not saying anything more.

"What was that all about?" Adonis asked.

 Yuri shook his head. "Doesn't matter, Apicharit."

"Don't call me that," Adonis warned. Yuri winked and ran to the bleachers. "A-P-I-C-H-A-R-I-T!"

"Get back here!"

"Come catch me!"

–

"The final round will be a three-way battle for the first two matches and a championship match for the winners of each circle," Michelle announced. "The winner of the last match will instantly gain 50 points."

"50?!" The crowd gasped.

"That is a game-changer," Kagura said. "If we get to win that, it would surely catapult us to the lead."

Devin's teammates looked at him. They gave him a comforting smile.

"But don't worry bud," Rodney said, slinging his arm around Devin's neck. "Win or lose, you're still our leader."

Devin was lost for words. His teammates brandished their swords and waited for him to join in. He cracked a smile and connected his sword with theirs.

"Squad Lewis?"

"Squad Lewis!"

"Team Asia?"

"Team Asia!"

–

"Bring Out, Revelation!"

Devin charged to his opponent. Morris held his gripped his sword, swinging it to meet with Devin's.

"Ark!" Kagura yelled from beside them. "Dances of the Flowers, First Dance: Summer!"

Devin and Morris halted their fight and redirected their blades at Kagura and her clone. Her attacks got even faster and her movements were swifter.

She was relentless.

"Second Dance: Fall!"

Her quick slashes got even quicker. Morris had barely speed to keep up. His arm, legs, and sides were being cut shallowly.

Kagura reunited with her form, drawing her sword back and bending her knees. "Third Dance: Winter."

"Here comes the blow!" Morris warned. "Ark! Desolate Strike!"

Devin was about to run behind Morris to avoid the two strong attacks. But they were directed towards him. He flipped and turned to the side, barely avoiding the attacks.

Just when he thought he was free, Kagura appeared in front of him. She was kneeling on one knee and was looking down.

"Are you–"

"Last Dance: Spring!"

Multiple Kaguras appeared, apprehending Devin with their attacks.

His sword was fast, but it was barely enough. He didn't anticipate the attack, making it harder for him to take time ing gathering enough strength to block all of them.

After Kagura's attack, Devin's glowing cloak burst into thin air. He fell to his knees and used his now deactivated Reverence to force himself up.

"I-I still can't fight two on one," Devin said. Sofia came over and gave him a glass of hot chocolate. "Oh, just right."

"You need to take a rest," Margaux said. "Drink that. It's so cold out here and you didn't even bother opening up the heater. I feel like my nails are going to get frostbites."

Rodney grimaced at her, "I'm sure that's not how frostbites work."

They shared a laugh and decided to take a short break. Since the day's round was over, they hurried back to the hotel and trained at the hall. Everyone got in pairs and took turns sparring Devin.

He didn't tell anyone about what the twins told him about. Although there was a huge possibility that he'll be facing two of the strongest participants, he still shouldn't be too careful. After all, his life got full of surprises and every one of them wasn't as good as Devin would've hoped.

Devin felt a warm feeling of happiness inside him. He felt himself smile and saw Sofia winking at him. "Just relax," she whispered.

"Thank you."

"Guys!"

Yuri was running towards them while four of his Grimms were dragging a large box.

"What is that?" Kagura asked.

The slender boy grinned and signaled his guards to open the wooden box. It was big. Like there was a house inside.

When the Grimms opened the box, the rest of Squad Lewis gasped.

"Tada!" Yuri cheered. "I got myself a measuring device!"

"Why would you even do that?" Adonis came inside and smacked Yuri's head gently. "This cost about $7.1 million. What a waste of money."

"This isn't a waste," Yuri said. "I still have about $500 million in the bank anyway. Why bother?"

'I have never even seen $100,000 before.' Devin thought. 'Rich people.'

"Anyway," Yuri clapped his hands, completely ignoring Adonis's nagging. "Who wants to try it?"

His friends looked at each other before raising their hands. "Okay, let's start with the one who represented our magnificent team first!"

Rodney walked to the platform and activated his Reverence. He placed his sword inside the cylindrical device. It glowed, meaning it was reading his power level.

[ 6 ]

"Woah," Rodney breathed. "Awesome!"

Morris and Sofia were up next, and then the rest followed.

Morris [ 8 ]

Sofia [ 5 ]

Kagura [ 7 ]

Adonis [ 5 ]

Rain [ 6 ]

Margaux [ 6 ]

"I have measured earlier so…" Yuri trailed off and grinned at Devin. "Mr. Leader!"

Devin walked towards the platform and gulped. "Bring Out, Revelation."

He placed his sword inside the device, and it started glowing.

[ 7 ]

His eyes widened after seeing the numbers. He was at least an A-rank Exorcist. H

Just when he was about to pull his sword out, the green glow from the device turned red.

Numbers rapidly displayed on the screen until it reached a certain symbol. A symbol that made everyone gasp.

[ * ]