Not Enough

A series of rapid clashing swords and after images filled the fields. In 4 days worth of time, Devin had already kept up with the twins and Leonardo.

"Still too slow," Andrei sand and smacked his hilt in Devin's arm. 

Devin bent to the left, kicking the taller boy from the back, and darted towards the large form of Leonardo. His sword clashed with the lion's claw, his foot barely keeping itself latched on the ground.

"Speed is slow," Leonardo said and overpowered Devin, making him fly a few meters back.

It had been 10 minutes and his limit was still far. He still hasn't felt the exhaustion.

'Maybe I can do this.'

He used his sword to stand back up but was greeted by a grinning Andrei. "Focus, Little Curls. Focus."

Their swords clashed with a powerful sound. The sparks from their grinding blades were so much that it looked like it would lit the grassy fields on fire.

Devin knew he could reach Secunda at the same time master fighting multiple opponents at once. This was hitting two birds with one stone.

His friends are waiting for him, hoping that he'll succeed. Not to mention his school back in Asia. They're watching them on their television, crossing their fingers that they'll bring Tina Godfrey into their home.

'I must succeed.'

His movements got faster through his newfound courage. Andrei quirked his brow and grinned. "That's the spirit! Keep going."

Leonardo darted towards the two, raising his paw and clawed the two boys.

Andrei pushed Devin back and kicked Leonardo's paw. The lion's eyes widened when the kick was enough to push him back and lose his balance. He instantly regained his composure and used his other claw to attack.

"Annoying," Andrei said and leaped back. Devin ran through the giant lion's leg and flashed towards his face. Leonardo opened his muzzle, meeting his fangs with Devin's blades.

Leonardo shook his head, blowing Devin away. He bent all his knees and ducked. Opening his mouth, Leonardo roared with a great force. It was enough for Devin to lose his balance once again and roll over the ground a couple of times. His glowing clothes burst before disappearing, his hand lost its grip on his sword.

"What in the–"

Leonardo appeared in front of Devin in his human form. He was holding a slender flat-tipped blade. The tall man kicked Devin's deactivated sword in front of him. "Stand up."

Devin stood, breathing, and not letting the fear of reaching his limit get to him. He had already done it before. He was focusing his thoughts on how he's going to do it again.

"Bring Out, Revelation!"

Their swords clashed. The shock from it reached Andrew who was preparing their meals in the cottage a few hundred meters away.

Andrei joined the two, slashing and hacking his sword without remorse. The sparks, the sound, the waves of impact all danced in the air along with the almost impossible to be seen figures of the three.

"You're almost there," Andrei said, kicking Leonardo's face and focusing a large amount of energy for his attack against Devin. "Block this."

His sword was glowing brighter than it did. The faint white line in the middle of his blade had completely taken over the entirety of the sword.

Devin bent his knee and held the handle tightly. He raised the sword to block the attack and succeeded in doing so. The force was great but he did not felt like his energy was all drained up.

He still wanted to fight.

Devin kicked Andrei, meeting with Leonardo's sword who appeared behind him. He ground his sword with the lion's and pushed him back.

"You're getting good," Leonardo complimented. An aura that looked like a series of black colored water gushed from his sword. But instead of falling, the water rose like upside-down waterfalls.

He retreated his sword and darted towards the small boy, rapidly attacking him with the strong clashes of their blades. Leonardo got even faster than before.

'He hasn't activated his power before.' Andrei thought. 'We're still really too far.'

The fight went on. Leonardo placed his left hand behind his back and wielded his sword in one hand. His human form held more power than his Stained Soul form. He was able to calculate every movement and every action he does.

Devin moved all his power to his legs and flashed behind Leonardo. He swung his sword but was met with the black blades of the Echelon 5. "Your movements are predictable. Your aura is messy. Clean it up."

"What?"

Leonardo kicked him just in time to block Andrei's attack. Now that he was in human form, he barely moved in any direction.

Devin rolled to the ground and got back up. "One more time."

He flashed towards Leonardo. This time, he attacked from the front.

As their swords clashed, a small crack in the air appeared. Not a second later, it got bigger until Martin walked inside. He was panting and sweating like he just ran a marathon.

"What happened, sir?" Leonardo threw his sword and it disappeared mid-air. He ran to his master and held Martin's arm for support.

"They're crazy," Martin said. "The Windsors… a student…"

He wasn't able to finish when his consciousness vanished. Leonardo carried him and dashed towards the cottage. He laid his master on the couch and took the device out.

"Penny, Wolfgang, come to the cottage C1D1A. Martin had fainted," Leonardo said. Two voices rang from the device saying 'Copy'.

"What happened?" Andrew came running towards them. "I was about to go out when I felt you three running towards here."

"I can't say anything until master permits me," Leonardo said. "Two people are going to come here to guard him. You three need to stay and wait till he wakes up to send you back. Glimpse doesn't work here."

"Where will you go?" Devin asked.

Leonardo only nodded, not uttering a single word before he left the three clueless boys in the cottage.

"We're doomed!" Devin cried. "Tomorrow's the match and I still am too far from reaching Secunda."

"The only good thing right now is that you can keep up with multiple opponents," Andrei said.

Devin looked at the sleeping Martin and a thought came into his mind. "What's the use of the Dimensional Opener?"

"What?" the twins chorused.

"I mean, if we can just Glimpse to go to the Purgatory, wouldn't Martin's Sanctity be useless?"

Andrei snorted, "No. Glimpse only transports ourselves into the Purgatory. His ability allows multiple people or objects, or even a house if we wanted, to pass through."

"Besides, just like this dimension, Martin can enhance his ability and open another one. One that's not from our grasp," Andrew added.

Before Devin could reply, there was a knock on the door. The twins held out their hands to stop Devin and Andrei came to open it.

"I feel two Echelon 4s," he whispered.

He opened the door and was greeted by two people. They had the same features as Exorcists but the dark aura forming on their bodies said they weren't.

"Where is father?" the woman said.

"You're Stained Souls?" Andrei whispered. "Penny and Wolfgang?"

"Where. Is. Father?" the man growled.

Andrei took a step back and let the two in. The man went inside and into the couch. He placed his hand on Martin's forehead and felt it.

"He's just fatigued," he said that made the woman sigh in relief.

The woman stood beside the man and bowed. "I'm Penny and he's Wolfgang. We're from the same laboratory as Leon. We're here to guard father until he wakes up."

"Wait, how long does he usually sleep?" Devin asked worriedly. He needed to get home as soon as he can to participate in the match. If he fails to show up, he would be disqualified.

And after the two previous rounds, he doubted if they were still on the lead. Team Europe had sacked the rounds.

"About 2 days."

Devin's hope fell.