"Tenshi, what happened there?!"
Chris opened up the meeting with a direct question
Everyone has already sat down around the round table. Philip still has no clothes and only a torn short jeans, Justine is a little tired and exhausted and half of her blonde hair is still tinted red starting from the tips and the under color is scarlet, Mark is slowly being healed by Veronica with her invisible strings, Celine had her arms crossed and eyes closed, Tenshi kept her composure and sly smile, Sheena felt groggy and very tired as her eye were randomly closing, Elaine was feeling confident with her judging eyes and crossed arms, and E-1 was only sitting casually. Satou and Rue are also standing near a wall because they wanted to hear what happened earlier
Tenshi was silent and refused to speak because she knows that Philip won't allow her. Instead, Philip is the one who started to speak
"I'll tell you everything..."
"Yeah? You need to tell me now!"
"Hm..."
Philip paused for a moment and glared at Chris
"What are you looking at?! Speak now!!"
Chris slammed teh round table
"Why are you people keeping secrets at this time? We could have avoided the destruction of the training room if we were prepared! Don't you people know the cost to repair that?!"
Everyone was silent. Philip kept glaring at Chris and Justine furrowed her eyebrows from the absurdity of this scenario
"Chris, c'mon, keep an open mind! You know why they keep it a secret because you, yourself have kept one"
Satou entered the conversion and tried to lighten up the mood
"Shut up!!!"
Chris furiously shouted at Satou, but Satou didn't flinch at all
"That's not even the point! If they have kept it a secret, they should have mastered it before using it in the training room. Just like Sheena, her new skill was amazing but she couldn't maintain it for long. Regarding Tenshi, it happened two times in a row and it's very dangerous!"
"..."
Everyone was still quiet
"So... Philip... Are you going to speak, or not?!"
Chris glared back at Philip and emitted an overwhelming aura. The aura was different in the past and everyone slowly had a hard time breathing, except for Celine and definitely Philip and Justine
Philip stood up from his seat and walked towards Chris. His negative aura slowly rose from his back and his hair turned black-gold. His anger is slowly rising by the second becaude of Chris
He then opened his eyes wide and glared at Chris' eyes. His eyes turned golden and he seemed to be staring at Chris' soul. Chris was taken aback but he took Philip's challenge and stood his ground
"First of all... I never liked your attitude since the first time we met. I've waited for your respect towards the others, but it never came. You also kept prying about my abilities when, I'm pretty sure, the Old Man told you not to. You are Mark's master and he followed your foot steps and kept prying about my ability even though I kept saying that it's a secret! It's disappointing"
"I'm the general of this base and I can do anything I want!"
"You're abusing your power as the general of this facility and can't even be respectful to even your subordinates! I want respect and I will give it back!"
"Respect?! Why would I give tou respect if you don't follow my orders?!"
"That's the thing! You're not my boss or master and I don't follow anyone's orders unless they ask me properly"
"Yeah?! Alright... Philip, can you please tell me everything?"
"No"
"What?!"
"I never said I will follow what you asked. I have a choice to say no or refuse, don't I?"
"You..."
Tension kept rising between Philip and Chris
Celine and Tenshi agreed to what Philip has said about Chris not giving anyone respect that they deserve. It was like he's treating them as materials or items that bid his will
Regarding Celine, she was torn in between. Half of her is thankful to the military that she is like this, able to learn martial arts and become a Martial Grandmaster under the tutelage of a well-known martial arts master, of unknown mastery stage, in Japan. While the other half of her hates the military to the very core because she doesn't know common sense in the public world. She was stripped of a normal life the moment she was forcefully trained under the military
That was the reason why she was attending a prestigious university in Seoul, South Korea to learn common sense and probably love
On the other hand, Tenshi's eyes were opened by seeing the bigger picture. The existence of divine beings, Philip's existence, and her true being as the Totality Catalyst
The first that this happened is when Philip first used Origin Seeker on her. She never knew the existence of the God of Light, only when her consciousness also cane back to when she was baptized. She saw Philip and met the God of Light, to where Lux mentioned to her the Philip will be under his protection
She was actually torn because she didn't meet her family. She only knows that they died the moment she was born and that there's no body to be buried nor gravestones
Until now, her feelings are in shambles and she still hasn't processed everything that she has learned. Only thing that she knows is that she's with Philip on this argument and that she feels light whenever she's with Philip
Meanwhile, Elaine was extremely confused and furious at Philip. In her eyes, the general and the master of the squadron is a powerful being that must be followed without question. That's how Elaine was taught while growing up. So, she's now holding a grudge against Philip for talking to Chris about respect
Mark felt guilty because what Philip said was true. He knows that Chris wasn't showing anyone respect but he was also raised the same way Elaine was. He unintentionally imitated Chris' behavior and attitude and acted on other people and during his special solo missions
Sheena was also sad. She agrees with what Philip said and she is the only one who's in the right mind here. She maintained her original behavior and attitude and sacrificed her sanity to stay in the squadron. What kept her going was the squadron itself and she considers it as her family. Although, deep withing her, she doesn't recognize Chris as her master, maybe because she was the last member to be recruited way back when
"How dare you talk to me like that?! You should be grateful that I recruited you and allowed you inside the military facility by the Old Man's recommendation. I could have ignored it and never recruited you temporarily
"But that's the thing! The Old Man recommended me! Even if you don't recruit me, I will ought to be in that unstable Mana Hotspot. I already knew about it before the meeting brief earlier. Fate just lead you to recruit me and me meeting the squadron because they are essential to saving the world!"
Chris paused and looked towards the others. They were also confused at what Philip was saying except for Justine and E-1. Justine knew that Philip was restless since yesterday and E-1 didn't care at all, even though she knows a little bit at what's currently happening to the world, particularly around the unstable Mana Hotspot
Tenshi was the one who is less confused but instead impressed. She knows Philip could see the fate of everything and that he may have already seen what wll happen in tomorrow's secret mission, especially since that he has a Future Vision ability
"What do you mean?"
Chris couldn't help but ask
"I meant what I meant"
Philip then turned around and sat back down on his seat. Chris was stunned because he didn't expect Philip to be this knowledgeable, privileged, and prepared for the future. His insight is also impressive that it made Chris think twice
"Stop thinking of what I said, there's no hidden meaning behind it!"
Philip shouted at Chris and snapped him out of the daze
"I expect you to change your behavior or attitude or else... That will lead you to your doom"
Everyone was suddenly alarmed at Philip's words because he was basically saying that Chris will die by his behavior and attitude, but Chris thought about it and sat back down
"I will now tell you everything that you need to know about what happened in the training room"
"But Philip, are you sure?"
Tenshi asked in worry
"Yes, he wants to know and this will lead to his downfall. No problem will occur and if there were ever something happen to you... I- me and Justine will protect you"
Philip was about to say that he, alone, will protect her but he included Justine. She was confused and directed her gaze at Philip but didn't say anything. If Philip says that she will protect Tenshi, then whatever he will say about Tenshi's secret must be very important to the world, or even the universe. Tenshi only smiled from Philip's words and didn't say any more
"Tenshi's power doesn't lie in her Heavenly Prayers. Originally, she has the power of light, but she now has the power of darkness and curses, possibly more than that after our battle earlier against her"
"?!"
"!!!"
"..."
Everyone has mixed reactions from Philip's words. Philip then continued to speak
~~~
Philip told everyone the secret of Tenshi's true ability, the Totality Catalyst, his meeting with the God of Light and God of Darkness, and her Fallen Angel and Cursed Angel transformation. Of course, Philip left out the fact about Origin Seeker and Fate Control
"So basically you're saying, the Totality Catalyst has the power to absorb any aspect or power and she can use it for herself?"
Chris asked
"Yes"
"Is there a limit to that?"
"No, according to the Rule of Conception and Theory of Literallity, totality mean the entirety of everything. So, Tenshi could harness everything, though, we don't know if Tenshi herself can control it as we have witnessed it earlier"
"Then isn't this a good thing? The power of the squadron has drastically increased by several folds with this. We just have to induce different powers to Tenshi and we're all set!"
Chris became blind with power once again. This is why the squadron members kept some of the skills of their abilities a secret, like Mark's creation of fictional metals and Sheena's Construction skill
"But that's the problem, everytime Tenshi were to harness a power and she transform into it, her personality changes everytime"
"No problem! We just have to tell that new personality everything, teach her, and recruit her"
Philip abruptly turned his head at Chris, narrowed his eyes, and looked at him with ridicule
"Are you thinking what you're saying right now?"
"I know, this just means Tenshi needs to train more, so she can fully control the Totality Catalyst inside her"
Philip was silent, he kept staring at Chris
'This military facility is already doomed... I apologize for everyone who's in it'
Philip turned his gaze at the squadron members, Satou, and Rue. He felt bad for them. Though, he feels indifferent from Elaine. His Body Language Translator is giving him mixed signals from Elaine
Elaine is still a minor yet he's already getting strange vibes from her the longer he's with her
"Hm... Yeah sure"
Philip just agreed at whatever Chris said. He didn't care anymore since the military is doomed to fall. He only cared for special people in the facility and those are Tenshi, Sheena, Mark, and probably Rue, perhaps E-1 even
Tenshi looked at him with confusion. He questioned why Philip easily agreed to Chris and nonchalantly dismissed it. She tried to understand Philip's action and kept quiet
"See? You agreed finally! Then that should be the meeting then! I will adjourn it since I'm in a good mood now, thank you Philip. You all should rest now, so you can continue to the mission tomorrow full of energy!"
Chris then went ahead and left the meeting room followed by Veronica after healing Mark, Satou and Rue followed after. Philip, Justine, and the squadron members was left behind