Philip's Diagnosis - Lunch Time - Squadron's Questioning (I)

"Who or what are you?"

Rue asked in extreme curiosity and confusion and Philip looked at her with a discerning eye

"What do you think I am?"

"A human? A demon? A vampire? Your right eye makes you look like a God. A celestial? A spirit? Chrono Entity? Nightmare? A sword??? An unknown?! The more I look at you, the more that's being revealed... Wait, what?!"

"What do you see?!"

Rue's eyes widened from shock and fear. She slightly pulled her body backwards and her right eye suddenly teared up blood

The blood dripped down her right cheek and into her chin. She didn't realize the blood dripping and Philip's eyebrows furrowed down in confusion

"Your Fate is is too bright! It's too filled up! Yet, you are also not bound by Fate, what is this?!"

Rue's eye then started to bulge. The skin around her right eye had veins bulging across the area

"Huh?"

"What else do you see?"

Philip ignored the change in Rue's Magic Eye and wanted to know more about what she sees in him. He looked at her straight into her eyes

"What... Is... That...?"

"What do you see?! Talk!"

"Haaaaaaaah..."

Rue's eyes dilated and she exhaled air for a few seconds. Her body began to tremble slightly

Just then, a voice rang in Rue's ears. She was stunned and her body froze. She saw a large silhouette of a humanoid entity. The silhouette's right finger went in front of it's nose and two golden eyes opened

<Ssshhhhh...>

Rue's Magic Eye popped and her eye bled profusely. There was no pain that was felt but Rue can feel the cold liquid on the right side of her face

She touched the cold sensation on her cheek and looked down on it. She then noticed that half of her vision is gone and her finger that touched the cold sensation has been marked with blood

A few seconds later, pain slowly grew from her right eye and she subconsciously held it with her right palm. She could feel something soft and a squelching sound echoes as she applied pressure

She abruptly stood up and stormed outside of the room. She caused a commotion as she crossed the room. Her blood dripped on the floor and scattered on her outfit

Philip kept his eyes on Rue and he tilted his head in confusion

'What did she saw that made the Magic Eye self-destruct?'

Philip thought to himself. Everything she said previously were mostly right. She probably saw the Pureblood and that's why she thought he was a demon or a vampire

Though, he doesn't know why she said spirit or celestial, he could only think about the Pure Mana that originated from the Primordial Remnants during the formation of the universe that is circulating in his body

Chrono Entity might be pertaining to his ability of Future Vision, Clairvoyance, and Origin Seeker while Nightmare might be because she saw his bottomless well of negative emotions

Being a sword seemed right because he has the Sword Concept, as well as fractionally being a God due to Eye of Sai. He doesn't know about being an unknown though. He don't know if an unknown is an entity of some kind or an unknown unknown, like she didn't know

His curiosity was also caught when she said that he was filled by Fate, whatever that means, and that he is not bound by Fate, which Philip believes because he can control Fate itself

But why would he be filled with Fate if he is not bound by Fate?

Finally, the existence that Rue saw. Since her Magic Eye has been destroyed, he would never discover what lies in his body

It might be even his other personality that he is even afraid of thinking back when he was a child. The depression and despair, the feeling of wanting to die. But it was too extreme to destroy Rue's Magic Eye

Nonetheless, Philip looked down and saw the quarter plate of salad and ate it all. Little did he know, the salad is garnished with a few drops of Rue's blood

"It would be a waste"

He considered the possibility of her blood contaminating the salad since her eye popped, but he didn't care. He thought of a possibility of something happening after he drank a drop of Rue's blood

He then stood up and returned to Justine and the squadron members, who were watching everything unfold. He had a look of turmoil, wariness, and restlessness on his face

Everyone except Celine and Elaine looked at Philip with worry

"What happened? What did you do to Rue?"

Mark asked with a tone

"Her right eye bled"

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't know, it just happened"

Philip tried to be innocent, which seemed believable, unlike earlier. But Justine could tell, that was a lie. She didn't mind though because she thought that Philip might have reasons

"I see... What did you talk about?"

Mark asked once more, trying to pry for information. Philip became annoyed, his negative emotions slightly brewed

He wanted to avoid the topic but he can't, it would give him suspicion. So, he decided to tell an excuse to divert their suspicions

"She just asked me questions regarding about Mana"

"Why would they ask you anything about Mana? Aren't you supposed to be new with this?"

"Apparently, the Old Man told them a little about me, and yes I'm quite knowledgeable about Mana"

"Ho? How come?"

"It piqued my interest! I studied it for a few weeks and made a few discoveries"

"In just a few weeks? Sounds suspicious..."

"Mark... I'm smarter than you think"

"Hm, if you say so. Let's continue this conversation later, our food should be here shortly"

"Okay"

Philip sacrificed the fact that he knows a little about Mana and he would like to share it to someone like Mark. Perhaps, Mark would be his middleman for his research to responsibly share and distribute it across the world in military, government, Secret Organizations, Mystical Academy, and institutions

A few minutes later, all of their food has finally arrived. Philip observed what each of them has ordered

~~~

After everyone grabbed their trays of food, they then walked together to find their spot to eat

Mark chose the table located at the very center of the cafeteria, where everyone could see them. It seems that Mark wanted to be the center of attention, that's the reason why he chose this table

One by one, they sat on the chairs and placed their food down. They then prepared to eat their food

From Philip's observation on the food that everyone ordered, the food seemed to have greatly resemble each of their personalities

Roasted lamb for Mark, which matches his firm and strong facade but soft in the inside. Celine had Shio Ramen for her supposed colorful personality, but turned cold and ruthless, an enigma and suffering

Tenshi's plate of Fallen Angel Dessert speaks for itself, she is an angel that was born on Earth, a mysterious being and mysterious origin. Waffles and buttered milk shows Sheena's innocence and purity in the tainted world

Finally, broiled fish with worcestershire sauce for Elaine that matches her soft nature but wild mind and tactical thinking

As for Justine, she just order strawberry banana parfait because it was her favorite. But it also shows her calm, cool, sweet, and collected personality. Meanwhile, Philip got his chicken tamarind soup because it's his most favorite dish

Everyone was quiet while eating their food and savoring every bite they take, while some of them, like Tenshi, Elaine, Philip, and Justine occasionally browse their phone for news and social media

Philip could taste the sourness filling his taste buds and palate. As he gulps the soup, his stomach becomes happy. Every bite of the chicken also has that natural sourness from the tamarind. The sourness and crunchiness of the tamarind leaves makes him satisfied

His negative emotions are supressed from the smallest satisfaction that he received

Philip is happy to be able to eat his last meal for a while

"Now, tell me... You said you have a third ability and it's Pain Conversion? I would like to know about it"

Mark started a conversation after he wiped his mouth with a white napkin. Philip also has finished eating and he's feels fine to talk. Others are still taking their time eating their food

"You asked earlier where the pain goes whenever I received it, right?"

"Yes, it's supposed to not disappear after receiving it"

"Your deduction is correct. The pain is being transferred to my body and transforms into explosive strength and durability. The more pain I feel, the stronger and and more enduring I get"

"Ah, so basically a masochist?

"Kinda? But I don't like to admit it"

Philip looked away from embarrassment but Celine and Tenshi looked at him with interest

"Is there a limit? What if your arm got cut or your eye was pulled? Or pain that can make you faint or lose consciousness?"

"Mostly, it just cancels the pain and I won't feel anything. There will be no explosive strength or endurance. It's like positive and negative cancelling each other, nothing happens. As for pain that can make me lose consciousness... I'm not sure"

Philip knows what happens, he just tried his best to avoid to answer, which Mark believed

"So, you have three abilities then?"

"Yes"

"There's a possibility of a fourth ability?"

"Perhaps"

Philip said neither yes or no and Mark caught on to that. Mark understood Philip's intentions and didn't ask further

Meanwhile, Philip regretted that he can't reveal most of his abilities to Mark yet. He considered Mark to be a possible great ally in the future, and knowing the limit of what each person can do is a very important asset

Nonetheless, it was Philip's turn to ask Mark some questions regarding his ability

"So, about your ability... Can you transmutate metal that exists in the periodic table?"

"Yes"

"How about carbon, silicon, and such, which are nonmetals?"

"I can turn nonmetals into another kind of metal by transfusion. If you mean creating metals that has nonmetal components in them, yes I can. Like steel, which has carbon, I can transmutate any metal into steel"

Philip's eyes widened from Mark's ability. He can absolutely conjure any kinds of metal, as long as there's a metal in his hand

He asked more question to know the limits of his ability

"If you have a bar of metal, can you turn it into a sword? Or you can only transmute it?"

"I can only transmute it, I don't have the ability of Metal Manipulation or control"

"If you transfuse an object into metal, can you transmutate the same object?"

"I can, as long as it's metal, I can transmutate it. I can basically turn anything into metal, but not the other way around. The transfusion also has a timer of an hour before it returns back to normal and crumble into dust"

"Ohhh! Fascinating!"

The rest of squadron members and Justine kept eating their food while listening to their conversation

Mark was proud that a passionate person is seeing his ability as something amazing and Philip is genuinely impressed

"Before I continue, why are you willing to tell me the secrets and limits of your ability? Knowing you, you would be careful and keep it to yourself or to your squadron, like Tenshi's"

Mark paused to ponder an answer. He did not expect Philip to ask that kind of question, especially that it's as if he already read his personality

The squadron members listened closely because they also found it strange. They thanked Philip in their minds for asking that question

"Honestly, I think it's my selfish desire. I feel like earning your trust is beneficial to the military and the squadron. I'm still very suspicious and interested in you though"

"Hm... I think I feel the same..."

At this moment, Philip and Mark are forming some sort of camaraderie between them through reading each other's motives and thoughts

"What are your remaining questions?"