[b][i]Intermission Four - Darkest Hour[/i][/b]

[b]La Trinidad de Manila Academy - 12/1/2022, 5:20, UTC+8[/b]

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[i]Far Eastern University In Real Life; the location and structures are used for La Trinidad de Manila in this timeline for convenience [/i][/center]

Upon approaching The Director in the Trinidad Academy Administration Office, every Arms Master would feel a sense of primal terror, and those who had their Noble Arm drawn/manifested would see that weapon shake, as though it was afraid. As though it was capable of feeling fear. Myron led them to the office anyway, where a brown-skinned man of medium height, slightly wrinkled due to middle age, wearing thick glasses rimmed with artificial tortoiseshell, and wearing a formal business suit that would have made any other person unassumingly professional, waited for them as he sat on a revolving business chair with armrests that emphasized the biting coldness, in the office, that was more than just the electric fans and the early use of air conditioning.

This was Director Bathala of Trinidad Academy, the man who had taken them all in... And was now revealing his price.

"Greetings, Task Force Obdisian," the Director said bitterly. "I am Director Bathala of La Trinidad de Manila, or at least, that's what people [i]know me as[/i]."

He then continued to address everyone, "Many of you who should be here are not, thus forcing new blood, new blood not acquainted with the secrets you have touched, to come here. Your leader, the one who despite his flaws, has led you to four successes, one won from the jaws of defeat, has become a captive; the Downward Descent has taken him for their sadistic whims and desires. As for Qingshe, the strongest among you... Her survival is ambiguous; there is every chance she may not be dead and every chance that she is - [i]Limbo[/i] is what her situation can be called."

His eyes glinted as he continued, "I was going to give these revelations to four people - Noel, Qingshe, Nico Makri, and Callie Lindemann. But only Callie is here, as well as Qinghse's pupil, Cristina. But beggars cannot be choosers - Not even me."

The Director leaned in close, as an aura of power and a feeling of pressure accompanied the unnatural fear every Arms Master here felt. Then he said, "Let's get the first revelation out of the way - I am not the real Director Bathala, [i]I am his Noble Arm[/i]."

Archer's Bracers shook as though to confirm his words, even though they were not sapient, as far as anyone knew.

"Noble Arms can achieve sapience through natural development or by having the right power; I am the latter - I gained sapience by [i]eating other Noble Arms[/i] before my Master died. I have their powers as well, and as a sapient being, I can [i]grow my own Noble Arm[/i], although thanks to an Occult Programming Language superscript, [i]that[/i] Noble Arm finds it more difficult to gain sapience," Director Bathala then looked at Cristina, knowing full well Qingshe taught her about the existence of OPL, before continuing once more.

"Now, for the final revelation I have to give all of you; China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, as well as the Downward Descent... they may be the enemy right now, but there is another one trying to take their place - False Turing, aka Alan Turing's Noble Arm, who is trying to avenge his dead Master by posing as the [i]real[/i] Turing, who has allegedly survived his death, and trying to destroy all Noble Arms by either: Deleting this timeline, which he can only do by finding a workaround through Occult Programming Language's inability to destroy any item or concept, just alter existing ones and create new ones... Or overwrite this timeline with data from the One True Timeline - An Earth without Noble Arms - to erase all Noble Arms without killing those who were born because of the timeline divergence."

Director Bathala's eyes glinted as he spoke, "False Turing tried to recruit me, but he tried to hide the fact that [i]all[/i] Noble Arms includes [i]him and me[/i]. So you guys will need to get stronger to stop him."

Turning to Cristina, he then said, "Agree to this and I will give you the power needed to fix your sister, not in a week, not in a month, but [i]right now[/i]."

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