Five system hours ago...

After Vertin and her friends escaped the Walden, Vertin and Schneider decided to stay behind to buy some time for them. But alas, their opponent was Druvis III after all so all they ended up doing was run from painful and quick vines.

Endless vines, restless slimes... The enemies are approaching.

And there is no way out.

"Varffanculo .... Not enough bullets. Cover me, my lord!" Schneider said, her voice calm as she fired shots at the enemy – Manus Vindictae's one of many group of servants and Druvis III's vines.

"Your wounds haven't healed, can't get hurt anymore. Stay behind me!" Vertin exclaimed, trying to get Schneider to go behind her instead before noticing a big cage one of the vines held. "This is a cage... She wants to catch us! The exit two is our last chance! Breakthrough!"

"No my Lord, it's too late..." Schneider panted, already out of bullets as a vine hit Vertin straight on the back, her body writhing in pain. "The slime on the vines makes your body stiff, be careful.." Vertin warned, her voice strained as she held herself up.

"All retreats are blocked. We are caught." Those words were the last words Schneider said before they both got captured, the two of them now in the vine cage which would bounce off any arcanum skill Vertin or Schneider would cast which makes escape impossible.

Present.

Vertin now sat in a fancy table with candles and cloth draped over fine wood across an unknown woman with navy blue hair, their gold eyes piercing her very being. The silence felt like a deadly dance as both analyzed each other. Behind the woman, Mr. Forget Me Not stood behind a distance from her, next to him being Schneider inside that very vine cage.

"I have been seeking a chance to talk to you from an equal position," The woman said, her voice smooth and her tone Archaic. "The name is Arcana."

"Hello," Vertin did not hesitate to say, her gaze calmly fixed on the other woman. "... The leader behind Manus Vindictae."

"Thou art acquainted with us... How wonderful. I am pleased." Behind that gentle and polite tone held a hint of condescension and manipulation. Arcana's chin rested on her the knuckles of her right hand, a smile on her lips that never quite reached her eyes "Lady Vertin, here is an official offer that you joinest Manus Vindictae."

"Why?" Was only Vertin's question.

"Why? It's simple. I simply adore thy visage, emotionless in each 'storm'." Now that was a response Vertin couldn't predict. Arcana's tone remained though emotionless, condescendingly kind. "I adore that which shineth in gold, nestled in thy cranium. Thy flesh and blood belongen to us, if only a fraction of an ounce."

It seemed Arcana knew that Vertin wasn't pure blood even when Vertin herself wasn't sure of it herself. A pause before Vertin finally respond, her head tilting downwards slightly as she analyzed the woman across from her under her top hat. "Do I have the right to say no?"

"Absolutely. As I said, we are in an equal position. I ask that thou answers three questions. Answer me, then thou shalt leave ... lest I ..." A pause before continuing, her smile widening if only an inch. "Indulge in thy suffering."

Then, Schneider's voice rang out from the cage. "Heh... you can't. Don't waste your time." Her voice was quiet before Mr. Forget Me Not mentioned that she betrayed them first which silenced her after her retort.

Now standing up, Vertin stood across Arcana, her stance tense as she faced the woman. "So, what are the three questions and how do you indulge in my suffering?"

"Content thee, my child," Arcana shook her head, her smile still plastered on her face, "The answer will be revealed for both of us." She then suddenly pulls out countless black lines of slime from her temple. The slime turns into a wand and their surroundings became black.

"The first question. What is the ultimate purpose of the foundation to create the storm?"