Moon City, Nightingale Kingdom.

A cold and heavy silence descended inside Helene Godfrey's office. For a brief moment, she even gave birth to the notion that she might have heard it wrong.

After all, there was no way her friend could have possibly known about her association with the Cult of Bones. In the centuries that she'd lived in the Federation, she had strongly guarded this secret.

No one knew about it. No one was supposed to…

"…What?" Helene let out a soft chuckle. "Your sense of humor has gotten really strange, Berger."

The elderly gnome deeply looked into Helene's eyes, his lips curling into a cold smirk. "Is that so?"

Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. Helene felt an intense foreboding feeling grip her heart. In the next moment, the darkness behind her came alive. It surged forward, materializing into a silhouette of a giant black wolf.

Blackie loomed over the elderly woman, his terrifying maw inches away from biting down on her head. His tenebrous eyes flashed with a predatory light, and he said:

"If I were you, I'd choose my next words very carefully."

Helene shuddered. She hadn't felt Blackie's presence behind her at all! In fact… come to think of it, it was the same with Berger. She had simply overlooked the fact due to her surprise at seeing him after so many years.

But now that she thought about it… why couldn't she sense Berger and Blackie's presence?

Her blood turned cold when she came to an extremely alarming possibility. She sent her senses outwards, trying to ascertain the gnome's arcane level, and then… her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Im-impossible!" She blurted out in shock. "You… advanced to the Mana Core Rank?! How?!"

"You see, Helene," Berger began as he retrieved his smoking pipe and leisurely took a puff. "My disciple is many things. He's a drunkard, a miser, stubborn as an ox, and so damned reckless he makes me wish I had hair to pull out."

He turned sideways and exhaled a thick plume of smoke. Then, his eyes narrowed and he spoke matter-of-factly:

"But he's also very filial, you see. Underneath that rowdy exterior, he has a very kind heart. He imparted to me a lot of arcane secrets and knowledge… knowledge that I doubt you'd find in this world. Do you know why?"

Berger took another puff, then continued, "It's strange how generous he can be sometimes despite being such a miserly person. The reason he imparted to me all those secrets was because he hoped I lived a long life… its because he hoped he wouldn't lose me.

"Ah, I was truly prepared to die, Helene, I truly was. When I left Europa, I had lost everyone… and everything. I set up shop in this backwater region, planning to live the rest of my life in peace. The Mana Vortex Rank… it was supposed to be my final frontier."

Tendrils of smoke curled around Helene's limbs, preventing her from moving or casting any spell. One curled around her neck, and another strapped around her mouth. The woman's eyes widened in horror as she struggled desperately to set herself free. But of course, it was all futile.

Blackie looked down on her from above, his eyes flashing with cruelty as if he were a predator playing with his prey. Berger, on the other hand, remained leisurely seated on the sofa, smoking from the pipe.

"And then I met the boy…" he said, his lips curling into a gentle smile.

"He is a strange lad, I tell you. He seemed to know many things, but at the same time, he knew… nothing. He knew about precious recipes and elusive alchemical techniques, but strangely enough, he barely knew the basics of herbalism.

"And so, I took him in as my disciple and imparted to him all the herbalism knowledge that I had. At the same time, I also learned a great many things from him. Sometimes I wonder… who was the disciple? And who was the master?"

Gradually, Berger's eyes turned cold. He got to his feet, then slowly walked toward the terrified Headmistress of the Clover Academy.

"Ah, you must be wondering why I'm telling you all this. It's because they're all connected, Helene," he muttered flatly.

He took a step, his body lifting from the ground. Another step, and he was already hovering above the Headmistress. If she had any doubts about the gnome being a Mana Core Magus, then all of them had been cleared away now.

"You see…" he began.

"In Europa, I lost my wife and son to the hands of the heinous Cult. I took my revenge, yes… but in doing so, I was gravely wounded. My lifespan was cut short, and with it, any hope of ever advancing further.

"And then, just recently, during the Battle of Ravenfell, the damned Cult struck again. This time, they took my mentor. Ah, he was like a father figure to me. He was the one who taught me the mysteries of arcana, and the Cult… they took him away, just like they took everyone I've ever loved."

Berger reached out with his hand, then gently placed it upon the horrified Helene's head.

"And as if that wasn't enough, they even drove my foolish disciple into a corner and turned the whole world against him. Oh, the things he must have had to endure…"

Mana surged around Berger's palm and enveloped Helene's head. He then continued, "So, old friend, I'm sure you can understand my hatred for the Cult. They took everything from me, and now… I won't rest until I've erased them from this world!"

Helene's eyes rolled over, and her body convulsed violently. Yet there was nothing she could do to free herself. In front of the might of a Mana Core Magus, she was completely and utterly powerless.

"But don't worry, I won't kill you just yet," Berger whispered, his tone cold as ice. "You will dance as my unwitting marionette. I will use you to reshape the runes around the portal beneath Hannes City. I will see to it that Operation Constantine unfolds exactly as planned."

He finally withdrew his hand, and the tendrils of smoke binding Helene Godfrey disappeared into nothingness. Berger returned to his seat, while Blackie dissolved into the shadows. Everything returned to the way it was.

Moments later, Helen's eyes regained focus. She blinked, scanning her office in mild confusion. When her gaze landed on Berger sitting in one corner of the room, leisurely puffing from his pipe, she was pleasantly surprised.

"Berger! When did you arrive?"

The gnome glanced at her, then offered a faint smile as he said:

"Hello, old friend."

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