Inside a dark chamber of the Storm Aerial Fortress.
Black Spider slowly walked in and closed the alloy gate behind her.
Before entering, she had dismissed everyone except the mechanical guards, lest anyone hear the sounds from within the dark chamber.
Duke of Storm still wore that black robe embroidered with gold thread. Seated on the broad sofa, his towering frame, over seven feet tall, made him look like a sculpture sitting upon a throne.
At five foot seven, Black Spider looked like a fragile toy before him.
Duke of Storm picked up the whiskey at his side, swirled the amber liquid, then drained it in one gulp. "Why haven't you found Joker yet?"
Black Spider quietly took off her high heels and knelt before him. "He is very cunning. I am thinking of a new approach."
"Why do I feel that you are deliberately letting him go?" Dim light shone down on Duke of Storm's head, illuminating his forehead while his deep-set eyes below remained entirely shrouded in shadow. "The King has already asked about this matter. A Fate Weaver prophesied that an uninvited guest from across the ocean would bring great misfortune upon the kingdom. The Kingdom of Roosevelt's banners would fall, the sea would overturn, and the sky would collapse. The King has ordered Black Water City to find the culprit behind the church attack as soon as possible, while I must kill the Joker who came from afar. Now answer me. Have you truly been pursuing him?"
Black Spider's fingers trembled slightly. Lowering her head, she said, "Duke, I am doing everything I can to capture him."
"Accept your punishment," Duke of Storm said coldly.
At that moment, Black Spider removed her coat, revealing wounds across her back that had yet to heal from yesterday's whipping.