They all knew what this meant.
Someone was using Dark Arts recklessly, twisting it into something monstrous. And if word got out, it could undo everything the Shadow Immortal and the new Dark Arts Faction had worked for.
For years, they had fought to prove that Dark Arts weren't inherently evil. That it was a discipline, one that studied shadow, curses, corruption, spirits, and the unknown, not a path to destruction.
But if someone was out there creating monsters like this…
Their reputation was at risk.
And they couldn't let that happen.
This wasn't just a random haunting. Someone had deliberately created this creature and let it loose in the city and that was a problem.
"We can't let this spread," Armin said. "We've worked too hard to build trust here."
Rehan nodded. "If word gets out that a Dark Mage is behind this, people won't care about the difference between us and them. They'll just hear 'Dark Arts' and panic."
