Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1115: Unforgotten

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."

Ely looked down at the corpse. "We need to find whoever did this. Fast."

Armin stood as he analyzed the situation...

"We’ll report this to the local wardens, but we’ll keep the details vague. Just enough to explain the disappearances. No mention of Dark Magic yet, just to be safe. If we mentioned it quickly, we might be playing in their hands."

Rehan raised an eyebrow. "You think they’ll buy it?"

"They trust us," Armin said. "Let’s not give them a reason to stop."

He turned back toward the alley’s entrance.

"Let’s clean this up. Then we start asking questions."

Ely nodded. "I’ll burn the remains and leave no traces."

Rehan also stood while brushing off his coat. "I’ll check the other alleys. If this thing was planted, there might be more."

Armin looked up at the night sky... It seemed that he would have to stay here a lot longer than he thought. Still, he knew that his master would be proud of him if he continued working on this task instead.

***

The next morning, Armin made his way to the Arcanist Guild.

Veldenport’s guildhall wasn’t grand, but it was efficient.

Built into the side of a cliff overlooking the lower docks, it was quite a busy place. Most of the members here were Rune Arts Practitioners, experts in enchantments, inscription, and material reinforcement. The rest were Alchemy Arts Practitioners, known for their concoctions, brews, and curse-neutralizing agents.

Still, a few Combat Arts Practitioners, or Aura Masters, handled physical threats when needed.

But when it came to exorcisms, curses, or spiritual disturbances, the guild relied almost entirely on Armin’s group.

Holy Arts Practitioners were rare in this region. Too rare, to the point that such missions would pile up.

Armin approached the front desk, where a sleepy-eyed receptionist glanced up from her ledger.

"Back already?" she asked, brushing her bangs aside.

"Job’s done," Armin said while placing the sealed report on the counter. "Disturbance neutralized... No casualties."

The receptionist flipped through the pages, nodding slowly. "Good work. That alley’s been flagged for cleansing. We’ll send a Rune team to enchant the area."

She reached under the desk and handed him a pouch of coins, standard payment for the mission.

Armin accepted it without ceremony.

"Thanks... We’ll be taking separate assignments for a while. Just routine investigations."

The receptionist nodded. "Understood. Please take care..."

With that, Armin left the guildhall.

Later that afternoon, he found himself seated at a quiet restaurant near the Lantern District. It was a small place with wooden walls, hanging lanterns, and a view of the sea.

The sea breeze was truly something he couldn’t get used to yet, but he was really starting to like it. He’d probably miss this scent once he returned to Clovis City...

Anyway, this restaurant served hot food fast, and he really liked their service.

He ordered a simple meal, grilled fish, rice, and herbal tea...

As he waited, he relaxed in his seat and let his shadow stretch beneath the table.

Whom~

A ripple passed through it. Then, he heard a voice.

"I’m back..." Lotus said softly...

Armin smiled faintly. "You’re here."

Armin knew that Lotus brought him some news, so he was quite excited to sense her presence.

Lotus emerged partially, just enough for her silhouette to form in the shadow’s edge. She didn’t need to fully manifest. They understood each other well enough.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Armin asked.

"It’s a long story. Although the Chaos Immortals are still here, they wouldn’t be causing any more trouble for sure." she then paused for a moment as if to check Armin’s reaction before she continued.

"Master Vale also wanted me to deliver something."

Armin’s eyes lit up... "From Master?"

Lotus nodded. "He’s busy preparing the summoning ritual and many other things... But he hasn’t forgotten you."

She reached into the shadow and pulled out a small box... It was black wood, sealed with a faint trace of Divinity.

Armin accepted it carefully and opened the lid.

Inside were ten small fruits...

’Fruits? But I have never seen this before.’

Each one was glowing faintly with a soft silver light. They were definitely not ordinary fruit...

"What are these?" Armin asked.

"Elysian Fruit," Lotus replied. "According to Master Vale, they grow only in the Shadow Realm. He obtained it from those places."

Armin blinked. "Elysian Fruit... I’ve never heard of them. I wonder what it does."

"It’s not surprising..." Lotus said. "They’re rare even in the Spirit Realm. They’re also cleansed by Master Vale himself, so you won’t get any negative effects if you consume these. They can strengthen your spiritual core, strengthen your body, heal any of your injuries, and others, but the most you will notice is the expansion of your Phantasm State according to Master."

"It will expand the range of my Phantasm State?!"

Armin stared at the fruits as he knew how important they were... After taking a deep breath, he then closed the box slowly.

"He really hasn’t forgotten me..."

Lotus smiled. "He never would. He mentioned that you only have to consume one of them... You can provide the rest of the fruits to those people you trusted."

With this instruction, Armin realized what his master wanted him to do.

"Thank you, Master..." Armin said while looking to the west, where the Shadow Domain was located.