Those in the Underside had spent enough years living alongside the Dark Guild to know exactly who their leader was. Everyone knew the difference between a Dark Mage and the Dark Magus, and more important than that, everyone knew Harvey’s face. He had never been the sort to hide behind a mask or keep his hood up unless a mission required secrecy. Instead, Harvey often road the Underside like he owned it, walking with a cold sense of pride and purpose, carrying himself as if the people living here were beneath him, even though he claid to be fighting for them.
When the chaos had first erupted from above, when the Cerebus Group was finally exposed and the truth about their masked enforcers ca crashing down, Harvey changed his behaviour completely. He stopped pretending to be the dutiful chief of police. He stopped pretending to be part of the surface world at all. He no longer turned up for work, no longer hid his affiliation behind vague excuses. He walked openly in his Dark Guild robes, emblem visible, face uncovered, looking like a man who had decided he had nothing left to lose.
He believed the Dark Guild was finally going to rise.
He believed they were destined for the "new world."
And because of that arrogance, the survivors who had been attacked recognized him imdiately. They didn’t just recognize the robe,
They recognized the man.
"Is he talking about the Dark Magus?" one of Alen’s n asked, horrified at the idea.
"No," Safa said at once. Her voice carried certainty. "Raze has been fighting Gizin this whole ti. He hasn’t even been anywhere near this side of the Underside. It can only be one person."
She didn’t have to say Harvey’s na. Everyone’s expression changed the mont she finished speaking. Anger. Fear. Confusion. A sickening realization.
Alen’s jaw locked, teeth grinding.
He didn’t need any more context, the mont he heard "Dark Guild leader," everything beca painfully clear.
"That man," Alen muttered, voice low with controlled fury, "I knew from the mont I t him that he would be trouble. I understand why Raze chose to work with him... but Harvey is going to cause more pain than help."
Liam and Da approached the group, both standing a little stiffly as they absorbed the scene around them. Liam’s face was twisted into a mixture of guilt and disbelief.
"But why would Harvey do sothing like this?" Liam asked. "Why would he attack people in the Shelter? These were the people who refused to fight. They stayed out of the conflict. Why target them?"
His voice cracked slightly.
Da noticed it.
Liam clenched his fists. "I told so of these people to co here. I told them they’d be safe. I led them here. And now..."
He swallowed, unable to say more.
Safa stepped forward, sadness flickering in her eyes before she forced herself into a calm explanation.
"There’s... a simple answer," she said quietly. "There were five masked Cerberus mbers. Harvey must have fought one. He must have realised just how difficult it was."
Liam shook his head. "So he struggled... and he killed people who couldn’t fight back? That’s your explanation?"
"I know it sounds twisted," Alen said, "but it’s likely the truth."
He inhaled sharply through his nose.
"The reason Dark Magic is banned... is because its affinity increases when you kill others. Harvey knew that."
Liam’s breath caught.
His mind flashed back to B’s explanation, the destructive nature of Dark Magic, the overwhelming force it could generate if given enough fuel.
Now everything fit together.
"Wait," Liam whispered, eyes widening, "if Harvey already killed the masked mber... then..."
More dread spiralled through his chest.
Safa, Da, and Alen stared at him, waiting.
"He might not stop there."
Still no one spoke, so Liam continued, urgency rising in his voice.
"Harvey is obsessed with completing his goals, his goals for the Dark Guild, for the Dark Magus, for whatever twisted ideology he’s following. He’s always been that way. And if he thinks increasing his Dark Magic affinity is the only way he can contribute..."
He pointed at the bodies strewn around the Shelter.
"He’ll kill anyone. He’s proven that right here."
The group fell silent at the implication.
"He can increase the power of his Dark Magic by killing everyone in the Underside," Liam said, louder now. "If it’s between the civilians here, and helping bring down the Grand Magus... which one do you think he’ll choose!?"
The weight of his words crushed the remaining hope from their expressions.
Da clenched his jaw. "We haven’t seen Harvey fighting at all, not since the fighting intensified. And judging by the state of these bodies... they’ve been dead for a while. Which ans he might already be heading toward the other Shelters."
Faces paled. Safa lowered her spear slightly, her hands trembling just a bit.
Alen took a single step forward.
"We have to stop him," he said. "No matter what. And this ti, "
His voice sharpened like steel. ", the Dark Magus won’t get in our way."
Even if the Dark Magus was there, Safa as well as the rest from Pagna, had enough of Harvey himself. They couldn’t accept and would do whatever they could to convince Raze
The room fell still.
For the first ti since the battle began, their enemy wasn’t the Grand Magus, or the masked enforcers, or the soldiers from above.
The threat was soone they had been working alongside,
Soone they had trusted,
Soone willing to massacre innocents just to grow stronger.
Soone who believed this slaughter... was a righteous path.
They didn’t know where Harvey was now.
But they knew what he wanted.
And they knew they didn’t have long.
****
*****
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