Chapter 72 — The First Lie
The rain hadn't stopped by morning.
Brook stood outside Xcution's headquarters, watching water run along the edge of the street.
He hadn't told anyone about Elias leaving.
Not yet.
He wasn't sure why.
Maybe because he wanted to believe there was a reasonable explanation.
Maybe because accusing someone he considered family without proof felt worse than keeping the secret.
Or maybe…
he was afraid of the answer.
The door opened behind him.
Henry stepped outside.
"You've been standing there for ten minutes."
Brook glanced at him.
"You're counting?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you're weird."
Brook smiled.
Henry looked toward the street.
"You waiting for someone?"
Brook hesitated.
"Elias."
Henry's expression changed.
"He went somewhere?"
"Last night."
"Where?"
"Didn't say."
Henry frowned.
"Did he tell you anything?"
"No."
Henry studied Brook.
"Something's wrong."
Brook nodded.
"I think so."
Henry waited.
Brook looked at him.
"I don't know what yet."
Henry sighed.
"Then we'll figure it out."
Brook smiled.
"Together?"
"Obviously."
They bumped fists.
Neither noticed Elias watching them from across the street.
Elias stood beneath the roof of an abandoned shop.
He watched Brook and Henry.
For a moment, his face softened.
Then the black emblem in his hand warmed.
He looked down.
A faint red glow appeared across its surface.
A voice whispered:
Tonight.
Elias closed his fist.
"Not yet."
The voice returned.
You promised.
Elias looked back toward Xcution.
"I know."
Then prove it.
Elias's jaw tightened.
"I said not yet."
The voice went silent.
Elias walked away.
By midday, Crowley called everyone together.
"We have another problem."
Sera looked up.
"Already?"
Crowley placed a small metal object on the table.
Brook recognized it.
"The emblem."
Elias wasn't there.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Where did you find that?"
"Near the settlement."
Henry frowned.
"Why?"
Crowley looked around.
"Because whoever left it wanted us to find it."
Kael picked it up.
"Looks like something from Hell."
Crowley nodded.
"It is."
Brook stared at the symbol.
The horned knight.
The burning throne.
Something about it felt familiar.
Death stirred inside him.
Not strongly.
Just enough.
Brook pulled his hand back.
Sera noticed.
"You felt something."
"Yeah."
Crowley looked at him.
"What?"
"Death."
The room became quiet.
Crowley slowly took the emblem from Kael.
"We're going to investigate this."
Henry nodded.
"Who comes?"
"Everyone."
Brook glanced toward the stairs.
"Elias."
Nobody answered.
Henry frowned.
"He should be back by now."
Crowley looked at Brook.
"You know something?"
Brook hesitated.
"No."
It was his first lie to the group.
And he hated how easy it was.
They searched the lower districts.
Nothing.
No Elias.
No sign of the emblem's owner.
No clues.
Then Sera found something.
A door.
Hidden beneath an abandoned building.
She crouched beside it.
"Here."
Crowley approached.
"What?"
"There are footprints."
Brook looked down.
Fresh.
Several people had entered.
Only one had left.
Henry frowned.
"Who?"
Brook stared at the footprint.
He knew the boots.
Elias.
Brook's stomach tightened.
Crowley looked at him.
"You recognize them."
Brook said nothing.
Henry noticed.
"Brook?"
Brook finally nodded.
"Elias."
Silence.
Crowley opened the door.
A staircase descended into darkness.
Kael drew his weapon.
"Let's go."
Brook stopped him.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
Brook stared into the darkness.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
Not an Abomination.
Not a Source.
Something human.
Something deliberate.
"Someone wants us down there."
Crowley nodded.
"Exactly."
Henry looked at Brook.
"Then why go?"
Brook looked toward the stairs.
"Because Elias went down there."
They descended.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
The walls changed.
Old stone.
Then metal.
Then something else.
White.
Sterile.
Sera stopped.
"This isn't a basement."
Crowley looked around.
"No."
Brook touched the wall.
A faint memory flashed.
White lights.
A table.
Hands holding him down.
He pulled away.
"Brook?"
"I'm fine."
Henry looked concerned.
"You sure?"
Brook nodded.
But he wasn't.
They reached a large corridor.
Doors lined both sides.
Most were sealed.
Some were broken.
On one door, a number remained visible.
B-00
Brook stopped.
Henry looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Brook didn't answer.
He opened the door.
Inside was an empty room.
A metal chair.
Straps.
Old equipment.
And a wall covered in photographs.
Brook walked toward it.
There were dozens.
Different people.
Different ages.
Different bodies.
Some were crossed out.
Some had numbers.
Then he saw one.
Elias.
Young.
Standing in the same room.
Brook's breathing stopped.
Henry stepped beside him.
"That's…"
"Elias."
Sera covered her mouth.
Kael stared.
"How old is that?"
Brook looked at the photograph.
Elias looked barely fifteen.
Maybe younger.
Crowley picked up another photograph.
His expression changed.
"What?"
Brook looked.
It was Brook.
A baby.
Connected to machinery.
A number written beneath him.
B-01
Nobody spoke.
Brook stared at his own face.
"I don't remember this."
Henry looked at him.
"You weren't supposed to."
Brook turned.
A voice came from the hallway.
"Neither was I."
Everyone spun around.
Elias stood there.
His face was exhausted.
His clothes were wet from the rain.
He looked at the photographs.
Then at Brook.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Henry stepped forward.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Elias looked at him.
"Trying to find the truth."
Crowley raised his weapon.
"You could've told us."
"I couldn't."
Brook stepped closer.
"Why?"
Elias looked at him.
His eyes were filled with something Brook couldn't identify.
Fear.
Guilt.
Maybe both.
"Because I didn't know if you would believe me."
Brook looked at the photograph.
"You were here."
Elias nodded.
"I was."
Henry stared.
"You knew?"
"I remembered."
Kael looked confused.
"What happened to you?"
Elias didn't answer.
Brook stepped closer.
"Who did this?"
Elias looked toward the photograph of Brook.
"People who wanted to create something that could carry what no human should carry."
Brook's expression hardened.
"And you?"
Elias looked down.
"I was the first."
Brook stared.
"First what?"
Elias swallowed.
"First vessel."
Silence.
Henry looked at him.
"You said you didn't remember."
"I didn't."
Elias touched his head.
"Not until recently."
Brook thought about the B-00 page.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Elias looked at him.
"Because I was scared."
Brook softened slightly.
"Of us?"
"No."
Elias looked toward the darkness behind them.
"Of them."
A sound echoed through the corridor.
Metal scraping against stone.
Everyone turned.
Something was coming.
Elias immediately stepped backward.
"Get out."
Crowley raised his weapon.
"What?"
"Get out!"
The lights flickered.
A massive figure stepped into the corridor.
Armor.
Black metal.
A sword almost as tall as a person.
A burning red symbol across its chest.
The Knight of Hell.
Asmodaos.
He looked at Xcution.
Then at Elias.
And smiled.
"Elias."
Elias froze.
Brook looked between them.
"You know him."
Asmodaos raised his sword.
"I know what he was made to do."
Brook's grip tightened.
"What?"
Asmodaos looked directly at Brook.
"Bring me the vessel."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"You mean me?"
Asmodaos smiled.
"Yes."
Elias stepped forward.
"Don't."
Brook looked at him.
"Elias?"
Asmodaos laughed.
"Still pretending?"
Elias's expression changed.
Brook noticed.
Pretending?
Pretending what?
Asmodaos raised his weapon.
The corridor exploded into chaos.
Crowley charged.
Henry followed.
Sera unleashed her power.
Kael attacked from the side.
Brook marked the floor.
Flash.
He disappeared.
Reappeared.
Struck.
Teleported again.
The battle became violent instantly.
Asmodaos barely moved.
He blocked Crowley's attack with one hand.
Henry's sword shattered against his armor.
Sera's attack pushed him back.
Kael struck his leg.
Brook appeared behind him.
White energy surged through Brook's hand.
He stopped.
Control.
He didn't unleash it blindly.
Instead, he drove his sword into the gap in Asmodaos's armor.
The Knight roared.
Brook was thrown backward.
He hit the wall.
Henry rushed toward him.
"Brook!"
"I'm fine."
Asmodaos pulled Brook's sword from his armor.
He stared at it.
Then looked toward Elias.
"You brought them here."
Elias froze.
Brook heard him.
"You what?"
Elias looked at Brook.
"I didn't—"
Asmodaos laughed.
"Tell them."
Elias stared at him.
Then at Xcution.
His expression broke.
"I wanted answers."
Brook stood.
"And you brought us here?"
"I didn't know he'd be here."
Asmodaos stepped forward.
"Lie."
Elias looked at him.
The Knight smiled.
"You're still a coward."
Elias's hands shook.
Brook noticed.
Something inside him told him to trust Elias.
Something else told him not to.
He hated that feeling.
Asmodaos raised his sword.
Elias suddenly stepped between him and Brook.
"Leave them."
Brook stared.
"Elias."
Asmodaos laughed.
"You still think you can protect them?"
Elias didn't move.
"No."
He looked back at Brook.
"I know I can't."
Brook's expression changed.
Elias whispered:
"But I can give them time."
He turned.
"Run."
Crowley shouted:
"Everyone move!"
Xcution retreated.
Brook looked back.
Elias remained alone in the corridor.
Asmodaos approached him.
"You made your choice."
Elias lowered his head.
"No."
He looked toward the doorway where Brook had disappeared.
"I haven't."
The door slammed shut.
Outside, Brook stopped.
Henry grabbed his shoulder.
"Keep moving!"
Brook looked back.
"Elias is still in there."
Crowley shouted:
"We can't go back!"
Brook's white mark appeared.
He could teleport back.
He could save him.
He could—
Michael's voice whispered:
Control.
Brook froze.
His hand trembled.
He lowered it.
Not because he didn't care.
Because he knew rushing back could get everyone killed.
For the first time…
walking away from someone he loved felt worse than any wound he'd ever suffered.
Henry looked at him.
"We'll come back."
Brook stared at the sealed entrance.
"Yeah."
But deep inside…
Brook wasn't convinced.
Far below them, the battle continued.
Asmodaos stood over Elias.
"Why?"
Elias looked up.
"Because I needed them to see you."
Asmodaos frowned.
"What?"
Elias smiled.
A small, broken smile.
"You wanted Brook."
He slowly stood.
"And now he knows your name."
Asmodaos stared at him.
Elias looked toward the darkness.
"And they'll come for you."
Asmodaos's expression changed.
"You planned this?"
Elias said nothing.
The Knight stepped closer.
"Elias."
Elias looked at him.
"You've made a mistake."
Elias smiled.
"No."
He looked toward the door.
"I've made a beginning."
And somewhere far above them…
Brook stopped walking.
He suddenly felt something inside him.
A strange certainty.
A warning.
He looked back toward the underground facility.
His eyes narrowed.