Chapter 73 — The Man in the Dark
Brook didn't move.
The rain had started again.
It fell across the street outside the abandoned building, soaking his coat while the others stood behind him.
Henry grabbed his shoulder.
"Brook."
Brook didn't respond.
He was staring at the entrance.
The underground facility was still beneath them.
Elias was still inside.
And Asmodaos was down there with him.
Crowley stepped forward.
"We need to move."
Brook finally looked at him.
"No."
Crowley's expression hardened.
"We don't know what Asmodaos is capable of."
"Neither does Elias."
"That's exactly why we need to leave."
Brook looked back toward the entrance.
"He told us to run."
Henry nodded.
"And we did."
Brook shook his head.
"That's not what bothers me."
Sera stepped closer.
"What does?"
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"He said something."
"What?"
Brook remembered the moment.
I've made a beginning.
He looked toward Crowley.
"He knew Asmodaos was going to be there."
Silence.
Henry frowned.
"You think he brought us there."
"I don't know."
Crowley stared at the entrance.
"Neither do I."
Kael looked confused.
"Then why are we standing here?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Because if Elias deliberately brought us into a trap…"
He paused.
"…we need to figure out what the trap was."
They returned to Xcution headquarters.
Nobody spoke much.
Brook walked straight upstairs.
Henry followed.
"You okay?"
Brook opened his room.
"I'm fine."
Henry leaned against the door.
"You're lying."
Brook looked at him.
"Maybe."
Henry sighed.
"You don't have to hide everything."
Brook looked away.
"I'm not hiding everything."
Henry raised an eyebrow.
"You're hiding something."
Brook didn't answer.
Henry waited.
Eventually, Brook said:
"I found something about Elias."
Henry's expression changed.
"What?"
Brook reached inside his coat.
The folded B-00 page came out.
Henry stared at it.
Brook handed it over.
Henry read.
His face slowly changed.
"B-00."
Brook nodded.
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
Henry looked at the paper again.
"Elias was a vessel?"
"Apparently."
Henry sat down.
"Why didn't he tell us?"
Brook looked toward the window.
"Because he was scared."
Henry shook his head.
"That's not enough."
Brook didn't answer.
Henry looked at him.
"Do you trust him?"
Brook took a long time to respond.
"Yes."
Henry frowned.
"Even after tonight?"
Brook nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Brook looked down.
"Because if he's lying…"
He paused.
"…I want to know why."
Henry nodded slowly.
"Then we'll find out."
Brook looked at him.
"Together?"
Henry smiled.
"Obviously."
Across the city…
Elias walked alone.
His clothes were torn.
Blood ran down one side of his face.
He disappeared into a narrow alley.
Then stopped.
Someone was waiting.
The same hooded figure from before.
"You failed."
Elias wiped the blood from his mouth.
"No."
The figure tilted its head.
"You allowed Xcution to escape."
"That was the point."
"You exposed yourself."
Elias smiled faintly.
"Not completely."
The figure stepped closer.
"You think you're in control."
Elias looked at him.
"I am."
The figure laughed.
"You still don't understand."
Elias's expression hardened.
"Then explain."
The figure pointed toward the palace.
"Everyone thinks Brook is the center of this."
Elias said nothing.
"He isn't."
Elias looked toward Shinokuni-01.
"Then who is?"
The figure smiled.
"That's what you're going to discover."
Elias's eyes narrowed.
"Why would you help me?"
"I didn't."
The figure turned away.
"I simply gave you the opportunity to choose."
Elias watched him disappear.
Then looked down at the black emblem in his hand.
The symbol of Asmodaos.
His expression became cold.
Back at Xcution, Crowley gathered everyone.
"We're not going after Asmodaos."
Brook immediately looked up.
"What?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Not yet."
Henry nodded.
"We don't know enough."
Brook clenched his jaw.
"Elias is still down there."
Crowley stepped closer.
"And if Elias deliberately brought us there?"
Brook didn't answer.
Crowley continued.
"We need information before we make our next move."
Sera nodded.
"Agreed."
Kael looked frustrated.
"So we just leave him?"
Brook looked at him.
"No."
Kael frowned.
"Then what?"
Brook stood.
"We find out where he went."
Crowley looked at him.
"How?"
Brook smiled slightly.
"I have an idea."
An hour later, Brook stood on the roof of Xcution headquarters.
Henry joined him.
"What's the idea?"
Brook held up a small white marker.
"The facility."
Henry frowned.
"You marked it?"
"Before we left."
Henry stared.
"Can you teleport back?"
Brook nodded.
"Maybe."
"Then why didn't you?"
Brook looked at his hand.
"Because Michael told me to control myself."
Henry smiled.
"You're actually listening."
"Sometimes."
Brook closed his eyes.
The mark appeared in his mind.
The location.
The distance.
The connection.
He focused.
White light formed beneath his feet.
Henry stepped back.
"You're doing it."
Brook breathed slowly.
The light disappeared.
Brook opened his eyes.
"I can feel it."
Henry frowned.
"What?"
"The mark."
Brook looked toward the horizon.
"But something is wrong."
"How?"
"The connection feels…"
He searched for the word.
"…blocked."
Henry frowned.
"By Asmodaos?"
Brook shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the city below.
"By something else."
Inside the underground facility…
Elias walked through the abandoned corridors.
He stopped at the room containing the photographs.
He stared at the image of Brook.
Then at his own.
B-00.
B-01.
Two vessels.
One succeeded.
One supposedly failed.
Elias touched his photograph.
"I remember."
A memory came.
A little boy sitting alone.
A woman standing behind glass.
A man saying:
"If B-00 fails, begin B-01."
Elias's breathing became uneven.
Another memory.
Brook crying.
Someone carrying him away.
Elias watched from behind the glass.
He remembered the feeling.
Jealousy.
Anger.
Fear.
Then—
A hand on his shoulder.
The hooded figure.
A voice.
"They replaced you."
Elias closed his eyes.
"No."
Another memory.
Someone screaming.
A door opening.
A sword.
Fire.
Then silence.
Elias opened his eyes.
He stared at Brook's photograph.
"I was never replaced."
He tore the photograph from the wall.
"I was forgotten."
He looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered:
"And now they're going to remember me."
A sound echoed behind him.
Elias turned.
Nothing.
Then—
A slow clap.
Elias's expression changed.
Asmodaos stepped out of the darkness.
"You lied to me."
Elias smiled.
"I lied to everyone."
Asmodaos raised his sword.
"You used me."
"Yes."
"You brought Xcution here."
"Yes."
"You knew I would attack them."
"Yes."
Asmodaos stared at him.
"Why?"
Elias looked at the photograph in his hand.
"Because I needed them to see you."
"For what?"
Elias looked up.
"So they'll hate you."
Asmodaos laughed.
"You think hatred will make them fight me?"
Elias smiled.
"I know it will."
Asmodaos stepped closer.
"And what happens when they kill me?"
Elias's smile disappeared.
"They won't."
"Why?"
"Because you're going to become stronger."
Asmodaos stared.
Elias continued.
"And when you do…"
He looked toward the ceiling.
"…they'll need someone to blame."
Asmodaos slowly understood.
"You want a war."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
"Between Hell and Xcution."
"Exactly."
Asmodaos smiled.
"You are insane."
Elias looked at him.
"Maybe."
He placed Brook's photograph back on the wall.
"But they'll never know it was me."
Back at Xcution headquarters, Brook suddenly opened his eyes.
The white mark on his hand appeared.
A voice whispered.
Not Michael.
Not Lucifer.
Not Death.
Something else.
He's lying.
Brook froze.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
Brook stared at his hand.
The voice came again.
Everyone is.
Brook's heart began pounding.
"About what?"
Nothing.
Then:
Ask Elias.
Brook's expression hardened.
He looked toward Henry.
"We're going back."
Henry stood.
"To the facility?"
Brook nodded.
"Yes."
Crowley heard him.
"No."
Brook turned.
Crowley walked toward him.
"We're not going back until we know what we're dealing with."
Brook's voice became firm.
"Elias is down there."
Crowley shook his head.
"Maybe."
Brook frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Crowley looked at him.
"It means I don't know if we're searching for Elias anymore."
Silence.
Brook stared at him.
Crowley continued:
"Or if we're searching for the person Elias is becoming."
Brook's hand slowly closed.
For the first time…
he didn't know which answer scared him more.
Far beneath Shinokuni-01…
Elias stood before the photograph wall.
He looked at his younger self.
Then at Brook.
He whispered:
"I'm sorry."
His expression hardened.
"But this has to happen."
He turned away.
Behind him, the photograph of Brook remained.
Beside it…
Elias placed a second image.
A black-armored knight.
ASMODAOS.
Then a third.
A map of Shinokuni-01.
And finally…
a photograph of Xcution.
Elias stared at all three.
His plan was beginning.
But even Elias didn't know yet…
that someone else was watching him.
Someone who had been waiting far longer than he had.
The lights went out.
A voice whispered from the darkness:
"No."
End of Chapter 73