Chapter 91 — The Fortress Below
The fortress shook again.
Brook stood in the middle of the battlefield, sword in hand.
The soldiers had stopped advancing.
Not because they were afraid.
Because they were listening.
A deep rumble came from beneath the fortress.
Then another.
The ground split.
Brook felt Michael immediately.
Something is moving.
Lucifer laughed inside his mind.
Finally.
Brook frowned.
"You're enjoying this."
Lucifer's smile appeared in the white space.
Of course I am.
His eyes glowed faintly.
Listen to that heartbeat.
Brook swallowed.
"There isn't one."
Lucifer's smile widened.
Exactly.
Brook felt the pressure of Lucifer's Source beginning to rise.
His fingers tightened around his sword.
Michael appeared beside Lucifer.
Control yourself.
Lucifer turned toward him.
I'm perfectly controlled.
Michael's expression hardened.
You are excited.
Lucifer laughed.
What's wrong with that?
Brook interrupted.
"Both of you. Focus."
Lucifer looked at Brook.
I'm focused.
His grin widened.
I'm focused on the slaughter.
Brook felt something change inside his chest.
His breathing slowed.
His heartbeat became heavier.
His vision sharpened.
He could suddenly hear every movement around him.
Every footstep.
Every weapon.
Every breath.
Brook looked at his hands.
"Lucifer."
Yes?
"Back off."
Lucifer smiled.
Make me.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
For a moment, his instincts screamed at him to attack.
Everyone.
Enemies.
Everything moving.
He felt the devil inside him wanting freedom.
Brook closed his eyes.
"Not today."
The pressure eased.
Michael looked at him.
Good.
Lucifer laughed.
For now.
Henry ran toward Brook.
"Brook!"
Brook turned.
"What?"
"The soldiers are retreating."
Brook looked toward the battlefield.
The human fighters were pulling back toward the fortress.
"They're not retreating."
Henry frowned.
"What?"
"They're going inside."
Crowley approached.
His expression was grim.
"Because the fortress is opening."
A massive gate began rising.
Behind it was darkness.
Not a hallway.
Not a courtyard.
A massive staircase descending underground.
Brook stared.
"They built a fortress over this."
Crowley nodded.
"Apparently."
Sera joined them.
"How deep?"
Crowley looked down.
"We don't know."
Kael's absence hit Brook again.
He looked at the stairs.
Kael would've made a joke.
Something stupid.
Something loud.
Brook swallowed.
Henry noticed.
"You okay?"
Brook nodded.
"Yeah."
It wasn't true.
But there was no time.
Crowley looked at everyone.
"We go in together."
Brook nodded.
"Nobody separates."
They descended.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
The walls changed.
Stone became metal.
Metal became something that looked almost organic.
Brook touched one of the walls.
It pulsed.
He immediately pulled his hand away.
"What the hell?"
Lucifer appeared.
His smile disappeared.
Don't touch that.
Brook looked at him.
"Why?"
Lucifer stared at the wall.
Because it's alive.
Michael stepped closer.
Not alive.
Lucifer looked at him.
You felt it too.
Michael nodded.
Yes.
Brook frowned.
"Can you two stop arguing and tell me what it is?"
Death spoke from behind them.
It is part of something.
Brook turned.
"Part of what?"
Death looked deeper into the tunnel.
Something that has no lifeline.
Brook's expression hardened.
"The creature."
Death nodded.
They continued.
After several minutes, they reached a huge underground chamber.
The human soldiers were gone.
No enemies.
No traps.
Just rows of enormous chambers built into the walls.
Brook stopped.
Inside the chambers were bodies.
Some human.
Some not.
Henry stared.
"What…"
Sera covered her mouth.
Crowley looked horrified.
Brook walked toward the nearest chamber.
A human body floated inside.
Attached to dozens of tubes.
Another chamber contained something with claws.
Another had a body that looked almost human.
Brook's stomach turned.
"Elias."
Crowley looked at him.
Brook pointed toward the chambers.
"This is what he was talking about."
Crowley nodded.
"This place was a laboratory."
Henry looked around.
"For what?"
Brook saw the markings.
B-00.
B-01.
Then others.
B-02.
B-03.
B-04.
Dozens.
Brook's expression changed.
"There were more."
Crowley stepped closer.
"More what?"
"Vessels."
Sera stared at him.
"How many?"
Brook looked down the chamber.
Hundreds.
"Too many."
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"You're finally here."
Everyone turned.
Elias stood on a platform above them.
Brook immediately raised his sword.
"You."
Elias looked down.
"Brook."
Henry stepped forward.
"You knew we'd come."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Elias looked around.
"Because this is where you need to be."
Brook shouted:
"Stop speaking in riddles!"
Elias stared at him.
"You want answers?"
"Yes."
"Then listen."
Elias walked down the stairs.
"This place was created before Shinokuni-01."
Crowley frowned.
"By whom?"
Elias looked at him.
"People who believed humanity could survive anything if it became something else."
Brook looked at the chambers.
"And they made the vessels."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To contain Sources."
Brook's expression hardened.
"You said the program failed."
"It did."
"Then why are there hundreds?"
Elias stopped.
"Because they kept trying."
Brook looked at the chambers.
"And what happened to them?"
Elias didn't answer.
Death appeared inside Brook's mind.
He looked at the chambers.
They have no lifelines.
Brook's eyes widened.
"These aren't alive."
Elias looked at him.
"Not anymore."
Suddenly, one of the chambers cracked.
Everyone turned.
The body inside opened its eyes.
Brook stepped backward.
"Get ready."
The glass exploded.
The creature fell onto the floor.
It looked human.
But its limbs were wrong.
Its skin was pale.
Its eyes were completely black.
It looked at Brook.
Then screamed.
The sound shook the chamber.
More chambers began cracking.
Henry raised his sword.
"That's a lot."
Brook looked around.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Lucifer appeared in Brook's mind.
His smile returned.
Now this is a fight.
Brook felt the pressure rise again.
His breathing changed.
His pupils narrowed.
Michael immediately appeared.
Brook.
Brook clenched his teeth.
"I know."
Lucifer laughed.
Let me out.
"No."
You need me.
Brook looked at the creatures.
One charged.
Brook teleported.
Flash.
He appeared behind it.
Strike.
The creature collapsed.
Another attacked.
Brook teleported again.
Flash.
Strike.
Another.
Flash.
Strike.
His movements became faster.
More aggressive.
Lucifer laughed louder.
Yes!
Brook's heart raced.
He smiled.
He didn't want to.
But he did.
He was enjoying it.
Michael's voice became urgent.
Brook.
Brook ignored him.
Another creature attacked.
Brook caught its arm.
He could have teleported away.
Instead—
he twisted.
The bone snapped.
The creature screamed.
Brook stared at it.
He felt nothing.
Lucifer whispered:
Again.
Brook raised his sword.
Michael appeared directly in front of him.
Enough.
Brook froze.
Lucifer laughed.
Don't listen to him.
Brook's hand shook.
The creature crawled away.
Brook looked at his sword.
"What am I doing?"
Lucifer answered:
Winning.
Brook's expression hardened.
"No."
He lowered the sword.
"I'm fighting."
Lucifer's smile faded slightly.
Same thing.
Brook teleported away.
Henry and Sera were fighting together.
Crowley stood against several creatures.
The chamber had become chaos.
Brook moved through it.
Teleport.
Strike.
Teleport.
Evade.
Mark.
Move.
He was controlling the battlefield.
Not overpowering it.
Michael guided his movements.
Lucifer pushed his instincts.
Brook balanced between them.
Then one creature attacked Henry from behind.
Brook saw it.
His body moved before he thought.
Flash.
He appeared between them.
The creature's claws stopped inches from his face.
Brook grabbed its arm.
Lucifer's power surged.
Brook's eyes darkened.
He smiled.
"Bad choice."
He slammed the creature into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The floor cracked.
Brook stopped.
He stared at what he'd done.
The creature was barely moving.
Lucifer whispered:
Finish it.
Brook raised his sword.
Michael spoke.
Brook.
Brook hesitated.
Then lowered the weapon.
"No."
Lucifer's voice became colder.
Weak.
Brook looked into the darkness of his own mind.
"Maybe."
He stepped away.
"But I'm still me."
Lucifer smiled.
For now.
Elias watched from the stairs.
He had seen everything.
The control.
The hesitation.
The influence.
The struggle.
He whispered:
"You're getting stronger."
Brook looked up.
"Not because of you."
Elias smiled.
"I know."
Brook raised his sword.
"Why bring us here?"
Elias looked at the chambers.
"Because I needed you to see what was done."
"Why?"
"Because when you finally meet the person behind it…"
Elias paused.
"…you need to understand what you're looking at."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"The Maker."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Brook stepped forward.
"Where is he?"
Elias looked toward the deepest part of the laboratory.
"Not here."
Brook frowned.
"Then where?"
Elias smiled faintly.
"Closer than you think."
A deep sound echoed from beneath the laboratory.
Everyone stopped.
The walls began shaking.
Crowley looked down.
"What now?"
Elias's expression changed.
For the first time…
he looked genuinely afraid.
"That's impossible."
Brook stared at him.
"What?"
Elias looked toward the floor.
"We didn't wake that."
The floor split.
A massive black eye opened beneath them.
Lucifer went silent.
Michael's expression hardened.
Death stared.
No lifeline.
Brook raised his sword.
"What is that?"
Elias whispered:
"Something the Maker never managed to control."
The eye opened wider.
And the entire laboratory went dark.
End of Chapter 91