Chapter 147 — The Devil Trap
Elias stepped out of the darkness.
Nobody moved.
The black door remained open behind him.
Brook's first thought was simple.
How?
His second was worse.
Where is Azael?
Elias looked exactly as Henry remembered him.
Calm.
Clean.
Almost ordinary.
That made him harder to look at.
Henry began shaking.
Brook immediately noticed.
The Ectoplasm moved beneath Henry's skin.
"No."
Henry whispered.
Elias smiled.
"Hello, Henry."
Henry's breathing became uneven.
Crowley stepped forward.
"You're not touching him."
Elias looked at him.
Then smiled.
"Crowley."
The name sounded almost affectionate.
Crowley did not move.
"You have something to say?"
Elias glanced around the sanctuary.
"The First Witch."
His eyes moved to Shoyo.
"The former king."
Then Sera.
"The girl who keeps surviving."
Sera's face hardened.
Elias looked at Brook.
"And you."
Brook tightened his grip.
Elias smiled.
"I was wondering how much of you would remain."
The words settled heavily.
Brook said nothing.
Elias's eyes shifted to Henry.
"More than I expected."
Henry clenched his teeth.
"You made them."
Elias sighed.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Elias looked at him.
"Because death is wasteful."
Silence.
Henry's face twisted.
Brook saw his hands shaking.
Elias continued.
"People die."
"Memories disappear."
"Knowledge disappears."
He looked toward the dead guardians.
"Even here."
Shoyo stared at him.
"So you created a prison."
Elias smiled.
"I created preservation."
Henry screamed.
Brook turned.
The Ectoplasm was moving.
Black veins spread across Henry's neck.
Elias watched.
"Careful."
Brook looked at him.
"Don't."
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"You don't want him to remember more?"
Brook stepped toward him.
Elias smiled.
"That's what I thought."
Crowley grabbed Brook's arm.
Brook stopped.
Elias looked pleased.
"You're learning."
Brook looked at Crowley.
Crowley shook his head.
Not yet.
Brook hated it.
But he listened.
Elias turned toward the former king.
For the first time, his smile faded slightly.
"I didn't expect you to still be here."
The king looked at him.
"You know me."
"I know stories."
Elias corrected.
"Old stories."
The king smiled faintly.
"Most of them are lies."
Elias nodded.
"That's why I prefer memories."
Henry's face changed.
The Ectoplasm reacted.
Elias noticed.
His smile returned.
"There it is."
Henry looked away.
Brook understood.
Elias wanted Henry to remember.
Not because he wanted Henry to suffer.
Because Elias wanted something else.
Crowley stepped forward.
"What are you doing here?"
Elias looked at him.
"Finishing something."
Crowley's expression hardened.
"Your Ectoplasm."
Elias laughed.
"No."
His eyes moved toward Sera.
Sera became still.
Brook stepped in front of her.
Elias looked amused.
"That again."
Brook's voice lowered.
"You don't get to touch her."
Sera looked at him.
Brook didn't move.
Elias tilted his head.
"Do you remember what Azael did?"
Brook's hands tightened.
Elias smiled.
"I told him not to kill her."
The silence became dangerous.
Sera's face went pale.
Brook stared.
Elias continued.
"He gets carried away."
Sera whispered:
"You sent him."
"Yes."
Elias looked at her.
"I needed to know."
Sera's eyes narrowed.
"Know what?"
Elias looked around the sanctuary.
Then at Shoyo.
"The First Witch taught you."
Shoyo stepped forward.
Elias smiled.
"Not everything."
Sera stared.
Elias's voice lowered.
"But enough."
Crowley frowned.
"Enough for what?"
Elias smiled.
"To open something."
Brook looked toward the black door.
The former king's face changed.
"No."
Everyone turned toward him.
Elias smiled.
"Exactly."
Shoyo moved.
Her hand lifted.
A symbol formed in the air.
Elias did not move.
"Shoyo."
Her name came from his mouth calmly.
The spell struck him.
The sanctuary exploded with light.
Brook shielded his eyes.
Henry screamed.
The dead guardians moved.
Then the light disappeared.
Elias was gone.
Brook spun.
Nothing.
Crowley looked upward.
"Shoyo."
She already knew.
"Above."
The ceiling of the sanctuary split.
Elias fell.
Brook moved.
Steel met magic.
Brook swung.
Elias caught the blade with one hand.
Brook's eyes widened.
Elias smiled.
Then kicked him.
Brook crashed into stone.
Sera shouted:
"Brook!"
Brook stood.
Blood ran from his mouth.
Elias looked down at him.
"You're stronger."
Brook wiped his mouth.
"So are you."
Elias smiled.
"I'm older."
Crowley attacked.
Elias moved.
Crowley's magic struck the ground.
Symbols spread across the stone.
Elias jumped backward.
Then—
smiled.
Crowley stopped.
Brook noticed.
"What?"
Crowley looked down.
A symbol had appeared beneath his feet.
Thin lines.
Red.
Elias whispered:
"Don't move."
Crowley stared at the ground.
The sanctuary became quiet.
Shoyo looked down.
Her face changed.
"No."
Sera stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Crowley answered.
"Devil Trap."
Brook remembered Henry's warning.
A spell.
Anyone could use it.
Elias smiled.
"Very good."
Crowley's voice was low.
"Brook."
Brook looked at him.
"Don't touch it."
Elias stepped away from Crowley.
"Do you understand why I like it?"
Nobody answered.
Elias smiled.
"It doesn't care what you are."
Crowley's eyes narrowed.
Elias continued.
"Human."
"Witch."
"Demon."
"Angel."
"Monster."
He looked at Brook.
"Even you."
Brook stepped forward.
Crowley immediately shouted:
"STOP!"
Brook froze.
Elias smiled.
The ground beneath Crowley began glowing.
Crowley's face changed.
"Brook."
"What?"
"If you break the circle—"
Elias answered for him.
"He dies."
Silence.
Brook stared at the symbol.
Crowley looked at him.
"Don't."
Brook's eyes moved toward Elias.
"You did this for him?"
Elias laughed.
"I did this because Crowley is predictable."
Crowley's expression hardened.
Elias walked toward Sera.
Brook immediately moved.
Elias stopped.
"You have to choose."
Brook's voice became quiet.
"Don't."
Elias looked at Sera.
"Her."
Then Crowley.
"Or him."
Sera stepped forward.
Brook grabbed her arm.
"No."
Sera looked at him.
"Brook."
"No."
Elias smiled.
"Excellent."
Sera pulled her arm free.
Crowley shouted:
"Don't!"
Sera stopped.
Elias looked pleased.
Everyone was trapped.
Not by the spell.
By the choices.
Henry suddenly laughed.
Elias turned.
Henry's eyes were black.
The Ectoplasm had surfaced.
"You forgot."
Elias's smile faded.
Henry pointed at him.
"I remember."
The Ectoplasm laughed.
Elias stepped backward.
For the first time—
he looked concerned.
Brook noticed.
Henry's body shook.
His voice changed between his own and the Ectoplasm's.
"You buried it."
Elias stared at him.
"Be quiet."
Henry smiled.
"You can't erase us."
The sanctuary shook.
The Ectoplasm moved across Henry's skin.
Henry screamed.
Brook stepped toward him.
"Henry!"
Henry pointed toward Elias.
"You need her."
Elias's face hardened.
The Ectoplasm continued.
"You need her to speak."
Sera stared.
Brook understood.
The Word Magic.
Elias needed Sera's voice.
Not simply Sera.
Her power.
Shoyo stepped forward.
"What is he trying to open?"
Henry's head turned toward the black door.
The former king became still.
"No."
Henry whispered:
"The path."
Elias smiled again.
And Brook finally understood.
Silvet had opened the sanctuary.
But Elias had followed.
Silvet needed the roads reopened.
Elias needed Sera to open what came next.
Different goals.
The same direction.
The same path.
And Xcution was standing in the middle of both.
Elias looked at Sera.
"Now."
Sera stared back.
"No."
Elias smiled.
Crowley's circle glowed brighter.
Crowley screamed.
Brook moved.
The king grabbed him.
Brook turned.
"Let me go."
The king shook his head.
"That's what he wants."
Brook stared at Crowley.
Crowley's body was shaking.
The former king looked at Brook.
"You can't break it."
Brook's voice cracked.
"Then what do I do?"
The king looked at Crowley.
"Remember."
Brook frowned.
The king looked toward the black door.
"Crowley didn't make this place safe with power."
Crowley looked at him.
The king continued.
"He made it safe with a promise."
Crowley's eyes widened.
A memory returned.
The ritual.
The seal.
His blood.
The king.
Crowley whispered:
"No."
The king looked at him.
"You can close it."
Elias's expression changed.
Crowley looked at the open path.
Then at Sera.
Then at Elias.
Elias smiled.
"You won't."
Crowley looked down at the Devil Trap.
His voice was quiet.
"Watch me."
The sanctuary shook.
The symbol beneath him began burning.
Brook stepped forward.
Crowley looked at him.
"Don't."
Brook froze.
Crowley smiled faintly.
"Trust me."
Then Crowley lifted his hand.
And placed it against the Devil Trap.
Elias's smile vanished.
"Crowley—"
The symbol ignited.
Crowley screamed.
The black door behind Elias began closing.
Elias turned.
Sera's eyes widened.
"Crowley!"
The Devil Trap tightened.
Crowley fell to his knees.
Brook started forward.
Crowley shouted:
"DON'T!"
The door continued closing.
Elias moved.
Shoyo blocked him.
Magic exploded between them.
Brook watched Crowley.
The former king stood beside him.
Brook understood.
Crowley wasn't breaking the Devil Trap.
He was feeding it something.
His own power.
The symbol began changing.
Elias's face darkened.
"No."
Crowley looked up.
Blood ran from his mouth.
"Anyone can use it."
The Devil Trap shattered.
Elias jumped backward.
Crowley collapsed.
Brook caught him.
Crowley looked at Brook.
Barely conscious.
"See?"
Brook stared at him.
"You're an idiot."
Crowley smiled faintly.
"Probably."
Then the sanctuary door slammed shut.
The ground shook.
Elias stared at it.
For the first time—
he looked angry.
Real anger.
Sera stepped beside Brook.
Elias slowly turned toward her.
The smile was gone.
"Fine."
He lifted his hand.
The ground beneath the sanctuary began splitting.
Brook looked down.
The former king whispered:
"Oh no."
Elias smiled again.
"If you won't open the path."
The earth broke apart.
"I'll open the world."
End of Chapter 147