"Someone get this gate open!"

"Lift, damn you! Lift!"

"Can anyone reach him?! He's right there!"

Peeling himself off the floor, Cobalt peered around to find himself splayed out upon the floor of the Tempered Bastion's expansive entrance hall, surrounded on all sides by dust and rubble. He had caused more damage than he had thought; when the portcullis chains snapped, the entire thing crashed into the floor, scattering bits of smashed stone everywhere and permanently sealing the entrance off. A crowd of Devils lingered just outside, trying and failing to pry the gate open with muscle and magic alike. Whatever Lilith built this place out of, it was highly resistant to even a Devil's ferromancy.

With his students and his father nowhere in sight, the Incubus scrambled to his feet and rushed deeper into the hall, fixing to get as much distance between himself and the furious Devils as possible; blockade or no, he wasn't about to stick around to see if they could circumvent it. A large, desiccated carpet took up the centre of the long hallway, flanked on both sides by grand statues and suits of ornate armour, clutching antique steel weapons. Banners upon the walls displayed ancient Devil livery, though they were too faded and moth-eaten to properly make out anything other than the vague shape of a pentagram. It was difficult to see through the gloom; the ferrohaem lamps were burning low, their blue flames barely casting enough light to see by.

"I was right. They're scraping the barrel. How the Hell did they manage to fire the pistons, then?" Lilith mused.

"Where could they have gone?" Cobalt breathed, squinting through the darkness.

"Your dad's smart; probably brought them further in to regroup."

"Any ideas where?"

"Pick a door and pray, I guess. This place is pretty damn big."

There were countless doors lining the walls, each likely leading deeper into the Bastion. Aimlessly searching was out of the question; in all likelihood he would only get himself lost, or even run right into a pack of Devils. No, he had to think of something.

Taking a deep breath, the Incubus sighed. The air was thick with the smell of dust, save for slight tones of-

Cobalt furrowed his brow. What was that? Disinfectant, alcohol, strawberry, engine oil, dairy, ozone... and perfume. A terribly familiar perfume.

"They went this way," Cobalt breathed, turning on his heel.

Creeping through a great set of wooden doors, he found himself in a narrow hallway that seemed to curve away into the distance. With no Devils in sight, he carefully made his way along it, following his nose as the scent of his students grew stronger.

All of a sudden, a small door to his left burst open as a strong orange arm made a grab for him. Try as he might to get away, Cobalt only succeeded in running into the opposite wall, allowing himself to be grabbed by the throat and pulled inside.

"Got you, you Devil fuck!" barked the strong voice of Izzbelle Suyas as Cobalt was bustled up against a wall and pinned in place.

Whatever purpose this room once served, it was lost on Cobalt. Empty racks lined the walls, while broken furniture lay scattered around, with some articles covered in dusty tarps. Over by one wall, Lottie and Quinn sat catching their breaths, while over by another, Elya and Jelli were helping Brass with his wheelchair. Izzbelle - her hot breath coming out of her nose like a bull - kept Cobalt pushed up against the wall as she conjured her Bronze Axe into her other hand. Whitney stood over by the door, Golden Spear at the ready.

"I- Izzbelle... It's me..." Cobalt choked, struggling against the Oni's grasp.

"Yeah, I know," she responded, eyes burnings as she tightened her grip.

Panic shot through the Incubus as his windpipe was cut off.

"You think the fuckin' 'selfless martyr' routine was gonna work twice, huh?! Do you think I'm that fuckin' stupid?!"

As he clawed at her hand, she shoved him up the wall, lifting the Incubus right off his feet.

"Well?! Do you?!" Izzbelle Suyas roared, tightening her grip on her axe.

Gritting his teeth, the fire in Cobalt's gut sparked, spurring him to lift his legs and roughly kick Izzbelle in the chest, shoving her back and breaking her grip. Toppling to the floor, he coughed and held a hand to his throat as he glared at her indignantly.

"Y- You weren't supposed to follow me!" he responded, shakily getting back to his feet.

Izzbelle pointed her Bronze Axe at him.

"We're not here for you!"

"Then why the Hell are you here?!"

"Because I asked 'em politely."

He looked over at his father, who was sitting tall in his wheelchair. He had a serious look on his face, and there was a strange leather satchel sitting upon his lap.

"Dad? Why?" Cobalt asked, balling his fists.

"You think I'm just gonna let you waltz off into the maw of the beast and let you get yourself killed? The Hell kinda father would I be if I did that?"

"Why did you drag them into this?!"

"I only asked 'em to come with me, son. Never said they agreed to it."

"Then why are they here?!"

Brass sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Because despite everythin', Cobalt, nobody here wants to see you die," he replied, earning an irritated snort from Izzbelle.

Staggered against the wall, with the gazes of those closest to him bearing down upon the Incubus, he was overwhelmed with an onslaught of emotions that he simply wasn't ready to tackle. The fire burned hotter and hotter, forcing Cobalt to double over in an effort to keep it under control. His ex-students backed away from him as his blood vessels glowed, all but one. Karazelle sat cross-legged in the corner, staring right at him, lost in thought.

"This... This isn't how it's supposed to happen...!" he gasped, wincing as a spasm of pain shot through his body.

Both Elya and Jelli stirred at the obvious pain that he was in, but neither dared to get closer to him.

"You were all supposed to stay at the school! To stay safe!"

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"Nobody is safe while the Devils are still here! All we'd be doing is waiting for our deaths!" Quinn snapped, standing up straight.

"I'm not talking about the Devils!"

He gazed down at his hands, struggling to catch his breath as stress gradually mounted. It was taking every shred of willpower Cobalt had to keep himself reigned in. Hearing footsteps growing closer, Cobalt looked up to see Karazelle looming over him, her face the very picture of intensity.

"Get it together, Cobalt."

His eyes widened.

"You had a plan in coming here. What is it?" she asked curtly, folding her arms.

"Karazelle..."

"What's the plan," she repeated, unwilling to speak about anything barring the current situation.

He swallowed hard.

"I... I don't have one..."

The Succubus released a long, drawn-out sighed as she turned to look at Brass.

"Well?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The older Incubus shrugged.

"I'll defer to your judgement, lil' lady," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Karazelle returned her attention to her ex-teacher.

"Bring her out."

"What?" Cobalt asked.

"Don't play dumb. Just bring her out."

"It's fine, Cobalt. Take a second to catch your breath; I'll deal with this."

The familiar fatuige overtook his body, causing Cobalt to slump back as Lilith emerged before the demons hunkered in that dark, dusty side room. They all bristled at her appearance; Izzbelle raised her Bronze Axe and bared her teeth as she stepped in front of Jelli, while Quinn discretely called her Lead Revolver into her hand. The others thankfully stayed their weapons, but the look in their eyes was anything but friendly. Fear, suspicion, smouldering anger... only Karazelle stood her ground.

"... Well? Go on," the Succubus said.

Lilith furrowed her brow.

"Tempered Bastions are designed to be fortifiable from any angle, including internally. Right now we're in the outer ring, and if memory serves theres multiple concetric-"

"Get the Hell on with it!" Quinn barked from the corner of the room, earning the Devil's ire.

"Do you want my help or not?!" she barked, clenching her fists.

"I don't want you around at all, matter of fact," the Imp spat back, waving her revolver around.

Before a fight could break out, Brass cleared his throat.

"Ladies, please. This ain't the time. Now, I understand y'all ain't the biggest fans of Devils; I'll be damned if I don't agree with that most days. But Lilith here ain't like what you've seen before. She's tryin' to stop this just as much as we are."

"But she said she's the reason this is happening to begin with, back in the hall," Whitney murmured, nervously leaning from one leg to the other.

"I know, but my point still stands. We're all on the same side here, and seein' as she built this damn fort, just hear her out."

Quinn and Izzbelle scowled while the others just whispered to one another, but nobody spoke out. With a curteous nod towards the old Incubus, Lilith cleared her throat and resumed.

"Long story short, it would be best if we try to cut straight to the heart of the Bastion. There's a central elevator that'll take us up. That's where we'll find their leader."

"Th- Their leader...?" Jelli breathed, shaking like a spring leaf.

Lilith nodded.

"Deal with him, and we'll cut the head off this invasion. We gotta be fast, though. At any moment the internal bulwarks can come crashing down, and the halls'll be flooded with soldiers. I'm honestly shocked that hasn't happened already; Cobalt cutting off the only means of ingress must have bought us some time, but it won't be long before he hears about the breach."

"Who is he?" Whitney asked.

The Devil went quiet for a moment. She glanced back at Cobalt and swallowed hard before continuing.

"... Alpha. Truth be told, I don't know if open combat will avail us. But he's never been one for discourse, so we might not have any other option. This... This was a suicide mission, I hope you all realise."

"Tch. Of course," Izzbelle growled, glaring daggers at the Incubus.

"Lay off him, powder keg. If it weren't for him, you'd be fucking dead already."

"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!"

It took the combined efforts of Jelli, Elya and Whitney to hold the Oni back from attempting to cleave Lilith in two. She tried to square up as well, only for a resounding click from Quinn's Lead Revolver to keep the Devil rooted to the spot. Scowling, she folded her arms and turned her single eye back onto Karazelle.

"He's right, though. None of you are supposed to be here."

"Lilith, enough..." Cobalt gasped on the floor, wincing as a spasm of pain writhed through his stomach.

"Only reason he pushed any of you away was for this. To keep you out of-"

"I said that's enough!"

Karazelle glanced down at Cobalt before returning her attention to the Devil.

"... Well we're here now. No going back," she said coldly, keeping her jaw set firm.

Brass wheeled himself forward with Elya's assistance, turning all eyes onto him.

"So let's do as she says. Cut right to the heart of this shithole. Lilith, do you know the way?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded.

"With the main concourse still open, should be a straight shot. I'll have Cobalt lead the way."

With that, she melted back into Cobalt's body, startling everyone in the chamber once more. Taking a deep breath, the Incubus forced himself to his feet as his strength returned, though his head wouldn't stop pounding and his insides continued to burn. Slowly, Brass rolled up to him and laid a hand on his arm.

"Take a breather, but be quick. We don't got much time, son," he said softly.

"Why, Dad...? Why did you bring them...?" Cobalt asked, his voice quiet and raspy.

"... Weren't me who convinced 'em, son. They turned me down when I suggested it."

"Then who...?"

He didn't answer, at least not verbally. Instead, the old Incubus turned to look at Karazelle as spoke to Izzbelle and the others.

"Wh- What...?"

"C'mon," Brass said, turning himself around to face the door, "you and I'll take point."

"... Okay..."

Taking the handles of his father's wheelchair, they opened the door and peered out, looking around for any sign of Devils. But despite the chaos they had caused, the dim halls of the Tempered Bastion were silent barring the distant thrumming of machinery.

"That's strange..." Lilith murmured as Brass craned his neck back.

"Alright ladies, stay sharp and keep your arms to hand. Never know what these bastards might pull."

Behind them, Cobalt's students each conjured their weapons into their hands. They held them close, ready for anything, save for Lottie, who looked confused as to why she had to pull out her Granite Shield. As they all filed out into the corridor, Cobalt noticed Elya clinging to the back end of the ground, nervously looking around with her hands empty. Without a voice to speak the incantations, the Fallen was completely defenceless. Part of him wished to stand by her, to let her know that he would keep her safe, but... He just couldn't.

"Head back to where you were. From there, it should be pretty straightforward."

"You sure...?" the Incubus breathed, pushing Brass along.

"Have some faith, Cobalt. Remember when we were last here? That large chamber with the elevator shaft in the middle?"

"I... think...?"

"That's our target."

Behind him, he heard Izzbelle grumble.

"The fuck is it sayin'?" she asked coarsely, narrowing her eyes.

Cobalt peered back, earning a look of disgust from the Oni.

"It's just ahead. We just have to be quick," he told her, before reaffirming his grip on his father's chair and pushing on.

It was eerie just how quiet the bastion was despite the intruders scurrying around within it. As they returned to main entrance hall, Cobalt found that the Devils had failed in opening the frontal portcullis, but as for the soldiers themselves, they had completely disappeared.

"I don't like this..."

"You alright, son?" Brass asked, craning his neck back.

Cobalt nodded shakily, quickening his pace as they pushed down the hall.

"Y- Yeah. It's just-"

A deafening klaxon abruptly tore through the relative silence of the bastion. The demons behind him all cried out and covered their ears as it blared, with Whitney falling to the floor and screaming as her sensitive hearing was assaulted. Karazelle and the others leapt to assist her, whereupon Cobalt felt something shift beyond the ancient stone walls. Feeling cold panic shoot through him, he instinctively looked up to see a thick metal shutter descending from the ceiling.

"Shit, the bulwarks!"

Driven by instinct and blind fear, the Incubus shoved Brass forward and dived down the hallway, right as the great metal door slammed shut behind him, scattering dust everywhere. Eyes wide, he scrambled towards the bulwark and hammered his fists against it.

"Karazelle?! Izzbelle?! Anybody?!" he cried, calling for his students.

On the other side, he heard the Succubus' voice respond.

"We're fine," she said curtly, "Now what?"

Swallowing hard, Cobalt turned his head as he heard the sound of heavy footfalls and scraping metal echo from the side corridors. In the back of his mind, Lilith clucked her tongue.

"Sprung their damn trap... We gotta move. This place will be swarming with Devils before long."

"R- Run! Just run!" he told the girls, sensations both hot and cold burning a hole through him.

Brass cleared his throat.

"I don't reckon we should be hangin' around here, son," he said, nervously clinging to the leather satchel on his lap.

"Just... stay safe, all of you!"

Striking the bulwark one last time, the Incubus grabbed his father's wheelchair and took off, following Lilith's directions as the sounds of encroaching Devils only grew louder. This slapdash plan of his was falling apart, and he only had himself to blame.

All he could do now was put his trust in his students.