The subway entrance was sealed. Rusted shutters pulled tight, padlocks snapped, "UNDER REPAIR" signs slapped up like bad jokes.
Makima had cleared the path with a single phone call.
Now Division 4 descended.
Their boots echoed against wet concrete as the air grew thick, heavy, metallic. A smell hung in the tunnels—iron and mildew and something sweet, like fruit left too long in the sun.
"Gross," Denji muttered, covering his nose. "This place smells like Power's room."
"LIAR!" Power barked, brandishing her hammer. "MY ROOM SMELLS OF GLORIOUS NOBILITY!"
Himeno hushed them. "Listen."
They stopped.
The tunnels breathed.
A faint, rhythmic rush of air shivered through the dark, as if the concrete walls themselves had lungs. Aki's hand went to his sword.
"This isn't normal devil territory," he said flatly.
Himeno's Ghost hand shimmered faintly beside her, brushing along the damp tiles. She frowned. "Not a contract. It feels… bound. Chained."
Denji kicked at a loose can, watching it clatter down the tracks. "So what? We've fought weirder. Big whoop."
The can never hit the ground. It vanished halfway, swallowed whole by a shadow that rippled across the tunnel floor.
Denji froze. "Uh."
Power squinted. "Did the FLOOR just eat your GARBAGE?"
Aki tightened his grip on his katana. "No… something under the floor did."
---
Further in, the signs grew clearer.
Spray-painted spirals that seemed to writhe if you stared too long. Graffiti of twisted scripture: ALL CHAINS UNITE / ALL GODS CONSUMED / THE KINGDOM RISES.
And bodies.
Some slumped against walls, still breathing, branded with spiral scars carved into their cheeks. Others lay motionless, eyes glazed, their skin already cracking like husks.
Himeno crouched by one. "They're alive. Barely."
"Cultists?" Aki asked.
"No…" she whispered. "Victims. Something hollowed them out."
Denji scratched his head, uneasy. "So, like… zombies? But diet edition?"
---
The deeper they went, the louder the breathing grew.
The tunnel widened into a cavernous, half-collapsed station. Floodlights—old, jury-rigged—buzzed overhead. Rows of people knelt, silent, their foreheads pressed to the floor. None moved when Division 4 entered.
Denji whispered, "Okay, uh… I don't like this. Usually people scream when devils show up. This is creepier."
Power snorted. "FEEBLE WORSHIPPERS! YOU SHOULD KNEEL BEFORE ME, NOT SOME PRETENDER!"
Her voice echoed across the chamber.
And for the first time, the kneeling bodies moved—slowly raising their heads in unison. Their eyes glowed faintly. Spirals burned into their skin. And when they opened their mouths, the same voice poured out from dozens of throats at once.
"WELCOME TO THE FIRST KINGDOM."
The tunnels shook. Chains rattled in the shadows.
Division 4 had found Suguru Geto's doorstep.