“In human history, the number 666 has been seen in a very dark connotation of the beast itself and the second awakening of supposed Christ. Statistically, the number of elevens has been our warning sign that something big will happen. Especially the triple-digit numbers: 111, 222, 333, 444, and 555. All of these had a mixed batch of good and bad things around the world. On the 111th Ouroboros, we had both Gluttony and Sloth destroy the state of Louisiana, making it a demon-infested zone, but after that, they went back into slumber. Although a few days ago, there has been word that Sloth awakened and is heading towards Russia as we speak.”
A few loud gasps could be heard from the people as they saw still images of large water trails being moved in a certain direction. “When we had our 222nd, Greed the unquenchable appeared in the middle of Shanghai, destroying a good half of the city. On the 333rd appearance of Ourborous, Lust the Sensual appeared. It ravaged different cities of Japan and even crossed over to South Korea. Finally, on the 444th, Wrath, the Furious, demolished the Big Ben in England, terrorized Spain, and is now making its way up slowly towards Italy.”
Different pictures of cities being destroyed could be seen in each country. It wasn’t a pretty sight to see so much destruction. What was worse were the video clips playing out for each Myth Type demon, accompanied by occasional blood-curdling screams as they moved throughout the city.
A helicopter hovering over the Gulf of Mexico was currently watching a similar anomaly. There, a giant whirlpool was constantly whirling around in an endless void, pulling different aquatic animals into the whirlpool. It was like a black hole that constantly drained the water into an endless black abyss, and yet strangely, the ocean water didn’t decrease in size. There are speculations that Gluttony is expelling the water underneath him while eating those unfortunate creatures that are sucked in as if they were snacks.
Japan and South Korea didn’t have any destruction caused by Lust; rather, it was the opposite. In addition, the birth rate of the citizens has been increasing, which normally wouldn’t be cause for alarm. But, there have been several high levels of demon possessions in the newly born babies and their citizens, making it a level one threat.
“As for what happened after our 555th Ouroboros had come to Seventh Sanctum, Envy the Resentful appeared four months ago in Egypt.” The screen changed to showcase the horrors of what was happening in Egypt.
What was heartbreaking to see was the famous pyramid of Giza partly demolished by Envy. But, it wasn’t just destroyed. It was desecrated with dead bodies. Piles upon piles of humans were split onto poles, their agonized faces clear to everyone. The sheer brutality and number of corpses were reminiscent of a certain impaler, as the bodies were littered around the pyramid. And, every day, dozens to hundreds more appeared around the pyramid walls, as if it was a testament to humans for their stupidity and the cruel fate they were bound to face.
“We believe that the next Myth type demon will be appearing in the Middle East area, where there has been extensive amounts of war, propaganda, and even the large accumulation of dark energy, building up in large quantities. Especially the slander of the Ouroboros.”
Pictures of hate slogans of Ouroboros could be seen as images of advertisement and propaganda were plastered angrily with the intent to put all of them down. Aurelius could feel boiling anger at the harsh words and hatred directed toward them. The whole air around the others was sparking off, pissed off at what they saw.
“We believe Pride the Arrogant is being born here.”
Damn it! Did the CEO have to give a name to the Myth type?! Alexus cursed so loudly in his head that he jolted. He guessed he didn’t tell as many people that naming demons was a very bad idea. This was going to be a big problem.
“Does anybody have a question before we move on?” The CEO directed toward the group.
Multiple people raised their hands in a hurry.
“You there, No. 405.” He pointed towards a young lady; the lights swiveled towards her side as she stood up. She had long reddish-brown hair with freckles that riddled her whole face and shoulder.
“Are there any countermeasures against these Myth Type Demons?”
People nodded and grunted in agreement. Even Alexus had to wonder what the CEO had planned for them, especially against something that could cause wide-scale devastation.
“That is why the Dragon Scale Armor has been created to counter the demon’s attempt to overrun humanity. Not only that, we have created the next generation of Mind Linker programs that will automatically push the demons out of hiding.” The CEO brought his hand up for everyone to see where a watch was placed.
“The Mind Linker program goes two ways. First, it can directly connect with the normals around the vicinity, using less energy. The problem lies with their power conversion, making the battle five times longer. The second way is to force into the demon’s mind by linking with them, which is much more dangerous than linking with a Normal, along with costing three times the normal magical power to use. They will become stronger, faster, and bigger, becoming more problematic. And although the reward for revealing the demon is much more efficient, they only have a short amount of time before their power runs dry, which gives you ample time to bring them down, although that’s only if you survive the process.”
The words that he stated were pretty dark. The first choice was a lot simpler, but a long-sought-out battle wasn’t something anyone wanted, while the second choice brought the demon into full power. The battle was more difficult, but the demon’s energy consumption was faster. It was like a choice between two evils, none of which had a real benefit to either choice.
“We are the future that could quell the destruction that Demons could attempt on wiping us out.”
The CEO was an Ouroboros too. His words shocked Alexus. Marcus somehow knew that the CEO was an Ouroboros too. The whole time Marcus stated, he got it under control, or he’ll do something about it was because of this reason. Alexus looked to Marcus for an answer. All Marcus gave him was a shoulder shrug.
“I am one of you guys now. My father, Jamie Sylvester, was the owner of the Seventh Sanctum and passed on this company to me. I recently became an Ouroboros when I was twenty, seventy years ago. I go by Able Sylvester, no. 234.”
Alexus's lips tightened, biting his lower lips. He had a feeling that the CEO looked unusually young and familiar. Who would’ve thought that Able was the actual son of the famous Jamie Sylvester? Even though his father didn’t become an Ouroboros, his son did, surprisingly.
“We’ll be dividing our teams into six one hundred man teams; each team will be broken down to handle one specific Myth type Demon. All of us will hit different Myth Type Demons at different times after we get a handle on our suits and powers. I don’t want you to carelessly throw your life away, and only the best will attempt to slay the Myth types,” said Able. “On our trip, I noticed that there is a greater chance of success of killing the demons in a group of five, especially on the stronger ones.”
“A group of five?” Another young man spoke up, cutting Able off before he could proceed in explaining.
“Yes, One engineer, medic, or both, two close-range fighters, one long-range, and one an all-rounder. This is just a simple example, but there will always be a second team on standby to rush in for backup. Teamwork is essential in assisting and compensating each other. We can easily take down those like an Adult type and higher effortlessly.” With a clap of his hand, he gently smiled at the crowd. “With that being said, each of you will be reassigned to different world locations to better counter the local demons and eventually take down the Myth class.”
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People nervously glanced at each other and muttered at the sudden unexpected division. It was understandable, especially because this place had become their second home and the safety of the walls was like a peaceful resolve from the exterior forces.
“Quiet down.” Able raised his hand to shush everyone, but people's voices still intensified at the thought of leaving safety. “I said, quiet down!” He roared, halting everyone in their tracks.
For a moment, everyone was silent, afraid to even breathe because of Able’s oppressive cold air. Alexus never expected to feel something powerful and oppressive from someone like him. He had to wonder where he learned to push out his power like that. He could see the powerful bluish-white energy sparking around Able like a wave.
“It’s finally time to move out the Ouroboros to the six different secondary locations worldwide. Our goal is to lessen the amount of demonic infiltration and destroy the Myth types that are sporadically appearing around the world. If we don’t do something in the next hundred years, there’s no doubt humanity will be overtaken by demons.”
Alexus thought he was joking for a moment, but a glance was all it took to tell that Able was serious with what he had said.
“So, to answer all your questions, please talk with the six heads who will be overseeing each division. Group 1 is led by Marcus Ivanov. Group 2 is led by Donald Travis. Group 3 is led by Sonia Motley. Group 4 is led by Kevin Deangelo. Group 5 is led by Karen Hill. Finally, group 6 is led by Carlos Ingram,” said Able. “Now, please leave in an orderly fashion.” He partially bowed, and the lights went out.
The auditorium was filled with voices of concern from different people. Some were outraged at the sudden thought of being moved out of safety, others were excited about transferring back to their home country, some were worried, and most were curious or indifferent.
Alexus, on the other hand, made his way over to Marcus. The others of their group beelined towards Marcus wanting answers.
“What the hell is going on?” Timothy asked, completely lost. “When did the higher-ups decide to move us out of here?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Simon. “I don’t mind going to a different country for one.”
“Are you nuts? The secondary branch doesn’t have that many technological tools ready. I don’t want to leave my workroom!” Timothy gave off a depressing squeal as his hand slid down his face. “Do you know how long it will take to pack my babies? Forever!”
“I highly doubt that.” Simon rolled his eyes.
Alexus had to agree with Simon. It doesn’t take too long to pack. Just stuff it gently into a box, and they were done with it.
Marcus cleared his throat, catching all of their attention. “All of you guys are going to be under me.”
“Where are we exactly going to be stationed?” said Simon.
“We’re still staying here.”
“Really?!” Timothy looked highly pleased.
“Yea, our priority lies in Gluttony. So we’ll be heading south to deal with him a few months from now.”
“Is it wise to go after something that strong?” said Crystal. She gave off a worried look as she bit her lower lips. “We’re not sure if we’re going to win against something that strong. It’s not like the past, 149 years ago.”
“I know, but your Dragon Scale Armor did a bang-up job with its first iteration that Alexus wore. That says something, and lately, we've been having better luck wiping out the demons,” reassured Marcus.
Timothy tapped his finger against his legs as an idea struck him. “Wait, what about the others? Where are they going to be stationed? And how did we end up being under your command?”
“Simple. The higher up just lazily cut off the number of people by hundreds. So, 1-100 will be under me. We’ll be staying here in Chicago. Group 2 is 101-200. They’ll be the first group to leave for Russia. At the rate Sloth is moving, they’ll be ready for her. Group 3 is 201-300. In about a week, they’ll head towards Beijing, China. Group 4 is 301-400, and they will be leaving for Tokyo, Japan. Group 5 is 401-500. They’ll head off at the same time as Group 4 and head towards Paris, France. Group 6 is 501-600, heading towards Giza, Egypt, next month. While the remaining 600 and up will be forming into group 7 later down the line. They will be sticking around here a bit longer.”
“That’s helpful.” Jones sarcastically stated. “They couldn’t choose which people would go where? Because I don’t mind going to China. I do like the females over there. Just like my girl...” His voice trailed off into a distance, his eyes hardened as he looked off into the distance reminiscing the past.
Alexus was quite surprised that his ex-girlfriend was Chinese. He didn’t know his preference was for Asian culture.
“Hands down, if I were to choose, I would go to France. Amazing food and voluptuous ladies.” Timothy smirked as his hands made a gourd motion to accentuate a female’s figure. “The Asian females are a little too compact for me.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Simon asked, looking at Timothy funny. “Small. Easy to carry. And with her especially bite-sized, you could just tuck her away in your room.”
“We’re not all bite-sized,” interrupted Crystal. “Although, if you want a voluptuous figure, it’s hand down Brazilian.”
Everyone was suddenly taken back by her comment as they looked at her. She shrugged her shoulders as if it was not a big deal and gave them the ‘what?’ face.
They all had to agree with what Crystal had said. So there was no beating that.
“Anyways,” Marcus tried to deter the conversation in a different direction. “We got a mission today, and I need all five of you guys to get ready to go out tonight.”
“What?!” Timothy whined. He threw back his head and threw a tantrum. “You serious? What are we going after?”
“Adult type Demons. We’ll be driving towards Springfield, Illinois.”
“Is it bad?” Jones asked; he folded his arm in front of him and leaned back on his back legs.
“As bad as it could get.”
Alexus had to wonder sometimes Marcus' definition of as bad as it can get. The cat demon was no run-of-the-mill demon. When Marcus said it's bad, it could mean it's five times worse than what he just went through with the cat demon. He needs to be a bit pickier on who or what he should fight against.
“How many demons this time?” Alexus asked. The thought of going in blind without a specific number count wasn’t something that he wanted to go through again.
“It’s a large infestation. We’ll be needing two teams of five to get the place cleared out.”
“How many is a large infestation?” Alexus tried again, hoping for a better answer.
“Twenty.”
Jones choked up, coughing up a storm. Timothy paled to the point where he almost turned completely white. Crystal let out a short hiss while Simon’s cheeks and eyes twitched sporadically.
Alexus squinted into a thin line as his lips became red from biting down too hard. Even his hand kind of balled up into a fist unconsciously; thinking about going demon hunting once again made him uncomfortable. Fighting to stay alive was hard, and it was especially difficult when it was more than one demon. Twenty was seriously pushing our luck. He had to wonder how many they could take on without being overrun.
“You want us to raid a demon’s nest?” Jones stuttered, looking at Marcus in complete disbelief.
“Do you know how crazy you sound?”
Marcus frowned, not liking the way that Jones had called him crazy. “If we can’t handle this, how do you think we’ll handle Gluttony?”
“What if we just ignore Gluttony.”
“You know just as well as I that’s not going to happen. All the demons will hunt us down until we’re all dead.”
Jones flinched. He knew just as well as Alexus that the demons wouldn’t let them live. They had to fight for their existence, making this a whole slew of problems that we had to face for the rest of their lives. There was no escaping this horrible destiny, but the consequences of living a second time meant there was a specific trade-off, and that trade-off was the price to see beyond the veil.
Alexus felt a bit jealous of the Normals, who didn’t have to see beyond the veil; better yet, they didn’t have to fight the demons like them. Of course, they could just live their ignorant life, not knowing what was possibly going to kill them, but then again, ignorance wasn’t something he wanted.
“He has a point.” Crystal replied. “If we don’t fight and see how much we can push ourselves and even grow, we will not survive for long. The future will get worse, but we have a chance to change it.”
“Are you sure whatever you dreamt about is going to happen?” Timothy was skeptical of Crystal’s dreams. Even I was having a second thought of Crystal’s dreams.
“Yes.” She reassured them. “Even though I’m just seeing a glimpse of a possibility, that possibility is pretty high.”
Timothy looked over towards Simon, pointing his thumb towards Crystal. “You believe her?”
“Yes.” Simon answered with a straight face; he then darkened and replied, “Believe her on this one. I thought the same thing as you did, but the ability to see the future is a gift.”
“I don’t know about that.” Crystal half-heartedly chuckled. Alexus could tell that the weight of seeing the future made her sad as her shoulder slightly slumped. “It’s helpful, but it's also a curse.”
“How so?” Timothy asked.
“Think about it, seeing the death of your family, friends, and even possibly your lover. All those…..deaths.” Her words were loaded with strain and a hint of fear. “If you see what I have seen, you probably might have gone crazy.”
Timothy's eyes became wide. He then smirked. “Why haven’t you gone crazy? Oh, wait. Maybe you did.”
Crystal's hand snapped forward, whacking him in the face. Timothy jumped backward, holding his nose.
“What the hell, Crystal?!” Timothy shouted in pain as he rubbed his nose. “Why did you do that?”
“Me?” Crystal tilted her head and gave him the most innocent look Alexus had ever seen her give to anyone. “You must’ve imagined it.”
“I did not! Shit!”Timothy wrinkled his nose and glared.
“Well then, keep your sarcastic remarks to yourself.” She sweetly smiled. “Or you’re going to see the real crazy me.”
Timothy snorted, rolling his shoulders. “I’m already seeing it.” He grumbled under his breath.
“What did you say?” She leaned over as a deadly smile that would make anyone shiver erupted on her face. The others took a few steps backward, leaving Timothy to fend for himself. Even
Alexus unconsciously took a few steps back, knowing that this wasn’t the time to save Timothy. If he wasn’t careful, there was a chance of being caught up in it.
The others coughed a couple of times, turned around, and slowly slinked out. He followed everyone’s example, leaving the two behind.
Rest in peace, Timothy. Alexus silently prayed inwardly, knowing full well that Timothy would get hurt.