For the following hours, Alexus paced back and forth between different spots that Marcus had designated with Jones.
The whole room was clinking and clanking with powerful machines that wouldn't stop shivering with excitement. Multiple small things were being made, causing the factory to come to life. Then, it grumbled, cranked, and shook, bringing attention to the demons nearby.
They had been in a constant firefight for three hours since the factory was turned on.
Every time there was downtime, Alexus rushed over to the other side that needed immediate help, quelling the demons that came in droves.
This was the sixth time when Alexus and one of Gerald's group were fending off the attack from upstairs.
Bullets continued to fire, littering the walls with bullet holes.
"Hold!" Gerald yelled; he placed his rifle down. The building groaned, telling him that any more would affect the stability of the structure.
The silence was deafening. Alexus could hear his heart palpitating in his throat and ear.
Alexus shifted, trying to see what was happening. The number of demons that they have slain far outpaced one hundred. The door that separated the stairs was bashed up and hanging off the side of the hinges.
Thick amounts of ashes lay across the ground like sand, trailing towards them.
Clink.
The number of feet walking down the stairs was more than just one. It was like hearing the sounds of a waterfall.
A large swarm of monsters poured out from the stairway, shaking the very ground and rattling the walls.
"Fire!" Gerald shouted.
The bullets riddled through the air once again, echoing in the factory.
"Get ready for close combat!" Gerald changed his weapons.
The other Ourborous pulled out swords, bats, and clubs, getting ready to fight against the Preta's coming down the stairs while the guns continued to fire.
Most of the monsters were shot down, but many squeezed past the other demons, using them as a shield.
They rushed forward.
It was a battle between demons and humans. They clashed, fired, and even injured some of the people.
Alexus swung his sword, cutting off Preta's head. It rolled on the ground, dissipating into ashes. He moved fluidly from one to the next, dancing from one to another. It wasn't an easy feat, as he didn't want to be in the crossfire of the bullets cutting into the other demons coming down upon them.
With each swing, Alexus could feel his magic ringing with excitement. The magic in his core buzzed and pulsated.
A swoosh of magic swung into his core, bringing an exhilaration of energy. His sword cut through another demon with just as much efficiency as before.
"Behind you!" Alexus sidestepped out of the way, barely missing a claw coming down to rip his face off.
The Ouroboros swiveled, roundhouse kicking the Preta in one kick. With a flash, the demon flew upwards, giving Alexus Time to sweep upwards. His sword flashed, cutting the demon in half.
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Weaving from one demon to another, Alexus moved with the fluid of his sword. He could feel the energy in the air as his eyes were set. It didn't take long for the demons to be cleared, taking down the rest.
"All clear," One of the Ourborous stated, stabbing into the demon's heart.
"All clear here as well," another spoke out as more and more stated the same.
"I don't think we will have a wave for a bit." One of the Ourborous replied.
"Keep vigilant. We don't want to be run over unexpectedly." Gerald stated; he flicked his sword and put it away. "The last time, we got too careless and had one badly injured." He reminded them.
"Gerald," said Alexus. "I'm going to go and check the other side."
"Sure." Gerald nodded.
"Jones, I'm going to go ahead."
"I'll catch up with you in a second," Jones replied. He was cleaning up the last demon.
Alexus turned around, leaving them behind. He headed in the usual direction, but before he went to his next stop, he headed towards Crystal. It has been over three hours since the machines were in production.
Crystal waved her hands over her head. She rocked back and forth on her toes, excited as she waved her hand above her head. "Guys!"
Alexus walked over, wondering what she had in hand. Timothy, Jones, Marcus, and a handful of other Ouroborous nearby walked over, wondering what Crystal had in store for them.
"Check these out." Crystal pulled out small, black square capsules that were the size of a sugar cube.
Alexus reached over and took it off her hand. He flipped it around a few times, wondering what they were for. On it were intricate inscriptions that he could not read, but something about it brought a sense of familiarity.
"You inject your power into these capsules, which will activate it. You use this when you can get to the demon's core."
"You mean those black crystals that you find every time they die?"
"Yes."
"I never really picked those up before; usually, they would disappear in less than a few hours."
"Yep," Crystal shook her head. "We merge the Crystal and the capture capsules together. It will merge together and create a new energy source for your suit."
"A new energy source?" Alexus was piqued. "Are we now collecting demons?"
"Something like that, but it captures these souls and stuffs them in the box. Unfortunately, we won't be able to capture all types of demons as the success rate is less than 10%."
"It sounds like some children's game." Alexus chuckled, thinking about the popular card collection game that had become a rave before life threw him a curve ball that surfaced in his mind.
"If you want to think of it like that, sure." Crystal rummaged through her pockets and pulled out more. "Take at least twenty of them on you at all times. Then, when you find a demon you want, use it."
"Sure, but what next after you have them merged together?"
Crystal patted her chest, "in the center of your suit, there will be a source that will absorb it. In addition, new upgrades have been implemented in the suit, which should power it up."
Aurelius raised his left hand, brushing it against his chest. He wondered what the lighter color plating on his chest was about.
Crystal poured more of the capture capsules into his hand and went down the line of other Ourborous nearby.
The crystals he had started to melt like a liquid until they finally became a part of his suit.
"Uh, Crystal. Is that supposed to happen?" Alexus watched with confusion.
"What?" Crystal stopped, looking over.
"Melting into the hand?"
"Yes. You should be able to use it with thought, so it shouldn't be a problem. Also, your suit will know which demons might best fit you, so you don't waste your cubes without thought."
"Okay," said Alexus.
Timothy, who was silent the whole time, spoke up. "At this rate, we'll be called Soul Reapers rather than Ouroboros." He chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Alexus asked.
"Soul Reapers? Don't you get it? We're grabbing demons' souls instead of humans."
Alexus shook his head, cracking a slight smile. "That's the best you can do?"
"I think it's funny. In its own dark way."
"It's not bad."
"Well, then we got a new name. The Soul Reapers." Timothy chuckled.
"Yea….Pass." Crystal shook her head. "Anyways, I need your help to spread these out. I was able to make a good amount of them for now, but we won't have any leftovers."
"That's fine. It should give us some test trials when we fight against the next swarm of monsters that come running at us," said Alexus.
"That actually is a good idea. Get some test on these suckers, so we know what to expect." Crystal pulled out a crate of boxes on the conveyor belt. She handed one box to Marcus and another to Alexus. "Make sure that everyone gets at least twenty. If there are any leftovers, keep them to yourself. The suit's amount is about fifty, which means you can pull from fifty different demon souls to power up your suits."
"That's amazing."
"I agree," said Marcus. "You and Timothy outdid yourself this time. We'll have a party if this succeeds."
"I hope so too. This is a trial run." Crystal started with a bit of worry.
"We know. It was the gamble I was hoping for."
"Let's hope it's for the better rather than the worse."
"Absolutely."