Crystal was pulled back just in time. One of the demons she didn’t see fired a blast from behind, barely missing her. The beam of energy bypassed her face, hitting the very tree that was not too far away. A thundering roar of things breaking could be heard, pulling apart pieces with a loud bang.

If Aurelius hadn’t pulled her out fast enough, she would have gotten hit or, worse, badly injured.

Even if they gained a large amount of power from the deadly Sin didn’t mean they were invincible. On the contrary, it has been proven repeatedly that they were still prone to death, and luckily, they barely escaped it.

“Thanks.” Crystal squeaked.

Alexus could tell that rattled her.

“Don’t worry about it.” Alexus let her go. He quickly stepped forward, slashing a demon that lunged from the side. “Just be careful.”

“I will.” Crystal dryly chuckled, “I know at least you got my back when I am.”

Alexus sighed. He wondered why sometimes girls wouldn’t listen and put themselves in danger. Then, with a quick shake of his head, he focused back on his task.

The number of demons was shortening.

Barrages of bullets were flying, hitting every demon that they saw. However, the Ouroboros with the Alexus group was among the best. It didn’t take long for them to clear away the rest, allowing them to stay completely clear of any damage they would take.

With the final demon dead and gone, Alexus took the lead with Simon closely behind them.

Simon was quick with his rifle, shooting down any sparse demons that came straight at them.

If there were any spares, they were quickly handled.

Alexus continued through the open terrain, following the GPS on his screen. The closer they got toward the destination, the fewer demons they were. It was odd, which made him uncomfortable. His senses were on high alert, glancing for unsuspecting attacks, but there were none.

A low humming pulse pulled them towards the right.

Alexus felt his chest tighten, and his mind became slightly dazed. But, on the other hand, the others were completely swallowed up by the strange calling they felt. They all felt it, staring into the dark cave. It was like any other cave that you could see on the side of a cliff, the high-hanging stalagmite and the numerous bats that squeaked and flew out a couple of times.

“We need to go.” Kathy spoke, “It's calling us.”

“Yes,” James spoke.

“Do you guys feel that?” Crystal asked; she and only a few were saner of mind.

“Yea,” Timothy grumbled, “I don’t like it.”

“Same,” Jones replied, “it reminds me of the last time we were called into the Animus Progressium unit when we were called. I just remember the first half of it before I blacked out.”

“I agree with you as well,” Alexus replied.

A few of the Ouroboros, who weren’t strong-willed in their mind, dropped their weapons and walked ahead.

“Hey!” Jones called out, reaching out to stop them from going in mindlessly.

The Ouroboros that he had grabbed faltered, shrugging Jones off his shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Jones shouted; he reached over to grab the Ouroboros again.

“They are zombified!” Timothy replied, “Whatever is in this cave is calling us, and the ones that aren’t strong of mind are pulled!”

Jones cursed, “We shouldn’t have come here!”

Another Ouroborous dropped his weapons, entering the cave.

Alexus couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

More and more followed behind; Timothy, Crystal, and Jones reached over, trying to stop them

from entering empty-handed. A few fought back, pushing them back as they entered the cave without fuss.

“Calm down,” Simon grunted, struggling hard against the pull, “I don’t think this is all

th-----ugh.” He fell onto his knees, holding his head in his hands.

“Simon!” Crystal hurried over.

Simon raised his hand, stopping her. “I don’t have much willpower, whatever it is……keep….us…safe….”

At that moment, Simon zoned out. He got up, and his gaze turned towards the darkness wherever the other Ouroborous was heading towards.

“Simon!” Crystal grabbed Simon's shoulders, “come on, don’t do this to me!”

Simon shrugged Crystal off, dropping his rifle onto the ground.

“These guys…” Jones groaned.

“Quickly, pick everyone’s weapons off the ground, and let’s follow,” Alexus replied; he reached over to grab Simon’s rifle, which transformed and melded into his armor. “When they wake up, they will have something. W''

“Alright,” Timothy was already on it. Jones and Crystal did the same.

Most weapons were taken off the ground, allowing them to follow the remaining Ouroboros that disappeared into the cave.

They entered with their weapons raised.

“I swear, I don’t like this.” Jones replied, “I still feel that weird feeling in my head. At this rate, we might get jumped or blacked out and end up in a coma for another hundred years.”

“I highly doubt that,” Timothy replied back. “That machine was designed to put us to sleep. This one might not be like that at all.”

“How do you know? I have been feeling that same pull since we got in here. The closer we move towards whatever this is, the stronger it feels.”

“Yeah, but the only difference is that we are all still sane.” Timothy replied, “My hypothesis is because we all have a bit of the Deadly Sins power in us.”

“You think so?” Jones asked. “Wait, you’re right. None of the others were able to resist. Even Simon, considered one of the best, couldn’t fight against the pull. Eventually, he lost and was pulled in.”

“Yes, he was.” Alexus replied, “Right now, this is our advantage. It’s why Simon had said that

in the first place, ``He noticed the difference before he blacked out.”

“Quick as usual,” Crystal chuckled. “With that being said, let's quickly move.”

The lights on their dragon suit and rifle turned on one by one. Lighting up their surroundings, allowing them to see. They continued through the winding tunnel, meeting a few Ouroboros walking through the tunnel-like zombies.

Crystal quickly checked to ensure they were fine before they continued.

“Will it be alright if we leave them like that?” Jones asked.

“Yes, so far, no demons that we have met. The closer that we came to the center, the demons stayed away and were specifically at the edge. So I wouldn’t be worried about the Ouroboros that we pass. Instead, we should be worried about what we will meet up with.”

Alexus stopped.

They arrived in a huge underground cavern.

A giant black monument that was an oddly squared shape with blue trails of electronic lights pulsated in the dark. Numerous codes of 0s and 1s trickled down on its surface. Streams of light from above came down, hitting its surface.

Even the other Ouroborous stopped before the monument, dazed and immobilized, staring up.

“What the hell is that?” Jones spoke, breaking the silence.

“It’s what we have been looking for.” Crystal replied.

“Are you serious?” Jones put down his weapon he walked closer.

“Careful; you don’t want to get zapped by whatever it is,” Timothy replied. “I honestly want to get in and out; this place gives me the chills.”

Alexus walked over the monuments as trickles of water plopped onto the ground. The closer that he got, the stronger the power felt. His mind was fighting against something to which he couldn’t quite put words.

Numerous pulsating pain invaded his head. At that moment, he froze.

Pictures of an alien ship flying through space.

Dark demons he saw on earth chased after the spaceship as the battle raged. Numerous lights struck, dissipated, and killed, but there was always another demon to take its place.

Eventually, one of the demons landed on the ship, tearing through the ship's barrier. It weaseled its way in, breaking one of its engines, and causing an explosion. With a fiery inferno, the ship fell from the sky like a comet, hitting the earth’s surface. Eventually, the inferno and dust settled, enough for the ship's doors to open.

Beings that Alexus had never seen before stepped out. They were humanoid with reptile-like skins, but they weren’t many as most of them were dead. Then, from their ship, they brought out the giant chunk of stone that they carried on a floating device, bringing it out. It was the same monument that they saw in the cave.

Once again, the demons that were able to escape from the burning inferno appeared out of the sky. Multiple black comets fall like rain. Hitting against the ground as they unfurled themselves.

And came straight toward the monuments like droves. Waves upon waves of demons stormed through, blackening every ground.

The monument heated up, turning blue.

A blast of energy spiraled out, completely decimating the demons as they disappeared into nothingness.

Alexus woke up, gasping. He blinked a few times, trying to catch his bearings.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow moving. He looked up.

“Marcus?” Alexus called out, “is that you?”

The familiar back of Maracas, standing in front of the giant ship, was present.