Deus Ex-Machina Industries

"Understand. Utilize. Create. The best technology is the one that has yet to be built." -DEM Industries CEO, Maxwell Westcott

Deus Ex-Machina industries, commonly referred to as DEM for short, is a company focused on perfecting technology through magical means. Although they are generally seen as a well-mannered company in the public eye, they are a nefarious organization working on colossal and dangerous projects. Despite their name, they are unrelated to the Ex-Machina.

\*I'll find company logos later\*

## Background

DEM is well-known by most humans, Anthros, and werebeasts as a military company. They often provide advanced mechs, forces, and support vehicles much more advanced than most basic military organizations. However, this is only the surface level of DEM's prospects. Underneath their gifts to militaries and governments, is a criminal organization working towards achieving "Ultimate Transcendence" and reversing the gods control on the planet. Unlike almost any other organization, DEM actually realizes the Exceed's true purpose as the Excersians created them. Knowing this, they have been working on researching and planning a coup de' etat of sorts, hoping to kill the Excersians and control the planet for their own purposes.

Although limited, they also have some inside knowledge on how Adrioth works, including its core functions and how it is also simultaneously a video game. This makes them exceptionally dangerous to both Excersians and regular Exceed alike, since they can both use the information to manipulate other Exceed as well as cause potentially irreversible damage to the Excersians' reputation as the planet's "gods."

DEM is able to achieve this by doing something rarely done by humans, Anthros, and the more primitive races. They are capable of fusing pure magical energy into their technology, giving their machines infinite power and the ability to use magic without requiring a soul, something only Hexiron has achieved. This means that one both a technological and magical level, other human companies such as SpaceTech cannot even compare to the level of power achieved by DEM. However, the way in which DEM acquires their magical energy is truly barbaric. They often recruit the strongest members from surrounding schools across America and some other surrounding countries, training them and empowering them with technology that allows them to even rival Fluegels; albeit for a short time. They then send these highly trained students, often still relatively young, to hunt down and retrieve powerful Xenos. Once captured, Xenos are imprisoned and slowly siphoned of their power and soul, a painful and horrifying process. The pure magical energy taken from the Xenos is then used to power all of DEM's technology, and advance their research.

DEM also tries to capture spirits, and transform them into something known as Inverse forms. In doing so it would allow DEM world-breaking power, although they have yet to successfully capture, imprison, and transform a spirit. However, they are attempting to create their own spirits, using their own students as experiments.

As of currently, DEM is capable of creating Xenos homunculi, allowing them to infuse their own Xenos with such high energy. They intend to train these Xenos and use them as 'weapons against god' alongside their students.

DEM students are trained at often young ages, usually in high but sometimes even middle school. Depending on the district, they may learn different types of magic and how to channel energy into their tech. Often without telling the students, they will perform intensive magic circuit surgery, which involves implanting high amounts of extremely radioactive Nakirium-6 into their bodies. While this can give them powers akin to the most powerful of races, it lessens their lifespan to nearly less than 10 years. To combat this, they will eventually replace their students' bodies with fully mechanical ones, running on the same magical energy they had in their real bodies. Any students that die from the procedure or later effects are converted into magical energy, and used to power machinery.

Finally, DEM's top students are known as Adeptus <#>. In rank from most powerful to least, there are a total of 24 Adeptus units at any give time. These are DEM's most seasoned warriors, and many are no longer students and have high-ranking roles throughout the company. ALL of DEM's staff, students, and machinery wield something known as CR Units, known as Combat Realizers. This unique equipment allows every user's unique magical aura to transfer into their technology, empowering it with powerful fusion. All Adeptus units use Eternalizer units, a more powerful variant of CR units meant for pure combat.

## Trivia

DEM works closely with many conflicting organizations, including police forces, criminals, military, terrorist groups, and cybercriminal organizations. They also assist other companies like Spacetech.

DEM's leader, Maxwell Westcott, is said to have once taken on and beaten a fireteam of 6 Excersian players and beaten them using his Eternalizer. If true, it would mean that DEM's technology is able to surpass Excersian technology, which should be impossible for the Exceed.

DEM does not work with race-based organizations, although they have worked with the Cabal, Sirens, and Syntravians in the past.

DEM's technology can allow their members to technically become immortal, as Adeptus units can upload their consciousness to the Sanctum, a virtual database where memories can be stored and reaccessed after death.

It is not known how DEM acquired their knowledge of how Adrioth works, its players, and the Excersians' true intentions, but it is speculated that one of their members may be an exiled Excersian vying for revenge, or potentially even another alien race with hatred towards the Excersians.