06. DEMONS

[PHANTASMOON]

DEMONSCLASS

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ANOMALIES OF REALITY.

Demons are creatures who are considered to be capable of distorting natural laws. Their abilities are similar to magecraft, except they do not use magic circuits. Most of their spells are obtained due to genetics, and are learned in experience. However, this makes them incapable of learning abilities outside of their heritage. There are two kinds of demons - malevolent spirit-like beings created because of the negative thoughts of human will, and demons present since the beginning of time, such as the creatures told in mythologies. The Church only hunts down the first kind due to their similarities to the Devil, but the second kind are constantly threatened by Demon Hunter Organizations.

[PHANTASMOON]

These kinds of demons are also referred to the SIXTH IMAGINARY ELEMENT. They are curses given human form, who cannot do most damage when alone. They are capable of granting wishes, but all their promises are empty - all they could make is nothing but an illusion. Some spiritual demons are directly linked to a single human - in that case, the demon becomes a doppelganger, but their personalities aren't necessarily similar. Alone, their body deteriorates, and they soon disappear on their own.

However, there is a method to prolong their lives, and that is through DEMONIC POSSESSION. A demon may freely enter a human's psyche, and from within, it corrupts that human. It starts with the change of a human's personality, showing aggressive behavior and increased capability of inhumanity. Soon, the human's physical features distort to something similar to the demon's form, and even gains that demons' powers. From there on, the human either gets completely taken over by the demon, or the human manages to control and demon and uses his or her newfound abilities to his or her own means. Eventually individuals related to the victim may also find themselves targets of demonic possession.

However, most spiritual demons are not malicious - in fact, they care much for humanity. They see their methods as a way to help them and share their burden and pains. In order to compensate for the corruption of their souls, most demons put themselves under the human's service.

Exorcists are usually sent to investigate and stop demonic possessions. However, by the time the process is finished, the demon becomes too much to handle for exorcists - instead, Executors are sent. At that point the only method to stop the possession is to kill both the demon and human victim.

[PHANTASMOON]

The Fiendish Kind are, as mentioned above, are demons that appeared from the start of time. They are their own species, but their numbers run low in modern times. Similar to the Fiendish Kind are PHANTASMAL SPECIES, creatures known in legends and myths. Most of them have superior magecraft compared towards an average magus. All fiendish kinds have a human-like form, and the remaining survivors may have been hiding amongst human civilization. Since a Fiendish Kind's diet is mostly consisted of humans, Demon Hunter Organizations have been created to try and drive them into extinction.

Unique to the Fiendish Kind are HYBRIDS - they are the only species capable of cross-breeding with humans. Most hybrids are located in Asia. Hybrids have a human appearance and diet, but obtain the abilities of their ancestors - the strength of their powers depend on how thick their demon blood is. However, thick demon blood also risks a higher chance of INVERSION IMPULSE. In this state, the demon's skills increase in exchange of a different state of being, such as the removal of emotion or the appearance of sadism. Inversion Impulse may be triggered on one's own will, with the presence of a stimulus, or it may be triggered without warning - it varies from person to person. Inversion Impulse is, however, reversible, when it reaches ANCESTRY RETURN. When this occurs, the hybrid becomes a full demon, and may never return to a human-like state ever again.