Black Blood

"*The blood coursing through your veins is the equivalent of having dead bodies washing through a river. The bodies of Demons that is.*"
—Azazel
**Black Blood** (黒血, *Kokketsu*) is a unique substance created by Azazel, after decades of research on the biology of Demons. Due to its unique existence, it isn't classified as Magic or a Curse, but a product of a Curse, specifically "Artificial", Azazel's Curse.

## Description

### **Creation**

The Black Blood's creation is done through Azazel's Curse, Artificial, and requires the bodies of dead Demons in order to create. Using Artificial, Azazel can turn the corpses of Demons into inert particles, and manipulate them to his whim. By condensing the particles and mixing them with actual human blood, he forces the two substances to merge into one. The process, however, instantaneous, and but sometimes can take several hours, and maybe even days. Through an unknown process, Azazel also grants the Black Blood it's infectious nature, and it's ability to slowly change the infected victim's biology into a Demon's.

### **Usage**

The Black Blood's purpose is to infect a living being and slowly turn its biology into a Demon's. An individual can become infected by allowing his/her blood to come into contact with the Black Blood, making it slowly spread, turning the normal blood cells into Black Blood cells. It can go unnoticed at first, before the infection reaches a critical point where it causes severe pain in the victim's limbs, and at times can cause blood pressure to rise. The Black Blood grants the victim enhanced physical attributes, such as strength, speed and endurance. As a part of the biology becoming more akin to a Demon's.

The victim's healing also becomes much faster. Being capable of healing broken bones in mere hours or days, as opposed to months. While small cutd and bruises heal almost instantly, within a few short seconds. The regenerative qualities of the Black Blood do not allow the regeneration of limbs, until it reaches a high infection rate. When the infection rate does become high, the victim's body can heal almost any limb and organ within a few short seconds.

It was used to create every Maken, and most of them are also capable of manipulating the Black Blood. The infected beings can also manipulate it with proper trainning. The combat potential of the Black Blood mainly allows for the user to mold weaponry using their own blood, and solidify it. However, it is almost impossible for someone to control the Black Blood properly without someone to guide them. Alone, it could take weeks, if not months, to achieve the simplest form of control over it. And years to fully master it. The Black Blood, when solidifies, is a great defense, being incredibly durable, and almost unbreakable.

Due to the Black Blood being inert Demon particles, they lack energy, any kind. As such, they are an empty vessel that can be fueled with Magic Energy. Doing so changes the property of the Black Blood into a more energy-like construct, allowing it to be used in a manner similar to manipulating raw magic energy. As such, the magic energy-enhanced Black Blood can be fired as beams, that pierce through solid matter with ease, to orbs that explode upon impact. This is however, an advance skill, and is only possible for those who have mastered their Black Blood.

The Black Blood is akin to a parasite. Once the infection reaches a critical point, it will violately try and fully infect the victim, and turn them into a Demon in appearance. The appearance of the victim is coated by the Black Blood and changes heavily, barely becoming recognizable as a human, and lose control of their bodies as well, becoming fueled by pure instinct, just like Maken are. Once that occurs, the victim gains an enormous boost in physical strength, speed, durability and endurance.

According to Azazel, the Black Blood can be stimulated by the victim's emotional state, which can benefit or suppress the infection rate. Strong emotions such as rage, hatred, determination, courage and excitement can benefit to the Black Blood's infection rate, allowing it to infect the victim faster. While emotions such as hopelessness, depression, sadness or sorrow can supress the infection rate, making it take much longer. Feeling no emotions whatsoever can leave the Black Blood at a very slow infection rate, making it take most likely years to fully infect its victim.

The Black Blood's color is considered to be a "Black Layer", which limits the Black Blood's true power. However, Azazel claims there is no true way to unlock it, and remove the Black Layer, as such, the full extent of its powers remains unknown.

### **Chaos Break**

Being made to mimic the biology of Demons, and cause a slow transformation into one, when a user is under extreme emotion, most commonly the likes of rage, hate or even determination and excitement, the Black Blood reacts to the extreme emotion violently. Said reaction causing a transformation to occur, quickening the infection, while at the same time turning the user into an almost perfect copy of a Demon. This transformation is referred to as**Chaos Break** (魔人化 (カオス・ブレイク),*Kaosu Bureiku, lit. Demonization*), by Azazel and others, and only applies to those that aren't 100% demonized by the Black Blood.

The transformation is always into a pitch black demon with uncontrollable nature, and fights using pure instinct. An enormous boost is also given, making the victim much more powerful than they were prior to transforming. However, once transformed, there is a high risk of the user's body failing, due to not properly adapting to the Black Blood, its sudden increase being too much for it to handle. In addition, there is a chance that a user may never turn back to normal if transformed for far too long.