Holy See

The **Holy See** is a religious organization that is both the central force behind the 'Covenant of the One God' religion, as well as an army serving under Kaz.

## Background

After Xeren's death, a group rose up around the belief that he had been betrayed by the Powers, quickly gaining supporters. They were swiftly forgotten about, though the cult returned alongside many demons after the great war.

## Beliefs

The Covenant of the One God believes that the Powers are violent and corrupt, serving their own interests and amusing themselves with the suffering of mortals. They worship Xeren and see his son, Kaz, as a messiah and proof of Xeren's miracles. The majority of the Holy See's followers are demons or other outsiders, who feel dejected by society.

## Role in Series

"Bare Trees"
A group of demons and their commander, Oshibka, find the protagonists in the trees near Silivia and decide to threaten them upon meeting, stating that they intend to feed the teenagers to the demon Mulciber.

## Members

### Priest Brotherhood

Priests who enforce propaganda, led by Pope Shiva, a general in Kaz' army.

#### Pope Shiva

A cambion wearing a gold ensemble with red fabric, somewhere between robes and ornate armor, as well as a mask that only reveals his white hair, styled into a mohawk. It can be assumed that Pope Shiva possesses great power.

### Demon Dragoon Unit

Though the generic members are small tieflings and demons with monstrous and effective armor designs that obscures their identities completely, who wield lances and ride either armored. red chicaro or armored horses, there are a select few commanders with great power.

Due to being incredibly powerful cambion, they possess transformations in line with their demonic heritage, despite being relatively androgynous, "pretty" men due to their angelic origins.

#### Volkov

The leader of the unit, Volkov is also known as a sort of "god of battle" due to his legendary status among warriors. Wields no shield, and a scythe in the image of the one wielded by Charon and later Iblis. When on horseback, the scythe's blade is flipped so that it's more of a glaive. His armor is relatively undamaged due to his battle prowess, with a large spiked mantle around the neck and many spikes all around the body. Small spikes around the forehead as well, sort of mimicking a crown. Cambion transformation is relatively similar to his ordinary form, involving some sort of fusion with the armor and the transformation of the scythe into its true form - A sword that is also, in some way, connected to him. Underneath the helmet, Volkov has been seen to have long black hair and unnaturally bright blue eyes, though his face itself remains unseen.

Volkov does not care for battle for the sake of it, nor does he partake in the spoils of battle and the enjoyment of violence like the men he commands do. He is actually overall distant from his unit, though incredibly devout when it comes to the Holy See itself.

#### Oshibka

An enigmatic commander, Oshibka's appearance is just as mysterious as he is. Rarely speaking, Oshibka also opts to wear his armor at all times, completely covering his body. It's sleek, like a bug's shell, and a metallic green. There doesn't seem to be any eyehole. Like most of the soldiers, Oshibka uses a lance and a small, round shield. Transforms into a strange creature akin to a whale with legs with a massive sharp-toothed mouth.

#### Nova

A Halan gentleman in red armor befitting a knight without any strange design elements. His hair is long, though often tied in a samurai's topknot. Nova transforms into a horned creature with a turtle shell and four arms. Wields a shortsword alongside a lance.

#### Reznor

Calm and composed, Reznor is possibly the most human-like member of the unit, at least in emotion. His eyes are white, as he is completely blind, though he can see through eyes that open on his palms. Wears armor akin to a dead ram, with horns and bones on it and tattered brown fabric. Wields a crossbow alongside his lance. Does not wear gloves, for he needs to see. Transforms into a spindly, skeletal ram creature with too many arms that can turn his head 360 degrees and climb on near any surface. Has two spindly legs that end in spikes when in this form, useless compared to his many powerful arms.

### Cacodemon Unit

A simple unit of generic, violent demon soldiers led by two cambion commanders.

#### Czernobog

Commander of the ship known as the Lernean Hydra, as well as the Cacodemon Unit. Turns into a dragon with corundum crystals on his body. Wears silver dragon armor in human form. Wields a shield-blade combination weapon. Has strange, reptile eyes. Wingless, 600cm from head to tail, and three headed. Despite his large size, he is very weak underneath his crystal scales.

#### Dharma

Dharma is less refined than other commanders, more like his soldiers. Dharma wears a brass suit of armor based around a deep sea anglerfish, and his transformation is more or less one of those in a design inspired by the "creature from the black lagoon."  Wields a giant fishhook-axe weapon.