Demon

**Demons** is a family of immortal beings that lack souls and the ability to feel positive emotions. Demons are classified under two categories: greater and lesser demons. Most demons live in a realm called the Underworld, but there are greater demons who live on Earth, disguising themselves as normal humans.

## Demonic Hierarchy

The Underworld follows a hierarchy system that defines the rank of all demonkind. Underworldlings are typically classified under one of five ranks — the Forgotten, Upper-level demons, lackeys and lesser demons, the latter obviously being a rank only for lesser demons. This hierarchy is a social hierarchy, but usually, Underworldlings are classified according to their power levels, because power translates to being respected, and lower ranking Underworldlings respect high ranking ones.

Forgotten demons are demons who are extremely powerful but do not usually reside in the Underworld. They exist in a separate plane, usually dormant until they're summoned.

Upper-level demons are powerful demons who either are born powerful or have climbed their way up the social ladder by either gaining physical or social power. They are hard to kill, requiring someone strong and skilled in battle to be vanquished.

Lackeys, as the name suggests, are demons who work for upper-level demons. They have little to no powers on their own they respect whichever demon they're working for, usually. They are easily vanquished by injuries such as being stabbed in the heart but are still more durable than normal humans.

Upper-level demons and lackeys are not extremely distinct categories, but are more of a spectrum. Several demons lie in the middle of the spectrum, neither being extremely powerful nor weak.

## Demon Physiology

Demons are filled with dark magic, sometimes called demonic magic, even though some demons do not possess any powers. However, this is the magic that fuels the powers of those that do. This demonic magic is different from the dark magic that witches may tap into.

Greater demons are those who have distinctive personalities, possess greater intelligence than lesser demons and have unique abilities of their own. Lesser demons are demons with no identity and low intellect. They tend to be classified as species due to their commonality. Most demons, greater or lesser, have black blood.

Some greater demons resemble human and have a humanoid shape. Others may have a bestial form or even a draconic appearance. They vary in size, with some being twice to thrice as large as a human and others having the same size as a typical human. Lesser demons are smaller than greater demons. They vary in shapes. Some may look like mutated canines, some look like mutated octopuses. There is a large variance in demon appearances.

Reproductive methods also vary between demons. Many lesser demons reproduce by laying eggs. Some undergo mitosis. Several greater demons reproduce like some humans do. Fertility differs among the demon population, with lesser demons generally being more fertile than greater demons.

## Ability to interbreed

Although all demons belong to a different kingdom than humans, some greater demons are able to interbreed with humans, producing a half-demon hybrid offspring. These half-demons, unlike pure-bred demons, possess souls and are able to feel all kinds of emotions. The initial introduction of the human gene into the demonic population, proceeded by dilution of human gene after breeding with pure-bred demons is most likely what gave rise to humanoid structures and a certain degree of genetic compatibility in the demon population. However, most of these half-demons are predominantly evil as there are little influences that can sway them to the side of good. In addition, demon blood is corrupting, thus the chances of a demon being not evil is quite low. The percentage of human gene in a half-demon hybrid may affect their sense of morality to a small extent.

## Powers and Abilities

Most demons are stronger and tougher than normal humans. Some greater demons have individual powers which include: throwing fireballs, throwing energy balls, teleportation, telepathy, energy waves etc.