Infernal Energy

### Abilities

Primordial force of [Desire] & [Darkness] wielded by those of infernal origins and/or affiliations.

**Infernal Energy** is the primordial power of [Darkness] and [Desire] wielded by infernal entities or those affiliated with infernal beings. In Netherworld's scientific studies, it's called by the native name **Daemonus**.

## Summary

Infernal energy is the primordial and supernatural energy that embodies [Darkness] and [Desire], created by Lucifer using his own celestial energy after transforming it through the systems of Apatheia. This is because after the demons were banished into Hell, their celestial energy was stripped away alongside their eyes and wings by Michael as a grim reminder for their crime, and as such, Lucifer had to create an alternate type of energy for his followers to wield.

In order to lessen his own burden, Lucifer imbued the power to transform celestial energy into infernal energy into the demons. When the cardinal devils were created, the demons then taught them the transformation method, though only a few of them were able to truly master this power.

Since then, infernal energy has been running in the veins of all infernal entities, from the cardinal devils and devils, to the numerous daemon and demonic beasts such as imps or hellhounds. Those who make familiar contracts or receive blessings from infernal entities are also endowed with infernal energy, as shown with witches.

## Appearance

When manifested as raw energy to the non-celestial eyes, infernal energy appears as a black light with kaleidoscopic flares surrounding the caster's body, which despite being beautiful, is physically and mentally painful just to gaze upon without proper protection. When not in energy form, it manifests as a viscous ink-like liquid that "taints reality just by existing".

## Characteristics

Infernal energy is a mysterious energy of primal origins, having been created by Lucifer by corrupting and transforming celestial energy with the systems of Apatheia. As such, many of its true powers and potential are only known by Lucifer and the demons, most of which have either died in the Great War or currently sealed in Hell, and the free ones refuse to speak any else about it. As a result, many devils and daemon had dedicated their whole life to researching the true nature of this mysterious energy.

In order to use infernal energy, an infernal must first acquire [Imagination] - the power to create - and good senses. In addition, an infernal's emotions and desires are important when it comes to controlling infernal energy, as the more intense an emotion or a desire becomes, the more powerful one's infernal energy will evolve itself into.

For the most parts, the amount of infernal energy a natural-born infernal possesses is directly tied to their heritage, as pureblood devils and daemon often - but not always - have a significantly greater amount of infernal energy than the average reincarnated devils and/or transformed daemon. As such, it's rare for most purebloods to train in using their infernal energy. Most notably, descendants of the Four Great Satans - whether they are devils, daemon, or half-infernals - are always born with infernal energy far superior than the average pureblood, with the Lucifer Clan being the most powerful pureblood house in terms of demonic power.

Although it is natural for infernal energy to manifest in natural-born infernals since birth, there are rare cases when pureblood devils are born unable to actively use their infernal energy or having an extremely low amount of infernal energy, something most doctors deducted to be the result of the constant incest and inbreeding between the pureblood families. And due to the pride of the Netherworld's upper echelon, High-class devils look down on them, even if they are their own family members, and would often send them into social exiles from a young age.

Many pureblood houses possess their own unique hereditary power called **Housecarl** (血継限界ハスカール, *Hasukāru*) which no other devils outside their respective bloodline are able to use. Due to the marriages between the nobility, children born from the union of different devil houses can manifest the powers of either one of their parents, though in some rare cases, their parents' respective Housecarls will mutate and combine into a new power.

## Other Usages

### Magecraft

**Magecraft** (魔術, *Majutsu*) is the archmage system created by Merlin based on the nature of infernal energy of the devils. Considered a miracle of its own right, it allows magicians to perform magic without an innate magic core or blessings from divinities through the reenactment of pre-existing phenomena, bringing about what is possible through science with supernatural means. As such, the limits of magecraft have changed with time, as science evolved and feats deemed "magical" in the past now possible through science.

There exists no impossibility for modern magecraft within the rules of the world and limits of human intellect; there are limitations, however, where it only appears that something is possible. As such, master magicians are capable of implementing their scientific knowledge into manipulating the infernal energy existing in the universe, transforming their magic style into a variety of forms that allow them to mimic the magic systems of various pantheons and esoteric philosophies.

### Witchcraft

**Witchcraft** (悪魔の教えウィッチクラフト, *U~itchikurafuto*), also called **Teachings of the Devil**, is the special innate magic possessed by witches and other demon contractors. Unlike popular belief, it isn't a magic system or a type of sorcery, but rather a passive trait imprinted upon a witch's soul by their demonic patron, which allows them to generate their own infernal energy by constantly absorbing the natural life energy of their surroundings and its inhabitants, thus granting them a near-limitless amount of energy.

It does have magical properties, however, as witchcraft allows witches to create powerful magical phenomena on-par with Thaumaturgy or the magical capabilities of the Magic Gods. However, due to their malevolent nature, their magic tends to lean toward the darker and demonic side of nature, ranging from nation-leveling natural disasters to unbreakable hexes and curses. The *miasma* created from their demonic spells are incredibly potent and cannot be purified with ordinary methods. As a result, witches are often considered antithesis to Mother Earth Goddesses.

Their descendants, the wizards and hedgewitches, also possess their own version of witchcraft, though due to their diluted blood and disconnection to their witch ancestors' patrons, their demonic taint has mostly vanished yet the power remains, especially in the case of the former. As such, the innate magic of wizards, while obviously powerful, is heavily corruptible by dark magic, resulting in their bans in nearly all wizarding communities across the world.

## Trivia

* In the demonic tongue, "Daemonus" means "demonic energy/power".
* Although it's called antithesis, for many angels, fallen angels, and demons, infernal energy is considered a "special" form/variation of celestial energy, implying that - while difficult - can be created by celestials.
* To those sensitive to supernatural energy, demonic power smells like "rich wine that makes the tongue flowered upon touch, one's body heat during sexual intercourse, and the metallic taste of blood from a stab in the back".