Demon

Demons are a class of lifeform in the setting of Reflection. They vary wildly in shape, size, and intelligence, but are generally unified by a shared connection to otherworldly and esoteric powers. While the most well-known Demons originate from the Coda, not all Demons are Codan in origin.

## Characteristics

### Definition

The specifics of the term "Demon" are still not fully understood. Generally, it seems to refer to a broad class of lifeforms that are summoned from a specific otherworldly place. Within the Cycle, most Demons are "one-Element creatures", meaning their Elemental composition only has one Element in dominance. However, some rare Demons are known to have two, three, or even four Elements in their composition.

### Nature

To exist as they do within the Cycle, a Demon has to be summoned. There are multiple methods of summoning, but the core mechanic remains the same throughout. The summoning process involves drawing a Demon's presence into the world and solidifying it with both an idea and a physical body with which to base its identity around. Lesser Demons can be summoned with ideas as simple as a single word or phrase, but highly complex Demons such as Strangers require hours of information input and base their identities on highly advanced and nuanced concepts. Some Demons remember their lives before summoning, but others do not.

#### Codan Demons

Demons originating from the Coda have a handful of unique qualities. All Codan Demons have a composition consisting of one of the six "Demonic Elements". Each Demonic Element is paired with an "antithetical" Element that is harmful to the Demon's elemental composition if that element enters their body in large amounts. Additionally, nearly all Codan Demons are aligned with one of the six Demonic Courts, which essentially act as factions within the hierarchy of the Coda. Sapient or not, Codan Demons generally express a great amount of loyalty to the elites of their Court of origin. Codan Demons are directly created by the Archdemons of their Courts.

Directly viewing, talking to, or otherwise interacting with a Codan Demon nearly always causes Burn. Many Codan Demons are difficult to fully conceptualize when percieved outside of the Coda.

#### Non-Codan Demons

While less extensively studied, the existence of Demons originating from places other than the Coda is known. The most well-known among non-Codan Demons are those summoned by the God of Humanity, many of whom still reside in the woods of Cialla. Demons of this variety do not cause Burn when interacted with. However, other non-Codan (or at least non-Court aligned) Demons do cause Burn.

The research of OPIA's ESP Research and Development team regarding the Demonic Elements speaks out against using Echo Weapons armed with Demonic Elements against non-Codan Demons, implying that non-Codan Demons, while being one-Element creatures, are not composed of the same Elements as Codan Demons, or at least not in all cases.

## Known Demon Types

### Court of Instrumentality

#### Pollution Apocalypse Demon

This is a large demon with a somewhat humanoid body with four arms. It wears rusted metal pauldrons and has a decayed brass instrument for a head. It is accompanied by a translucent multicolored smoke with unknown properties. Its physical and capabilities are unknown. It appeared as a hallucination to Ace Galatine and Melli Luxity, offering them fame in order to bait them into being possessed.

#### Angelic Bird Demon

These medium sized Demons make usage of Flame as a kind of fuel. They spend collected Flame in short bursts to move at incredibly fast speeds, enough to become invisible to the untrained eye. They have thin, hollow bodies made of a brittle black material. Their heads are large golden ovular shapes with a small angelic statue jutting out from the front. These Demons have intelligence and behavioral patterns akin to those of birds on the surface, and mostly act autonomously unless controlled by a high-ranking Demon of Instrumentality.

### Court of Logic

#### Logic Colossus

These massive Demons possess incredible physical strength and durability. However, their most important quality is their extremely powerful reality manipulation that puts them on the level of a master-level ESPer. It is unknown if this power is specifically ESP, True Magic, or something else. Within the Coda, these Demons can often be found on multiple layers, resting completely motionless. On the second layer, they are prevalent in large numbers and manage the various machinery keeping the layer functioning.

### Court of Beasts

#### Junkers

Junker Demons are a class of extremely powerful Demons with physical strength approaching that of highly powerful Demons such as Strangers. Despite their overwhelming power, Junkers are usually extremely passive and spend the vast majority of their time collecting refuse within the Coda, feeding off of it and adding it to large piles. However, if a Junker or their collection is at all disturbed, they immediately enter a nearly unbreakable murderous rage, brutally attacking anything in the immediate vicinity.

### Court of Death

#### Small Knight Demon

These humanoid and human-sized Demons act as the "foot soldiers" for the legions of the Court of Death. Their bodies consist of pitch-black humanoid figures with white eyes covered in overgrown golden armor. Their exact physical capabilites are unspecified but they do not seem to be particularly strong.

#### Large Knight Demon

These Demons also act as frontline soldiers for the armies of Death, usually accompanying squadrons of smaller knights alone or in pairs. They take the form of hulking suits of overgrown armor with a single, glowing red eye.

### Unknown Court/Non-Codan

#### Large Robotic Skeleton Demon

This Demon's body consists of a large robotic mainframe with wires connecting to a skeletal head. At least two of this variety of this Demon are known to exist, meaning it is not a unique demon. When outside the Coda, it has a black and purple coloration with difficult to make out features. Within the Coda, it reveals itself to actually be primarily cream-colored, with mysterious writing on its large, jutting pauldrons.

#### Humanoid Ashlike Demon

These Demons have a humanoid body with various large cracks. They have glowing red eyes and often appear in large groups of many Demons similar to it.

#### Statue Demon

This large Demon takes the form of a massive humanoid statue made of a marble-like material, although it does not have a head. It has the alchemical symbol for fire carved into its neck and an unknown symbol depicting six rectangular shapes connected by straight lines carved onto its chest. Right below its neck is a smaller, intact marble statue of a human man holding a constantly alight brazier on his back. This Demon is extremely durable and heavy. Given the circumstances of its appearance, it is likely aligned with either the Court of Logic or the Court of Compulsion, but an official alignment has not been confirmed.

#### Red, Yellow, and Blue

This triad of non-Codan Demons were summoned by the God of Humanity into Cialla, and have guarded the border between Cialla and Goldenrod ever since. All three of the Demons are covered by a deep blue cloth above their bodies as well as a white mask with flowing blue symbols painted on it. Additionally, they each only have one draconic eye. Their other eye socket is empty and leaking an unknown black liquid. Two of the three have an additional unique body part - one has a jagged blue horn and another has a set of navy blue feathers.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Take Your Time
2. ↑ Lost Blade
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Superhero
4. ↑ Strong Enough
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beachside Burn
6. ↑ Night Ride
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Above and Below
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chasing Ghosts
9. ↑ Neon Sparks
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colt Classic
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 For Tomorrow
12. ↑ Tumbling Down
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 For Today