§_$°•__World with Demons__•°$_§

One ordinary day, it was almost evening, when suddenly a black portal appeared from the sky, and unknown creatures emerged from it... They quickly destroyed half the village and even desecrated the clergy and sacred sites... They desecrated it so much that even baptized people felt terribly ill, and all living creatures burned and not a blade of grass grew... But a white light, appearing out of nowhere like the portal, destroyed it, and the demons scattered across the earth, leaving almost no trace... A faintly glowing book with golden letters fell from the portal, reading: "The Expulsion of the Wicked into the Halls of Hell." People made numerous copies of these books and eventually created a new "cult"—the Inquisitors.

When demons entered the human world, the Middle Ages began and this era continues. The government gives a lot of money to the churches so that the churches can train inquisitors and kill demons, protecting people. People greatly fear and despise demons, and anyone who tells of seeing a demon will receive a reward, and anyone who brings the demon directly to the inquisitors will receive double the price. At night there are usually no people, unless it's inquisitors and people who don't care about their lives - homeless people or drunks from closing customs.

"Chardening the soil" can only be performed by a demon of the highest dynasty or the head of the demons. Hardened soil always appears scorched, as if it had recently been burned, but despite this, nothing will grow on it again unless a purification ritual is performed. This is very difficult and drains a great deal of life force. This soil will constantly burn and harden everything sacred that comes into contact with it. Clergy and baptized people will feel weakness, indignation, nausea, and dizziness. If they remain there for more than an hour, they will lose consciousness from the loss of life force and ultimately die within 10 minutes.

The hardening and curse of holy places are two different things. Hardening of the soil simply deprives holy objects and churches of their power. Cursing and necrosis of holy places, however, transform holy places into their absolute opposite: they become impure and give life force to demons, while simultaneously drawing all remaining power from beneath the holy ground, deadening it to a depth of almost two kilometers.

Inquisitors are specially trained people who are taught in the church from the age of 4, with only one ideology hammered into their little heads: "demons are evil that have entered our world, and we must destroy them!" Each church has a teacher-inquisitor who cruelly and coldly trains future inquisitors. Inquisitors carry silver knives, crossbows with silver bolts, holy water, prayer books, and silver chains on their belts. Each inquisitor also has a small pendant around their neck containing an unknown substance that glows faintly when a demon approaches. Both men and women can become inquisitors. Inquisitors also don't interrogate people unless they are under suspicion, and they won't beat or kill them without compelling reasons. A compelling reason is any serious sign of demonic activity, and if a person coincides with just one demonic holiday, the inquisitors will scrutinize them as closely as possible. If it turns out to be simply an illness or something genetic, the inquisitors will release the person.

Demons are creatures that typically reside in dark places, desecrated churches, "dead forests," and the demon world. But some demons roam among humans, waiting until nightfall to hunt and sate their hunger. Demons are divided into three dynasties: the Lesser Demon Dynasty, the Middle Demon Dynasty, and the Supreme Demon Dynasty. There is also a separate fourth dynasty—the head of the demons, and there are three of them, but the eldest is the most important of the three.

The lesser dynasty of demons are the weakest. They are easily killed with holy water, crosses, weakened by prayers, and stopped by icons. These demons have basic abilities: •Increased physical strength. •Elevated body temperature. •Hot breath. •Only one pair of horns. •They can take on human form, but they cannot hide their horns, although they often hide them behind their hair. They also have a weakness to holy silver and lose their abilities upon prolonged contact with silver.

The Middle Dynasty of Demons are demons of average or slightly above average strength and are more dangerous to humans. They are almost insensitive to holy water, icons and prayers, but holy silver can still weaken them, but they can only be killed with a spell that weakens it and only then by using holy objects. In addition to the basic abilities of the Junior Dynasty Demons, the Middle Dynasty Demons have the following abilities: •Complete transformation into beautiful people. •Turning into a shadow at night. •Very fast and agile. •There may be 2 to 3 pairs of horns. •There is one pair of wings or small wings on the demon tail.

The Supreme Demon Dynasty are the most powerful demons (after the Demon Lord). They cannot be killed or weakened by holy objects or prayers, only by special, even complex, rituals that must be performed by as many as five inquisitors. In addition to the abilities of the average demon dynasty, higher demons can: •Mind control. •"Hardening" of the soil. •Curse of holy places and “death” of holy powers. •Telepathy. •Sucking the strength out of living beings. •These demons may have a large number of horns and wings, and may also have symbols on their skin that cause a slight itching pain.

The demon chapter consists of three demons - two younger twin brothers and one older brother - the most important one. The younger brothers' names are Phil and Lofin. The elder brother's name is Lomus. Rumor has it that if these three names are spoken, the apocalypse will begin, for they will come and no one will save humanity. But their names must be spoken at the same time—during the blood moon, exactly at the full moon, while standing on the first hardened soil. Which, of course, is nearly impossible, since according to sources, this moon appears only once every 100 years... Or maybe more... Unfortunately, no one knows. By nature, the two twins are quite cruel and only want to have fun and with great pleasure observe the torment of people through special artifacts. The older brother, however, is calmer in nature and thinks more about power, how to enter the human world without losing his strength, and how to rid himself of all difficulties in the form of holy gifts for people from above. He often communicates with the highest dynasty of demons, but only with his close associates, who are very few in number, but whom he has endowed with a powerful gift—the ability to see the future for the next 50 years and see the past completely.

Half-breeds are a faction between demons and humans. They have the most pronounced human traits, but after realizing their powers, they can resemble demons. Half-breeds are immune to holy objects and prayers, and they also tolerate the symptoms of being in cursed lands much better. They are wary of both demons and inquisitors, because demons do not consider them as their own and seek to kill them, and inquisitors still consider them to be evil spirits and for this reason also seek to kill them, so half-breeds hide their power and do not even come close to mentioning who they really are, trying NOT to be in the center of attention, but to be as inconspicuous and quiet as possible, while they do not offer anything and do not tell little-known people about themselves. Half-breeds have very few abilities: •Increased physical strength • Rarely small horns •Minor telepathic ability

Demons can curse a person or their territory in various ways. The most harmless is a person's illness or disease. The most terrible is the death of an entire village, the death of livestock, or the poisoning of the soil. Curses can be cast by demons of the middle dynasty and above. But the Lesser Demon Dynasty doesn't have a curse, but rather a so-called conspiracy. If a Lesser Demon speaks to a person for a long time, there's a chance the person's consciousness will be clouded and they will commit murder with their own hands. However, when the moment of execution arrives, the person will regain control of their body, remembering everything they've done.

Gifts of the saints are powers from heaven that, in some cases, aid people, such as the rupture of a demon's first portal with a powerful blast of light, or the appearance of a book for exorcising a demon. Neither humans nor demons (except the head of the demons) know what the "holy guardians of heaven" look like. These "holy guardians of the heavens" help people rarely, but only when they are most needed. Their common symbol—usually left on the ground or on artifacts that appear from the heavens—looks like a multitude of wings and a spear with a sharp tip in the middle. As is known from books and chronicles, these "holy guardians of the heavens" maintain order throughout the world, from their world to the human world and the demon world. They prevent demons from taking over the human world, but they do not exterminate them entirely, for some reason unknown to both humans and demons. Contact with the "holy guardians of the heavens" was only possible once—through a demon close to the head of the demons, but the connection lasted no more than two minutes, after which the demon died.

Ascended are children who have received a sign from above. These children are born with snow-white hair flecked with gold. Such children are so rare in the world that one child blessed is equivalent to one in 1,000,000 people. These children are immune to demonic corruption from birth and are able to move freely through defiled lands. As they grow older, Ascended gain increased strength, endurance, and speed. Their blood can also be used to create light steel. This requires white iron and the blood itself. After soaking the iron in blood, it must be exposed to light for eight hours. Weapons made from this steel inflict serious wounds on demons and can even kill greater demons if enchanted with a sacred book. Ascended are treasured like the apple of an eye, and despite being stronger than humans, they have many drawbacks—they don't live past 37 years of age. The Ascended always die young because the demons always want to kill them, and the light that was born in them slowly burns them from the inside, bringing more and more pain with each passing year.

Roumins are angels of the celestial order and bearers of celestial light. History has mentioned them only two or three times. Roumins reside in the celestial realms, as can be learned from the holy book. They are like soldiers, neither lower nor higher powers of celestial light, maintaining a subtle connection between the three worlds, including the human and demonic realms. Roumins appear as humans with long white hair that flutters even when there's no wind, and light falls on their porcelain faces even in the darkness around them. Their eyes are always covered with a woven bandage, gleaming like a honeycomb. Their backs, heads, and heels have wings, broken in one section, but the feathers appear delicate and beautiful. Despite their apparent delicacy, Roumins can use these wings to rip metal, defend themselves from numerous weapons by using them as a shield without damaging their wings. They can launch feathers that fly like sharp discs, and as soon as they hit the ground, the feathers dissolve, and in their place appear sacred flowers—Roumti, from the word "Roum"—the Roumins themselves. They are completely naked except for a mask and a tight black top covering their chest and groin; everything else is exposed. They walk barefoot, but their steps barely touch the ground, as Roumins use their wings even when walking. Their limbs have black eyes that look in the direction Roumin itself is "looking." Their legs, from the tips of their heels to their pelvis, are covered with symbols glowing in gold, with the help of which they can create magical light throwing blades.

Roamty are flowers created by the feathers of Roamins. These are extremely rare flowers, as Roamins rarely descend to earth. Roamty are used to create potions against demonic corruption and medicinal concoctions, as they cure even the most incurable diseases. These flowers are very fragile and live only in sunlight; as soon as the sun sets, the flower dies, leaving behind a small puddle of water. Roamty also dislikes the cold, although they can survive in the cold for more than 2-3 hours, but then they simply die and turn into water, which does not freeze even in very low temperatures. These flowers are sacred, and even holidays are held in honor of the Roamty, featuring many entertainments and venerations for this flower and the 'holy guardians of the heavens.' This flower looks like a small beam of sunlight on a thin black stem with black leaves.