Devils

In our quotidian world the word "devil" has a somewhat muddled definition. After all, in every day usage demons and devils seem to be the same thing, and if they're different there's no clear explanation as to how they differ. This goes even to the point that Satan, Dark Lord of the demons, is often referred to as The Devil. So, there's a lot of room for confusion. 

In the Infestissumam, however, the distinction is very clear and absolute. As I explain in my first book, The House on Blackstone Hill:

It is a world of devils, too, but please note, Dear Friend, that demons and devils are not at all the same things. Demons are fallen angels, imbued with massive supernatural powers, whereas devils are twisted little creatures the demons themselves have made to further their goals, having taken them from creation. Demons cannot create any new life, they can only pervert what already exists and use it for their own evil purposes. This is what devils are, horrific beasts twisted and turned by the wicked power of a demon into a supernatural, nearly immortal monster, ever bent on death and destruction. No two devils are alike and come in as many different shapes and sizes as the twisted imagination of their masters can conceive. 

Devils are created in one of three ways. They are either a living human (or several humans joined together) that have been taken by the demons to the Void and tortured over many centuries, their bodies twisted and broken, pieces rearranged and removed, a creature sometimes created out of many tormented humans smashed together; or they are grown in the womb of a woman who was killed just as she was filled by a man's seed. 

Or, they are...well, just read the short story Danse Macabre. That explains it better.

Since they cannot create new life the demons need to corrupt and pervert life that already exists. There is no devil template since each one is a unique creation from the foul mind of the demon that created it. 

Regardless of whichever method a demon chooses, what they create are these wretched, hate-filled little monsters that are intent on maiming, killing, and torturing humans for the sheer pleasure and joy of it. Some of the most infamous unsolved murders, some of the most famous missing persons cases, were just devils doing what they do best: Being evil and harming people. 

Some of the art work above is by Austen Mengler, a talented artist who seems to have a connection to the Atrocissimus somehow. I should reach out to him about that, but you should definitely check out his work here.