Species

Just like other forms of life, demons are also divided into many types, and there exists a clear hierarchy of ranks. However, because the types of demons are simply too numerous and too chaotic, and because many demons are extremely mysterious—with human understanding of them being very, very minimal—the classification of demons is actually not rigorous. There may even be many errors and omissions within it.

In short, regarding demons, the Bureau currently divides them into three states: the Material State, the Energy State, and the Mental State.

Material State demons possess their own physical entities and rely on their physical bodies to fight, possessing the most intuitive destructive power.

Energy State demons do not have a fixed form; compared to the Material State, they are more ever-changing and often possess all sorts of bizarre abilities.

Mental State demons completely lack a body according to human definition. They roam within the spiritual world, and their most adept methods are occupying the existence of others, destroying their consciousness, or modifying memories. The destructive power of this type of demon might not be as intuitive, but sometimes their danger level is instead the highest.

In addition to the simple and crude classification of types, the Bureau has also integrated materials from past eras as well as various records from the current era to divide demons into numerous ranks.

First is the weakest, the ‘Lesser Demon’. This type of demon is referred to as a “demon that is not a demon” because they are often very weak. Just like their name implies, they belong to the very low-quality grade among demons. For example, most Familiars are basically at the Lesser Demon rank; they possess a portion of a demon’s power, yet cannot compare to a true demon.

Above Lesser Demons are the true Demon Ranks. The Demon Rank is further divided into three levels: Lower, Middle, and Upper—namely, Lower-rank Demons, Middle-rank Demons, and Upper-rank Demons.

Although they are all of the Demon Rank, the strength gap between these three is extremely large. One Upper-rank Demon can easily massacre dozens of Middle-rank Demons, while one Middle-rank Demon can easily eliminate even more Lower-rank Demons! However, even so, they are all still called the Demon Rank.

This is because above the Demon Rank is the Lord Rank. The biggest difference between a Lord Demon and other demons is the ability to construct a “Domain.” They can completely erode and corrupt an area, continuously creating large numbers of lower-ranked demons!

Furthermore, among Upper-rank Demons, there are some who, for various reasons, have obtained even more powerful abilities, to the point that their strength far exceeds that of Upper-rank Demons, yet they do not possess the ability to construct a “Domain.” Therefore, this portion of demons situated between the Upper-rank and the Lord-rank is referred to as the ‘Elite Rank’.

Similarly, the rank above Lord Demon is the Demon King Rank. However, some Lord Demons have received “gifts” from a Demon King and possess a portion of a Demon King’s authority; thus, their power also far exceeds other Lords. Consequently, this portion of demons is referred to as the ‘Apostle Rank’.

Lesser, Lower, Middle, Upper, Elite, Lord, Apostle, Demon King.

This is the Bureau’s hierarchy for demon ranks, but a Demon King is actually far from the limit of demons. According to the many traces and materials left behind from past eras, there clearly exist even higher-ranking demons above the Demon King. The disasters or even the destruction of many past eras were inextricably linked to these high-ranking existences!

However, that is not something current humans should consider. Presently, the highest-ranking demon the Bureau has come into contact with is the Demon King rank, and every single one of their descents brings devastating disaster to a city or even a country.

But such records are actually few and far between. At least for the many teams under the Special Bureau, the opponents they encounter are more often things like Demon Tamers; opportunities to fight true demons are actually not many, and they are basically all Lower or Middle-rank demons. This is because many teams can still handle Lower-rank demons on their own, and by working together, they can also eliminate Middle-rank demons. But an Upper-rank demon is not something one or two teams can eliminate casually.

As for the Lord Rank? That is enough to trigger a full-scale Disaster Alert.

Jiang Xun had once had contact with a truly high-ranking demon and was affected by it, which also led to him being extremely sensitive to the power of demons. Therefore, as they got closer, he quickly saw through the essence of the girl not far away.

But…

“A bit strange.”

The demonic power on the girl—its quality felt much higher than that of an Upper-rank demon, yet it was nowhere near as thick and obvious as an Upper-rank demon. The summary was that the quality of her power was very high, but the overall amount was relatively thin, giving off a feeling of being insufficient.

However, Jiang Xun did not relax in the slightest because of this. His body remained tense at all times, because what was in front of him was a Succubus!

Even among demons, Succubi belong to the most peculiar kind. “Succubus” is just a general term, and they possess far more varieties than other demons. Furthermore, the gap between them—from appearance to strength—can only be described as worlds apart.

From the ‘Lust-Eating Demon’, which is so weak it can only exist by attaching itself to others and can only drive its host to act by changing their desires; to the ‘Heart-Straying Demon’, which can easily cause one to lose themselves and offer everything to it; to the ‘Dominator Demon’, which can easily bewitch and control even Upper-rank demons…

Succubi possess an exceptionally wide range of categories. They can be seen within many of the ranks divided by the Bureau, and they are also demons that are relatively troublesome to deal with. Because although most Succubi do not excel in pure combat strength, their ability to manipulate the human heart and dominate desires is, many times, far more difficult to handle than pure combat ability.

For example, during the process of a battle, you are completely unclear whether what you are facing in the next second is the Succubus or the betrayal of a teammate. The most terrifying thing is that many times, when you think you have already won, you only then discover that you were the one being dominated all along…

In short, Jiang Xun did not really want to come into contact with a Succubus under conditions where he had no preparations whatsoever, let alone a Succubus radiating an Upper-rank aura.

He backed away slightly with vigilance, while simultaneously and without hesitation yanking down the nearby An Ye, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. Although the fall was painful, it also allowed him to temporarily break free from the Succubus’s influence.

Of course, this was mainly because the opposite party’s attention was not on the glasses-wearing youth at all. She moved past the dazed Old He and looked with great interest at the vigilant young man.

“Inside your body, there is a very sweet scent~”

The girl’s nose twitched in an adorable manner, as if she truly smelled something delicious. She couldn’t resist sticking out her pink tongue and lightly licking the corner of her lips. That fiery gaze also seemed to truly carry extremely high heat; under her gaze, Jiang Xun clearly felt his blood and aura boiling uncontrollably.

But the young man remained unmoved, only his brow furrowed deeper. Seeing the other party walking closer and closer, he immediately raised his hand to stop her: “Stop, I do not wish to have a conflict with you.”

“Oh?”

The girl actually stopped a few meters away. Hearing this, she said with a smile: “But I am a demon, and you—if I’m not mistaken—should be one who specifically handles existences like me, right?”

“To be accurate, we exist to handle factors that have already endangered humans and produced an impact on social stability.”

Jiang Xun’s expression showed no discernible change, but close observation would reveal that a layer of fine sweat had broken out on his forehead. However, his eyes remained clear as he corrected: “There are good and bad people; demons also have those that can be communicated with or even cooperated with. Therefore, in our regulations, there is no rule stating that we must eliminate one upon encounter.”

This truly wasn’t a lie.

In this world, there are many people utilizing the power of demons, but you absolutely cannot say that they are all bad people. Demons also possess many types and have different characteristics and personalities. Just as the young man said, demons that can be communicated with are by no means a small number, and demons that can be cooperated with are also not non-existent.

The Bureau is not some extreme organization. Using the power of demons to deal with demons is something that has been implemented since a long time ago.

So…

“I think we can talk.”