The Mechanical Era

"From what I have managed to gather from the texts, a lot of things that we knew about the demons were... slightly incorrect, to say the least," Jonus replied.

"Like what?" Rose questions.

"Well, for example, the origins of the demons.  Although they do appear to come from a different world, they come from within our own universe, like those creatures, I mentioned."

"Really?"

"Yes. When one usually thinks of demons, one assumes them to be a sort of evil entity, spreading across many worlds, and killing whatever it sees. However, after reading the texts, this may not be the case.

I think it is more helpful to think of them as invasive species, that migrate across the land to settle in new areas and increase their population. As they migrate, they displace and kill many of the native wildlife that had been there for millennia.

It has been recorded they have been doing this across hundreds of worlds, colonizing and taking them over, and continued expanding further and further. Eden is just their next target." Jonus explains.

"That is quite scary, yet very intriguing. Can you tell me more about what you have found about them?" she asked politely.

"Certainly, your imperial majesty. These demons can be categorized as... intelligent creatures, like us. However, their way of thinking appears to be different from humans.

The texts implicitly mention a hierarchy that is structured across demonkind, just like the one we have. Where a demon would be placed across this hierarchy, depends on its mana-crystal's color, and the size of the crystal it possesses.

Though there was no exact order, I suspect white was at the bottom, with the next being green, then blue. Above blue, was yellow, and above yellow, was violet. In terms of the size, bigger appears to be better. This may be due to larger mana crystals, holding more mana inside them.

This hierarchy is absolute. Demons that are lower in the hierarchy, are ordered around by another demon above the hierarchy."

"Uh-huh. I see. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. There is. I also have information that confirms a few theories and even explains how they might work. One of which, is the way they communicate. The current scientific consensus is that demons can communicate through long distances without needing to speak.

This theory came about a few millennia ago. Humans, who have broke free from the demon's will, while having a mana crystal on their heads, reported that they heard something speak to them, in their heads.

Though we didn't have a definitive answer as to how it works, we knew that they were able to speak through long distances, somehow."

Jonus coughed twice, before continuing.

"From the text, I have managed to gather the following information. The demons, using their mana crystals, send out waves. Waves in which are picked up by other demons.

These waves contain information. This information is then translated into runes, the language they speak, and it is how they manage to communicate with each other."

"I see. Did you manage to find any... weaknesses that we may be able to exploit?"

"Well, I am not sure about if it can be exploited easily, but I know a weakness."

"That does not matter. Please brief me on what you know."

"Very well, your imperial majesty. Though the demons may be able to communicate with each other through long distances, in terms of memory, they are quite lacking.

Due to their biology, most demons rely on the creatures that they possess, to remember certain things.

Although there are a few powerful demons in the hierarchy that can memorize information, those creatures often have to possess a large creature, which then hides while the smaller demons do its bidding." Jonus explained.

"Fascinating... So would that mean that if we manage to kill the demons that do control the smaller minions, their entire operations can fall apart?"

"Yes, your imperial majesty. Although, I think we would have a hard time doing so, because of the specifics of our situation."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Well, due to the unique nature of human intelligence, smaller demons can now have the same abilities as those larger demons do. So their strategy has been more on acquiring more humans to use as intelligent vessels."

"Then why may I ask, do a lot of them seem to kill people? Won't that be counter-productive?"

"That is because of resistance."

"Resistance?"

"Yes. In the text, it is implied that the pool of humans that a demon can possess has shrunk, which is why they mostly kill every human that they see.

However, they have managed to grow a sort of detection system, where they can identify any humans that they can take control. Those are the ones that demons go after." Jonus explained.

"Very well then. Thank you for your explanation. Now, is that all?" Rose asked.

"No, your majesty. I still have a lot more information I have at hand."

"I see. Well, unfortunately, I do not have the time today to listen to all of that. Should we continue another time?"

"Very well, your imperial majesty. However, there is one more thing I wanted to inform you. It is the whole reason I sent you a letter, to arrange this in the first place."

"I see. Carry on then. But please, make it short." Rose requested.

"Very well, your imperial majesty. When we were in the abandoned fortress, the creature told me a story of their world.

They told us that the demons have made these structures, like the fortress, to work on creating a portal that allows them to open up a permanent portal. Through which, large swaths of demons come through to fully colonize their world.

They open up this portal by making a large, detailed runic circle, to perform the opening of the portal. Each runic circle, for a different world, is different, at least according to the texts.

Jonus takes a deep breath.

"In the fortress. We managed to find a large runic circle on the wall made of calk. One which was nearly complete.

It is what I believe, your majesty, that the demons are on their way. They are about to open a portal that will stay open forever. One in which they will use to bring as many of them as they can, to conquer our world!" Jonus claimed.

Rose sat there in silence, processing what she had just heard. After she is done, she takes a deep breath and gives Jonus a command.

"I see. Thank you, Mr. Jonus Hull. You may now leave the room. Oh, and please make sure to present this knowledge to the other demonologists. I want to hear what they think as well."

"As you wish, your imperial majesty."

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