The so-called 'demons' are powerful entities that are neither real nor illusory, not bound by the laws of physics in the material world. Their very existence is a distortion of reality.
According to relevant research, demons exist within the Chaotic Abyss, the dark side of the universe, a pure energy world.
Demons can only enter the real universe under specific conditions, such as being summoned in a ritual, or when a rift from the Abyss appears somewhere. Even so, they cannot remain in the real universe for long.
If they must do so, they need to drag a part of the Chaotic Abyss into reality, overlaying a part of the real world, creating what is called the Demon World; otherwise, they must be bound to a host, which can be mechanical or a living being.
And the 'Great Demon' refers to the strongest among the demons.
The demons that bear this title are without exception the most terrifying enemies humanity faces. Find your next read at empire
Depending on their affiliation, the types of Great Demons that manifest can differ.
Very few people have seen a Great Demon with their own eyes, and the vast majority of those who have are dead.
But Matins and Rizzo are among the very few lucky ones.
Their battle group had participated in a battle against the ravages of the Plague Cult during the penitential expedition. When the Phoenix arrived at that planet, the war had already entered its final phase.
The mission of the Phoenix Battle Group was to assist the last Imperial Army troop in withdrawing from the planet.
On the battlefield, Matins saw with his own eyes a creature similar to the one he faced now.
It was a Plague Great Demon, classified as the Unclean One.
Wielding a rust-stained great sword, it was invincible on the battlefield: bullets, missiles, laser beams... various types of weapons that bombarded it seemed only to tickle; even when they did cause damage, it quickly healed back to normal.
There were two regiments involved in the battle, in addition to their own Phoenix; there was another clad in blue with red cross stripes, known as the Iris Knights Regiment.
He witnessed the commander of the Iris Knights, protected by the firepower of several tactical squads, charging towards the Unclean One with his Glory Guard, all in their Terminator Power Armor.
In the duel, the Great Demon's sweeping rust-stained sword effortlessly slaughtered one glory veteran after another. The brave and fearless commander did not waste the sacrifice of his battle brothers, seizing the opportunity to leap high, his Fine Work Dynamo Sword pierced one of the Great Demon's eyes. With a mighty pull downwards, it sliced through the other eye and half the head as well.
But that was the extent of it. Even though the Dynamo Sword plunged halfway into the demon's head, and its rust-stained great sword was cut down by two other battle brothers, they ultimately failed to defeat the Unclean One.
Its other remaining, thick arm grabbed the commander, smashed him to the ground, and with one stomp, crushed him to death; then, it lowered its head, which had been rapidly healing the split-half, and bit into a Terminator veteran. Corrosive saliva made the armor brittle, and with a forceful bite, it was split in two.
Incidentally, it picked up the fallen great sword with its remaining hand and killed another with a swift slash...
Matins watched from a distance as a regimental commander, leading a squad of elite Glory Guard, all in Terminator Power Armor, supported by at least thirty tactical squads armed to the teeth with meltaguns, plasma, and heavy explosives, was obliterated by one Unclean One.
It can't be said that the Iris Knights did not fight valiantly; to the very last man, they did not retreat.
But they were completely annihilated by that Unclean One and the variety of monsters constantly swarming out from behind it.
The Iris Knights were a relatively new regiment, their combat experience still lacking. But what of it? If the Phoenix had gone up to fight in the same situation, would the outcome have been much better?
Matins didn't think so.
Neither did the battle group leader of the Phoenix at the time.
Back then, there were people in the battle group who wanted to go support the Iris Knights, but their battle group leader vetoed the idea.
The Iris Knights could afford to lose a bunch of men and still return to their home planet to recuperate; they were on a penitential expedition and couldn't afford such losses.
Carrying out their own mission was what mattered, protecting the retreat of the allies as much as possible was their duty.
Of course, the indifference to their plight left the Iris Knights quite dissatisfied, and they began to harbour resentment towards the Phoenix, souring the relationship between the two regiments.
But that's another story, not worth mentioning for now.
The reason he recalled that time was because the appearance of the Unclean One before him had awakened those memories.
This creature was almost identical to the one he had seen before; behind this Great Demon, on the Demon Engine, a rift in the Abyss about two meters long and half a meter wide opened starkly, with three or four demons jostling at the entrance, eager to emerge.
If it really was an Unclean One, then they were finished.
Everyone present would die.
Matins even felt a shiver of dread.
His thoughts drifted far away for a moment.
The battle group had just received a new glimmer of hope, with fresh blood in training. What would happen if they died here today?