Devil

Devils (／デビル) are a race of supernatural entities appearing throughout the World. They are creatures that feed upon humanity's fears.

Origin
Devils are born in Hell. All Devils are born with a "name" that correlates to a concept. These can range from highly tangible (Fish, Tomato) to entirely abstract (Future, Curse). The concept does not have to refer to something that exists; there is no indication that ghosts, zombies or angels exist in the world, yet all these names have corresponding Devils. Each name is unique to its respective Devil, though some overlap based on specificity is possible as there have been both a War Devil and a World War II Devil. Devils manifest according to the collective consciousness surrounding their names (for example: the Gun Devil appears to be constructed out of guns and has gun related abilities). They are the embodiment of the fear that "name" represents, so as long as that "name" instills fear, they continue to reincarnate.

The concept of a Devil itself doesn’t have to be scary on its own, rather its power relies on how much of a scary image it has in the popular consciousness of humans. For example, cars aren’t necessarily scary on their own, but Makima states that a Car Devil would be powerful because of the scariness of car crashes and other car related incidents. Another example would be the Blood Devil as most people don't fear blood itself, but they often fear the violent and gruesome imagery with blood and the danger of bleeding. Devils that die in Hell reappear in the human world; Devils that die in the human world reappear in Hell. Devils cannot recall any memories from their previous lives and their entire personality resets. Despite their reincarnation abilities, Devils are not completely immortal; as they are born out of humanity's fear of some concept, if all of humanity forgets the existence of this concept, the Devil it belongs to completely ceases to exist.

According to the Angel Devil, him and the other Devils of Special Division 4 all remember the sound of the Chainsaw Devil's engine roaring before they died in Hell.

Physiology
The appearance and physiology of a Devil varies from one to another, as their shape and bodily structure often have to do with the "name" they embody. Most Devils possess human limbs, faces, bones, and other body parts, such as the Snake Devil's mouth being made of interlocking human arms, even their fears wouldn't indicate organs or limbs, given the Tomato Devil and Grape Devil both possess human eyes and limbs despite being based on plants. Other Devils, such as the Fox Devil or the Octopus Devil, don't appear to have these features (at least on what parts of them have been shown). Devils do not reproduce as most organisms do, instead simply "appearing" in Hell. What criteria, if any, cause a Devil to be born are completely unknown.

Devils who are friendly and are more inclined to humans will take on a very humanoid form in the natural state of their incarnation, some being indistinguishable from a human save from some subtle tells. There have still been some non-humanoid Devils who have been friendly towards humans such as the Fox Devil.

Devils primarily feed on the blood and fear of humans, however they can also survive by drinking the blood of other creatures (such as Fiends and other Devils). While fear makes Devils more powerful, consuming blood allows them to quickly heal their injuries as well as grow in power - meaning that consuming humans is more than just instinctual hatred, but often necessary to their survival. For that reason, while Devils and Fiends can also consume other kinds of foods, such as vegetables and fruits, most refuse to live off of them, since it will not heal their wounds or give them more power. It is unclear whether or not their blood is properly nourishing to them, but given consistent remarks that they have a terrible or unusual taste, it's likely that Hybrids aren't as nourishing to Devils as humans (despite being mostly human).

Devils also appear to be incapable of dying due to old age; they can live indefinitely until killed by external factors. The age of most Devils are unknown. The 2nd incarnation of the Control Devil first appeared as a little girl, but in the year since the end of Part 1 she has grown significantly, appearing as either a tween or a young teenager. It is unclear whether this rapid aging is a property of all Devils, or just the Control Devil in particular, but it indicates that Devils are capable of aging in general.

Some Devils also have a "near-death" state where their appearance changes to a weaker form. So far we have only seen two near-death states: Pochita, the dog-like weakened form of the Chainsaw Devil, and the War Devil's weakened bird-like form. Both of these are known to have been incredibly powerful Devils before being weakened, so it is unknown if all Devils are able to assume this weakened state.

Devil Fragments
As shown with the Gun Devil, Devils can be physically fragmented into several so-called Flesh Pieces. It is unknown how many Devils have undergone fragmentation. It is possible for Devil fragments to be harmed, destroyed, and become Fiends on their own yet for other parts of the main Devil to still remain alive and not destroyed. Presumably, a fragmented Devil cannot be fully killed and begin reincarnation until either all of its flesh pieces are destroyed or just their core. Since the Gun Devil is the only example of extensive fragmentation and was more of a primal force than an intelligent being from the 20% of it seen, it is unknown if such Flesh Pieces retain the personality of the original, each have separate personalities, all lack distinct personalities, or if it varies from Devil to Devil. If one consumes the fragment or part of a powerful Devil, either Devil or human, they will gain more strength than before.

Interspecies Relationship
Naturally, most Devils are extremely hostile considering their requirements to feed on the blood and fear of humans. Some, however, are relatively friendly and feed by alternative means: Some Devils, such as the Fox Devil, choose to form contracts with humans, allowing humans to borrow some of their power in exchange for a sacrifice. Other Devils outright choose to become Devil Hunters, allowing them to live in human society and buy food with the money that they make. As a general guideline, the more human the Devil looks, the more friendly they tend to behave. However it is worth noting that Devils do not have human rights and therefore there is no legal repercussions if they are killed by a human. For that reason, some Devils and Fiends are coerced into helping humans out of fear of dying rather than doing it out of their own free will. Devil Hunters will sometimes capture Devils to use them for contracts, the Future Devil is a good example.

While uncommon, it is possible for a human and a Devil/Fiend to form an emotional bond. In some rare cases it might even develop into a romantic relationship.

According to statistics, 7 out of every 20 Japanese citizens are killed by Devils. It can be assumed that these statistics are somewhat similar in other countries, meaning that Devil's attacks are the leading cause of deaths around the globe. For that reason, being a Devil Hunter is considered one of the most profitable jobs in society. The average Devil usually has a bounty of around 300,000 yen and their bodies can also be sold at the black market, with even weak Devils, such as the Tomato Devil, being worth 400,000 yen.

Due to the danger that Devils represent to society, many buildings (including schools) have alarms especially designed to warn people in case the building is currently being attack by a Devil, similar to a fire alarms.

Primal Devils
Those Devils who bear the names of Primal Fears are particularly ancient and powerful, embodying the most instinctual fears ingrained within the human psyche. Described as "transcendent" beings, they frighten lesser Devils and Fiends alike, including those who have previously been ignorant of their existence. Indeed, having never experienced the death-and-rebirth cycle typical of Devils due to their immense power, Primal Fear Devils have always dwelt in Hell under the same identities throughout human history. Currently, two Primal Fear Devils — namely "Darkness" and "Falling" — have been shown, and one has been named: "Death".

While the Darkness Devil was encountered in Hell, the Falling Devil manifested on Earth in accordance with Nostradamus' prophecy as "the first of the Devils who will shepherd the world to the ultimate terror". Upon arrival, she proved terrifying enough to make the then-heavily weakened War Devil flee at the mere sight of her, while claiming that at present, humanity possesses no means of attack that could possibly kill her; however, the Falling Devil was in fact controlled by Fami, with the aim of weakening and bringing War under her control. Nayuta eventually revealed that the Death Devil is strongest devil in existence, the "Great King of Terror" embodying the most primal fear and the eldest of the Four Horsemen, who is set to make her appearance in six months' time per the prophecy.

However, despite their vast power, the Primal Devils are shown to not be untouchable nor above every single Devil (or at least the threat of coming under another Devil's influence), as the Falling Devil was revealed to be working for and under the control of the Famine Devil. Likewise, Fami ultimately plans on causing mass havoc on a global scale to empower both the Chainsaw and War Devils enough to be able to stand up to Death herself.

Reincarnated Devils
Devils that were incarnated in Hell after their death in Earth and later slain in Hell to reincarnated in different form.

Devils swallowed by the Chainsaw Devil
Devils eaten by the Chainsaw Devil have their associated concept erased from the world and the minds of all creatures, permanently killing the Devil. Extremely powerful Devils such as the Horsemen seem to be able to faintly recall erased Devils. The world has been drastically affected by these erasures, most evidently in the continued existence of the USSR stemming from the erasure of Nazis and World War II. These erasures have also altered the biology of humans by taking away their sixth sense, as well as the alternatives to death at the end of a creature’s lifespan. Even partial erasures are possible, seen when the Chainsaw Devil ate part of the War Devil, and though the concept of war continues to exist, there have been no wars since the first World War. For an unknown reason, the Weapon Hybrids are the sole exception - despite their corresponding Devil having been eaten, they continue to exist, though their original name was still forgotten.

Fiends
Fiends are Devils who possessed a corpse. Fiends are considerably less powerful than their Devil counterparts and are able to use toned-down versions of their respective supernatural abilities. They can regenerate from drinking blood and get strength from it, but unlike Hybrids, they can die if they are fatally wounded. Some Fiends are able to transform into their Devil forms temporarily. They are also unable to perform contracts unlike Devils and humans.

Hybrids
Hybrids have human consciousness and appearance, but can transform into a Devil-human Hybrid and manifest the supernatural abilities of the fused Devil. The official name for Hybrids was erased by the Chainsaw Devil, however Hybrids continue to exist despite their erasure for unknown reasons. Hybrids are able to transform into their Hybrids forms by a bodily trigger. Their regenerative abilities are nigh-limitless and they can revive if there is an adequate amount of blood to consume. According to Makima, this kind of Devils are very rare to see, even among themselves, and most people have only ever heard rumors of their existence, to the point of even Aki Hayakawa never thought they existed.

Unknown
Devil-related characters where it's unknown if they're devils, fiends, or hybrids.

Devil Transformation
Devil transformations are the result of humans making contracts between Devils to gain a devilish form. Unlike the Hybrids they take on a much more monstrous form, cannot freely transform back into humans, don't have the same triggers and aren't merged with the Devil they contracted with. The source of a Devil transformation can originate from more than one Devil. According to Yuko, it appears that humans are transformed into actual Devils, and need help from an outside source to turn back.

General Abilities

 * Fear Empowerment: All Devils are born with a "name" that ties them to a concept. Devils feed on the fear that humans and other creatures have towards that concept, gaining their strength from it. Because of this, a Devil's power is deeply related to how humans perceive the concept and the visual images that their "name" inspire. The more fear is associated with a "name", the more powerful the Devil who possesses it becomes. An example offered by Makima is how a Car Devil would be stronger than a Coffee Devil, since cars conjures up the mental image of getting run over and dying, while coffee does not evoke any scary ideas; another example is the Chicken Devil, which is so weak that it was kept as a class pet for a high school and killed when a student fell onto it. The fear that humans have towards Devils in general is also a source of power that they can utilize, since it was stated that after the Gun Devil attack, Devils grew stronger due to people being more afraid of them. Devils can also feed on the fear that other Devils have towards them, with the Chainsaw Devil managing to become extremely strong by using Devils fear as his source of power.
 * Blood Consumption: All Devils can consume blood of other creatures to heal their injuries, it is also implied that Devils can grow more powerful by consuming blood. While all Devils can consume blood to quickly regenerate, powerful Devils have shown to possess better regeneration. Hybrids and other powerful Devils, such as the Gun Devil and Darkness Devil, have really potent healing factors. The flesh or blood of a Devil can be fed to other creatures, making them stronger and even giving them the ability of the Devil they’ve eaten, however this only works if the flesh/blood they ate came from a Devil that is still alive as Denji did not get more powerful or gained the Control Devil’s ability, despite consuming Makima’s entire body.
 * Contract Creation: All Devils can make contracts with humans, allowing humans to borrow some of their power in exchange for a sacrifice. However, Fiends are unable to perform contracts and Devils are unable to perform contracts between each other.
 * Corpse Possession: All Devils can also possess human corpses. This in most cases ends up creating a Fiend, though in rare cases it can end up creating a Hybrid instead under certain circumstances. The personality of the Fiend may mirror that of the corpse if the brain is still intact, as evident by the Violence Fiend's polite and gentle attitude. In these scenarios, the Devil may also retain some memories from the body they took over. In rare instances, Devils deliberately would like to retain the personality of the possessed corpse, effectively reviving them, and take over their personalities from time to time. The only known instance of this happening is with the War Devil, who took over Asa Mitaka's body while keeping her ego intact.
 * Reincarnation: Another ability common among all Devils is reincarnation: when a Devil dies, they reincarnate in Hell; when they die in Hell, they reincarnate on Earth. This ability makes them practically immortal. However every time they reincarnate, their memories and personalities are reset, making them completely different individuals from their previous incarnation. However, if the concept to which the Devil belongs is forgotten by humanity, he is unable to reincarnate and ceases to exist.
 * Flesh Power Boost: It is said that a Devil or human of any power can have their abilities boosted if they eat the flesh of a super powerful Devil no matter what their original power level was. The current only known examples are the numerous Devils who became more powerful by eating the Gun Devil’s flesh and Santa Claus becoming a very powerful abomination after consuming the flesh of the Darkness Devil.

Unique Abilities
Devils also may possess other supernatural abilities correlating with their name. The conditions and effects of each supernatural ability is unique to respective Devil. Using these abilities usually consumes a portion of their blood. Despite each Devil has their own abilities, these may be common between different Devils or Fiends such as Force Manipulation which used by the Control Devil and the Darkness Devil or intangibility which used by the Spider Devil and the Shark Fiend. According to Aki, a Devil's abilities are undone upon death. Sometimes a Devil's natural ability or special ability may not always correlate or link up with what exactly their concept represents, or at the very least, won't represent a trait that is instantly known with the concept. The reason for these can be because of things like a more powerful Devil being able to have access to more abilities, like how the Snake Devil barely uses traditional snake ways of attacking, such as venom, but has shown "cheats" like consuming another Devil to make that Devil fight on their side. But it might not always or only apply to powerful Devils.

Weaknesses

 * Positive Emotions: Just like fear can make a Devil stronger, positive emotions can make a Devil weaker. When a large group of humans develop love or admiration towards a Devil, their emotions will start to eat their strength, making them weaker.
 * Forgotten Concept: If the concept for a Devil is often forgotten, ignored or less thought of they become much less feared and can even not exist anymore.

Trivia

 * The "name" for a Devil would more accurately be the concept(s) for a Devil rather than an actual "name" as the names for concepts will not be the same or mean the same thing in different languages and vice versa. A Devil who is one of the more notable examples of this is the first horseman whose name is "Shihai" in Japanese, which is meant to be a wordplay on multiple similar but different concepts in one umbrella term in that language, but does not have the same effect in other languages, hence it will get different words as its translation such as Conquest, Control or Domination, to name a few.
 * While only one type of Devil can exist for a specific "name" for a concept, Devils of similar or larger or smaller categories of concepts can exist. For example, sharks are a type of fish but the Shark Devil and Fish Devil exist as separate beings but there cannot be more than one Devil who has those inherit "names" who can simultaneously exist.
 * Their Japanese species name "Akuma" is also used to refer to Satan in Japanese and other demons and Devil figures in media.
 * As seen with Devil transformations it is known that there can be full Devils of human origin who exist in the world, but their full scope of having the same basic Devil abilities compared to natural Devils remains unknown.
 * There are some Devils from Public Safety, that are not very well known about, but were also said to be Chainsaw Man followers whose names were Seraphim (セラフィム) the bug-looking one who is winged, Dominion (ドミニオン) the mammal looking one who has hooves, and Virtue (ヴァーチェ) the headless Fiend who bears claws. Their appearances can be seen here. It is unknown if they are highly anthropomorphic Devils or Fiends.
 * Fujimoto has stated in an interview that the reason he made Devils born out of human fear specifically was because he is a huge fan of horror movies and thought he could use the opportunity to make a lot of homages and references to the horror genre.

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