The Maleficar, also known as the Great Evils or the Maleficarum, are a collective of powerful and influential demon gods. They are "lesser" when compared to the three Prime Evils, but are still exceptionally powerful in their own right.
Description[]
Much like the Prime Evils, the Maleficar are conceptual or abstract entities as they are the physical manifestation of the negative concepts which was birthed from the warring conflict between God and Azathoth. However, compared to their progenitors they are somewhat less effective when it comes to inducing the lower ranked aspects of darkness unto the light of existence.
The Maleficar are not exactly fond of being known as the "Lesser Evils" as it implies that they are weak when compared to their forefathers. While that may be true they are by no means weak as they have been regarded by the denizens of Hell as well as demonologists as "demon gods" for they often possess power that no demon could naturally harness or possess. Their power is so great that even just one of them, in this case Argosax, was able fight Mundus himself to a stalemate until his defeat by the combined might of Mundus, Sparda, and Artorias.
History[]
Lords of the Abyss[]
The Maleficar were created sometime after the Prime Evils were cast into Tartarus by the Satanic Triumvirate. At a total number of four, they became known as the Great Evils and were every bit as power-hungry, ambitious, and malevolent as any mortal or immortal perceives a demon. The Primes only had the Maleficar slip into Hell during the period when Pluto was in chains and the seat to keep Tartarus secure was vacant, watching and observing with curious intent and find a way to dismantle the current power structure of Hell so as to allow the Prime Evils to mount an attack. However, one of the Maleficar known as Argosax, in his arrogance and lust, wanted to take the entirety of the Inferno for himself, but was met with resistance from the current emperor Mundus who had one of the Knights of Hell, Sparda, defeat him then banished the Great Evil into the void that lay beyond the borders of Hell.
While Argosax's act of disloyalty towards the Prime Evils was due to his ambitions exceeding the wishes of masters there was mistreatment between the Maleficar and Prime Evils which resulted in the Maleficar defecting from the Primes' ruling. Argosax's banishment created a rift between the Primes and Maleficar. Another part of this rift was that the Primes had kept many secrets from the Great Evils, but furthermore, the Prime Evils appeared more interested in swaying humanity to their cause. This caused the Great Evils to question the authority of the Three as the Great Ones either wanted to outright destroy humanity or enslave them.
Rebellion[]
In their ignorance, the Great Evils began to believe the Primes were afraid to continue the war with Heaven in place of the Seven Kings of Hell and that they saw the Primes feared of what the Maleficar would do with the knowledge that they hold. They considered themselves innately superior to both human and demonkind, wanting to conquer Hell and all chthonic realms connected to the Inferno while bringing death, darkness, and fire unto the Earth to encompass it in a sickening darkness where they would rule supreme. Moreover, some of the Maleficar would attempt to obtain knowledge from the Primes in order to take drastic methods to increase their already unspeakable power.
The Maleficar followed Argosax in his attempt to take over Hell although they did it more discreetly. Fuzon, one of the Maleficar, discovered the power of Vril which a spark of it resided in one of the Knights of Hell. He killed one of the knights, Xephros, siphoned his power and consequently the spark of Vril that lay within him, and would then use the primordial chaos elements of both the Abyss and Tartarus to shape and increase his own power, which he shared with his sister Andariel, in order to overthrow the lords of Hell.
Fuzon's manipulation of such aspects related to the building blocks of the universe's creation only served to make him a threat in the eyes of the other Maleficar, believing that once Fuzon gathers enough power to slay the current rulers of Hell he would have not just the Primes but the other Maleficar be subservient to him. As a result, they betrayed Fuzon's location in Hell, alerting Beelzebub who quickly banished Fuzon far beyond the darkness of the Abyss where he would forever wander the Void. However, Fuzon was able to use the latent power he mixed between the Darkness and the Secret Fire to create a fissure in the Void that lead to another dimension where he reigned until his sister finds a way to release him.
Banishment[]
With Argosax and Fuzon banished (aside from Andariel who concealed herself while trying to release her brother) Theokoles, who was the most savage and violent of the Great Evils, was the one that simply wanted to destroy the human race to create a paradise for himself without needing to be in the presence of, in his words, maggots and weaklings. Theokoles would use one of the Seven Gates of Hell built by Mulciber to breach the barriers that separated the Underworld and mortal world from one another and lay waste to all that he sees.
Theokoles attempted to establish his power over the Roman Empire in the 4th century as it would serve as the centerpoint for his power to be at its most fullest spreading throughout the lands due to its corruption. But he would be driven out by Satan in every attempt as the Great Red Dragon held dominion over not just the Roman Empire but many other great empires that held enormous economic and political power across the lands. As a result, Theokoles expressed his rage by entering wars and battles between the Romans and other Germanic tribes, massacring both sides simply to satiate his bloodlust and spite Satan, arrogantly calling out the Devil to challenge him.
However, he ran into Cain in the process who also partook in these battles, overwhelming and defeating Theokoles in a battle that, according to Ovid, took them past the limits of their madness, enduring for three days and nights and "charred the sands into black and glass". Cain dismembered Theokoles's body, then had his severed parts be bound in sacred jars by a powerful witch, ensuring that he never regenerates. The only one of the Great Evils active is Andariel who would bide her time after the Apocalypse passes in order for Hell's power structure to fall into disarray while allowing the Prime Evils to make their move. All the while Andariel would move the pieces in place under Fuzon's guidance to destroy the Primes and also set him free. Moreover, other malignant groups would find use for the other imprisoned Evils for their own twisted purposes.
