Inside a lonely house located in Weston, West Virginia, a couple, Evelyn and Darren Mountjoy, enjoy a game of Scrabble. When the Mountjoy�s dog begins yelping off in the distance, and the lights in the house suddenly go dark, Darren grabs his gun.

He warns an intruder to stop in his tracks, but when the mysterious figure continues advancing, Darren opens fire. He then moves closer for a better look at the dead man on his floor. Darren then realizes, to his horror, that he shot and killed his wife, whose hands and mouth are bound with duct tape. He then reacts to a strange whispering sound... and sees two demons advancing upon him.

Reyes and Doggett are dispatched to the Mountjoy house to investigate the case. Reyes shows the Scrabble board. Letters have been arranged to spell out �Daemonicus.� Reyes believes the attack is some form of Satanic ritual. A short time later, three bloodied snakes slither out of Evelyn�s chest wound.

Meanwhile, back at Quantico, Scully teaches eager cadets at the FBI training academy. One of the students inquires if she has ever slain a vampire, to which Scully replies the purpose of the course is to study forensic pathology, and only after all scientific methods have been exhausted should an agent consider 'extreme possibilities'.

Later, Scully performs an autopsy on the Mountjoys� bodies. The agents conclude that Darren was somehow tricked into shooting his wife as part of a bizarre game. Evidence at the scene indicates there were two perpetrators. Reyes tells her colleagues that while she was in the house, she felt the presence of evil, which raises Doggett�s ire. Soon after, the agents receive a call from Dr. Monique Sackheim, who works at a mental hospital. She believes the murders were committed by an escaped patient, Dr. Kenneth Richman, who had killed three of his patients by sewing strychnine tablets into their stomach linings during surgery. Sackheim also believes that Richman received help from a prison guard, Paul Gerlach, who disappeared the same time as Richman.

Meanwhile, in a wooded area, the two perpetrators, who wear demon masks, face off some 20 paces apart. One of the men suddenly raises a gun and shoots.

Back at the mental institution, the agents interview Josef Kobold, whose cell is next to the one Richman escaped from. Kobold is of little help, but his answers to the agents� questions prove unsettling, as if he is aware of things he couldn�t possibly have knowledge of. Later, Kobold establishes communication with one of the masked men in the woods.

Kobold tells Doggett and Reyes that one of the perpetrators has killed again. Clad in hand and leg irons, and guarded by a state trooper, Kobold shows the agents a wooded area where 'something awful' awaits. The agents have Kobold remain behind while they investigate. They eventually discover the body of a dead man hanging from a tree, his arms splayed, looking much like the form of an inverted crucifix.

Scully performs an autopsy on the body. It is identified as Paul Gerlach. Reyes notes that Kobold made repeated mention of �The Prince of the Apostles.� Scully links this to St. Peter, who was said to have been crucified upside-down, a symbol linked to Satanism. Reyes hypothesizes that Richman is a host for Satan, and communicates with Kobold through supernatural means. It is unclear, however, why Kobold is still imprisoned if he possesses such powers.

Later, the agents approach Kobold and ask for his help in locating Richman. He is placed under the watchful eye of Officer Custer. The agents react when Kobold begins speaking in a strange backward whispering and erupts in convulsions. Reyes hears the word �medicus,� which means �physician�. Doggett and Reyes race to Dr. Sackheim�s home, where they find Sackheim�s body, a dozen hypodermic needles jammed into her face.

Kobold continues taunting Doggett by revealing information about Doggett�s life he couldn�t possibly know. Doggett loses his temper and grabs Kobold by the shirt. Orange goo spews from Kobold�s mouth. Later, Doggett tells his collegues that Kobold is playing some sort of game. As a storm rages, the power suddenly goes out in the mental institution. Officer Custer approaches the cell door and looks through the window. Inside is Kobold, who changes into a demon.

A short time later, Doggett phones Scully with word that Kobold told Custer where Richman can be found... an old marina. Scully drives to the location, where a man wearing a demon mask closes in on her. Guarded by Custer, Kobold is driven to the marina. Doggett demands to know where Scully has been taken. Kobold smiles. A gunshot rings out, and the agents discover the masked demon figure�Dr. Richman�dead on the floor of an abandoned warehouse. Scully explains that Richman held her at gunpoint until the agents arrived, then shot himself.

Doggett rushes out of the warehouse and finds Kobold in the process of escaping. Doggett opens fire, hitting Kobold, whose body sinks into the water. Doggett approaches Scully with a page from a phone book. Certain names are circled in black marker. It soon becomes apparent that letters in the victim�s name spell out 'daemonicus.' With the exception of Kobold�s, which doesn�t fit the pattern. The agents dredge up the body that fell into the water... and realize Doggett actually shot and killed Custer, whose name completes 'daemonicus'.

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