Zahgurim, a demon in the court of
Hell-lord Satan (Marduk Kurios), had earned the title "Satan's Armorer" due to his mastery of creating powerful weapons and armors. He sometimes bartered for souls, not because he consumed them himself, but because they were valued in Hell. In recent years he granted magic armor, derived from virtually indestructible mineral gathered from Hell's River Styx,
Jaine Cutter in exchange for the souls of seven policemen. Soon after, an unidentified male worshiper later known as Armorer contacted Zahgurim via rituals in his dark cellar, arranging to sacrifice the souls of Manhattan's population to Zahgurim in exchange for the demon taking female form and accepting the man as her consort. To accomplish this transaction, he would have to arrange a dowry, sacrificing seven magic-users across Manhattan, with a line connecting the deaths in the shape of the demon's symbol of invocation. To show his love for Zahgurim and to protect himself from sorcerers detecting his actions, the man removed the magic users' skin intestines, eyes, bones and other body part he could use and made his armor from the pieces; the magical radiation permeating their bodies protected him from magical assault. .