An excerpt from Diablo IV’s new lore codex, the Book of Lorath, reveals a grotesque new monster linked to a notorious Diablo II boss. And another snippet demonstrates what happened to the corpses of Diablo and other villains…

A preview page of Diablo IV’s new lore book, the Book of Lorath, reveals a fearsome enemy that may be linked to an iconic Diablo II boss. This new monster will likely be another powerful foe that players must fight in-game.

The Book of Lorath is a new lore codex detailing the world of Sanctuary and will be released alongside Diablo IV on June 6.

One of the teaser pages on the book’s Amazon listing introduces a new monster called Maggot Queen. This grotesque monster supposedly produces ichor that can digest all kinds of matter. It can also be used to brew potions to cure grief. Considering that this monster is said to be found along with undead and snake men in the swamps, players will be able to encounter the Maggot Queen in Hawezar. This is one of the game’s five explorable regions.

The Maggot Queen’s appearance is reminiscent of Duriel, the Lord of Sorrows. This lesser demon was the final boss of the second act of Diablo II and is also known as the Maggot King.

Keen-eyed gamers who spotted her in the gameplay trailer and beta results know that Duriel will reappear in Diablo IV. Given the visual design and naming similarities, the Maggot Queen could be a powerful monster. She could even be a mini-boss that players will have to deal with when fighting Duriel’s henchmen.

Main boss relics in Diablo IV?!

The game’s new lore book also reveals what happened to the corpses of Diablo and the other “Prime Evil” after their deaths. These juicy lore tidbits may give players a clue as to what they’ll be facing in the game.

One of the previews available on Amazon details the various demonic artefacts collected by Horadrim. It seems that Prime Evils left behind pieces of their corpses after they died in Diablo II. These are now in the custody of Horadrim scientists.

Although the material forms of the Prime Evils died many years ago in the universe, the brain of Mephisto, the eye of Baal and the horn of Diablo still retain the remnants of their powers.

According to the excerpt, Mephisto’s brain evokes the mind-twisting manipulations of the Lord of Hate, Baal’s eye evokes the Lord of Destruction’s violent vision of the Sanctuary, and Diablo’s horn evokes the horror of a slow, agonizing death. Nahr’s text confirms that Diablo’s Horadrim used these relics in the past. He wonders if their power comes from the remaining shards of will from the Archvillains, their original human hosts, or a combination of the two.

Diablo 4 fans have less than two months to figure out what awaits them in Sanctuary. Since only the first act was available during the Diablo 4 beta, we can only guess how the battle between Lilith and Inarius will play out.

Source: Amazon