Mazoku

Mazoku (魔族^?) is a common concept in Japanese fantasy referring to a clan of beings born with supernatural and paranormal powers.

The very name Ma (魔 - devil) suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku (族 - tribe, clan, family) indicates that they are a family.

Maō is a term derived from Mazoku, suggesting a king (王 Ō - king) that rules part of, if not all of the mazoku.

The original term was used in Japanese transliteration of the Indian (Hindu) mythology's clan Asura and Yaksha, as well as Zoroastrianism's Daeva, and is the general term for devils, demons and evil beings. The term is used in the form of separating these supernatural entities from the devils and demons in Christianity and Oni of Japanese local mythology. In polytheism, it is simply a word used as an Antonym of 神族 (shinzoku), which means literally the tribe of gods.

The term maō is used to describe the king or kings ruling mazoku. It was originally used to transliterate Buddhism deity, the demon god 第六天魔王波旬. Later used for Lucifer/Satan in the Bible. In polytheism, a term used as an Antonym of maō is 神王 (shin'ō), which means the king of gods. However, the term 主神 (shushin, literally the main god) is used more often since the term shushin was also used in monotheism meaning God.

The Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga also called himself a maō in a letter to Takeda Shingen signing it with 第六天魔王 (The demon king of the sixth sky).

...
Wikipedia