Story

The story of Diablo II takes place soon after the end of the original Diablo. At the end
of Diablo, Diablo, Lord of Terror was defeated by a mortal hero. The hero who slew Diablo (i.e. the
player character of the first game) drives the soulstone of Diablo (a magical stone containing the
soul of a demon or angel) into his own head in an attempt to contain Diablo in his own body. After
this event, the hero is rapidly corrupted by Diablo and slowly loses control of Diablo's soul. In the
opening cinematic of Diablo II, Marius, the narrator of the story, witnesses the fallen hero (known
only as the Dark Wanderer) totally lose control, unleashing the demons of Hell upon a tavern. Marius
is the only survivor (it is implied that rather than just being blind luck, the demons were ignoring him),
and he feels compelled to follow the Wanderer for reasons he himself does not understand. The new
player character is a different hero following in the wake of the destruction, chasing the Dark
Wanderer, hoping to put an end to the demon lord within him. The new hero ultimately catches up to
the Wanderer outside the city of Kurast but is unable to stop him. The rest of the story is revealed
through the four acts, as the player faces not just the demon lord Diablo, but two new major villains,
his equally malevolent brothers, fellow Prime Evils Mephisto, Lord of Hatred and Baal, Lord of
Destruction. Diablo is determined to free them from their soulstone incarceration, which was forced
upon all three long ago, and from which Diablo managed to break free in the first game. The hero
travels through different lands to thwart the forces of The Burning Hells from conquering the world
known as Sanctuary.
The story tells about seven "Great Evils" (with 7 totalling the number of the powers of hell); five are
killed in Diablo II. Three are directly slain in Diablo III, though all seven are effectively slain at once
due to Diablo becoming the Prime Evil.