The devils' greatest crisis in the Blood War had arrived!
This was too big for the Dark Eight to conceal even if they wanted to. Unless everyone in Baator was blind, there was no way they could remain unaware. Thus, the Dark Eight Council received the person they least wanted to see at this stage—the lord of Avernus, the first layer of Baator, Archduke Bel!
This enormous devil was covered in crimson scales. A pair of massive bat-like wings spread from his back. Green venom continuously dripped from his mouth, raising clouds of smoke wherever it struck the ground. Around his waist was a belt hung with twelve angel heads that screamed without cease. There was no doubt that those heads had been severed by the flaming greatsword clenched tightly in his clawed hand.
As a lord of Hell, Bel's status was extremely awkward, and the reason lay in his form: he was still a Pit Fiend. Under Baator's rules, every lord of Hell was supposed to be a greater devil with a unique form. The other eight lords of Hell, for instance, all possessed one-of-a-kind forms that set their status apart from the other devils of Hell.
Under Baator's laws, the lords of Hell held an exceptionally special position. They were the masters of Baator and, in legal standing, were equals of Asmodeus, Lord of Hell. In reality, however, Asmodeus stood far above the other lords of Hell.
Even so, the lords of Hell still possessed many privileges. For instance, none of them could be demoted. Even Asmodeus had no authority to kill or demote another lord of Hell.
Thus, even though Mammon, ruler of Minauros on the third layer of Hell; Levistus, Prince of Stygia and lord of the fifth layer; and the Archduke of Flies, Maladomini, lord