Since defeat was inevitable, he needed to find himself a way out.
Fortunately, Bel was not short of escape routes.
In the past, Bel might truly have been at a loss, but things were different now. He had obtained a way to achieve "redemption"! He only needed to make Zariel complete her redemption, and he would become the rightful Archduke of Avernus! Not even Asmodeus could touch him. No one could shake his position.
Within his stronghold, the Bronze Citadel, Bel possessed an elite and loyal army. With this army and his legitimate status, any schemes or plots would be nothing but clouds drifting past Bel. More interestingly, the demons' great victory this time gave Bel even greater security!
What would the demons do after reclaiming their lost territory? Any devil with a brain knew that the demons would absolutely invade Avernus.
And whose territory was Avernus? Who was most qualified to lead the devil army in resisting the demons' invasion?
It was Bel!!!
At such a critical moment of life and death, would Asmodeus dare replace Bel? At least in Bel's eyes, given Asmodeus's political acumen, such a thing was impossible. Bel was not Zariel. The reason Zariel had been overthrown, and the reason Asmodeus had tacitly allowed Bel to overthrow Zariel, was not because Zariel's record in the Blood War had been poor? But what about Bel? He had already proven himself!
Before Bel, devils had always huddled within the hells of Baator, while Avernus had forever been the battlefield of the Blood War. But after Bel rose to power, he pushed the front lines all the way to the Plain of Infinite Portals. No amount of slander could conceal that achievement.
Moreover, once Bel's plan succeeded, Zariel would no longer have the identity of a devil and