When Bel received the news, his first reaction was that those chaotic fools beneath him were playing a joke on him. This was Avernus! This was Baator! How could someone break in and slaughter several million devils in such a short time?
But the reports coming back from every direction told Bel that while the devils under his command might not be particularly loyal, they truly were not joking with him...
Bel nearly went mad.
In fact, everyone else was much the same. Even now, no one knew what had happened. They only knew that a flash of light had appeared, followed by an explosion, and everything in the path of that light had been destroyed.
It was simply too fantastical. Even devils, creatures of supernatural horrors themselves, were left somewhat dazed.
But Bel no longer had time to ponder these unanswered questions. He only knew one thing: he was running out of time. Until now, everyone had believed that Bel was commanding an army against the demons on the Plain of Infinite Portals. For the moment, Bel's enemies had no mind to pay attention to Avernus. Even if they wanted to get rid of Bel, they would have to wait until the outcome of the Blood War was decided.
Thus, Bel had had ample time to carry out his plan.
But things were different now. With this earth-shattering explosion, Bel could imagine the eyes of all Baator turning toward Avernus. The incident was simply too astonishing for anyone to ignore. Even Asmodeus would shift his gaze here.
This was absolutely the worst possible development for Bel. Before this, he had been making secret arrangements in preparation for the changes to come once he truly usurped the title of Archduke of Avernus. But now, Bel had no time left.
Bel