Burning Avernus proclaimed the fall of the First Layer of Hell-and, after untold ages, the return of a climactic battle in the multiverse's Abyssal Blood War.
Throughout the long history of the blood war, ever since Baator's founding, devils and demons had fought for tens of thousands of years along the Plain of Infinite Portals-Avernus front. Devils had stormed the Plain of Infinite Portals, the Abyss's first layer, many times, while demons had likewise invaded Avernus, Baator's first layer, on numerous occasions.
Yet no matter how fierce the blood war became, the demons had never occupied Avernus for more than two days. The greatest crisis Baator had ever faced was a demonic siege of Dis, Hell's second layer. The Iron City had soon been relieved when reinforcements from the other layers of Baator arrived.
The notorious Archduke of Flies, Baalzebul, had been punished by Asmodeus for trying to preserve his forces during that war, though rumors claimed this had not been his only offense.
This time, however, things were entirely different. Avernus's Bronze Tower had held out against Archaon for only a day. The forced withdrawal of millions of devils from Avernus shocked the entire multiverse, and every deity watched closely to see how the Lord of the Nine Hells would handle it.
Asmodeus reacted swiftly. First, the Lord of the Nine Hells immediately resurrected Bael and placed his finest troops, the Nessus Legion, under his command. Second, he ordered all the armies of the remaining eight hells to assemble, without rushing to reclaim the lost territory. Third, he pardoned Baalzebul, restored his status as a fallen angel, and appointed him supreme commander of the front, preparing to defend Hell's second layer to the death.
Once these arrangements were made, the order for devil general mobilization followed.
Mephistopheles, Lord of