Belial (bee-LY-ul)

Several of Belial's abilities were as archetypically infernal as his appearance and personality; his magic could produce flames and create walls of fire as well as beguile and make his enemies prone to suggestion. His more powerful abilities allowed him to mentally dominate his foes, instil fear with his gaze or in an aura around himself, and create symbols of pain and insanity, and he used these abilities to scatter his enemies and turn them on each other.

He was far more patient than Fierna when it came to combat, always casting spells such as magic circle and see invisibility before the fight began. He could summon baatezu ranging in power from spinagons, black abishai, barbazus, hamatulas, and cornugons, all the way up to summoning a pit fiend. Only once his summon or summons, typically a pit fiend, were distracting his opponents and only when his opposition was disorganized, weak, and quarreling would he move in and allow the pleasure of melee blood-spilling begin.

Belial was the most handsome of the archdevils, appearing as an impressively built, 10 ft (3 m) tall figure of masculine beauty. He was tall, dark and sensual, practically oozing carnality through the regal garments that clung to his body in such a way as to promise pleasure and further his libidinous image.

Before Mephistopheles took on a more infernal appearance, Belial was also the most devilish-looking Lord of the Nine, an impression enhanced by the ranseur he always held in his claws. Some said his skin was scaly and ash-black, while others purported it was red, and early reports claimed he had a glossy black tail and wings. Other signs of his hellishness could be seen in the small horns, the same black as his tail and wings, that emerged under his hairline, and his large, slanted eyes that glowed and smouldered red with lustful intent. His monstrous features, however, did little if any to detract from his aura of civility and overall mesmerising physique.

Belial's ransuer, or military fork, was his favoured, iconic weapon, and wasn't any regular polearm. It was a minor artifact that filled those it struck with wracking pain, slowing them down as their bodies and minds dealt with the agony and said to be powerful enough that a heal or break enchantment spell was needed to fully recover from the crippling torment.

Belial had long been the ruler of Phlegethos, although his exact age was debatable. He was old enough to regard Levistus, who himself rivalled the likes of the ancient Dispater in age, as a worthy adversary, given that he was a "devil of the old school". Despite his hatred for Moloch, he allied with Baalzebul during the Reckoning, following which he was demoted while Fierna took up the mantle of rulership. Though this could be seen as a cowardly move, and indeed it was a ploy to sate Asmodeus's wrath and get him to target other archdevils, Fierna was fine with the situation, at least until Glasya's ascension to rulership of Malbolge.

Belial had been met with a series of setbacks ever since the Reckoning. His plans to take Stygia from the new lord of the Fifth were stymied after Levistus was put in charge and his Gazra-led legions were swiftly decimated. He focused on trying to outmanoeuvre the Frozen Prince politically for a time before once again attempting to assemble armies against him, confident that he would be able to defeat him and then perhaps the Hag Countess shortly afterwards. But it was Glasya's surprising rise to power that proved, if not the most detrimental, the most life-altering for him. Fierna saw a kindred spirit in Glasya, and the Princess of Hell could be considered her "best friend", at least as much as devils could have them. At Glasya's urging and in imitation of her close companion, she had begun growing interested in ruling Phlegethos in more than name, calling herself an archduchess, creating her own cults and devil networks, and introducing new initiatives to her father.

As much as he would try to hide it, his daughter's newfound ambition struck sweaty terror in the old Lord of the Fourth, for even as Fierna claimed she simply wanted knowledge on rulership if something happened to him, he was firmly of the mind that any untimely death would be at her command. Belial, for his part, attempted to keep tabs on his daughter's behaviour without provoking her to greater autonomy, even putting many of his schemes against Levistus on hold while considering various actions against Glasya to make her a less appealing role model for Fierna. He was fully aware that the line he trod was thin; however, as any obvious strikes against Asmodeus's daughter could not only inspire his own progeny to rebellion, but be construed as moves against Asmodeus himself.

If Glasya was attempting to drive father and daughter apart to force some final confrontation between them however, the results were debatably successful. The two had managed to reconcile their differences and completely rework their family dynamic publicly ruling Phlegethos as a team. Fierna participated in the "family business", by managing their soul quota, something she proved to be far superior to her father in, while Belial handled the administration and other "work" to which Fierna was apathetic. Calling the two partners wasn't exactly accurate however, as they showed a confusing combination of hate, respect, rivalry and companionship all at the same time. They constantly made moves against each other, although not so much as to be a dangerously exploitable weakness, Belial's greater experience countering Fierna's superior glibness.