Baalzephon
Biography
General and schemer
Baalzephon helps direct the trap that destroys the greater demons attacking the Bronze Citadel and later oversees devil promotions. Impressed by “Leycian,” Leylin Farlier's horned-devil disguise, he exploits the subordinate's blocked promotion to turn him against Azlok. Baalzephon gives Leycian a holy-spirit crystal containing enough energy for pit-fiend evolution, then offers advancement under Asmodeus as the reward for loyalty (Chapters 1025–1029).
Baalzephon presents a concise fealty contract verified by Baator's origin force. The wording itself contains no hidden trap, but Leylin's superior Archdevil authority lets him substitute another contract without detection, reversing master and servant. Baalzephon signs while believing that Leycian belongs to him and later reveals his ambition to seize Beelzebub's vacant position in Dis (Chapter 1029).
Bid for Dis
Seeking Beelzebub's vacant throne, Baalzephon betrays Asmodeus and secretly enters Dis with Leylin. The Iron Tower's gluttony trials force him into autocannibalism and strip away most of his strength, while astral predators repeatedly penetrate his devil defences and consume part of his origin. He then fights the King of Hellhounds with a whitesilver shield before the other Dark Eight arrive (Chapters 1030–1036).
Baalzephon appears to disintegrate against the Palace of Gluttony's defence, but this is a feigned death. He follows the other contenders invisibly and races for Beelzebub's authority once the destination opens. Leylin then invokes the reversed contract. Unable to resist the command, Baalzephon blocks the gathered pit fiends with his flaming sword until they tear him apart (Chapters 1037–1038).
Appearance and personality
Baalzephon is a pit fiend who adopts a poorly constructed, conniving human guise. He cultivates a false image of generosity while using advancement, threats, and contracts to control subordinates. He is intelligent, ambitious, gluttonous, and capable of patiently following stronger rivals, but he overestimates his own authority and never notices that Leylin's is higher.
Magic, bloodline, and abilities
As a pit fiend, Baalzephon possesses immense physical force, devil defences, hellfire, and a flaming sword. An instant Greater Teleportation spell is inscribed into his body, allowing rapid relocation, but the Iron Tower interferes with it and prevents him escaping the gluttony realm. Its predators can also bypass the fire resistance and other defences on which pit fiends normally rely (Chapters 1028, 1033, 1038).
His Dark Eight office gives him authority to issue military orders and participate in devil promotion or demotion ceremonies. Those changes depend on Baator's hierarchy, superior approval, and soul energy; they are not unrestricted personal transformation magic. Baalzephon can assume a human form, use invisibility, and convincingly feign disintegration, although Leylin's True Vision pierces the later concealment (Chapters 1027–1028, 1037–1038).
Baalzephon understands origin-force contracts but is not immune to them. Leylin does not defeat his wording; he replaces the document through higher authority. Once signed, its hierarchy compels Baalzephon to attack his peers even while he consciously resists (Chapters 1029, 1038).
Relationships
- Leylin Farlier: The supposed subordinate who reverses their contract and engineers his death.
- Asmodeus: His nominal master, whom he secretly betrays.
- Beelzebub: The missing Archdevil whose throne and authority he covets.
- The Dark Eight: His fellow generals and eventual rivals in the Iron Tower.
Items
- Holy-spirit crystal: A crystal containing enough energy to promote a horned devil, awarded to Leycian (Chapter 1028).
- Fealty contract: An origin-force contract covertly rewritten to make Baalzephon Leylin's servant (Chapter 1029).
- Whitesilver shield: A holy, rune-covered anti-devil shield Baalzephon uses against the King of Hellhounds despite its corrosive effect on him (Chapter 1035).
- Flaming sword: His weapon when the reversed contract forces him to hold off the other pit fiends (Chapter 1038).