Moloch

**Moloch** is a minor recurring antagonist in the *Divine Comedy*.

He is a Grand Prince of Hell and archdemon that acts as a proxy ruler of the Wrath Circle. As the Commander-in-Chief of Hell's military, Moloch embodies the ethos of violence, believing that violence, power, and battle are what allows one to dominate your enemies. He is a fierce rival of Belial and is locked in a seemingly endless feud with him.

## History

### Background

Moloch was an angel in Heaven that fell to the abyss (later Hell) with Lucifer and his band of fallen angels. After Hell was made and the founding of its hierarchy, Moloch was among the many fallen angels present in Hell's parliament where he was arguing with Belial in regards to immediate warfare against God. Their rivalry would worsen when Belial took a Circle as his own kingdom despite Moloch claiming that he found it first. Their quarrels alone are what shaped the Wrath Circle into a fiery terrain.

Their rivalry evolved into hatred when Moloch found that Belial would become the king of the Ars Goetia which is the second most powerful line of royal demons beneath the Seven Emperors themselves.

### Grand Prince of Hell

As many millenia pass, Moloch would not only become a Grand Prince of Hell but also the Commander-in-Chief of Hell's armies, though this would not quell his burning hatred towards Belial who still outranks him in both departments. Moloch would later rule over the Heresy Ring and annoyed by his tantrums Lucifer would give him a quarter of the Violence Ring thus an extension of the Wrath Circle.

Nevertheless, he made use of the Violence Ring to sate his lust for battle as well as amuse himself. He was the one who orchestrated a war between two demon clans that vy over a territory or region in Wrath. Belial, however, intervened and decreed that this showdown between the townspeople would be annual by ringing the Battle Bell. To this day Moloch would scheme in trying to take down Belial and take over the entirety of the Wrath Circle.

## Personality

Moloch is described as a "douchey meathead tyrant" type of character, in that he believes that strength, ruthlessness, and power are the most important traits of character. Moloch is cruel, sadistic, and violent, as seen by his caring only about spreading chaos and conflict. According to Belial, Moloch only feels joy when destroying cities and nations. His sadism is especially prominent when Moloch was said to have once laughed from making the people of Topheth throw their children in a brazen bull to be cooked for, and eaten by, Moloch.

Moloch is also extremely greedy, bloodthirsty, and power hungry, as exemplified by his desire to destroy Belial, so he can replace him as the new king of the Ars Goetia and ruler of Wrath. However, all his attempts to overthrow Belial failed. He is willing to go so far as to "ally" himself with Azazel simply for the sake of taking Belial out though Moloch made it clear that he couldn't care less what Azazel was doing as his mission would distract the monarchs enough to give Moloch the opportunity to kill Belial.

Moloch deeply dislikes cowardice and is completely intolerant of failure such as when he would kill or beat some of his best soldiers within an inch of their lives for having failed to carry out an assassination or losing in battle against the I.M.P. crew. His intelligence can also be called into question though it stems from his sheer arrogance and greed for Moloch was unaware of the fact that Azazel's goals would threaten both Heaven and Hell which meant that there won't be a Wrath Circle to rule, but this did not deter Moloch as he was more focused on killing Belial and taking all that he ruled over.

## Trivia

* He is based on the figure of the same name found in Canaanite mythology and the Hebrew bible. Moloch was the Cannanite god of fertility associated with the notorious practice of child sacrifice. He was also commonly associated with Baal Hammon, the chief weather god of ancient Carthage (modern-day Tunisia). However, he is considered to be a false god in Abrahamic religions.
	+ The most notorious element of Moloch's worship was child sacrifice where the Israelites would sacrifice their firstborn children by tossing them in the furnace located inside Moloch's idol.
* Moloch designed a fighting pit in the trenches of the Violence Ring called the Topheth Pit where demons and sinners of Wrath fight to the death.
	+ In relation to this, it is also implied that Moloch was the one who gave the Roman Empire the idea to make a gladiator pit.
* Moloch has an oath system named after him called Moloch's Oath which is a blood pact made between two demons that binds them together and can only be severed if both demons pay their dues to one another.
* Moloch is said to have a brother who indulges in the same sacrificial rituals as him. He recalls of when he sewed his brother's mouth shut for daring to copy his rituals and take away his food. This is a clear reference to Bagul who is the main antagonist of the movie *Sinister*.