Belial

**Belial Iram** is a minor recurring character in the *Divine Comedy*.

He is the high king of Wrath, the husband of Agrat, father of Crowley, and the patriarch of the Iram family. Belial is also the king of the Ars Goetia acting as their figurehead. As a demon of war, Belial thrives on conflict and battle but is surprisingly cool and collected as he is the respected General of Hell's armies.

## History

### Background

Belial was one of the many great angels, one of the Cherubim to be precise, that was first lieutenant of Heaven's legion against the invading Old Ones. Being of Lucifer's choir, Belial was a very powerful and respected angel and as a result was a formidable force during the War in Heaven, acting as first lieutenant. He was soon defeated by Raguel and cast out alongside Lucifer and the other fallen angels into Hell.

After the creation of Hell and the foundation of its hierarchy, Belial took to one of the Circles that were made as his own kingdom which later became the Wrath Circle. However, Belial would get into constant quarrels with Moloch as the two are often polar opposites in terms of how wrath is displayed; Belial is collected and strategic while Moloch is unrestrained and reckless. 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. This feud is what made the Wrath Circle the warzone it is infamously known for.

### Meeting Agrat

Belial and Agrat were said to have met during the Peloponnesian War though they were not aligned with either Sparta or Athens as they simply joined the war for the thrill of it. Belial and Agrat clashed in the midst of the war, having fought for 72 hours and was said to have been love at first sight (if they could see through the blood and guts they were covered in). They were unaware of each other's identities with Belial discovering Agrat's during a royal ball and the latter discovering the former's during the last year of the war. During the 15 year conflict between the two nations, Belial and Agrat confessed their love for each other with Belial proposing to Agrat and the two sealed the deal right when the Persians got involved.

Agrat became the high queen of Wrath due to marrying Belial, bore a son from him of whom she is highly protective over, and would indulge in her battle hungry tendencies through the endless conflicts that ravage Wrath alongside Belial. But in addition to that, Moloch would scheme in trying to usurp Belial and take over the entirety of the Wrath Circle, schemes which were thwarted indirectly by outside forces, Belial's son, or Belial himself.

## Trivia

* "**Belial**" is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament which later became personified as the devil in Christian texts of the New Testament as well as the Dead Sea scrolls.
	+ His name is used by the Hebrews to characterize the wicked or worthless.
	+ In *The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness*, one of the Dead Sea scrolls, Belial is the leader of the Sons of Darkness.
* Belial's theme song would be "Devil's Gonna Come" by Raphael Lake and Royal Baggs.