The demon Dukes

First Nami tells us about the 3 dukes that remained loyal to the old demon king. The first one is a Devil type demon named Lucius, the morning star. This one seems to be a rarity. S-ranks are so rare that S-ranked individuals typically don’t have S-rank children. It is not just like that for demons, among humans and the other races, S-ranks typically have non-S-rank children. So I can see why Lucius is a special one. For demon dukes this is even more important as it is one of the rare times the parents can pass on the title to their child.
The important thing we need to know about this guy is that he is the ruler of Inferno. He is a spellsword type of adventurer with a focus on fire and his legion is named Infernus Noctis. Lucius was apparently not so great a strategist, but quite a capable tactician and whenever he was on the battlefield at night, he had a tendency of casting so many fire spells that the battle might as well had been fought by day.

The second duke on the loyalist side is called Orobas, the archmage. An imp mage, old enough to have fought in the war against Zrephia. The region he governs is Annwn and his legion is named Malevoli Preliator. Orobas is apparently a genius level individual and was in charge of the loyalist strategies. Without him, Lucius would have lost to the usurper a long time ago, but Orobas also greatly benefited from Lucius’ combat prowess.

The last of the three loyalist dukes is an alp. Ravana, the nightbird. She is the duchess of Sheol, a region of the demon kingdom that is covered in perpetual night. Probably the reason why her legion took the name Legio Tenebrarum. Ravana was the kind of duke that preferred having demons with flying capabilities in her legion. She therefore took a lot of imps and alps into her army, but was also quick to order her flesh grafters to grow some wings on non-winged devils, kobolds, fiends and succubi. According to Nami, Ravana’s legion focused on strikes behind enemy lines and apparently also loved to do so at night.

On the rebel’s side, the first on is an incubus named Dagrol. A scientist, as I understand it who possesses large laboratory in the capital of Avernus. He is one of the strategist on the rebel’s side, though he focused less on moving around his legion, Legio Mors, and focused more on employing specialized squads to perform surgical strikes. A dangerous opponent to be sure.

The second rebel duke is Vanth, the monster layer. I’ve already heard about him. He is a fiend, of the wolf type. Curious, due to his monster laying tendencies, I would have assumed he was a succubus. We already knew the region he governs is Miktlan, but now we also learn his legion is named Turma Pestis. Vanth was apparently neither a great strategist nor a great tactician, but he is apparently quite a capable monster tamer. Enough so that he would be able to shift the tide of battle by relying on a large amount of monsters joining the battle on his side.

Then there is the third rebel duchess Empusa, the alluring. Hearing that name reminds me of Count Earl. It is she who contracted him to kidnap Shalia and bring her to the demon realm as a slave. I hope we can avoid her on our travels. I wouldn’t want her to notice Shalia’s pink hair and get interested. Empusa is apparently think kingdom’s version of the Priest. She is quite religious and even built a cathedral to the great demon. The regions she governs is Duat, and her legion hails to the name Sanguinem Malum.

Finally, there are the 2 neutral dukes. The first one is Oriax, the sculptor. He is a kobold type of demon. A spellsword with earth magic too and apparently very much disinterested in war in general. The guy is an artist, focused on developing his masonry and architecture. He governs the fertile province of Elysium and his legion is called Abyssi Dominatores.

The last of the demon dukes, according to Nami, may in fact be the most dangerous one. She is Keres, the gladiatrix. Apparently, S-ranks usually become dukes by marrying into a ducal family. Lucius is the obvious exception to that, he was born into it and could inherit. But all other dukes had to marry a previous duke’s child to become the new duke. But there is also a different way to earn a ducal title, and that is by challenging one of the current dukes to single combat. The duel is held in front of the Demon King and if the challenger wins, they take the previous duke’s title, lands, legion and his wealth. Keres is a Lion type fiend who decided to challenge the duke that governed purgatory. It was a fierce battle, but in the end she killed the duke, proving her superior strength to all and became the new duchess of purgatory. The then started construction of a colosseum, where her troops could train every day, until they became worthy of the name Purgatorii Prima.

During the rebellion, Keres cared for neither one side nor the other. If she ware to join a side, they needed to prove to her they were worthy warriors who earned her strength. Supposedly, the loyalists had an S-rank who once defeated Keres in a duel, but he got captured by the rebels before he could recruit Keres to the loyalist side. As for the rebels, they were apparently on the winning side. All they really needed to so was make sure she didn’t join the loyalists and they would eventually be victorious.

Disclaimer:
hey everyone. I just wanted you to know that i've listed each of the dukes again below, giving each their own chapter with more detailed information. yes, there are pictures, they have been made with the help of AI. Some of them may have special eye colors, but that's because of the AI, not because there is special meaning behind it. If this story does have characters with eye color that is special to the lore, it will be mentionned in the text.