Bael, also known as Baal, Baall, Boal, Boall or Beal, is the first principal demonic spirit and the great king of Hell in the Ars Goetia, ruling over the East along with being the head of the infernal powers. Bael is the first of the 72 spirits of King Solomon and governs 66 to 250 legions of demonic spirits.
He is able to make his conjurer invisible. He also possess the powers of popularity, weather manipulation, as well as the power to garner the favor of others. According to some sources, he can make people wise, speaks with a hoarse voice and carries ashes in his pocket along with necromancy.
His appearance varies, although the most common is a three-headed apparition, with the heads being a cat, a man and a toad or combinations thereof with the appearance of a king or soldier or with the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs. According to the Grand Grimoire, he is a direct subordinate of Lucifuge Rofocale.
According to Rudd, Bael is opposed by the Shemhamphorasch angel Vehuiah. According to the Zohar, Bael is equal in rank to the archangelRaphael. Baal has connections with the Canaanite god Baal Hadad.
Bael is a demon lord who has taken control of Tokyo after a cataclysmic bombing of the area. Pazuzu instructs the protagonist and his friend to defeat him in order to bring peace, however a witch, who betrayed Pazuzu, reveals that he is actually manipulating the two into defeating Bael so he can take over as ruler of Tokyo. The friend refuses to believe this, however, and leaves the protagonist. The witch then joins him in his place. Later on, after going through Zaratan Island, the protagonist arrives at Bael's Castle, where the friend, now known as the Dark Hero, has infiltrated. When the protagonist reaches Bael, the Dark Hero is nearly dead after attempting to defeat him. After the protagonist defeats Bael, the Dark Hero dies. Bael attempts to escape as a frog, but the hero can either kill him or catch him. If Bael is spared, he can later merge with Beelzebub to attain his true form, Baal, who joins the protagonist's party. Capturing the frog is required for the True Ending route.
Shin Megami Tensei[]
"Origin: Babylonia. A king of Hell, ruling over 66 demon legions. He is one of the 72 demons of the Goetia and presides over all kinds of knowledge. It's said he is able to satisfy all sexual desires. He appears with a spider's body and the heads of a cat, human, and toad. Though there are times at which he appears as a mix of these species. He is an especially powerful king in the Goetia, and 'leads the eastern army.'"
—Shin Megami Tensei A-Mode DDS dictionary
Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis[]
Bael is fought in the Supreme Council found in the CAD of Megalopolis.
Persona 5[]
Bael is the demon form of Junya Kaneshiro's Shadow Self, although in the game he is closer to Beelzebub. He appears to be a rotund, winged version of Shadow Kaneshiro with compound eyes, and in the second phase of his boss fight he summons a robot that looks like a piggy bank to help him fight.
Devil Survivor[]
While not appearing as a usable demon in this game, he makes an appearance on Belberith's body along with Belphegor and Baal, suggesting that they were also contenders to be King of Bel but were defeated and absorbed by Belberith. His design is different from most of his appearance made by Kazuma Kaneko.
Bael as part of Belberith's body in Devil Survivor
Bael as he appears in Megami Tensei II
Bael as a frog in Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei
Bael's sprite as it appears in in Shin Megami Tensei II
Bael as he appears in Persona 5
Bael as he appears in Persona 5
Bael's demon form as it appears in Persona 5: The Animation
Bael as he appears in Persona 5 the Stage #2
Trivia[]
Kaneko's Shin Megami Tensei design for Bael is identical to Louis Breton and M. Jarrault's illustration published in the Dictionnaire Infernal Demonographia.
