The Seven Evils

"Seven is the number of the powers of Hell, and Seven is the number of the Great Evils."

The Seven Evils (a.k.a. Great Evils) are the seven most powerful demon lords of Hell. They are sub-divided into the three Prime Evils, and the four Lesser Evils. They are the main antagonists of Highschool DXD: The Prime Evil.

History
All of the Seven Evils spawned from the heads of the dragon Tathamet. The three greater heads formed the Prime Evils of terror, hatred, and destruction, while the four lesser heads formed the Lesser Evils of pain, anguish, sin, and lies.

The three Prime Evils collectively established themselves as the leading power among the Burning Hells. These were Diablo, Lord of Terror, Mephisto, Lord of Hatred, and Baal, Lord of Destruction—the first of all the Evils of Hell, and the most powerful. They endeavored to maintain a strict rule over the demons of Hell, each powering one another—as terror leads to hatred, hatred leads to destruction. However, their unity was fragmentary at best and while Mephisto functioned as their leader (by virtue of him being the eldest), he would pit his brothers against one another if it suited his purposes.

The Lesser Evils are a collective of powerful and influential Demon Lords in the Burning Hells. They are "lesser" when compared to the three Prime Evils, who are their only superiors, but exceptionally powerful in their own right, having proven this by virtue of their roles in the Dark Exile.

Though they are demon lords of the Burning Hells, the Seven Evils often wage war with one another as per their nature, destroying entire realms in the process.

During the Second Dark Exile, the Prime Evils were once again banished by the Lesser Evils to Earth before they were captured once again by the Three Factions. Locked and sealed away in soulstones, each was given to a race of the Three Factions: the Fallen Angels had Mephisto's, the angels guarded Baal's (who used Raphael's body as a surrogate host since Baal's soulstone was shattered), and the Devils acquired Diablo's to safeguard.

Prime Evils
Dul'Mephistos - Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred
 * The oldest of the Three Brothers. Father of Lilith, mother of the Nephalem. Arguably the most intelligent and cunning demon in existence, though physically the weakest of the three brothers.


 * Al'Diabolos - Diablo, the Lord of Terror
 * Tor'Baalos - Baal, the Lord of Destruction



Lesser Evils

 * Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish
 * The only female member of the Seven Evils and the twin sister to Duriel. Dubbed the Demon Queen, she is the first female demon in existence and is a sadistic entity, not unlike Duriel. However, while Duriel reveled in physical agony, she derived pleasure from emotional suffering, believing in the "purity" of the emotion.
 * Duriel, the Lord of Pain
 * The Maggot King, Duriel loves to torture and inflict pain. However, he does not seem to care what the pain means to the recipient. He appears to love the music of their screams, and their agony on a sensual level. Duriel considers himself a master of pain, but is only interested in physical torment rather than mental anguish.
 * Belial, the Lord of Lies
 * The Master of Deception is not an absurd title for Belial. He advocates the notion that perception is reality, and it was his sole purpose to dominate reality. He did not lie simply for the sake of lying, but rather to deceive with the intent of controlling others' perception of what is real. He relishes the moment his victim realized they'd been deceived, that moment of nakedness and betrayal.
 * Azmodan, the Lord of Sin
 * The Cardinal of Sins and regarded as the Burning Hells' greatest demonic general, Azmodan is a clever manipulator who traded in vice and corruption. Passionate and plotting, he was by far the most charismatic and seductive of the Seven Evils. He loved vice in all its forms, but the truest gratification he derived was that from the failure of others. He was a master of temptation, of causing those who held steadfastly to principles and beliefs to ultimately betray them. He existed only to shred morality, and to bring all within his sphere of pleasure to the point of breaking, believing that all beings find their truest identity by embracing the far limits of perversion and depravity.