The demon dukes can't go all out because of their suspicion and it is going to make them lose. The demon lord needs to be overwhelmed early on before she gets strong enough that she can eat their best effort. At this rate, the dukes will be the ones to succumb just like the demon nobles succumbed 10,000 years ago.
It will be a repeat of history. Hundreds of demon nobles had surrounded demon lord Beelta with more than 30 of them being prime nobles who could singlehandedly hold their own against her. Only 8 prime demons survived that war when their prey became strong enough to turn into their predator. Of those 8, none of them wanted to ever be around her with their bodies. They will only attend meetings with her with their divine sense instead of attending physically.
Baal shook his head and said, "Demons are selfish."
He knows that they all need to set aside their enmity and cooperate but he can only shake his head. It doesn't matter if she gets stronger and if others know about it. What matters is if they are going to do anything about it. He doubts that it is possible.
He had taken the first step in attacking her when the others had chosen to wait and see but even he isn't willing to give his all because he has real threats out there that he has to watch out for. He knows that they are likely to fail but he is unwilling to change his performance because it is also likely to kill him.
The fact that the demon lord is growing stronger doesn't stop demons from being selfish. They are extra selfish when there is a limited prize to be won. It is best if their competitors die during the contest. There are other reasons apart from the competition that demons have to see the death of others.
Demons aren't lovely individuals. They aren't close to each other enough to be friends. They reach their level of strength through killing. There are slights and grievances of various degrees which will encourage one demon or the other to want to see the death of another.
Baal had offended a lot of demon dukes on his climb to power and a lot of other dukes have offended him too. They have all offended each other in one way or the other because the Lord of Chaos always had them fighting and competing for everything. They have had to bottle up their enmity for each other because of the bonds of the family but that changes today.
All their grievances will burst out uncontrollably if given the chance and this is their chance. This situation is a rare opportunity to get rid of their enemies and they will take it. Being backstabbed is a real threat that hasn't changed. Demons lack unity. It hasn't really been a problem because personal strength is all that matters but they need to unite now.
Personal strength is lacking here. It is just that the dukes won't rally and work together because of their fear. To believe that demons can overcome their basic instincts and unite is foolish and naive. If not for the house system in the demon hierarchy, demons will be too divided to attack planes. Right now, it is a competition in their house and an Order from the lord of the house that is dividing them. What can overcome that and make them unite?
Baal doesn't have a solution. He was still wracking his brain when he saw one of Beelta's tongues slam into something invisible in the air. The invisible object bled a stream of dark blood before it became visible. It was a giant black snake with gleaming scales and four dark bat wings.
"What is she doing? And why is she so small?" Baal asked in confusion.
It was Xander. She was in the phantom world but was knocked out of it when Beelta's tongue hit her from the real world. She was trying to sneak up on Beelta but she was foiled. It would seem that even the phantom world is not safe from the demon lord of gluttony's tongue. She really can eat anything.
Baal doesn't know what Xander is doing. She suddenly appeared in the air after the tongue struck something he couldn't see. What he found to be peculiar about her apart from her stealth is that her size has reduced in size. She lacks the pressure that her body should be releasing into the world. It is just odd.
Demon dukes can change their size so it shouldn't be a problem except that Baal feels something different about Xander because of her reduced size. She used to tower over him but she barely reaches his height right now. His sensitivity to mana is telling him that something is abnormal about Xander but he doesn't know what it is.
Xander didn't give up after being exposed. She shot forward like a bolt towards Beelta. Baal shook his head as he watched. Her dedication to the hunt is admirable but it didn't help her to outrun the lashing tongues.
Numerous tongues turned their attention to her and whipped at her. Xander's body would have been carved apart as if she went through a blender before she could reach her target. Except that she turned into black smoke the moment a tongue cut too deep into her.
"What just happened?" Baal asked.
He can't figure out what is going on. He knows that Xander isn't dead because the boost from the DIVINE HOUSE hasn't been reduced. So did turning to smoke help her survive? Did she become intangible? Why didn't she use it to bypass the tongues in the first place? So many unknowns about Xander. She is a mystery to him.
Then another Xander appeared in another direction just outside the range of the tongues. She shot forward again only to be foiled again. But she turned into smoke again.