【LORA】Berith (Goetia)

〇 Berith (Goetia) One of the 72 demons recorded in the *Goetia*, ranked 28th. He is a Duke of Hell who commands 26 legions. He originates from Baal-Berith, a god worshipped by the people of Shechem (modern-day Nablus in the Palestinian territories), as mentioned in the Old Testament. According to the *Pseudomonarchia Daemonum*, when summoned, he appears as an elderly soldier riding a red horse, wearing a crown and red garments; he is depicted this way in the illustrations for the *Dictionnaire Infernal* as well. However, in this book, he wears olive-green clothing to reflect his advanced age. While he is well-versed in "chronomancy" (time-reading) and alchemy, he is notorious in the Demon Realm as an extraordinary liar; almost everything he says is a falsehood. His unique ability is "turning lies into truth and truth into lies" (a form of mental manipulation). By fusing immense magical power with the power of his words, he interferes with a target's mind and completely deludes them—a truly terrifying ability. Because this power poses a threat capable of toppling nations if misused, the central government ordered over a dozen high-ranking mages from the Bureau of Magic to place a powerful seal on his abilities. Consequently, he is currently only capable of telling trivial lies. The authority to lift this seal is granted to Beelzebub (Acting Demon King), Lucifuge (President of the Demon Realm's Administrative Government), and the highest-ranking of the 72 demons. The illustration is based on the traditional depiction of an old man sporting an imperial-style mustache and a shining crown. Although I initially conceived him as a soldier in the *Goetia* context, I decided that role was already filled, given the presence of several elderly martial artists (haha). Given his authority and character as a god, I decided to set his role within the mass media industry. He is portrayed as the owner of a company called "Eastern Media." This company manages a variety of publications, including *Eastern Daily* (a gossip paper for the Eastern Territory), various tabloids, and information magazines such as *Makai Tanbo* (Demon World Exploration) and *Weekly Trend*. In terms of historical context, his reporting methods emulate those of a certain German propaganda minister who is credited with laying the foundations of modern mass media in the human world some eighty years ago. While he enjoys the support of the masses, there are many who disapprove of him and his tactics (most notably, the individual ranked 32nd). His character is modeled after Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corporation and one of the foremost media moguls in the human world.