Azazel, also known as Hazazel or Azael, is one of the chief governors of the Grigori and the father of Hellboy.
Overview[]
Azazel was once one of the chieftains of a group of fallen angels known as the Watchers who later consorted and married with female humans. This blasphemous union resulted in the birth of the dreaded Nephilim. Aside from Samyaza, he is the most infamous of the fallen Watchers and is the biological father of Hellboy by way of mating with Sarah Hughes, a witch and descendant of King Arthur himself.
History[]
Background[]
Lik his fellow Watchers, Azazel was once an angel that was without name and was one of the chiefs of the Watcher choir alongside Samyaza. When Samyaza was touched by the light of God and blessed with knowing God's Ineffable Name, he would use this blessing to bestow the proper names and functions to his choir. Azazel was the first one to be named and thus appointed as the second chieftain below Samyaza himself. Azazel was then tasked to watch over the humans for several years to come, only it was not until Naamah and the Nashiym's machinations that Azazel strayed from his original purpose.
Azazel was said to be an eater of sins. He sat up on a hill and the villages would give over their sins with a goat and send that goat into the wilderness. Azazel would then devour the goat and the sins along with it. However, the more sins that Azazel devoured, the more his hunger grew. Azazel was no longer content with the sins he received. He was spotted around the edges of villages, whispering into the ears of mortals. As the Watchers began to lust for the mortal women, Azazel like his brethren began encouraging people to do even greater misdeeds, and people indulged, overindulged, even. And no one knew when to stop.
Corrupter of Man[]
Azazel was cast out of Heaven after he taught men how to make swords, knives, shields and breastplates; and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them; and all kinds of costly stones and all coloring tinctures. Because of this, the humans became corrupted and viewed themselves as invincible with such tools. The corruption brought on by Azazel and the Grigori degrades the human race, and the four archangels being Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel were stated to have witnessed much blood being shed upon the earth and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth.
The humans even went so far as to demand the angels above to have an audience with God, and to raid Heaven itself in order to learn the secrets of Paradise and the ones that God holds. When God saw what Azazel's actions have wrought he told Raphael to bind Azazel's hand and foot and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert and toss him therein. He would then place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not see light.
Imprisonment and Hellboy[]
Azazel remained in his prison for so long that the jagged rocks of Dudael apparently tore his physical body away. He became a writhing mass of darkness covered in mouths and eyes. Azazel would eventually be freed by Lucifer and would join the demons in Pandemonium and Hell, where he would become a Prince of Sheol and eventually the master of the witches in Longshire and Abbotsbury.
He and an English witch named Sarah Hughes, created a cambion named Anung un Rama, who was destined to release the Ogdru Jahad from the Outerverse with the Right Hand of Doom, which was given to him by Mammon. In addition, both Azazel and Mammon held concerns over what would happen should Mundus assume his control over the Secret Fire. As a result, they agreed to conceal the power of Vril within the Right Hand, acting as a container of sorts, and did so after Lucifer was usurped by Mundus.
This, however, only served to cause outrage in Hell, especially from Mundus though he thankfully was unaware of the fact that the Secret Fire was contained within the Right Hand of Doom but was searching for it high and low nonetheless. Mundus punished those who were part of Azazel's cabal, and cast the fallen Watcher into darkness. His son would be raised by the demons Astaroth and Aim, until he was summoned to Earth through Project Ragna Rok. During Judgement Day, it is said that those who followed Azazel's ways by misusing the purpose of weapons such as swords, will be cast into a lake of fire alongside Azazel himself.
