It is highly likely that Raphael/Devils/Demons are NOT part of the mindflayer conspiracy whatever it is. They attacked the ship for a reason - had the attack been successful, or had Raphael/Demons/Devils been part of the conspiracy, they would not be trying to cut a "deal" with the PC and Companions. They are a separate faction, trying to altar the circumstances/outcome of the plot in a way that brings them some benefit. One faction of the gods may be working with Kelemvor to "put a finger on the scales" to also effect the outcome, through the aid of old SkellyBelly. If my senile memory is still even slightly intact, some groups of Netherese have return to the plane Faerun occupies, and The Absolute could very well be a member trying to make a play for Godhood - or a member of any of the other factions trying teh same. It certainly appears as if someone either stabbed Shar in the back, stole something or is trying to steal something from her, she represents another faction trying to game the plot. Where you see Shar, you see her sister Selune behind the door. There could even be a larger plot in the background by Ao to somehow reunite Shar and Selune, thus altering the cosmic balance of the gods, repairing or altering the current cosmology of magic in the realms and introducing chocolate chip cookies to Baldur's Gate. Yeah, that’s the one wrench in my theory. My explanation is that some of the mindflayers betrayed the group as a whole (or the devils betrayed the mindflayers? I’m not sure). Something happened prior to the intro because we see a dead mindflayer even before everything goes to shit. Regardless, I wouldn’t be surprised if the devils wanted to use the tadpoles to try and attain godhood themselves (didn’t Asmodeus lose a bunch of power after the second sundering, when the god he devoured was brought back to life?). But...what about my theory regarding the Chocolate Chip Cookies?!!!  That one was too airtight, I had to target the weakest link.
“But his mind saw nothing of all this. His mind was engaged in a warfare of the gods. His mind paced outwards over no-man's-land, over the fields of the slain, paced to the rhythm of the blood's red bugles. To be alone and evil! To be a god at bay. What was more absolute?”
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