The demon did not act tough and crazy like some limited low level IQ demon from the lower levels of hell .
That alone told Doctor Strange everything he needed to know.
The sorcerer, studied the demon carefully during the fight relying on his immense intellect and perfect to come up with solutions mid battle...
Dr strange thoughts:
It's armor is fused to flesh like blackened bone, the runes etched were function, designed to resist certain levels of magic and physical force .
Every movement was economical and precise, no wasted force and no theatrical flourish.
This was not a brute from Mephisto's kennels.
...
Third pov
Blade felt it first.
The pressure of the battle increased, this wasn't normal demonic meat head , it was trained and experienced " Blade noted."
The demon's stance shifted the moment Blade adjusted his footing, its weight distribution mirroring his own. That kind of reflex wasn't instinct. It was experience earned over centuries of killing things that fought back with skills and power.
"Yeah," Blade muttered, tightening his grip. "This motherfucker is a pro."
The demon moved quickly for its size,
It slipped inside Blade's opening strike, gauntleted forearm redirecting the sword just enough to break momentum, then countered with a knee strike that cracked concrete and sent Blade skidding back twenty feet as Blade stuck his blade into the ground to slow his momentum...
Only the last-second reinforcement spell Strange had layered onto Blade's body and spirit kept the demonic energy from tearing straight through his organs and breaking his body.
Blade then rolled to side to dodge an incoming downward slash and came up slashing the legs, but the demon was already gone, reappearing behind Magik in a burst of sulfurous smoke.
Magik didn't panic at all, She just smiled.
Her Soulsword ignited brighter, runes flaring as she shifted into a demonic duelist's stance, one only rulers learned, When the demon struck diagonally she didn't turn around but simply raised her sword and parried the strike and teleported a few feet away now facing the demon before rushing forward, their blades met with a shriek that bent light around the blades impact point.
Magik didn't choose to overpower it with brute strength rather She outplayed it.
This demon had similar moves to some of her old enemies but more refined..
Each movement was a lesson, feints layered atop feints, demonic techniques refined by someone who had ruled Limbo through sheer mastery.
The demon adapted, shifting styles mid-fight, drawing from hell-knows-how-many battles .
And still, Magik held her ground with a smirk.
"You'll need to hit harder than that big boy"she said.
Ghost rider jumped in as he tore through the air like a comet, hellfire chains lashing out.
The demon caught one chain barehanded, gritting it's teeth as flames crawled up its arm without slowing it, and yanked, dragging Johnny Blaze forward.
Johnny let it happen.
His skull burned brighter as hellfire surged, chains multiplying, wrapping tighter, hotter. The demon growls as it staggered, armor glowing red, when ghost rider reach 5 feet away from the demon he let out a hell flame breath at the bound demon, the demon endured relying on the runes on it's armor to survive and thats when Johnny felt it
Another presence elsewhere, a divine being was coming
Johnny's attention twitched and the demon capitalized on it ruthlessly..
A brutal headbutt to the burning skull, sent Ghost Rider crashing through a parked bus. Johnny shook it off, fire roaring higher.
Doctor Strange then raised both hands, cloak snapping violently as he escalated.
"Wong. Now."
The Bands of Cyttorak erupted from the ground, crimson constructs slamming into the demon from multiple angles. It resisted violently , muscles bulging, feet carving trenches in the asphalt as it thrash around and fought against the binding spell through sheer will like a pitbull on leash .
"hmhm... Impressive," Strange muttered. "But you're not breaking that my demonic friend."
Wong joined the chant, reinforcing the spell lattice, adding sigils of containment and suppression.
The demon snarled for the first time in frustration.
Blade surged back in with a sharp tooth grin , movements sharper now, magic reinforcement humming under his skin.
Demonic energy slid off him instead of burning through. He carved deep, precise strikes, targeting joints, exploiting moments Magik created.
The tide shifted slowly in their favor
Ghost Rider seized the opening, hellfire chains glowing white-hot now as he poured everything into them.
The demon screamed as the flames began to bite deeper than flesh, bypassing the demonic runes, burning memory, sin, and identity.
From the shadows a building mile away
Derrick watched.
His vision enhanced by viltrumite genes fused and further enhanced by the blacklight observed muscle strain percentages, reaction delay increases, spell output curves.
He noted how Strange escalated without overcommitting . How Magik conserved energy despite her ruling-class power and how the demon adjusted until it simply couldn't anymore.
Combat demon was a High-tier foe but the
Midnight Suns were operating at near-optimal synergy.
Based on his analysis the Suns victory would be in 10 minutes barring interference.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Over head, unknown to the power hungry Derrick
Government satellites tracked the engagement, analysts arguing over collateral projections while secret HYDRA cells quietly rerouted assets.
A demon like that wasn't just a threat, it was research material.
Far from the battlefield, lightning split the clouds, Thor odinson felt it before he saw it as he was rapidly approaching the fight .
The demonic stench and beneath it Something else.
Something mimicking Asgardian blood .
His grip tightened on Mjolnir in anger .
"That presence again," he growled. "The anomaly that ran like a coward."
He turned mid-flight.
And saw Derrick on the roof of skyscraper.
Watching.
Thor immediately changed course
"This foul beast shall taste Asgardian steel and the divine lightning of Thor odinson God of thunder! " he said flying towards Derrick.
The clash of thunder announced Thor's arrival, and Derrick's head in annoyance not expecting this stubborn guy to show up again.
....
Across dimensions, Loki smiled thinly.
"Oh, this is becoming quite the spectacle," he murmured, already weaving more skeems.
The board was filling fast.
And Derrick was forced to act prematurely.
Derrick "fuck this magic shit" as he starred at the approaching Thor, already tense, getting ready to attack and consume the losing demon before Thor arrives .