The impossible happened again—Asmodeus escaped his magical prison.
The demon lord emerged more powerful than before, having consumed the life force of other imprisoned demons to fuel his escape. His first act was attacking the sanctuary, targeting Adrian specifically.
"I told you I'd return," Asmodeus said, standing in the sanctuary's main hall with dozens of demons at his back. "Now, I take what you cost me—starting with your life, Adrian Chen."
The battle was catastrophic. Asmodeus had planned perfectly, attacking when many of their forces were deployed elsewhere, when defenses were focused on entity preparation rather than demon incursion.
Adrian fought desperately, his ancient blood creating weapons and barriers. But Asmodeus was too strong, too focused on revenge.
"You cost me everything," Asmodeus snarled, his attacks relentless. "My territory, my power, my reputation. I'll make you suffer before I kill you."
Kieran fought beside Adrian, protecting him from Asmodeus's most devastating attacks. But even Kieran's ancient power struggled against Asmodeus's enhanced strength.
"We need to retreat," Kieran said. "Regroup, bring in reinforcements—"
"No," Adrian said, an idea forming. "We end this. Now."
He reached deep into his ancient soul, accessing memories from Seth's original life. The entity wasn't the only ancient thing Seth had learned to fight.
Adrian's blood began to glow, ancient power manifesting. He created a barrier around Asmodeus—not to trap him, but to cut him off from his demon dimension, from the source of his power.
"What are you doing?" Asmodeus demanded, his attacks weakening.
"Severing your connection. You're powerful because you draw from the demon dimension. Without that connection, you're just another demon. Beatable."
The barrier held. Asmodeus's power drained rapidly, his enhanced strength fading. Elena and the First Generation took advantage, attacking with coordinated precision.
Within minutes, Asmodeus was subdued, weakened beyond recovery.
"Kill me," Asmodeus spat. "I won't live as a weakened shadow."
"No," Adrian said. "You'll live. You'll serve. You'll spend eternity working to undo the damage you've caused."
They bound Asmodeus with magic and contracts, transforming him from threat to servant. It was a fate worse than death for a demon lord—eternal servitude, powerless, forced to help rather than harm.
As guards escorted Asmodeus away, he looked at Adrian with a mixture of hatred and respect.
"You've become powerful," Asmodeus said. "More than I anticipated. Perhaps... perhaps you'll actually stop the entity."
"We will. Because we have something you never understood—unity."