"The Witch Heart Demon was right," the Earth Demon growled. "Track the knight, and you'll find the Contract of San Venganza. Human mage, hand it over!"
So they followed Johnny to get to me? Sebastian thought. The Witch Heart Demon's smarter than he looks.
Sebastian didn't respond with words—his actions spoke louder. He took a small step back, raising his wand arm slightly, the gesture a clear warning.
"You puny human mage!" the Earth Demon sneered. "You don't know when to quit! My minions, attack!"
The Earth Demon, resembling a young man with dark skin, raised his hands. Cracks split the alley's floor and walls, glowing like portals. Demons poured out, slowly encircling Sebastian.
The ground and walls churned like ocean waves, reshaping the alley into a vast, empty arena. More demons appeared, tightening the circle around Sebastian.
He studied the transformed space, nodding thoughtfully. This must be some kind of spatial magic. He's created a pocket dimension, blocking my teleportation spells and setting up a perfect battlefield for his demons.
"Capture him alive!" the Earth Demon ordered. "The Witch Heart Demon needs him breathing!"
"Alive, huh?" a demon cackled. "Can we eat his arms and legs, then?"
"As long as he's alive, do what you want," the Earth Demon replied.
The demons screeched, roared, and grinned wickedly at Sebastian.
Unfazed, Sebastian's face stayed calm. He swung his wand in a wide arc, casting Confringo. A ring of blue-white flames flared from the wand's tip, exploding with force as the first wave of demons charged. The blast sent them flying, shattered and scorched.
Quickly, Sebastian tapped his forehead with his wand, casting Disillusionment Charm. A sensation like cold liquid poured over him, and he vanished from sight.
"Where's the mage?!" a demon bellowed.
"He's hiding!" another snarled.
"Don't be stupid!" a third snapped. "This is the Earth Demon's dimension—there's nowhere to hide!"
The low-level demons roared and searched frantically, unable to spot Sebastian, perfectly cloaked by the Disillusionment Charm.
As they scrambled, a tall, dark-red demon suddenly screamed, its body sliced in half at the waist by an unseen force, collapsing lifelessly.
Before the others could react, two more demons' heads rolled, their bodies dropping dead.
"It's the mage!" the Earth Demon shouted. "Watch for the magic's ripple when he casts!"
The demons grew wary, scanning for any sign of Sebastian.
One demon caught a glimpse of him as he flickered into view behind another, casting Sectumsempra. The spell slashed the target diagonally from shoulder to hip, splitting it in two. The demon fell, screaming, then went silent.
"I saw him!" the witnessing demon yelled. "He appears when he attacks! Don't let him—"
Its words cut off as its head spun free, vision tumbling. It glimpsed its own headless body before darkness claimed it.
Sebastian had known his invisibility wouldn't last forever, but he hadn't expected the demons to catch on so fast.
The Disillusionment Charm broke when he cast other spells, like Sectumsempra.
His strategy was to strike and vanish—casting the Disillusionment Charm again immediately after each attack, using the demons' bodies to mask his movements.
It minimized detection, but the Earth Demon's warning had sharpened their senses.
"Filthy mage! Die!" a burly, dark-red demon roared, spewing flames reeking of sulfur at Sebastian's last known spot. The fire engulfed weaker demons nearby, incinerating them.
Sebastian's eyes gleamed. Dodging the flames, he aimed his wand at the burly demon and cast Sectumsempra, targeting its arm. The invisible blade severed the limb cleanly, sending it thudding to the ground.
The demon howled, swinging its remaining arm at Sebastian, who vanished again with a Disillusionment Charm.
Enraged, the demon sprayed sulfur flames wildly, as Sebastian had hoped. The fire consumed a cluster of weaker demons too slow to dodge.
"Idiot!" the Earth Demon roared. "The mage is playing you! Calm down!"
But the burly demon, crazed with pain and fury, ignored him, charging through the crowd, torching more of its allies with reckless flames.
"Fool!" the Earth Demon snarled. He thrust out a hand, and the ground beneath the burly demon surged, forming a massive earthen fist. It crushed the demon into a pulp, leaving a smear of gore.
The Earth Demon's eyes glowed faint red, locking onto Sebastian's invisible form.
Stalagmites and stone spears erupted from the ground, lunging at Sebastian.
He didn't bother with Wingardium Leviosa—levitation spells were too slow in a fight , making him an easy target. Instead, he sprinted, dodging swiftly.
His Disillusionment Charm was useless now, spotted by the demons, so he fought in the open. The Earth Demon's minions were down to less than half, giving him better odds.
Sebastian swung his wand, unleashing a blast of wind and debris that hurled nearby demons backward. With another flick, he cast Incendio, conjuring a wall of flames.
He followed with Transfiguration, shaping the fire into a barrier to block the demons' view. He knew regular flames couldn't harm Hell's creatures, so the fire was just a distraction, clouding their sight.
Three head-sized fireballs shot from his wand, aimed at the Earth Demon.
The Earth Demon scoffed at the ordinary flames, his arm morphing into stone and swelling into a massive warhammer. He smashed the fireballs, scattering sparks everywhere.
Using the flames' cover, Sebastian's wrist flicked rapidly, casting Bombarda. Red threads of light streaked from his wand, striking the Earth Demon and triggering small explosions across his rocky body.
"Is that all?" the Earth Demon taunted, lowering his arms as the cracks from the blasts healed. "Hand over the Contract of San Venganza, mage, or death will be just the start of your eternal torment!"
Sebastian smirked, ignoring the demons creeping closer.
"That was just to push you back. Now the real show begins—Fiendfyre!"
Black and red flames roared from his wand, spreading like a tidal wave.
Sebastian froze for a split second, stunned. He'd cast Fiendfyre before, but these flames were different—darker, fiercer, pulsing with an eerie power. If he weren't certain of his spell, he'd think he'd conjured something else entirely. Has Fiendfyre changed in this world?
Unbeknownst to Sebastian, his Fiendfyre had tapped into Hell's power. Miles away, Johnny Blaze, detained at a police station, transformed into the Ghost Rider without warning, broke free, summoned his blazing motorcycle, and raced toward Sebastian. In Hell, Mephisto, seated on his throne, snapped his eyes open, peering across dimensions. "Who dares wield Hell's fire? Someone besides my knights has stolen its power—who?"
Sebastian, unaware of these ripples, struggled to control the black-red flames. The English name of Fiendfyre—literally "demon fire"—had been a metaphor for its danger in his past life. But in this world, the spell lived up to its name, summoning true hellfire.
The hellfire surged, devouring the Earth Demon's minions. Even as Hell-born creatures, the demons were powerless against the inferno, reduced to ash amid their screams.
Sebastian raised his wand, shaping the hellfire into writhing serpents that slithered toward the Earth Demon.
"Hellfire?!" the Earth Demon gasped. "You wield the power of Hell's flames?!"
Sebastian couldn't respond, his focus consumed by controlling the wild blaze. He lacked the strength to taunt back.
The Earth Demon retreated, terrified. Ordinary flames, even scorching ones, were a minor nuisance to him. But hellfire—the deadliest force in Hell—was unstoppable. This was why the Earth, Water, and Air Demons, despite their angelic origins and strength, fell so easily to the Ghost Rider. The Rider's flames were hellfire, gifted by Mephisto to purge disobedient demons.
The Earth Demon had thought that without the Ghost Rider, he'd face little danger. He never imagined a human mage could wield the same hellfire reserved for Mephisto and his knights.
"No! Please, spare me!" the Earth Demon begged, thrashing as the hellfire coiled around him.
The flames seeped into his body, burning from within. Glowing cracks spread across his surface, and with a final wail, he shattered like charred pottery, crumbling into ash.
Sebastian glanced at the Earth Demon's remains, catching his breath. His relief was cut short as he noticed a faint, almost invisible crack on his wand. The altered Fiendfyre's power had been too much, straining the wand to its limits. For now, it still worked, but a damaged wand spelled trouble if the fight dragged on.
Hellfire couldn't be extinguished—only recalled. Sebastian silently cast the counter-spell, carefully drawing the flames back into his wand, their dark glow fading.