Relief was a fleeting luxury. The melody within Alex, a triumphant brass section just moments ago, morphed into a discordant string quartet, tinged with a chilling unease. The vortex had closed, but Asmodeus's absence felt… unnatural.
Echo, ever the pragmatist, voiced their shared concern. "That wasn't a complete defeat. It felt..."
"Unfinished," Alex finished, their gaze locked on the spot where the vortex had been. "He didn't disappear, he retreated."
Anya's voice crackled in their comms, laced with urgency. "Scans are inconclusive. No trace of demonic signature, but residual energy readings… fluctuating wildly."
The unsettling truth hung heavy in the air – Asmodeus hadn't been banished. The ward had simply severed his connection to the physical realm, forcing him back to his own infernal domain. But the ritual hadn't been designed for such a purpose. It was a desperate gamble, and its full ramifications remained unknown.
