THE TRUMP CARD

Silas Boulder was dead. And, after chomping his head, the Glorious Demon transformed. The grotesque horror of abomination continued to expand. Its form rippled. Tendrils of smoke and shadow coiling from its limbs. 

Each movement it made now displaced the air with raw, malevolent force. It swiveled its massive head. Its gaze sweeping over the remaining survivors. A predatory hunger in its depths. 

The air grew heavy. Thick with the sharp scent of fresh blood. Panic rippled through the mercenaries and researchers still present in the throne hall.

Jack gritted his invisible teeth. The demon was too strong. Too fast. And it got stronger after killing and consuming its prey. 

He needed to buy time. To create a diversion. He needed to get these people out.

He reappeared directly in front of the Glorious Demon. Materializing with the abruptness of a nightmare given form. 

His spectral visage, that of a masked stage-magician, shimmered with ethereal energy. The Spirit Cape he wore was billowing behind him. Even without any wind within the hall.

Before the demon could even process his sudden appearance, Jack surged forward. Swinging his Spirit Torch. Activating [Mysterious Anomaly].

The world around the demon warped. The ancient, ruined hall twisted into a kaleidoscope of impossible geometry. Walls bled into floors. Ceilings inverted. And the very air vibrated with phantom whispers. 

The demon faltered. Its multi-jointed legs freezing mid-stride. Its purple eyes, for a precious few seconds, swiveled wildly. Trying to comprehend the sudden, baffling shift in perception. 

The illusion was potent. A direct assault on all of its sensory input. But it was a fleeting reprieve. It wouldn't stop it for long..

"Jack?!" A voice, sharp with recognition, cut through the din. Chloe. She stood frozen. Her grimoire was still clutched in a trembling hand. Staring at his visible form. Recognizing the specter who had aided her before.

The demon roared. A sound that vibrated through the very bones of the palace. Shattering the illusion with sheer, raw power. 

Its purple eyes were now locked onto Jack. An ancient, instinctual rage replaced the momentary confusion. It recognized him as the source of its discomfort.

"Get out! Chloe! All of you!" Jack roared back. Gesturing wildly towards the crumbling entrance. His voice was straining against the demon's monstrous roar. 

"Take the survivors! Go! This thing is a demon! It's too strong for you! It can't hurt me. I'm a specter, but you… you'll just die!" 

His words seemed to finally break Chloe from her stupor. She grabbed Dr. Crafton by the arm. Shouting orders. Her face was a mask of grim determination. 

Others, shocked out of their paralysis, began to move. Scrambling towards the exit.

The Glorious Demon took a monstrous, loping step towards Jack. Its form seemed to grow larger with each movement. Jack knew he had seconds before it realized his intangibility. He had to cement its focus on him.

He extended a spectral hand, a faint, almost mocking energy shimmering at his fingertips. He activated one of the most basic Mystic Art cantrips. Vicious Taunt!

"Hey, ugly! Thanos wannabe!" Jack projected his voice with mystical force. Laced with pointed malice. "Come get me, you walking pile of shitty eggplants!"

The words, imbued with a low-level cantrip, struck the demon like a physical blow. Not a blow of damage. But of pure, unadulterated affront. 

The primitive rage that defined its existence flared. Its head snapped down, its purplish gaze burning bright. 

The demon let out another guttural roar. Abandoning any interest in the fleeing humans. Its focus was now solely on Jack. The insolent, untouchable nuisance.

It lunged. A blur of dark chitins and purple flesh. Claws extended. The hall seemed to shrink as the demon closed the distance in a single, earth-shaking bound. 

Jack didn't move. The colossal claw passed through his spectral form as if he were smoke. Harmlessly disturbing the air where he stood. He felt a brief gust of rancid breath. A sickening heat. But no impact.

The demon screeched in frustration. Its claw tearing into the stone floor. Gouging deep furrows. It spun. Again striking at Jack. And again, its attacks passing through him.

"Is that it, Dumb Eggplant? Come on!" Jack taunted. His voice was light with sarcasm. But his mind was racing. He had its attention. Now he needed a plan.

He began to move. Drifting through the ancient hall. Leading the demon on a dance of futile rage. He threw everything he had at it. To harm. To distract. To irritate. To keep its monstrous attention... While he was trying to find a way to beat it.

He conjured [Mysterious Anomaly] again and again. Causing illusions of crumbling ruins to collapse on its head. Phantom armies to charge. Or the very ground beneath its feet to turn into a swirling vortex. 

Each time, the demon would snarl. Its movements were momentarily disrupted. But the illusions would shatter under the weight of its raw power. Within seconds.

Then came the minor cantrips. A desperate barrage of pretty useless mystical energy. And minor elemental effects.

Fire Spark! Tiny, sparkling embers. No bigger than a thumbnail. Flickered around the demon. They singed its purple skin and chitinous armor. Leaving no mark. Simply dissolving into wisps of smoke. The demon didn't even flinch.

Dreamy Mist! A swirling, pale mist materialized around its head. Attempted to induce confusion. The demon merely snorted. Its hot breath dissipating the mist as if it were a wisp of morning fog.

Cold Light! A searing, arctic beam shot forth. It hit the demon's arm, and for a split second, a thin sheen of frost appeared on its skin, only to vanish instantly, leaving the demon completely unaffected.

Lightning Guide! Runic symbols appeared on the demon's body. It was supposed to attract lightning strike. But they were indoor. And there was no storm at all outside.

Water Splash! A burst of fresh water. Cool and pure. Washed over the demon's face. Evaporating instantly. Enraging the demon. Invigorating it. Bad move!

His other two cantrips... Quick Mending and Glowing Stone... He didn't even try to use them against the demon.

The cantrips, other than Vicious Taunt, were useless. Utterly, completely useless against such a colossal being.

Thus, he summoned his floating spectral grimoire. Activating spells inscribed in it. They were more potent than the cantrips. Yet, he knew they were still far from what he needed to harm the demon.

He still tried them though...

He encased himself in Lesser Ward. A weak, shimmering, translucent barrier. The demon lunged. The ward shivered, cracked and dissolved instantly. Waste of mana. His intangibility was much better defense than the fragile ward. 

Magic Missile! Bolts of pure arcane energy. Traditionally potent against lesser foes. Several mystic light bullets erupted from his form. They slammed into the demon's body. Targeting weak points. Joints, eyes, mouth...

Each one was striking with the force of a small hammer. The demon grunted. A low, dismissive sound. The bolts dissipated. Leaving behind no mark. No scorch. No injury. 

Even when the magic missile struck its purple eyes. Nothing. It was like shooting rubber bands at an armored knight.

He tried Vine Entanglement... aiming to bind its limbs. Spectral vines. Thick and tough. Burst from the floor. Wrapping around the demon's legs. 

But, with a casual flexion of its immense muscles, the vines snapped and disintegrated. Spectral light motes scattering in the disturbed air. It ended much shorter than Jack's [Mysterious Anomaly]. 

Past Echo... Jack attempted to trick the demon's senses with the echo of past scenes in the room. 

The demon merely roared. A sound of primitive dominance that shattered the spell instantly. It was a spell for investigation after all. Not for combat.

Blinding Flash! Jack used the spell. A burst of intense, pure light exploded from his position. Designed to momentarily disorient his opponent. 

The demon recoiled. Its malicious eyes squinting for a split second. Its massive hands thrown up reflexively. It was a slight success. A brief moment of reprieve. But hardly a weapon.

Jack drifted back, assessing the situation. He had used everything. Every trick. Every spell. Every cantrip in his spectral arsenal. They were all ineffective. 

The demon was simply too powerful. Too resilient. It was a force of nature. Primal and unyielding. 

His current form, Jack Mystery, offered invulnerability. But no means to inflict significant harm.

His mind raced. Desperate for a solution. He had one. A trump card. A place he never wanted to revisit. The mere thought of it sent a cold shiver down his spectral spine.

The Mirror World he could access through his [Mysterious Mirror World].

It was a terrifying place. A distorted reflection of reality where the rules were different. A place where something as strong as this Glorious Demon was just a common thug. 

He had nearly died there. Even in his spectral form. Shredded by an Orthrus. An entity that was not even considered strong in that horrifying dimension. 

The memory of that near-death experience. The sheer helplessness. It was still a fresh wound on his soul.

And he had also trapped a couple of powerful demonic entities there. He was afraid they were already waiting for him to enter the world.

But he had no choice. Even if he transformed into Judge Jack, his hulking rakshasa form wielding Judgement Warhammer... He didn't believe he could defeat this demon. 

The sheer scale of its power. The way it shrugged off everything. It was beyond his physical might. He had to use [Mysterious Mirror World].

However, to activate it, he needed a reflective surface. He scanned the scarred, blood-splattered throne hall. 

And he immediately saw it. A dark, glistening pool where Silas Boulder had met his gruesome end. And where Count Bellcroft's body had transformed. 

A puddle of coagulated blood. Thick and dark. Yet it was still reflecting the distorted light of the hall like a grotesque mirror.

That was it. That was his chance.

He began to maneuver. Drawing the demon towards the center of the hall. Towards the pool of blood. 

The demon was still consumed by its singular rage. It followed his ethereal form relentlessly. Tearing through debris and stone.

'That's it, just a little closer.' Jack muttered. His voice a low, almost inaudible whisper. He kept leading the demon directly over the blood pool.

The demon stalked forward. Its massive, clawed foot stepping directly into the congealed blood. Disturbing the grim reflection. This was it.

Jack surged forward. His spectral essence flowing into the demon. A spectral possession. Not to control. He was not strong enough to do that. But to take the demon with him...

The demon roared. Thrashing wildly. Feeling the foreign intrusion. His brutal will attempted to drive Jack out. But it was too late. He had established the connection.

Jack immediately activated [Mysterious Mirror World]. Destination... Mirror World.

The blood pool beneath the demon's foot rippled violently. With a sudden, impossible distortion. The air around them shimmered, vibrating with an unnatural frequency.

One moment, they were in the ruined Mist Palace. The next, they were gone. Jack and the Glorious Demon were gone. Instantly teleported to the mystical Mirror World.