The devil's lair trembled with barely contained rage. Shadows writhed along the walls, and the air crackled with malevolent energy. Demi stood before him, her usual confidence replaced by trepidation.

"You failed me, Demi," the devil hissed, his eyes glowing like embers. "Jack was supposed to be mine."

Demi swallowed hard. "I tried," she offered weakly. "Once he got back to Lily Corner, he disappeared. They both did."

The devil's laughter was a cruel, mirthless sound. "You tried? Your pathetic attempts weren't nearly enough!"

He paced the room, his form shifting between human and monstrous. "Yes, she blocked me too. But she never let him complete the entwining ceremony, so I was still able to sense him. I couldn't locate them or reach his dreams, but I could feel his presence."

Demi remained silent, knowing any excuse would only fuel his anger.

"And then," the devil continued, his voice dripping with venom, "they married. They had been entwined enough that the marriage was as strong as the entwining ceremony would have been. His soul is now eternally bound to hers and out of my reach forever!"

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He whirled on Demi, his face a mask of fury. "Do you understand what you've cost me? Jack was to be my masterpiece, my crowning achievement in corruption. And now he's lost to me forever!"

"My lord," Demi began, but the devil cut her off with a snarl.

"Silence! Your incompetence has ruined years of careful planning. I should cast you into the deepest pits for this failure."

The devil's form solidified, and he loomed over Demi, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "You disappoint me, Demi. And disappointment has consequences."

Demi felt a chill run down her spine as the shadows closed in around her. She knew that whatever punishment awaited her, it would be severe. The devil didn't tolerate failure, especially not when it cost him a soul as valuable as Jack's.

"Perhaps," the devil mused, a cruel smile twisting his features, "I should bind your fate to Jack's as well. Let you feel every moment of joy and love that should have been mine to corrupt. It would be a fitting torment, don't you think?"

Demi's eyes widened in horror. "Please, my lord. Give me another chance. I can still be useful to you."

The devil regarded her coldly. "We shall see, Demi. We shall see."

As the shadows engulfed her, Demi realized that her failure with Jack might cost her everything she too had worked for. The devil's wrath was terrible, and she had invoked it in the worst possible way.