Felix Faust called upon the Demons Three, and the atmosphere grew heavy with their presence.

Before I could react, three imposing figures emerged from the shadows. Although they took on a grotesque "humanish" form, each demon was unique in appearance, and their names were clear in my memory: Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast.

Abnegazar, a towering demon with smoldering eyes, hissed, "Alas, you meet your doom."

Rath, a hulking, grotesque creature, grinned wickedly, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth. "We shall feast on your soul, sorcerer."

Ghast, the most sinister of the trio, exuded an aura of pure darkness. His voice sounded like the whispers of tortured souls. "Nothing will be left of you but bones."

I was already exhausted, and this little drama just pissed me off. "It's cute that you think you can beat me with these petty things. But fighting demons comes with the title, and the Demons Three do not even present the slightest of challenges."

"Petty!" Rath snapped sneering, and Abnegazar jeered.

"I don't have to defeat you." Felix said. "You've already done it for me."

I thought about what he was saying for a moment. He was undoubtedly talking about the crystal I possessed. It was probably draining power from me, but the effects were mild, and I barely felt it's drain.

I was really exhausted and longed for a good, long sleep, however. But that wasn't currently possible with presence of Nthirium, Felix and his demons.

I had to act swiftly and get my body into my cozy sheets for a long, uninterrupted sleep.

Not without a little "forbidden" help from my past. I had already learnt how to carefully channel energy from Marvel every once in a while, without causing catastrophic rifts between the multiverses.

"By the power of the Vishanti, I command you, Demons Three, return to the darkness from which you came!" I declared, channeling my authority as the Sorcerer Supreme.

The Demons Three roared in defiance, resisting my command. Abnegazar unleashed torrents of searing flames, Rath swung his enormous fists with terrifying force, and Ghast exhaled a noxious cloud that threatened to suffocate me.

The Cloak of Levitation shielded me from the fists, while I absorbed the flames and the fumes with magic, but something else happened amidst the spell.

I temporarily lost my focus and absorbed some of the magic before regaining control. I was feeling even more drowsy and tired with each passing moment. My body was letting go to an extent, but my mind didn't deem this situation as a possible effect of the crystal.

Felix Faust wore on his sinister grin noting that the effects of Nthirium were wearing me down. It wouldn't be long before he had it on a silver platter.

Desperation fueled my determination. All I wanted to do right now was sleep, and these demons kept bothering me. I reached deep into my magical arsenal, summoning the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to bind the Demons Three. The bands materialized, snaking towards the demons with precision.

Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast bellowed as the crimson bands constricted around them, but their resistance remained formidable. It was as if they drew power from the very depths of hell itself, defying my attempts to restrain them.

They broke free and lunged in on me for yet another attack that I wasn't ready to defend. Their movements slowed down as I tried to slow down the time and defend, but the effect didn't last.

I momentarily fell asleep in the middle of the spell, and woke up to just catch a glimpse of the Demons Three about to give me a beating like never before.

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Felix Faust triumphantly laughed, anticipating my defeat. "You should have just given the crystal to the assassins and avoided all this. Your feeble spells cannot contain them."

Just as Rath was about to land a punch on my handsome face, something pulled me from behind and I felt myself falling backwards. In a moment, the forms of the Demons Three disappeared and I felt myself landing in a staggering form, as a portal dematerialized in front of me.

I had been saved from a jaw-breaking experience, by my adequately trained apprentices.

"Master Strange, are you alright." Natasha, the female apprentice asked.

I rubbed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had never felt this much out of touch with reality. All I could think of was when and how I could just slumber. But I had a fight I needed to win, and I couldn't afford to put lives at risk, now that my apprentices were here.

"It's Doctor Strange, and I couldn't have never been better." I said, standing up with the help of my cloak.

"Let us help Doctor Strange. We shall fight these demons with you." Itadori, the fishmonger, said.

"No." I refused. "You have to stay away from me and keep a safe distant. I posses something that could destroy your lives as sorcerers. Don't come anywhere near me."

"Whatever it is, give it to me instead." Natasha pleaded. "I'd rather have myself affected than you Doctor Strange. Whatever it is, it's clearly doing something to you."

"I'm just a little tired." I said to her, passively meditating to regain full control of my body and mind as I contemplated on what to do with the approaching demons. "I can handle myself."

I conjured the crimson bands again dispersing them outwards from me, but not towards the demons. They tangled with each other as they changed their destination towards my apprentices, and coiled around them.

"Master!" Itadori gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping you from harms way." I said as I flicked my arms, gesturing for the bands to bind them away in a distant place. "And it's Doctor Strange."

But, I should have done better.

Next, I turned to the approaching demons with an unwavering resolve. I wasn't ready to use magic again, yet, so I was about to engage in a bit of combat.

I needed some time to recuperate from the effects of the drowsiness I felt.

Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast approached with menacing determination. I fell into a defensive stance, relying on my martial arts training and quick thinking.

Abnegazar lunged at me with fiery fists. I ducked and weaved, narrowly avoiding the searing flames. His strikes were powerful, but without the aid of my magic, I relied on my agility and wits to evade his attacks.

Next came Rath, trying to grab me in his massive hands. I swiftly sidestepped his grasp, using his own momentum against him to push him off balance. He stumbled and crashed into a nearby stone, which crumbled under his immense weight.

Ghast roared and yelled as he leaped, jumping towards me. I rolled to the side, narrowly escaping his crashing weight, that left an imprint on the sidewalk.

I decided to target their weaknesses. Abnegazar was the first to show signs of fatigue, following my constant evasions. His smoldering eyes grew dimmer as he continued to unleash fiery attacks.

I evaded his strikes and aimed a series of rapid punches and kicks at his midsection. It was like striking a furnace, but I needed to wear him down.

Rath, despite his grotesque appearance, had immense physical strength. I couldn't go head-to-head with him in a contest of brute force. Instead, I focused on his lack of agility.

I lured him into charging at me, and at the last moment, I sidestepped, causing him to crash into Ghast, who hissed in annoyance.

I then grabbed a piece of debris from the ruined pillar and hurled it at them. Then, I used my magic again, summoning the Winds of Watoomb to collect the demons, with a plan to banish them.

As I channeled my energy to open the portal to the mirror dimension, my connection to magic severed and the Winds of Watoomb dispersed, letting the demons three to fall down with a thud.

I could feel the severed connection to magic, and my grogginess and drowsiness faded away as abruptly as I had lost my magic.

What had just happened?

I took the crystal from my tunic and stared at it unbelieving. I couldn't feel any of those weird effects it normally had and I realized what it had just done.

Suddenly, something hit me from behind and I fell down, letting go of the Nthirium crystal. The crystal hurtled down the street but it's movement was stopped, as Felix Faust picked it up.

Something strong grappled me from behind, restricting my motion but forcing me to look up to face Felix Faust.

"I told you. You had already defeated yourself." Felix Faust said, heightening his jeering laughter. "Your pride is what consumed you all mighty Sorcerer Supreme."

During the fight, I had felt drowsy and sleepy, but not weak, and that had made me to shun the thought that the crystal was what was causing it. But now it had taken away my magic, and I was left defenseless at the mercy of the Demons Three and Felix Faust.

"Well. Now you die." Felix Faust said. "I told you to give us the crystal I'm exchange of your life, but your chose to be prideful."

Felix was about to do something to me when a sudden movement from behind him startled him. My apprentices came towards us, having been released from their bounds by my disconnection to magic.

Felix looked at them amused as I tried to warn them. "No. Run. Save yourselves!"