Vex loomed over the broken forms of Astor and Ava, savoring his hard-won victory. After endless resistance, these pathetic mortals finally lay defeated, ready to be dragged back through the portal for transformation into his demonic minions.

"Not so defiant now, are you?" Vex sneered, grasping Astor by the collar of his tunic. The boy glared up at him silently, eyes still holding a faint glimmer of useless hope. Vex would extinguish that soon enough.

A thunderous boom shook the ground, followed by a magical cannon blast slamming into Vex's side. Snarling, he whirled to see a battalion of magitech soldiers advancing, arcane armaments glowing.

"Unhand them, demon filth!" shouted the captain, leading the reinforcements toward the portal. Behind her ranks marched medic mages, hastening to aid the battered survivors.

Vex bared his fangs, dropping Astor. "You dare interfere with my triumph?"

The captain's eyes narrowed. "Your reign of terror ends here!"

With a savage roar, Vex summoned a shockwave of dark energy, scattering the neat ranks. Soldiers tumbled away, only to regroup and open fire with magical artillery.

Vex threw up a shield against the barrage, then grabbed Ava's limp form. "I claim my prize regardless!"

But suddenly he collided with an invisible barrier, dropping Ava as he rebounded painfully off the glowing plasma wall now surrounding him.

"No!" Vex slammed his fists against the mystical cage as the soldiers slowly closed the perimeter, cannons trained unwaveringly on him. "You cannot do this!"

The captain shook her head, gesturing to reinforce the plasma prison. "Your twisted crusade stops here, demon. Only justice awaits you now."

Vex spat and thrashed uselessly within his magically sealed confinement. After coming so close to ultimate victory, to be denied by these mortals' sorcery and renewed hope...it was infuriating.

But perhaps not all was yet lost. Vex stilled, watching warily as his cage was loaded onto an armored transport, bound for whatever new fate awaited. Patience was needed now. An opportunity for vengeance would come again.

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Vex would bide his time, nursing his hatred. And when these pathetic champions dropped their guard, thinking him safely caged, he would strike without mercy, repaying humiliation for humiliation. The feasting would come.

For now, he merely offered them a razor smile that promised agony soon to follow.

Caitlyn clenched her fists, barely containing her outrage as Joshua Black droned on justifying the late arrival of her magi squadron.

"You must understand, Captain Minxes, the battle was already underway," Joshua said evenly. "I could not risk exposing untested troops against the demon's full fury."

Caitlyn scoffed. "Untested? My magi soldiers have trained relentlessly for this day. Your delay cost lives!"

"It was a prudent strategic decision," Joshua replied, maddeningly calm despite her rising temper. "I needed time to fully gauge the situation on the ground."

"And leave our friends to die facing the portal horrors alone?" Caitlyn shot back. "If we had moved sooner, we could have prevented many casualties."

Joshua's patronizing facade finally cracked. "Watch yourself, Captain. You overstep."

Caitlyn stepped forward, uncowed. "I swore an oath to protect the innocent and defend this realm. But today, duty called me to sit idle while good soldiers died needlessly. I cannot overlook that, even for you."

"You dare question my authority?" Joshua thundered, rising from his seat.

Caitlyn stood firm under his glare. "I question the wisdom of a leader who prizes cold strategy over lives. We magi stand ready to serve, not wait dutifully as people suffer."

For a long moment, they stared each other down. Caitlyn refused to yield, though her heart pounded.

Finally Joshua sat back with a weary sigh. "Your passion does you credit, Caitlyn. Perhaps I have become too rigid in my methods."

He extended a hand in reconciliation. "Help me find a better way forward."

Caitlyn considered, then clasped his hand firmly. "Together, we can forge a new path - justice guided by both mind and heart."

Joshua nodded solemnly. "Then let us begin."

Joshua rubbed his temples wearily as he set aside the damning report on Vex's activities. The demon had insidiously infiltrated every level of society and government while Joshua remained oblivious.

So many vile schemes allowed to fester right under the Portal Security Agency's watch. Joshua shuddered imagining how much worse the corruption might have grown unchecked.

Never again, he vowed. The time had come for drastic change. Joshua activated the secure line, summoning his senior analysts.

"You called for us, sir?" asked Clara, his head intelligence officer. The others quickly assembled, faces grim. They all grasped the gravity of recent revelations.

Joshua nodded. "Indeed. It seems we have all vastly underestimated the demon threat among us."

He slid the report across the desk. "Vex played us for fools while innocents suffered. We must wholly rethink our approach."

The analysts exchanged uneasy glances as they reviewed the documents, but no one spoke up to defend past practices. All recognized the agency's catastrophic failure.

Joshua leaned forward intently. "So I ask you - what radical steps are needed to combat these fiends? I want a blank slate."

"Expanded surveillance and containment powers, beyond even your CIA days," suggested Damien, one of his senior strategists.

Clara nodded. "And new occult-focused investigation teams to expose demon infiltrators."

Murmurs of assent echoed around the room as his team brainstormed bold reforms. Joshua listened closely, emitting changes.

The scope of authority they proposed gave him pause. Would such drastic measures corrupt the agency's mission further? Or were they justified to defeat a threat as insidious as Vex?

In the end, Joshua silenced his doubts. The time had come for action, not timid half-measures.

"You have your mandate," Joshua said at last. "Tear it all down if you must. We build anew from the ashes."

His team dispersed to hastily enact the sweeping overhauls, this rare moment of unity firing their determination.

Watching them go, Joshua muttered a silent prayer their crusade would remain righteous. But the greater good demanded action, whatever the cost.