"Ah! I can smell fear and regret. Mortal, it seems you've realized the fatal mistake you made, haven't you?"
The Demon bared its teeth and let out a malicious, mocking laugh.
Unlike most of its kind, who delighted in venting violence, slaughter, and death,
though Incubi looked terrifying, they preferred to use lies, deception, and Trickery to lure in their targets. Then, through the granting of wishes, they made their victims plant the seeds of their own destruction, ultimately unleashing horrifying disasters and achieving the exact opposite of what the victims had hoped for.
By doing so, they could obtain souls that had truly fallen into darkness amid regret, pain, and despair.
Thus, Incubi rarely resorted to violence on their own initiative, much less tore people to pieces for no reason.
Of course, that was not absolute.
After all, the Demons spawned by the Bottomless Abyss represented chaos, and chaos meant anything was possible. A few oddballs were nothing worth making a fuss over.
But this Incubus was clearly rather "traditional." It did not kill the completely defenseless Stephen Strange. Instead, it intended to toy with him first.
After all, it was now the servant of the Witch Queen Iggwilv. Before dealing with an intruder, it had to determine the intruder's identity, background, and, most importantly, purpose.
That was also why the creature sealed inside the oil painting was an Incubus rather than a Glabrezu.
Only their meticulous minds could handle this sort of technical work requiring Patience, rather than brutally torturing an intruder to death.
As Greater Dispel Magic took effect, the Hold Person spell on Stephen Strange was instantly removed.
But before he could react, a rope as nimble as a snake shot up from beneath his feet and wrapped him into a tightly bound bundle at incredible