Justice by a Group Beating

"Bagula Demons, the embodiment of savagery and brutality in the Abyss, looked like enormous gorillas with terrifying, flattened faces and long fangs. They usually stood less than eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and backs, and weighed up to 650 pounds.

These ugly, vicious demons lumbered across the ground like apes, but climbed with remarkable speed and agility. As a result, they often appeared on the front lines of the Blood War in the Abyss, serving as cannon fodder in sieges." At the sight of the ugly, terrifying gorilla face shown on the Myriad Changes Card, a whole slew of information about Bagula Demons instantly came to Ryan's mind, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the first Myriad Changes Card had immediately proved him wrong, making Ryan realize he might not have successfully smuggled himself into Europe to become a noble European emperor, thankfully, the Abyssal creature summoned by his roll wasn't anything too terrifying. As a mid-ranking demon of the Abyss, the Bagula Demon had a Challenge Rating of 5 in Faerûn. But with innate spellcasting abilities such as Invisibility and Entangle, along with its formidable Strength of 18, it was still a force to be reckoned with. Still, it was within the limits of what Ryan and his companions could handle. If they accidentally summoned a legendary creature like an Abyssal Flame Demon or a Six-armed Serpent Demon, Ryan figured they would have no choice but to throw everything they had at it and run. While his thoughts raced, Ryan didn't forget to warn his companions to get ready. "Careful, it's an Abyssal demon. Attack together when I give the signal!" Although Ryan didn't think the Bagula Demon would be too hard to deal with, he still decided to proceed cautiously. Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit; Ryan didn't want to get caught off guard. Jelona and the other two had been on alert as soon as the disturbance began. At Ryan's warning, they gripped their weapons and crystal bottles filled with holy water, ready to act. As everyone watched warily, a muscular, powerfully built gorilla-like monster appeared in the testing chamber. The savage creature seemed to have just emerged from a fierce battle; three or five claw marks and splatters of blood still stained its body, and its brutal, bloodthirsty aura washed over them. "Roar! The sweet air of the Material Plane!" The moment it appeared, the fearsome Bagula Demon let out a deafening roar and praised its good fortune in Abyssal. It seemed to see the Material Plane's sweet, delicious souls and tender, juicy flesh beckoning to it. As if he'd heard the Bagula Demon's thoughts, Ryan promptly gave the lucky fellow the warmest welcome and blessings the Material Plane had to offer. The Mage immediately struck the Bagula Demon with the Blindness spell he'd prepared, then shouted, "Open fire!" Even as he spoke, Ryan remembered to use the Ray of Weakness from his staff to weaken the monstrously strong gorilla. At the team's private signal, the adventurers hurled their holy water at the confused Bagula Demon, blinded and staring into darkness. Blessed by the temple and brimming with Positive Energy, the holy water collided violently with the evil visitor from the Abyss, as incompatible as fire and ice. Wherever it splashed across the demon's body, it sizzled, inflicting damage with an effect like strong acid. The holy damage made the Bagula Demon howl in pain and grow even more frenzied. Its massive, sinewy arms, each as thick as Ryan's waist, thrashed wildly, pounding everything around it. After throwing the holy water, Jelona immediately nocked an arrow and loosed three shots in quick succession at the Bagula Demon's eyes, throat, and other vital spots. Blinded, it could only swing its arms to block the arrows by sound. By sheer luck, it stopped two of the armor-piercing shafts, which lodged in the muscles of its thick arms. But the third arrow hit its mark and pierced its eye. The savage monster let out a furious, anguished roar and grabbed at whatever was nearby, trying to hurl it at its enemies. Unfortunately, the testing chamber contained only cultivation tanks bolted to the steel floor. The Bagula Demon grabbed the steel tank beside it and tugged at it, but couldn't budge it. Its fury only grew. The Dwarf and the barbarian weren't standing around watching. Stories might show the hero cutting down enemies alone while his companions cheered him on, but that sort of thing only happened in plays. The Dwarf had already slid beneath the towering Bagula Demon with a side roll. While the raging gorilla thrashed about in fury, the Dwarf warrior swung his steel hammer hard at its knee. There was a sharp crack, and the Bagula Demon howled as its leg buckled and it dropped to one knee. As for the barbarian, after Ryan spoke, the brute tossed away his holy water and charged with his greatsword raised. Then the enraged, monstrously strong gorilla caught him with a wild punch and sent him flying into a corner. Ryan saw the tough barbarian lie on the floor for a while, then get back up and rejoin the fight, so he left the muscle-headed fellow alone. Seeing the situation turn against it, the muscle-bound Bagula Demon instinctively activated its innate spell, Invisibility. As the savage gorilla's form began to disappear into the air, Ryan unleashed the Dispel Magic he'd been holding ready. The Bagula Demon's eyes bulged, and it let out a furious roar. After dispelling the Bagula Demon's innate magic, Ryan calmly stayed off to the side, attacking its eyes, throat, armpits, and groin with Magic Missiles. Watching the adventuring party handle the gorilla with ease, he leisurely started slacking off. Jelona and the other two worked together with practiced ease around the gorilla, which had a broken knee, couldn't see, and could only rage helplessly. The Half-elf Ranger's skillful archery kept up a steady stream of interference and support. The Dwarf darted in and out of the Bagula Demon's range with nimble footwork and a sturdy steel tower shield, occasionally bringing his heavy hammer crashing down on its joints and vital organs. The barbarian rejoined the fight with his greatsword and used its reach to carve several deep, bone-revealing gashes into the tough Bagula Demon. Though the savage creature was already at the end of its strength, the three still chipped away at it carefully and steadily, following their own rhythm as they sent it into the cold, dark sleep of death. "Hmm, you were all pretty decisive about that ambush. Nice. You're a fine bunch, full of fighting spirit," Ryan praised, watching the adventurers remain alert even with victory in sight. Whether it was their decisiveness at the start or their experienced handling of their quarry now, the three-person team had impressed Ryan. As a cautious—or perhaps better put, timid and fragile—little Mage, he hated nothing more than useless teammates, and these companions had certainly surprised him. With a bloodcurdling wail, the muscular, savage gorilla-like monster crashed to the ground. Ryan, who'd been slacking off until now, saw the three relax and thought for a moment before reminding them, "Shouldn't we make sure it's really dead?" The Dwarf, holding a hammer splattered with blood, answered confidently, "It's definitely dead. I turned that big gorilla's innards into mush." Ryan thought it over. Although this brainless-looking gorilla probably wouldn't think to play dead, it was still better to have Jelona check with an arrow, just in case. Besides, he'd given the Half-elf enough arrows to last through a small-scale battle. Having money meant you could do what you wanted. Ryan directed the Half-elf Ranger to shoot an arrow through the Bagula Demon lying on the ground. Certain that the "lucky" visitor from the Abyss was well and truly dead, he finally let his guard down. The Dwarf stared at the Mage's actions with a speechless expression. This Mage was clearly strong, but far too cautious. Still, remembering the exhilarating fight they'd just had, the Dwarf kept his thoughts to himself. After all, nothing was more satisfying than beating up a powerful monster that was blinded and weakened. Remembering the grueling, hair-raising battles he'd fought before, when he'd hovered on the brink of death, the Dwarf couldn't help but exclaim: "Ryan, your Mage spells are really useful! When we fought the Bear Goblin captain, it wasn't nearly this easy. And this is a terrifying demon from the Abyss—we took it down just like that. I'm still a bit confused." Jelona and the barbarian, Arata, agreed wholeheartedly, nodding along. The three had expected a difficult, dangerous fight against the savage, terrifying demon from the Abyss, but they hadn't imagined they would kill it so easily and without a scratch. (The group collectively ignored the barbarian, who'd been punched away by the Bagula Demon...) Ryan smiled and accepted the Dwarf's praise, his tone calm. "Even demons from the Abyss are flesh and blood. They have heartbeats and blood, too. No matter how savage and vicious a monster is, it's still just a monster. And when a monster is killed, it dies."