- Do you realize what would happen, Etrigan, if all the knowledge that is mine were to fall into ruthless hands? The problem has weighed heavily upon me since ages past! Yet, time and again, I must surface in the world of man --- to answer a challenge --- and to remove its threat!
- — Merlin
The Demon #5 is an issue of the series The Demon (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1973.
Synopsis for "Merlin's Word... Demon's Wrath!"
The Demon rushes towards Ugly Meg against Merlin's caution, and the witch conjures an anthropomorphic wood creature. The powerful elemental can predict Etrigan's attacks and pins him to the ground. With a fierce kick, Etrigan breaks its leg, but Meg causes her creation to splinter in a deadly gust of debris. When nothing remains of the wooden figure and the wind subsides, Merlin and his servant find their enemies have absconded, goading the two to the Iron Duke's castle. The Iron Duke's steed remains, and Merlin mounts the horse so it can lead them to its master.
Arriving at the imposing castle, the local villagers of Trollsac reveal themselves to the strangers after witnessing their encounter with the feared tyrant that rules them. Living in terror, the villagers implore the wizard to free them from the Iron Duke's cruel leadership. The congress is interrupted as Merlin and Etrigan are targeted by three bolts, but while the earth around them is scorched, the two remain unharmed. Merlin wastes no more time and magically enhances the horse by giving it wings. Together, wizard and demon fly towards the ominous castle.
Back in Gotham City, Harry questions what he's doing in the company of magic and demons. Randu reminds him that they are Jason's friends, and reaches out with his ESP to find out what his friend is doing. He gets odd flashes of a mythical horse soaring over a nightmarish castle.
Merlin tries to evade the eldritch fire of Meg's stone sentinels, but the cold flame envelopes them, and they plummet in a violent conflagration. The Iron Duke and his witch find their quarry incapacitated, thanks to the "mortality fumes" of Ugly Meg. The horse has lost its wings, on which Merlin slumps as a frail old man, while the unconscious Jason Blood replaces the fearsome demon.
In Jason's apartment, Randu collapses in a chair, exhausted from the mental strain. Seeing results of what it means to be associated with Jason Blood, Harry argues that they should just keep out of supernatural affairs, but Randu reminds him that Jason is their friend, not the demon he becomes.
Jason wakes manacled to the ceiling of the castle dungeon with Merlin nearby. While Merlin cannot use magic of his own, he ponders how a humble witch like Ugly Meg could gain power to rival his own. The Iron Duke arrives with Meg to complete his objective; gain the invaluable knowledge of Merlin. Meg seats her master next to the bound wizard and covers their heads with the mind-masks which will transfer Merlin's secrets to the Iron Duke. Merlin tries to reason with the megalomaniac, warning him that Meg will never give him power that would exceed her own. The Iron Duke ignores the wisdom of Merlin and falls into Meg's trap. The mind-masks are a ruse, and while her spell leaves Merlin unharmed, the Duke meets an ironic fate, transforming into an iron statue to do Meg's bidding.
Meg leaves Merlin alive to steal his knowledge at will, but first orders her iron slave to take Jason Blood to the parapet. Before Jason is thrown to his death he cries out Etrigan's name frantically, and miraculously the Demon takes his place, fighting back against the Iron Duke. Ugly Meg throws spells haphazardly, desperate to destroy the Demon at any cost. With Etrigan cornered precariously on the castle's edge, Meg stands before him and commands her servant to finish her adversary with a boulder. In her arrogance, she fails to notice she's in the mindless puppet's path and they all topple over the precipice. Etrigan manages to cling to the rampart while Meg tumbles to her death.
Etrigan returns to free Merlin and mentions how Blood was somehow able to summon him. Merlin believes it was the will of the mysterious power beneath the castle, a prisoner from which Ugly Meg drew her power. Etrigan lifts a mighty trap door, revealing the tentacled Somnambula, the Dream-Beast. The benevolent creature with the power to make though reality reaches out to Merlin's mind. The wizard commands Etrigan to return the creature from where it came from using demon-flame and then leave the empty castle behind.
Appearing in "Merlin's Word... Demon's Wrath!"
Featured Characters:
- Etrigan
- Jason Blood
- Merlin (Narrator and story)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Iron Duke (Final appearance; dies)
- Ugly Meg (Final appearance; dies)
- Wood Creature (Single appearance)
- Stone Sentinels (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Trollsac Villagers (Single appearance)
- Somnambula, The Dream-Beast (Single appearance)
Locations:
- United States of America
- Romania
- Transylvania
- Trollsac
- The Witch's Oak (Behind the scenes)
- The Iron Duke's Castle
- Dungeon
- Trollsac
- Transylvania
Items:
- Mortality Fumes/Vapors of Mortality
- Mind-Masks