Secret Defenders, The (1993 series) #24

In the small town of Starksboro, Maine, the Gates of Perdition have opened and Dr. Druid is set to descend through the flames to meet Slorioth. But the original Defenders (minus Dr. Strange) have arrived to do battle with the Secret Defenders. Sub-Mariner seizes Deathlok and carries him high into the air. Drax and Hulk start exchanging punches. Silver Surfer fights off the attacks of both Dagger and Sepulchre. Druid orders Cadaver to join the fight, which he balks at; he draws his Sword of Bone and attacks Hulk who punches a chunk of decayed flesh from Cadaver’s side. Silver Surfer realizes that in this era the barrier is gone and he is no longer imprisoned on Earth so he drops everything and flies off into the stratosphere. Deathlok shoots Namor and they both plummet from the sky. Joshua Pryce tries to follow Druid down the stairway, with Al sniping at him, fighting the magical defenses. Joshua makes it to the bottom and Druid notices him, recognizes him as one of the Cognoscenti and is not impressed. Druid causes a pillar to crumble and trap Joshua in the rubble. Druid calls to Slorioth, claiming he has fulfilled the demon’s demands and asking for his freedom. Slorioth’s dark servant tells him that freedom is an illusion….

Above, all the fighting continues, Silver Surfer decides to return to Earth to help and Sepulchre zaps him into some dark place, Cadaver’s wound is healed and he slashes Namor with his sword. The two big green guys keep bashing each other….

The huge black servant batters Dr. Druid, revealing that he (the servant) is the tainted portion of Druid’s soul which he abandoned to Slorioth when he invoked the power of the Bride of Slorioth to manipulate Jillian Woods. And the servant merges with Druid to form a giant armored villain, revealing that the Bride of Slorioth is not the key to Slorioth’s prison but the lock. The servant takes the statuette and then Slorioth is freed, his tentacled form bursting through the Earth to overwhelm the battling Defenders….