Soup the Comic Strip by Alun Clewe
Comic strip for January 27 2024.
PANEL ONE: The champion faces DeVallon, who still possesses Maiz's body. CHAMPION: Okay, so you've possessed Maiz's body. That still doesn't put you in a position to easily harm me. MAIZ: Oh, you could certainly overpower me in a fight... PANEL TWO: Close on DeVallon/Maiz. DEVALLON: But I have no need to fight you. All I have to do is wait until your guard is down... till you're SLEEPING. And then I can STRIKE. Meanwhile, you can do nothing to me without risking harm to the INNOCENT CHILD whose body I inhabit. PANEL THREE: Closer on DeVallon/Maiz. DEVALLON: I can bide my time and wait until the moment is ripe. And unless you want to harm an innocent, there's NOTHING you can do to me! NOTHING! PANEL FOUR: DeVallon Maiz sits on the floor, bound with rope and gagged with a cloth. The champion stands nearby. CHAMPION: Like I said, something more formidable than a seven–year–old child...
January 27 2024

So why didn't DeVallon just wait until the champion was asleep to show up in the first place? Well, two possibilities. One: DeVallon wanted the champion to be awake and to know who had defeated him. Two: DeVallon didn't really think this through.