Dante's approach to the gates of Dis, the fortress that controlled the entrance to the regions of Hell beyond the Styx, is a mirror image of the demonic siege of the city of God. Alone but for his guide, the poet Virgil, Dante almost gave in to despair when the demon horde defending the gates ordered Virgil to leave him so that he might find his way out of Hell unaided. By comparison, the demonic advances toward the Christian bastion were often stealthy, but they, unlike Dante, in no way lacked confidence. As we have seen in the cases of María Pizarro and the possessed nuns of Santa Clara, once the fortifications had been breached, the demons wasted no time in wreaking the havoc expected of a besieging army inside the walls.

The anger of the demon sentinels at the gates of hell was directed against a man who had dared to push so far into their territory. In the end, an angel sent from Heaven forced the demons to open the gates and allow Virgil and Dante to pass. In the same way, despite a defiant defence by the demons, Christian missionaries in the Viceroyalty of Peru aimed to push deep into Satan's territory with God's help, breaking the siege around the Christian body and forcing the fallen angels to take their final refuge in the mountain fastness of the Andes.

His pre-destined defeat foretold by Revelation was nevertheless a distant goal, and in the depths of hell Lucifer's wings continued to beat, driving malevolent winds throughout the world. As chapters 1, 2 and 6 have shown, these winds were perceived to carry Satanic influences that were able to penetrate the Christian body in Peru, suggesting to some inhabitants of the viceroyalty, especially among the marginalized, that demonic alliances might well be profitable.