Screams of the damned echoed through the concrete canyons of Manhattan, bouncing off shattered glass and rusted yellow cabs. A massive wave of sulfur-breathing horrors poured from a tear in the sky, their claws scraping against the cracked pavement of Times Square.
Anakin Skywalker moved like a storm, his plasma blade humming through the air, carving a glowing blue arc that bisected three charging beasts in a single fluid motion. Hot demon blood hissed as it evaporated against the superheated energy of his weapon.
"Keep your left side covered, Anakin!" Obi-Wan Kenobi warned, his own blue blade spinning in a tight, impenetrable shield of light that deflected a barrage of jagged bone shards. He stepped forward, his movements elegant and precise, driving his weapon through the chest of a winged stalker that dared to swoop too close.
"I have everything under control, Master!" Anakin retorted, a cocky grin flashing across his face despite the soot staining his cheeks. He extended his free hand, channeling an invisible, crushing force that hurled a cluster of red-skinned imps back into the dimensional rift.
---
Gunfire rattled from the steps of a ruined Broadway theater, a steady, deafening rhythm that tore through the encroaching horde.
Arthur Morgan stood tall, his boots planted firmly on the bloody asphalt as he levered another round into his repeating rifle with mechanical speed. He spat a dark stream of tobacco juice onto a demon's twitching corpse, his eyes narrowed under the brim of his weathered Stetson.
"Ain't nothing like the Lemoyne Raiders, is it, Mary?" Arthur muttered, his voice a gravelly rumble that barely carried over the din of battle.
Mary Linton stood right beside him, her double-barreled shotgun blasting a devastating spray of silver-loaded buckshot that tore a charging brute's torso to shreds. She cracked the weapon open, smoke curling from the chambers as she slid two fresh shells into place with practiced ease.
"Less talking, more shooting, Arthur!" Mary cried out, her face pale but determined. "These things don't seem to care much about your charm!"
John Marston rolled over the hood of a crushed taxi, dual revolvers drawn and spitting fire in a blur of motion. Every single pull of his triggers found a mark, sending heavy lead slugs directly through the skulls of the advancing monsters.
"They just keep coming!" John shouted, reloading his six-shooters in a fraction of a second, his scars stark against his grime-smeared face. "We need to plug that hole in the sky, and fast!"
Dust kicked up around John's boots as he sidestepped a sweeping claw, his shotgun roaring in response to a beast's screech. Beside him, Mary worked the pump of her weapon with brutal efficiency, her eyes locked on the crimson tide pouring through the debris. They were fighting a war they barely understood, dragged from their own era into a neon-lit nightmare, yet their resolve was as unyielding as iron.
---
White-hot light erupted from the center of the intersection, casting long, stark shadows against the ruined skyscrapers.
Anna stood in the eye of the storm, her body completely enveloped in a brilliant fusion of divine starlight and roaring golden hellfire. The Spirit of Vengeance raged within her, demanding blood, demanding retribution for the innocent lives cut short by this demonic invasion. Yet, her skin remained flawless, her ancient Egyptian beauty perfectly preserved by the protective warmth of the Light of Ma'at.
"That is forty-eight," Anna announced, her voice echoing with a terrifying, dual-toned resonance that made the asphalt beneath her tremble.
Swinging her tactical katana, she unleashed a wave of golden fire that sliced a towering, armored demon completely in half. The divine flames consumed the beast instantly, leaving nothing but a pile of harmless white ash that scattered in the wind.
"Forty-nine!" she shouted, a fierce, victorious grin tugging at her lips as she pivoted on her heel.
Screeching loudly, a flying horror with leathery wings and a face like a crushed skull swooped down from a lamppost, its jaw unhinging as it shrieked, "Ahmanet! The master demands your submission, Ahmanet!"
Rage flared deep in her chest, the golden-white flames around her shoulders erupting into a towering column of pure heat that melted the asphalt beneath her boots.
"My name," she snarled, leaping fifteen feet into the air and wrapping her fingers around the creature's throat, "is Anna!"
Slamming the monster face-first into the concrete, she drove her heel into its spine, channeling a surge of holy fire that caused the beast to explode into a shower of harmless sparks.
"And that makes fifty," Anna muttered, wiping a speck of demonic soot from her pristine cheek.
"You are getting sloppy, princess," Anakin called out, slicing the arm off a demon that tried to flank him. He offered her a teasing smirk, his blue blade humming softly as he held his ground.
"I am pacing myself, Skywalker," Anna shot back, her golden eyes flashing with a mix of ancient amusement and fierce determination. "I would hate to make the rest of you look bad."
"Focus, both of you," Obi-Wan chided, his stance shifting into a defensive guard as a sudden, violent tremor ran through the ground.
Air pressure dropped instantly, carrying a foul stench of sulfur and ancient decay that made even the battle-hardened cowboys choke.
Deep rumbling vibrations shook the foundations of the surrounding skyscrapers, causing cracked concrete to rain down onto the streets.
Out of the shadows of a collapsed subway entrance stepped Marcus, his face twisted into a cruel, arrogant sneer that Anna recognized all too well. He wore modern tactical gear, but his eyes glowed with a sickening, chaotic red energy that betrayed his allegiance to a far darker master.
"Still playing the savior, Ahmanet?" Marcus mocked, his voice amplified by dark magic to echo across the entire plaza. "You cannot escape your past. You will always be the vessel of ruin."
"I told you to stop calling me that!" Anna screamed, her grip tightening on her tactical katana until the leather wrap groaned under the pressure of her strength.
Marcus chuckled, stepping aside as the ground behind him split wide open, releasing a geyser of molten rock and black smoke.
Emerging from the fiery abyss was a colossal demon, its body forged from cooled obsidian and pulsing magma. It carried a jagged, spiked club the size of a city bus, and its red eyes locked onto Anna with singular, murderous intent.
"Meet the Vanguard of the Deep," Marcus sneered, retreating backward into the swirling shadows of the alleyway. "Let us see if your little band of survivors can withstand the wrath of the true master."
Arthur cursed loudly, slapping a fresh box of ammunition into his pouch. "That is a big boy. Don't think my repeater is gonna do much to that rock hide."
"Aim for the joints!" John shouted, already firing a volley of shots at the monster's knees, though the bullets merely sparked off the thick obsidian armor.
"Leave this giant to me," Anna commanded, her voice dropping to a dangerous, crackling register that silenced the wind.
Stepping forward, she let the full, unbridled power of the Spirit of Vengeance flood her veins. The holy light of Ma'at pulsed in tandem, keeping the dark, destructive entity in perfect balance, preserving her mind and her beauty even as her power reached terrifying heights.
Hellfire roared from her boots, scorching the pavement as she sprinted headfirst toward the towering behemoth.
Swooping down, the giant demon swung its massive spiked club, aiming to crush her into a fine paste.
Sliding effortlessly beneath the crushing blow, Anna watched the weapon shatter the concrete where she had stood a millisecond before. She used the momentum to leap onto the giant's arm, her boots gripping the rough obsidian surface as she ran up its limb with supernatural speed.
Blade flashing, she sliced through the creature's thick hide, leaving glowing trails of burning golden fire in her wake that began to eat away at its molten core.
Reaching its neck, she grabbed a handful of its obsidian horns, forcing its massive head back so it had no choice but to look directly into her eyes.
"Look into my eyes," she whispered, her voice echoing with the screams of a thousand damned souls.
Black voids replaced her golden eyes, reflecting every sin, every drop of innocent blood the creature had ever spilled in its eternal existence.
Agony ripped through the giant's massive frame as the Penance Stare took hold, its molten blood boiling within its veins as it felt the phantom pain of a million victims.
"Feel their pain," Anna commanded, her voice cold and unyielding as the divine light and hellfire merged inside the demon's chest.
Screaming in absolute terror, the colossal beast began to disintegrate from the inside out, its soul dragged screaming straight into the deepest pits of hell.
Dropping lightly to the ground as the giant crumbled into a pile of harmless white ash, Anna exhaled a long breath, her flames subsiding to a gentle, protective warmth.
"Fifty-one," she panted, looking over her shoulder at her stunned allies with a small, proud smile.
"Not bad, kid," Arthur said, tipping his hat with a genuine grin. "Not bad at all."
"I don't think we are done yet," Mary warned, pointing toward a ruined fire escape high above them.
Marcus stood there, but he wasn't running; instead, a sinister, knowing smile played on his pale lips.
"You think you won, Anna?" Marcus called down, his voice dripping with malice. "Every soul you send back to hell only feeds the signal my master is using to find you."
Chills ran down Anna's spine as she realized the horrifying truth behind his words.
"He is not coming to destroy this world," Marcus laughed, his body beginning to dissolve into a dark mist. "He is coming because you just unlocked the gates for him."
---
Silent tension settled over Times Square, the crackle of burning debris the only sound left in the wake of Marcus's departure.
Anakin deactivated his lightsaber, the blue light fading as he looked at Anna with a deeply troubled expression.
"What did he mean by that, Anna?" Anakin asked, stepping over the ashes of a fallen demon to reach her.
"It means we fell into a trap," Obi-Wan said softly, his brow furrowed in deep thought as he sheathed his own weapon.
"We were just clearing the board for him," Anna whispered, her hand trembling slightly as she looked down at her katana.
"Then we find him and we put a bullet in him," John Marston said, his voice hard as iron.
"Ain't that simple, John," Arthur muttered, looking up at the swirling red portal in the sky.
"He is right," Anna said, her eyes reflecting the ominous glow of the dimensional rift. "The master isn't just a demon."
"Then what is he?" Mary asked, her grip tightening on her shotgun.
Anna took a deep breath, the weight of her eternal memories pressing down on her chest.
"He is the one who created the first shadow," Anna said, her voice barely a whisper. "And he knows exactly how to take my light away."
Suddenly, a massive shockwave erupted from the portal, throwing everyone off their feet.
Red lightning crackled across the sky, and a voice boomed from the heavens, speaking a name that Anna had tried so hard to forget.
"Ahmanet..." the voice whispered, vibrating in the very marrow of her bones.
Anna struggled to her feet, her eyes widening in sheer horror as she saw the sky begin to tear completely open.