The thick black fog roared, filling the air with a stench of death and decay.
"Disgusting…"
"I'll rip her apart! Tear her limb from limb!"
"AHHH! I don't want to die!"
Screams of agony, guttural growls, the rhythmic crackle of gunfire, and the unhinged screeches of dying demons—all of it wove together into a twisted symphony of violence. It echoed through the crossroads of the cursed town, creating a haunting melody of pure chaos.
And at the center of it all was Bella.
A goddess cloaked in black and fire, now transformed into a merciless hunter. She was death incarnate, slicing her way through hell itself without hesitation.
The creatures of the underworld surged toward her like waves, eager to devour the lone mortal who dared step into their realm. But they didn't know—she was no mere mortal.
With Bloody Rose and the Goddess of War gripped in her hands, Bella unleashed an unrelenting barrage of magic-infused firepower. The twin pistols, forged with Holy Light Stone and powered by her mana, became divine instruments of judgment.
Each gunshot was like thunder from Olympus. Each muzzle flash was the spark of wrath from heaven itself.
Demons tried to push forward, howling with rage, but the moment they entered her radius, they were obliterated. They couldn't break through her storm of bullets—no matter how many came, none survived.
Bella relished it.
Every creature she destroyed strengthened her. Each soul extinguished fed the fire within her. With every kill, she grew sharper, faster, stronger.
In that moment, she wasn't the hunter or the hunted.
She was both.
Within just a few minutes, tens of thousands of demons and undead had fallen to her guns.
And her power surged.
Status: Catherine Isa Bella
Strength: B-
Stamina: B+
Dexterity: B+
Magic Release: B+
Mental Power: C-
Luck: C
Noble Phantasms: Bloody Rose (False), Goddess of War (False)
Riding: C+
Intuition: B-
Temperament: A
Her physical stats had all risen from A-rank to B+. Strength had climbed from C+ to B-. Mental Power rose from D to C-, and Intuition had leveled up to B-. Her battle instincts were sharper than ever.
But she didn't pause to admire her growth.
Because something stirred behind her—high in the sky, swirling within the storm of fog and undead.
Her eyes flicked up.
There, encircled by a vortex of undead, was a figure clad in golden-red armor. Surrounded on all sides, nearly motionless.
Tony Stark.
Despite his Holy Light-powered suit, the unrelenting pressure of the undead had begun to overwhelm him. Their whispers slithered into his ears, gnawing at his will, infecting his thoughts with despair.
Even though Tony had accounted for this—engineering a mental defense module to resist psychic attacks—the fog was stronger than expected. The voices were constant, invasive, and growing louder.
J.A.R.V.I.S. monitored it all from within the Mk armor.
"Sir, your energy levels have dropped to 49%. Estimated depletion in less than three minutes. In addition, your brainwave patterns are unstable. You are not fit for continued combat. I recommend immediate retreat using full-thrust mode."
Tony didn't respond.
His vision was blurry. His thoughts were fragmented. He was slipping.
The only thing keeping him in the fight now was the autopilot of the semi-intelligent armor—firing pulse cannons and managing basic flight protocols.
"Loss of consciousness confirmed. Initiating safety protocol. I will now take control of the Mk armor and evacuate from the combat zone."
J.A.R.V.I.S. prepared to activate emergency withdrawal.
But there was a momentary delay.
And in that moment, the undead noticed the chink in his armor—his stillness.
"Jie jie jie jie! The human has passed out!"
"His soul—it's mine!"
"Give me his flesh—his power!"
The wave surged faster, wild with hunger and frenzy.
J.A.R.V.I.S. frantically scanned for an escape route. Every path was blocked—overwhelmed by demonic mass.
He needed to break through. There was no other way.
"Charging full power output—"
BOOM!
Before he could act, a golden beam of light tore across the sky, slicing through the vortex like a heavenly lance. The beam incinerated everything in its path, blasting open a massive gap in the undead swarm.
A clear route.
J.A.R.V.I.S. didn't hesitate.
"Engaging thrusters!"
The Mk armor's engines flared, and Tony's unconscious body rocketed out of the death trap, soaring through the mist. Behind him, flames and holy light crackled in the wake of his escape.
As he flew away, the armor's helmet turned—J.A.R.V.I.S. silently recording the sight below.
Standing alone in the center of the town's ruined intersection was Bella.
Still in her black night-suit.
Still holding her crimson firearm.
Bloody Rose.
She had fired the golden beam that saved him.
And now, more undead poured in—thousands upon thousands of shadowy bodies, demons like locusts flooding from every direction. The sky darkened with their presence.
J.A.R.V.I.S. saved the image.
He didn't need programming to understand the significance of what he saw.
BOOM!
With a sonic boom, the Mk armor vanished into the night sky, racing back toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Bella lowered her weapon slowly, watching the fading streak of light disappear into the horizon.
Even with the deafening shrieks and chaos around her, her senses were sharp. She could still hear J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice over the armor's internal speakers—even with all the noise.
She wasn't surprised that Tony had fallen.
Not disappointed, either.
His armor was designed for high-tech warfare. For tactical control. Not for battling nightmares from the pit of hell. If the enemy were vampires or lycanthropes, his agility and firepower would have made him shine.
But these creatures were something else.
Undead beings didn't obey the rules of physics. They weren't bound by logic. They attacked the mind as much as the body—and their numbers were endless.
Tony's genius would eventually develop something more effective—anti-hell armor, perhaps—but for now, this fight was hers.
The only one she was built for.
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