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Las Vegas. Thirty or so years ago, the Strip was born, and with its existence, life had come to this mere whistle-stop town. The next twenty years were its heyday-- a veritable oasis where stars like the legendary Frank Sinatra or the illustrious Elvis Presley made their appearances. The rise of this city was meteoric, and it was almost as if there was no end to its splendor.

But now, in the seventies, the business was starting to dry up. Glamour had faded from this place. No longer was Las Vegathe place to be; where you would go once you were at the top of your career. Now, Vegas was where you ended up when you were at your lowest. Whether you're a washed-up has-been, or a desperate gambler seeking to stake their fortune on one last roll of the dice... This place had welcomed any and all, regardless of its reputation.

It would seem that the forces of darkness were counted among that number.

Arriving from different points of the world, you all find yourselves in a small convoy of vehicles, moving at high speed towards your destinations. The Las Vegas Police Department let you through the checkpoint, and into the outer perimeter. You had met in your respective departments, at airports, or perhaps simply on the road-- and whether you've just landed at the McCarran Airport hours ago, or if you've been driving across the blistering dunes and deserts for days... you hear it before you see it.

Gunfire, screams, and otherworldly screeches. The scene is... desperate.

"Hold this position! Reinforcements are here!" The captain shouts.

There were men dressed in black tactical gear, armed with military hardware. They seemed to be manning a checkpoint, complete with sandbags, spotlights, and barbed wire. The asphalt was stained with blood and bodies-- both human and animal. Each man was unloading mag after mag into their targets, and they wouldn't last much longer. There was a single exception: a Vatican Executor, who was clearly putting in overtime to suppress as many enemies as he could.

"It took you all long enough." Father Alistair comments matter-of-factly, his voice ringing out clearly even through the cacophony of battle. "Drive them back!"

But they were not the focus of your gazes. No-- beyond them were your true targets. Marching down main street was a procession of vampires of varying power. Behind them were several swarms of rats and bats, nibbling at the defenders and otherwise being a nuisance. At the front was a large pack of ghouls, who were currently engaged in combat with this military. The Executor was engaged in combat with a pair of vampires who seemed to bear a striking resemblance to one another.

The supposed leader of the vampire procession seems to lick her ruby-red lips. She was beautiful, even among her kind, and she seems to regard you all with a curious gaze.

"Ah... more prey. Lambs to the slaughter, it would seem." She chuckles. "Kill them all! Anyone that brings me back a head will earn their ascension!"

The creatures of the night roar, and soon, battle is joined.

Arriving on the scene were a pair who quickly assessed the situation in front of them.

"Not a very nice first impression of America," the man said, pulling a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and placing it up to his lips nonchalantly

The other of the pair, a young woman in a pink headscarf grimaced at the situation in front of her. No matter how many times she saw it, these scenes never quite got easier to handle. "What's the plan, Daniyal?"

Taking a drag, the man pointed his finger around the battlefield. "I'm probably not going to need any backup for this one. Get those people out of here, I'll make my way over to the vampires over there." Daniyal stretched slightly before holding his hand out towards the woman, "Mossberg, please.". As the woman handed over the shotgun, Daniyal tossed the cigarette onto the ground, stamping it out. "God be with you, Rahmah."

Rahmah nodded in reply, "And with you, Daniyal.".

With that the two were off. Daniyal made a direct line over towards the lesser vampires. Rushing into a ghoul, he turned his shotgun over, bashing the butt of the gun into the ghoul's head, smashing it like a pumpkin. Losing no speed, he made his way over to the lesser vampires.

"Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Raheem..." firing off a slug directly under the vampire's chin, pumping the next round into the barrel as the creature slumped unceremoniously to the ground. Quickly he turned around as another of the creatures lunged forward, only for Daniyal to block the vampires' lunge with his gun. He quickly pushed the vampire back, unloading one slug and then another into the creature's chest.

"Two down, one to go,"

---

Meanwhile, Rahmah was doing her best to corral the fleeing civilians to safety. "This way, move!" she shouted as she lead the fleeing civilians away, tossing a collection of fu back behind them. A couple of unfortunate ghouls made the mistake to step on the fu, only to immediately catch fire and burn away into ashes. Picking off a few rats with her pistol, Rahmah looked back to see how Daniyal was faring.

The Camaro screamed down the street of Las Vegas like so many of its brethren had done before, but instead of ferrying drunk college kids it carried instruments of God's will, two of his children and one of the dogs designed to serve them. They had taken the time to gird themselves for battle on the way in, holsters strapped on and bandoliers wrapped around chests. Adjusting her rearview Ekaterine could Yami doing a final count of her magazines and speed loaders, the flash of silver from Cohort's muzzle telling the nun that their hound had been properly armed as well. She had yet to meet the creature that enjoyed being chewed on by seven hundred pounds of jaw strength, especially not when it had been augmented by blessed silver.

Ekaterine liked to think that Cohort was as dedicated to task as she was, for what other reason did he allow Yamileth to poke around his mouth covering his fangs with metal caps?

Her own loadout was ready, her habit now covered by her armor plates and a surplus ammo-carrying vest from Vietnam, each pocket loaded with a magazine for one weapon or another. At her hip was a shotshell bag, a fresh box of buckshot tucked in for easy access. Her bag contained more and of differing varietals for changing situations.

All in all Ekaterine was pushing a hundred pounds of extra weight, a load that even seasoned soldiers would find hard to fight in. She carried it as if it were all a part of her body, legs carrying her into the thick of the fighting as soon as the car stopped moving.

She didn't waste time making conversation like her Muslim comrades did, nor did she respond to Father Alistair's words. In that moment she existed for one purpose: violence.

The Elder Vampire needed to go. Ekaterine saw everything else as distractions, problems to be dealt with once the root was dug up. She sprinted past soldiers, civilians, and monsters alike, deadset on destroying the mockery of human beauty.

"Anyone that brings me back a head will earn their ascension!"

None of them would bring anything to the wretch, not once Ekaterine was done with it. Her boots trod rats into mulch as she bore down, eyes narrowing as a pair of ghouls attempted to put themselves between her and her prey. A swing of her gloved fist shattered one's jaw while the other was sent stumbling back by way of a shoulder to the chest, mere distractions trying to keep her from her righteous goal.

She didn't aim her shotgun so much as she pointed it in the general direction of the Leader, relying on faith and close range to guide her shot. The Ithaca jerked in her hand at the pull of the trigger, blessed buckshot ripping holes through the monster's side. But to Ekaterine's annoyance the fiend had been ready, deftly dodging most of the payload.

The Leader snarled, launching itself at Ekaterine with all the speed and strength of an apex predator. The nun saw the claws coming but found herself temporarily helpless, the devil's eyes locking with hers and reaching past for her soul with its foul magic. For a moment Ekaterine remembered what it was like to be terrified, the natural superiority of the undead once again unquestioned. She was a rabbit challenging a hawk, a fool!

Ekaterine only just managed to lift her weapon in an attempt to block, the talons deflected away from her tender throat towards her exposed face. There was a flash of white pain and trickles of blood dripping down her forehead, the sense of violation as her body reacted to injury...and the leering smile of That Which Should Not Be.

The spell was broken. Ekaterine was enraged once more.

She lashed out with a scream, drowning out all noise as she smashed her head forward. Her body was just another holy weapon, a tool to be used. Shards of teeth pierced her headdress and dug into her scalp, more minor wounds to be treated later. The Leader was defanged with a gurgling cry, the sound of weakness only serving to encourage the berserker's hate. Ekaterine's throat produced sounds that could only barely be considered human as she lifted the Less-Than-Mortal by the neck, throwing her quarry to the asphalt.

Vampires were largely resistant to physical trauma, making brute-force weapons generally inferior. It was simpler and far easier to invest in a consecrated spear or a simple stake with which to stab the swine. Ekaterine liked having options, however, which was why the spiked bottoms of her boots were also silvered. She gave the monster no time to escape, jumping on its chest with a brutal snarl.

Its sternum cracked, the black heart beneath crumbled to dust, and Ekaterine laughed madly.

All the doubt, the exhaustion and her loosening grip on reality, all of it was so very worth it now that she was home.



Yamileth wouldn't have admitted it under torture in Tartarus itself, but she was very much out of her depth. The hunts with Ekaterine, the banishing rituals with her adoptive coven, all of that had been good experience but nothing could have prepared her for this. They had driven into a warzone, Green Beret black ops type yelling commands and emptying M16s into feral hordes while civilians scrambled for safety. There was a guy with a sword fighting two vampires at once, swarms of bats diving in to nip at exposed flesh...

...what the hell was she doing here? She wasn't ready for this!

But it was too late to back out now. As Ekaterine tore off in search of skulls to collect Yamileth took up position behind the car, arms shaking as she tried to steady her rifle. There were so many targets to choose from and too much chaos to do it in, friend and foe alike embroiled in a great melee so that Yami couldn't even shoot without risking friendly fire.

A flailing of limbs in her periphery stole her attention, Yami swinging her M1 towards the commotion with her finger on the trigger. She almost put a bullet through the head of some unfortunate barman running as fast as his legs could carry him. That speed was still far too slow, the bloody gash across his thigh draining his strength as a ghoul gave chase. As Yami switched targets the man stumbled and fell, desperately dragging himself as his pursuer drew closer.

"Cohort, fetch!"

She pointed to the bartender and the Cane Corso bounced forward, bowling past friendly troops to grab the injured soul's collar with his teeth. As Cohort pulled the man towards cover Yamileth dumped shots into the ghoul, focusing on volume as opposed to accuracy.

The first shot went wide, two and three snapped an arm like a dry branch and number four went in through the temple and came out by earlobe.

One down, way too fucking many to go.

There was something at the airport’s rental lot that caught Ah-Rong’s eye.

It was large, far more than a car had any right to be. It was a brilliant opalescent red, and it only had two seats, but its form extended far beyond them - like a sunset, it stretched out across the sky. Its seats were tan leather and it only got 10 miles to the gallon. It had a great top speed, and terrible acceleration as it had to push its entire bulky mass along.

All of these conflicting properties collided in strange fashion, and Ms. Park only saw the good in it. There was something unique about this land yacht, something quintessentially…American. It’s not like she had to pay for its rental fee.

And now she was blasting 100mph down the US-91.

It had been a rough ride, if only because Ah-Rong insisted that every stretch of clear desert highway must be taken with an appropriate level of disregard for traffic laws. They’d stopped at multiple points along the way, eating at whatever roadside diner was first along the way, barging into gun shops and haggling with the owners on the price per bullet, and at one point stopping just so she could get Jin to take a photo of her with some mountain in the background.

“I’ve got friends who don’t even know what a ‘Yutah’ is,” she insisted, “I need this. Come on, Jin-hubae, it’ll only take five minutes…”

Which led to their current placement. Still going as fast as Ah-Rong’s warped sense of safety woud allow her, the top of their convertible down as the night sky was becoming blemished by the bright lights of Las Vegas in the distance, they didn’t have much longer on this very strange road trip.

“Jin-hubae, when we get there, you think we’re going to have time to see the rest of the town?” she half-shouted over the roar of the wind. She was always insistent on referring to him as her junior, it seemed. “Last time I went international, the Church was insistent that I get out of the country the minute things were done! Couldn’t spare a moment to calm down a little after the excitement!”

Jin Dak-Ho’s expression remained as immutable and friendly as always. Although internally he was holding on for dear life. His senior’s driving was as… ‘rough’ as always. The first time nearly gave him a heart attack. Nonetheless, he acquiesced to her requests as always, as despite her eccentricity, Ah-Rong was a dependable exorcist and a decent person, despite affiliations with the seedier parts of the underworld.

“It depends on the grace of our hosts.” Jin replied finally. He didn’t give much stock to the seniority prevalent in their culture. “The scale of the request was alarming, so perhaps they may give you leeway to explore, Ah-Rong-ssi”

“You underestimate the Church and--hold on, this one’s being slow,” she said as she narrowly dodged a camper van by overtaking it, never once in danger of driving off the highway…one would hope. “And their frugality! They’re of the mind that God will provide up to the day that we finish our assignment. Not an hour later!”

Her hand clattered as she turned the wheel to the right, following the curve of the road - that briefcase was already handcuffed to her arm from the moment you met up with her in Korea, and it hadn’t left that position once. Makes for an awkward drive, but she seems to be good enough to make up for it.

Thankfully, no, blessedly, the lowering of the speed limit as they start to pass by habitations in the desert. Good sense draws Ah-Rong’s foot off the pedal a little. They’re now only slightly above the speed limit, and it seems they’ll make it to the operational zone without suffering any casualties.

“Ahhhh…how do you boys handle it over there,” she asked, calmed down a bit, “over on the Protestant side of things? Just a little bit more generous?”

Ah-Rong would find Jin gripping the interior car handle tightly if she had looked back. “It would do no good to have the church deprive its devout warriors of basic necessities, especially if we are to win this and upcoming battles.” He didn’t mention how much the church seemingly made from their congregation.

“The Protestant Church… well, even after years we’re still a smaller presence within South Korea.” He says, “Despite being a smaller constituent, they seem intent on establishing a presence and incentivizing us priests to stay in South Korea… And well, I usually get most requests approved within reason.” Jin didn’t realize she was talking about free time and not requests for ordinance or similar.

Ah-Rong did look, and after a moment’s consideration, took just a bit more pressure of the pedal again. Now they were, amazingly, at near normal speeds, and what more could you ask for at that point?

“Within reason, huh?” She rolled her eyes, but soon after, her tone became much more professional. This change wasn’t unknown to Jin after their last encounter; she seemed quite good at switching between personae at the drop of a hat, even when there wasn’t anything to lose from it. “It’s only natural. Our superiors, there’s only so much they can spend for us, the humble servants of God, with a great need and little ability. You’re entirely right, Jin-hubae.”

A short huff, a sigh of concession perhaps, was had. Ah-Rong pulled off the main highway and toward a more central road. If lead foot had given them anything, it’d ensure they had already made up for lost time - the traffic around here wasn’t nearly as kind…

“Ah.” She coasted to a stop behind a long line of cars at an intersection. “That’s a shame. Let us hope that the situation hasn’t deteriorated too much by the time this clears up…”
---------------------
Their car was left a good distance away from the operational zone, if only because collateral damage was a given when vampires and their executioners were involved…let alone so many! It was hard to believe there’d be this many agents of the Church, and other groups yet, all converging on one spot. When there’s a lull in the fighting, maybe it’ll be a good time to get some networking done…

After a quick check, guns loaded, hair checked in mirror, shoes tied on firmly, the pair left the convertible and walked down the sidewalk with purpose. The sound of violence could already be heard in the distance, so it was probably going to be a mission without much downtime…

—-------------------

Meanwhile, a kilometer or so away, a company helicopter was just about to take off from the top of a building. Next to it, a shinto maiden smiled and waved to the hired pilots, who were in turn, visibly puzzled, but opted to wave back before flying away. Nobody would expect anyone to be in such a pleasant mood for the operation to come, but she had been mentally prepared and had no issues showing a little gratitude for the safe and successful travel. It was a blessing, after all.

Landing quite a ways away from the ongoing battle, the miko peered down at the streets from her vantage point. There were a good number of places to enter the scene from, and thankfully, her building was not too high up to make rappelling difficult. In no time at all, she landed in an alleyway, swiftly disconnected her pull cords, and observed her surroundings. Immediately, one thing stood out to her– even though she was still a fair distance from her destination, the familiar scent of copper flooded her senses. Of course, it had to be blood. And with the aroma’s strength… quite a lot of it. She was supposed to worry– but she was unable to. Instead, the thought of an insane number of casualties put a spring to her step. It encouraged her. Grew a smile on her face. There was clearly much to do, and she was there to do them all! Nothing was impossible.

After bounding off and exiting the alleyway, there stood across the sidewalk from her two familiar faces– a woman with stylish glasses and a wonderful tattooed side profile, and a handsome man with an eyepatch. A warmth swelled in her heart, what a favorable day indeed!

“Ah-rong san! Jin-san!” Hikari waved at the pair from the opposite side of the street.

Near instantly, Ah-rong’s demeanor changed from one of quiet preparation to a pleasant, bubbly smile as she heard a familiar voice. And what a fine voice to hear! Of everyone from her past who could’ve shown up today, few were good, and fewer were as good as this girl’s. Ah-Rong stopped her advance for a moment, and held out her arms. A hug was expected - not professional or fitting, but to hell with it. “Hikari! Over here, girl!”

The shrine maiden nearly sprang across the street right into the woman’s arms. “Thank goodness– It’s like nobody enjoys giving hugs in the company!” She groaned into the woman’s chest, savoring the feeling wholly. As former colleagues, it was needless to say that Ah-rong’s rain during drought-esque personality was dearly missed. “Especially none like yours! I’m so glad to see you, onee-san– oop, unnie!”

Jin simply shot Hikari a kind, albeit weary, smile. The weariness was not something he would’ve disclosed. “It’s good to be working together again, Hikari-sama.” He said simply. It truly was, the two exorcists in-front of him were amongst some of the most competent and reliable he’s worked with, them and those whom he worked with in the Mexican operation.

“Heheh.” Hikari beamed back with full appreciation of his use of Japanese honorifics. After their last exorcism together, she was only filled with respect for the man and his compassion. And of course, it seemed he was still as polite as ever, such a breath of fresh air from what she’s normally used to. “Oppa, I’m so excited that you two are here. Thank the gods! I already feel that this mission will come with a lot of success.”

“You do? You know, that really does mean something.” Ah-Rong continued with her all-too cloying speech, letting her junior free from her grasp and stepping back. “It was a bit ago, that time that you specifically called out ‘I’ve got a terrible feeling about this’ before we embarked…and then it turned out to be not just one, but an entire infestation of Penanggalan! Ohhh, shame we had to burn that church down, a shame, a shame.”

This story is remarkably familiar to you, besides having lived it, because she tended to fall back upon retelling it constantly. Probably the most open she ever got when it came to her work, prior to joining the Church.

“Malaysia was fun, though. The gamb--oh, right!” She immediately started to walk forward, holding up her head and staring back into the distance toward the sound of sirens. Her playful face gave way to the more calm, collected look she was famous for, and she said, “Forgive me. We’ve time to reminisce later, after we all get out, yes? I’ll owe you some kindness then.”

Naturally, more reinforcements came in, but just the slightest bit late. Traffic, you can't help it~

From the ranks of the unholy, a bloated corpse shambled forward alongside the procession of the rest, its arms raised in a rigored but very stereotypical pose. The soldiers here had their hands full already, leveling their rifles to try and thin down the enemy, and they were distracted. One only noticed the approaching enemy by its nauseous stench, and turned--

He didn't even see the corpse's hollowed face, for a flying foot had already taken it down to the earth.

Ah-Rong entered in style, composed as ever, her first action being taking the dead by surprise. It reeled back from the force of the kick but had nothing to stop it from continuing, which it did, and now it aimed for the trained demon-tamer.

She smiled, and stood there for the couple of seconds it took to get to her. There was a shout of "Jesus, lady, move out of the way so I can take a shot!" from behind her.

"Don't take the Lord's name in vain, honey," she called back. Then, winding up, she took her left arm and violently hit the dead in the face with a suitcase.

The soldier in question was briefly confused at this choice of weapon, only to then see that the dead man had been set ablaze by the strike - more followed as she waved the case around, and in short time, the corpse was dealt with.

Aside from the all-important need to assert dominance, Ms. Park's choice to stand still was utilitarian. Her face had shimmered, and suddenly the detailed images of insects tattooed onto her skin became animate and crawled down her body, and onto the pavement.

From there they were almost invisible, being only dark lines on the asphalt of the road, and they went to town. Around them were dozens of smaller creatures, ensorcelled vermin that were only a danger en masse, but these centipedes were uniquely suited to this exact task. They scurried here and there, savaging everything they came across and subduing them in no time at all.

While that went on, Ah-Rong looked over to the Orthodox woman, Ekaterine, and gave her a hearty "Howdy!" as she beat another corpse to death (again) with her suitcase. She clearly wasn't taking this seriously yet.

The situation before her and the sight of others around joining the fray, it was only natural for Bianca to find her hand reaching for her bow next to her. Hurriedly departing from her vehicle, her senses quickly began to take on the situation.

The sounds of chaos filled the air around Bianca, as she could hear the screeching of the demons alongside the cries of both civilians and fellow demon slayers. There was no more time needed to think.

Now it was time to do her job.

Taking off in a sprint, Bianca easily leaps upon the jammed cars ahead of her, allowing her a better vantage as she bounded towards the conflict. She lined a shot as she rushed ahead, but it was clear to her that this position was not optimal if she wanted the best shot and minimize the chances to hit a comrade. She needed higher ground. And with her trained eyes, she quickly found a route to it.

Changing her direction slightly more to the right, Bianca headed to the side of the road towards a building she noted had a good firing position into the street below. When she was at the last car before the sidewalk, she jumped off towards a street light on the side, kicking off it to get her the leverage needed to grab hold of an open window on the second floor. Quickly pulling herself within, no time was wasted as she bursted out of the room and made her way to the closest stairway toward the rooftop.

Upon reaching the roof, Bianca was already pulling out an arrow as she approached the side looking down at the street. Many of the foul creatures were finding themselves in clashes with her fellow hunters. But in her scanning, she noted a group of five ghouls who were fastly approaching the frontline. Uninterrupted, they could very well lead to more casualties to their forces.

It was but only a moment later that a slight whistle in the air could barely be heard as Bianca took her first shot, striking true as it deeply embedded into the leading ghoul’s head and collapsed onto the street. The other four behind him stopped, their fiendish eye’s searching for where the shot had come from. This momentary stop proved fatal, as in rapid succession two more of their numbers found themselves struck down by an arrow themselves.

One of the last remaining two then caught sight of her upon the rooftop, letting out a roar in fury in her direction to give warning to the other ghoul and what others may have heard him.

His reward for this? An arrow sailing into his open maw, piecing out the back of his throat and silencing him for good. With the fourth one neutralized, Bianca turned her bow to where the last one was, only to see the space now vacant. Her eyes narrowed as her gaze quickly ran across the road, looking for the last one.

Where did it…, her scanning stopped as she caught movement down the street. There!

Bow once more drawn, she finds herself waiting for a clear shot as the ghoul’s running takes it through various destroyed vehicles strewn across the road. With it disappearing behind a large trailer, she knew she had very limited chances before it made it to the battle line. Internal calculations and placing trust in her own instincts, Bianca lets the arrow fly at the opposite end of the trailer.

The next few seconds seemed to blur as her focus was on the arrow. Her breath held as she began to see the beast creating out the other side. And inner relief as she could see it’s foul ichor burst out its skull, releasing a deathly wail as it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.