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Illyana held firm as the subway worker stumbled away into the darkness, harnessing the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak as best as she could in order to keep her prisoner at bay. It squirmed viciously from side to side, the bands searing around the demon’s limbs and singing the cloak that covered him. Despite her efforts, she knew she was working on borrowed time here; the demon was too strong to be held for long. All she needed was enough time to get it alone.

She still wasn’t entirely sure which layer of hell this demon had escaped from. Her mentor had sensed the presence of a rift to the underworld opening and had Illyana portal to the scene of the crime immediately. Rather than a creepy old cult as she had expected, it turned out to be the result of a group of ill-advised college students stumbling across an old tome and getting too curious for their own good. Thankfully they’d been quick enough to stop a full gateway to hell opening in downtown Manhatten, however one or two of the bastards had still slipped through. 

Strange had deemed her ready enough to chase after this one herself whilst he dealt with the other. However, as she stood here wrestling with it, her mind was filled with nothing but doubt. 

It was this doubt that finally caused the fiery tendrils to finally break. The demon roared as it lurched forwards, wrenching its arm free which it then used to claw away the rest of its entrapments. Illyana stumbled backwards as her spell faded, her usual emotionless face now sporting a look of terror. She lurched her staff forward as the demon turned towards her, letting loose a bolt of radiant energy from its tip. 

It ducked with ease. Despite its size, it was fast.

She fired again, taking a step backwards. Another miss. 

The demon grew closer.

Before she could fire a third, her foot struck the track below her feet, causing her to fall. She let out a shriek as her back hit the metal of the ruts, yet before she could react further, she caught a flash of the creature’s red cloak above her. It was making its move. She barely had enough time to move the body of her staff in front of her, before the demon lunged down at her.  The beast’s claws bore down on the obsidian rod, with Illyana using all of her strength to keep it raised and the creature off of her. It snarled down at her as she held it back, the stench of its breath wafting over her. 

Her body ached as the beast weighed down on her. Just like before, she couldn’t hold the demon for long. Nor could she cast another spell whilst in such a state. 

Thankfully she came equipped with other gifts.

Taking a breath, the floor beneath her illuminated in a warm yellow glow, as she sank downwards into the floor.

 As the demon slumped downwards onto the tracks in confusion, the yellow light illuminated once more from the tunnel’s ceiling from which Illyana began to fall. Her body spun as she moved through the air as she focused. The radiant energy she had been blasting from her staff began to build once more, with the forked prongs of her weapon glowing in light.

Then as she neared her target, she swung. 
The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous. The demon was launched down the tunnel several metres, scraping along the floor before colliding heavily against a wall, the bricks around its impact beginning to crumble immediately. 

Illyana felt her heart leap a little. She’d done it! Yet, as quickly as the beats rose, they once more sank, as the demon’s body quickly began to stir once more. It launched out a fist from beneath its cloak, angrily striking the wall behind it. Letting out a roar, it lunged from where it sat, bounding up onto all fours before beginning to race towards her. 

Illyana froze as it moved, not knowing what to do. If that last strike hadn’t done much, what else could she throw at it? 

As if to answer her question, the screeching whistle of a subway train echoed from a nearby tunnel. 

Gritting her teeth and saying a silent prayer, she opened another stepping disc. The distant screech of the subway train’s wheels was no longer distant, as the locomotive erupted out of the yellow light and into the tunnel. The demon had no time to move as the train rocketed through him, with the racketing of the carriage covering up the sound of its body being ripped to shreds. 

Illyana simply watched in stunned horror as the train somehow managed to gain balance on the track and race away down the tunnel, quickly leaving her alone in the darkness. Her eyes took in the bloody carnage that seemed to be what remained of the beast’s body. A chump of darkened grey flesh. Shreds of red fabric. It was certainly gone.

She leaned forwards, hand resting on her stomach as she fought to catch her breath again after everything, her heart still racing. She could only pray that her actions weren’t about to cause a massive collision somewhere down the train line.