"But… can you heal Jennifer?" Isakawa asked nervously.
Death turned her head. "Mum," she called, gesturing out to Jennifer.
Jennifer hesitated, but something in Iris' voice made her obey. She stepped forward.
Death gently placed her hand on Jennifer's chest. A dark ripple of mana grew in the room as she pulled out a pulsing black sphere — a mass of writhing matter, dotted with grotesque, blinking eyes.
As soon as it left her body, Jennifer collapsed into Isakawa's arms, unconscious but breathing.
Without hesitation, Death opened her mouth and devoured the cursed orb, swallowing it whole.
"I've helped you," Death said, licking her lips with a grin that was far too wide. "So now, Father… you'll help me."
Isakawa stiffened. "Help you… how?"
Death chuckled. "Find more monsters for Iris to kill. If not… Well, what happened today will happen again."
---
Three years passed.
