Pestilence shook her head, almost looking disappointed at what Conquest had asked her.
"Is that truly what you wish to know?"
"Yes. More than anything, I want to know what the hell is clogging my mana and how to fix it."
The look Pestilence gave off made her uneasy, though she couldn't understand why. Was it because the answer was simpler than she expected?
Liu Han grinned.
"I suppose now I can finally examine you and see what is truly going on inside that body of yours."
Pestilence put her hand in front of Liu Han, who had already pulled his needles and was about to press them against Conquest's chest.
"That won't be necessary. I know exactly what is causing her mana issues." She tilted her head. "I am truly surprised you could not put two and two together, Conquest."
Conquest raised an eyebrow, her teeth grinding together.
"How about you stop with the condescending tone and say it already?"
After a short pause, Pestilence's grin stretched wide.
"You have been infected by Death's miasma."
Conquest blinked, her blue eyes going wide. She couldn't believe it.
How was it possible? Eight months had passed since their battle, and Death's miasma was somehow still inside of her. She didn't even understand how it got there in the first place. Conquest had been careful when fighting him.
She knew how powerful his main technique was from the glimpses of old memories that had surfaced before their fight. After all, she had fought the previous Death, also known as Azazel.
Kamui stepped forward.
"How did she even get hit by it? I saw the entire fight on TV and if I remember correctly the miasma didn't seem like much of a problem."
Pestilence turned to Kamui, her pale eyes settling on him.
"Death's miasma is not merely a projectile. It is also imbued upon his scythe."
Conquest put a hand to her mouth. The cuts. His scythe had sliced through her arms and legs during their fight, and she never once considered what coated the blade.
Sasaki's scythe carried his miasma as part of its very nature. He had used it as a projectile to keep her focused on it, while the real damage came from the slashes themselves.
"That whole fight... he was just waiting for the blade to connect."
Granny Chiyo rested a hand over her chest, her expression warm.
"What's done is done, dear. The only thing that matters now is what we do next."
Chiyo was right. Sasaki might have bested her during their fight, but that was all in the past. Now she had to focus on what truly mattered.
"Alright, so what do I do to get rid of the miasma?"
Pestilence grinned.
"You must venture into your inner world and confront the miasma yourself. As it so happens, the human cursed spirit you call Igarashi has spent all this time learning to control the form he was given, preparing himself to stand beside you when the time came to face it."
Conquest's lips parted. Her fingers loosened against the bedsheet.
"He was? I didn't know he was trying to get stronger for my sake..."
Liu Han clapped his hands together, pulling everyone's attention to him.
"So how exactly does she get inside herself? Is that even possible?"
Conquest has done it a few times but from what she remembered all the time it happened was when she went unconscious. As far as she is aware that was the only way to get to her inner world.
Pestilence turned to Conquest, her expression softening in a way that felt wrong on her face. It reminded Conquest of the look someone gave their sibling at an airport terminal before walking through the gate for the last time.
It unsettled her. She had never seen that expression from Pestilence.
"Are you ready, sister?"
"Huh? Can I say no?"
Pestilence grabbed Conquest's throat with both hands and squeezed. The pressure collapsed around her windpipe instantly. Conquest's mouth fell open, but no air came. Her eyes rolled back as the room began to fade.
***
The cold wrapped around her body and her eyes shot open as she gasped for air.
"Pestilence! You..."
Conquest wasn't in the operating room anymore. She was drifting through her inner world, the one Lucifer had destroyed. What remained of it stretched out like open space, nothing but darkness in every direction with bright yellow and red stars scattered across the void.
I guess I made it. I should try calling out to Igarashi, since I didn't see him the last time I was here.
"Igarashi! Where are you? Please, respond to me!"
Nothing. Not even an echo, and to make matters worse, there was no sign of the miasma either. She expected it to be everywhere, choking the space around her, but her inner world was clean.
With no leads to chase, she swam through the void, hoping to find Igarashi Kenji. But the search wasn't getting any easier, and frustration crept in as she clenched her jaw.
Damn it. Where are you, Igarashi?
Then her eyes locked on to a door floating in the middle of the void. Black miasma leaked from its edges. That had to be where Igarashi was.
She swam as hard as she could, pushing through the void until the door grew closer. As she closed in, distorted laughter bled through from the other side, dozens of voices layered on top of each other. Her stomach turned. She couldn't tell if one of them belonged to Igarashi.
The door itself looked like it was made of steel, pitch black, its surface scarred with shallow sword slashes that never cut deep enough to pierce through. She wasn't sure why the marks were there in the first place, but maybe they meant something she just didn't understand yet.
She gulped as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.
"No more beating around the bush. This has to be it. Igarashi, you're in here, aren't you?"
Her hand found the handle. Hesitation crept into her thoughts, but she knew she had to go in. Her grip tightened.
"Stop! Don't open it!"