Three days passed and the madness had subsided to a certain extent. However, as if summoned by the fiery sacrifices over the past few weeks, a terrible storm appeared and caused a decent amount of damage to Queen Anne’s County. A forewarning of future disasters.

Meanwhile, in Centralia Pennsylvania, Iris was wearing a gasmask over her face and walking through the desolate streets. For over fifty years, the coal mine beneath Centralia had been burning and this day was no different.

Wearing that same hooded leather jacket and a different pair of skinny jeans, that scarred woman had nearly her entire body covered by some sort of clothing. Even then, it was still fairly cold outside. As she approached a small, rundown old house, a deep bellow entered her ears.

“The Gateway will open in five minutes… You sure took your sweet time getting here, Anael.” A thick cloud of smoke transformed into a humanoid shape and hovered in front of the doorway, barring her entrance.

Iris grumbled “I got your fucking Souls, so let me through.” She removed her left glove and the number ten appeared on the back of her hand. It suddenly counted down to zero and ten fiery orbs floated out of her palm, into that shadowy figure’s mouth.

He snickered, “You’re awfully eager to return to Hell. You know, you don’t need to go back there. If you pay me three souls a year, I can keep you alive for as long as you want.”

Even through the gasmask, it was still possible to see Iris scowling. She retorted “I ain’t gonna be your goddamn slave!”

“Heh-heh~, I don’t think you understand the difference between slavery and employment. This world isn’t as bad you think it is Anael… With a gift like yours, you’d be able to do anything you want. You could live in luxury for millennia. There’s no reason to gamble with your soul like this.”

Regardless of how the smoky figure tried to reason with Iris, she shook her head and complained “How could I possibly be content with that? Besides, when Chaotica’s Legions descend upon Earth in full force… No one will be safe. Not even you and I. You might end up being a general in her armies Azazel, but I would only be a foot-soldier at most. I’d prefer to avoid getting directly involved altogether.”

The shadow snickered, whispering “Anael… There’s no way that you can avoid getting involved. When the Gods are at war, nobody escapes enlistment. Remember, this time… Don’t take so many risks. You were too careless before. I wish you luck, ‘Nemesis’, hahahaha~!”

When Iris walked through his body and entered the run down house. All of her clothes disintegrated, then her flesh became charred black. A moment later, she crumbled into a pile of ashes.

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