As the servants stood aside, a cross came floating down the hallway and towards the cell that held the mermaids. Upon that cross was the body of the Pastor the girls knew and loved. My body was ghastly in appearance; it was naked, my left shoulder was dislocated, 'I am God' was etched into the flesh of my abdomen with a knife, and my eyes glowed a menacing red. As this cross turned towards the mermaids, I gave them an angry scowl. My teeth were clenched in anger at the sin and darkness of my fellow humans. While whatever possessed me was muttering unintelligibly under my breath, Luchia looked over at me.

"Pastor?"

The muttering then stops. I looked up at the mermaids in contempt.

"Luchia! Don't you know that all have sinned and fallen short of glory (Romans 3:23)? Humanity has been a blight on God's creation. Bunch of undeserving INGRATES!"

The mermaids weren't only by my low, growling voice, but also by what I was saying.

"What are you saying, Pastor? You love the people around…"

"NONSENSE! All humanity has ever done is desecrate the Lord's creation! Was it not God Himself who came to regret the way humanity had grieved His heart and wished to blot them out (Genesis 6:6-7)? I'm surprised He hasn't done so a second time. I hope He does." This last part causes the mermaids to gasp.

"Pastor Max, this is so not like you! Please, snap out of it!" Hanon tried to get me back to normal, to no avail.

"Why do you call me Pastor Max? That man is dead. He was weak and servile, clearly unfit to deal with the rotten core of humanity. He has clearly failed in God's eyes." The mermaids stood speechless. They simply could not believe what they were hearing from the man who was once their Pastor. Mikeru and Fuku then came up to the mermaids.

"Think of it this way, girls. We in the sea know very well that humanity has been a destructive force against us, and always tries to then whitewash their actions in a thin façade of righteousness. All we've done is taken your Pastor and put him to use to help us take care of humanity's sin and darkness, just more effectively."

"Heheheh! He will be far more effective here than he ever was before!" Rina then contested these claims.

"None of that is true! Pastor Max was a well-respected voice among millions who sought after the Lord. As for humanity, yes they had sinned and fallen short, but that's why God sent his only begotten Son, so then we would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)!" Sheshe then leaned forward towards Rina.

"Key word, was a well-respected voice. But he is now in our service. And it's honestly amazing how you could look up to and befriend a human man like him after all his kind have done to corrupt this world. I believe that's what's known as 'Stockholm Syndrome.'" The other servants all nod in agreement to this. Mikeru then interjects.

"My servants, I think they get our point already. As for you girls, why don't you just give up and surrender yourselves to us? Clearly, your God couldn't save his most faithful servant, so why should any of you expect better? Hope you enjoy your cell!" Before any of the mermaids could say anything, Mikeru and his servants left. All of the mermaids look dejected, knowing they were captured and that they no longer had their Pastor at their side. Hanon sighed as she shared her thoughts on the situation.

"So, I guess this is it. Pastor Max is dead, and here we are trapped in this cell." Sara then turned towards Hanon.

"Look, Pastor Max, and I mean the real Pastor Max would want us to persevere in our faith and be bold! Just like when the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome; he continued to preach and write his letters in spite of the harsh conditions! I don't know how long we will be held here, but we must continue to trust in God for all things." The mermaids then began to pray in the midst of this situation.

"Dear Heavenly Father, in light of our situation we continue to praise you for your grace that you bestow to us in all places. Lord, we just want to pray for our safety as well as our witness to those around us. Lord, we know that Pastor Max has gone to be home with you, so we thank you for bringing this man into our lives and pray that we may continue to carry on with the work that he started. Lord, we also want to pray for those who hold us captive. Forgive them for their sinful ways and allow the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work in their lives, so then they too can bring glory to you. Lord, we thank you for all this and pray in your holy name. Amen."

For the rest of the day, the mermaids dwelled on their fate. For them, it was getting less and less clear that God was blessing them in their trials and tribulations. Meanwhile, Kaito and Hippo were sitting on the beach, both grieving over their missing friends. They knew that youth group tonight would definitely be different.

"Kaito, do you think that Pastor Max and the mermaids will be back soon? I've been praying for them virtually non-stop and they still haven't returned. I sure hope that God is hearing my prayers."

"Now Hippo, God hears all of our prayers. I'm pretty sure that they're safe, though I worry for their safety too. I'm sorry that you feel for Yuri." Yuri may have been evil, but Hippo had a soft spot for the demon girl.

"You don't think that Gaito and his four servants ended up in a bad place, do you Kaito?" Kaito shook his head.

"I know that you were thinking about them, Hippo, but they ultimately rejected Jesus as Lord and Savior of the World. Because of this, they would've been sent to Hell because they could not abide in a just and perfect God. It's a shame, but they had no place in God's Kingdom because they refused to repent."

Hippo looked down. "I know, it's just tough because Yuri was… well, my friend."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Hippo. Kaito looked directly at Hippo. Would a real friend encourage you to do wicked, ungodly things? If you had followed Yuri back to their castle, you would've probably met the same fate as they all did." Kaito then looks at his phone. "Well, look at the time! We should head over to the church for youth group." When they entered the portable, the mood was notably more somber than usual. The group was addressed by Pastor Joshua, having taken over my leadership role for the time being.

"Good evening, guys. I know that we were supposed to continue in our study in Chapter 3 of the Book of Acts tonight. Well, that's been pre-empted, because as you may or may not know, Pastor Max as well as several of our friends here have unfortunately gone missing since yesterday. It seems that Luchia, Hanon, Rina, Karen, Noel, Coco, as well as our intern Sara are among those at large. The authorities are aware of it and are continuing to investigate as we speak." Pastor Joshua then tears up as he continues to speak. "Let us not forget that in light of this, God is with us in all things. We must continue to trust in Him to deliver us from evil and to… give us the strength to make it through the day." As Pastor Joshua regained his composure, he invited all of the youth to join him in prayer for myself and the mermaids.

"Dear Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for this day, and all the many ways that you continue to abide with and bless us in all things. Lord, we want to pray for our friends whose current whereabouts are unknown. Lord, wherever they may be, we pray that you may keep them safe and continue to edify them in the truth of your Word, so then they can continue to glorify you in the midst of this. We also just pray that you may be with those affected during this difficult time and give them the strength they need to face this, so then they too can bring praise and glory to you alone and rejoice in your mighty works. Lord, we thank you for all this and pray in your Holy Name. Amen."

For the rest of the evening, Pastor Josh and the kids all sat around and talked about how I had made an impact in all of their lives. Needless to say, our group ended early that night, but the prayers continued during this tribulation.