In the morning, the mermaids were all woken up by a guard bringing them a tray of food. In spite of the questionable nature of this 'food,' the girls only ate it because they hadn't eaten anything else since being captured. The guard then let down the force field, only for him and a group of other guards to place the mermaids in cuffs.

"Come along now! You are all required to participate in our daily ritual."

"Ritual?!" The mermaids were confused and worried over what this meant. Their fears were confirmed when they entered into a large, cavernous room, where the servants were all waiting for them.

"Good morning, girls. I sure hope you slept well." They were greeted by Sheshe, who knew that their backs were sore because they didn't have a bed in the cell. This annoyed all of the mermaids.

"What do you want from us? Can't you see we've suffered enough?" Karen's anguish came through.

"Oh, don't you mermaids worry. Nobody will get hurt here. That is, as long as you cooperate with us." Lady Bat and Alala then pulled back a set of curtains, revealing a collection of these giant statues. They stood in awe at these statues, seemingly made from this unworldly material. The tallest of these stood at 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. Each of the statues represented Mikeru's servants, with Sheshe's standing the tallest.

"Everyone! What we witness today is the dedication of these monuments to the greatness and power of our dominion over the Earth and the Sea. At the sound of the conch, please bow your heads as we bow down before these images, in the name of our lord Mikeru. Whoever does not bow down will be deemed guilty and sentenced accordingly to a boiling death!" After Sheshe finished her stump speech, all of Mikeru's minions and all of the guards prostrated themselves before these idols as a conch was blown into. Of course, the mermaids refused to bow down. A guard noticed this and spoke to Sheshe.

"My lady, you said yourself that at the sound of the conch, that we shall bow down and worship your image, and that whoever does not shall be cast to a boiling death."

Sheshe gave him an annoyed look. "And?"

"That group you had imprisoned are not bowing down. They pay no attention, nor serve your gods or the images you set up."

In an instant, Sheshe was overcome by fury at the sight of the mermaids' obstinance.

"STOP!" Everyone there froze in shock at what had happened. "Guards! Bring forward the mermaids!" The guards dragged the seven mermaids up towards the altar where Sheshe was standing. "Is it true girls that you won't bow down before us?"

"We will never give our praise to you monsters!" Luchia was nothing short of foolhardy at this point. She and her friends had little else to lose.

"Ok, let's make a deal. If you bow down and worship us, all is good." Sheshe's eyes then narrowed. "But if you do not worship, you will all be made to suffer death by a furnace of boiling water! You better hope that your god will deliver you out of my hands! Judging by what happened to Pastor Max, I wouldn't raise my hopes."

"Well, we have no need to answer you. We know that our God will deliver us from the boiling furnace! These idols will never save us, so we will not bow down to you!" Luchia suddenly felt Sheshe's hand grab the back of her neck.

"Very well. If you won't bow down and worship, I will make you do it, by force!" Sheshe dragged Luchia up to her statue and held her head up to it. "Now kiss my statue in adoration! Do it! Do it!"

Luchia was squirming under Sheshe's grip, not wanting to worship idols that didn't deserve this praise. Luchia realized her elbows were unrestrained, and with nothing more to lose, she violently swung her elbow back, way harder than she even thought was possible.

*CRACK*

Suddenly, Luchia no longer felt Sheshe's hand on her. The tall redhead had collapsed to the ground with a thud, clutching her face in pain. As she let out a loud squeal, the whole crowd gasped. This was Mikeru's second-in-command, and this mermaid dared to attack her?

"SISTER SHESHE!" Mimi and the other servants came to Sheshe's side and sheltered her. As Sheshe continued to let out loud sobs, her face was scrunched up in pain. Blood could be seen coming from her nose and diffusing into the water. "Don't worry, Sister Sheshe. We'll get you to the doctor's office." Mimi then turned towards the mermaids, furious by their act. "How DARE you attack my sister?! You will pay for this! You will ALL pay for this!"

As the servants shuffled out of the room, a group of guards roughly grabbed the mermaids.

"Alright, back to your cells! You ladies are in a lot of trouble now!" The guards violently seized the girls and tossed them back into their cells, with their fate coming later.

Meanwhile, Sheshe was laying on the bed in the doctor's office. Her eyes were still watering, and she left out soft sobs as the doctor put a bandage over her nose. For somebody who thinks she's invincible, this whole ordeal shattered that illusion.

"There, that'll heal up in no time. Your nose is thankfully not broken, just some bruising and a few broken blood vessels."

"But what about my duties?"

"Don't worry, I will tell Mikeru that you need today and tomorrow to rest up that nose and reduce the swelling. He'll understand, as he is a kind and compassionate man. Oh, I almost forgot! Here's your favorite extra-hot hot sauce lollipop for being a good patient." Sheshe then turned away from the doctor.

"Thanks, but I'll take a rain check on that. My face hurts too much to enjoy it now."

The doctor shrugged with a smile. "As you wish." Mimi then entered the doctor's office.

"Sheshe! How are you feeling, my dear sister?" Through the pain, Sheshe cracked a rusty smile.

"Mimi, my face is still pounding but the doctor at least patched up my nose. He said I'll be out of commission for the rest of today and tomorrow."

"My, my. Sheshe, you are very fortunate to have such a sweet and caring sister at your side. I'll head out and get this note to Mikeru, so I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes." After the doctor walked out of the office, Sheshe captured Mimi's full attention with her next question.

"Mimi, where are those mermaids now?"

"Well, after we left a whole bunch of guards tackled them and put them back in their cell." Sheshe then turned towards Mimi with a look of anger on her face.

"Mimi."

"Yes, Sheshe?"

"I want them dead. I want them all dead. They made fools out of me and everyone there." Mimi then tries to calm her sister.

"Don't worry about that. You said it yourself, that whoever does not bow down and worship us shall be sentenced to death by a furnace of boiling water. We will take care of them."

"Don't forget to bring me a chair and some snacks. I want to see this happen in person."

"As you wish, Sister Sheshe!" Mimi then walked out and headed into the laboratory. She approached me as it was time for me to be checked on.

"Hello, Pastor. Sorry for the wait." My eyes flung open from my slumber, exposing a glowing red glare.

"Mimi, I sense that something is bothering you. Are you alright?"

"Well, we erected these statues of us and asked for the mermaids' respect. Unfortunately, they attacked Sheshe and nearly broke her nose in the process."

"And they say we are the evil ones? How typically sinful of these folks. Mimi nodded in agreement. They pathologize us to make themselves appear more righteous. The hypocrisy of the human world knows no bounds."

"We will be punishing them later with death in a furnace of boiling water."

"Ah yes, a fitting punishment for those bunch of little miscreants! I can't wait to pronounce their judgment."

"How true, Pastor!"