Meanwhile, Mikeru and his servants were gathered for an emergency meeting, trying to figure out what to do next about their enemies. They were all still astonished by the mermaids' apparent escape from being boiled alive.

"I…I can't believe it all failed! My plan was flawless!" Sheshe was distraught by this, as she was certain that her plans would finally put an end to those mermaids. Being the blow to her ego that it was, she put her face in her hands in embarrassment. Mimi then came up and hugged her sister.

"Shhh. Don't worry, sweetie. We'll make something work and get back at those mermaids."

"Yeah, I mean we still have their Pastor in our control. Who knows how powerful he could potentially be?" Alala's reminder to Sheshe about the man they nailed on that cross brightened her mood, putting a small smile on her face.

"Perhaps we should summon Pastor Max in here. Let's see how we can use him." Mikeru then directed his guards to bring me in. Next thing I know, I was led into this room to stand before them. Nothing had changed, my body was still mostly naked and horribly mutilated, and my left shoulder was still hideously dislocated. Not that any of that bothered the servants, given their end game in mind.

"Pastor Max, I…" Before Sheshe could finish, I interrupted her.

"Sheshe, do not worry. It is not your fault your plan failed." Clearly, it just was never meant to be. This surprised everyone.

"Pastor!"

"My lady, was it not He who declared: 'For I know the plans I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11)?'" Sheshe nods silently. "Clearly, there's something better in store for us. We have to be patient, though. Something like this cannot be rushed." I then turn towards Mikeru. "If I may continue, I think I know what needs to be done. We need to do a direct strike against these filthy sinners, for we cannot let them continue to defile this world!"

"What do you exactly plan to do, Pastor?" Mikeru had underestimated my power at that time.

"Everyone, behold!" As my eyes glowed that bright red, the whole castle began to shake. All of Mikeru's servants huddled in fear, seeing little bits of rock falling around them; a big chunk of rock nearly crushed Mikeru's servants to death, had they not jumped out of the way.

"Aaaah! Pastor, please don't hurt us!" All of the servants were pleading with me to stop.

"Pastor Max, we can't have you destroy our own castle! I ask of you, stand down!" With Mikeru's final plea, I calm down and my eyes return to normal. The shaking stops.

"Just think of what we can inflict on that world of sinners! It's not like we're in the wrong; even God once regretted the creation of mankind because of their wickedness, so how are we any different? What do you say?" Before anyone could say anything, Mikeru stood up.

"Excuse me, everyone. I need to recuse myself to think about this." Fuku followed him as he went out.

"Heheheh! You guys keep an eye on our Pastor before he gets too powerful. Who knows what he can do?" Mikeru and Fuku then found themselves standing before the Great One, the one whom they ultimately served.

"O Great One, please help us as we bow down before you! We possess so much power, yet even we are struggling to contain this great power. O Great One, how can we best harness this power for the eradication of that plague known as the human race?"

As the Great One heard of this, his flame arose in excitement. "Great power, huh? My servants, please bring forward this power."

Mikeru then summoned me to come before the Great One, who began to laugh when I came floating in before him.

"Hahaha! This dying man is your 'great power?' You guys really crack me up!" Undeterred by this insult, Mikeru told the Great One about the powers I had.

"He knows that mankind has sinned and fallen short, and that they are ultimately destined to die because they have sinned. He not only has that, but also an unbridled sense of righteous anger against mankind for their destructiveness and whitewashing hypocrisy. He seeks to use his power to put an end to all that and bring glory back to the Earth! He even caused that earthquake a little bit ago."

"Heheheh! It cracks me up that you underestimate him…"

"SILENCE! I did not give you permission to speak, Fuku!" The Great One's loud roar scared Fuku into submission.

"F-forgive me, Great One. I spoke out of term."

The Great One then turns his attention towards me. "You, I summon you to give me an account of your power." I raise my head up, with my eyes shining a bright crimson as I gave the Great One my attention.

"Hello, O Great One. I am Pastor Maxwell Church, and I seek revenge against mankind for their sinfulness and corruption." At this point, none of them felt scared by my angry, snarling voice.

"Hello, Pastor. So, you are the one who caused the earthquake, am I right?"

"Correct, my lord. Just think of what I can unleash against mankind. It is only a just and fitting punishment for their sins. Remember, it is God's will, as even He once came to regret His own creation (Genesis 6:6-7). I too, weep at the fact that this is what must be done. Our God is a loving and just God; it is humanity that has failed our God."

"I see, hmmm… Well, you must forgive me then, Fuku, Mikeru, Pastor. It looks like this man you have here could harness much power. I hereby give you my blessing that he may be weaponized against the people of this world! It is the only way that we can then dominate. As my words are God's words, it is also clear that God has given His blessing for you to continue." I would later cringe at how we clearly did not know about the true character of God. He is just, but also loving in character. Clearly, these guys didn't get the memo on that.

"Thank you, o Great One!" The three of us then left The Great One's lair and proceeded to go to work on our destructive plan.