A new subspecies of ropers had sprung up all of a sudden along the Commonwealth's countryside. The Ehmvier adventurers hall aptly named them 'spitters'. Instead of their usual lashing tentacles, this variant made use of their appendages to shoot acid out of. They terrorized farms and villages alike, destroying fields of crops, corroding adventurers' weapons, and slurping up melted animals.

Kanae and Arenade set out to deal with them personally, since their very lands were under attack and adventurers seemed to be having trouble. But the two of them weren't alone. While they rode on Titan, the sorceress Elizabeth Bedlam traveled along upon her flying broom.

They reached the final village that had sighted spitters, and by a stroke of luck, made it just as the monsters were coming out of the forests for another attack. Villagers raced back home and locked their doors. Spitters were coming up on a rancher's stable, and a young teenager was desperately corralling his unmoving cows to flee. He didn't see that they had eaten through the wooden fences and just behind him. When the cows finally sensed danger and stampeded away, he fell forward. A spitter loomed over with its appendage dripping acid.

"Arenade!" Kanae shouted.

"Plant Growth!" Arenade's spell sprouted a thick brush between the human boy and spitter, which fired an acid shot harmlessly into the foliage.

Kanae leaped off Titan and descended down, swooped up the teen, and carried him to safety farther in the village.

"Are you okay?" Kanae asked.

"Th-Thank you, Queen Kanae!" He blushed.

After putting him down, Kanae returned to the horde of spitters. They were shooting acid indiscriminately. Wherever the substance touched, it withered and blackened.

"There's so many. Where did they even come from? You two, I'll lure them back in the forests. We'll destroy them all at once there!" Eliza transformed into a flock of ravens.

Spitters unleashed a volley of acid into the air, some only catching a few ravens. Eliza flew into the forest, and the monsters followed after her. Trees toppled as their acid ate into the weakened trunks. The smell of sour smoke filled the air.

"Oooh!" Elirashj emerged from the lamp hanging on Kanae's waist. "What an interesting little beastie. I want them. Capture one for me!"

"Ugh. Fine. But get back inside and wait!" Kanae shoved the elemental lord back into the spout.

Arenade and Kanae gave chase, following the spitters into the forest where Eliza reverted back to human form to battle them. Her powerful explosive spells bombarded scores of spitters, but many bounced back and seemed only lightly damaged.

"Tsk. Magic resistance. We need strength of a different kind!" Eliza yelled, narrowly dodging an acid shot to her head.

"We have to get close to monsters that can shoot acid? No thanks!" Arenade backed away.

"Is someone a chiiiicken?" Kanae launched down in a burst of speed and slugged a spitter with Titanic Blow. It staggered back, then crumpled to the ground. She dashed around throwing bone-shattering punches but noticed too late another sneaking up behind.

Tree roots grew from the ground and seized hold of it. Vines bound the appendages shut from spewing, and they exploded from the building pressure.

"Call me a chicken one more time, and we'll see who sleeps on the couch tonight!" Arenade yelled.

"You can't keep threatening me with the couch!" Kanae frowned.

"Arenade, look out!" Eliza yelled from afar.

A spitter launched acid at Arenade. The corrosive substance landed all over her chest. Kanae panicked and flew up to help the high elf, but she was fine. The acid was only eating her clothes. Now, butt naked for all to see with mere tatters to cover her, Arenade trembled with fury.

"Why, hello, my favorite boobs." Kanae purred.

"Move aside." Arenade was in no laughing mood and scooted Kanae away. "Holy Armament: Full suit of armor and BIG FUCKING HAMMER!"

The angry priest rocketed down and pummeled the ever living crap out of the spitters. However, just when Kanae thought Arenade had it handled, her Holy Armament sputtered out. She collapsed to the ground covered in sweat and gasping for breath. One last spitter drew closer, and Kanae and Eliza weren't going to make it.

Titan arrived in time and headbutted the spitter, then stomped all over it until it stopped moving.

"Good save, Titan! Arenade, what happened?" Kanae asked.

"I don't know… Holy shit. I'm so out of mana…" Arenade panted heavily.

Kanae casted Restore Mana and was surprised that Arenade recovered from only a single cast, when she previously needed to repeat several times to get her juiced back up.

The oil lamp shuddered. A gaseous arm emerged suddenly and grabbed hold of a not-quite-dead spitter, pulling it inside the elemental lord's domain. Arenade covered herself up with an extra cloak in her bags. Meanwhile, Eliza was busy inspecting the dead ones with academic curiosity. Once she was satisfied, they headed back to the village to inform them that the spitter problem had been resolved.

Kanae, Arenade, and Eliza left with gift baskets weighing Titan down on the way back home. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was still high in the sky.

"Thank you for letting me accompany you two. If there are any other monster extermination requests, please call for me. More and more creatures seem to be evolving faster than usual lately, and it has me puzzled. I'll share my findings as soon as I've compiled a report," Eliza said and veered off in the direction of her tower.

"Hey, take us down to the Church of One. I got a bone to deal with the Supreme One," Arenade insisted.

"You're not about to have a shouting match with him or something, are you?" Kanae asked worriedly.

"Perish the thought!" She brushed her off.

They landed in front of the modest house of worship to the Supreme One. This was the one Grand Eye Analise had made a trip to Ehmvier to ordain a bishop for. Unlike the cathedrals in Lograin and Radevic, it was much less extravagant and grandiose. Built with whitestone, Ehmvier's brand new Church of One stood bright like a quartz crystal. A belltower in the very back rang once a week to signal services and saw its fair share of parishioners.

As soon as Arenade dismounted from Titan, she stormed up the steps into the church. Kanae flew after her. Inside, nuns were sweeping the floor between the pews. A middle-aged human man in a short red miter hat was just now coming out of his office.

"Ah, well if it isn't Her Majesties. I've already met Empress Arenade the other day. Greetings to you, Empress Kanae. I am Bishop Marcus of this humble church. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" the bishop asked?

"Just give me some peace and quiet. I need to talk to the big man upstairs." Arenade plopped down in the pew and clasped both hands together.

Bishop Marcus and the nuns exchanged confused glances. They didn't know what Kanae did, and that was Arenade being an actual demigoddess. Some probably thought she was insane for so boldly declaring a need to talk to the Supreme One. It looked like she was in silent prayer up until—

"Hahh? What do you mean you've got nothing to do with it? My mana's clearly a fraction of what it used to be!" Arenade yelled and startled everyone in the church.

Kanae pressed a hand to her face, feeling the heat of embarrassment intensifying.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Wait, don't hang up on me, you old shit! Wait until I get back and—"

Lightning zapped Arenade from out of nowhere and fried her to a crisp. Onlookers panicked, jumping behind pews and the altar to hide. She was the only one hurt, and even the seat beneath her butt came out undamaged.

"Good job getting yourself smited," Kanae teased.

"Cough! Cough! Apparently… it's an issue… on my end… and not his…" Arenade sighed.

They apologized to Bishop Marcus for scaring them, then headed to the Church of Many next. Worship of the demigods was more commonplace in Ehmvier, Highgreen, and Talahurah than worship of the Supreme One. And since Arenade was a member of The Many, she established the church soon after founding the Commonwealth.

As such, the Church of Many was a fairly sizable cathedral. The clergy numbered a little over a hundred. It saw many parishioners daily, with some of the more fervent worshippers making pilgrimages to pay respects to their demigods.

And because it was Arenade who ordered this Church of Many built, her statue was visibly the largest and centered at the very front among her smaller peers.

"Oh. Oh, no…" Arenade fell to her knees before the statue made in her likeness.

"What?" Kanae asked, trying to figure out what she had noticed first.

"Don't you see it?" She jumped up and grabbed Kanae by the shoulders. "No one's worshiping me. No wonder my mana pool's dwindled. Everyone's going to the other demigods except mine. Even Marrowyn has more worshipers! And dwarves have been extinct for ages!"

"Pfft. I guess that kind of makes sense. You've been absent from heaven for years and—"

Arenade was pouting so much, her cheeks inflated like balloons.

"Waahhhh! No one's worshipping Demigod Arenade anymore!" Arenade shook Kanae even harder.

"There's nothing we can do about it! You're here and not up there. It's not like you can answer anyone's prayers while a mortal," Kanae reasoned.

But Arenade wasn't having any of it. She scoured the pews and spotted an older elven lady taking a seat. Arenade ran up to her.

"Hello." The woman smiled.

"Sorry to bother you, but I have a question. Who are you about to pray to?" Arenade asked.

"Oh, my grandson is planning to enlist in the Commonwealth army. I'm here to ask Demigoddess Threcia to look after his safety," she explained.

Considering Threcia was regarded as a great warrior, it seemed appropriate for the martial-minded to turn her way. Unfortunately, Arenade didn't see it like that.

"Between you and me…" Arenade lowered her voice to a whisper. "Soldiers who worship Threcia tend to lose in battle a lot. You should pray to Demigoddess Arenade instead!"

"Hey, stop slandering the other demigods!" Kanae pinched Arenade by the ear and pulled her away from the woman.

"Actually, I used to be a regular devotee of Demigoddess Arenade. In recent years, she's fallen silent to my prayers. When I confided in other Arenade adherents, they told me they feel abandoned. I'm of the opinion that none of us are owed a god's response. But you have reminded me that I haven't offered any tributes to Demigoddess Arenade lately. I think I'll go buy some flowers to lay at her feet." She bowed to them and rose to leave.

"Wait. I… Demigoddess Arenade would rather you spend that money on a nice meal for yourself instead," the deity herself urged.

Touched, the old elven woman nodded in acknowledgement and mosied on out of the church.

"That was sweet of you. Does this mean you don't mind a little less worship?" Kanae asked.

"Are you kidding me? Of course not! As a mortal, my options are limited. But that's not going to stop me. I just need to revive the worship of Demigoddess Arenade! You're going to help me." Arenade jabbed a finger into her chest.

"I am? But I already have so much work to do…" She sulked.

The very next day, after Kanae had completed her morning round of granting an audience to the subjects of the empire, Arenade came looking for her with Andora Sempter from the Lights of Capillis, who were now known as Lights of Ehmvier. But the short, bespectacled high elf looked just as sleepy as the other fellow knights. They were each holding a stack of papers to their chest.

Unable to escape, Kanae relented in helping Arenade restore worship to her demigoddess image. To that end, they handed out papers outside the Church of Many to passersby.

"Come one, come all! Bright Cloister is recruiting ardent members in devotion to Demigoddess Arenade. The passionate zealots please apply! We'll have weekly worship meetups to give the great and beautiful Demigoddess Arenade she deserves!" Arenade shouted to anyone passing by.

Andora and the other Lights followed Arenade's example but were less impassioned. In fact, they seemed ready to just lie down and pass out.

"What happened to you guys?" Kanae asked.

"We spent all night making these. I didn't even get a wink of shut-eye. If this is what becoming vassals and retainers to a high elven lord entailed, then maybe I was better off fighting undead again…" Andora complained.

"I'm not hearing enough zeal from you guys!" Arenade exclaimed.

The high elves tensed up and started handing papers out more enthusiastically.

She turned to Kanae and continued, "Same goes for you, too. As your loving wife, I get to hold sex over you to get my way sometimes. That's what marriage is all about, right?"

"Uh huh. You're lucky I love you. How did you even come up with this?" Kanae inspected the handout.

An angelic and regal figure of a high elf that was supposed to be Demigoddess Arenade had been drawn on the front, with the words 'Bright Cloister' written in cursive across the top. When Kanae flipped it over, the backside was some kind of stamp rally card.

"Give adulation to Demigoddess Arenade for seven days straight. Pray in front of her statue. Offer tribute in gold. Offer tribute in food. Talk to others about how great Demigoddess Arenade is… What the?!" Kanae shot Arenade with the stink eye.

"What?" Arenade returned a look like there was nothing wrong. "I hear this is a good way to get people to participate. If they complete them all, there's a prize waiting for them at the end."

"And the prize is?"

"I haven't thought that far yet, but I'll deal with it when we get there," she said.

Kanae stared up at the sky and shut her eyes. How they ever managed to found the Eminence of Sin back then with Arenade was nothing short of a miracle. Just as Kanae believed Arenade's attempt to establish Bright Cloister was doomed to fail, a crowd started forming around them.

"Hi, we're interested in joining!"

"I've always loved Demigoddess Arenade!"

More and more gathered to take a pamphlet, to the point of overwhelming Andora and the Lights. Arenade, on the other hand, was absolutely thrilled.

"Ah. All you lost little sheep have finally found your way again. As your shepherd, I shall guide us back to Demigoddess Arenade's embrace!" Arenade threw her arms out to her devotees.

Something told Kanae this was far from over.