Chapter 83: Chapter 67 – Who’s side are you on, Arenade?

What did Bishop Rudo just say?

Kanae laid there, unmoving and in utter disbelief that Arenade could do such a thing. Gazing up at who he thought was a good friend, she responded by looking the other way. Meanwhile, Rudo walked past them into the shed and returned a moment later, carrying Teana's cage.

The baby reached helplessly between the bars for Kanae.

"Arenade, you bitch! What gives?" Edina snarled at the priestess.

"Don't be angry at her," Bishop Rudo began, dangling Teana in front of them. "Sister Arenade is merely following the will of the lord. Succubi are a plague to this world. They embody all that is sinful and immoral. A single one of the lust demons can bring untold catastrophe to the kingdom."

Other clergy came forth to surround them, but they didn't look like the type to simply give sermons and prayers. They donned armor enchanted with latent magic, carried weapons like maces and talismans, and were all cautious in their approach with eyes fixed on Teana.

Curiously, none of them showed the same wariness towards Kanae. Did Arenade not tell them about him, too?

Kanae's train of thoughts were interrupted by being yanked to his feet. The vegetative bindings stayed on, but the warrior priests grabbed him by the arms. They did the same for Edina.

"Bring them to my office. Perhaps salvation may yet await for them," Rudo ordered.

They were led into the abbey, a quiet building with the low murmurs of prayer and hymns. Long corridors had evenly spaced out doors, currently shut but clearly with someone inside or who were outside fulfilling their duties. The marble halls had carvings of the Supreme One etched into them like he was watching everywhere.

"Think we can bust out with your magic?" Edina whispered.

"They don't seem to know what I am, so let's play along for now. I… want to still trust in Arenade," Kanae quietly responde.

"Maybe you're a lot more naive than I thought…" she said, then received a hard shove that nearly sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Quit talking and keep walking," a beastman priest growled.

The group entered an office that seemed to double as a small worship room. Bishop Rudo placed Teana on a desk made of red wood and intricately carved with holy symbols, and towering behind him was another statue of the Supreme One. Large glass-stained windows framed either side of them, casting a menagerie of colors into the room that joined a low candle-lit interior. Paintings of him with other men in exotic religious garb hung up on the walls.

Kanae took stock of the situation. Five warrior priests were in the room, standing behind them. Arenade stood to the right of Bishop Rudo by the desk. If a fight was to break out, and assuming Arenade was an enemy, that made seven that he and Edina had to fight through. 

Without any idea how strong or, if any, what level the warrior priests were, Kanae couldn't be sure his succubus powers would be of any help.

"The Supreme One is a forgiving and merciful god. Be truthful in answering every one of my questions, and you may yet return to his good graces," Bishop Rudo said with a smile, putting on a pair of reading glasses before continuing. "Why are two adventurers trying to rescue this succubus infant? I highly doubt you have been charmed."

"We weren't. We were the ones who learned that you were harboring a succubus, so we came to do our job to turn it into the adventurer's hall," Kanae bluffed.

Bishop Rudo scoffed.

"You cannot fool me. Sister Arenade had confessed that, in her short time in your party, you encountered a succubus in a goblin village. You grew fond of it, didn't you? Perhaps you are in league with the demon lord to plant a succubus! In a village of vile goblins at that! What better way to nurture a succubus to one day uproot the great city of Lograin!"

So Arenade really didn't tell the bishop everything. In fact, she purposefully omitted a lot of important details.

"No, we're not with the demon lord. But you are right about one thing— I am fond of her. Not it. She may be a succubus, but she's also a baby, who doesn't even know right from wrong yet. As far as we or the Supreme One is concerned, she's innocent," Kanae said.

"Innocent. Ha!" The bishop's laughter was joined by others in the room except for Arenade. He tapped the cage hard, startling Teana within who pressed both hands to her ears.

"Mama!" Teana cried.

Kanae leapt from his seat.

"Stop that! The only demon here is you!"

The warrior priests drew their weapons and forced Kanae back into his seat. Rudo sat straight up, eyes swapping between Kanae and Teana.

"It cries for its mother. Could it have imprinted on you?" Rudo asked.

Kanae hesitated. He felt the eyes of everyone in the room burning into him. Did he accidentally give himself away?

"Change of plans," the bishop began, folding his hands over on the table and underneath his chin. "An imprinted succubus. What a first. How would you like to join the order and raise the succubus to serve the Supreme One?"

"What…?" Kanae choked.

"Hey, hold up! Enslaving the succubus isn't part of the deal!" Arenade suddenly exclaimed.

He continued. "Think of the possibilities! With a loyal and trained succubus, we can bring the Church of Many back into the fold, cast out apostates of heretical denominations, and gain the upper hand on that bastard Bar… ahem. Forgive me. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. What do you say, mother of succubus?"

A grimey hand waved away the warrior priests and extended across the table.

"No." Kanae slapped his hand away. "I'm not going to let Teana be your dog."

"That makes two of us. Anyone who wants to make a slave out of an innocent is the one who really deserves to be chained up." Edina glared, her voice simmering with a rage.

Kanae turned to Arenade. "Is this what you want? Because it certainly doesn't sound like it. Bishop Rudo was working with Outriders and Korvo to bully people into voting for him or not vote at all. Now he wants to put a leash on a baby!"

"Enough! Put these two in chains and throw them into the dungeons. If the sinners won't cooperate, then we will do this by force," the bishop ordered.

The warrior priests moved in to apprehend them again. Kanae jumped for Teana, but two people seized him from behind.

"Mama!" Teana cried again with tears in her eyes.

"Teana!" Kanae gritted his teeth.

If it's come to this, then—

"No!" Arenade boomed.

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Thick roots shattered the stained-glass windows, creeping up the walls and ceiling. One coiled around the statue of the Supreme One and crushed it. Bishop Rudo panicked and ran from the desk, tripping over himself near the door.

"Sister Arenade, what are you doing?!"

"The Supreme One wants this, the Supreme One wants that…" Arenade walked in front of the broken statue and was bathed in sunlight pouring in from the now gaping holes in the wall behind her. "A mere mortal deigns to know the will of the Supreme One? Don't make me laugh. I've suffered your insolence by being at your beck and call, and oh, it gets my blood boiling just listening to you prattle! The only ones who know what the gods want are the gods themselves. Don't pretend like you do, knave!"

"W-W-Wait… the schools… the foster homes I promised to build when I become mayor… No child of Lograin will ever go hungry again! You would cast that all aside? For a demon?" Rudo snarled.

Kanae choked up as he met Arenade's gaze and heard her whisper, "Not just any demon…" 

Vines picked up Rudo and the warrior priests, then chucked them out the hole. Kanae immediately went to unhook the latch on Teana's cage and pulled her into his arms.

"Uuahh!" Teana butted horns with Kanae and giggled.

Arenade's demeanor relaxed as she faced them.

"What in the three hells? Couldn't you have done that sooner?" Edina groaned, rubbing her wrists as the bindings fell away from her hands.

"I'm sorry, you two." Arenade clutched the side of her arm. "I don't know what I was thinking. If you're angry at me and don't want me anywhere near you again, I understand completely."

Kanae handed Teana to Edina, then took a few angry steps up to Arenade. She looked ready to accept punishment. The shame in her eyes told him everything. So… he embraced her. She twitched in his arms and struggled for a second, then finally relaxed into it.

"More like I don't want you to leave us ever again," Kanae said.

"You… forgive me?" Arenade's voice quivered so much that she was shaking.

"Well, I'm going to have to punish you real good for betraying me. After that we can start working on forgiveness." He winked.

While holding each other, the urge to reunite in more ways than one was great. Unable to control his desires any longer, Kanae grabbed Arenade by the face and pulled her closer for a—

"Get down here and answer for your crimes!" Bishop Rudo exclaimed from below.

They peeked out the hole to an army of warrior priests that had gathered at the foot of the abbey. The commotion attracted the attention of other clergy, who were whispering amongst themselves and casting glances their way.

"What do we do?" Edina asked. "At this rate, we can't stay in the city anymore."

And Edina was right. With one of the largest churches in the city knowing about Teana and their involvement with a succubus, they were going to be hunted down by guards and adventurers alike.

Leaving Lograin was the only way.

Kanae bit his lower lip. "Let's—"

"Not unless I have a say in this," Renya announced.

Back in the room, sitting on Rudo's chair and polishing the barrel of her flintlock with a piece of cloth was Renya Rown.

"Renya?!" they exclaimed.

A fight breaking out drew their attention back to the courtyard. People dressed as bandits were battling the warrior priests. It was chaos, with noncombatants fleeing and fires being set across the beautiful gardens. Those who could cast magic were desperately trying to put them out.

"What's going on?" Kanae turned around to ask Renya.

"I've come to reaffirm our deal. I need your word that you will ensure Mallory to the seat of Lograin's mayoral office," Renya said.

"Are you threatening us?" Edina asked, summoning a bone brute behind her that was poised to fight.

"I assure you, I am not. We are short on time. What is your answer?" the pirate lord asked Kanae.

There was certainty in Renya's tone that Kanae hadn't heard before. It was by her oversight that Teana got kidnapped, and her slack posture showed some guilt to her part in that.

"You have my word," Kanae answered.

"Very well." Renya shut her eyes, sighed out her nose, and nodded. She threw the piece of cloth away and walked up to the hole. "In the backyard behind the abbey, one of mine is waiting to bring you out safely. She will be dressed as a nun."

"What are you going to do?"

"A good businessman always keeps their end of the bargain! Ya~hoo!" She jumped out and started blasting away.

Their jaws unhinged, witnessing Renya blow warrior priests away with every shot. Bishop Rudo raced away in terror towards a massive group of guards pouring in to bring order.

"We gotta go!" Edina warned, snapping them back into action.

They navigated to the back entrance of the abbey. Kanae had Teana wrapped in a blanket to cover her succubus features. This way, she just looked like a bundled up baby. Through a door in the pantry left untended, they found a disguised Thedia at the edge of the wall of bushes behind a gazebo.

"This way," Thedia urged them, pulling branches aside to reveal a hidden path.

Thanks to Thedia, they circled around the cathedral under the cover of tall bushes and trees. It led them back into the city streets in front of the building, where parishioners had evacuated and crowded around. Everyone began to part ways as a group of people were being led out.

Surrounded by heavily armed guards were Renya and almost twenty members of her crew, shackled in chains.

"Come. It isn't safe here. You will want to lay low at the adventurer's hall for a few days," Thedia said.

"What's going to happen to Renya? Did she really attack the cathedral to save us?" Kanae asked.

The nun-dressed maid frowned. "Lady Renya intends to confess that she worked with Bishop Rudo to traffic a succubus into Lograin, and that a falling out led to her attacking the cathedral."

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