Chapter 21:Denomination

Now waking up back in the real world, Wendy's eyes stare up at a ceiling that was foreign to her. Her mind and body feel discombobulated as if she had just woken up from an intoxicated state. As she stirs under the comfort of her pillow, she moves her eyes upon the interior of the bedroom, trying to pinpoint exactly where she is. The room is half the size of her own bedroom, with a layout more on the mark a younger woman would sleep in. Religious posters scattered across the walls, a bookshelf covered with dusted books, and a few clothes sprang around on the floor, indicating to her the owner of the room was a bit of a slob. It's only then that Wendy realizes someone breathing on her, as her eyes avert down to her right.

"Oh, yeah…" The girl says upon laying her eyes on the silver-haired sister, tightly asleep beside her.

"I must have dozed off after bringing her here last night," Wendy says as she ponders her previous day.

"Fighting Greed was a pain, and now Isis just informed me that Lust is right around the corner, just my luck…" Wendy thinks to herself, her mind thinking back to the deity she had just met. In Gods, that makes it two for two, with her first meeting the Evil God Set, and Now the Magic goddess Isis.

"Evil… what does it mean to be evil anyway…" Wendy mutters out loud, now laying her head back on the pillow as she stares up into nothingness. Before her mind could overthink any of the crux and details of her current predicament, she senses a pair of hands come up from her side and grabs hold of her. These hands were small and warm, as they tighten and hold onto the woman around her waist.

"Mmmmh~ Onee-Sama…" Hibiki can be heard saying under her breath. Not knowing how to deal with suddenly being held, Wendy just awkwardly lays still, trying her best not to wake the sleeping maiden.

"Seriously, why is this girl so obsessed with me?" Wendy thinks to herself in a bit of annoyance. She was no stranger to having onlookers take an interest in her. There have been countless times in her youth when both men and women tried to hit on her, as well as agents from various modeling industries trying to scout her out for her looks. But as time went on, those things never really flattered her anymore. A first-world depiction of beauty can only get you so far, and she decided a long time ago that she would set her own identity. People who immediately like others just because they have a pretty face aren't the type of people she ever wanted to align herself with, and yet she can't find it in herself to be fully disgusted by the obsessive nature of the petite younger girl beside her.

"I must be going soft… Or maybe she's starting to warm up on me," Wendy says out loud, attempting to better her opinion of the sister.

"Onee-Sama…" Hibiki moans out in her sleep.

"Yes yes, I'm here…" She replies, wrapping a hand over the girl's head. The pair stay like that for a moment, cultivating the warmth being emitted between them. But before Wendy could get a true sense of ease and comfort from thier cuddle session, she felt those same hands that were wrapped around her waist creep up to her modestly sized chest.

"Hehee… Onee-Sama, so cute… and so soft~" Hibiki can be heard giggling under her breath as she gives Wendy's breast a modest squeeze. Now holding a face between flusteredness and irritation, Wendy raises her fist and bonks the petite girl on the top of her head.

"Knock it off now will you!"

"Kyaa!!!"

After the girl's sweet and then sour morning, the pair can be seen walking into the church's main deck, anticipating an audience with the rest of the inhabitants.

"Mou~ How can you be so cruel Onee-Sama! All I did was try and get close to you this morning!"

"I have no sympathy for perverts."

"I am no such thing! Besides, we need to get to know each other better! How better than to scope out every inch of each other's bodies?"

"That is exactly what a pervert would say. Keep at it and you'll get another bonk in the head!"

"Onee-Sama is so cruel! Especially on holy Sunday!" The pair continue their back-and-forth banter before Issac at the front of the church's main hall looks over at them in a shushing manner. The pair follow suit at the priest's wishes, taking their seats down on the pew chairs. They then find themselves sitting next to the pair of sisters they had associated with.

"Good morning you two."

"Good morning Gilda, and you as well Silvia," Hibiki mutters to the two.

"Overslept again I see Hibiki, honestly when will you learn."

"Ehehe, well I just so happened to find a comfortable pillow beside me today~" At saying this, the nun can be seen holding her face with her hands swaying back and forth in her sitting position. On the other hand, Wendy was paying her attention forward, viewing the priest enact his homily to the public.

"As we stand together today, we lay suspect before the divine light of our deities. The gods that have been with us since the dawn of creation have not forsaken us for our lack of faith. For this, the members of his church have a duty to uphold that faith and spread the words of the holy spirit across the ends of this land." Issac says upon his pedestal.

"The God that created this World Ra, has reverted back to his realm, but his children still stay with us. The likes of Anubis, Osiris, Horus, Hathor, Thot, Mut, as well as Bastet and Sekhmet, all continue to aid humanity in their endeavors, unlike those Heretics like Set, and even Isis." 

"Set…" The pair of girls repeat back in their seats.

"Rest assured to all you believers. Though the oath taken by the gods has prevented them from involving themselves directly, their influence and miracles can be seen across the entire world. Ra who gives us life through the sun, Anubis who carries our souls to be judged by Osiris in the underworld. Isis who gave the demigods magic to protect us, Thot who gave us the ability to obtain knowledge, and Mut, whose motherly guidance formulated the creation of our church's branch." Issac takes a moment to gaze upon the statue behind him.

"And of course, the holy spirit, Hathor." The girls perk up at this mention.

"Hathor, The Goddess of love, the Goddess born outside of the existential void before creation. An extension of Nephthys, the goddess of the night, and through her love and nourishment, she gave birth to the spirits Allowing for the flourishing of life and joy in the cosmos. Hathor, in her boundless compassion and nurturing essence, became the beacon through which the spirits found purpose and direction. Her love, transcending the mere confines of the void, infused the universe with beauty, music, and harmony, setting the foundation for the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. As the goddess of love, she enveloped all creation in a warm embrace, fostering connections between all beings, divine and mortal alike." The room is left silent all taking in the words of his preaching, before the Priest he continues.

"Hathor died so many centuries ago, but rest assured, her spirit lives on, being passed down from vessel to vessel, she provided aid to the line of Spirit Goddesses born proceeding her. Now, as I speak, the next Spirit Goddess sits in this very room!" Mumbling and discussion can be heard around the various corners of the church.

"May you all gaze upon The blue-haired maiden sitting before you, her name is Wendy Tategami. And she alone defeated the green monstrosity that invaded our city only a day prior!" The number of people in the church all gaze upon the blue-eyed woman, who seemingly looks taken back by all the eyes pestering her.

"She is chosen by the spirits, as the successor to the Previous Spirit deity Undine, heavenly dragon of the sea. Shecontains the essence of the phoenix spirit, and she alone has saved us all from imminent doom! With all due respect, show her your praise!" The massive group of believers all clap in amazement towards the demigoddess. Not knowing how to react, Wendy can only be seen nervously blushing as she tries to lower herself in heat in a meager attempt to make herself look smaller.

"Out of all the gods currently residing in this continent, she just very may be the strongest! But do not let her merits overshadow the faith in the old gods, it was all thanks to our faith that the spirit of the undying flame was placed on such capable hands. Do not let your faith ever escape your hearts, as the promised day shall be soon upon us!" The entirety of the cathedral can be heard clapping, as everyone within the church's borders is letting out sounds of happiness and glee. After the communion was over, many members and followers of the church's order had come up to Wendy, trying to express their gratitude and praise for her recent efforts. The whole time, Wendy had tried to dismay their vocal outburst of praise, never being one to take compliments in stride. After what seemed like hours of thankful smiles and handshakes from the members, Wendy was left exhausted once she found herself to her own devices. Now in the middle of the day, the girl in question can be seen lifting a set of weights inside the confines of a gym. This gym was still in fact located within the church, right beside the onsen was a small, but decent-sized weight room that was currently occupied by two women.

"Mou! That damn priest had no business putting me on the spot like that!" Wendy says, bringing a dumbbell up the side of her arm. Within the same weight room, Hibiki can be seen trying to lift a 5lb dumbbell and failing miserably.

"Please forgive him Onee-Sama, Father Issac simply wished to spread the faith garnered from the rescued citizens." The smaller girl replies, shortly after she tumbles over herself from the weight of the small weights.

"Still, he could have warned me before he decided to showcase me out like I'm some savior or messiah…" The girl sits on the floor, no longer attempting to lift her pink dumbbells.

"Hehe~ I mean you kind of are…" Wendy pays no mind to this as she grabs onto a long weighted bar, holding it behind her head as she begins to do squats in front of her sister. Unbeknownst to her, from the position Hibiki was sprawled out on the floor, she was able to get the most perfect view of Wendy's tone and round butt. This display of watching her go up and down left the sister with a drool creeping into the corner of her mouth.

"Onee-Sama truly is a sight to behold…" The sister mutters with a dreamy look plastered on her face. Wendy is in the middle of her thoughts clashing against each other, the calming nature of her workout routine usually sets her mind at ease. She regularly goes to the gym on days she isn't too busy, never wanting to get buff, she sticks to cardio-based regiments. Though late, she's picked up a more weight-based system to strengthen herself for the various incoming battles she may find herself in.

"How's it going over there for you Hibiki?" The girl in question picks herself up from the floor and throws her Onee-Sama a hero pose.

"Hai! I'm getting myself in tip-top shape! The next time you find yourself dealing with a big bad villain, I'll be able to act as a much better supporter for your inevitable victory!" Amid her own workout, she looks back at her sister.

"No offense, but your body is pretty frail and petite as it is, there's no reason for you to try to get that much stronger, I mean you're just a sister." Hibiki is a bit taken aback by this, as she brings her pointing fingers together in a shy-ish composure.

"But I want to! If I was in better shape, I could've gotten to you a lot faster during your fight with Greed. If I did then you wouldn't have gotten hurt so bad." Wendy takes a moment to put down her weights, taking a moment to look directly at the petite girl.

"You don't have to think like that silly. I'm a goddess remember, it's my job to put myself out there for the sake of the masses. Not to mention I have a healing factor, can't you see I'm already back in tip-top shape!" Wendy says, bringing her arms up in a flexing manner. Even at this more masculine display that Wendy was showcasing, Hibiki couldn't help herself but gush at her attractiveness.

"Yes, even though I have full confidence in Onee-Sama's capabilities, it's the job of a little sister to support her big sister!" She says getting over her blush. Wendy smirks at this before shrugging her shoulders.

"Little sister, ey? Well if you really want to support me then why not help refine my spiritual techniques? Weren't you saying before that you're adept at spirit magic, maybe you can teach me a few things?" Wendy says, giving the sister her best and most wholesome smile.

"Spirit magic… Well, I've never really taught anyone that before, but even so, I'll do my best!" She says smiling back at the blue-haired girl.

"Alright then, but for now let's finish up here! We should just about be done with the warm-up now!"

"Warm up?" Hibiki questions back before watching Wendy grab onto a 150lb labeled weight.

"Here? Something like this should be pretty light for you right?" Wendy says as Hibiki watches in awe at the relative ease the girl lifts the huge weights.

"Onee-Sama might be more of a barbarian than I gave her credit for…"

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!" Before the two could continue, the doors to the room slid open.

"Ahh, Miss Wendy, I thought you might be here…" the pair gaze at the entrance as their eyes fall upon Issac.

"Hello, Father!"

"Yo!"

"Onee-Sama, please have more respect!" Issac walks into the room, once he gets the appropriate distance from the two, he bows his head in front of the blue-haired woman.

"Please forgive me for my earlier transgressions, I know it was all too sudden for me to announce you to the people like that, I should've gotten your approval on the matter beforehand, and for that I am sorry," Issac says with his eyes closed, his tone showing genuine remorse for his actions. Wendy crosses her arms over her gym outfit, before sighing out loud.

"It's fine. Yes, you're right, you should've talked to me about it beforehand but I understand why you did it. Anyways, how did dealing with the aftermath of the battle go?" Issac lifts his head to hold a stern and respectful look back at the young maiden.

"Everything went as well as it could go I suppose. Members of the legislative branch for divine activities had gathered at the scene shortly after our involvement. The U.O.C.B. took care of all the collateral damage as well as making any civilians caught in harm's way receive immediate medical treatment. As for the effects of Greed, the reports on the people have been deemed to be fully depleted of the sin's gradual influence. The people on online discord as well as news headlines are calling the fiasco of mass greed hysteria." Hibiki perks up at this for a moment.

"Yes, I heard all about this too in today's paper! People are calling it the Greedy-Green Saturday of the 21st century! The mass of people in Tokyo experienced a vast amount of greed for a strange and unsettling period that lasted about three hours!" Hibiki yells all this while showcasing the headlines to a newspaper she pulled out of nowhere.

"Hmm… Big green baby terrorizes the skies… Defeated by… Goku!?" Wendy says flabbergasted after leaning down to read up on the newsprint.

"Who the fuck is Goku!?" Wendy thinks loudly in her head.

"Hai! People are talking about how during their greedy endeavors, they saw a blue light beam shoot up into the sky, destroying the demon! After further discussion on the topic, a lot of people seem to be comparing it to an attack from a famous manga called the Kamaho-Maho Wave… or was it the Kamikami Blaze… In any case Onee-Sama, this proves the people are recognizing your abilities!" Hibiki states in a gushingly enthusiastic tone. Wendy's deadpan look takes hold of her face, feeling no enthusiasm for being compared to a manga character.

"Well, whatever… I mean I could've at least been compared to Kamen Rider, but I digress.

"What's a Kamen Rider?"

"You don't know KAMEN RIDER!? Wendy says completely flabbergasted, ready to go on a whole tangent on the matter. Before she could release any of her love for the Tokusatsu projects, Issac clears his throat.

"In any case, Hibiki does hold a far point, your abilities on the day prior alone have proven to the members of our Denomination, as well as to various followers around the world that you are a force to be reckoned with. Defeating a demon of that caliber is no laughing matter, not only that, there are recollections of you defending the children as well."

"Recollections?" Wendy thinks back to the two boys she had saved from imminent danger during the whole charade.

"Oh, yeah…"

"From the ruins to even here, you sure have a talent for saving people!" At these remarks, Wendy attempts to conceal a blush.

"Like I keep saying, I just happen to be at the right place at the right time!"

"Even so, your efforts have solidified the faith within the people. As you know, our church is considered a loose Denomination, with the Roman Catholic Church dominating the religious hold in the world. So every act going forward is essential to reconvert the world's order. It won't be easy, it may even take decades, but with time, and your efforts not going unnoticed, I believe our Denomination will be recognized across the other world." The girl in question averts her eyes from the priest's stern gaze.

"Okay okay I get it, I just gotta keep trying my best is what you're saying…

"That's one way to put it, yes," Issac says, showcasing a bit more of a smile.

"Now lastly, I showed up to discuss another matter with you two…" The priest says garnering the girl's sudden attention.

"And that would be?"

"We have been informed by the higher-ups that another sin has reached our vicinity. I know we are still dealing with the aftermath of the last demon's attack, but with this sin already inhabiting the city it's only a matter of time before it makes its move." The pair stare back at the priest with stern looks.

"Which Sin is it Father?" Hibiki asks curiously, Wendy however keeps her composure in check, already anticipating what that sin will be.

"Lust."