This Life of Sin

When Demons go to Church

Chapter 9: When Demons go to Church.

For three days I laid low at the Inn. I didn't take any jobs from the Guild; I didn't head out into the forest to look for drops and magistones. No one seemed suspicious of me. There was nothing connecting me to the bandits and the Red Ravens took credit for their deaths. There was no real reason for my caution, only a force of habit. You do something wrong; you lay low. Let the heat pass on and keep your nose out of trouble.

By the fourth day I was bored. Bored and frustrated. I needed to get out and power up. The fight with the bandits proved that I was woefully lacking. Yes, I did win. And I won without too much effort. But it proved to me that when it came to facing multiple enemies I was at a huge disadvantage. I was a a close combat fighter without any mid to long range moves. My abilities with magic were beyond lacking as well.

I had Drogin now and he was a great help. But he was also originally an E ranked monster. Even evolved by his name as he was, he could only do so much. He was a tiny little thing after all. At least his fire power adds some much-needed mid range support. But when it came right down to it, what I needed was to get out there and get myself some more tames. Unfortunately, I had a problem with that too: There really wasn't anything near town that was worth my time. In all honesty, Drogin wasn't a smart choice, more of an impulsive one. I needed more power, preferably long ranged.

I was at a loss as to what to do about it and so I decided to do what Zach had suggested: go to the church.

I still had no way of knowing weather or not I could even enter the cathedral. When on earth, I always heard people joke that demons, witches, and vampires would burst into flames if they even tried to get close to a church. I had to admit I was a little nervous as I made my way up North Road. The cathedral was on the northwest side of town, just outside the stone wall that kept the nobles all safe and separated from the rest of us commoners. I'd never even tried to enter that side of town and was glad that the church was on the outside of the wall.

It was a massive building, easily the largest in the city and that was saying something. After all the Guild buildings were rather large too. The cathedral had several tall spires and a great deal of stained glass. It looked a lot like a church I would have seen back on Earth, minus the crosses and statues of Jesus, Mary and assorted angles. It was beautiful and intimidating.

It was also busy. There were people of all races and stations milling about the place or coming in and out of the open doors. No one paid me any mind as I ascended the white stone steps, and headed through the doors.

There were no pews. That was the first thing I noticed. There was no seating at all as a matter of fact. No chairs of any kind and a lot of tall, white marble, pillars rising to the vaulted roof. The stained glass made a myriad of colors all over the massive room and as I walked, they shimmered over me too. Once I passed the first pillar, I saw the statues. I don't know why I assumed there would only be five of them, but I had been wrong. Apparently, there was a statue of every hero since time immemorial.

I passed several dozen statues, unable, immediately, to tell what the last generation was and what was even later heroes. They were indeed all human however, and all races. It wasn't till just now that I realized that I hadn't seen any other race of human besides Caucasian since I got to this world. None except perhaps Sandra who had more of a Sunkissed look about her. But these statues clearly came in every shape and form of humanity that Earth had to offer. Were there no other races of humanity on Hearth? I supposed that it was what it was, but it did make me curious about the world I had been brought to.

I was about halfway through this revelation when I realized that I was in the church and not dead or in flames. A jolt of anxiety flashed through me before I sighed, and Drogin made a comforting peeping noise. But that made me tense again, as I hadn't even thought about weather or not, he would be able to get in. I cursed myself for not leaving him behind or maybe summoning him into the grimoire. He could have died due to my carelessness. That was not acceptable.