The Kardia Cathedral said many things to Odin, not least of all the anger and resentment that the organisation it represented felt towards him for no reason, but there were other things too. As a Lich, Odin should've hated the church of Illumin, hell even more so as a dark mage, but as a person he could respect that the Kardia Cathedral, among other things, was a gorgeous looking building. Built of white marble almost all the way around, the towering structure eclipsed everything around it with its shadow, and the bell tower could be heard every hour everywhere in the vicinity of Magnolia, and even a little bit beyond.

But it being a beautiful building wouldn't explain why Odin, a man who had recently begun completing good quests while he was out of a guild and able, was currently sitting inside the church, waiting at the back for a service to end, the priest not having yet detected him as he stayed in the shadows. There was no real logic as to why Odin had decided to visit the church today, or to why he was currently listening to a bunch of random people pray to a God that, for all intents and purposes, despised everything about Odin, and yet here he was. Worse than that, he even felt like praying.

After some time watching, the mass seemed to be coming to a close, as the priest began to address the full congregation. Odin had, thus far, been standing watching for about an hour, and honestly he hadn't realised how long these things actually lasted. He wondered how the priests managed to fill the time over the course of the year, doing a different one of these every week with no breaks, sometimes every day. Odin had never really studied the religious texts of the church of Illumin, and so he had no idea how long, or how many stories, were contained inside it, but he was aware of one tradition that occurred in every mass.

Everyone in the church stood up, and began forming a line towards the priest himself, who was holding a ceramic bowl. The 'eating of the body' or whatever they called it: basically being fed as thanks for being here, but believing it was the body of their messiah. Rather cannibalistic if you asked Odin, but he decided to get involved nonetheless, stepping out from behind the pillar and joining the back of one of the queues.

It was clear that no one was happy at his presence, as all the parishioners made faces at him, and occasional whispers could be heard, but no one actively said anything until Odin made his way to the front of the line, arriving at the priest as the final person to receive the food. The priest held up the bread, looked directly at Odin and then announced, for all the church to hear, "Illumin would not want me to sully my hand on a monster like yourself. Be damned and leave this holy place."

Well, that was probably one of the worst things to do.

Well that's new.

Odin thoughts echoed throughout his hollow skull as silence enveloped the room, as if some spectre had just come and removed the ability to make sound in that moment. Something had just occurred: something that Odin had never experienced but was very intrigued about. Someone had just stood up for him, calling the priest out on his immoral and judgemental ways, and even going so far as to threaten the priest himself with damnation. Turning around to face the speaker, Odin saw the woman at the other end of the church. All eyes were on her, this random woman that had 'dared speak out against the church'. After a moment, murmurings began, and Odin returned to look at the priest, who's face was a mix of incredulity and rage. He took the bowl that housed the holy body of his messiah, and he swung it at Odin, the wood creating a dull thud as it struck bone.

"Well now, that was a mistake."

His words echoed throughout the church, more so than usual due to the dull voice with which he spoke, and he began to make his way towards the woman, on the far side of the church. Walking straight past her, Odin kept his eye on any movements from any present in the church within his peripheral vision, but he didn't think any would try to attack him. Everyone other than the woman and the priest was frozen in fear, although the priest himself wouldn't dare make a move either.

Reaching his destination: the main, and only, entrance to the church, Odin brought down the locking mechanism, and the maniacal smile that was ever etched upon his face became wider as he heard the satisfying *click*. He returned to stand next to the woman, before speaking in a voice loud enough for the room to hear without shouting.

"That was very sweet of you, although I'm now going to prove to them I am worse. Feel free to join in or not, but don't get in my way."

As Odin passed by the woman, she asked him to stop, but it was strange the way she said it. She knew, or at least she would've suspected by this point, what Odin was about to do, but she didn't asked him to stop. Rather, and this was the strange thing, she asked Odin to wait so that she could lock the perimeter, and ensure that no one entered or escaped until Odin was finished. It was very thoughtful of her, and Odin allowed her the time to leave that she requested. It made it easier for him that she did so, as his summons often attacked indiscriminately, and surprisingly she was someone he did not wish to kill. She was no one important that he knew, hell she was a complete stranger, but she had spoken out against the heresy that Odin was about to purge. For that, she deserved her life.

The rest of the congregation, however, did not.

When the lock clicked, the church became an arena, and Odin its strongest gladiator. Raising his arms, three creatures formed from the darkness: two on either side of him and one behind as the church screamed in terror, having now realised what was about to happen to them all. Their screams were music to the Lich's ears, as his skeleton reaver and two behemoths stood.

After some time, it was over. The behemoths: their claws and bodies splattered with red, as was the reaver's blade. Odin himself was still clean, but the scene in front of him was a bloody mess. Spikes of bone had emerged from the ground, impaling multiple people all over the place. Corpses were pinned to the once marble white walls, spears of bone expertly protruding from their faces, shoulders and torsos. It was a masterful painting that Odin had created, with the help of his creations, but there was one left: the priest. Odin had specifically saved him for last, as the main reason for this.

He was huddled in the corner under the altar: tears streaming down his face as he realised that Illumin wasn't going to save him from this. The reaver lifted him into the air by his collar, and Odin simply looked at him, high in the air with his feet unable to reach the ground. He bade the reaver to hold him against the back wall of the church, behind the altar, which allowed Odin to get to work. Four spears of bone: two in his feet that were placed side by side, and one in each palm: outstretched like the messiah that they all worshipped. The priest was still alive here, but he wouldn't last much longer. Not unable to move, and screaming in agony, Odin dismissed his skeleton reaver, and allowed his behemoths to feast: their razor sharp teeth devouring the man in a minute: the worst minute of that man's life.

All had been murdered, and so Odin dismissed his remaining two summons, and walked outside, unlocking the door and stepping out the front door, his clothes still perfectly clean, untouched by the blood that had covered every inch of the cathedral. If he saw the woman, he would invite her to go and have a look, otherwise he would stand outside the church, and look out over Magnolia, feeling like a new man.

-Exit-

Spells Used:

Skeleton Behemoth x2
Skeleton Reaver x1
Bone Spikes - Multiple
Bone Spear - Multiple