[Your intelligence has decreased by -1, now you have 11 intelligence points!]
As soon as I got back on my feet, the horde of monsters became active again and attacked us. In addition to this, the already slain monsters began to slowly regenerate, even those that were burnt by the paladin's attacks. It seemed that the Strange Regeneration effect they had was caused not only by the fog.
Several monsters with disfigured faces attacked Uncle Jack, allowing zombies and mutants with tentacles instead of heads to approach me and Adele.
This time, I was more than ready for the confrontation. Firstly, I didn't let the tentacle-head get close until the other enemies were dealt with. Secondly, I aimed to slay the monsters with slightly less effort.
Such tactics did not help to cut them in half or cut off their heads, but at least I did not run out of breath after just one blow.
[The Murderous Feast bonus effect has increased to +35 strength and dexterity. Your strength and dexterity are now 40 and 42 points respectively.]
Maximum achieved. This strength felt incredibly satisfying. The sword in my hands felt as light as a feather, and even the armor didn't cause much discomfort. My movements became more agile and graceful. It's a pity that this is just a temporary bonus.
"Let's go!" I shouted, leading my friends through the crowds of enemies.
The monsters became weaker and less mobile, and also returned to their apathetic state when they released those who could not be caught immediately.
This was mainly because the provocation effect had ended, and the monsters didn't particularly strive to approach me, even if they saw me. Mostly, they retreated back to the doors and windows they burst from.
The charred skeleton-Jeanne and the mantis-priest continued their battle, in which Jeanne completely dominated.
When he closed the distance, the paladin, whether due to higher physical stats or strong combat skills, easily took the initiative, forcing the mantis to retreat to quickly heal his wounds.
Even if he managed to inflict damage on her, it quickly led to him bursting into flames, but new layers of flesh rapidly extinguished the fire.
"Watch out!" Uncle Jack shouted.
At that moment, as we were halfway to the altar, the part of the ceiling a short distance away from us began to collapse until it finally fell.
From the dust and debris emerged the completely naked mayor, his face adorned with two lidless eyes, one lower than the other, his mouth located on his left cheek, and his nose on the right.
He had four arms, each with three chubby fingers, and his legs had become so massive they seemed larger than my entire body.
Before we could react, he bent his legs and leaped upwards like a frog. For a moment, we lost sight of him, but at that point, the ceiling above us bent as if something heavy had landed on it.
It's the mayor! That thought flashed through each of our minds as we quickly scattered.
When the ceiling collapsed, we were already out of harm's way, but the mayor didn't hesitate and prepared to leap again.
"Ice Ray!" Adele shouted, directing her attack slightly above the mayor.
As he leaped, the ray hit him, but I had the impression that the mayor didn't care about the damage. If Adele's most powerful attack – Small Wind Storm –, couldn't kill him, then Ice Ray wouldn't do much.
The ceiling began to crack again, and this time I was the only one in the danger zone.
[Your intelligence has decreased by -1, now you have 10 intelligence points!]
When the mayor landed on the debris again, for some reason, he glanced at me.
And whether it was because of the boiling emotions inside me, or because of my lowered intelligence, or perhaps both, I showed the mayor middle finger.
For some reason, this greatly angered the mayor, his already terrifying face twisted into a malicious grimace.
This slight delay allowed Adele to strike again.
"Small Wind Storm!" she chanted the spell.
A palm-sized whirlwind flew towards the mayor, gaining strength and size along the way. When the enemy tried to leap, he was caught in the storm. Along with it, splinters and other debris from the broken ceiling were lifted into the air, scattering everywhere.
Hmm, the mayor turned out not to be very smart to fall for such a stupid provocation. I didn't even use my ability...
Although, this could be considered an effect of failure... he just wasn't lucky enough to be born with a big brain.
Anyway, the danger was still serious. The mayor inside the debris tornado didn't seem to be too bothered. His body was covered with scratches, at most.
Suddenly, a whip flew towards me, but thanks to my high dexterity, I managed to leap back, dodging the strike.
Next to me stood the butler, ready to lash out with his whip again.
I ran towards him in a zigzag, dodging his next blow and very quickly got near him.
He tried to escape, but I had already made a downward swing with my sword, severing his arm.
He fell to the ground, screaming in pain. I was about to finish him off when, in response to his cries, a roar came from the priest.
Somehow, it stirred up the crowd of monsters once again.
I plunged my sword into the butler's head and quickly withdrew it, then ran towards the altar. The whole team, except Jeanne, followed me.
And just as I was a step away from the stained glass window, the ceiling above me bent.
I jumped back, amid the sounds of roaring and screaming, I did not hear the sound of the storm. The mayor has already been freed from the spell.
The path to the window was blocked by a pile of debris with the mayor on top of it, but instead of leaping again, he started approaching me closely.
My allies were behind me, fending off the wave of monsters.
I raised my sword, pointing its blade at the enemy who got into a fighting stance.
He lunged towards me, aiming one of his fists at my face. It was glowing with a red light. Seeing it, I had only one thought:
"I must dodge at any cost, or I'll die!"
I made a leap to the right, dodging the glowing fist, but the enemy quickly changed his stance and aimed his left fist at my stomach, piercing through my armor.
The impact sent me flying back a few meters away, but I quickly got back on my feet.
[You lost -2 health out of 7! You have 5 health points left!]
It felt like I was fighting not with a half-crazed monster, but with an experienced boxer.
And here, once again, he rushed at me, only this time neither of his fists was glowing red ominously.
That was good because now I didn't feel like I'd die from a single blow.
Nevertheless, I was fully aware that I couldn't hold him off for long, let alone defeat him.
I needed help from at least one more person.
Instead of engaging in a new confrontation with the mayor, I stepped back to help my teammates fend off the attacking monsters.
Adele took out a vial with a blue substance from under her robe, where her bag was probably located. I immediately realized that it was a mana potion.
"Smal Wind Storm!" Adele chanted the spell after drinking the potion's contents.
The spell went into the crowd of enemies, lifting them into the air and tearing them to pieces, but this did not stop those who were far from the range of the storm.
Uncle Jack met the attackers, trying to hold back their assault with his sword, but without a shield, he couldn't block all the blows.
Meanwhile, the mayor kept getting closer. I was counting on Adele's spell, but I knew I had to distract the enemy first to prevent him from dodging.
"Burn!" at that moment, I heard Jeanne's familiar voice as she looked directly at the mayor approaching us.
He immediately ignited with bright crimson flames and began to scream in pain. His skin quickly charred, and his screams abruptly stopped.
But instead of falling, he ran towards us. Once again, I felt that same sense of danger when his fist started glowing red.
"Small Wind Storm!"
Adele threw a palm-sized whirlwind at the mayor, who couldn't dodge it. As soon as he got caught in the spell, the storm immediately turned fiery.
Now, however, our main problem became the crowds of monsters surrounding us.
The priest, who previously couldn't do anything to Jeanne, struck the distracted paladin.
His front limbs, more like spears, struck the paladin, piercing through her armor. And even though he was on fire, he didn't back down.
The arms on his back, where wings used to be, began to elongate rapidly, trying to cover the paladin, as if enveloping her in a cocoon.
I chopped down monsters that came too close, Adele froze enemies with her Ice Ray, but Uncle Jack seemed unable to withstand the pressure and would soon collapse.
It seemed that this was the end.
At that moment, white fog invaded the church through the entrance door and broken windows, filling the room.
All sounds seemed muted, the attacks ceased. I could barely see Adele, who stood to my right.
Everything seemed... so peaceful, as if blood had never been spilled here.
Suddenly, the white fog began to thin in front of us, creating a visible path towards the stained glass window at the altar.
"God is with us," Adele sighed, crossing both hands into a cross on her chest.
We quickly approached the window, and I smashed it, creating an exit onto the street.
We hurriedly crossed to the other side, and at that moment, Jeanne leaped out of the adjacent window, breaking it.
We looked at each other, but said nothing. Instead, we ran forward, towards the road leading as far away from this city as possible.
Behind us, the fog almost engulfed the entire church.