The staircase led into a narrow corridor, stone walls cracked and covered in moss. The air was colder, and from somewhere far ahead came the sound of claws scraping against metal.

  Lukas walked at the front, gripping the new scutum firmly. Its weight was perfect, as if forged just for him.

  — Testudo, — murmured Caesar in Latin, echoing inside Lukas’s mind.

  — Testu… what? — Lukas frowned.

  — Formation of the tortoise. Shield high, gladius low. Protects the body and the spirit. The translation flowed almost automatically.

  Lukas raised the scutum, covering his face and torso. The Gladius Maximus stayed low and tight against his body, ready to strike.

  The corridor opened into a larger chamber… and then they appeared.

  Four half-humanoid, half-beast creatures with gray skin and red eyes. Their hands were sharpened bone-blades, and their movements were unnaturally fast.

  — Ad primum impetum! — Caesar roared.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Lukas didn’t think, he just moved — instincts awakened by the command.

  The first monster lunged. The shield absorbed the blow with a dull crack. Lukas twisted, using the scutum’s weight to shove it back, then in a single step drove his gladius into the gap between its shoulder and neck.

  — Bene! — Caesar praised. — Sed celerius! (But faster!)

  To the right, another beast sliced through the air. Lukas raised his shield but felt the pressure rising. A shadow rushed past him — Búdica. Her twin spears tore into the second enemy before it reached him.

  — Don’t slow me down, Fernandes, — she said coldly, spinning to face the next threat.

  Lukas exhaled sharply. — Wasn’t planning to.

  — Ad latera! — Caesar ordered.

  Lukas shifted to the flank, right as the third beast exposed its back. His gladius pierced cleanly, while the scutum angled up to block a descending bone-blade.

  Then Caesar’s tone shifted.

  — Et nunc… hasta.

  A strange energy pulsed down Lukas’s arm. The scutum shimmered — its edge elongating, its front narrowing, until it reshaped into a short spear.

  — What the…? — Lukas muttered, eyes wide.

  — I told you I’d be your shield… and your spear, — Caesar’s voice rang, arrogant and theatrical, like a general leading a parade rather than a spirit bound to war.

  The last beast charged. Lukas spun the short spear and drove it deep into its chest. The creature collapsed with a strangled roar.

  Silence returned.

  Búdica wiped her blades and strode past him without meeting his eyes. — You’re not as useless as I thought.

  Lukas smirked. — That was almost a compliment. I’ll mark the calendar.

  — Progrediamur, frater legionarius, — said Caesar. — The next floor awaits.

  They advanced, and the stairway to the Twelfth Floor revealed itself.

  End of Chapter 9