The stone gate opened, revealing a wide corridor lit by torches fixed to worn pillars.

  The air smelled of rusty iron and dried blood.

  Metallic sounds echoed inside, as if countless blades were being endlessly sharpened.

  Lukas moved forward first, Caesar’s shield firm on his left arm and the Gladius Maximus in his right hand.

  Boudica followed right behind, spinning her short spears with the calmness of someone who already expected the worst.

  Luiz and the Copas guarded the rear, shields and spears in hand.

  Valquíria, Leli, and the Trevos advanced behind them, speaking little.

  The hall widened.

  Then the walls began to move.

  From the stone emerged black metal automatons, each wielding a pair of long swords.

  Their eyes glowed red.

  The ground trembled as the first one advanced.

  — Formation, tighten the flanks! — Luiz shouted.

  The Copas immediately formed a solid line, shields locked and spears pointing forward.

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  Caesar’s voice echoed within Lukas’s mind, in sharp Latin like a general’s order:

  — Testudo! Defenda uma carapa?a!

  Lukas didn’t need a translation — he knew what it meant.

  — Divine Defense! Sacred Turtle Shell!

  He stepped forward and raised the shield, anchoring the formation.

  Even without a shield, Boudica synchronized her spears with the formation, covering every gap.

  The Trevos filled the flanks, protecting Leli.

  The automatons attacked with brutal force.

  Every impact sent tremors through Lukas’s bones, but the shield held, redirecting the blows.

  — Sustinere! — Caesar commanded.

  Lukas advanced with the Copas, breaking through the enemy line.

  Boudica leapt over the shield, driving a spear into the joint of an automaton's neck and then spun, ripping off its head.

  Luiz cut a path with precise strikes, while Valquíria delivered another blow with her war hammer.

  The battle dragged on for minutes that felt like hours, but when the last automaton fell, the metallic echoes finally ceased.

  A pair of doors opened ahead, revealing nothing but a narrow staircase leading upward.

  Luiz looked around, breathing heavily, then smiled.

  — If the 12th floor is like this... what awaits us now? This place doesn’t match the lower floors... and it definitely doesn’t look like the middle ones either. Something’s wrong.

  Lukas just took a deep breath, Caesar’s shield still firm on his arm.

  — Let’s move. The next floor won’t wait.

  End of Chapter 10