Chapter 672: Last Floor

The stone Demons kept coming as the group climbed higher into the pyramid. Every floor brought another battle, and each victory demanded more of their strength.

The number of guardians increased with every level, forcing them to fight harder and coordinate more carefully to be able to push through all of this shit.

By the time they reached the twenty-first floor, the group had fought their way through twenty-one levels of relentless combat. The battles left their equipment battered, their muscles aching, and their stamina depleted so low.

What began as a mission to retrieve a Demon artifact had turned into a grueling climb through an endless procession of stone Demon guardians.

The final guardian on the twenty-first floor crumbled into a heap of broken rocks. The ancient runes on its body flickered before fading into darkness, leaving the chamber quiet at last.

But nobody has the mind to celebrate. They simply stopped fighting, found the nearest walls and pillars, and sank against them with exhausted sighs.

For several minutes, the only sounds in the room were their ragged breathing and the occasional clatter of loose stones settling across the floor.

Don dropped his shield beside him and leaned his head against a pillar. His chest rose and fell heavily, and sweat ran down his face.

"Fuck..." he muttered, too tired to finish the thought.

Maira sat nearby him with her curved blades resting across her lap. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall, unwilling to waste even a breath on a complaint.

Leyan rested his bow beside him, his shoulders slumped and his breathing uneven.

Arven looked no better, while Samuel sat with his spear across his knees and stared at the floor without saying a word.

Even Clyde and Mina were exhausted. They settled against a broad stone pillar, their weapons resting within reach.

Clyde’s breathing was heavier than usual, and a dull ache spread through his limbs. Mina sat beside him with her eyes half-closed, her daggers lying across her thighs. Every part of her body felt sore, and even keeping her eyes open required effort.

They were exhausted and injured, but none of them faced any immediate danger. The guardians on each floor remained within their own room upstairs and didn’t show any signs of pursuing them downstairs. Whatever waited on the twenty-second floor would stay there until they climbed up to meet it.

For now they could rest. Nobody spoke for a while. They were too tired to discuss their progress, complain about the pyramid again, or speculate about what waited above them.

After twenty-one floors of fighting, silence was the only thing they wanted.

Eventually, Samuel lifted his head and took a slow breath.

"All right. Before we move on, everyone drink the stamina potions the Council gave us."

Arven opened his dimensional bag and rummaged through its contents. He pulled out several small bottles filled with a clear, faintly glowing liquid and passed one to each member of the group.

"Honestly, I was wondering why they gave us so many," Don muttered as he accepted his bottle. "Now I get it."

"The Council probably knew what we were walking into," Leyan said, examining the potion in his hand.

"Or at least they knew enough to prepare us for it," Samuel replied. "Drink up. We still have a mission to finish."

They uncorked their bottles and drank the contents. The effect came quickly.

Warmth spread through their bodies, followed by a steady surge of energy that washed away the exhaustion accumulated during the climb.

The heaviness in their limbs disappeared, their breathing returned to normal, and the aching muscles finally relaxed.

Don rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms before letting out a satisfied breath, saying, "Now that’s what I’m talking about."

The potion restored their physical stamina, but it could not completely erase the mental fatigue that came from fighting continuously for so many floors.

Their minds still felt worn. Nevertheless, the exhaustion no longer bothered them too much to prevent them from continuing.

Clyde put his empty bottle away and rose to his feet. Mina followed, testing her restored strength with a few movements of her arms before collecting her daggers.

"Ready?" Samuel asked.

Everyone nodded.

They gathered their equipment and approached the staircase leading up. Their movements were steadier now, and their eyes were sharper as they climbed toward the twenty-second floor.

However, when they reached the top, they found something unexpected.

There was no staircase leading to another level.

The chamber stretched before them, broad and imposing, with thick stone pillars supporting its ceiling. Yet unlike the previous chambers, there was no visible staircase on the far side.

The group stopped at the entrance.

Don looked around, then glanced back at the stairs behind them. "Wait. That’s it? There’s no way up?"

Leyan scanned the walls, searching for another passage or a concealed doorway. "I don’t see one."

"Then this must be the last floor," Maira said.

Samuel’s expression grew serious as he surveyed the chamber. "Possibly. Stay alert. If the Council’s information is correct, the artifact should be somewhere in this room."

Clyde remained silent, his attention shifting toward the deeper part of the room. The Demonic energy he had sensed throughout their ascent was stronger here than anywhere else.

They were finally close to what they came for.

The floor suddenly trembled beneath their feet. Cracks spread across the stone as chunks of rock rose into the air, gathering toward the center of the chamber. The stones ground against one another, assembling into the shape of a towering Demon.

This guardian was far larger than the ones they encountered below. Its body stood nearly five meters tall, with broad shoulders, thick limbs, and a massive chest covered in ancient runes.

Its rocky frame looked denser and more robust, as though every part of its body was designed to withstand devastating blows.

A faint green light seeped through the cracks between its stones, illuminating the surrounding floor with an eerie glow.

Everyone instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons.

They had fought their way through twenty-one floors of increasingly dangerous guardians, and this creature looked stronger than all of them combined.

Samuel raised his spear, his expression hardening as he assessed the enormous Demon.

"Let’s go!" He charged first, rushing toward the guardian before it could fully settle into its stance.

Don followed with his shield raised, while Maira and Leyan moved toward the flanks. Arven gathered magic around his hands, preparing to support the frontline, and Mina drew her daggers as she followed Clyde into the fight.

The guardian released a thunderous roar that shook dust from the ceiling.

Then its enormous fist came crashing down.

The battle began in an instant, filling the final floor with clashing weapons, crumbling stone, and bursts of magic.

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