The first wave of demons charged at Paul and Lillith.

Paul activated his <Warlord’s Tactics> and <Battle Supremacy> skills, analyzing the demon’s defenses and its reactions.

Meanwhile, as they came within the light halo, Lillith was able to see them up close.

Their skin was gray and they had large spikes all around their bodies.

They also had large blades where their joints were supposed to be which gave her a dangerous vibe about them.

In that moment, she resolved to do all in her power not to get struck by any of them as she saw their sharp edges.

>GURUUUKKKKK!!!!<

Their eyes were glowing with malice as they charged forward with guttural snarls that reverberated through the decaying Tower.

"Let’s dance," Paul muttered, a fierce grin splitting his handsome face as he surged forward, meeting the horde head-on.

His hammer gleamed with a faint white light as he gripped it tightly, the ancient runes inscribed along its shaft pulsating in rhythm with his heartbeat.

With a single, fluid motion, he swung the hammer, the weight of the weapon amplified by his sheer strength and the enchanted gear he wore.

The impact sent the first wave of Hell Kobold Spawns flying, their brittle bones shattering against the stone walls.

The air was thick with the acrid stench of demon blood and the walls drenched in it.

Before Lilith could do anything, he had wiped off all of them including the boss.

"Not fair," She pouted as he finished off the boss in less than a minute.

Paul laughed lightly when he saw her reaction and for the first time in a while, his face regained his youthful look.

"You’ll get your chance soon enough, there are other floors above us."

"You say that now then have all the fun when we get there. I don’t trust you," She said, still feigning annoyance.

Paul solemnly raised his index fingers and touched his lips then pointed it to the sky.

Lillith had a fit of giggles as she saw his gesture.

It was an old joke between them. A mock swear that she had come up with in the past and made him promise to abide by.

There was a brief silence after that and Lillith spoke up.

"This reminds me of old times when it was just the two of us. There were no Guildmaster duties and you weren’t bound to all those ungrateful people who don’t appreciate you enough. Don’t you miss it?"

"Yeah, it reminds me of those times. We’re finally fighting together for the first time in what seems like forever."

She noticed that he evaded the main question she asked but decided not to push it.

From his behavior, she had already gotten the answer.

"Let’s be on our way," She said walking in front of him.

The floors after that were relatively easy and they breezed through 30 floors in no time.

They had come across some Level 3 demons, golems and even a strange looking giant in the last few floors but before Paul’s strength, they all fell easily.

At the 35th floor, Lilith found herself under more pressure than before as the opponents became much tougher to handle.

Combined with dodging the ever falling debris, it was becoming too much for her.

Because of the agreement she had had earlier on with Paul, he didn’t come to her aid.

He faced his own part of the horde instead and only threw in his weight when he was done.

It made for a somewhat balanced sync.

Lilith moved with a lethal grace, her twin daggers a blur of motion.

Each strike was precise, cutting through demon flesh with ease.

She danced through the fray, her agility and speed making her a blur amidst the chaos.

The drones above provided intermittent flashes of light, illuminating the scene of carnage.

Despite their skill, the horde on the present floor seemed endless. For every demon they felled, more seemed to rise from the shadows.

Paul’s hammer crashed down again and again, each blow accompanied by the sickening crunch of breaking bones. Lilith’s daggers flashed, leaving trails of dark ichor in their wake.

He didn’t want to waste any more time.

He had known before entering that speed was a crucial factor in the Crumbling Tower.

He now had a new understanding about it and had revised his earlier opinion.

It was in fact the most crucial factor.

Once they had taken it on, the Tower had acknowledged them and a countdown had ensued.

If they weren’t fast enough, the whole thing would crash on them and they would lose.

He was sure that the Tower would resurface again and they would be transported back to the starting point just like how a return stone worked and made to restart the task again.

That wasn’t acceptable to him and the thought of it made him shudder.

There was another factor to be considered too from the description of the tower in the general system message.

Compared to the previous towers, this one only had 50 floors.

It didn’t make the Tower much easier compared to the others.

It only meant that they had a much shorter time to finish before it completely fell.

*

*

*

>BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!<

Paul commanded his 71 Weapons of War to charge, and they struck the demon boss of the 40th floor all at once, piercing its flame barrier and creating a loud boom.

~ROAGRRRRRRHHHHH!!!~

It dissipated with a loud roar and Paul turned his back as it vanished.

Besides him, Lilith was breathing heavily, her adrenaline slowly ebbing away.

"Good work," Paul said, extending a hand to her.

She took it, pulling herself up with a tired smile. "You too. How come you don’t look tired at all."

"This is just a warm up for the main boss so I haven’t stressed myself just yet. It would be disastrous if I felt tired before the last floor."

Paul nodded, his gaze shifting upwards to the spiraling staircase that led to the higher levels of the Tower. "Anyway, let’s keep moving. The real challenge is still ahead."

With a final glance around the ruined chamber, they began their ascent once more, the weight of the Tower’s malevolent presence pressing down on them with every step.

As they climbed, the air grew colder and the darkness deeper.

As they walked on, Lillith felt the sense that she was being watched grow more intense.