The fourth floor did not resemble the previous ones.
As soon as we stepped onto it, the environment changed clearly. The ground stopped being irregular stone and became smooth plates, almost polished. The walls were tall, forming a hall far too large to be natural.
The lighting came from larger crystals embedded in circular pillars that supported the ceiling. The air was colder. Not just physical temperature. There was a different pressure.
Vespera closed her eyes for a moment.
"The density here is much higher."
"How much?" I asked.
"Three times higher than on the third floor."
This wasn't a gradual increase.
It was a jump.
We moved forward carefully. The formation remained firm. Liriel in front, Rai'kanna and Lyannis adjusting the flanks, Elara prepared for any elevated movement. I maintained a wide view of the space.
The hall was too silent.
No common creatures.
No scattered sounds.
Just emptiness.
When we reached the center of the hall, I felt the change.
It didn't come from the ground.
It came from the ceiling.
A shadow began to condense above us, like dark smoke gathering into form. The pressure immediately increased.
Liriel raised her blade.
"Contact."
The shadow materialized.
It wasn't gigantic. But it was imposing.
A tall humanoid body, covered by black organic armor. Two long blades emerged from the forearms like natural extensions. The face had no defined expression, only a smooth mask with two glowing points where the eyes should be.
The air around it vibrated.
Rank S.
There was no doubt.
The difference in presence was absolute.
It didn't roar.
It didn't make any dramatic gesture.
It simply descended slowly to the ground.
As soon as it touched the floor, the impact echoed through the hall like a deep bell.
I felt the intention.
It wasn't wild.
It was conscious.
"Don't intervene," Liriel said suddenly.
I looked at her.
"I'll take it."
There was no arrogance in her voice.
There was certainty.
The others kept their positions but stepped back a few paces, expanding the space in the center of the hall.
I observed.
The demon moved first.
Absurd speed.
The right blade cut through the air toward Liriel's neck.
She blocked it.
The impact produced a short wave that traveled across the floor.
None of them interfered.
It was a technical fight.
The demon spun his body, using the second blade in continuous sequence.
Liriel stepped back once, sliding sideways, dodging by centimeters.
No wasted movement.
She wasn't trying to overcome strength with strength.
She was analyzing patterns.
The demon advanced with a sequence of three fast cuts, varying height and angle.
Liriel blocked the first, deflected the second, and turned her body to escape the third.
Metal against armor produced a dry sound.
There was no opening yet.
"He's testing range," Rai'kanna murmured.
"Yes," I replied.
The demon changed strategy.
It jumped back and raised both blades. Dark energy began to gather around the arms.
Area attack.
Liriel didn't retreat.
She advanced.
Before the energy could be fully released, she shortened the distance and struck the base of the left arm joint.
The blow was precise.
The energy partially dispersed, causing a lateral explosion that opened cracks in the floor, but it did not hit the group.
The demon reacted with a brutal spin, trying to crush her with full force.
She used the momentum of the spin itself to dodge and apply a second cut to the right leg.
Clean movement.
Clear strategy.
It wasn't a direct confrontation of power.
It was gradual dismantling.
The demon increased speed.
Now the strikes came in an almost continuous sequence.
I kept my breathing controlled.
Not intervening required more discipline than acting.
Liriel began to change rhythm.
Instead of responding to every attack, she began to anticipate micro movements of the demon's shoulder.
She had already identified the pattern.
When it initiated another double attack, she didn't block.
She slid inside the offensive line and struck directly at the side of the torso, where the armor seemed less dense.
Sound of rupture.
The demon stepped back for the first time.
The air in the hall seemed to vibrate.
It raised both blades above its head and concentrated denser energy than before.
It wasn't a dispersed explosion.
It was a single strike.
Liriel stopped.
Her posture changed.
She lowered her center of gravity slightly.
Breathing steady.
The demon descended with absolute force.
At the last moment, Liriel spun her body, deviating from the main axis of the attack, and using the demon's own momentum, applied a full diagonal cut from the base of the arm to the center of the torso.
The sound was deeper.
The armor cracked.
She didn't stop.
She followed with a second strike directly at the already compromised point.
The blade pierced through.
Silence.
The demon remained motionless for half a second.
Then the energy surrounding it began to disperse like smoke in the wind.
The body lost consistency and dissolved.
No explosion.
No scream.
Just disappearance.
The hall became silent again.
Liriel kept her stance firm for a few seconds, evaluating whether there was another threat.
When she confirmed there wasn't, she relaxed her blade.
I approached.
"Injuries?"
"None relevant."
She was breathing in a controlled way.
No tremor.
No visible exhaustion.
Rai'kanna gave a slight smile.
"Rank S confirmed."
Vespera analyzed the environment.
"The density decreased."
Lyannis added.
"He was the core of this floor."
I looked at the space where the demon had disappeared.
First Rank S of the dungeon.
Defeated in a technical fight.
Without external interference.
Without the need for collective effort.
Pride was not the word.
It was recognition.
Liriel had evolved.
Not only in strength.
But in combat reading.
Elara approached.
"He seemed intelligent."
"He was," I replied.
"This was just the beginning," Rai'kanna said.
I agreed.
If the fourth floor already housed a Rank S, the deeper levels would not be a simple progression.
They would be a leap.
I looked at the staircase that revealed itself at the end of the hall.
The fifth floor.
I took a deep breath.
"Formation maintains pattern," I said.
Liriel resumed the front position.
No celebration.
No long pause.
The victory was recorded only in memory.
We descended.
The first legendary demon had fallen.
And for the first time since we entered the Abyss, I felt that the dungeon had truly begun to take us seriously.
But we were also ready to take it seriously.
The fifth floor awaited us.