Chapter 26

The stuffed animal's form wavered, and its fabric-like surface transformed into human skin, as if the skin had been peeled off.

From the large mouth that stretched from one end of its face to the other, thick, dark mucus dripped profusely.

Inside that mouth, rows upon rows of teeth, numbering in the dozens, lined up in three columns.

Two large eyeballs bulged out, pulsating slightly as they rolled around.

Painful-looking scars from numerous stitches covered its body, and the hand that held a massive metal club had ten fingers.

It was a monstrous creature, a sight so horrifying that even the mere thought of its existence in the world was terrifying.

"…I was right to let them escape."

Lambert stared directly at the monstrous creature and muttered these words.

If Fiona and the others had seen it, they might have gone insane on the spot.

Titan, who had been lying on the ground, dazed and covered in blood, let out a scream and retreated when he saw the monstrous creature.

"H-help me! Help meee!"

The monstrous creature grabbed Titan's legs with its ten fingers and swung him from side to side while laughing.

Titan's screams echoed, but by the time he had been slammed into the ground twice, they had stopped.

On the third impact, his upper body tore off, and eventually, only one leg remained in the creature's hand.

The creature swung its leg over its head and threw it at Lambert.

Lambert deflected it with the flat of his greatsword, sending it behind him.

"Indeed, a flesh-wrapped artificial giant."

A Fresh Golem is a golem that uses human flesh as its material.

This abhorrent creation was banned even during the era of the Eight Nations Unification War.

While humanitarian concerns were a factor, the primary reason was that necromancers struggled to obtain corpses and often committed heinous acts to do so.

One of the reasons Lambert had to slay the sage Dormillion was the discovery that he had destroyed over ten villages to secretly develop Fresh Golems.

(He must have provided the research facility as a dungeon for adventurers to explore, allowing him to secretly collect corpses and gather materials for the Fresh Golems. This method... it's truly Dormillion himself.)

Lambert felt a chill and directed his sword at the Fresh Golem.

The Fresh Golem approached Lambert, swinging its club wildly.

He couldn't match it in a contest of strength.

Lambert deflected the club with the flat of his greatsword, guiding it to the right and left.

(This movement... it's not only fast but also incredibly precise! How many people must have been sacrificed to create this thing...)

The Fresh Golem, maintaining a forward-leaning posture, closed the distance while barking.

Lambert had no time to regain his footing.

He tried to jump sideways and circle behind the Fresh Golem, but its large eyeballs followed his movements closely.

The Fresh Golem stepped back, raised its club, and swung it down at Lambert.

(...Surprising, it has good eyesight. Let me test it a bit.)

Lambert bent his body backward, narrowly avoiding the club.

The club splashed the water on the floor.

In the next instant, the Fresh Golem swung its club again, as if scooping up Lambert from the water.

The club hit a metal object and sent it flying to the ceiling.

The Fresh Golem, following the metal object it had launched, raised its club again.

"It seems to be excellent at detecting fast-moving objects, but its ability to recognize shapes is average."

The Fresh Golem was just a moment too late in spotting Lambert, who had leaped onto its forehead using the water splash as a springboard.

The Fresh Golem's eyes widened.

What the Fresh Golem had launched was not Lambert but the greatsword in Lambert's hand.

As Lambert had predicted, the Fresh Golem had excellent dynamic vision but not the corresponding visual acuity.

Lambert had no weapon in his hand, but he had taken the best position in the battle.

He could deliver a decisive blow to the head, a weakness in all living beings.

Lambert extended his armored fingers and delivered a ruthless thrust to the Fresh Golem's large eyeball.

His armored arm pierced through the greenish fluid of the Fresh Golem's body and into the eyeball.

Lambert clenched his fist and pulled it out when it reached his wrist.

"Oooh!"

The Fresh Golem barked, shook its head, and tried to slam Lambert to the ground.

Lambert grabbed the Fresh Golem's skin with his overwhelming grip, dug his fingers into it, and circled around to its back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

He skillfully turned his body and delivered two consecutive kicks with the weight of his armor, adding to the damage the Fresh Golem sustained when its head hit the ground.

Lambert used the momentum from kicking the Fresh Golem's back to jump high, taking advantage of the shockwave when the Fresh Golem tried to get up.

He grabbed his weapon, which was embedded in the ceiling, pulled it out forcefully, and landed, performing a forward roll to regain his stance.

"Come on, you pitiful patchwork golem. I'll put you out of your misery."

The Fresh Golem, pressing its forehead with one hand, glared at Lambert.

It then took a small step back, rubbing its heels together.

This was a sign of fear, something the Fresh Golem, which had acted on pure destructive impulses, had never shown before.

At this moment, the Fresh Golem felt fear towards Lambert, who was much smaller and weaker than itself.

The remaining eyeball of the Fresh Golem turned bloodshot and red.

The veins in its arms, which held the club, bulged prominently.

"Oooh!"

The Fresh Golem barked and lunged at Lambert.

It was the fastest and heaviest blow it had ever delivered, driven by its fear.

However, it was also the simplest attack it had ever made.

Lambert stood sideways, stretched his legs, and held his greatsword vertically.

The Fresh Golem swung its club at Lambert.

Lambert deflected the club with a slight bend in his greatsword, keeping the flat of the sword and the side of the club tightly pressed together as he dropped into a deep stance and spun around the midline.

The blow from the Fresh Golem's club was returned to its chest with the same force.

The club dug deep into the Fresh Golem's chest and shattered the floor as it passed through.

This technique, known as "Heaven and Earth Reversal," was taught to Lambert by his swordmaster, Quixote, one of the Four Demon Generals.

It is the ultimate counter, redirecting the full force of the opponent's attack in the opposite direction.

It requires the precise use of every joint in the human body to succeed.

While originally designed for human opponents, Lambert's combat sense allowed him to perform the perfect "Heaven and Earth Reversal" against a golem.

Lambert circled around to the blind spot of the frightened Fresh Golem and delivered a blow to its thick leg.

He anticipated the Fresh Golem's quick downward swing and jumped vertically, running along the club as it descended and slashing at the Fresh Golem's neck.

The Fresh Golem headbutted Lambert with all its might.

Lambert bent his body backward, thrusting his greatsword into the Fresh Golem's head while repositioning himself to minimize the impact.

Seizing the moment when the Fresh Golem's head movement stopped, he quickly pulled down the greatsword, propelling himself upward.

Lambert raised his greatsword high in front of the Fresh Golem's face.

"Ooh!"

"Haah!"

The greatsword struck the Fresh Golem's head.

The remaining eyeball was forced out by the impact.

The head split open, and pink flesh spilled out.

The Fresh Golem fell to its knees and then collapsed face down.

"…At least, may you rest in peace."

Lambert looked at the pitiful sight of the Fresh Golem and whispered these words softly.

Clap, clap, clap.

Small claps echoed in the large room.

At the same time, a sickly sweet, pungent odor, even stronger than the Fresh Golem's, filled the air.

Lambert turned his gaze in the direction of the sound and saw a girl standing on the remains of the large hole the Fresh Golem had created.

She had long black hair and large, round eyes.

Her features were delicate, but she exuded an eerie atmosphere that unsettled anyone who looked at her.

"Lambert, is that you, Lambert? I never thought I'd see you again like this. Well, living a long life can be quite surprising."

The girl extended her hands forward as if to embrace Lambert, a smile on her lips.

However, her eyes remained expressionless, like those of a doll.

"Don't look so scared. Let's put the past behind us. I don't hate you, you know. In fact, I loved you more than I can say."

"…I knew you were a monster, but I didn't expect you to survive being cut in half."

"Actually, it's a post-mortem activation spell. I did die once, when you cut off my upper body along with my heart. You were quite rough. Oh, it hurt so much back then."

The girl spoke with a blissful expression, extending her small pink tongue.

She then smiled slightly and continued.

"But with the building collapsing, you didn't have the time to confirm my body, did you?"

Sage Dormillion.

She looked exactly as she did in Lambert's memories.

Dormillion had been manipulating her body for years, making her ageless.

No one knew her true age or where she came from.

Despite the repeated use of forbidden magic, the Regius Kingdom could not punish Dormillion during the reign of the previous king, largely due to her unparalleled contributions to magical research and her formidable combat abilities.

In the end, Lambert was supposed to have killed her, but she had managed to evade even that, secretly capturing adventurers in the depths of the underground labyrinth and continuing her research.