Chapter 28

Lambert dashed down a large corridor, following Dormillion's voice.

The walls, which had previously resembled those of an old palace, had transformed into something cute and colorful, dominated by pink patterns.

There was no trace of the old, stern atmosphere that had been present before entering this corridor.

The thin layer of water on the floor remained, but it had changed from murky to crystal clear.

The water's surface reflected the corridor's interior beautifully, like a mirror.

On both sides of the corridor, there were neatly arranged, beautiful cages, each containing a stuffed cat.

These stuffed cats were more than twice the size of ordinary cats, about the size of a human.

They moved as if they had a will of their own.

One of them lay sprawled out, scratching its head with its front paw, seemingly not feeling cramped at all.

Shelves were attached to the walls in some places, displaying colorful wine glasses.

Occasionally, signs were hung on the walls, with messages like "Welcome, dear guest" and "Feel free to eat and drink," written in a style typical of Lambert's era, and adorned with Dormillion's emblem—a wing peeking out from a cracked egg.

The corridor was still filled with the same cloyingly sweet, foul odor.

Naturally, Lambert found this suddenly quaint and cozy interior unsettling and was on high alert.

Along the way, a stuffed cat that wasn't in a cage was sitting in the middle of the corridor.

The stuffed cat approached Lambert with a wobbly gait, lifting its head with black eyes as if trying to say something.

Lambert stopped, focused, and released his mana.

Instantly, the colorful and beautiful walls turned into a blood-soaked, plain surface.

The welcoming signs disappeared, replaced by tasteless paintings.

The shelves were now lined with suspicious potions and animal heads, and the water at his feet turned murky green.

The colorful and bright interior from before was all an illusion created by Dormillion using mana.

It was a spell similar to the one used to hide the Fresh Golem's appearance.

Naturally, it had also been cast on the stuffed cats.

"Kil... kil... kill..."

In the middle of the corridor, the stuffed cat disappeared, replaced by a bizarre creature with the upper bodies of three humans grotesquely stitched together.

Six eyes looked at Lambert as if pleading.

"..."

Lambert raised his greatsword in silence.

The metal blade struck the pitiful creature, ending its existence in one blow.

Lambert continued forward with his greatsword at the ready but stopped halfway to look back at the creature.

Then, he turned and ran forward, smashing the cages and potions along the way.

In the grand hall at the deepest part of the Ainzas underground labyrinth, Dormillion sat in a large chair, waiting for Lambert.

Dormillion's wounds were healed, and his clothes were clean and undamaged.

Despite the water-soaked floor, his shoes were dry.

The chair Dormillion sat in seemed to be made by combining many small white parts like a puzzle, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that some of the parts were processed human bones.

The water around the chair was a different color, forming a blue puddle.

"Welcome, Lambert. I went to the trouble of changing the decor for you, but I guess you didn't like it?"

Dormillion drank an unknown liquid from a cup, whistled softly, and dropped the cup at his feet.

Lambert had no intention of speaking further with Dormillion and simply raised his sword in silence.

He then looked around the room, trying to sense any suspicious mana movements.

Dormillion had retreated to this point deliberately.

Lambert had expected traps along the way, but there were none.

Therefore, it was logical to assume that Dormillion would launch an attack here.

(The different-colored water at his feet... it's packed with high-concentration mana.)

After sensing the surroundings, Lambert concluded that there was likely a trap in the differently colored water at Dormillion's feet.

However, he couldn't approach it easily without knowing what would happen.

The differently colored water covered a considerable area, and if it were a weapon, it would be a terrifying range.

Lambert tensed his legs, ready to jump at a moment's notice.

"My senses are a bit off from the norm. I was curious about what that meant, so I've been trying to align my values with the general ones, creating illusions to see if they matched. It didn't have much meaning in itself... but I went to the trouble of creating such a grand illusion for you, and your reaction was a bit disappointing. I prepared it all for you..."

"Maybe it's time to dispel the illusion you're under yourself?"

"...Hmm, you noticed. Really, don't you understand a girl's heart? I wanted to stay beautiful and cute in front of my beloved for as long as possible. That's why I wasn't chosen by Aurelia. Oops..."

Dormillion covered his mouth dramatically, glanced at Lambert, and then tilted his head in disappointment when he didn't get much of a reaction.

Suddenly, Dormillion's form distorted. His body and clothes turned black, and his outline became blurry.

His body merged with the blue water at his feet, leaving only his head.

The head's surface peeled off, mixing with the blue water, and transformed into a black skull.

(That water is a slime... some kind of slime.)

Dormillion transformed into a monstrous form, a black skull floating in a slime body.

Two large metal hands, shaped like fists, fell from the ceiling on either side of him.

"You were studying slimes to create armor to protect your body?"

"That's right. I would have told you my weakness right away. I'm surprisingly kind, you know? Look, aim for it."

Dormillion opened the metal hands and pointed to the black skull floating in the slime.

"I don't intend to crush your head, where most of your mana is concentrated. I'll start with your legs, then your arms, abdomen, chest, neck, and finally, I'll take your head."

Dormillion approached Lambert with surprising speed for his size, extending the metal hands.

Lambert kicked the hand away, pushing himself back, and circled around to the side.

He swung his greatsword, aiming to cut through the slime and the skull.

However, the greatsword slowed down as it entered the slime.

(What viscosity...!)

Despite this, Lambert managed to strike the black skull with his greatsword.

The skull swam through the slime, pushed by the greatsword, and no impact was felt.

The high viscosity of the slime seemed to fix the skull's position, and it appeared to be designed to absorb physical damage.

"Damn!"

Lambert tried to pull his greatsword out, but it was stuck in the slime.

Before he could, he was hit by a horizontal strike from the metal hand, sending him flying backward with the greatsword.

"Pure magic metal is tough. If it were flesh, that would have shattered your body."

Lambert had already confirmed that the black skull was very strong.

Even without the slime armor, it could withstand a blow to the head and remain unharmed.

Combined with the shock-absorbing slime armor and the heavy metal hands, it was a formidable defense.

"How about it? This is the invincible body I spent two hundred years creating! You once said that in a one-on-one battle between a top swordsman and a mage, the swordsman would win. You did cut me down then. But can you say the same now?"

Dormillion approached Lambert excitedly, clenching his metal hands into fists.

He then struck Lambert's body with rapid, continuous punches.

"That's it, that's it, that! Haha, ahahaha! How long can you keep dodging?"

Instantly, a large amount of water splashed up, and the floor cracked.

The terrifying continuous attacks could have turned a troll into minced meat.

Lambert dodged the metal fists, looking for an opportunity, and deflected the right hand to the ground.

He easily dodged the left hand's uncoordinated attack, striking the back of the hand with his greatsword and creating distance to escape the continuous attacks.

"Did you spend two hundred years and countless lives to create this junk?"

Lambert glared at Dormillion's skull as he released miasma.

Dormillion was momentarily taken aback but then smiled, distorting his skull's mouth.

"You're the only one in the entire Warlimia continent who can talk to me like that. That's why, in a way, it's a shame. I wanted to completely manipulate you and make you do my bidding!"

The metal hands interlocked their fingers and swung down at Lambert.

Lambert immediately jumped back to avoid it, but the metal hands floated up again and jumped at him.