Former General Is Undead Knight

Volume 1, Chapter 28: Lord of Underground Labyrinth?

The place where Domiliune’s voice came from was at the other end of a long and echoing passage.

While the dungeon had seemed almost palace-like before, this new area was filled with cutesy decor, pink covering almost every inch.

The image of this place completely overpowered the old and strict image from the previous area.

Though the shallow water was still there, the color had changed from a muddy-brown to a transparent, crystal-like shade.

The surface of the water reflected the design of the passage with amazing clarity.

On both sides of the beautiful yet prison-like passage, there were cat-like plushie creatures inside cages.

The size of the plushie cats was more than double that of a normal cat; they were almost as big as a human.

They were moving around inside of their cages as if waiting for something.

Perhaps because it didn’t feel its cage was too small, one of the cats plopped down while scratching its head.

Moreover, there were bookshelves placed along the wall with multi-colored wine glasses stored inside of them.

Although the words written on the signboards that appeared once in a while had welcoming words like 『Welcome, Dear Guest』 or 『Feel Free to Enjoy the Dishes』, the crest was undoubtedly that of Domiluine, drawn wings peeking out from the crevice of an egg.

The passage was overpowered with a sickening, rotten-sweet smell.

Although the change of the interior seemed like nothing, Lambert’s honed instincts told him that there was something fishy about it.

And then, he saw a plushie cat outside of its cage, blocking the passage ahead.

The plushie, who approached Lambert with an unsteady gait, glared at him as if to ask “What’s the matter?” with its black eyes.

Lambert just stood still as he released his miasma that was roused due to the previous battle with the plushie.

The pretty and colorful wall suddenly transformed into an ordinary wall drenched in the color of blood.

The hanging signboard that welcomed visitors was gone; in its place was a grotesque picture instead.

The contents of the shelves were replaced with heads of various animals and suspicious-looking medicines. The crystal-clear water below his feet transformed into a muddy-green bog.

The bright and happy interior from before, all of it was created by Domiliune’s illusion magic.

Using the very same illusion magic, she had hidden the previous Flesh Golem’s appearance.

Naturally, the plushie in front of him was also affected by her illusion.

「Ill… ILL… KILL…」

The plushie who stood in Lambert’s way had vanished, in its place was a strange aberration composed of haphazard patchwork that stitched together the upper bodies of three people.

Its six eyes bore into Lambert as if begging for him to end their suffering.

「――――」

Lambert raised his greatsword in silence.

His greatsword killed the monster in one hit.

Lambert set his stance again as he passed by the side of the crushed monster, but then he stopped and turned around to see the monster that he killed just a moment ago.

And then, he ran ahead, destroying the cages and shelves while raising a war cry.

In the deepest place of Ainsaz’s Underground Labyrinth, Domiliune sat on a huge chair of the Reception Hall, waiting for Lambert.

Not only had her wounds from before vanished, but there was also almost no trace left of her previous battle against Lambert.

In addition, her shoes that should’ve been wet from the water were dry for some reason.

Although the chair Domiliune sat on looked seemed to be made of a conglomeration of numerous white-colored materials, upon closer inspection, it was evidently composed of human skeletons.

The water around the chair had a different, bluish tint too.

「Welcome, Lambert-kun. Even though I went out of my way to change the theme of the passage, you didn’t seem to like it?」

Domiliune whistled a little as she drank a mysterious liquid from the cup in her hand, and then dropped the cup on the floor.

Lambert remained silent as he readied his stance with his sword; he had no intention to speak with Domiliune.

Lambert observed the room, trying to grasp any suspicious movements of mana.

This place was Domiliune’s homeground after all.

Although Lambert had expected various traps to greet him along the way to this place, in the end, he didn’t meet anything that served to hinder him.

But it only raised his vigilance even further.

That bluish water is different from the rest… It’s literally a lump of mana.

As a result of inspecting the surroundings, Lambert drew a conclusion that the blue-colored water below Domiliune’s chair was rather special.

But since that’s all he knew, he couldn’t just recklessly charge toward Domiliune.

The off-color water spread into a large area. That’s why it would be a checkmate against Lambert if that water turned out to be a hidden weapon.

Lambert set his stance with his greatsword, bracing his legs, and then leaped out at once.

「You’re aware that my common sense is greatly distorted from the norm, right? That’s why I created those illusions after so many years of research to narrow the gap. Doing that kind of thing itself isn’t that important for me, but… Even though I showed those large scale illusions after inviting you to this place, your reaction truly surprised me. I mean, I prepared all of this just for you…」

「Then, how about you undo the illusion that you cast upon yourself?」

「… Fufufu, busted, huh? Even someone like me wants to look like a lovely girl, so don’t you think that it’s rude for you to ask me to undo the illusion? That’s exactly the reason why Aurelia didn’t choose you back the- Welp…」

Domiliune theatrically covered her lips with her hand while sending a sidelong glance at Lambert, trying to provoke him.

However, her cheap provocation did little to incite Lambert, and she tilted her head to the side with a bored expression.

In that moment, Domiliune’s figure suddenly became limp. The color of her body and clothes became darker as the contour of her body became even hazier.

Her body dissolved, mixing with the blue water underneath her, leaving only her head.

Not stopping at that, even the skin of her head peeled off as if it was melting, leaving only a black skull.

That water and her sticky body… A slime variation, huh.

Domiliune’s true form was that of a grotesque figure composed of slime and a black skull.

A pair of huge gauntlets suddenly broke through the ceiling, landed right at Domiliune’s side.

「… Your reason for researching slime is to create armor to protect your real body, huh.」

「That’s right, my head is my weakness, after all. No need to test it because you’ll experience its might firsthand. I’m kind, right? I mean, I’m even telling you about my weak point.」

Domiliune spread her metal arms and then pointed at the black skull floating in the slime’s body.

「In addition, I won’t attack your head, the important place that keeps most of your vital mana. I’ll start with your feet and then your arms… Your abdomen… Your chest. I’ll slowly pulverize it till nothing but your head remains.」

Domiliune closed in on Lambert with a speed that seemed unfitting for her large body and then stretched out her metal arms toward him.

Lambert kicked her arm and then used the recoil from his kick to circle around toward Domiliune’s side.

He swung his greatsword to crush the black skull inside of the slime body.

But then, his greatsword suddenly slowed down when it was about to reach the black skull.

Such viscosity…!

Nevertheless, Lambert added more power into his swing and struck the black skull.

But the skull just dove down into the center of the slime body, as if to disperse the power behind Lambert’s strike.

That strike was packed with considerable power, but it seemed that Domiliune’s slime body could neutralize even that force.

「TCH!」

Though he tried to extract his greatsword, it ended up covered in sticky mucus that wouldn’t come off.

Meanwhile, Domiliune’s metal arm punched him and sent him flying back along with his greatsword.

「As expected, a pure organ is tough, indeed. Your body would’ve turned into a bloody mess by now if you had living flesh.」

Lambert had confirmed in their first fight that Domiliune’s black skull was a tough one.

There was no doubt that Lambert’s previous attack was strong enough to crush Domiliune’s black skull, if not for the slime’s protection.

In addition to the slime’s protection, she was also equipped with a pair of super heavy metal fists.

「See that? I’ve honed this for two hundred years, now I’m invincible! You told me before, right? In a one-on-one fight between a swordsman and wizard, the swordsman will definitely come out on top. And that’s true since you managed to kill me, but how about now, I wonder?」

Domiliune approached Lambert while gloating in a shrill voice. Both of her heavy metal fists clenched.

After that, she launched a series of consecutive blows at an unimaginable speed.

「TAKE THAT, AND THAT, AND THAT! HAHAHAHAHA! TILL HOW LONG DO YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE FROM MY ATTACK?」

Her consecutive attacks created a giant pillar of water, destroying the floor.

The power behind the consecutive attacks just now was extremely terrifying to the point that even a troll would be reduced to mere mincemeat in a moment.

Lambert kept dodging the giant, metal fists, using his greatsword to redirect the blow from her right fist to the floor.

He calmly dodged the more simple attack from the left fist, launched an attack toward the back of the metal hand to test its durability, and then used the recoil to leap out of the range of the onslaught of attacks.

「So, you spent two hundred years killing so many adventurers in this labyrinth just to make this junk.」

Lambert sent a glare at Domiliune’s skull while firing his miasma at full throttle.

Although Domiliune turned silent as if she was surprised by Lambert’s remark, the shape of her mouth crooked upward as if sneering at Lambert.

「Even if we scoured the entire Worimia continent, you’re the only one who’d dare to say those words to me. It’s truly regrettable that the current you is completely dancing in the palm of my hand yet still tries to provoke me.」

The two heavy, metal hands entwined together and swung downward at Lambert.

Though Lambert managed to dodge the attack, the hands rose again and went after Lambert.