Ch.221[Chapter 221] Variable Appears

Sir Dominic continued to fall downward.

Just moments ago, the lights from the third floor were occasionally visible through the fragments, but now they appeared smaller than dots, suggesting he had traveled quite far from the third floor.

How long would he keep falling? Sir Dominic wondered, having been in free fall for nearly two minutes.

A wine bottle and glass floated past Sir Dominic.

It seemed they had fallen from the masked ball on the third floor due to the impact.

Sir Dominic snatched the wine bottle and glass from midair and casually poured himself a drink.

At first, he tried to pour it normally, but since he was falling, the liquid surged upward. Sir Dominic had the interesting experience of holding the glass upside down and pouring the wine from the ground toward the sky.

As if he knew what he was doing, he twirled the glass to examine its color and sniffed it to appreciate the aroma.

Of course, Sir Dominic wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about alcohol, so this was just for show.

After taking a sip, Sir Dominic realized the wine was quite sweet.

Actually, it was extremely… very… too sweet. Even mixing grape juice with sugar in a 1:1 ratio would probably be less sweet.

Surprisingly, the alcohol content didn’t seem high, but it was so excessively sweet that Sir Dominic frowned.

After resealing the wine bottle with its cork, Sir Dominic placed it in his inventory.

He thought he could probably get some good information from Meri by giving it to her.

Sir Dominic looked up and then down again.

Despite all his distractions during the fall, there was still no sign of reaching the ground.

“Just how far apart are the third and second floors…”

Sir Dominic sighed in midair.

He had thought the distance was considerable when descending the stairs, but the space between floors in this dungeon seemed unusually vast.

It was another 10 minutes after this sigh before Sir Dominic’s feet touched the ground again.

Thud. Sir Dominic landed in a pose with one knee bent and his fist striking the ground.

Maintaining this position as he landed, Sir Dominic raised his head to survey what was ahead.

This wasn’t exactly what Sir Dominic had planned.

His special ability [Cinematic] had activated automatically, forcing him into a hero landing pose.

Anyway, having received no impact damage thanks to [Cinematic], Sir Dominic immediately looked around.

Since the demon Slaton Vex had fallen first, there was a high probability he would be nearby.

However, no matter how much he searched, that disgusting mass of flesh was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed the demon had either fallen elsewhere or had already hidden or disappeared after landing first.

“This is a strange place, by the way.”

Sir Dominic picked up an old water bottle nearby.

According to Meri’s information, the second floor was where Nanny Catherine resided and where the maids lived.

But this place didn’t look like maid quarters at all.

It looked more like… some kind of storage area.

Sir Dominic looked around again, then shook his head.

He cleared away some cobwebs with his sword and moved on.

Whether this was the second floor or not didn’t matter.

Sir Dominic’s only concern now was eliminating Slaton Vex.

That was his acquired instinct, ingrained from his war with the demons.

Sir Dominic moved forward, following his instincts.

Searching for the faint, disgusting smell the demon might have left behind.

…

At the same time Sir Dominic was searching for the demon…

The demon Slaton Vex was dragging his horribly mangled flesh, fleeing as far away as possible.

Slaton Vex had heard his true name spoken too many times and had nearly lost his sanity, but a small fragment of reason remained.

That remaining reason told him to flee until his body returned to normal, as hearing his true name any more would be dangerous.

Slaton Vex’s judgment was accurate—had he heard his true name again, one of two things would have happened.

Either his name would become bound to this dimension, making him no longer immortal, or he would be banished, leaving almost all his power behind.

The former meant the loss of immortality, while the latter meant a terrible life.

Either way, a fate worse than death awaited him.

In such a desperate situation, Slaton Vex’s escape was the natural course of action.

“Sir Dominic… Sir Dominic!”

The largest mouth of Slaton Vex gnashed its teeth.

Blood vessels bulged in hundreds of his eyes.

As time passed, his reason was gradually recovering from the influence of his true name.

As his reason strengthened, so did the intensity of the images flashing in Slaton Vex’s mind.

Images of the humiliation Sir Dominic had inflicted upon him.

The fleeing mass of flesh paused.

Should he go back and attack Sir Dominic? A human couldn’t possibly survive falling from such a height, right?

Slaton Vex began to think somewhat logically.

This was evidence that his reason had fully returned.

But the six heads attached to the mass of flesh shook in disagreement.

Look at the skin covered in wounds from scratching uncontrollably.

Though he had escaped the influence of his true name, its residual effects remained.

In his current state, killing Sir Dominic would be easy, but he would pay a price for it.

So retreating for now was the right choice, Slaton Vex muttered.

Being mortal, Sir Dominic couldn’t instantly heal severe injuries.

But as a demon, he could recover from any injury and return to perfect condition as long as he had something to devour.

No, he would become even stronger.

With this thought, Slaton Vex began crawling back into the darkness.

Believing that in a war of attrition, he would be the victor.

…

Sir Dominic walked through the darkness.

His already poor visibility had deteriorated to near blindness, but his hatred for demons had awakened keen, bestial senses.

His heightened sense of smell detected the repulsive sulfur odor.

Sir Dominic followed this scent.

Something slimy squished under Sir Dominic’s foot.

Judging by the horrible squelching sensation, it was likely residue left by Slaton Vex.

Sir Dominic opened his ears wide.

Slaton Vex, being a mass of flesh, made sloshing sounds when moving.

If he were nearby, Sir Dominic would hear those sounds.

Unfortunately, apart from the slight whisper of passing wind, there was no sound.

This meant Slaton Vex was still far from Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic continued following the trail.

And… finally, Sir Dominic emerged from the darkness into a place where light reached.

“Where is this…?”

Sir Dominic squinted at the sudden brightness and looked around.

It was a maze-like corridor, which felt strangely familiar to Sir Dominic.

Though somewhat different, it wasn’t unlike the complex corridors of System Industries.

But Sir Dominic shook his head to clear his thoughts and resumed tracking Slaton Vex.

It was an obsession born from his hatred of demons.

Fortunately, the corridor contained traces of disgusting slime with a terrible odor.

Sir Dominic followed these remains.

With his shield raised, Sir Dominic strode forward.

The trail continued even after seventy-five turns in the corridor.

Just as Sir Dominic was about to make the seventy-sixth turn.

“Could I have a word with you?”

A stern female voice addressed Sir Dominic from behind.

Sir Dominic turned to look at the speaker.

There stood Nanny Catherine, the boss of the second floor.

…

“I have something to ask Sir Dominic.”

Nanny Catherine looked directly at Sir Dominic, who was staring at her with hollow eyes.

Sir Dominic wasn’t aware of his own condition, but to Catherine’s eyes, he looked like a madman who had seen something he shouldn’t have… or worse.

His eyes were hollow, pupils contracted to pinpoints, with deep shadows beneath them giving him the eerie appearance of a snake stalking its prey.

His mouth was stretched so wide it seemed about to tear, with the corners reaching his cheeks, revealing not just white teeth but his gums as well.

His disheveled bangs partially obscured this terrifying expression, making it all the more frightening.

Nanny Catherine flinched momentarily at this eerie sight, but as a governess well-versed in etiquette, she barely showed it as she addressed Sir Dominic.

“The maids reported an anomaly within the dungeon. Do you know anything about it?”

Sir Dominic replied with apparent delight:

“It is Slaton Vex.”

Sir Dominic grinned even wider.

“A demon, a quasi-lich’s revenge, my nemesis, and one of the things that brings me joy.”

Sir Dominic now smiled completely like a demon.

“He should not exist here. Because I am here.”

Nanny Catherine tried to maintain her composure as she listened to Sir Dominic, but when he began speaking completely illogically, the color drained from her face.

That’s how unhinged Sir Dominic appeared.

Catherine, who had encountered all sorts of people, thought of a word to define Sir Dominic.

Madman.

Sir Dominic was truly a madman.

Good heavens. Forgive my irreverence for such vulgar thoughts.

Catherine made the sign of the cross, feeling guilty just for thinking such a description of Sir Dominic.

“You mentioned the maids informed you?”

Sir Dominic asked Catherine.

“Then you must know where it is.”

Sir Dominic took a step toward Catherine.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew from somewhere, extinguishing one of the candles that had been lighting the corridor.

Perhaps because of this, Catherine couldn’t see Sir Dominic’s face clearly.

Unfortunately, the extinguished light had been behind Catherine, illuminating Sir Dominic’s face.

“Guide me there.”

Sir Dominic approached Catherine until he was almost touching her.

Catherine swallowed hard.

Though she shouldn’t show fear as a boss…

Catherine was afraid of Sir Dominic.