A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 177

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The condition for winning a wager against a god was singular.
To create change.
To become a different person than before.
‘But if I sacrifice someone else to survive now, in the end I’ll be no different from who I was before the regression.’
No different from when I used my house’s knights as shields for my own survival.
So I’m rejecting the proposal to kill Praha.
What if they coax me into killing him first, then claim “you lost the wager” and take my soul too?
“…And even setting aside the wager, I can’t kill someone.”
Not Praha, but someone else—say, my younger brother Aspara, or the Local Lord of Promé, or even Troublemaker Papri who’s already dead. It would be the same.
Once I return to modern times, no one there would know what I did, right?
What nonsense is that?
I would know what I did.
Am I not a person?
“Mascarpone!”
“I’m here!”
A straining sound came from Mascarpone.
At the same time, my body was dragged away somewhere.
It wasn’t just me. Praha, Cyprus, and Yujein were all being pulled along as if we were one body.
Starting with me, then Yujein, then Praha, and finally Cyprus—threads wound around all four of our wrists glowed with a blue light.
This was the magical item Mascarpone had given me just before we leaped into the Gate.
‘You have my bracelet, right? When it breaks completely, activate it. Understood?’
‘Got it! But what is this?’
Since it was uncertain where the four of us would fall or if we could return.
No matter where we went—an object designed so Mascarpone could pull us out beyond the Gate from her end.
‘You can’t go outside the protective barrier.’
‘Lady Yusara, I’m sorry. If I stay beside you, I’ll experience the god’s wrath too.’
‘But Praha is innocent. …The same goes for those people who were unjustly killed by zombies.’
I had secretly passed it to Yujein’s hand earlier, then Yujein passed it to Praha, and the quick-witted Cyprus accepted it by leaning against Praha.
And now Mascarpone was pulling the other end of that thread.
‘Like Ariadne’s thread.’
If these gods in this neighborhood come out with Greco-Roman flair and pettiness, I’ll match them exactly.
“Mascarpone! You’re not pulling alone, are you?!”
“I’m… not! Ugh!”
I heard her curse once.
The next moment, we were forcibly dragged out beyond the Gate.
Mascarpone’s Mother, confirming we had emerged, quickly threw something into the Gate.
“Gasp, gasp….”
The Crystal Hall, which had been transparently beautiful until moments ago, was now a sea of blood.
In front, Mascarpone, who had fallen on her rear, was breathing heavily with her face flushed crimson.
Confirming the four of us sprawled on the ground, Mascarpone suddenly raised both hands.
“Success!”
“Yes, we did it!”
“The magical artifact I designed! This is my first time testing it in actual use!”
“What?!”
“Clinical trial complete! Fortunately, everyone’s wrists are still intact and attached!”
At those words, Praha was faster than anyone else to grab my hand.
He cut the thread wound around my wrist, then quickly unwound the thread from his own wrist as well.
So dying was acceptable, but losing a wrist was terrifying?
I grabbed Praha’s forearm as he helped me to my feet.
“Death isn’t an option. Say something that weak one more time, and I won’t speak to you for the rest of our lives.”
“For the rest of our lives….”
“Yes. For the rest of our lives.”
“….”
“The man I choose must be strong-willed and ambitious. Don’t disappoint my judgment.”
I tapped Praha’s nose as he stood there dazed, then rose to my feet.
Looking around, Cyprus and Yujein were joining forces to eliminate the remaining zombies.
At the Gate, the object Mascarpone’s Mother had just thrown in was now activating.
Boom!
Crackle!
“What is that?!”
“I split space in half and connected it together… Do you want a detailed explanation?!”
“No!”
“Anyway, whatever’s inside won’t be able to come out for a while!”
“Perfect!”
That’s all I need to know!
“It was worth buying from the Laboratory, Mascarpone!”
“I wasn’t just idling around while you were adventuring!”
“Actually, we saw a god in there!”
“You saw a god?!”
“That’s what happened! Anyway, if there really was a god inside, would that god be trapped in there too?!”
“I’m not sure about that… but you saw a god?!”
“It sounds like a lie, but it’s true…!”
Either way, I needed to resolve this as quickly as possible.
“Tangerine!”
I immediately searched for Tangerine.
But.
Nothing.
There was no response.
Cyprus, whose eyes met mine from across the way, shook his head.
Behind him, I could see something covered with a tablecloth.
Yujein, who had already been searching for Tangerine before me, felt tears drop from her eyes.
She clenched her teeth.
“…Everything the God said was wrong.”
That human will is nothing special.
Then what about Tangerine?
I had told Tangerine nothing about my past life or my regression.
Tangerine knew nothing.
Not about my wager with the God, nor my regression—
Yet she died smiling.
Even without understanding all those complicated things, there are people who don’t hesitate for even a moment to save others.
There are people who achieve their goals and face death with a smile.
If that isn’t strength, what is?
Suddenly, a thunderbolt of realization struck me.
“…It was wrong to rely on the God from the beginning.”
At my murmur, Praha turned to look at me.
“What did you say?”
“Think about it. The Gods caused this catastrophe! And I tried to resolve it by building a Temple to serve them, granting their demands… That was the mistake.”
It was like praying to the nation that started the war to end it.
“We must resolve this with our own strength.”
With our strength.
With human strength.
I looked around.
Corpses of zombies scattered about. Those who were once human. Red stones gleaming in their chests.
I placed my hand in my pocket.
I felt the red stone.
Those who died unjustly by the Gods’ hands, or were exploited even after death.
If the souls of sacrificed humans were right here. If there were not just one, but dozens, hundreds of them.
“…Yujein.”
“Yes, Yusara!”
I watched Yujein approach me immediately.
Magic is an ability that manifests through human will.
I had just confirmed in the Gate that it’s a power even the Gods cannot overcome.
And the most powerful mage I know of in existence is.
Yujein.
And me. Yusara.
“Yujein, do you trust me?”
“Yes! I do!”
Even to such an abrupt question that didn’t fit the urgent situation, Yujein answered without hesitation.
“Even if I cast magic on you?”
“Yes!”
“…Yes. I believe in you too.”
Yujein met my gaze without a shred of doubt. Looking into those eyes, I cast my spell.
“Strike down lightning and destroy the red stones in the zombies’ chests.”
“Red stones…? But I can’t see them…”
“I can see them. They’re visible to my eyes.”
“Ah…!”
“Just lend me your body for a moment. And Yujein, lend me your eyes. We’ll share each other’s flesh and soul. So we can liberate the trapped spirits.”
Yujein closed her eyes.
Soon I felt my soul connecting with hers.
I too closed my eyes and raised my arms.
The motion most familiar to me, aimed at the red stones in the zombies’ chests.
What I had practiced thousands of times since my return.
I moved both arms into the stance of drawing a bow.
‘…I can do this.’
Even if I alone could not, Yujein and I together—we could.
Just before releasing the massive arrow from the bowstring.
A firm arm braced my elbow from behind.
A familiar embrace, a familiar scent of soap.
“Do what you wish. I will support you.”
It was Praha.
“…Yes.”
Supported by those strong arms, the arrow shot forward without wavering.
It surged without hesitation or resistance, then split into hundreds of branches.
Lightning arrows pierced the chests of the zombies.
They hammered against the spirits of those wrongfully imprisoned. Powerful bolts of lightning shattered them.
The aim was perfect.
Like the absolute trust Praha showed me.
Like my faith in human will.
The zombies’—
No…
The spirits of the imprisoned humans were liberated.
The Knights, who had been gritting their teeth and swinging their swords, felt the change and stopped their movements. The zombies rushing at them began collapsing one by one.
The red light that rose from within surged toward…
Not toward fellow humans, but toward the Gate.
The red light rushed toward the passage that led to the god who had turned them into zombies and the god’s shadow.
Mascarpone’s Mother, sensing the situation, quickly withdrew her power.
The burst of light struck into the Gate.
“…It was said that Praha would meet death at the hands of the dead.”
But what if all the dead who could kill Praha were liberated?
What if I, the only one remaining, had no desire to kill Praha?
“…Miss Yujein, are you alright?”
“Yes, I can do much more!”
Yujein laughed, bracing her trembling knees and standing firm.
And that was enough.
“It’s crumbling….”
“It’s disappearing.”
“What’s happening?”
“…Because the prophecy cannot be fulfilled.”
“A prophecy?”
“The prophecy to kill Praha. Because that prophecy cannot be fulfilled, the power is fading.”
“The Light God is….”
“Perishing together. Light and darkness are one body, after all.”
The sight of divine power crumbling was pitiful.
So pitiful that it was hard to believe it was the power of a god.
“Lady Yusara, we did it!”
Yujein, beaming with joy, rushed toward me.
“Yes. We did it.”
I embraced Yujein in return and lifted my head. My eyes met those of Praha standing behind me.
“Did you see?”
“Yes. I did.”
“…We did it.”
Just as the God of Indulgence perished when the prophecy given to Cyprus could not be realized, the God of the Underworld suffered the same blow.
But the reckoning was not yet finished.
[Imperial Palace]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Mascarpone (Alive)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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