A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 59

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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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A line appeared in the empty air as if drawn by a blade.
It was the kind of line that inspired dread merely by looking at it.
Watching it slowly tear open and writhe of its own accord made my stomach churn.
“What is that?”
“I… I don’t know…”
Among the people tilting their heads in confusion, instinctively tensing as they gazed up at the line.
Only I understood what it was.
It’s a zombie gate.
I grabbed Praha’s arm beside me.
“We have to run.”
We have to escape.
Before that line tears completely open.
Before the gate opens and zombies pour through!
“Now!”
Despite my sudden insistence that we flee, Praha didn’t argue.
The others, sensing something was amiss, followed without complaint.
We had to run.
But where?
“Praha, how far is the exit?”
“About a third of the way back.”
“Then let’s go! Tangerine!”
“Yes, Your Highness! Which path should we take at the Crossroads!”
“…It’s already too late.”
Tangerine, gripping Yujein’s wrist, was about to bolt when Praha stopped her.
Praha was staring at the gate.
The gate, wide open as if about to spill something at any moment.
A person’s foot protruding from it.
“We need to hide for now.”
Speaking in a low voice, Praha led us to the wall farthest from the gate.
Before we could finish moving, zombies began pouring from the fully opened gate in the empty air.
“Hah…”
“Wow.”
Tangerine, seeing zombies for the first time, widened her eyes.
Over the zombie that appeared to be a man in his thirties, the first to hit the ground, more zombies tumbled down in succession.
Pinned beneath the others, the first zombie with limbs bent backward writhed while lying down.
With its broken spine, it rose and twisted its bent arm.
“Grraaagh…! Grrgh!”
‘Yes. It’s been a while.’
A living corpse with one jaw crushed and knees bent backward, turning its head this way and that.
Cyprus pressed me and Yujein, unable to tear our eyes from the zombies, against the corner of the wall.
“If we make no sound, we should be fine. They lack vision, do they not?”
“But they have a sense of smell!”
“I-I will!”
I stopped Yujein as she raised the sacred relic, about to call down lightning.
“Lightning is out of the question.”
Look around us. Everything is stone.
If we unleash lightning here, we’ll be electrocuted too.
‘That’s what they explained in that survival show!’
Even as I spoke, the cascading zombies flooded the vast chamber at terrifying speed.
“Kieeeek….”
What do we do?
Shouldn’t we flee right now?
‘But what if they chase us?’
A third of the labyrinth still remains.
We can’t possibly sprint through that entire distance.
Especially not when we have no idea what lies ahead.
As I gnawed at my lip, Praha exchanged hand signals with Tangerine before approaching the zombies with silent footsteps.
Toward the one isolated zombie—the first to fall behind.
“Guh?”
The zombie turned at the scent, and in an instant, Praha’s serrated dagger slashed across its neck.
Crunch.
The horrifying sound of flesh and cloth tearing simultaneously.
Without flinching, Praha severed the zombie’s head from its body and hurled it forward.
The stench of rotting blood spread, masking our scent.
The severed head rolled across the ground, and the zombies’ heads turned to follow it.
“Grrrrgh.”
Praha and Tangerine wiped their blades clean on the rock where the sacred relic had been embedded, then returned to us.
Cyprus asked a question.
“How long do you think we can hold out?”
“It depends on how strong our body odor is.”
“Lucky we haven’t bathed in days.”
Praha explained, glancing at Yujein and me.
“When all the zombies pour out, we’ll lure them down the wrong path. The traps there will dispose of them for us.”
It was the best strategy we could devise in this moment.
The problem was.
No matter how long we waited, the gate would not close.
“Grrrrgh….”
“Guh… Guh-guh-guh….”
Blood continued to pour from the gaping wounds of the zombies.
They collided with one another, bones and necks snapping, yet they rose again in that broken state to hunt for prey.
We were trapped in the same room as the zombies with nothing but a thin partition between us.
Relying solely on their lost sense of sight.
Cyprus, who had dispatched the zombie approaching us and hurled it to the opposite side, spoke.
“At this rate, this room will be packed with zombies.”
Praha seemed to feel the same way, silently gripping the bow.
The arrow he drew this time had red feathers attached to it.
An arrow that vibrated lengthily, producing a bell-like sound.
“Grrrgh….”
Praha, aiming toward the Crossroads where the trap lay, drew back the bowstring.
Whoosh. Thunk.
Ding-
“Grrk!”
“Kack!”
As the arrow flew and the bell chimed, the zombies’ heads snapped around.
“Kyeek!”
One began to charge, then two, then three.
Soon all at once.
The moment they entered, acidic liquid poured from the air, dissolving their entire bodies in the trap.
Sizzzzle-
“Kyeeeek!”
Sizzzzle-
Soon the burning stench and wails drew even more zombies toward it.
Praha spoke.
“We must go now.”
Leaving the horrific smell and noise behind, we moved forward in silence.
Down the correct path right beside it.
“Phew.”
“They keep pouring out.”
Tangerine, who held the rear of our party, muttered wearily while watching the zombies still gushing from the gate.
Roughly dozens of zombies must have died from the trap’s acid.
But that wasn’t nearly enough.
“What on earth is that? Malevolent magic?!”
“I’m not sure.”
“Did this happen because we removed the sacred relic?!”
“W-well, it seems so.”
Ever since I removed the sacred relic, all the divine power that had been wandering through the labyrinth vanished.
Yujein, her face gone pale, spoke.
“This place is no longer the domain of the God of Light….”
“As the sacred power that was protecting us disappeared, malevolent forces invaded.”
“Then what if we return the sacred relic?”
“Will that even work? The rock is shattered.”
“….”
“I’m starting to regret leaving blood on that rock.”
Praha spoke without expression.
Tangerine asked.
“Then who exactly is commanding these zombies? The Anti-Imperial Mage Organization?”
“Does such an organization even exist?”
At my question, Cyprus shrugged.
“What’s certain is that they’ve been watching us all along.”
“Then why didn’t they attack when we were at Promae Castle?”
“Perhaps they were waiting for the right moment.”
“Are they summoning every corpse in the vicinity?”
-Thus concluded the conversation of our question-mark-headed murderers-
No one had answers, only questions in abundance.
As we increased our distance from the room with the zombies, our conversation grew longer.
Tangerine severed the necks of the zombies that followed us down the correct path.
When their numbers became too great, Praha lured them down the wrong path as before.
“The traps don’t seem any less threatening than before, do they?”
“No. They’ve grown weaker than at first.”
“It’s because the God of Light’s power is being withdrawn. The labyrinth will likely cease functioning entirely soon….”
“We must escape before that happens.”
Yujein trembled, gripping her wand tightly with both hands.
I glanced at Yujein, who seemed increasingly anxious, then opened my palm.
‘The God of Light’s power remaining in the labyrinth is weakening, so why is mine unchanged?’
The hourglass’s sand continued to diminish steadily.
Less than half remained now.
‘I shouldn’t bring it up and create unnecessary anxiety. Best to stay silent.’
At this pace, we should be fine.
With that thought, I clenched my fist.
“My Lady, are you anxious?”
“Ah. Yujein.”
It was you who looked anxious, not me. I offered a smile instead of saying so.
“Well, it’s certainly not a leisurely situation, but what can we do? At least they’re not chasing us relentlessly like they did at the Villa….”
“Be careful!”
Screech!
Crash!
“Aaaah!”
I was thrown to the ground before I could even comprehend what was happening. Instinctively, I raised my bag to shield my head.
Thud!
An arrow pierced through my bag in the next instant.
If I hadn’t been carrying my bag, that stone would have lodged itself in my eye.
“Yusara! Are you alright?!”
“Y-yes! But what’s happening?!”
“It appears this passage was a trap all along!”
“The map showed this was the correct route!”
Even as the shouts erupted, a warning flashed through my mind.
First: one’s luck cannot hold forever.
“Damn it!”
“At least the trap has weakened—we’re fortunate!”
“Fortunate?! The ceiling is collapsing on us right now!”
I barely rolled my body aside, dodging a fist-sized stone plummeting from above.
I couldn’t even lift my head—one careless movement and an arrow would find me.
Tangerine, like me using her bag as a shield to deflect the arrows, cried out.
“Is everyone alright?!”
“Yes!”
“We’re fine!”
The problem was that our commotion had reached the ears of the zombies lurking behind us.
Patter-patter-patter!
“Grrrraahhh!”
“Damn!”
Now we had no choice but to run.
“Just a bit further and we’ll reach the Crossroads! We can lose them there!”
“What if our luck runs out then too?!”
“Let’s not think about that just yet!”
All the torches our group had been carrying were extinguished in the chaos.
There was no time to relight them.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Run!”
“Yujein!”
“It’s Tangerine!”
This is maddening!
Running through this darkness without any visibility was proving to be an ordeal.
Why can’t I produce light from my palm, you ask?
I clench my fists when I run!
Patter-patter-patter!
“Grrgh!”
“Ugh!”
“I’m fine! I’ve torn it off!”
And then, finally, the next Crossroads appeared.
In the space where the narrow passage suddenly opened wide.
Light suddenly enveloped me.
“…!”
To be precise, it consumed me along with the handful of zombies rushing from behind.
My companions tried to grab me, but it was futile.
“Yusara!”
The light erupted from my own hand, after all.
More specifically, from the hourglass embedded in my palm.
It mattered not that my fist was clenched.
“No!”
The last thing I saw before the light consumed my vision was the anguished faces of my companions.
I was summoned to a different place.
Thud!
As my body struck something hard, I fought to grasp at my fading consciousness, recalling the Labyrinth’s next precaution.
One. Abandon your separated companions.
Now it was my turn to be abandoned.
Damn it all….
[Ancient Maze: Underground Tomb]
– Yusara (Survived)

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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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