A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 60

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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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“…!”
My eyes snapped open.
“…!”
I reflexively clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle a scream.
My body went rigid, but my eyes darted frantically around.
Where was I?
Had I lost consciousness?
‘I was running after falling into a trap.’
Light erupted from my hand.
The sudden burst of brilliance had robbed me of my bearings.
‘My body lifted and flew somewhere.’
I was hurled through the air with no chance to brace myself.
…But where?
Where had I been thrown?
Only my eyes moved as I glanced to the side.
I could see nothing.
Slowly, I opened my hand.
The light that had been trickling between my fingers now illuminated my surroundings as my palm unfurled.
The hourglass in my hand lay quiet, as if it had never exploded at all.
White sand still fell grain by grain.
The remaining time had visibly diminished.
I moved my open palm slowly left and right, casting light across the space around me.
“…Hah.”
This time, I had to bite my tongue to keep from making a sound.
“….”
“…Grrk?”
A zombie, sensing my presence, whipped its head toward the sound.
Its head spun frantically, revealing rotted flesh and a jaw bleached white beneath.
“…! …!”
Drip.
Blood-tainted saliva from the zombie splattered across my forehead.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I opened them again from between the zombie’s legs.
How could I have forgotten?
That I had been summoned here alongside these zombies.
The eerie crimson glow emanating from all around.
How could I not have seen it?
‘Get your wits about you. They say even if a tiger drags you into its den, you’ll survive if you keep your mind sharp.’
Besides, this wasn’t even a den.
It was impossibly vast!
Even if a tiger charged at me, I could dodge it once by rolling.
If I can evade a tiger, what’s a zombie?
I just need to keep my mouth shut before panic makes me scream.
‘Get it together. Get it together. Get it together.’
If I lose my mind, I die.
I bit the inside of my cheek hard and rolled my eyes.
The stench was unbearable.
‘The smell of rotting corpses is coming from all around me.’
Zombies detect humans through smell and hearing.
That’s why the zombie sprawled directly above me hadn’t noticed my presence.
‘A blessing in disguise.’
If they’d caught my scent, they would have torn me apart before I even woke up.
By the time I opened my eyes, my body might have already been half-excavated…
‘Get it together.’
I drove my nails into my palms.
First, I needed to get away from this situation with a zombie’s foot right beside my face.
But I couldn’t move recklessly because I didn’t know what was pressing against my back.
These hard, pointed things kept jabbing into my spine.
What if I shifted and they broke, making a sound?
I could only keep my eyes wide open, cold sweat pouring down my face.
I was going to lose my mind.
‘It’s okay. Don’t panic. It’s okay. They have no vision. It’s okay.’
As long as I don’t make a sound, I can stay like this for hours.
I just need to find a way before the hourglass runs out.
‘Can I do this? Can I really do this?’
I have to, whether I can or not.
Think of something. Don’t panic.
I clenched my palm tightly, trying to contain the light seeping through.
Even knowing they have no vision, I’m anxious this light will give me away.
‘Slowly. Slowly. Slowly.’
One thing at a time.
I turned my stiff neck gradually to the side.
“Grrrrgh…”
“Gaahhh…”
I counted the number of zombies wandering around me.
Losing count multiple times as I kept my attention on the zombie directly above me.
Though my feet were hidden in darkness I couldn’t see, I could count the zombies relatively easily.
It was because of the red stones embedded in their chests.
‘Every single zombie has a stone.’
Red stones.
A stone containing the souls of people who have become zombies.
Visible only to me, a returner.
A stone that reveals the owner’s memories when held in hand.
Because that stone glowed even in darkness, I could count the number of zombies.
Based on the number of red stones, the count of zombies was.
‘Eight.’
Neither too few nor too many.
A number that Praha, Cyprus, and Tangerine could dispatch with ease and attempt an escape.
Then what about me?
‘I have no idea.’
I reached toward my waist and felt the short dagger I’d tucked there. I quietly drew it and gripped it in my hand.
Could I stab?
Me?
I don’t know.
But I don’t want to die like this.
Let me think.
First.
Where am I?
‘There was no place like this among the paths we’ve traveled so far.’
Judging by the high ceiling and the stench, this appears to be the Underground Level shown on the back of the map.
‘It seems there’s another level below!’
‘Could it be a tomb where the bodies of the eliminated are discarded?’
That very Underground Level where we’d theorized that when the maze door closed, any corpses or belongings remaining inside would be dumped here.
If that’s the case, then the sharp things piercing my back right now.
‘Must be human bones.’
The same goes for what catches at my feet.
If I can’t escape from here, I’ll be left alone in this place, and I too….
‘No. Don’t imagine it. That won’t help right now.’
There were no stairs descending underground on the map.
Would my companions know I’m here?
From their perspective, it would be as if I’d suddenly vanished.
And surely God’s Maze.
‘Warned us not to search for missing companions.’
And God’s Maze added another warning besides.
God does not favor those who break his word.
So my companions.
‘Won’t come.’
Rather than everyone falling into danger by breaking the rules, it’s better if the rest of the group escapes safely.
For my sake too, it’s best to assume they won’t come.
I shouldn’t harbor false hope—I need to move myself.
What if no one comes to rescue me?
Whether they come or not, I’m escaping on my own.
I forced my stinging eyes wide open.
Don’t cry.
You’re not dead yet.
You can break free with your own strength.
At the very least, you came here 100% determined to save yourself.
That was the moment.
“…Yusara!”
My name, faintly audible from somewhere.
“…Sara!”
Distant, but unmistakably my name.
Someone was searching for me.
“Grrrrgh?”
The zombies reacted to the voice whose direction I couldn’t determine.
I seized the opportunity, rolling my body free from between the zombie’s feet.
“…!”
More than the pain of being pierced by bone, I worried about the blood scent from the scratches.
I rolled between bone and corpse, making my way to the corner.
Even as I did, the voice calling my name drew steadily closer.
“Yusara!”
“My lady! Where are you!”
“Yusara! Answer me!”
That’s Praha’s voice, isn’t it?
I didn’t know he could shout that loudly.
But more than that….
He’s calling my name so recklessly?
Brittle bones scraped past my back and cheek.
“Yusara!”
I want to answer with all my strength!
But I can’t, not with the zombies surrounding me.
Wait. How can they shout like that?
There must be zombies above too!
With anxious heart, I looked up at the ceiling.
How much time had passed in this dread?
Crack.
A section of the ceiling creaked, then fell away in a perfect circle.
A torch came through the opening.
Light sweeping back and forth, searching and measuring.
Like someone who’d fallen into a manhole, I gazed up at that light.
“Yusara! Are you there?!”
“I can’t see anything!”
I opened my right hand.
A golden hourglass erupted with brilliant light.
I waved that hand back and forth.
From the upper level, those who caught the light in the darkness gasped in relief.
“Yusara!”
They were overjoyed.
That they’d found me.
In the midst of this urgent situation, their cheers sounded so genuine that I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
‘Why did you come, you fools….’
They told me to abandon the missing members.
I should have escaped then.
How did they even find this place?
‘I was certain they’d leave me behind.’
“My lady! Are you alright?!”
“Are you injured?!”
“Can someone go down and retrieve her?!”
“It’s too deep!”
“Aren’t there zombies down there too?! We need to deal with those first!”
“Arrows!”
“But what if we hit my lady?!”
“Yusara! Hold on just a bit longer! We’ll rescue you soon!”
They boasted about saving me without any real plan, spouting empty reassurances.
They swore they wouldn’t abandon me.
Watching my companions grow frantic searching for a solution, yet showing no intention of leaving me behind, I pushed myself up.
I couldn’t afford to sit idle.
‘While they figure out a way, I need to deal with the zombies.’
I couldn’t just wait passively for rescue.
The situation above surely wasn’t any better.
Most likely, my companions whose voices I could no longer hear were holding back the zombie horde on the surface level.
Like Praha, who’d been cheerfully calling my name until he disappeared.
‘I need to buy them time.’
“Kiiieeeek!”
“Grrrgh!”
My companions’ screams from above drew more than enough attention.
The zombies were all staring upward, completely unaware of me huddled in the corner.
‘Was I actually moved by that…. My hands are shaking.’
I gripped the dagger in my hand tightly, then changed my mind.
I unslung the bow from my back.
Even as my body was hurled across the floor, the bow miraculously remained unbroken.
I wiped my sweat-soaked hands on my pants and gripped the bow.
‘I need to do what I do best.’
How could I possibly hit anything in this darkness?
But I can see.
The crimson stones gleaming in the zombies’ chests.
“Hah.”
The moment I took aim, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
I drew a long, deep breath.
‘I can do this. I trained for exactly this moment.’
Some people can even shoot arrows out of the sky with arrows.
‘If Praha can do it, so can I. After all, Praha is the one who taught me.’
I inhaled deeply once more, exhaled, and took my aim.
Starting with the zombie farthest away.
Twang—thunk.
“Kieeeek…!”
And another shot.
“Grrgh…!”
Another.
“Kyaaaah!”
One missed.
But I didn’t panic and tried again.
One more shot.
By the time my quiver held only a single arrow left, every zombie around me had fallen.
“Hah…”
I’d used twenty arrows to bring down eight zombies.
My overtaxed shoulders screamed in agony, as if they might tear apart.
When the one I’d missed came charging at me with an arrow lodged in its cheek, I genuinely thought I was done for.
I surveyed the fallen zombies around me, then looked up at the ceiling.
“My lady! It’s Tangerine!”
Tangerine, who had switched places with Cyprus, was already lowering a rope from her pack.
It was the same rope that had been wound around the neck of that woman who hadn’t taken her own life.
The long, remarkably light, and incredibly durable rope that Tangerine had praised.
If it had descended from that towering ceiling before, it would certainly reach down here.
I moved toward the descending rope.
“My lady! Can you see the rope?!”
“Yes! I can see it!”
“Oh no! You shouldn’t speak! There might be zombies nearby!”
“I’ve already taken care of them all!”
The end of the rope was tied in a neat, round knot.
It was originally designed for me to step on, but unfortunately it doesn’t extend that far.
I threaded my arms through the rope dangling right in front of me.
“Do you have it?”
“Yes!”
Once Tangerine confirmed I was ready to climb, she immediately began pulling my body upward.
How did it feel?
‘I felt like the protagonist of a fairy tale!’
Like siblings climbing up a rope together!
My arms felt like they were about to tear off!
‘But honestly, it wasn’t so bad!’
“We have to pull her up before the rope snaps! Holy Maiden, please go and bring back one of the two princes!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Ugh!”
Yes, it really wasn’t so bad.
Not until a zombie I thought was dead latched onto my ankle!
[Ancient Maze: Underground Tomb]
– Yusara, Praha, Cyprus, Yujein, Tangerine (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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