I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

The warm embrace wrapped in angel wings finally began to loosen slowly. The wind that had previously felt dead and frozen now started to blow gently again, carrying the remaining black charcoal dust floating through the air.

Outside, the remnants of the ruined battlefield now displayed a completely different scene.

Earlier, when Sylvia flicked her fingers, she had indeed erased the existence of the Peak Rank 6 Zombie King along with the millions of elite mutant troops standing directly behind that arrogant creature. Yet of course, as the newly awakened Absolute Death, Sylvia did not annihilate every wild zombie scattered across this continent. Erasing billions of existences at once would simply be an inelegant waste of energy. Besides, why bother destroying what could be controlled so easily?

As far as the eye could see, stretching from the city ruins all the way to the horizon, tens of millions of wild zombies still stood. Yet they no longer roared, thrashed, or tried to surge forward to tear apart the remaining Nocture troops.

A mass anomaly that defied every biological law ever created by the Earth’s Avatar had occurred.

With Sylvia’s presence, the Domain of Absolute Death passively enveloped the entire land. The wild instincts and eternal hunger that had long tormented those living corpses suddenly extinguished. The toxic red miasma that normally rose from their bodies was swept clean, replaced by a calm, stable gray aura. The process of their flesh rotting halted completely, locked in absolute stasis by the Queen’s authority.

Then the true miracle took place.

The eyes of the millions of wild zombies previously nothing more than cloudy white pupils, empty and driven purely by the instinct to feed like wild beasts slowly began to blink. The cloudiness in their eyes faded. Slowly but surely, a small spark of awareness ignited within them. Although they had not yet reached the level of rational human intelligence, those eyes now showed signs that they possessed a functioning ’brain’ again. They began to recognize their own existence, recognize the comrades beside them, and most importantly... recognize who stood above them.

Like rolling ocean waves, one by one the tens of millions of wild zombies bent their stiff knees.

GRRKK... KRAAAKK...

The sound of grinding bones and joints echoed across the entire continent as millions of living corpses bowed deeply. Their heads touched the hard ground. Not a single one dared raise its face. The air filled with the silence of fanatical devotion an absolute submission to the sole entity who held control over their souls and bodies.

Sylvia gazed at the ocean of living corpses prostrating before her with a flat expression. Her differently colored eyes, one blood-red, one glowing silver did not even radiate the slightest interest. To Absolute Death, the loyalty of the undead race was a given, not an achievement.

She merely waved her pale right hand lazily, as if shooing away a swarm of flies that were disturbing her leisure time.

"You’re too noisy and messy," Sylvia said casually. Her gaze then shifted toward the Shadow General who had been kneeling reverently not far from her. "Zark."

Hearing his name called by his sovereign, Zark immediately raised his head, the blue fire in his eye sockets flaring brightly with overflowing emotion. "This servant is here, Your Majesty the Queen! Your command is this servant’s destiny!"

"You have worked hard defending the Nocture army while I was gone," Sylvia pointed toward the tens of millions of wild zombies now lined up neatly in prostration, covering the entire landscape of the earth. "These pests are now conscious and will no longer go out of control. I entrust them all to you. Incorporate them into the Death Legion. Organize their formations, teach them discipline, and make them useful for Nocture. I do not want to see any wild zombies wandering aimlessly in my territory."

Zark trembled. Not from fear, but from extraordinary military ecstasy. Being given the mandate to lead tens of millions of additional troops that never tire, never know fear, and now possessed collective awareness was the greatest dream of any undead general.

"This servant accepts this decree with every fragment of this servant’s life!" Zark struck his steel-armored chest until it rang loudly. "I, Zark, swear upon Your Absolute Death that this Legion will become the sharpest sword and the thickest shield for Nocture!"

Sylvia merely nodded slowly, feeling that the boring administrative matter had been settled. She then looked up toward the sky that was gradually brightening.

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

A dragon’s roar that shook the heavens and the earth echoed. Yet this roar carried no aura of destruction, but a sacred majesty that parted the gray clouds.

From high in the sky, an extremely dazzling golden light shot downward at meteor speed. It was Sol. The golden dragon-cat that had always acted spoiled and clung to Persephone in the underworld now released its magnificent true form in the mortal world.

Sol’s body stretched dozens of meters long, covered in pure golden scales that reflected sunlight like diamonds. Its golden mane fluttered gallantly in the stormy wind. Its horns curved with the absolute authority of the ancient dragon race. Its four sturdy legs landed on the ground with perfect precision, not causing an earthquake but sending waves of warmth that drove away the remaining cold miasma around them.

Once landed, Sol showed none of the arrogance of a legendary dragon. Instead, it lowered its giant head until it touched the ground right in front of Sylvia’s feet. The dragon’s golden eyes narrowed, radiating deep affection, then let out a soft purr that made the ground tremble slightly like a giant cat asking to be stroked.

Sylvia smiled faintly. She stepped forward and patted Sol’s massive snout. "You’ve been waiting a long time too, Sol. Your form now is far more imposing than when you used to steal food from the castle kitchen."

Sol snorted proudly, releasing puffs of golden smoke from its nostrils as if showing off the results of its training while in Persephone’s domain.

"Come on, let’s go home," Sylvia said.

Without needing further command, Sol lowered its golden wings, forming a kind of ramp for its masters.

Sylvia stepped up first, not walking alone, but with Sofia currently in her arms. Yes, even though Sofia was a highly respected war commander, right now she was far too exhausted. Not only physically exhausted from continuously fighting for three years, but her mental defenses had completely melted the moment Sylvia returned. The Substitute Queen allowed herself to be lifted and carried in a bridal style by Sylvia, resting her blonde head against the black-gowned girl’s chest and inhaling the deeply soothing scent of night.

"You’re spoiling her too much, Sylvia," Celes teased as she jumped onto Sol’s back together with Aurellia. Celes’s breathing had already returned to normal thanks to Alicia’s healing magic, though her clothes still looked tattered.

"Just let her," Sylvia answered casually while taking the most comfortable sitting position at the base of Sol’s neck, making sure Sofia leaned safely in her lap. Her hand gently stroked Sofia’s slightly messy blonde hair. "She protected Nocture for three years while I was gone. Being her pillow for a while is a very cheap reward."

Sofia only hid her flushed face against Sylvia’s chest, murmuring softly that she could actually still fly on her own, yet offered no resistance at all when Sylvia’s embrace tightened even further.

Behind them, Alicia, Stacia, and Aurellia also took their places on the extremely broad back of the giant dragon.

"The view from here is truly amazing," Stacia murmured. The glasses of the ten-winged girl flickered as her grimoire pages continuously scanned the mana composition around her. "These dragon scales... their mana density is extraordinary. Plus the gravitational fluctuations when it’s preparing to fly. I feel like plucking one of its scales to put into my experimental journal."

Hearing that, Sol immediately growled softly and glared at Stacia from the corner of its eye, as if warning the bookworm girl not to do anything funny to its beautiful skin.

Alicia chuckled softly and patted her sister’s shoulder. "Don’t scare Sol, Stacia. We’re riding its vehicle."

"Alright, alright. I’m only admiring it academically," Stacia retorted with a wide smile.

After everyone was seated safely, a transparent golden mana barrier appeared, protecting them from wind pressure. Sol beat its giant wings once, and in the blink of an eye the golden dragon shot into the air, piercing through the cloud layers and leaving Zark and his army of millions of zombies still prostrating in respect for their departure.

The journey above the clouds toward Nocture felt extremely peaceful, a sharp contrast to the brutal slaughter that had taken place on the ground only half an hour earlier.

The warm midday sunlight pierced through Sol’s mana barrier, illuminating faces that could finally feel true relief. Aurellia had already fallen asleep, leaning against Celes’s shoulder. Celes herself gazed at the drifting clouds, a thin smile blooming on her lips. The heavy burden that had long pressed upon all their shoulders as the spearhead of humanity’s defense had evaporated without a trace.

At the front, Sylvia sat quietly enjoying the wind softened by the barrier. Sofia, nestled in her arms, occasionally opened her eyes and stared at the pale, beautiful profile of Sylvia’s face, as if still unable to believe that all of this was not a dream.

"You’ve been staring at me this whole time," Sylvia said suddenly without shifting her gaze from the horizon ahead. Her voice was low and flowed softly.

Sofia flinched slightly, her cheeks flushing again. "I... I was just making sure you wouldn’t suddenly turn into dust and go back to sleep for years."

Sylvia laughed softly. "I won’t. At least not until I truly get bored with this world." She looked down into Sofia’s blue eyes, her thumb stroking the girl’s cheek. "Besides, there are suddenly some worldly things I’ve missed very much after being locked inside a cocoon for so long."

"Oh?" Sofia raised an eyebrow, a little curious. "Absolute Death misses something from the mortal world? What is it? Do you want to destroy another continent that opposes your rule? Or do you want us to immediately expand Nocture’s territory across the entire planet?"

"Nothing that exhausting," Sylvia rolled her eyes slightly, as if the idea of world conquest was the most boring thing in the universe. "I miss food."

Sofia fell silent for three seconds, processing her queen’s words. "...Food?"

"Yes," Sylvia nodded with an extremely serious face, as if she were discussing high-level war tactics. "Three years in the underworld, the air I breathed consisted only of bone dust and the scent of death flowers. Right now I really want savory food with clear broth. Light yet deep-flavored stock. And maybe... perfectly steamed crab, or a few servings of still-fresh sea oysters."

Sofia blinked several times, then slowly her laughter exploded. She laughed so freely, a laughter that had been missing for years from the battlefields of Nocture.

"My goodness, Sylvia," Sofia wiped a tear from the corner of her eye from laughing too hard. "The world almost just ended. You just erased the existence of millions of mutants. And the first thing you think about when we’re going home is clear broth and steamed crab?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Sylvia pouted her pale lips slightly, an extremely rare expression that somehow looked incredibly adorable in Sofia’s eyes. "I have no food restrictions, but alcohol and miasma clearly make me nauseous now. Steamed seafood and savory broth are the best rewards for celebrating a return. You’re going to cook them for me, right?"

Hearing that selfish yet extremely simple request, Sofia’s heart felt so full it was about to burst. All her fears evaporated without a trace. Sylvia was still Sylvia. Behind her conceptual authority that could kill the world with a single flick of her fingers, she remained a girl who loved the comfort of home and simple warmth.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Sofia whispered, nuzzling her cheek against Sylvia’s palm coquettishly. "I’ll prepare the freshest seafood and the most savory broth in all of Nocture just for you tonight. You can eat until you’re full."

"Good. That’s why you’re my most reliable deputy," Sylvia praised while gently patting Sofia’s head.

A short while later, from the distance, the magnificent silhouette of a city began to appear beyond the fading afternoon mist.

It was Nocture. The last sanctuary city standing firm like a giant fortress in the middle of a ruined world. Its towering obsidian walls shone under the setting sunlight. Atop the highest tower of Castle Nocture, a giant shadow was coiled and keeping watch.

The moment Sol approached Nocture’s airspace, the giant figure on the tower raised its terrifying head.

It was Noir, the Rank 7 Zombie Dragon.

The dragon that usually always acted arrogantly and radiated an intimidating aura suddenly spread its bone wings coated in black flame. Yet instead of preparing to attack the approaching golden dragon, Noir instead bowed its head deeply.

GYAOOOOOORRRRR!!!

Noir released a long roar that shook the entire city. Yet to the ears of the Nocture residents who had long taken shelter there, they knew it was not a roar of threat. It was a roar of welcome. A roar of joy from a loyal pet sensing the return of its master.

Down below, in the city square, on the fortress walls, and along the crowded streets, hundreds of thousands of Nocture citizens and human soldiers looked up at the sky. When they saw the silhouette of the giant golden dragon carrying several familiar figures and felt the absolute yet deeply soothing gray aura enveloping the entire city, tears began to fall from thousands of pairs of eyes.

"That’s Lady Sofia!"

"And... and beside her! Is that..."

"The Queen! The Queen has returned!"

Cheers began to erupt. At first soft, then transforming into a wave of happiness that echoed to every corner of the city, drowning the remnants of despair that had shadowed them for the past three years. Nocture flags were waved frantically.

Atop Sol’s back as it began slowing its flight to prepare for landing in the main castle courtyard, Sylvia looked down. She saw her city. She saw her home that had been defended to the death by the people she loved.

Sylvia tightened her embrace around Sofia, feeling the girl’s heartbeat pounding hard with happiness. A thin smile yet this time truly filled with warmth bloomed on the lips of the Queen of Death.

"Yes," Sylvia whispered softly, her voice drowning beneath the cheers of her city’s people, "We’re home."