The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 24

The worst has become reality.

The barrier shattered, and a horde of zombies, filling my sight, is charging toward the mansion in unison.

Most of the servants were fast asleep, leaving the mansion utterly unprepared to face them.

Crack.

I gritted my teeth until my molars threatened to break.

Forcing myself to look away from the ghastly crowd of corpses rushing toward me, I sprinted with all my strength back to the main hall.

It’s alright. From my glance, the distance between the zombies and the mansion is still quite far.

Even if they ran at full speed, it would take them at least 3 minutes to reach the mansion.

Before that happens, I must join up with the people in the main hall somehow, buying time for Helinante to organize the servants until he can arrive—

Finally, I reached the entrance on the first floor.

There was little time to admire the extravagant chandelier or the portraits neatly lined up on the walls.

It had barely been a minute since I started; getting to the fourth floor where Esmela’s bedroom is located—

Bang!

“!”

Just as I was about to step onto the stairs, someone banged on the front door violently.

‘No way, already?’

They arrived far quicker than I had anticipated.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The knocking grew louder, and before I could do anything—

Crack!

-Kraaaaaa! -Kweck! Kack!

The corpses refusing to rest intruded upon the prestigious House of Herta.

About ten zombies broke through the front door and poured inside.

Thud, thud, thud-

The zombies spotted me standing at the base of the stairs and came charging.

Only then did I realize why they managed to arrive at the mansion even faster than I expected.

‘They’re fast…!’

Their speed was several times greater than that of ordinary zombies, and I couldn’t even think of retrieving the hilt of Herta from my arms.

It was obvious they would overpower me before I even completed the incantation.

The time it took for the zombies to come charging through the broken front door was less than a second.

In that split second, I quickly adjusted my plan and drew the personal dagger hidden in my arms instead of the hilt.

-Kak!

I swiftly plunged the dagger into the forehead of the first zombie that charged at me.

Thud!

To hinder the advancing zombies behind it, I kicked the limp corpse in the chest, sending it flying backward.

But…

Whoosh-

Unlike before, the charging zombies dodged the flying corpse.

The kicked body merely tumbled down and dropped to the ground helplessly.

Indeed, they were fast. This was no ordinary zombie movement.

“Ugh…!”

My attempts to buy time failed, and soon the others came rushing in without pause.

I ducked to avoid the decaying hands trying to grab my head.

I arched my back to evade the sharp teeth lunging at my neck.

Their speed was far quicker than any regular zombie, and with the dagger in hand, I couldn’t muster the courage to fight back. I focused solely on climbing the stairs and dodging them.

Their movements were more akin to agile felines than typical zombies.

-Kraah!

“This is bad…!”

One zombie I hadn’t noticed came charging straight for me.

“Get away!”

Instinctively, I tried to kick it away with my right foot—

Grab.

“!”

The creature grabbed my foot as if it had been waiting for me.

“Ugh…”

Before I could pull my foot back, it yanked me, causing me to lose my balance and fall flat on the stairs.

-Kraaaaa! -Kyaaaaa!

Ah, is this how it ends?

As I looked at the rotting faces of zombies closing in to bite me, I thought, almost like leaving a last will.

“Light, bind the evil!”

A flash.

A beam of light penetrated through the zombies surrounding me.

-Kraah?

Before the zombies could even comprehend what was happening, that golden flash tied them up as if with ropes.

-Kack, Kyaaaa!

With their arms and bodies bound, they stumbled and fell one by one.

“Renit, finish them off!”

I snapped back to reality at Arit’s voice urging me, which broke my daze.

“Herta’s Flame, become a sword and strike down our family’s foes!”

I quickly retrieved the hilt from my coat and began to chant the incantation.

Flicker-

In response to the incantation, the Herta Flame ignited in a dark red flame shaped like a sword, and I swung it, targeting the heads of the struggling zombies on the ground.

Flare, snap!

As Herta’s flame hit the heads of the zombies lying on the stairs, they couldn’t even let out a scream before going completely still, their bodies slumping back down like corpses.

“Are you alright?!”

Arit yelled while climbing the stairs.

“Yes… I think I’m not hurt for now.”

I checked my body from head to toe, just to be safe, including the leg that had been grabbed earlier, but it seemed I was unharmed.

If that’s the case, there’s no time to waste. I must hurry upstairs to find Esmela and the Head Maid…!

Gripping the Sword of Flame in my right hand, I kicked off the stairs again and shouted down below.

“We’ll talk on the way up! Just follow me!”

Arit, who had a serious expression, nodded and followed me up the stairs.

“What about the barrier?”

I asked as we ascended the stairs from the second floor to the third.

“It was completely destroyed.”

Arit shook her head.

“I went to check the barrier magic circle drawn in the basement, but it had completely lost its mana.”

Stepping into the hallway on the third floor, we headed straight for the fourth—

“AAAAAH!”

“”!””

Esmela’s scream echoed from the landing leading to the fourth floor.

“Young Lady!”

Before my brain could process it, my body reacted first, darting up the landing and reaching the fourth floor in just a few steps.

About 20 meters away to the left, Esmela was facing off against three zombies.

“Fireball!”

Esmela was the first to shoot a fireball at them.

But…

-Kyaaa!

The zombies simply dodged to the side without any effort.

“These guys, why are they so fast?!”

Esmela yelled in frustration.

Even I could see that these zombies were more agile than the ones that had come into the first floor.

“Young Lady!”

Arit and I rushed in to help her, but—

-Kehk!

The zombies were even faster, getting to Esmela before we could.

“AAAAAH!”

“Light, bind the enemy…”

Arit started chanting her spell in a hurry, but…

No, at this speed, the zombies would surely bite Esmela before Arit’s binding magic could reach them…!

…

…?

The three zombies, which seemed ready to pounce on Esmela, suddenly came to a screeching halt.

-Kyaa, Kyaaaa!

No, they weren’t stopping themselves.

It was as if they had sunk into a swamp, their feet trapped in shadows.

-Kek, Kyaa…

As they struggled to pull their bodies free, their legs remained immobile, swallowed by the shadows.

“Step back, Esmela.”

A clear, cold voice resounded from the Head Maid.

From the depths of the shadows on the opposite side of the hallway, the Head Maid emerged.

As she walked toward Esmela and swung her left hand violently from left to right—

Whoosh-!

Three arrows shot out from the darkness behind her.

Unlike the golden magic Arit used, the pitch-black arrows of darkness pierced through the zombies’ foreheads.

-Kraah…

With a shriek, the creatures collapsed to the ground as we reached Esmela’s side.

“Esmela, are you alright?”

Arit worriedly examined Esmela’s body.

“I’m sorry, Esmela.”

The Head Maid approached Esmela, deeply bowing her head in apology.

“I was too busy dealing with the intruders coming through the bedroom window to pay proper attention to you.”

“…It’s fine. You’ve dealt with them thoroughly, right?”

Esmela’s voice, now regaining some composure, still trembled faintly.

“Yes. I’ve confirmed that all the intruders we encountered have been dealt with, but…”

“Young Lady, what on earth happened…? ”

I asked Esmela urgently for the details of the incident.

“I was preparing to rest in the bedroom while being attended to by Elina, when they burst through the window. While Elina confronted them, others came in through the hallway window, and while trying to respond to that…”

-Kraaaaa! -Kyaaaaa!

“Oh no, have they arrived already…!”

“Esmela, we can discuss this later. The barrier was destroyed!”

“Tch… I know that. Renit, what about the servants?”

“Helinante will lead them. I told him to regroup at the first-floor entrance, but…”

-Kraaaaah!

“…It seems they have already breached the entrance of the main hall.”

“…”

Esmela bit down hard on her lower lip.

“What should we do…”

Time was of the essence, but no one, including Esmela, could propose an alternative solution as we desperately faced this situation.

…

Yet, I momentarily entertained a different thought.

One that I truly hated to acknowledge.

It was a common trope in zombie games, and I was almost certain [Love and Dead] must have borrowed that trope with a 99% chance…

Having already encountered them twice, I felt a certainty through experience, but now I turned my gaze to one of the zombies sprawled on the floor.

Dressed in thin leather armor far flimsier than the typical leather armor of hunters, it wore a dagger at its waist. This zombie was equipped with gear typically worn by the rogue-class hunters.

‘System Eye.’

Whoosh!

[Zombie][Status: Deceased]

[HP: 0/340] [MP: -/-]

[Strength: D+] [Agility: B+] [Durability: C]

[Mana Amount: – ] [Mana Manipulation: – ]

[Intelligence: – ] [Skill: – ]

[Traits]

[Sharp Sense (Ver.Z): A modified version of the skill that this entity possessed in life. The range of this previously universal skill is now restricted to living beings but has increased dramatically to a 1 km radius, ensuring it never misses its prey. / Level-up not possible.]

Indeed, it seems that becoming a zombie not only inherits the physical abilities of one’s past life but also some skills.

“Ha…”

A sigh escaped me without realizing it.

Of course… a special zombie wouldn’t be absent from a zombie game…