I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl - Chapter 289

Chapter 289: Chapter 285 – The Breath of Fire and the Queen Locked Within Herself
Far above, sitting casually atop a jagged floating spire suspended between rivers of molten lava, Seere rested one leg over the other. The scorching wind brushed against her violet hair, making it shimmer like a flame in the night.

Before her lay the massive crater an open wound of hell itself. And at its center, Sylvia danced amid the inferno and the screams of hundreds of Hellhounds burning alive.

Seere’s lips curved into a small smile, half admiration, half amusement.

“So this is what you look like when you’re unleashed,” she murmured.

Leaning forward slightly, her golden eyes gleamed. “Magnificent… even after rejecting my proposal, you still look breathtaking while destroying everything around you.”

She could have intervened. She could have helped. But she didn’t. That wasn’t her role.

She simply watched and savored the rare sight of a being even demons would hesitate to provoke.

Yet within, Seere wasn’t just observing. She was thinking.

If I ever want her to be mine, I’d have to win over her partner too, wouldn’t I? she mused silently, tapping her chin. Sofia, was it? From how Sylvia spoke about her, she sounds like the calm and clever type… ah, someone who’d make pleasant conversation.

Her grin widened. “If I could speak to her, maybe she’d let me be the second. I don’t mind sharing so long as I’m loved too.” A soft chuckle escaped her lips, drowned out by the faint rumble of distant lava bursts.

Her gaze returned to Sylvia.

The woman below no longer looked like the composed, regal queen who carried herself with unshakable grace. Now, she looked like an ancient beast unchained from civilization itself.

Her black heels vanished at some point. Her bare feet pressed into the smoking ground, untouched by the searing heat. A black aura coiled around her skin, repelling every ember that dared approach.

The Nether chains that once hovered around her were gone too, replaced by the gleam of razor-sharp claws that extended from her fingers, black with faint violet sheen, dripping with a toxic mist that shimmered faintly like fog.

Sylvia let out a low growl. It wasn’t entirely human.

She moved. One step shattered the ground beneath her, cracks spidering outward in all directions. The first Hellhound that lunged at her lost its head instantly; her claws tore through its jaw and ripped it apart in one fluid motion. Demon blood sizzled on her skin, glowing faintly, but she didn’t even blink.

Another leapt from behind. Sylvia spun, ducked low, then drove her knee into its chest. The creature’s body burst into glowing ash.

“GrrraaaAAAAHHH!!”

The Hellhounds roared, surging in waves from both sides, their flames coiling together into a raging wall of fire.

Sylvia did not retreat. She raised her gaze toward the crimson sky, inhaled deeply and exhaled.

From within her, black aura flowed outward like cold mist amid the inferno. The flames surrounding her changed color burning from bright orange to deep violet with black cores.

The Hellhounds she had wounded moments earlier suddenly screamed. Their bodies withered, skin cracking open, and then turned ashen-gray with faint light flickering behind their eyes.

They weren’t dead.

They… knelt.

Sylvia’s crimson pupils glowed. In their depths, black spirals churned endlessly. She said nothing, gave no command yet their bodies moved on their own, turning against the living pack.

From the floating cliff above, Seere whistled softly. “Ohhh… now that’s interesting.” She leaned forward, her tone sharp yet filled with delight. “You don’t even realize you’re commanding them, do you? You’re just acting on instinct on raw, primal desire.”

And below, Sylvia truly had no awareness left. Her consciousness was fading between fury and instinct. She didn’t think so. She simply felt.

Her hand slashed through the air, sending five Hellhounds flying at once. Their bodies exploded in violet-black fire that devoured everything around them. She spun, kicked another into the sky, then leapt after it tearing through its chest midair with her claws.

Ash and blood scattered like glitter, but Sylvia didn’t stop. Her movements were fluid, lethal, and savage, a blend of predator instinct and centuries of battle-honed technique.

And every Hellhound slain by her claws did not truly die. Their flesh hardened, their skin turned to ash, and from their empty eyes glimmered faint violet light. Within seconds, they rose again but their flames now burned black, pulsing faintly.

The Hellhounds now fought for Sylvia. They turned on their still-living brethren, tearing into them without mercy.

Sylvia watched in silence. One step forward and all of her newly-born undead Hellhounds bowed deeply, growling softly in submission to their queen.

From above, Seere could only shake her head with a smile. “There it is… the true Queen of Zombies.”

Resting her chin on her hand, her eyes softened between awe and admiration.

“She doesn’t need to speak to command… doesn’t even know she’s commanding. The underworld might change just because she exists.”

Sylvia looked toward the few remaining Hellhounds. A handful still tried to flee from the carnage but one glance from her stopped them cold. That gaze was a snare, invisible yet absolute. Within moments, their bodies convulsed, shuddered, then collapsed skin turning pale gray before they rose again, reborn under her will.

The world around her fell silent. Only the sound of Sylvia’s heavy breath and the quiet growls of her undead hounds filled the air.

She slowly closed her eyes. The dark aura still swirled softly around her but no longer wild. It felt strange.

It had been a long time since she fought like this without tactics, without complex spells, without restraint.

Only her body, only raw strength and complete freedom.

And she liked it.

For a brief moment, Sylvia felt something close to life again: the rush of heat in the air, the scent of burning flesh, the sound of death’s symphony in her ears. It stirred something primal within her.

She opened her eyes, catching her reflection faintly in a pool of molten lava. Her face was the same cold, beautiful but her eyes… were not those of a wise queen. They were the eyes of a predator.

From her perch above, Seere clicked her tongue softly. “Dangerous if she loses herself too long,” she murmured, standing. But her smile softened almost tenderly.

“And yet… that’s exactly what makes me unable to look away.”

She watched as Sylvia stood still, surrounded by black fire and the undead pack she had claimed.

“So strong… so wild… so alive in your death.”

Lowering her hand, she whispered almost lovingly,

“And I swear, Sylvia… one day, you’ll call my name the same way you call your power.”

…

Sylvia opened her eyes slowly. Her vision pulsed between blur and clarity. A thin veil of black mist rose from her skin, swirling gently around her. She blinked, taking in the scene before her a silent hellscape of ash and dying black fire.

The Hellhounds that had once filled the field were almost gone. Some now stood motionless, eyes glowing faint violet, their loyalty unmistakable. The few that still lived fled in terror, leaving fiery trails across the scarlet ground.

Sylvia watched them go. Her smile was faint but disturbingly calm for such a scene.

“Run?” she whispered, her voice low and cold. “After making me sweat this much?”

One Hellhound fleeing to the left suddenly froze, sensing something behind it. A split second later shrrk! its head vanished, severed by a black claw appearing out of nowhere.

Sylvia stood behind it, her long hair wild in the hot wind, crimson eyes glowing like embers refusing to die. She gazed toward the remaining pack, now darting toward the crimson mountains in the distance.

“No… not yet,” she muttered. Her body tilted forward and before her shadow even touched the ground, she was gone.

A sharp explosion marked where she’d stood, leaving a smoldering crater behind. Her speed defied all life her form a streak of black weaving through stone and fire. Every step sent red dust flying, the air slicing apart under her force.

The last Hellhound turned in panic. It roared, but the sound became its final breath. Sylvia’s claw pierced its back soundlessly. Hot blood burst out but before it could hit the ground, it crystallized into dark violet shards.

Without stopping, Sylvia ran. Her eyes fixed ahead on the last of the pack hiding among the glowing red rocks.

Her breath was steady, no rage, no plan, just the primal drive of a hunter consumed by the need to kill.

She leapt onto a massive rock, her reflection flickering in the magma below. The Hellhounds beneath her snarled, roaring upward.

Sylvia answered softly,

“Roar all you want, you’re still just beasts.”

Her black claws flared. She slashed downward once. A wave of darkness erupted, cleaving the ground apart.

A tremendous explosion followed, swallowing the entire pack in violet light that spiraled upward into the blood-red sky.

When the heat and dust finally subsided, Sylvia stood amid cracked stone, her gaze fixed on the mountains far ahead where the fleeing Hellhounds had vanished.

Their peaks shimmered with a faint red mist signaling something far stronger than mere hounds awaited there.

Sylvia inhaled, eyes narrowing.

“If you’re hiding there…” she said softly, stepping forward into the burning haze,

“…then I’ll come and burn everything until nothing remains.”