I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl - Chapter 292

Chapter 292: Chapter 288 – Cracked Temperature and the Decision to Pierce Through Hell
Silence hung gently in Sylvia’s study after the long conversation between Sofia and Celes. A thin trail of steam from the teacup still drifted upward, carrying a warm herbal scent but gradually, that warmth faded… replaced by a creeping cold.

Celes, sitting on the sofa across from Sofia, shivered suddenly. The air had changed. The temperature in the room was dropping slowly, but unmistakably.

The magic crystals on the wall flickered uneasily, as if sensing danger. A thin layer of frost appeared along the window’s edge, forming delicate patterns of ice. From her seat, Sofia lowered her gaze, her hands cradling a cup of tea that no longer steamed. Her eyes, usually a calm, gentle blue, now trembled with golden light, reflecting the storm in her heart.

“…so she truly isn’t here,” she whispered.

The holy aura that usually felt warm and soothing now shifted gentle yet sharp, like the air before a storm. One breath from Sofia made the entire room feel as if it were cracking.

Celes swallowed nervously.

“Uh… Sofia?”

But Sofia didn’t answer. She took a deep breath and that breath alone sent the temperature plummeting even further. Papers on Sylvia’s desk rustled, lifted by a cold wind tainted with angelic energy fractured by sorrow.

Celes raised one hand, casting a small protective spell. Her instincts screamed: Touching Sofia now would be dangerous.

“Okay, okay… calm down… I get it,” she said gently but with clear panic.

“You’re worried, but your angelic mana is starting to… uhh… freeze the room.”

Sofia bowed her head. Her soft voice cracked faintly, yet still sounded heartbreakingly beautiful.

“I’ve waited for her for a year…”

Tears gathered at the corners of her shimmering golden eyes.

“Every day, I waited for news. For signs. For her to come home. But there was nothing. No message. No trace… no Sylvia.”

Suddenly, the holy aura around her pulsed harshly. A sharp crack echoed the wooden table that almost never took damage splintered under her unstable spiritual pressure.

Celes jumped in shock.

“H-Hey! Sofia! You’re cracking THE QUEEN’S OFFICE! This is SYLVIA’S ROOM!”

The name Sylvia made Sofia pause for a moment. But only for a moment.

CRACK.

A shard of ice grew on the floor. In an instant, frost flowers spread outward. The bookshelves creaked, the air freezing into the quiet of the deep sea.

Celes stood up in panic, raising both hands.

“OKAY! I GET IT! You’re upset, heartbroken, madly in love oh my god, you REALLY love her!”

Sofia shut her eyes tightly, her shoulders trembling.

“I just… want to hold her again…”

Her voice was fragile and immediately, her freezing aura shifted into something warm, painful, and tender.

The light around her softened like melting snow.

Celes fell silent. She finally understood. This wasn’t anger. It was longing choking, overwhelming longing.

She quickly waved her hand, sending a gust of warm air to stabilize the room.

“All right, all right! Don’t cry, Sofia. If you cry, I swear this entire castle will turn into an ice sculpture.”

Sofia inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself. But Celes, knowing full well that angelic emotions rarely settled quietly, spoke quickly:

“How about… you go to the lower world too?”

Sofia froze. The freezing aura instantly stopped spreading.

Celes continued rapidly, but with seriousness in every word:

“Yes. There’s no need to wait for her to come back. You can go to her. The Underworld is layered and right now, you’re on the very top floor. Sylvia is far below.”

Sofia slowly turned her head. “How far?”

Celes sighed and sat on the cracked edge of the desk.

“It’s complicated. The Underworld’s time flow shifts by floor. The deeper you go, the faster time moves.”

She pointed downward.

“Up here is slow. Down there is fast.”

“How fast?” Sofia asked, her eyes sharp again.

Celes thought for a moment.

“With our calculations… The difference is wild.

It’s been a year here. But down deep where Sylvia is… maybe only a few months.”

Sofia fell completely silent. A long silence. Then the gold in her eyes dimmed, replaced with steady, gentle resolve.

“You’re certain I can descend?”

Celes nodded quickly.

“With your power now? You’re practically an angel. Pure, stable, strong. The Underworld will resist you a little, sure, but you can push through.”

Sofia looked at the floor. Then stood. Her steps were firm, filled with certainty.

“I’m going.”

Celes blinked. “N-now?!?”

“Yes. Now.”

Celes rubbed her face in exasperation but didn’t argue.

“Fine! But at least let me set up a safe magic route first!”

But Sofia was already standing tall, her aura soft again but no longer brittle.

“I came to bring Sylvia home. If she won’t return on her own soon…”

She looked straight ahead.

“…then I will bring her back myself.”

Celes stared at her for a long moment. Then smiled faintly.

“You really love her, huh?”

Sofia met her gaze, her holy aura glowing warmly.

“She is my home.”

Celes wiped the corner of her eye.

“All right then. Let’s go. I’ll prepare the route to the lower floors.”

Sofia followed her. Her steps are steady. But just before they left the room, Sofia paused.

“Celes.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think… Is Sylvia okay?”

Celes looked back, her emerald eyes soft.

“She’s Sylvia. If she wanted, she could destroy the Underworld.”

Sofia smiled softly.

“That’s… both comforting and terrifying.”

Celes chuckled.

“That’s Sylvia.”

They laughed quietly, light, gentle, real. Then they walked toward the great teleportation hall, the gateway to the depths of hell itself.

Meanwhile, in a realm far, far below…

The hellfire rolling across the cliffs slowly dimmed as Sylvia came to a stop. The scorching heat no longer stung her undead body not because it cooled, but because she herself no longer felt it.

She stood at the edge of a vast black plain, hellfire dogs Hellhound zombies trailing behind her like a disciplined army. Hundreds of them, glowing with violet flames and Nether-tinged corruption.

Sylvia brushed aside her half-burnt hair with a sigh.

“Ugh… I’m tired of chasing dogs. Since when did being a queen turn into being a dog-sitter?”

One Hellhound zombie barked.

“That wasn’t a compliment, idiot,” she muttered.

She looked up at the Underworld sky. No longer red and burning instead, dark waves like a sea of frozen fire. Strange… but peaceful.

Then something warm pulsed in her chest. Not a Nether flame. Something gentle like a second heartbeat.

“What… is this feeling?” she whispered, touching her chest.

A small smile tugged at her lips. She didn’t know what it was. But it felt… comforting.

She shook her head and opened her status screen.

….

[STATUS – SYLVIA HORTENSIA]

Race: Lunabris (Rank 5 – Special Superior Zombie)

Element: Death, Nether Wood, Nether Flame

Level: 120 / 200

HP: 12,800,000 / 12,800,000

MP: 6,450,000 / 6,450,000

STR: 890,000

VIT: 12,800,000

INT: 2,150,000

AGI: 1,420,000

LUK: 3,500,000

….

Sylvia stared at it.

“…oh, crap.”

A Hellhound zombie barked.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” she said flatly.

She looked back at the absurd stats. Level 120. Strength triple. Mana thick as tar. Agility through the roof. Vitality insane.

“No wonder I’m not getting tired,” she muttered, massaging her temple.

“If this is just the Hellhound floor… the next one’s going to be ridiculous.”

She glanced toward the distant mountains where a stronger aura pulsed. She clicked her tongue.

“Maybe later. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here. A week? A month?”

Time in the Underworld was strange, sometimes slow, sometimes fast.

She stretched, then walked back toward the edge of the cliff where molten fire rolled like waves.

Oddly enough, amidst all the heat and emptiness… her chest remained warm.

And far above, in a realm chilled by an angel’s tears, Sofia descended through the sky searching for the queen who had not returned home.

….

Sylvia returned to the place where Seere had first thrown her…

the cracked black plain still glowing faintly with the leftover heat of the Hellhound horde. But this time, the person she was looking for was already standing there, waiting with a gentle smile that made Sylvia want to kick a rock.

Seere clasped her hands behind her back and asked sweetly,

“Done already? Ready to move on?”

Sylvia snorted softly, but didn’t bother answering. She simply raised her hand. In an instant, the hundreds of Hellhound zombies behind her dissolved into purple shadows, pulled into her system’s storage space like streams of thick, swirling mist.

She gave Seere a brief glance, then nodded.

“All right~,” Seere whispered, touching Sylvia’s shoulder.

The world shifted in an instant.

Sylvia appeared in the middle of a vast forest filled with towering black trees, their trunks metallic and their dark–purple leaves shimmering like wet oil. The passing wind sounded like distant whispering voices.

Sylvia frowned. “Seere, what is th…”

But even before she finished the question, Seere had vanished again without a trace.

“…I hope you slip and fall,” Sylvia muttered, rubbing her temple.

And far away, in the gap between dimensions where Seere was snooping…

THUD!

“W-what…?!”

Seere suddenly slipped for no reason, nearly face-planting into the void. Her face flushed bright red.

“Th-there was no one watching… right…?” she whispered, mortified.

Of course, no one saw. But if Sylvia had seen it, she would have laughed at her until she was satisfied.