I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl - Chapter 319

Chapter 319: Chapter 315 – The Offended Tide
The silence above the sea was not broken by sound.

It was broken by intent.

Sofia stood upright on sand still damp from lingering spiritual pressure. Her eight white wings were fully spread, trembling faintly as if bracing against an unseen current. The air around her shimmered, not with heat or cold, but with the dense compression of life-light neatly layered around her body.

Before her, Nerys remained seated.

The Sea Goddess had not moved an inch since revealing herself. She still reigned upon a suspended wave, a liquid throne that was physically impossible yet entirely natural before her will. One hand rested casually on the side of the watery seat, her blue hair flowing with currents only she could feel. Her black eyes, deep and slowly swirling, regarded Sofia not as an opponent, but as a minor disturbance that had yet to decide whether it deserved attention.

Sofia drew a long breath.

She knew that gaze.

She knew it well.

The same look she had once received from high demons, from ancient angels, even from powerful humans who thought of her as nothing more than “support.” A look that said: you may stand there, but do not expect the world to change because of you.

But this time, she did not retreat.

The light at her back pulsed, then condensed into her right hand. Particles of light gathered rapidly, merging, elongating, forming something familiar yet far more resolute than before.

A Spear of Light.

Not merely a manifested weapon. This was her resolve given form, compressed into a straight line, its tip shining sharp like a newly born morning star. Layered engravings of light wrapped the shaft, pulsing in rhythm with Sofia’s heartbeat.

Watching from afar, Sylvia tensed instinctively.

She knew that form. She knew what it meant when Sofia summoned that weapon without hesitation.

“She’s really stepping forward…” Alicia murmured softly, though her focus was now split between Sofia’s field and the soul vortex she was gradually bringing under control.

Stacia said nothing. Her gaze was locked onto the trembling threads of time around Sofia and Nerys, ready to pull if balance collapsed too quickly.

Nerys glanced at the spear.

Just a glance.

“Light of life,” she said flatly. “You bring something fragile before the sea.”

Sofia did not answer.

She lowered her center of gravity, one foot slightly forward, her wings partially folding like a natural shield. The light of her spear hummed, slicing the air with a soft tone.

Then she attacked.

No shout.

No declaration.

Sofia threw the spear.

The spear of light shot forward straight, fast, and clean. The air along its path split neatly, leaving a thin glowing line that lingered for a fraction of a second before fading. Its speed was not explosive, but precise, aimed directly at the center of Nerys’s body.

But before it reached the watery throne…

The water moved.

Not a massive wave.

Just a thin arc, as if Nerys had traced her finger across the sea’s surface.

CLANG!

The spear of light struck a transparent wall of water and rebounded, spinning in the air before unraveling back into particles of light and vanishing.

Nerys did not even change her seated posture.

“Weak,” she said calmly.

Sofia was already moving before the echo of the impact faded.

Her wings beat hard, her body surging forward, a new spear of light forming in her hand almost instantly. This time, she did not throw it.

She thrust.

Attack after attack followed in rapid succession. Straight thrusts, crossing slashes, wide sweeps that cut through space. Every movement was clean, disciplined, without hesitation. Light glittered around her, creating overlapping trails that crisscrossed the air.

But Nerys… deflected them all.

Walls of water appeared and vanished at will. Sometimes flat shields, sometimes small vortices that twisted the direction of the strikes. Even when Sofia pierced the first layer, a second awaited denser, calmer.

Nerys remained seated.

She did not even change her expression.

Sofia’s attacks were like rain made of light falling upon a vast ocean. Beautiful, shimmering… and gone.

“Is that all?” Nerys asked, her tone almost bored. “Your resolve is great, but your stride is short.”

Sofia clenched her teeth.

She landed, twisted her body, then surged forward again. This time, she compressed her light more deeply, forcing her spear through the water layers with greater pressure. Her wings beat rhythmically, adding thrust, while the protective aura around her body was reinforced until it pressed against the air itself.

Attack after attack.

But the result was the same.

Deflected.

Redirected.

Dissipated.

From afar, Sylvia clenched her fist.

Her death aura trembled, the Death Flame within her stirring uneasily, responding to the injustice she felt. Her instincts screamed to move, to sever the waves, to end the sea goddess’s arrogance.

Her foot shifted forward by half an inch.

Stacia’s hand immediately caught her arm.

“Not yet,” Stacia said firmly, eyes never leaving the field. “If you step in now, this stops being a trial. It becomes a war.”

Sylvia ground her teeth.

“…She’ll get hurt.”

“And that is part of her choice,” Stacia replied quietly, but without softness. “If Sofia wants to stand beside you, she has to pass through this.”

Sylvia fell silent.

On the field, Sofia began to feel the true pressure.

Nerys still had not fully counterattacked, but each deflection now carried increasing weight of will. The water around Sofia moved more aggressively, small whirlpools forming beneath her feet, trying to disrupt her balance.

Sofia was thrown backward, landing with bent knees as wet sand sprayed.

She lifted her head.

And attacked again.

This time, she changed her pattern. Her spear glowed dimmer, but the aura around her body intensified. She no longer targeted the center, but the sides, the narrow angles, trying to force Nerys to move.

Nerys deflected… but slightly too late.

One slash of light passed closer than before.

The spear’s tip grazed Nerys’s face.

Not a deep wound. Just a thin glowing line that faded quickly, but enough.

Enough to break perfection.

Enough to touch a goddess’s face.

The water around them froze for a fraction of a second.

Nerys’s eyes narrowed.

The wave beneath her throne trembled, then surged upward several meters without warning. The oceanic aura that had been calm turned heavy, pressing against the chest, making the air feel salty and suffocating.

“…Bold,” Nerys said.

Her tone had changed.

No longer flat.

There was anger.

For a being like Nerys, her face was not merely form. It was a manifestation of will, an eternal symbol witnessed by the world. And Sofia had touched it.

With a single motion of her hand, Nerys stood.

The wave throne collapsed, instantly replaced by towering walls of water encircling her. The sea roared violently, waves rising and twisting into sharp, blade-like streams.

“Then,” she said coldly, “I will teach you the boundary.”

The assault came in torrents.

Water spears, wave blades, high-speed vortices struck Sofia from every direction. No restraint. No evaluation.

Sofia panicked.

She raised her spear, blocking what she could. Some attacks were deflected, light colliding with water and exploding into sprays of energy. But not all.

One blade of water sliced her shoulder.

Another struck her side, sending her flying to crash hard into the sand. Thin blood flowed, not severe. Her wings shuddered, one feather of light fading.

Sofia gasped.

But she rose.

In the distance, Sylvia nearly moved again.

“STACIA…”

“Not yet!” Stacia raised her voice for the first time. “Look!”

Sylvia forced herself to stop.

And looked.

On the other side of the field, Alicia stood straighter than before. The soul vortex around her was no longer wild. One by one, the screams weakened, becoming murmurs. Her soul-light expanded gently, calming and binding the remaining emotions.

“I… can control them,” Alicia murmured, fully focused. “Just a little more…”

On the main field, Sofia lifted her spear again.

Despite her wounds.

She steadied her breathing, one long inhale that burned her lungs. Salt and blood mixed on her tongue, bitter and sharp. Her wings trembled, one side dimmer than the other, but she forced herself upright. The spear of light condensed again in her hand, not as bright as before, but steadier. More… stubborn.

Before her, Nerys now stood fully.

The water around her no longer merely moved. The sea seemed to breathe with her. Every small wave followed the pulse of her will, every vortex an extension of restrained anger. Nerys’s face remained calm, but the black spirals in her eyes rotated faster, deeper.

“You are still standing,” Nerys said softly. “Interesting.”

Sofia swallowed, then raised her spear to shoulder height.

“I’m not finished.”

She surged forward again.

Not as fast as before. Not as aggressively as at first. Her movements were now measured, careful. She no longer tried to break through Nerys’s defense head-on. Instead, she circled, wings beating in short bursts, exploiting tiny gaps between the waves.

Her spear swept not to wound, but to redirect the water.

One wave blade nearly struck her chest, but Sofia twisted her spear and caught it at her side. Light vibrated violently, her arm shaking hard, but the strike was diverted, slamming into the sand behind her and exploding into a spray of water.

Sofia stumbled, but did not fall.

“She’s learning…” Sylvia murmured unconsciously.

Stacia nodded faintly. “This isn’t about winning. She’s adjusting herself to the sea.”

Nerys narrowed her eyes.

Sofia’s attacks were not threatening, yet something was unsettling. That light was no longer opposing the sea directly. It was… flowing with it. Redirecting. Absorbing part of the pressure, then releasing it without brute resistance.

“You’ve stopped attacking,” Nerys said. “Have you run out of strength?”

Sofia did not answer.

She planted the spear’s tip into the sand.

Light spread from that point, forming a thin circle beneath her feet. Not an offensive spell. Not an absolute shield. Just a small stabilization field, enough to anchor her stance against the pull of the waves.

“I didn’t come to defeat you,” Sofia finally said, her voice hoarse but clear. “I came to endure.”

Nerys paused.

The sea surged… then eased slightly.

“…Endure?” Nerys repeated, flat yet weighted.

Sofia nodded faintly, pain radiating from her shoulder.

“All my life, I’ve always been saved. Always pulled back before the edge.” She lifted her head, meeting Nerys’s gaze. “If I cannot endure before you… I have no right to ask other worlds to acknowledge me.”

In the distance, the soul vortex around Alicia shrank drastically. Several souls now floated calmly, no longer screaming. Her soul-light wrapped them like a thin blanket.

“Almost done…” Alicia whispered, cold sweat on her temple.

Nerys studied Sofia longer this time.

Not as a disturbance.

Not as something fragile.

But as something stubborn that refused to sink.

“…You know,” Nerys said at last, her oceanic voice deeper, “the sea respects one thing.”

Small waves circled Sofia’s feet, not attacking.

“A being that does not flee… even knowing it may drown.”

Sofia tightened her grip on the spear. She did not know whether it was praise or warning. But she remained standing.