I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

A deafening crash echoed through the damp stone walls of the dungeon. The thunder of battle shook the 29th floor of the Cave of the Forgotten a relic of a forgotten age that refused to be buried by time or memory. Blow after blow, I struck with unrelenting force, my claws and venomous chains dancing in a brutal harmony, tearing apart every skeleton and ghoul foolish enough to block my path.

No sweat dripped from my body after all, I was no longer human. But fatigue, mental strain, and emotional turmoil still clung to me like invisible chains. Each step I took felt heavier, not from the enemies I faced, but from the weight of my thoughts... thoughts left behind in the base, where one person haunted me in every moment of silence: Sofia.

Was she still alive? Was she...

A monstrous growl snapped me back to the battlefield. A massive Bone Golem, wielding a spiked mace, charged at me with brute force. I deflected its swing using my chain, now coated in thick black poison. Twisting my body midair, I lashed out, plunging my claws into its skull. The satisfying crack of shattering bone rang out, and the monster collapsed in a heap of fragmented ivory.

Just as I turned to engage the next wave, a voice slipped into my mind telepathy. Deep, heavy, and unmistakably familiar.

"Queen..."

Tyrant.

My reaction was instant. I opened a mental link to him even as I swatted away an attacking ghoul with a flick of my chain.

"Tyrant?!" I called sharply, tension thick in my voice. "What happened?! Sofia what’s her condition?!"

Seconds passed. Each one dragged like a century. I braced myself for the worst. If she had...

But Tyrant’s voice returned, steady and calm as always.

"Celestine’s base had compatible blood. Witch and Hunter have returned. The transfusion is complete. Critical state... has passed. Now, we wait for her to wake."

I froze. My steps halted. An undead creature lunged at me but met only the slicing fury of my chain, its head flying before it even touched me.

Something inside my chest loosened something that had been coiled tightly for days. Like a boulder finally rolled off my heart. I wasn’t supposed to breathe anymore, not like the living do... yet a long, deep exhale escaped me. Somehow, it felt real.

"Thank you... Good." My words left gently through the link. "Stay with them. I’m still fighting down here."

I ended the connection before he could respond. No time to waste. But now... now, my emotions were lighter. My thoughts, clearer.

I wasn’t someone who easily showed emotions. But for the first time since I descended into this cursed dungeon, I felt relief. Sofia was alive. She was fighting.

My focus snapped back. My claws and chains gleamed with deadly precision. The remaining undead on this floor stood no chance. My skills had evolved beyond recognition since reaching Rank 4 venoms refined, movements instinctual. One by one, I tore them apart. No mercy. No hesitation.

"No time to linger," I muttered to myself.

I walked forward, past the final corridor of the 29th floor. Ancient carvings lined the walls depictions of long-lost beings that may have once ruled this abyss. The faint bioluminescent glow of blue fungi cast eerie shadows on the damp stone.

Then I saw it the stairs to the next level.

And I paused.

Sofia is alive.

The words echoed again in my mind.

A small smile curved my lips an expression rare on this face. But it was genuine. For once, I could imagine seeing her again. Hearing her voice. Maybe... even holding her in my arms.

But not yet.

I turned my gaze toward the staircase descending into darkness. Floor 30.

Every tenth floor had been a milestone. Floor 10 had unleashed a Giant Skeleton Warrior. Floor 20 had tested me with a Death Knight. And now, floor 30.

"What awaits me this time?" I whispered.

Step by step, I descended into the depths of the 30th floor.

I arrived at Floor 30.

The atmosphere was... different.

Unlike the narrow and twisting corridors above, this floor was vast like a forgotten throne room of a decaying castle. Towering stone pillars lined the walls, each engraved with skulls and bound in rusted chains. The ceiling stretched into a darkness that no light could touch. The floor beneath me was polished black marble, reflecting the eerie green glow of enchanted torches that burned without fuel.

But that wasn’t what made me stop.

At the far end of the chamber, seated atop a skeletal horse and cloaked in writhing shadows, was a massive figure. His entire form was clad in tarnished black-silver armor, massive and ancient. His head was missing replaced by a jagged, heavy helmet cradled under one arm.

A lance longer than any normal man was gripped tightly in his other hand, forged of bone and black metal, exuding a cold, killing aura.

The pressure in the room changed.

A system notification floated in the air before me:

[Dungeon Boss: Dullahan – Lvl 60]

"A Dullahan," I murmured, voice low.

He didn’t move. He simply sat there atop his undead steed, watching. Waiting. But I knew the moment I crossed that invisible line between us... the battle would begin.

I took a breath not one of fear, but of resolution. This time, there was no dread holding me back. No phantom of doubt gnawing at my will. Only purpose.

Sofia had made it through the storm.

Now it was my turn.

For power. For vengeance against what was done to Viktor. For the protection of those who still believed in me.

And for her... the one who called to me in dreams.

My boots echoed across the obsidian floor. As I passed the threshold, the Dullahan rose slowly, mounting his skeletal horse with a heavy creak of aged armor.

We faced each other in silence.

I smirked.

"Let’s see who falls first."

Then, my chain clashed against his spear. Ting!!!