I sat atop the body of the massive wolf I had just beheaded. My breathing was heavy, though not from exhaustion I didn't have normal lungs, and my heart barely functioned like a human's.
Processing everything.
The ground around me was dark red. The air was thick with the smell of iron, blood, and scorched flesh. Mutant corpses littered the battlefield—some charred, some torn apart, some utterly destroyed.
This battlefield... had just been hell.
I tried to remember how long the fight lasted. But there was no answer. The sky had no clear sun due to the smoke and dust of battle, and I had been too focused on surviving to count the time.
One hour... maybe five? Perhaps more.
All I knew was—I was still here. Still whole and alive.
And all my enemies—were dead.
I leaned my back against a large wolf, staring ahead blankly. For the first time since I was reincarnated, I felt something akin to fatigue. Not physical but mental.
This battlefield... was too intense. Too brutal.
But I couldn't complain.
I wasn't human. I was a zombie.
No stamina, muscle fatigue, and panting breath from lack of oxygen.
I could keep moving keep fighting and Keep killing.
As long as my body wasn't completely destroyed—I wouldn't stop.
And that's why I survived.
The faint sound of the system echoed in my head again. I had heard it several times during the fight. But I hadn't had the time to read all the notifications that popped up.
Skill ups. Level ups. Blood spilled. I kept moving.
I summoned my status screen for the first time since being thrown into this place.
Name: Sylvia Hortensia
Race: Noctira (Rank 2 – Evolved Zombie)
~ Infectious Bite (8/20)
~ Razor Toxic Claw (5/40)
~ Phantom Dash (20/20 – Max) -> ~ Shadow Piercing (1/40) - Moves through shadows at high speed, causing a phasing effect and shadow damage when passing through enemies. Enemies hit will suffer deep wounds and a 30% slow effect. Cooldown: 5 seconds
~ Med-Regeneration (20/20 – Max) -> High-Regeneration (1/40) - Restores 250 HP per second
~ Blood Instinct (New)
– When blood splashes onto your body, your attack power increases by 5% for 10 seconds. Can stack up to 5 times.
~ Blessing from Goddess Persephone
Hunt 100 Rank 2 Mutant Beasts.
~ Reward: Skill – Appraisal
~ Time Remaining: 6 Days 14 Hours
"...Only 61?" I muttered hoarsely.
I thought I had slaughtered more than a hundred. But maybe some of them weren't Rank 2. Some looked weaker perhaps only Rank 1s that got caught up in the bloodbath.
I leveled up ten times .Phantom Dash and Med-Regeneration had maxed out and got evolved. A new passive skill? Blood Instinct?
The effect... it suited me perfectly. I was always drenched in blood, wasn't I? Of course this body would adapt.
"...I really am more monster than anything now." I chuckled softly—bitter, and faintly proud.
But that pride didn't last long.
A high-pitched sound cut through the air. A shadow of massive wings fell over the blood-soaked ground.
The terrifying creature who had thrown me into this place without warning. The silent judge of this massacre.
He hovered low, gazing down at me with glowing violet eyes—ominous and deep like a bottomless abyss.
And for some reason, this time I didn't feel like I was looking at an animal.
I felt... like I was being watched by something godlike.
"You're still alive. Interesting," he said, his heavy voice shaking the air.
I didn't answer, because I still can't speak then just stared back, wary.
"You are humanoid. Yet not truly alive, and truly dead."
The eagle dove slightly and landed on a tall rock, his feathers billowing in the wind of his own creation.
"Beings like you... are anomalies. But also potential."
I narrowed my eyes but he just looked over the battlefield littered with mutant corpses.
"Of all the creatures I've thrown into this arena, few have slain more than fifty. None have reached sixty-one."
I tilted my head in confusion.
Then he spread his wings slightly—like a king about to declare judgment.
His voice faded like a whisper on the wind, and he soared high, fast, disappearing into the dark clouds above.
I exhaled deeply, my head drooping.
Then... I laughed. A small, bitter laugh.
"...God, my life's turning into some kind of hellish survival game."
I rose to my feet, eyes fixed toward the forest ahead.
Forty more mutants to kill.
And barely six days left for my quest, maybe i was lucky to fall here
I clenched my hand, feeling the pulse of power within me.
It's fine. I'll do it.
Because I'm no longer the Sylvia I used to be.
I am the monster behind the smile.
And blood is just the beginning.