I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl-Chapter 405 - 402 – The Giant Claw and the Price of Victory
The battlefield at Nocturne’s riverbank had turned into a living hellscape. The scorched ground was cracked everywhere, giant craters spewed thick black smoke, and the dark whirlpool river boiled like the world’s blood. The stench of ancient blood mixed with sulfur and rotting flesh pierced straight to the bone marrow.
KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
The dimensional rift in the sky widened even more violently, its dark purple-black light blazing like an unhealing wound from hell, spewing increasingly strong gusts of poisonous wind. Strangely, no new creatures emerged. Only deeper darkness remained, as if the rift itself was holding its breath, waiting for the battle’s conclusion.
The Elder Dragon was on the brink of destruction. Its body, over a hundred meters long and once covering half the sky, was now covered in gaping wounds that refused to heal. Its thick obsidian scales were shattered into pieces like ancient armor smashed by a god’s hammer. Thick black blood poured like waterfalls from dozens of deep gashes left by Reaper’s Harvest, gaping holes from the fallen angel feather rain, and Noir’s relentless bites that kept tearing at its flesh. Its super-fast regeneration had almost completely stopped; it could only weakly close small wounds with a faint, pitiful CRACKLE CRACKLE, while the larger wounds grew wider, emitting foul-smelling black smoke.
GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
Its roar this time was filled with despair. The vibration shook the dimension, but it no longer carried the dominant pressure of its ancient bloodline. It was like an ancient king dying at the hands of rebels.
Sylvia stood on its back like an unshakable goddess of death. Her twelve black fallen angel wings were severely damaged; only ten remained, two of them torn so badly that the wing bones were visible. Thick black blood dripped heavily, soaking the Elder Dragon’s scales beneath her. Her half-human, half-ghost face was covered in cold sweat. Her red eyes (one zombie, one ghostly) burned with unyielding determination. The pitch-black scythe staff in her hand was still embedded deep in the Elder Dragon’s chest. The Chains of Abyss coiled around its ancient heart from within like hellish serpents, slowly draining its vitality with increasingly fierce CLANK... CLANK... CLANK... sounds.
"You’re finished," Sylvia whispered in a voice that carried three fused tones: cold, gentle, and terrifying. "Now... die with dignity."
Below, her allies fought like people who had nothing left but their lives.
Sofia flew with her remaining nine broken and scorched golden wings. Her holy light, mixed with pitch-black darkness, formed a trembling Holy Eclipse. "For the Queen! For everyone!" she shouted hoarsely, her voice cracking from exhaustion. The holy-dark light wave exploded against the Elder Dragon’s belly ZIIIIIINGGGG KABOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!! melting its scales and leaving a gaping hole that smelled of burnt flesh.
Velthya leaped like a darkness wolf possessed by primordial rage. Her silver-gray fur was drenched in her own blood and poison. Her Fenrir-enhanced claws slammed into the Elder Dragon’s ribs repeatedly, shaking the ground THUDDD THUDDD BOOOOMMM BOOOOMMM CRAAAAACKKK!!! Each strike left deep claw marks that emitted green smoke, and the dragon’s ribs could be heard cracking, even if only slightly.
Noir bit the Elder Dragon’s neck without mercy. Its undead fangs tore at the ancient flesh like chewing mountain stone CRUNCH CRUNCH CRRRAAAACKKK GRRRROOOAAARRR!!! Chunks of rotten meat flew everywhere, black blood spraying across its face.
Aurellia, despite her cracked ribs, continued swinging her staff with trembling hands. "Inferno Abyss – Final Burst!" Dark red flames exploded from the open wounds like miniature volcanoes FWWWWWOOOOOOOSSSSHHH KABOOOMMMM!!! burning the Elder Dragon’s internal organs until thick black smoke poured from its mouth.
Celes spun through the air at insane speed despite her ragged breathing. Her crystal swords created a storm of Spatial Severance SHIIIING SHIIIING SHIIIING ZIIIIIINGGGGG!!! small dimensional gaps continuously slicing the Elder Dragon’s wings and shoulders, causing blood to spray like black-red rain.
The relentless combination of attacks drove the Elder Dragon completely mad. Its body thrashed wildly. Its massive tail swept violently WHAAAAAMMMM BOOOOMMMM!!! sending Velthya flying far away and destroying dozens of trees. Its wings flapped, creating a poisonous wind storm that nearly blew Sofia out of the air. But every counterattack only made its wounds worse. Its regeneration could no longer keep up. Its red eyes began to dim. The ancient aura that once suppressed everything now flickered like a candle about to go out.
Sylvia sensed the perfect final moment. She took a cold breath that formed thick white vapor and channeled the entire aura of the three-soul fusion into her scythe staff. The scythe blade, fused with Stacia’s grimoire, began to grow extremely large and terrifying. Its already long normal size swelled to nearly a hundred meters. Dark purple-black energy blazed like a hellish crescent moon ready to reap the soul of the world. The Chains of Abyss clinked furiously like thousands of hellish chains CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK!!! pulling all remaining power into one deadly sharp point.
"Reaper’s Harvest – Final Form!!!" Sylvia roared, her voice echoing like the scream of three goddesses of death combined.
The giant scythe slashed downward at unimaginable speed, splitting the air with a horrifying sound ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! The air trembled, as if reality itself was being torn apart. The Elder Dragon let out one final desperate roar. Its body tensed violently, its eyes widening with primal terror it had never felt in its long life as an Ancient being. Its thick, scaled neck was nearly severed cleanly only a few centimeters away from total death.
At that exact moment, just as the scythe blade was about to touch the upper neck scales and end everything...
KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
A new cracking sound far more terrifying than before echoed. It was not from the dimensional rift above, but something else. From the endless pitch-black darkness, a giant claw emerged with lethal speed. Just one claw was already the size of the entire Elder Dragon. Its obsidian-black claws gleamed like living sharp mountains, with red lava veins flowing violently beneath its thick, god-like armor skin. The claw shot forward like destiny itself, directly blocking Sylvia’s scythe path with unimaginable primordial power.
SCHLIIIIIIIIIICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
Sylvia’s giant scythe was still incredibly strong and sharp, surpassing everything. Its blade sliced through the giant claw’s nail with full force, cleanly severing one main claw the size of an ancient tree CRAAAAAAAACKKKKK BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!! Thick black blood spurted out like a hellish waterfall from the wound, drenching the entire battlefield. But the impact also drained the last of Sylvia’s fusion power. The giant scythe’s energy weakened drastically, its momentum vanishing instantly. The blade only left a deep, gaping gash on the Elder Dragon’s neck without being able to cut it completely.
The owner of the giant claw was clearly surprised. A deep, powerful, and ancient low roar echoed from behind the rift, its vibration alone making the entire riverbank shake like a massive earthquake.
"Let us end the battle here."
The voice was not ordinary. It was like primordial thunder speaking directly to every creature’s soul. The aura pressure coming from the rift was so heavy that everyone on the battlefield nearly collapsed to their knees. Sofia fell to the ground, her golden wings trembling violently. Velthya growled lowly while lowering her wolf head. Noir roared weakly and retreated several steps. Celes and Aurellia staggered, breathing heavily. Even the minor Norse and Greek gods in the distance turned deathly pale and retreated farther with faces full of fear.
Sylvia felt the pressure like an entire ancient mountain pressing down on both her shoulders and soul. Her twelve black wings trembled violently, nearly collapsing. She wanted to refuse; she wanted to complete the slash and reap the Elder Dragon’s soul that was already on the brink. But her knees almost buckled. With teeth gritted until they creaked, she slammed her scythe staff into the ground with all her remaining strength THUDDD BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!! The scythe blade pierced deep into the stone, anchoring her body so she would not bow before the pressure.
"Fine," Sylvia said, her voice still cold and full of determination even though she was panting. "But give me the rank 7 dragon heart."
The voice behind the dimensional rift fell silent for a moment, as if calmly considering. Then a deep, echoing laugh sounded, as if its owner was amused by Sylvia’s courage.
"Agreed."
A dark red energy orb flew out from the rift a rank 7 dragon heart that was still beating strongly and full of vitality, the size of a horse carriage, its ancient aura radiating warmly. Beside it, the claw nail that Sylvia’s scythe had severed also floated out, still dripping thick black blood. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The Elder Dragon let out one final weak roar, its voice almost gone, but it was powerless. Its massive body was forcibly pulled back into the rift by an invisible force from the claw’s owner. SWWWWOOOOOOSSSSHHH!!! The rank 8 dragon disappeared back into the dimensional rift like a rag doll sucked in by a god’s hand. The dark purple-black rift quickly shrank, repaired by the claw owner’s power until it closed perfectly without leaving a single trace. Only a final gust of poisonous wind remained in the air.
The battlefield suddenly fell into complete silence.
Only the sound of ragged breathing, the crackling of small remaining fires, and the dripping of blood onto the ground could be heard.
Sylvia let out a long, trembling sigh. The fusion aura in her body began to shake violently. Her twelve black wings faded one by one. The Chains of Abyss clinked softly before melting back into the staff. Her half-ghost face slowly returned to normal. Her body trembled violently; the forced and too-quick separation of the fusion after the exhausting climax of the battle had drained everything.
"Everyone... listen..." she said, her voice growing weaker and hoarse. Sofia and the others immediately approached despite their bodies being covered in wounds and blood. "Clean the battlefield... Store that giant claw in the castle warehouse... Give the rank 7 heart to Noir. Let him evolve."
Noir growled softly, its undead eyes shining with respect and hunger as it looked at the heart floating toward it.
Sylvia smiled faintly one last time, a tired but satisfied smile. "Good... well done... everyone..."
Then the fusion power completely broke.
Sylvia’s body split back into three separate figures in rapidly fading silver-purple light. Sylvia, Stacia, and Alicia fell to the scorched, blood-soaked ground at the same time. Their eyes were tightly closed, their breathing weak but steady. They had completely fainted from the extreme exhaustion after the long fusion process and the soul-and-body-draining climax of the battle.
Sofia immediately knelt beside them, golden tears streaming down her face. "Sylvia... you’re safe... thank you..." She carefully lifted Sylvia’s body with full affection. Velthya nodded once in silence, picking up the giant claw with her large mouth and carrying it toward the castle. Celes and Aurellia began cleaning up the debris with what little strength they had left, while Noir swallowed the rank 7 heart in one big bite. Its undead body immediately trembled violently, beginning the painful yet powerful evolution process.
