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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest ‌releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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A Corporate Slave Becomes a Villainous Nuisance in a Zombie Apocalypse
Episode 62
My sudden action caused my companions to stiffen.
"Hm?"
Cyprus, despite having a blade pressed against his throat, remained composed.
As if what I'd thrust at his neck were merely a twig rather than a weapon, he simply tilted his head in mild curiosity.
It was I who felt the tension coursing through me.
Tightening my grip on ‌‌‌the weapon, I pressed Cyprus for answers.
"Speak."
"About what?"
"Why the zombies don't attack you." ‌‍
"...."
I remember ‌‌‌‌it clearly.
At the Imperial Villa where zombies first appeared, when Nuisance Man Paprika opened the kitchen portal door teeming with undead hordes.
'Close it!' ‌‌‌‌
'It won't work!'
'Be careful, Praha!'
When Praha, Cyprus, and Dazling struggled desperately to seal that door again, ‌‌and I defeated a zombie for the first time.
'Cyprus's hand was right in front of those zombies, but they were just snapping their jaws—not actually biting.'
As if they wanted to bite ‌‌‌but couldn't.
'I thought I'd misread it back then.'
I'd convinced myself it was a misunderstanding born from panic and confusion. ‌‌
But in the Maze just now.
'Where are you going!'
'Fall back!' ‌
When I saw the zombie charging toward us pass right by Cyprus, who stood at the very front, I was certain.
'The zombies don't attack Cyprus.'
From the Imperial Villa on the Artificial Island where zombies first emerged, they had never once directly attacked Cyprus.
Why?
I gestured with my chin toward Cyprus's shoulder.
"Your shoulder's wounded and bleeding. Even ‌‌‌‌with the scent of blood in the air, the zombies didn't attack you. Only you."
"...."
"Tell me the reason."
I stared directly into Cyprus's green eyes.
There was no way Cyprus himself didn't know what I'd discovered.
Despite having his hidden secret exposed, not a trace of ‌‌alarm crossed his handsome ‌‌‌features.
Cyprus slowly ‌‌raised both hands in surrender and spoke.
"You're sharp, Yusara."
"Answer my question first. Before you misunderstand."
"Aren't you already misunderstanding?"
"Explain yourself before this misunderstanding hardens into certainty. What are you? Are you the culprit behind all this?"
While dangling from Cyprus like luggage as we fled this far, countless thoughts churned through my mind.
This man who had been running without pause for hours, desperately trying to keep me alive from the zombies.
Even if he wasn't being attacked by them, the exhaustion was real.
He could have easily pretended to slip and dropped me, escaping alone with far greater ease. ‌‌
Yet here he was, drenched in sweat so profusely that steam rose from his skin, all for the sole purpose of saving me.
What if it was ‌all a lie?
What if my companion from our adventures was actually the mastermind behind this entire catastrophe?
'I don't even want to think about it.'
The fact that Cyprus was ‌smiling despite the dire situation only deepened my suspicion.
'I can't let my guard down.'
If I relaxed my vigilance for even a second, Cyprus could immediately wrench the sword from my grip and turn it ‌‌against my throat.
I forced my trembling ‌‌‌arms, weakened by the blade's weight, to stay raised.
'If it comes to that...'
My gaze naturally drifted toward Cyprus's lower ‌‌‌‌abdomen.
At the first opportunity, I planned to use the self-defense technique Praha had taught me.
Noticing the direction of my gaze and realizing exactly where I was aiming, Cyprus ‌‌finally flinched and spoke urgently.
"Calm down. It's not what you're thinking. I swear by the Southern Blue Sea—I'm not the culprit behind this catastrophe."
"Do you know who the culprit is?"
"I don't!"
"Then what? Why aren't you being attacked?"
"I don't know that either."
"If you don't know, you deserve to die."
"Ah! Ah! I understand! I understand! Wait!"
Cyprus, who had made such a pathetic plea for his life, blurted out the answer.
"It's probably the same reason ‌‌the zombies can't enter this Temple."
"...? What are you?"
A human Temple?
Cyprus then furrowed his brow slightly and reluctantly continued.
"I've been blessed by ‌‌a god."
"..."
Suddenly spouting nonsense...
"I'm serious."
Cyprus exhaled a low sigh and unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing. Tilting his neck to the side and pulling ‌‌‌‌the fabric back, his muscular torso ‌‌‌came into ‌‌‌view.
On Cyprus's left chest, directly above his heart, a mark was inscribed—two interlocking rings.
Yujein, standing beside me, spoke.
"That's the symbol representing the God of Marriage and Beauty."
"That is?"
"Yes. It's a pair of rings that are intertwined and never break ‌‌apart, symbolizing lovers who never part."
'Now that I think about it, Cyprus did ‌‌mention he believed in the God of Marriage and Beauty.'
I remember because my mother and I worship the same god.
But I've never heard that Cyprus received divine blessing.
When I expressed that doubt, Cyprus answered.
"You don't know everything about me."
"Are you dismissing my romantic history?"
"No matter how well you know me, you can't possibly know facts I've hidden from everyone."
"Then why did you hide it from everyone?"
"It's not a particularly pleasant memory."
Not a pleasant memory?
Why?
It's divine blessing.
'Did the God of Marriage and Beauty, who covets beautiful youths, forcibly bestow a blessing?'
"I'm serious. ‌‌If ‌‌‌you need proof, I can send someone to my fiefdom to retrieve the certificate I received from the Temple."
"...Never mind."
Though ‌I still had my suspicions, I lowered my blade regardless.
"Miss Yujein, do you feel any divine power from that tattoo?"
"Huh? Yes.... A little."
"Hmm."
If Cyprus had said this ten minutes ago, I wouldn't have believed him. ‌‌‌
But we were now in the Temple, and it was right after I witnessed with my own eyes that zombies couldn't cross the Temple's boundary.
Despite the Temple being ruined, empty, and long since ‌‌‌‌abandoned, not a single zombie stepped past the boundary stones placed ‌‌‌around it.
'Zombies appeared in the Divine Maze only after we ‌‌extracted the sacred relic.'
After the divine power that wandered through the Maze disappeared.
If the Divine Maze and Temple couldn't be attacked, then it made sense that those blessed by the god couldn't be touched either.
But what troubled me was.
"...But why would the God of Marriage and Beauty bless you of all people? You go around meeting every woman you see."
Wasn't it any woman as long as she was female? Everyone except me.
Cyprus protested as if wounded by my words.
"It's true I've had many romantic partners, but I've never been with two women simultaneously or made inappropriate contact with a woman I wasn't in a real relationship with."
"...."
"I'm actually quite conservative. I never do such things without confirming mutual ‌feelings first."
"...."
(Skeptical gaze)
"I'm serious! Ask Praha!"
"Count me out."
Praha shook his head.
"Hey!"
I asked Cyprus, who looked utterly wronged.
"So you can use divine power like Miss Yujein?"
"No. I'm merely a human favored by the god, but I have no power."
"Tch."
Useless.
I ‌‌suppressed the uneasy feeling and returned the sword to Cyprus.
Cyprus wielded the blade with one hand, yet even gripping it with both of mine, it felt so heavy my arms trembled uncontrollably.
As Cyprus ‌‌‌took the sword back from me, he feigned a cry of anguish.
"I thought my head was about to roll off." ‌
"What are you talking about? Your Highness was looking out for me. If I'd made up my mind, I could have counterattacked however I wanted."
I still couldn't fathom why he'd surrendered his weapon to me so readily in the first place.
'It definitely wasn't because he ‌‌‌was startled when I leaned ‌‌‌‌‌against him.'
"I'm sorry. For doubting you."
He'd gone through all the trouble of carrying me here at a run, and the moment we arrived, I'd held a blade to his throat.
If I were in his position, ‌‌I would've wanted to toss myself back into the zombie horde.
When I mentioned this, Cyprus simply laughed.
"Well, I'm a man. Carrying just one person and running wasn't difficult at all."
"...."
'Is this what they call bluster...?'
Cyprus spoke to my expressionless face as if coaxing a child.
"I'm sorry for making you suspicious. I was going to tell you once I was certain. Don't be mad, okay?"
"I'm not particularly angry."
"Really?"
"Well, still... if things had gone wrong, I was planning to practice the self-defense techniques the Crown Prince taught me."
Whoosh.
I glanced down at Cyprus's pants hem.
Following my gaze, Cyprus ‌‌‌‌‌trembled and shouted at Praha.
"What exactly did you teach Yusara?!" ‌‌‌
Praha, who had been silent, replied.
"How to subdue someone like you."
"...."
"I'll first check the interior to ensure there are no internal threats."
With that, Praha entered the Temple building ahead of us.
Left standing alone, Cyprus emphasized to me.
"Miss, I have lived with propriety. I intend to continue doing so for the rest of my life."
"Yes, of ‌‌‌course."
I gave a half-hearted response and surveyed ‌‌my surroundings.
We were in the front courtyard of ‌‌‌the Temple.
The courtyard, which once held vegetable gardens and rabbit hutches, now lay completely barren, and the low ‌‌‌‌stone wall was half-crumbled.
Because of this, I could clearly see the zombies circling endlessly around the ‌perimeter, unable to enter.
'There really are a lot of them.'
"Um, I—!"
Yujein, ‌who had been waiting for her moment, stepped forward with determination, clutching a sacred relic tightly in her hand.
"The ground here is dirt! And there's a roof ‌‌‌‌over there to shield us from lightning! Even if I call down lightning, we won't get electrocuted!"
You've been eyeing that spot ‌‌this whole time.
Either way, it's a good idea.
"Fine. Let's deal with the zombies first."
"After that, we can spend the night here and head down in the morning. It's the middle of the night anyway."
"I agree! Saint, please!"
"Okay!"
Yujein's face brightened under our encouragement.
She gripped the sacred relic so tightly it nearly shattered, pressing her ‌‌‌‌lips together firmly.
"H-here I go...!"
Yujein raised the sacred relic toward the ‌‌‌‌sky and squeezed her eyes shut.
Rumble.
Soon, an otherworldly sound that defied all scientific explanation echoed from the cloudless sky.
Rumble. Rumble.
Go, Combat Saint!
'I'm sorry, zombies. I swear I'll uncover the truth behind ‌‌‌this catastrophe. Please bear with me for now.'
Just as when she'd saved the group at the Villa, Yujein's eyes turned white.
CRACK-BOOM!
The night sky flashed silver.
"SCREEEECH!"
"KYAAAAH!"
The zombies collapsed into charred husks under the brilliant blue-white light.
Red gemstones fell one by one onto the blackened, crumbling corpses ‌‌of the incinerated zombies.
Even after all this time, her power remained utterly overwhelming.
"Wow!"
Tangerine, witnessing Yujein's strength for the first time, burst into applause. Cyprus and I quickly joined in. ‌‌
"That was amazing!"
"The best!"
Yet Yujein herself looked bewildered.
"...Why...?"
That's ‌‌not what ‌‌‌‌I intended.
Yujein muttered to herself and raised her arm once more.
[(Safe Zone) Abandoned Temple]
- Yusara, Yujein, Praha, Cyprus, Tangerine (Alive)

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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