I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Chapter 507: Chapter 504 – WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD: THE LAND OF DEATH AND THE GATEKEEPER

The sensation of passing through a dimensional gate created by a Supreme Goddess could in no way be equated to ordinary spatial magic portals. As the wheels of Sylvia’s zombie horse carriage passed through the curtain of frozen blue fire and obsidian bones, their entire perception of time and space was seemingly crushed into cosmic dust particles.

There was no light inside that dimensional tunnel; there was only absolute nothingness filled with the whispers of millions of long-forgotten souls. The temperature plummeted past biological freezing limits, bringing a chilling cold that not only pierced the skin, but directly gripped the essence of the soul. Sylvia, with her undead body, certainly did not feel the threat of this cold. Instead, she felt as though she were returning home after a long journey in a scorching desert. Every pore of her dress and shadow absorbed the pure death energy flowing fiercely inside the transition tunnel.

Behind her, inside the carriage compartment, the situation was slightly different yet no less astonishing.

Alicia, who was an entity of the Spirit race, actually felt unexpected comfort. Where ordinary mortals would instantly shatter or lose their sanity when exposed to this pure miasma, for Alicia, the Underworld air felt like a cool and refreshing night breeze. Her form resonated with the spiritual energy in the nether realm, making her feel light, peaceful, and full of vigor. Her sky-blue eyes emitted a soft spiritual light glow, no longer needing to waste mana to create a defensive shield.

Beside her, Stacia was completely unfothered as well. As a Fallen Angel, her racial essence had an absolute affinity with dark energy, rebellion, and fall. The cold and miasma felt very familiar to her black wings. Those dark-feathered wings now manifested physically, trembling slightly with excitement as they absorbed pure Dark Matter particles in the air, as if welcoming her return to the element that nurtured her existence.

Instead of feeling scared, the dark silver-haired girl pressed her face against the carriage window, her pair of eyes sparkling with extraordinary academic hysteria. She rapidly scratched her mana pen across the pages of her grimoire.

"Incredible... this is truly crazy!" muttered Stacia with an abnormal speech speed. "The density of Dark Matter particles here is a hundred times higher than ordinary dimensional anomalies. The laws of thermodynamics are totally shattered. I must record this resonance frequency before we land!"

BOOOMM!

The zombie horse carriage finally slammed onto the hard ground, triggering a shockwave of grayish dust spreading in all directions. A pair of undead horses neighed loudly, their voices echoing sharply and greeted by ferocious howls from a distance.

They had arrived in the Underworld.

Sylvia pulled the reins, stopping the carriage. She stood on the coachman’s seat, her dark red eyes sweeping across the scenery before her with full admiration.

The sky above them had no sun, moon, let alone stars. That celestial canopy was a deep purplish-red, resembling a blood nebula spinning slowly in a vacuum. Low-hanging clouds were made of volcanic ash and the remnants of wailing souls that had not yet found peace. On the eastern horizon, there was a permanent solar eclipse, a giant black disk surrounded by a pale blue fire corona, providing the only source of illumination for this gloomy world.

The surface of the ground they stood on was entirely made of shiny black obsidian rock, interspersed with giant cracks emitting dark red lava light.

Beside the carriage, space distorted once again. Persephone stepped out of the void with unreasonable elegance, the hem of her black silk dress floating without touching the dirty obsidian ground.

"Welcome to my realm, my daughters," Persephone said, spreading both arms. Her voice echoed through the vast plains. "This is the Outskirt of Ashen Wastes, the outermost zone of Tartarus. This is where the ecosystem of death begins."

Suddenly, a blood-red transparent holographic notification screen appeared right in front of Sylvia’s face, accompanied by a system chiming sound.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[You have entered the Underworld Realm.]

[Warning: The density of Death Miasma exceeds the normal limit of mortal creatures.]

[Racial Evaluation: Primordial Undead (Rank 6).]

[Environmental Effect Changed! Converting Miasma into Passive Energy.]

[Active Buff Status: Sovereign of the Dark] - Mana Recovery +500% - Death Affinity Destruction Power +300% - Cooldown of all Abyss-based skills reduced by 50% - Base Attributes (STR, AGI, VIT, INT) increased by 200% while within this Realm.

Reading the rows of notifications, a system that hadn’t appeared in a long time, the corners of Sylvia’s lips curved upward, forming a cold, terrifying yet deeply enchanting smile. The power flowing through her dead blood vessels right now felt so overflowing.

Alicia stepped down from the carriage gracefully, her spirit form glowing faintly. "This place... the energy is so calming," Alicia said softly, letting the cold wind caress her face. "I feel my strength fully recharged just by standing here, Mother Persephone."

"Of course, dear Alicia. As a pure Spirit, you are closely connected to the cycle of death and transition. The Underworld is a safe playground for you," Persephone replied with a motherly smile. She then glanced at Stacia, who was stretching her Fallen Angel wings wide. "And looking at those dark wings of yours, Stacia, it seems you are also enjoying the intake of pure mana in my territory."

"This is amazing! I can experiment with dark elemental magic without fear of running out of environmental mana!" Stacia exclaimed in excitement.

Persephone chuckled softly. "You can enjoy this place as much as you like. Here, only the law of the jungle of death reigns. The monsters in this outermost region are around Level 200 and above. Perfect as an appetizer for Sylvia’s sword and chains."

Just as Persephone finished her sentence, the obsidian ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently. Extreme heat and a very pungent smell of sulfur surged, clashing with the cold air of the Underworld to create thick billows of steam.

GRRRROOAAARR!

From the direction of the jagged cliffs in front of them, a deafening ferocious roar was heard. The heavy impact of heavy paws shattered the black rocks around them. From behind the billows of steam and ash fog, a giant demon monster leaped out.

The creature manifested as a giant hellhound. Its size was as big as a two-story house, with muscular muscles bulging from beneath its pitch-black skin as hard as steel. The fur on the back of its neck and spine glowed reddish like iron needles heated in a blacksmith’s furnace. Its saliva dripping onto the obsidian ground instantly melted the rock into sizzling magma. A pair of red eyes glared with brutal hunger.

[SYSTEM WARNING!]

[Entity Detected: ’Abyssal Hell Hound’]

[Estimated Level: 200] [Attributes: Hellfire, Demonic, Brute Force]

"Ah, a welcoming greeting from the locals," Persephone said in a relaxed tone, completely unfazed by the ferocious monster ready to pounce on them. She turned to Sylvia. "Go ahead, dear. Show me your warmup."

Sylvia stepped forward calmly. Her eyes locked onto the Hell Hound’s glowing eyes. There was no fear, only a far more dominant predatory gaze.

Alicia didn’t bother creating a protective dome for herself or Stacia, because she knew full well the strength of both of them and Sylvia’s strength in this advantageous terrain. She just smiled faintly, watching from near the carriage.

The Hellhound planted its front paws, opened its massive jaws, and spewed an overwhelmingly hot wave of Hellfire directly at Sylvia. The reddish-black fire shot out like a dragon pillar, ready to scorch anything into ash.

Sylvia didn’t dodge. She only raised her right hand gracefully.

"Chains of Abyss: Absolute Territory."

BAM!

Thousands of pitch-black chains exploded out of Sylvia’s shadow, forming a thick net that easily blocked the wave of hellfire. Thanks to the 300% environmental buff, those Abyss chains weren’t affected in the slightest by the heat of the Hellfire. The fire split in two, flowing past her without touching a single thread of her dress.

With a flick of her wrist, the chains shot out to counterattack.

SCHLAAAK! SCHLAAAK!

The sharp tips of the Abyss chains moved as fast as lightning, wrapping around the four muscular legs of the hellhound and nailing its giant body to the obsidian ground. The Hell Hound howled angrily, trying to struggle and bite the chains, but Sylvia’s Dark Matter material was too strong to be bitten through.

"Noisy," Sylvia hissed coldly.

Two giant pillars of chains shot out from beneath the shadow ground, striking right under the monster’s jaw, forcing its mouth shut tightly.

Sylvia clenched her right hand tightly.

The chains wrapping around the Hellhound’s body suddenly tightened with absurd hydraulic force. The sound of demon bones crushing into pieces was heard, followed by a muffled howl. In a matter of seconds, the monster’s giant body shattered into pieces, exploding into ash fragments and splashes of hellfire that instantly extinguished upon touching Sylvia’s death aura.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[You have killed ’Abyssal Hell Hound’ (Level 200).]

[Gained 8,500,000 EXP.]

Sylvia landed back in her position elegantly. Her chains slithered backward and re-entered her shadow. The fight ended even before the monster could swing its claws.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound of soft applause came from Persephone. The Goddess of Death walked closer with a widening proud smile.

"Perfect. Extraordinary mana control. Even Level 200 ferocious monsters like the Hell Hound are cut and crushed like toys in front of your Chains of Abyss," Persephone praised, her eyes flashing with admiration.

Sylvia flicked her hand gently, brushing imaginary dust off her clothes. "This is too easy, Mother. This environment provides an extraordinary power boost."

In the distance, Stacia walked closer while taking notes enthusiastically. "Brilliant execution speed, Sylvia! The mana density in your chains increased threefold. With this environment, you can even fight Level 300 enemies on equal footing."

Alicia followed with a gentle smile. "It’s good that you two are enjoying this place. I myself feel very refreshed being in this spirit realm."

Persephone snapped her fingers, and from the monster’s remaining ash, a crystal stone glowing with red Hellfire Core floated toward her. She handed it to Sylvia.

"Don’t worry, this is just the outskirts. At the center of my kingdom, you will find far more challenging opponents," Persephone said, signaling them to get back onto the carriage. "Get on. I will guide this carriage to the Palace of Death in the center of Erebos Capital. There, we will hold a dinner party to celebrate your arrival."

Persephone winked at Sylvia with a secret smile. "I have ordered the palace chef to prepare a special dish. Savory clear broth from monster bone marrow, complete with pearl oysters, Underworld steamed crabs, and various typical seafood dishes of the River Styx without a single drop of alcohol in it. Doesn’t savory food with seafood ingredients always become the taste you like, my daughter?"

Sylvia’s eyes widened slightly, surprised yet feeling warmth in her chest that hadn’t beaten in a long time. She never expected her adoptive mother to pay this much attention to preparing her very specific favorite food. A sincere smile slowly bloomed on the cold face of the Undead Queen.

"Sounds very perfect, Mother. Let’s go."

The zombie horse carriage moved forward again, cutting through the thick fog of the Underworld. With the wind of death supporting them, Sylvia’s long journey toward Level 400 evolution had just found the most perfect arena.