I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Chapter 500 - 497 – Tornado Inside the Rift

The next day, the morning light that should have gently filtered through the gaps in the tent fabric was completely blocked by the roar of heavy rain that had returned with ferocious intensity. Heavy, cold raindrops hammered against the tent like thousands of tiny hammers, creating an unpleasant rhythm that woke Sylvia earlier than usual. Her undead body, which was usually resistant to extreme weather, this time felt a strange energy shift in the air, a cold vibration crawling down her spine, like a whisper of darkness drawing closer.Sylvia suddenly sat upright. Her long black hair, usually neat, was now disheveled after a short, restless sleep. Cold sweat dampened her forehead even though the outside air was very humid. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the pulse of her abyss chains inside her body reacting to the threat. "Stacia’s seal... won’t last much longer," she murmured softly, her voice hoarse from accumulated fatigue. A bad premonition enveloped her heart like thick fog. They had just endured an exhausting night, and now nature itself seemed to be conspiring against them.

Without wasting time, Sylvia immediately woke the others with a firm but controlled voice so as not to cause panic. "Wake up! The heavy rain is back. The seal is cracking! We have to move now!"

Alicia and Stacia woke up instantly and alertly. Stacia rubbed her still-sleepy eyes, but her expression immediately turned vigilant. Her face was deathly pale because her mana had not fully recovered from yesterday’s seal. "Already? I thought the seal could last at least until noon... The energy of this rift is stronger than I expected. It feels like something is deliberately accelerating its destruction," she said while hurriedly grabbing her grimoire, whose edges were already somewhat wet.

Elara, Lira, and Sylvana also woke up quickly. Their elven battle instincts kicked in immediately. Elara grabbed her bow with smooth yet cautious movements, her silver hair wet and clinging to her cheeks. Lira shook her head to shake off the remaining drowsiness, while Sylvana had already summoned a faint green nature light at her fingertips to illuminate the tent. There was no time for a full breakfast. They only grabbed some hard dried fruits, slightly damp leaf bread, and water pouches from their supplies. They chewed quickly while preparing their combat gear, putting on protective cloaks, checking weapons, and distributing spare healing potions.

Their clothes were still somewhat damp from yesterday’s battle, clinging uncomfortably to their skin and causing a piercing cold sensation. The smell of wet earth and ozone from yesterday’s lightning still lingered in the air inside the tent. Even so, the fighting spirit had reignited brightly in everyone’s eyes. They were Eternal Party, a group that had faced many dimensional rifts and abyss threats. This time would be no different.

They hurried toward the dimensional rift area under the merciless downpour. The ground that had been somewhat dry yesterday evening had once again turned into slippery, sticky mud, making every step feel heavy as if walking on giant glue. Sylvia’s zombie horses remained strong, pulling the carriage. Their dead muscles, controlled by abyss power, showed no fatigue, their faintly red eyes gleaming behind the curtain of rain. However, the party’s ordinary horses began struggling again. Their legs sank into the mud up to their bellies, slowing their movements and making them risky. After a brief discussion, they decided to leave the carriages in a safe place and continue on foot to move faster and more nimbly.

As they approached the rift, the sight they saw made everyone’s hearts tense with unease. The gray seal Stacia had created yesterday had suffered severe cracks. Large fracture lines spread across its surface like a living giant spider web, the faint gray light inside flickering unstably like the heartbeat of something dying. Dark energy from within the rift continued to push outward greedily, like a living creature desperate to break free after long imprisonment. The air around them felt heavy, filled with a stinging ozone smell and low vibrations that made their teeth chatter.

Just as they got closer, the seal completely shattered with a loud, chest-shaking rumble.

DUUUMMM!

An energy explosion burst in all directions. The storm immediately raged again with fury. Strong winds howled like the screams of thousands of tormented spirits, heavy rain poured down once more as if the sky wanted to flood the world, and lightning crackled across the pitch-black sky. But strangely, no monsters came out this time. Only a giant tornado spun powerfully in front of the rift, its winds sharp like thousands of invisible blades slicing through the air and carrying deadly dimensional energy fragments. Leaves, small stones, and wood shards flew within its vortex, pulverized into dust in an instant.

"Let’s go in!" Sylvia ordered without hesitation, her voice ringing out over the deafening roar of the wind. "We can’t let this take over the area! If this tornado expands, the entire elf forest will be destroyed!"

They all stepped carefully into the dimensional rift, bodies bent against the wind. Inside, the world felt drastically different. The space was dark and spinning, the dimensional walls like thick pulsing mist with unstable energy. Dim purple and black lights mixed together, creating illusions of movement everywhere, shadowy hands, faint faces, and terrifying shapes that appeared and vanished. The most dominant feature was the extremely powerful and sharp giant tornado spinning in the center of the area at deadly speed. Its wind was not ordinary there were sharp energy shards like invisible wind blades that could cut stone, wood, and even flesh. Every gust left gashes in the already cracked dimensional ground.

Sylvia immediately unleashed her Nether Branches magic without hesitation. Thick pitch-black branches of darkness emerged from the dimensional ground, growing rapidly and strongly like living hell trees. The branches were thick, full of pulsing dark thorns filled with abyss energy, and formed a sturdy protective wall in front of the team. Their sharp thorns seemed to devour the approaching wind shards. Sylvana simultaneously cast her nature magic. Her fingers moved quickly, summoning the power of the sacred forest she had long mastered. Emerald green roots and branches rose from the ground, intertwining with Sylvia’s Nether Branches. Two opposing forces, one pitch-black full of abyss darkness, the other bright green full of natural life formed a strong and harmonious double shield. Black and green complemented each other; darkness provided unyielding strength while life offered flexibility and healing.

The sharp winds slammed hard against the shield, creating a horrifying metallic scraping sound and colorful energy sparks. Sharp wind shards tried to pierce the small gaps, but the combination of Nether Branches and Sylvana’s nature magic held firm. Heavy vibrations could be felt in their hands and feet with every impact, as if their entire bodies were being shaken by continuous small earthquakes.

"We’re in trouble," Elara said while holding her breath, gripping her bow tightly until her knuckles turned white. Her elf hair was wet again from rain leaking through the shield gaps. "The enemy in front of us isn’t showing a physical form. It’s just this tornado... Who or what is controlling such immense power? Could this dimensional rift have developed its own consciousness?"

Stacia observed with her grimoire opened wide despite the strong wind trying to tear its pages. She had to hold the book with both hands. "This isn’t an ordinary tornado. There’s an energy core in the center, but it’s hard to see clearly because it’s spinning too fast. It might be a pure wind entity or an ancient storm spirit corrupted by this dimensional rift. I can feel its pulse... like an angry heart."

Alicia stacked debuffs toward the center of the tornado with her glowing magic staff. "Slow... Weakness... Fatigue Wave!" Spell after spell she cast, but it was difficult to penetrate. The wind was too strong; many of her debuff spells scattered and weakened before reaching the target. "The effect is very minimal! This wind seems to have its own will!"

Sylvia stepped forward, her Nether Branches growing thicker and branching out like the angry roots of a giant tree. "We have to get closer and find its core. We can’t let this tornado dominate the entire area. If we retreat now, this seal will be completely destroyed and monsters will flood the elf territory again. We’ve come too far to turn back!"

They advanced carefully behind the double shield. The tornado’s wind grew even more violent, trying to spin their bodies like rag dolls. Mud and stone shards flew through the air, slamming against the shield with deafening thuds. Sol, Sylvia’s zombie horse companion, transformed into medium size. Its golden claws slashed at approaching wind shards with fast, precise movements, while Qilin released holy lightning bolts that neutralized some of the sharp energy around them. The lightning flashed brightly in the darkness, providing a glimmer of hope amid the chaos.

The battle against this invisible tornado lasted a long time and was exhausting. They had to keep moving while withstanding sharp wind attacks coming from all directions. Stacia tried a small spatial seal to limit the tornado’s rotation "Spatial Lock!" but the opponent’s energy was too strong and immediately shattered her seal into fragments of light. Elara fired energy arrows aimed at the center, but the wind wildly deflected them, causing the arrows to shatter in mid-air. Lira and Sylvana worked perfectly in sync, summoning more nature roots and thorns to strengthen the shield. The roots pulsed like living veins, absorbing some of the tornado’s energy and converting it into light healing power for the team.

Sylvia felt immense pressure across her entire body. Her abyss chains trembled violently, as if they wanted to burst out. Sweat mixed with rain soaked her face. "This isn’t an ordinary monster. It’s like a nature spirit corrupted by another dimension. We must destroy its core before it grows stronger and summons allies from the depths of the rift!"

Step by step, they advanced through the deadly whirlwind. The Nether Branches and Sylvana’s nature magic shield became the key to their survival. Two opposing forces, darkness and life, worked together in extraordinary harmony. Black and green branches strengthened each other, covering gaps and lending power. Occasionally a small gap was breached by the wind, leaving light wounds on Alicia’s arm that she quickly healed herself, and deep gashes in Stacia’s cloak. But they recovered quickly; the spirit of friendship and trust among the team members became their greatest strength in these critical moments.

After a long struggle that drained their stamina and mana to the limit, they finally approached the center of the tornado. There, faintly visible, was a rapidly spinning energy core ball emitting endless sharp winds. That was the main source of power a dark purple crystal pulsing like the heart of a living creature, surrounded by a denser layer of wind.

"Let’s attack the core together!" Sylvia shouted over the deafening roar of the wind, her voice full of determination.

All attacks were launched at once with the perfect coordination they had trained repeatedly. Sylvia’s abyss chains shot forward like living serpents of darkness. The Chains of Abyss pierced through the wind and wrapped tightly around the core, pulling it out from the vortex. Elara and Lira’s nature arrows flew in a glittering green rain of arrows like forest meteors. Alicia stacked debuffs relentlessly, weakening the core from within. Stacia cast a Spatial Crush spell that compressed the space around the energy ball. Holy energy from Sol and Qilin struck with dazzling bright lightning, while Sylvana summoned giant nature thorns from the ground that stabbed upward like forest spears.

BOOM!

A massive explosion occurred at the center of the tornado. Black, green, white, and gray lights mixed chaotically in a beautiful yet deadly burst. The tornado began to shake violently, its rotation slowing drastically, and the sharp wind shards started disappearing one by one. However, the energy core still held on, pulsing even stronger as if enraged and wanting to retaliate.