<Episode 6>

Bang!

At the sound of my shout, we bolted forward.

“Kwaaah!”

Crack!

I ran, swinging my hammer wildly.

“Ugh!”

Crack!

I sliced off the arm of a zombie clawing at my side, then brought the hammer down, crushing its skull.

The zombie’s limbs fell apart, and it collapsed in a heap.

Thud! Crunch! Thwack!

The unpleasant sounds of breaking bones echoed from all directions.

Some of the decayed skeletons crumbled easily as I struck them.

At one point, I almost slipped and fell on some scattered bones.

‘Is he keeping up?’

I glanced back to see the Crown Prince, Lihad Deon Hiazan, chasing after me, his deep wine-colored hair billowing in the wind. His eyes shone like gold dust through his tousled hair.

‘As expected, I feel reassured knowing he’s at full strength.’

Relieved, I continued to fight off the zombies while running. Thanks to swiftly cutting through the zombies closing in on either side, I safely reached the empty zone created by the grenade explosion.

“Huff, huff.”

After sprinting while swinging my hammer, I was out of breath.

The zombies hadn’t closed in yet, so I could catch my breath here for a moment.

Thud! Crack!

But only for a moment. I noticed the safe zone was shrinking and began clearing a path towards the cliff again. Soon, I reached the jagged ground that looked like a sinkhole shaped by a lightning bolt.

It was dizzyingly terrifying, but with a raft bridge, it could be crossed.

‘First, I need to secure the safe zone on the northern ground.’

The zombies from the north were swarming towards us, leaving no room to step.

I pulled out another grenade from my pouch.

Boom!

I quickly threw the grenade to secure the safe zone, then turned around.

“Your Highness, now let’s use the raft brid—”

Huh? Where was the Crown Prince? My outstretched hand found nothing.

Sensing something was wrong, I quickly scanned the area. When I finally spotted him, my mouth slowly fell open.

The Crown Prince was still in the middle of the zombie horde.

Zombies were emerging from the fences, carrying their comrades on their backs, gathering around him.

Lihad met my gaze and smiled as if he was enjoying himself.

‘Damn it! How can you be smiling right now?’

Just as I was about to shout in frustration, the zombies completely engulfed the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, I saw a spear swing wide through the gaps between the zombies.

Whoosh—!

A fierce wind blew, scattering bone dust as several zombies were hurled away, clearing the cloud of dust.

“Phew.”

As the scene became clear, I saw the Crown Prince, Lihad Deon Hiazan, taking a deep breath. He ran his hand through his deep wine-colored hair, casually surveying the fallen zombies around him.

I was still processing the sudden turn of events when one of the zombies, which had been lying motionless, reached out toward him. Its skull, the weak point, hadn’t been shattered.

“Watch out behind you!”

My shout made the Crown Prince react instantly.

“Tch.”

With an annoyed click of his tongue, he grabbed the zombie’s skull with his bare hand, just as it lunged at his side.

“Kyaaaak—!”

The blue veins on the back of his hand bulged and twitched as he applied pressure.

Crack!

The decayed jawbone started to fracture, and then the lower half of the skull shattered.

Seeing pieces of bone drop to the ground, I let out a half-laugh.

‘Did he just break that with his bare hands? I mean, sure, the bone was decayed, but this isn’t an apple we’re talking about….’

I was momentarily speechless at his superhuman strength.

Lihad quickly ran over to me and placed the raft bridge across the jagged ground. He gave me a quick nod, signaling me to go first while he kept an eye on the rear.

“Cross first, my lady.”

“Follow right behind me.”

Seeing him nod, I felt relieved and was just about to step onto the raft bridge when—

Boom!

“Ugh!”

The ground shook violently and began to crack.

I stepped back in a hurry, and as the raft bridge tumbled down, my body lurched forward.

‘I’m going to fall!’

Just as the dark chasm filled my vision—

“My lady!”

The Crown Prince roughly yanked me back, saving me from falling.

Panting heavily, I leaned my head against his chest, trying to catch my breath as the earthquake subsided.

The thought of nearly falling sent a chill down my spine, but only for a moment before my mind cleared.

‘What just happened?’

Why did…?

‘Why is there an earthquake when the Saintess hasn’t appeared yet?’

In the original story, earthquakes occurred when the Saintess descended, as her holy power clashed with the energy of the zombie zones.

Though I was always curious about how she purified the zombies with holy power, I had no time to ponder that now.

I looked at the Crown Prince with confused eyes.

He was just as surprised as I was.

“Damn it, there’s no other choice.”

Cursing lightly, Lihad slid his arm under my thighs and lifted me up.

As I lost my balance and wobbled, I instinctively grabbed onto his shoulder.

When he stopped and muttered something about the distance being sufficient, a bad feeling washed over me.

“…What are you planning?”

“We have to cross, don’t we?”

“You’re going to carry me across?”

He raised a crimson eyebrow and glanced at me.

“And what if I am?”

“Have you ever tried running while carrying an adult woman?”

“Are you scared?”

“Have you?”

Crunch!

Lihad kicked away a zombie that lunged at us and glanced back at me.

“…Not really.”

Damn it, so he hasn’t.

At that moment, he wrapped his arm around my waist, still holding the spear in his hand.

“Hold on tight, my lady.”

Tap!

With a swift movement, the Crown Prince leapt into the air.

“Ack!”

‘You crazy idiot, what am I supposed to hold on to?!’

In a panic, I grabbed onto the Crown Prince’s hair that was flying wildly in the wind.

Every sensation was heightened as we soared through the air.

My hair lifted with the wind, then plummeted back down as we descended.

Thud.

A solid, reassuring feeling spread through me as we landed. I cracked my eyes open just a sliver.

I saw the zombies from the northern ground, the ones I had cleared out with the grenade earlier. It was a safe zone.

‘I-I’m alive.’

Relief washed over me, and I felt like a deflated balloon as all the tension drained from my body.

“Maybe you should let go of me now.”

A sharp voice pierced my ears.

I turned my head slowly to find the Crown Prince glaring at me with cold eyes, as sharp as a blade.

Both of my hands were still clutching onto his hair.

As I quickly let go, a few strands of his bright red hair fluttered to the ground.

I blew them away awkwardly, trying to hide my embarrassment with a nervous laugh.

“Did it hurt?”

The Crown Prince let out a dry laugh, seemingly incredulous, before setting me down. He shook his head, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen a lady grab a Crown Prince by the hair. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering your reputation as the wild lady.”

Crack!

As I struck down a zombie that had approached, I looked at him with a mix of disbelief and irritation.

‘Now that I think about it, why should I be the one apologizing? He’s the one who grabbed me without warning and jumped.’

Sure, we made it across safely, but still.

Pushing unnecessary feelings aside, I nodded toward the forest ahead.

“Your Highness, we’ve been delayed long enough. We should hurry to the forest.”

“Right.”

The Crown Prince nodded agreeably and began clearing a path.

We had just started heading toward the forest when—

Rumble!

The ground shook violently once more.

The tremors were so strong that even my brain felt like it was rattling inside my skull.

‘What the hell, why is there another earthquake?!’

In my panicked vision, I saw the Crown Prince teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.

“Your Highness!”

I quickly reached out, and through the waves of his wine-colored hair, I caught a glimpse of his golden eyes widening in surprise.

For someone on the brink of death, his expression was startlingly calm. He didn’t look panicked or terrified, just… mildly surprised, like he had seen something unfamiliar.

Thud!

“Ugh.”

I dropped to the ground, barely managing to grab his arm.

With my hammer lost, I used both hands to pull him back, but despite my desperate efforts, my body was being dragged forward instead.

My grip on his arm slipped down to his wrist, and then finally, our hands met.

Clenching my teeth, I held onto his hand with all the strength I had left, my knuckles white with fear.

‘Damn it…’

“Kwaaah!”

Behind us, the zombies were closing in, and if I let go, the Crown Prince would fall to his death.

This was a disaster in every possible way.

“Hey, my lady.”

The Crown Prince’s voice reached my ears. Unlike my panicked groans, his tone was languid, as if he had just woken up from a nap.

“W-What?! Just drop the spear and grab my hand already! Don’t tell me you don’t have the strength for this!”

My words came out harsher than I intended, but I was at my limit. My arms felt like they were about to be ripped out of their sockets.