Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 2 - Chaos

Chapter 2 Chaos

“Uh?”

Before I even had time to think, What’s wrong with her?, the heroine, Sienna, suddenly bit the male lead’s neck.

And it wasn’t a light bite. It was strong enough that I clearly heard the sickening crunch of flesh being crushed between teeth.

The crown prince—our male lead—was stunned for a moment by the unexpected attack. Then, as the horrible pain shot through his neck, he screamed.

“Uaaaaagh! I-It hurts!”

The moment the crown prince screamed, everyone invited to the wedding froze. No one understood what was happening.

I was the same, even though I had been excited about going home.

“…What?”

Why is she doing that? Is this some kind of surprise performance? Are royal weddings these days into hardcore themes like this? Is this the beginning of a new trend? Author-nim, did you have… interesting tastes?

I tried to think lightly about it, but I could tell this was a situation that made every hair on my body stand on end.

That was a zombie, the kind that eats people.

‘I-I need to run.’

But my feet felt glued to the floor.

The other guests were the same. They looked lost, frozen in confusion. Only when the male lead was bitten again and screamed did people finally react.

“Argh! H-Help!”

“G-Guards! Save the crown prince!”

“Kyaaa! The crown princess has gone mad!”

Even then, people were confused, but they believed the situation would soon be resolved. I thought so too.

“Zero, was there… a scene like this in the story?”

Zero—the golden hamster dressed head to toe in a pitch-black suit matching my dress code—was sweating buckets.

『Um… well…』

‘Why is that tiny thing sweating so sadly?’

I wasn’t supposed to be fooled by appearances, but he looked so cute that I wiped his sweat with my handkerchief.

Zero buried his head in the handkerchief like it was a giant towel, then anxiously gnawed on his front paw.

『…No. This wasn’t expected. I need to report to the higher-ups and find out.』

“What?”

Then what about me? How am I supposed to get home?

Sensing something was very wrong from Zero’s reaction, I reached out to shake him down, but something even worse happened first.

The male lead—who had been bitten by the heroine—
started showing the same symptoms as her.

Meaning: the crown prince’s eyes turned as red as the heroine’s, and his bones began twisting unnaturally, just like a zombie in a movie. Then he opened his mouth with hollowed cheeks and bit the head of the guard who rushed in to protect him.

“Aaagh! Y-Your Highness! Why are you doing this?!”

The captain of the guards tried to reason with him like a decent human being, but the male lead had clearly lost all sanity.

“Grrruuuugh…”

His eyes, unfocused, only sought living people to bite. Even when restrained, the heroine bit anyone holding her and let out strange moaning sounds.

“Grrrrk. Guhhhhk.”

“Y-Your Highness, Crown Princess… if you can hear me—Kyaaaah!”

A doctor rushed in—only to be bitten by the crown princess. And the guard captain bitten by the crown prince rolled his eyes back and started growling too, opening his mouth to bite the nearest person.

“…I think I know what that is.”

It reminded me exactly of something I knew. Goosebumps swept over my body, and cold sweat ran down my back. I prayed I was wrong—but the world didn’t listen.

“S-Save us! It’s a monster!”

“Everyone bitten by Their Highnesses shows the same symptoms!”

“Quickly! Evacuate His Majesty and Her Majesty!”

“Guests, flee at once! This is an emergency!”

The once joyous wedding hall turned into chaos in seconds. Every time the heroine and hero bit someone, new infected victims appeared.

People abandoned the couple they’d been blessing just moments before and ran for their lives. I also accepted that I wouldn’t be going home today and joined the fleeing crowd to escape danger.

“Zero!”

『…Yeah.』

“D-Don’t tell me those are zombies? No, right?”

When Zero reappeared, I stopped running just long enough to stare at him desperately, begging for him to deny it—but my bad feeling was right.

『…It looks like it.』

Oh, for crying out loud.

What kind of trash novel has the main characters turning into zombies right before the ending?

W-What about my tteokbokki? What about it?!

Then—

“Grrrugh.”

A noblewoman—who had been scolding my outfit just minutes ago—now had messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and a cold hand that grabbed my wrist.

“Kyaaaaa!”

Is this what it feels like to hold hands with a corpse?

The icy, horrifying sensation made me yank my wrist free in panic, and I ran with all my strength.

No, no, no, NO! I hate this! I seriously hate this!

How did the zombies get this close?!

I didn’t know how zombies even appeared here, but first I had to survive. Only the living can go home.

“See you later, Zero.”

『Y-Yeah, got it.』

I ran nonstop with the crowd fleeing the zombies. My heavy, annoying dress got in the way of running.

Same for everyone else. Worse, since this was the crown prince’s wedding, everyone had worn the fanciest clothes possible. Completely impractical for escaping.

To make things even worse, some nobles still refused to run in the imperial halls, saying it was improper.

“This is the sacred imperial palace! As if such a monster could not be dealt with!”

“Exactly. Must we run like commoners without dignity?”

‘Ah, that’s the sound of a death flag being raised…’

People say “never say never” for a reason. Acting so carefree in a dangerous situation is exactly how you lose your life.

‘If they keep walking that slowly, those fast-moving zombies will catch them and they’ll end up the same way.’

The hallway that had looked so beautiful just moments ago—decorated with white lilies—now felt like a stage built for death. It was chilling.

If I warned them to be careful, they might accuse me of being a witch…

After all, I was the villainess.

Elizabeth Keaton—the villainess—was known as a liar and a wicked, cruel young lady. Showing off money and acting outrageously toward the heroine Sienna was just her baseline. And if she sensed other noble ladies were prettier or gaining influence, she acted threateningly toward them.

People would judge me based only on the image Elizabeth had built until now. They wouldn’t believe a single thing I said. Saying anything would just be a waste of time.

‘So I should leave people like that behind and run…’

But I couldn’t. Because they were still people.

“Hey! This is not the time for that! You have to run!”

I grabbed the hands of the ones slowing down and pulled them forward. Thankfully, this villainess’s body was strong, so I wasn’t too out of breath even while running.

“Huff, huff… L-Lady Keaton, I can’t run anymore.”

“M-Me neither…”

The noble couple whose hands I was pulling let go, exhausted.

“No, get up! Quickly!”

These flimsy nobles…
The young lady looked like she was about to collapse. Running this far in high heels with barely any stamina was already impressive.

But right now, only sprinting with everything they had would keep them alive.

“That might not just be any monster. If it moves very fast, it’ll catch up soon! Which means we have to get out of here as fast as possible!”

“What?”

“You saw what happened to the people who got bitten earlier, right? They were perfectly fine one moment and turned strange the next! If we don’t avoid that, we’ll end up the same!”

Even though I explained quickly while gasping for breath, they looked like they didn’t understand. Or maybe some understood but didn’t believe me—they just frowned.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me. But if you want to live, you must get out of the palace!”

I still didn’t know why a zombie-like heroine appeared in the imperial palace, or why the original story went off the rails. Even Zero, my helper, was confused and still searching for the cause.

As I ran with all my strength through the imperial hallway, the people who were first annoyed eventually followed me. It seemed they decided I wasn’t lying.

But… something felt off since a while back. Too quiet. Unnaturally quiet. I couldn’t see the people who were just running with me, and I couldn’t hear any zombie noises either.

‘And why… why is the exit not showing up no matter how far I run?’

It was like being trapped in a limited space. Considering the time and the distance I’d run, I should’ve reached an exit long ago—but outside the windows, the scenery didn’t change at all. It felt like I was running in place.

And that massive door with engraved patterns…
I’d passed it several times. Over and over.
Like I was wandering inside an endless maze.

‘Magic? Or a curse?’

Whichever it was, it didn’t mean anything good for me.

I spoke to Zero in my mind.

‘Hey, Zero. You busy?’

『What. What is it?』

‘Am I… running in circles? Is someone deliberately blocking me from leaving?’

Zero stopped whatever investigation he was doing and examined the hallway I had run through. Then he answered.

『Yeah. I think someone put up a barrier over the entire imperial fortress to prevent anyone from getting out.』

‘What! A barrier? You didn’t say anything about that at the start!’

『How would I know it would turn out like this?! I was excited thinking this long business trip was finally ending and I could go home too…! Who knows which dog-bone-headed idiot set up a barrier around the palace!』

The hamster helper puffed out his cheeks in frustration like a tired office worker complaining about his job. His cuteness and misery made some of my anger melt away.

‘So how do we break it?’

『Well… the conditions are kind of strict.』

Zero hesitated—very unlike him. I urged him impatiently.

‘Just tell me already! Whatever it takes, it’s better than waiting here to be eaten by zombies.’

『Um, well… If you have zombie blood… you might be able to break it.』

What did I just hear? Did my hearing finally give out?

‘That’s a lie, right?’

『Would I lie to my assigned possessor when your life is in danger?!』

This rotten world.

‘Whoever turned the heroine into a zombie—I swear, if I find them, I’ll beat them senseless.’

My teeth ground together.