The Duchess Has an Apocalypse Constitution

Rion stepped onto the first floor with a muttered curse. "This is gonna suck, nya."

The basement and staircase were separated from the rest of the floor by thick reinforced glass. Beyond the transparent barrier, the gruesome scene on the first floor unfolded in vivid detail. Blood splatters painted the walls and floor. Chairs lay toppled on their sides, light fixtures hung shattered with fragments scattered everywhere, and zombies shambled through the wreckage.

"Ugh..."

Rion couldn't hold back a dry heave. Like most people, she had a weak stomach. The zombies were horrifyingly detailed—flayed skin, intestines spilling from split-open stomachs, exposed bones, and eyeballs dangling from sockets.

This is exactly why I didn't want to do this...

Rion had never been a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fan of zombies or horror games. She'd only streamed them before to chase popularity. The developer behind Labyrinthos had gone overboard with the zombie designs; they were excessively realistic and disgusting. On top of that, the VR experience added a level of immersion you could never get from a PC screen—the stench that hit your nose, the texture of the air against your skin. All of it amplified the terror.

Rion swallowed hard without realizing it.

"My, what a magnificent view right from the start."

A relaxed, elegant voice suddenly cut through the tension.

"Sister..."

"Don't just stand there. Come over here, won't you? There's nothing to be gained by letting those things see you."

Lora extended her hand in invitation. That's right... Rion had joined this game because of her. At first she'd tried to refuse like everyone else, but when the fourth and final spot wouldn't fill, she'd ended up here. It wasn't just to make the numbers work. More than anything, Rion had her own massive goal.

She was probably the person in this world who wanted to see Lora succeed the most. Even more than Lora herself.

"...Okay."

Rion took Lora's hand and pressed herself against the wall to avoid catching the zombies' attention. Lora continued observing the creatures beyond the glass while Rion held her breath. Before long, footsteps echoed up the stairs—the other two had finally finished logging in.

"Mommy! Auntie!"

"I'm gonna kill her, nya."

The moment she was called "auntie," a curse slipped out. It was Ainatsu. Maybe because she couldn't drink, her brain cells seemed to be deteriorating lately, and she'd started calling Rion "auntie." Rion was seriously considering beating some sense into her.

"Whoa... what is this place? I really hate this kind of atmosphere..."

The last member was Sora. She looked around and muttered in horror.

Lora, Rion, Ainatsu, and Sora. That was the "Great Dukedom" party. Of course, Aurora was the one who'd come up with the name. Apparently they each had roles: noble duchess, head maid of the ducal house (distant blood relative), prisoner of the ducal house, and unimportant guest of the ducal house (occasionally assigned menial chores). Rion didn't really understand what any of it meant, so if anyone was curious, they should ask Lora themselves.

Rion had joined the stream both to help Lora and to fill out the numbers. Ainatsu had committed the crime of insulting nobility, so she was in no position to refuse Lora's orders. She also had some resistance to horror games. As for Sora, she'd joined after a brief exchange:

I hate horror games...

But they made it in Deadlouse, right?

...Fine. If that's the case, I'll do it.

It wasn't strange for Lora and Sora to stick together these days, but Rion suspected Sora had some other motive. She wasn't sure what it was, though.

"We don't actually have to go out there, right...? With all those zombies wandering around?"

"If there's no other path, then yes, we do."

Lora crossed her arms as she spoke.

"For now, everyone explore the basement. There might be another way out."

"What are you going to do, Sister?"

"Oh dear, a duchess's rear is quite heavy. All that bustling about is for you girls to handle."

"Whoa! She said her butt's heavy! That's so lewd!"

Leaving behind Ainatsu's brain-rotted shriek, it seemed Lora simply didn't want to bother with trivial tasks. Just how spoiled had this woman been growing up? Still, it was probably for the best. The thought of the glass barrier shattering and zombies pouring in was something Rion didn't want to experience, game or not. Lora looked like she wouldn't even blink if hundreds of zombies charged her. If someone like that was willing to stand guard, it was reassuring in its own way.

So Lora stayed on the first floor while the rest returned to the basement for a thorough search.

"By the way, Senior Rion. Can't we just stay here?"

The moment they reached the basement, Sora approached her. Sora seemed a bit intimidated by Ainatsu. Which made sense—there was no way that woman had given her a good first impression. On the other hand, Sora had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been getting more comfortable with Rion lately and had started speaking more casually.

"That won't work, nya. We have food to worry about, so we'll have to leave eventually."

"I figured..."

"Plus we only have fifty hours of safety time."

After fifty hours, this place would no longer be safe. They had to get out before then. And it didn't take long for Rion and Sora to discover exactly why.

"...Senior Rion, there are zombies in here."

Inside the cold sleep capsules were corpses with discolored flesh. They looked cleaner than the ones on the first floor. Being frozen had preserved their basic human shapes, at least.

"Hmm... I think I get it."

Ainatsu clapped her hands as if she'd figured something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out.

"So the setting is that only the four of us are immune to the zombie virus. The cold sleep devices were probably scheduled to release everyone at once after fifty hours, right? But this voice? The AI? It must have woken only us—the ones with virus immunity—fifty hours early!"

"...Senior Ainatsu, why are you suddenly so knowledgeable?"

"Uddya? Ainatsu is a baby. A wittle babyyy!"

"That's scary, so please stop, nya."

It was terrifying how she kept flipping between normal person and complete weirdo. Why couldn't she just pick one? Why did this woman keep switching back and forth like that?

Anyway, they now knew that zombies would be released from the cold sleep facility in fifty hours. After searching further, they found a few items: one flashlight, one handgun, eight bullets, and one bandage.

"These items are placed so unnaturally."

"That's just how horror games are."

Horror game trait: For some reason, weapons are always lying on the floor.

Horror game trait: For some reason, batteries and healing items are scattered in enemy territory.

Still, fighting those zombies bare-handed was out of the question. These items were clearly meant to help them survive the early stages.

"Over here! There's a ladder going up!"

Ainatsu had solved one problem. Of course she had. There was indeed a safe way out.

"Sora and Ainatsu, head up first. I'll go get Sister Lora."

Thus, the members of the Great Dukedom escaped the basement through the secret passage.

Some of them, anyway.

When Rion reached the first floor, what she saw was the reinforced glass barrier standing wide open for some reason.

"Oh dear, you're late?"

Beyond the glass, Lora smiled sweetly. While stroking a zombie's head.

"Uh, ughhh..."

Aurora casually drove a survival knife into the zombie's neck. She shoved it deep and sliced, cutting through as easily as scissors through paper. Or a kitchen knife through meat. The blade drew a smooth line in one fluid motion. The zombie thrashed, but it was meaningless resistance. It was questionable whether a mindless zombie could even perform an act of "resistance." It was just convulsions. The corpse, stripped of reason and driven only by beastly instinct, was now nothing more than a rotting chunk of flesh.

With a dull thud, the head separated from the body. All that remained in Lora's hand was the decayed skull. She tossed it aside with clear disgust.

"Sister... what the hell is..."

"There was a knife lying around here, you see."

Tap. Tap. Lora's foot tapped the floor.

"Horror games are quite fascinating, aren't they? The way weapons are just casually scattered everywhere."

That's what she said. Around Lora lay nothing but corpses with their heads severed.

"Call Sora and Ainatsu over. This area seems safe now."

"...They already left through the secret passage."

"Oh, did they?"

Lora touched a hand to her cheek in mild annoyance, not caring that it was now smeared with rotten blood.

"Then I'll tidy up the area a bit more. Go fetch them when you're ready."

"......"

So she had no intention of using the secret passage after all. Rion let out a small sigh. It seemed their young duchess had an apocalypse constitution.