Zombie Girls Revival System-Chapter 174: The Glimpse That Unveils the Nexus Tree’s Humanimal Mystery.

Instantaneous.

Where her paste touched the skin, the red rot receded. The inflamed, sickly tissue smoothed out, and a wave of natural, soft human skin reappeared, healthy and pale. The decay literally stopped and reversed, fading as if it had been erased by a magic sponge.

A collective gasp swept the room. Dr. Alton stumbled back, clutching his clipboard.

"It can't be!" Dr. Alton stammered, his voice cracking with professional devastation. "I deployed hyper-antivirals, protein stabilizers, gene therapy! We used every technology available in the City! How—how did that folk remedy work?"

Evelise lifted her hand, showing the remaining paste. "You worked within the limits of your world, Doctor. I am working with the power of nature and my own genetics. The answer lies not in attacking the blight, but in strengthening the foundation. This is my people's healing gift."

The Mayor, who had been standing rigidly, suddenly broke. He rushed forward, pushing past the stunned officials. He didn't care about the science or the politics; he only saw his wife. He collapsed onto the bedside, gently touching the healthy skin where the rot had vanished.

Tears, genuine and wrenching, streamed down his face. "My love! My wife! It's gone! You're going to live! We can save you!" he sobbed, hugging her frail body.

The raw display of human emotion touched Evelise. She had viewed the Mayor as a monster, but here was a man heartbroken and relieved.

"Your Honor," Evelise said softly, stepping back. "She requires rest. The cure is beginning to repair the damage, but the weakness is profound. She will wake soon, but she must be left in peace."

The Mayor, still weeping but regaining his composure, simply nodded, rising slowly. He didn't offer thanks, not a single word of gratitude. He straightened his tie, wiped his tears, and looked at Evelise with a terrible intensity.

"The trial is... successful," the Mayor stated, his voice heavy with the magnitude of the statement. "The agreement holds. You have won."

Evelise's parents burst into tears of relief and joy, clutching each other. On the other hand…. Sid's internal relief was so explosive he couldn't contain it. His whole body suddenly vibrated with sheer, overwhelming joy, making the very air around him pop.

"YES! YES, SHE DID IT! I never doubted you for a second, Evelise!"

He cheered, the shout loud enough to cut through the quiet tension and cause every single person present to snap their attention toward him. He realized his blunder instantly. He gave a sharp, nervous cough and managed to stammer out,

"Uhm... apologies. So, uh, what's the next?"

The scene dissolved instantly and reformed in the grand ballroom. The celebration was already in full swing, but this time, the atmosphere was palpably different: a grudging respect mingled with the astonishment of the City officials filled the air.

Sid was trailing Evelise like a shadow, and he soon noticed something unsettling.

"The heck? Why are these guards staring at me like that?" He scanned the perimeter, realizing one of the female guards was actually smiling at him. "Geez, this old fart was definitely famous with women. He must have been good looking, even at his age. God, I hope women still love me when I'm old, haha."

The Mayor stood on a raised dais, his arm looped around his wife, who was now fully dressed. She was frail and pale but standing, requiring only a slight assistance from her husband. She was alive, and the disgusting red dots were completely gone.

"Behold!" the Mayor boomed to the assembled guests, presenting his wife. "Lady Evelise De Miraval, a humanimal has achieved the miracle our City's science could not! The Red Rot is defeated! Today, we announce not just an engagement, but the Unification of the City!"

The officials, though still skeptical in their hearts, clapped enthusiastically. Sid, watching the scene from his post, could see the calculation in their eyes: She is valuable. We can use her.

Evelise, radiant and exhausted in her ceremonial gown, stood beside her parents.

Her father grabbed her hands, his eyes wet. "My daughter! The miracle! The line of the white rabbit— it was true! We knew the prophecies! You are the one who will lead us back to our origin!"

Her mother, unable to contain her emotions, hugged Evelise fiercely. "We endured so much, my child. The strictness, the sacrifice... it was all to ensure you would be this strong, this disciplined, this perfect for this moment. For this chance at the Nexus!"

She pulled back, looking directly into Evelise's eyes, her own filled with genuine remorse. "I am so sorry, Evelise. For every hardship. For every time I pushed you... I am sorry."

Tears finally welled in Evelise's perfect, ruby eyes. The mask cracked.

"I know, Mother," Evelise whispered, hugging her tightly. "I know I had to be that person. I know you did it for our people."

Sid, standing just behind them, felt the overwhelming rush of emotion—the crushing weight of generations of sacrifice and the breathtaking triumph of this moment. Tears streamed silently down his own face, trapped in the servant's body.

"They won. She did it."

This was the culmination of her life: the price of perfection paid in full, ensuring her people's survival and return to their ancestral home, the Nexus Tree. The marriage was merely the political lock on the deal.

Evelise accepted her parents' praise with a quiet grace, her attention momentarily captured by the sight of the towering Nexus Tree in the distant twilight. Sid, a silent shadow behind her, listened intently, knowing every word spoken here was crucial to his understanding.

Evelise's father lowered his voice further, his gaze distant, fixed on the ancient silhouette. "Do you feel it, Evelise?"

Evelise closed her eyes, drawing a slow, deep breath. "The hum," she confirmed, her voice barely a whisper. "It is stronger here, so close to the City walls. The air vibrates with its presence."

Her mother reached out, touching Evelise's arm with reverence. "The Nexus Tree is not merely a source of power, my child. It is our mother. It gave birth to our ancestors, the first of the humanimals, long, long ago. We were not merely beings; we were living magic."

"We were the most powerful beings on this land," her father interjected, his voice thick with inherited pride and sorrow. "Humans once worshipped us. They feared and revered the power that flowed through us, because it was visibly tied to the Tree."

Evelise looked down at her own hands, the hands that had just defied death. "The unique abilities. Your power of sight, my healing gift, others who could weave water or manipulate the very earth... these were not merely skills. They were the Nexus's love made manifest."

"Yes! The miracle!" her mother exclaimed, gripping her daughter's hands. "It was meant to save and protect both beings— human and humanimal. Our power was stewardship. It was never meant to harm."

"But humans grew greedy," her father continued, the painful history etched onto his face. "They could not accept a world where they were not supreme. They could not tolerate being under the protection or the perceived control of 'beasts.' They were threatened by what they could not possess or understand."

Evelise nodded, her expression grim. "They began to fear the magic, labelling it as 'wild' and 'unpredictable.' They severed the bond. They drove us out, branding us as threats, monsters, the very 'beasts' they are now so afraid of."

"They became the beasts themselves," her mother spat out, a rare flash of bitterness in her eyes. "We lived outside the City, exiled to the mountains and the forests... nature was our only home. We lived simply, purely. We had no need for their metal or their noise. We knew nothing of the world's sickness."

Evelise surveyed the glittering ballroom, the synthetic noise, the heavy perfumes. "And now we are back. The land that birthed us is paved over, filled with metal structures and churning technologies. The air around the Nexus— the air we breathe here is dark, polluted, choked by human industry."

"But our power is still the same," her father insisted, bringing her back to the present. "Your power is still pure, Evelise. It is still the miracle. They tried to separate us from the Nexus, to make us forget, but the magic still calls to us. That is why your healing works. That is why they need you now."

Evelise took a deep, resolving breath, the weight of history settling on her shoulders. "Then I will use this opportunity. I will use the power of the Nexus, the power they feared and rejected, to save them. Not for their gratitude, but for the sake of our people. To reclaim our right to the Motherland."

"Wait, the Nexus," Sid muttered to himself, the pieces finally clicking into place. "That explains that massive, weird painting in the Mayor's hallway. The one showing a humanimal at a glowing tree while people kneel before it. It's not just some strange art— it's a memory. It is the Nexus."