Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Uh...”

A few heads turned upward. At some point—no one could say exactly when—a tall figure had appeared in front of them. He was clean-cut, with sharp, handsome features, and his cold, indifferent gaze seemed to take in everything.

The group froze, their expressions instantly blank with shock, disbelief written all over their faces.

Was this... a hallucination?

The girl stared at him, dumbfounded. She couldn’t wrap her head around it—how could someone just appear out of nowhere?

But his words from moments ago... they were dripping with temptation.

After all, they were nothing more than blood slaves now, kept like livestock by the terrifying zombies. Sooner or later, they’d end up as a meal.

In such a desperate situation, who wouldn’t crave power?

”I... I want it,” the girl finally said, her voice trembling.

”Good,” Ethan replied with a small nod, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ”But... you’ll have to pay a small price for it.”

”I’ll do anything, as long as I can get out of here!” The girl’s voice cracked, her tear-streaked face still wet, but her eyes burned with a stubborn determination.

Behind her, however, a middle-aged man frowned and muttered skeptically, ”Who is this guy? Does he think he’s some kind of savior? Just handing out power like it’s candy? For all we know, he’s working with the zombies. Don’t fall for it.”

The others exchanged uneasy glances. Everything happening right now was too bizarre to believe.

And what Ethan was offering? It sounded downright impossible.

Ethan didn’t bother explaining. Without another word, he pulled out a vial of G-virus, its dark purple liquid swirling ominously. He stepped forward and plunged the syringe into the girl’s neck. With a press of his thumb, the serum slowly flowed into her veins.

Crack. Crack.

The transformation was almost immediate. Her skin began to peel away, revealing bulging muscles and sinew beneath. Her bones creaked and expanded, the sound echoing in the room. The iron chains binding her snapped apart like brittle twigs as her body swelled.

In mere moments, the frail girl was gone. In her place knelt a towering monster. Even on her knees, her head scraped the ceiling. Her skin had turned a mottled brown, her face twisted into a grotesque snarl. Her glowing, feral eyes glared out from her monstrous visage, and sharp fangs jutted from her mouth. A suffocating aura of violence radiated from her.

The once-delicate girl had become a terrifying beast in the blink of an eye.

”So... this is what power feels like?” Her voice was hoarse and guttural, her massive hands clenching and unclenching as she stared at them. A manic gleam flickered in her eyes, as if the serum had awakened a bloodthirsty urge she could barely contain.

The others were paralyzed with fear, their faces pale as they took in the horrifying transformation.

”A demon! He’s a demon!” a woman in the back screamed, her voice trembling with terror.

What else could he be? Someone who could turn a person into a monster in an instant—what else but a demon could do that?

Ethan remained unfazed, his expression calm, almost bored. He was long accustomed to the effects of the G-virus.

”And what about the rest of you?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over the remaining four.

”No! No, I don’t want to become a monster!” the woman who had screamed earlier shook her head frantically, her voice rising in panic.

Sure, being kept as a blood slave was miserable, but at least she was alive. The pain of being drained was bearable, and the zombies even provided decent food to keep them alive. The zombie king, in particular, made sure they were well-fed, sometimes even bringing supplements to boost their blood production.

”Alright, fair enough. I’ve never been one to force anyone,” Ethan said with a casual shrug.

The woman let out a shaky breath, relief washing over her. Maybe this ”demon” wasn’t as cruel as she thought.

But before she could finish the thought, Ethan’s hand flicked out. A blade of light materialized in his grasp, and with a swift motion, he slashed upward. The blade pierced her chin and sliced clean through her skull, splitting her head in two.

Blood sprayed everywhere, warm and sticky, splattering across the faces of the remaining survivors. The metallic tang filled the air as the woman’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

The group stood frozen, their minds struggling to process what had just happened. Fear overtook their expressions, their eyes wide and unblinking.

Ethan’s gaze swept over the remaining four, his voice calm but laced with an unspoken threat. ”What about you? Do you want it?”

”Uh... yes! Yes, I want it!” one of the young men stammered, nodding so quickly it was as if his head might fall off.

The others quickly chimed in, their voices overlapping in desperation.

”Me too! I want it!”

”I’m willing to pay the price!”

”Whatever it takes!”

Better to live as a monster than die as prey. Their survival instincts kicked in, overriding any hesitation. They understood now—Ethan wasn’t offering them a choice between ”yes” and ”no.” It was ”yes” or death.

Ethan stood still, making no move to act.

The reason? There were originally four doses of the G-virus. After using one on the girl, only three remained. But now, there were four people left. Not enough to go around.

”Sorry,” Ethan said, his tone calm, almost casual. ”There are only three doses left. So... what do you think we should do?”

”Uh...” The four froze, their minds racing to process his words. But it didn’t take long for the meaning to sink in.

Their gazes shifted toward one another, eyes narrowing with suspicion. The tension in the room thickened instantly. Ethan’s meaning was clear: one of them had to die.

”This is... this is too cruel!” the middle-aged man shouted, his face twisting with anger and desperation. ”What, you want us to kill each other now?”

”Not necessarily,” Ethan replied, his voice as indifferent as ever.

Suddenly, the monstrous girl spoke up. Her voice was guttural, her tone laced with a chilling nonchalance. ”No need for that.”

Before anyone could react, she extended a massive clawed hand. With a sickening squelch, she drove it straight through the middle-aged man’s chest, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing.

The sound of his ribs cracking echoed through the room as his body convulsed in agony.

”You... what are you doing?!” he gasped, blood bubbling from his lips.

”This way, you don’t have to fight each other,” the girl said coldly. She had never liked him anyway. With a brutal squeeze, she crushed his body, reducing him to a mangled mess. Without hesitation, she shoved the remains into her mouth, chewing loudly.

The three remaining survivors stared in horror, their faces pale as death. Their fear was palpable, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Ethan watched the scene unfold, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. ”Not bad,” he murmured to himself. The girl had only just joined him, and she was already proving useful—helping him ”resolve” the situation without him lifting a finger.

Satisfied, he flicked his wrist, tossing the remaining three doses of the G-virus onto the ground in front of the survivors.

The three stared at the vials, their minds torn between terror and temptation. These small containers held the key to unimaginable power—but at the cost of their humanity. They would become monsters, just like the girl. But compared to the alternative—death—it didn’t seem like such a bad deal.

Because as long as you’re alive, there’s hope.

Maybe, just maybe, there’d be a way to turn back someday.

Without further hesitation, the three scrambled forward, each grabbing a vial. One by one, they injected the dark purple serum into their veins.

The dimly lit room was soon filled with the sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh. The transformation was violent and grotesque. Within moments, three more monstrous figures emerged, their hulking forms radiating raw, feral power.

BOOM!

The building shook violently, the ceiling above them beginning to crack and crumble under the weight of their transformations.

...

Outside, the Zombie King stood with a cup in hand, casually sipping from it. He had just finished sharing the latest ”harvest” from his human livestock with his underlings when the sound of destruction reached his ears.

”Huh?” He frowned, his glowing eyes narrowing. Something was wrong.

”What’s going on?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly.

”Boss, could it be the humans trying to escape again?” one of his subordinates suggested nervously.

The Zombie King nodded slowly. ”Hmm... possible.”

It wouldn’t be the first time. Humans had tried to escape before—more than once, in fact. They’d broken their chains, tried every trick in the book to flee this place. But every single time, they’d failed. And he had personally dragged them back, punishing them for their insolence.

”Let’s go check it out,” he said, his tone laced with annoyance. ”Let’s see what kind of trouble these little ’pets’ are causing now.”

With that, he began striding toward the building, his elite guards trailing closely behind. As they approached, his gaze flicked upward, noticing the cracks and damage on the roof. Were they seriously trying to escape through the ceiling? How naive.

No matter. The area was surrounded by thousands of his loyal underlings. Even if they made it outside, they wouldn’t get far.

Reaching the door, the Zombie King grabbed the handle and yanked it open with a single powerful motion.

Sunlight poured into the room, flooding it with brightness and banishing the shadows. But what greeted him on the other side wasn’t the sight of desperate, fleeing humans.

Instead, four monstrous faces stared back at him, their grotesque features twisted into expressions of pure rage and bloodlust.

The Zombie King froze, his glowing eyes widening in shock.

”...What the hell?”

...