Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Huh???” The Zombie King’s eyes widened in shock, his massive frame freezing in place.

What the hell is going on?

The elite zombies behind him shuddered instinctively. Those four creatures standing before them were grotesque, radiating a savage, oppressive aura. Their strength was leagues above the zombies, making the air feel heavy with danger.

Where was the ”little darling” they were expecting?

How did it turn into this?

The girl-turned-monster scanned the scene with her fierce, glowing eyes, her expression brimming with exhilaration. The zombie in front of her—the so-called Zombie King—was the very one who had kept her captive, draining her blood day after day.

”You drank my blood? Well, today, you’re paying it back in full!” she snarled. With a roar, she swung her massive clawed hand and slammed the Zombie King to the ground. Her mountainous frame was impossibly strong, pinning him down no matter how much he thrashed and struggled.

”ROAR—”

The Zombie King let out a blood-curdling scream of pain.

Without hesitation, the monster exerted her strength, ripping one of his arms clean off. She raised it to her mouth and began chewing, the crunching sound echoing in the air.

You take from others, you pay it back. That’s just how it works.

The roles of predator and prey had officially flipped.

But the Zombie King’s agonized cries didn’t go unnoticed. The surrounding zombies, disturbed by the commotion, suddenly snapped to attention, their instincts kicking in. They surged toward the building in a frenzy.

”Heh heh heh...”

The bio-monsters didn’t flinch. Instead, they let out guttural growls of their own, smashing through the walls as they charged straight into the horde.

The battle between monsters and zombies erupted once again.

The surrounding zombies numbered in the thousands, though only a few hundred were elites. They swarmed like ravenous wolves, lunging at the monsters with reckless abandon.

One of the bio-monsters grabbed a zombie and slammed it into the ground with such force that it splattered on impact. Another stomped down hard, reducing its target to a bloody pulp. Others tore zombies apart with their bare hands, ripping them limb from limb.

The scene was pure carnage. The four monsters unleashed all the rage and frustration they’d bottled up during their captivity, slaughtering the zombies with unrelenting ferocity.

Ethan stood at the back, watching the chaos unfold in silence.

He noted that the four humans he’d injected with the G-virus hadn’t been Awakeners capable of forming crystal cores before their transformation. They didn’t have any special abilities—just raw, monstrous physical power.

Not as strong as some of the other creatures he’d created in the past, but... decent enough.

They’d have no problem tearing through these zombies.

In mere moments, the battlefield was littered with corpses. Blood, flesh, and entrails were strewn everywhere, painting the ground in a grotesque mosaic of destruction.

Each of the four bio-monsters had taken down dozens of elite zombies, nearly wiping out the opposing force. The remaining ordinary zombies, now leaderless, lost their nerve. Some scattered and fled outright.

When the slaughter finally ended, the monsters’ adrenaline began to subside. They glanced down at their bloodied hands, a strange mix of emotions flickering across their faces. It seemed they didn’t mind being monsters all that much.

After all, in this apocalyptic world, this was the new normal. This was survival.

”Let’s head back,” Ethan called out from behind them.

This mission had been a resounding success. They’d taken out the two Zombie Kings of Santa Monica, found some humans to experiment on, and used up the last four doses of the G-virus. A perfect conclusion, in Ethan’s eyes.

With his four new ”bodyguards” in tow, Ethan made his way back to his territory. They trudged through forests and across barren fields, the setting sun casting long shadows behind them.

The remnants of daylight bathed the desolate landscape in a somber glow. Ethan and the monsters moved slowly, their silhouettes stretching far into the distance.

”Boss,” one of the monsters suddenly asked, his voice low and hesitant. ”Do you think... there’s any chance we could turn back into humans?”

Ethan tilted his head slightly, considering the question. After a moment, he replied, ”That’s not up to me. You’d have to ask Genesis Biotech about that...”

...

When Ethan finally got home, the sky had turned pitch black. Night had fallen, and a thin veil of clouds obscured the moon, casting the world in a dim, eerie light.

Ethan took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

He settled onto the couch, popping two crystal cores into his mouth and swallowing them without a second thought. Then, he poured himself a drink, leaning back as he sipped it.

”The G-virus is all used up… Wonder if Genesis Biotech has anything new in stock?”

Ethan muttered to himself as he pulled out his phone and logged into the Genesis Biotech website.

But when the page loaded, it was the same as always—completely barren.

No new announcements. No updates.

Ever since the battle with Jessica, Genesis Biotech had gone radio silent.

Ethan frowned, feeling a twinge of disappointment. This kind of slump wasn’t going to cut it. Someone needed to light a fire under them.

So, he clicked over to the message board and left a short note:

”Come on, pull yourselves together! You’ve got this!”

...

After logging out of the Genesis Biotech site, Ethan switched over to the Refuge website.

This one, at least, was buzzing with activity.

Announcements were popping up left and right.

The Refuge had been dealing with a string of crises lately. First, someone got infected by a parasitic creature. Then, they were hit by an attack from Santa Monica’s Aqua Zombies.

One of the latest posts read:

”Warning: A large number of zombies carrying parasites have been spotted near the Refuge. Many Awakeners have already been infected. Please exercise extreme caution!”

Ethan smirked. He knew exactly what had happened. The Azure Scaled had gone for a two-pronged attack, sending one team to his territory and another to assault the Refuge.

His territory, of course, had been fine. But the Refuge? Not so much.

After a moment of thought, Ethan opened his contacts and found Mia’s profile. He shot her a quick private message.

”Still alive?”

”Yeah, still kicking,” Mia replied almost instantly.

Ethan typed back, ”I figured out why the Zombie Kings from Santa Monica won’t leave you guys alone.”

”Huh???” Mia’s confusion was palpable, even through text. ”What does that have to do with me?”

”It’s because the Pregnant Zombie King’s kid—the Zombie Fetus—ended up drifting to Santa Monica,” Ethan explained, casually dropping the bombshell.

There was a long pause before Mia responded. It seemed like she was trying to piece things together. Finally, she replied:

”Oh… so it’s him.”

”Yeah. Anyway, just watch your back. Sooner or later, that Zombie Fetus is going to come looking for revenge,” Ethan warned.

He figured it was worth giving her a heads-up. The zombies in Santa Monica weren’t pushovers, and if they came after her, it could get ugly fast.

After a moment, Mia replied again:

”Well, this is your fault, you know. I only killed the Pregnant Zombie King to help you. So, really, this is all on you, Ethan. 100% your responsibility!”

”...Oh.” Ethan blinked at the screen, momentarily speechless. ”Alright, fine. Sure, blame me.”

...

Meanwhile, just outside Los Angeles, a group of human wanderers was making their way through the wasteland. This was Griff’s squad, sent by Sophia from San Bernardino.

Their mission? Track down Ethan.

As they moved across the open plains, they came across a series of massive footprints embedded in the dirt. The sheer size of them was enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.

”These are from those bio-monsters,” one of the team members muttered, crouching down to examine the tracks.

Nearby, a second-generation cyborg stood scanning the area, its green eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

[Skin fragments detected. G-virus mutation. Human-derived.]

”Damn it,” a burly man growled, his brows furrowing. ”How much G-virus does this guy even have?”

”Beats me,” a female teammate shrugged. ”You’d have to ask Nathan about that.”

Captain Griff, however, didn’t seem particularly fazed. ”What’s there to worry about? The G-virus is our creation, after all.”

”True,” the woman nodded, standing up and taking another look at the massive footprints. There were four distinct sets, all leading from the direction of Santa Monica.

”So, he went to Santa Monica?”

”Where else would he go?” the burly man scratched his head.

Under the cover of night, Griff stared at the trail of footprints stretching into the distance. His expression was unreadable, but after a moment, a glint of determination flashed in his eyes.

”I think… our opportunity is coming.”

...