Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”That bastard! I told him to hold off the monsters, and he just vanished! What a snake!” Isaac cursed under his breath. At the same time, a strange unease crept into his mind. That sudden disappearing act—it didn’t seem like something a normal human could pull off.

But there was no time to dwell on it. A swarm of parasitic monsters was already charging toward him, their writhing tentacles flailing menacingly as they closed in.

”No choice now!” Isaac muttered, realizing the dire situation. He abandoned his attempt to block the entrance and instead activated his abilities to save himself.

Earth Wall!

A surge of dark yellow energy rippled through the ground beneath him. With a thunderous rumble, several walls of earth erupted from the ground, forming a barrier that stopped the advancing monsters in their tracks.

A few bird-like creatures slammed into the walls headfirst, their skulls cracking open as they plummeted lifelessly to the ground.

The earth energy didn’t stop there. It continued to swirl and condense, enveloping Isaac’s body until it formed a heavy, armor-like shell around him.

BOOM!

Isaac swung his fist forward, the sheer force of his punch obliterating a cluster of monsters into nothing but dust and gore. As an A-rank Earth Awakener, his power was undeniable.

But there was no satisfaction on Isaac’s face. Instead, his expression grew darker, his frustration almost palpable.

The entrance was still wide open.

He knew exactly what that meant. The failure to seal the entrance would throw their entire operation into chaos. Worse, it would put the other two teams—Zane’s and Mia’s—in grave danger.

”What now?” he muttered, his gaze darting forward. More monsters were pouring in from above, their numbers growing by the second. If this kept up, the entire horde would converge on them.

”Isaac, we’re not gonna make it at this rate!” Chris shouted from a distance. He and Brandon, along with a few others, had formed a defensive circle, their backs to each other as they hacked and slashed at the encroaching monsters.

”Captain Isaac, think of something! I can’t hold on much longer!” yelled a man with a long scar running down his face, his voice tinged with desperation.

Nearby, a freckled girl chimed in hesitantly, ”M-maybe… maybe we should retreat?”

”Retreat?” Isaac clenched his jaw so hard it felt like his teeth might crack. If they retreated now, what would happen to Captain Zane and Mia? They were probably still out there, trying to seal the entrance and locate the monster leader.

But then again… the situation was already spiraling out of control. The mission was a failure. The best they could do now was minimize their losses. Retreating might actually be the smartest move.

”Yeah… Zane would probably understand,” Isaac thought, trying to convince himself. He needed that sliver of justification to ease the guilt gnawing at him.

”Alright, we’re pulling out!” he finally barked.

”What?!” Chris’s face twisted in disbelief. To him, this felt like betrayal. Mia and Sean had saved his life more times than he could count. How could he just abandon them now? How could he live with himself afterward?

”I’m not leaving. Even if it kills me, I’m sealing that entrance,” Chris declared firmly.

”Then go ahead,” Isaac sneered, his tone dripping with disdain. ”It’s the apocalypse, man. Survival’s the only thing that matters. Stop acting like some kind of martyr.”

Without another word, Isaac turned and began leading a group of Awakeners from Rancho Cucamonga toward the exit, cutting their way through the horde.

But the monsters were relentless. They swarmed like locusts, their sheer numbers overwhelming. One of the speed-type Awakeners in the group began to falter, his stamina completely drained. He was in trouble.

His movements slowed, his arms trembling from the strain of swinging his blade. His vision blurred, and his lungs burned as he gasped for air, each breath tasting of blood and iron.

Squelch!

A thick, whip-like tentacle shot out, piercing straight through his chest like a spear.

”Kehehehe…” The parasitic monster let out a guttural, mocking laugh. It had reached maturity, its strength now at a B-rank level.

The Awakener coughed up blood, his face contorted in a mix of terror and regret. Blood gushed from the gaping hole in his chest as his life drained away. His body crumpled to the ground with a dull thud.

”Dammit!” Isaac growled, his fists clenching in anger. He slammed his stone-covered fist into the monster, shattering it into pieces. ”You think you can just kill my teammate and get away with it?!”

But even as he raged, the situation was growing more desperate. The path to escape was closing fast.

And then, out of nowhere, a white figure appeared beside the fallen Awakener’s corpse.

It was Ethan.

He stood there silently, his gaze fixed on the lifeless body. With a casual flick of his wrist, a sleek tachi materialized in his hand. In one swift motion—almost like he was playing golf—he sliced into the corpse, extracting the crystal core from the dead Awakener.

”One for the collection…” Ethan muttered, his voice cold and detached.

”Wait, what???” Isaac’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as he stared, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding before him. Someone, anyone—could they please explain what the hell Ethan was doing?

”Hey! We’re literally about to die here, and you’re over there picking up crystal cores? Are you serious right now?” Isaac shouted, his voice a mix of disbelief and fury.

”You’re the one about to die, not me,” Ethan replied nonchalantly, as if he were commenting on the weather.

”???”

Isaac was utterly speechless, his face a collage of question marks. His teeth ground together in frustration as he pointed an accusatory finger at Ethan. ”This is all your fault! If you hadn’t bailed on us earlier, the plan wouldn’t have fallen apart!”

”My plan’s going just fine,” Ethan said matter-of-factly, his tone calm and detached. Then, with a flicker of crimson light in his eyes, the air around him shifted. A chilling, oppressive force radiated outward as his Domain of the Dead unfolded.

The parasitic monsters didn’t stand a chance. The moment they entered the domain, their bodies exploded violently, sending chunks of flesh and sprays of blood flying in every direction. Within seconds, a vacuum of destruction surrounded Ethan, the ground littered with the remains of the creatures.

”That strong?!” Isaac’s jaw dropped as he watched the carnage. But then, a creeping realization began to dawn on him. Something wasn’t right. The overwhelming pressure from Ethan’s domain wasn’t just affecting the monsters—it was affecting him too. Even with his Earth Armor activated, his body felt unbearably heavy, as if he were being crushed under the weight of the ocean.

And then it hit him.

That aura. That power.

Ethan wasn’t human.

”Isaac! He’s… he’s the Zombie King!” someone shouted, their voice trembling with fear.

”What…?” Isaac’s mind reeled, his worldview shattering into pieces. He stared at Ethan, his face frozen in disbelief. This couldn’t be real. It was like the ground had been ripped out from under him.

Ethan, unfazed by the revelation, continued to expand his Domain of the Dead, the oppressive energy now fully enveloping Isaac. Even with his Earth Armor, Isaac felt like he was being crushed alive, his movements sluggish and labored.

”Tools that run away mid-battle have no value,” Ethan said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion.

He had initially planned to let them handle the monsters and seal the entrance. But they had proven useless, even trying to flee. If they couldn’t be of use, then there was only one thing left for them to be.

Food.

”...” Isaac was frozen in place, his mind racing. The sheer power of the Zombie King was suffocating. And now, looking back at everything he’d done—his decisions, his actions—it all seemed laughable. Captain Zane had told him to ”keep an eye” on Ethan, to ”take special care of him.” And what had he done? He’d kept a Zombie King by his side, completely oblivious.

He might as well have dug his own grave.

”You told me earlier to eat whatever I wanted,” Ethan said, his tone almost mocking as he slowly approached, his tachi glinting ominously in his hand. ”Thanks for the suggestion.”

Isaac’s eyes widened in horror. He knew exactly what Ethan meant.

Ethan was going to eat him.

The earlier battle had drained Isaac of much of his energy, and now, trapped within the terrifying Domain of the Dead, he couldn’t even move. Against Ethan’s overwhelming power, killing an A-rank Awakener was no harder than swatting a fly.

In a blur of motion, Ethan vanished and reappeared beside Isaac. His tachi flashed once, clean and precise. In that single moment, he extracted Isaac’s crystal core with surgical efficiency.

Isaac’s eyes remained wide open, his expression frozen in shock and disbelief. His Earth Armor shattered, and his lifeless body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. He died with his eyes open, unable to accept the reality of his fate.

Meanwhile, Ethan’s Domain of the Dead continued to obliterate the remaining monsters, reducing them to nothing more than blood and gore.

The pressure on Chris and the others eased significantly, giving them a moment to catch their breath.

But when they saw Ethan casually kill Isaac, their faces turned pale with fear.

”You… you killed him?” Chris stammered, his voice shaking.

”And?” Ethan replied, his tone calm, almost bored. His crimson gaze shifted toward Chris and the others, who instinctively flinched. To Ethan, they were nothing more than insignificant distractions.

They had no value as tools, no value as food.

The only thing they could offer was a bit of entertainment on the road—like pets.

Chris quickly nodded, his survival instincts kicking in. ”Y-yeah! Good call! He totally deserved it! Trying to sell out his teammates like that? What a scumbag!”

”...”