Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Bang!”

Zane took a heavy blow, blood spurting from his mouth as his body was sent flying backward. He tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.

His entire body felt like it had been shattered, the impact leaving him shaken to his core.

That hit had nearly cost him half his life.

”Captain Zane!” The group cried out in alarm, their faces filled with worry.

The monster turned its gaze toward him, clearly not planning to let Zane off the hook. The tentacles behind it shot forward again, this time aiming to finish him off for good.

”Ice Wall!” The female Awakener, Number 004, acted quickly, her voice tinged with urgency. She summoned her ability, and with a deafening rumble, several thick walls of ice erupted from the ground, standing between Zane and the incoming attack.

The ice radiated an intense chill, its thickness formidable.

But the monster’s tentacles were like battering rams, charging forward with unstoppable force. With a series of thunderous crashes, the ice walls shattered into pieces.

”Damn it!” Zane’s face twisted in horror as he saw the ice crumble. Taking advantage of the brief moment, he leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the attack.

”Boom!”

The tentacle slammed into the ground just inches from him, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. The earth cracked and caved under the impact, fractures spreading outward like a spiderweb.

”It’s too strong…”

”So this is the power of an S+ level?”

”How the hell are we supposed to beat this thing?”

”…”

The crowd was on edge, their faces pale with fear. This was, without a doubt, the greatest crisis they had ever faced.

Zane steadied himself, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his expression was grim.

Thank God he was a speed-type Awakener.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived that last attack.

”Well, well, you’re a slippery little one, aren’t you?” The monster’s voice was a raspy, masculine growl, though it came from the lips of a cold-faced woman. Behind her, two thick tentacles swayed menacingly, exuding a murderous aura that only grew more intense.

Zane’s brows furrowed tightly, his face dark with frustration. ”Why the hell is this thing so fixated on me?!”

Before he could catch his breath, the massive tentacles lashed out again, writhing like an octopus’s limbs and carrying the weight of a freight train.

”Retreat!” Zane shouted, leaping into the air to dodge. The tentacle smashed into the ground where he had just been standing, sending up another explosion of dust. Then, to his dismay, it twisted mid-air and came after him again.

”…” Zane was speechless, his mind racing as he pushed his speed to the limit, dodging left and right. Every time the tentacle got close, he twisted his body and darted away at the last second.

He darted across walls, the ground, and even debris, his movements agile and precise.

But Zane knew deep down that one slip-up would mean a direct hit—and he wasn’t sure he could take another one. Worse still, his stamina was draining fast, and his movements were growing sluggish.

”What now?” he thought, panic creeping in. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Robert charging at the monster from behind, his eyes blazing with fury as he launched another attack.

Mia wasn’t far behind. Her tachi crackled with electricity as she lunged forward, striking at the monster head-on.

The two of them coordinated their attacks, one from the front and one from the back, creating a pincer formation.

But the monster didn’t even flinch. It didn’t bother to look at them. With a sickening squelch, another tentacle sprouted from its back, whipping around to block their attacks.

Now the monster had three massive tentacles in play. Two of them were fending off Mia and Robert, while the third… was still relentlessly chasing Zane.

”FUCK!” Zane cursed under his breath. Even with all this chaos, the damn thing wouldn’t leave him alone. His speed was noticeably slowing, his stamina nearly depleted. He’d already had several close calls, barely dodging the tentacle’s strikes.

The situation was getting desperate.

”This isn’t working! I need to find someone to distract it!” Zane thought, his mind racing. His eyes scanned the area, and soon enough, he locked onto a potential candidate—Ethan, standing at the very back of the group, dressed in pristine white.

Far enough away to be safe… for now.

”Casualties are inevitable in situations like this. Sorry, buddy, but it’s your turn,” Zane muttered to himself. With a sudden burst of speed, he bolted straight toward Ethan.

The tentacle, of course, continued its relentless pursuit.

”Move!” someone shouted as Zane barreled toward the group. Panic spread like wildfire, and people scattered in all directions, desperate to get out of the way.

But Ethan didn’t move. He stood there, calm and composed, his gaze fixed on Zane. It was clear he knew exactly what was happening.

Zane closed the distance quickly, now only about 20 to 30 feet away from Ethan. At the last second, he veered sharply to the side, dodging out of the tentacle’s path.

”Go for him, not me,” Zane thought, silently praying the tentacle would change targets and attack Ethan instead.

Zane’s plan to redirect the monster’s attack toward Ethan seemed to be working.

As he glanced back, he saw the horrifying tentacle change course, heading straight for Ethan without hesitation.

But just as the tentacle was about to strike, Ethan took a single, subtle step back. His figure dimmed, blending seamlessly into the shadows, and then—he vanished. Completely.

”What the—?!” Zane’s eyes widened in shock, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief. What just happened?

The tentacle, now without a target, swung sideways in frustration. Its massive force slammed into someone else instead—a female Awakener, the very same Number 004 from Rancho Cucamonga who had earlier summoned the ice walls to protect him. An A-rank Awakener.

”Ugh!”

The woman let out a choked gasp as the tentacle struck her with devastating power. Blood sprayed from her mouth as the sickening sound of bones cracking echoed through the air. It was as if she’d been hit by a freight train, her body flung violently across the battlefield.

She crashed into a wall with a deafening thud, her body crumpling against it before sliding down to the ground in a grotesque heap. Her head hung downward, her legs awkwardly splayed, and the wall behind her was smeared with blood from the impact.

A dark red pool began to spread beneath her motionless form. Her breathing was faint, barely audible, and her life was slipping away rapidly. The scene was horrifying—worse than if someone had fallen from a ten-story building.

”Hannah!” Zane’s voice cracked as he screamed her name, his eyes bloodshot with rage and guilt. His heart twisted painfully. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. He hadn’t meant to get a teammate killed.

And not just any teammate—Hannah had just saved his life moments ago with her ice walls.

This was his fault. He clenched his jaw so tightly it hurt, veins bulging on his forehead as anger and regret consumed him. But then, a thought struck him—wait a second. Where the hell was Ethan?

By all accounts, Ethan should’ve been the one to take the hit. That was the plan. That was the whole point.

As Zane’s mind raced, he suddenly spotted Ethan again. The man had reappeared, now standing calmly next to Hannah’s lifeless body.

And then, to Zane’s utter disbelief, Ethan crouched down, drew his tachi, and casually pried out Hannah’s crystal core.

”Another one for the collection…” Ethan muttered to himself, his tone disturbingly nonchalant.

”What the hell are you doing?!” Zane roared, his voice trembling with fury. His entire body felt like it was on fire, rage boiling over as he stared at Ethan in disbelief.

Ethan glanced up, completely unfazed. ”Collecting her crystal core. What, you want to leave it for the monster instead?” His tone was so matter-of-fact, as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

Zane’s fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. ”Hannah was my teammate! She died fighting that monster, and you’re just… looting her crystal core? How can you even live with yourself?!”

Ethan shrugged, brushing off Zane’s outrage like it was nothing. ”It’s not that big of a deal,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. ”The monster leader’s this strong—casualties are inevitable. You know that as well as I do, don’t you?”

Zane,”…”