Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The monster’s tentacles lashed wildly through the crowd, and in the blink of an eye, several more people were either dead or gravely injured. The situation had spiraled completely out of control.

Panic gripped everyone’s hearts as they scattered in terror, desperately trying to escape.

Chris and Brandon, in particular, had already bolted far from the chaos. They weren’t new to this kind of situation and knew better than to stick around.

”Let the pros handle the monster boss,” Chris muttered under his breath, glancing back over his shoulder.

The battle had reached a fever pitch.

Mia and Robert were holding their own, their combat skills formidable enough to force the monster to take them seriously. The creature sprouted five or six more tentacles from its back, unleashing its full power. The appendages flailed wildly, like the arms of a crazed octopus, smashing into walls and the ground with devastating force.

The sheer strength of its blows sent thunderous echoes through the shelter. The entire structure trembled violently, dust cascading from the ceiling in thick clouds.

Chris couldn’t help but gape in awe. ”This thing... it’s like something straight out of Naruto! Like the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki or something!”

In the heart of the battlefield, Robert moved with an almost supernatural grace, weaving and dodging through the onslaught of tentacles. With a single, powerful leap, he launched himself into the air, soaring like an eagle diving toward its prey. His target was clear: the crystal core embedded in the monster’s chest.

Just get the core out, and it’s over... Robert repeated to himself, psyching himself up. His Lightning Blade crackled with energy, glowing fiercely as he pushed his speed to the absolute limit, aiming straight for the monster’s chest.

But the creature—its face cold and twisted into a cruel grin—turned its head to meet him. Its voice rasped, low and mocking, ”Dodging tentacles alone won’t save you...”

A hazy white light began to radiate from the monster’s body, an eerie energy that seemed to amplify its already overwhelming presence. Its aura grew even more oppressive.

From a distance, Ethan’s sharp eyes caught the shift. His brow furrowed. He could feel it—there was no mistaking it. That was the power of a Radiant Crystal.

The Radiant Crystal... it’s inside her...

The monster raised an arm to block Robert’s Lightning Blade, stopping it cold. Then, with its other hand, it clenched a fist and swung forward with terrifying force.

The punch landed like a volcanic eruption. The air itself seemed to explode, a deafening series of sonic booms rippling outward.

”BOOM!”

Robert couldn’t dodge in time. The blow struck his chest with bone-crushing power. His ribs cracked audibly, his chest caving in under the impact. The force was so immense that his back arched unnaturally, the bones there bulging outward.

A wave of suffocating pain washed over him. Blood surged up his throat, and he spat it out in a crimson spray. His body was flung backward like a baseball hit out of the park, tumbling over a hundred feet before slamming into the ground with a sickening thud.

”Cough! Cough, cough!” Robert wheezed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Every movement sent searing pain through his body, as if he were being torn apart from the inside.

”No... I can’t go down yet,” he muttered, his gaze falling on the katana lying just out of reach. The blade was engraved with the word Justice and embedded with his father’s lightning crystal core.

If I fall here, the mission’s as good as over...

He forced his eyes upward, taking in the battlefield.

Sure enough, Mia was struggling too. The monster’s massive tentacles loomed over her, blotting out the light like an impenetrable wall. They came crashing down from above, aiming to crush her completely.

Mia leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack.

”BOOM!”

The tentacles slammed into the ground, shaking the entire shelter. The tremors grew even more violent, chunks of debris tumbling down as thick clouds of dust filled the air. It felt like the whole place was on the verge of collapse.

The shockwave sent Mia flying. She tumbled through the air in a wide arc before landing hard, bracing herself with one hand to avoid falling flat. She managed to steady herself, but her face was streaked with dirt, and fresh cuts marred her skin.

The monster’s voice rasped again, dripping with disdain. ”Foolish, inferior creatures. Did you really think blocking the entrance would be enough to stop me?” Its tone was like grinding stone, harsh and grating. ”On this planet, there are few who can challenge me. You’re nothing more than prey, served up on a silver platter.”

”Damn it!” Zane and the others, battered and bloodied, could only watch in frustration. Their strength was waning, their injuries piling up.

Meanwhile, the monster seemed to grow stronger with every passing second.

Despair crept into their hearts.

”Die, you pathetic creatures,” the monster sneered, its tentacles rising high like the heads of eight massive serpents. They struck out simultaneously, converging on Mia from all directions.

It was a blow meant to end her.

But suddenly, Ethan stepped forward, placing himself between Mia and the oncoming attack.

His eyes burned with a crimson glow, and an oppressive energy radiated from him. The Domain of the Dead spread outward, a wave of pure, suffocating power that crashed over the battlefield like a tidal wave.

The monster’s tentacles, no matter how strong, couldn’t withstand the force. They were flung back, repelled by the overwhelming might of Ethan’s domain.

”It’s time to end this…” Ethan’s tall, lean figure stood firm, his voice calm and steady. The oppressive aura of the Zombie King radiated from him, unmistakable and suffocating. Everyone around him felt a chill run down their spines, a deep, primal unease settling in their hearts.

It was as if a razor-sharp sword hung above their heads, ready to drop at any moment.

Death felt imminent.

”What… what’s going on?”

”Is he… the Zombie King?”

”No way…”

”...”

Zane and the others stared at Ethan in shock and fear. The sheer weight of the Zombie King’s presence was overwhelming, shaking them to their very cores. Even their souls seemed to tremble under the pressure.

And then, it all clicked for Zane. He finally understood how Isaac had died.

The realization was almost laughable in hindsight.

He had actually sent Isaac to try and kill a Zombie King. What a joke. That was nothing short of a death sentence.

The monster woman’s icy gaze sharpened, her instincts screaming of danger. She hadn’t expected this—a Zombie King, hiding among the humans.

Mia, on the other hand, was unfazed. She was used to this by now. Her sharp eyes flicked toward Ethan, and she casually struck up a conversation, as if they weren’t in the middle of a battlefield.

”So, you finally decided to stop pretending?”

”I told you before—I’m here to protect you,” Ethan replied without even turning his head.

Mia rolled her eyes. ”Oh, please. You just think the timing’s right now, don’t you?”

”Well,” Ethan admitted with a faint smirk, ”no need to be so blunt about it…”

He wasn’t going to deny it. The truth was, he’d been conserving his strength this entire time. If he’d gone in alone, relying solely on his Domain of the Dead to fight his way through, it would’ve drained a significant amount of his energy.

And there was no way he could’ve sealed off all three entrances by himself while dealing with the monsters outside. That would’ve been reckless, even for him.

So, yeah—having these ”helpers” around had been pretty convenient.

Now that the monster leader had shown up and taken some damage from the humans, it was the perfect moment to strike.

It was harvest time.

”You’re clever,” the monster woman rasped, her voice like sandpaper. ”Your evolution must be quite advanced.”

Ethan’s smile widened slightly. ”Not bad. Probably a bit further along than yours.”

”Arrogant fool!” The monster woman’s killing intent surged. The massive tentacles behind her, each over 200 feet long, writhed like enraged serpents before lashing out toward Ethan all at once.

But Ethan didn’t flinch. His Domain of the Dead expanded further, enveloping the incoming tentacles in an instant.

The moment they entered the domain, the tentacles froze mid-air, as if time itself had stopped. They trembled faintly, unable to move forward.

Ethan took a step forward, his figure flickering like a shadow. In the blink of an eye, he was charging straight at the monster woman, his Domain of the Dead surging around him like an unstoppable force of nature.

To her, it was as if a blood-red ocean had risen up, waves towering high enough to blot out the sky, threatening to drown her completely.

The instant she entered the domain, her body felt unbearably heavy, as though a massive meteor had crashed down on her. The weight was crushing, suffocating.

But her S+ level physique was nothing to scoff at.

She wasn’t immobilized.

The white light radiating from her body flared even brighter than before, the power of the Radiant Crystal amplifying her strength and allowing her to resist the oppressive force of the Domain of the Dead.

Ethan’s cold, handsome face appeared right in front of her. His presence was overwhelming, his Zombie King physique exuding raw, primal power. He was like a humanoid beast, a force of nature in human form. Without hesitation, he raised a fist and swung it toward her.

The sheer pressure of the punch was indescribable, like a falling star crashing down from the heavens.

For the first time, the monster woman hesitated. A flicker of fear crossed her face.

She didn’t dare take the hit head-on.

Instinctively, she crossed her arms in front of her to block.

”BOOOOM!”

The impact was deafening. The ground within a 50-foot radius shattered instantly, cracks spiderwebbing outward as chunks of stone were blasted into the air. The force of the blow was so immense that the debris was pulverized into dust by the shockwave.

The monster woman, along with her writhing tentacles, was sent flying. Her body slammed into the wall behind her with such force that she became embedded in it, cracks spreading out from the point of impact like a spiderweb.

...