Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As the saying goes, live to fight another day. Seeing that the situation was turning south, Nightmare was already considering a retreat.

If Rancho Cucamonga wasn’t safe anymore, then he’d just head straight for San Diego.

He mulled it over in his mind—better to retreat early than wait until it was too late. If they hesitated, they might not even get the chance to run.

”Let’s go!”

”Got it.” Scissorhands nodded and quickly signaled their core members to fall back.

But just as Nightmare turned around, something felt off.

”Wait… what’s that?” His gaze locked onto a figure standing atop a massive boulder ahead.

It was a girl—slender, long black hair, big eyes. She stood there, one hand casually tucked into her pocket, the other resting on the hilt of a tachi slung over her shoulder. Her expression was blank, but her eyes were locked onto him with an unsettling intensity.

Nightmare’s face twisted in shock. He recognized her immediately.

That crazy woman from the Los Angeles shelter.

He had seen her memories through her dreams—she was Ethan’s childhood friend, someone who had grown up with him in the same orphanage.

Mia had rushed over the moment she heard about the battle. With Rancho Cucamonga’s shelter overrun by zombies, she still had her sights set on the supplies left behind.

And then there was the little matter of Nightmare’s past visit to the shelter—when he’d stirred up trouble. Yeah… she hadn’t forgotten about that either.

”Oh? You’re leaving already? I just got here.”

”Shit…”

There was no mistaking it—when enemies crossed paths, things always got ugly. Nightmare still remembered how she had completely wrecked his composure before. Unforgivable.

”What the hell are you doing here?”

”I’m here to protect Ethan. Hmm… even though, yeah, he’s kinda responsible for all this mess.” Mia shrugged.

”…” Nightmare’s eye twitched. Is this chick insane?

And then, from behind the boulder where Mia stood, more figures emerged—humans.

The Awakener squad from the Los Angeles shelter.

Sean, Robert, Chris, Brandon… all of them stepping forward, murmuring among themselves.

”Looks like every major faction around here showed up for this fight. No way we’re sitting this one out.”

”Uncle Chris, this is gonna be rough. You better watch yourself.”

”Hah! Kid, I’ve survived worse. I’ve got a crystal core now, been through hell and back, had one foot in the grave more times than I can count. You think this is the worst I’ve seen?”

”Hmm… fair point. At least there aren’t any parasite monsters this time. Shouldn’t be too bad.”

”…”

The Awakener squad had positioned themselves directly in Nightmare’s path. Their intentions were clear—they weren’t letting him leave.

Nightmare’s eyes darkened, his fury boiling over.

He was usually calm, never one to act recklessly. But that was only because San Bernardino and Los Angeles were too powerful—he had no choice but to keep his head down and survive.

But today?

Today, a bunch of nobodies from a tiny shelter thought they could block his way?

”Did you all forget?” Nightmare growled, his voice low and guttural. ”I’m a Zombie King.”

”Oh…” Mia tilted her head, completely unfazed.

”And? So what?”

”You—!”

Nightmare’s rage flared. He remembered that night—how she had dismissed him so casually, saying he wasn’t even qualified to be a ruler.

Now, the full wrath of a Zombie King was about to be unleashed.

Against Ethan and the other zombies, his abilities had been limited. But against humans?

This was his domain.

”Let’s see where you got the guts to stand in my way. Kill them!”

At his command, Scissorhands and the other zombies roared and charged forward.

At the same time, Nightmare’s immense psychic energy surged outward like a tidal wave, crashing over the battlefield.

”Hngh?”

Chris and the weaker Awakeners felt it first. The air around them thickened, pressing down on them like an invisible weight.

Even though they were fully conscious, they were trapped in a nightmare.

It was like sleep paralysis—their minds were awake, but their bodies refused to move.

And in their heads, a deafening hum drowned out all thought.

”Shit! What the hell? He can control us even when we’re awake?” Chris’s face twisted in shock.

Brandon frowned. ”Yeah, who knew he had this kind of ability?”

”If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come!”

”…”

Nightmare sneered as he watched them struggle, a surge of satisfaction rising in his chest. Just moments ago, these humans had been so cocky—now, they were completely at his mercy.

You dare block my path? You’re just asking to die.

”Hah! Let’s see how tough you act now!”

But before he could savor his victory, a figure suddenly burst in from the side—Sean.

Already in his Fearless Berserk state, Sean was completely immune to mental attacks.

”What kind of bullshit is this?” Sean muttered, utterly unfazed. He didn’t understand what was happening, and frankly, he didn’t care. He just swung his fist—hard.

BAM!

The punch landed square on Nightmare’s face, sending him flying. His body slammed into a massive boulder before crashing to the ground in a heap.

He looked absolutely wrecked.

”Son of a…” Nightmare gritted his teeth, pushing himself up from the dust. He could sense it now—Sean’s mind was practically empty, a void that his powers couldn’t latch onto.

”Die already!” Sean lunged forward, fist raised for another strike.

Nightmare barely managed to dodge, twisting his body to the side.

This guy’s dumb as a rock but strong as hell—I can’t take him head-on.

Sean’s strength had already reached A+ rank. Nightmare was an S-rank, but his power relied mostly on psychic abilities. Physically, he wasn’t much stronger than Sean, which evened the playing field.

From the back, Mia watched the fight unfold, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

”Huh. Guess I overestimated you,” she mused. ”You couldn’t beat Ethan, you can’t beat me, and now you can’t even handle Sean. How exactly did you become a so-called ’ruler’ again?”

”SHUT UP!” Nightmare snapped, his voice raw with fury. It was like she had stabbed him right in his weakest spot.

Mia, of course, didn’t care. If anything, she found it hilarious.

”Oh, look at him—he’s losing it.”

”Guess I hit a nerve…”

Nightmare’s rage exploded. His mind went blank with fury, his only thought now was to tear these humans apart.

”KILL THEM ALL!”

He charged forward himself, unleashing both his physical strength and psychic power in a full-blown frenzy.

His minions, infected by his madness, became even more ferocious.

Leading the charge was his top lieutenant—Scissorhands.

An A+ rank with enhanced speed and mutated bone blades, Scissorhands was a nightmare in close combat. Few could take him head-on and live to tell the tale.

The human Awakeners instinctively shifted to a defensive stance, focusing on evasion.

”Heh, I’ll take him.”

Robert grinned, drawing the Lightning Blade from his back. The blade crackled with electricity, slicing through the air with a sharp hum.

At the base of the blade, a single word was engraved—Justice.

Scissorhands didn’t hesitate. His figure blurred as he dashed forward, leaving behind afterimages. His bone blades, sharp as giant scissors, slashed straight for Robert’s throat.

”Let me give you a little haircut!”

Robert didn’t take any chances. He immediately raised his Lightning Blade to block.

CLANG!

The moment their weapons clashed, a metallic screech rang out. The tachi was caught between Scissorhands’ bone blades, locked in place.

Robert felt the impact vibrate through his arms, numbing his grip. Damn, this guy’s strong.

But he didn’t stop. With a swift motion, he yanked his blade free and launched a flurry of rapid slashes.

Scissorhands countered with equal speed, his bone blades moving in a blur, deflecting every strike with pinpoint precision.

Their movements were so fast that to an outsider, it was just a blur of flashing steel and bone.

After several intense exchanges, neither had gained the upper hand. It was a deadlock—a perfect fifty-fifty fight.

”You’re not bad for a human,” Scissorhands admitted.

Robert smirked. ”No need to rush.”

His gaze flicked toward the horizon.

The last traces of sunlight were fading.

Nightfall was coming.

…