Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Shit!”

Everyone flinched as darkness swallowed their vision. In an instant, they lost sight of their targets, and the gunfire abruptly ceased.

A thick black mist had engulfed the entire area.

It wasn’t just the enemy they couldn’t see—no one could see anything, not even their own teammates. Firing blindly now would be a disaster; friendly fire was a real risk.

”Boss, they’re just up ahead! Let’s go after them!” one of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners urged, barely able to contain himself.

”Hold up. Don’t rush in yet,” Adrian said, frowning.

His meaning was clear—he wanted the Black Hand Legion to go in first. The darkness ahead was too dense, visibility was zero, and who knew what was waiting in there?

After all, Lucas was an S-rank Awakener—no pushover—and even he got taken out by those people. That meant there had to be some serious power hidden in that fog...

”Yeah, boss is right,” his subordinates quickly agreed, catching on to his thinking.

Meanwhile, the Black Hand Legion members, having locked onto their targets, charged forward with murderous intent. Their faces were twisted with bloodlust as they rushed toward Chris and his group.

With the black mist cutting off all visibility, close-quarters combat was the only option.

Adrian watched as the Black Hand Legion plunged into the fog one after another, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips.

”Bunch of lunatics... animals. All they know is killing for fun. No sense of strategy at all.”

What he didn’t realize was that behind them, a ghostly figure was silently taking shape within the mist—silent, invisible, and deadly.

Not far ahead stood Genesis Biotech’s Fifth Elite Squad—about thirty Awakeners, all of them with fully formed crystal cores.

They were holding position, waiting for orders.

”This black mist ability... it’s creepy as hell.”

”Relax. According to our intel, there’s no high-level Zombie King in this city.”

”Yeah, but... why would a Zombie King be helping those people as cover?”

”No idea.”

”...”

They murmured among themselves, clearly puzzled by the situation.

Then, suddenly, someone spotted a silhouette moving through the fog.

”Who’s there?!”

The only answer was a flash of steel—a Tachi blade slicing through the air.

Shhhk!

The sound of metal tearing through flesh echoed, and the man’s head flew clean off. Warm blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across the faces of his stunned teammates.

”Shit! We’re under attack!”

They spun around, panic setting in.

Out of the darkness stepped Ethan, dressed in a crisp white shirt, his presence radiating overwhelming pressure. The Domain of the Dead unfurled around him like a storm.

Dozens of Awakeners froze in place, their bodies locked up, eyes wide with terror.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. His blade danced through the air, cutting them down one by one.

Before their bodies even hit the ground, he swept them into his spatial storage ring—clean, efficient, merciless.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished again, his figure fading into the mist like a ghost.

The entire sequence was smooth and precise, executed in mere seconds. If not for the sudden disappearance of the Fifth Squad, it would’ve seemed like nothing had happened at all.

Back in the center of the formation, Adrian’s brow furrowed. As an S-rank Awakener, his senses were sharp—he immediately noticed the sudden drop in energy signatures nearby.

Something was wrong.

”Quick! Dispel the black mist in that area!” Adrian barked.

”Yes, sir!”

Over a dozen psychic-type Awakeners in the squad unleashed their mental power. Their combined force surged outward, forming a powerful psychic barrier that swept through the area like a hurricane.

The black mist was torn apart instantly, dissolving like snow under a blowtorch.

As the fog cleared and their vision returned, everyone turned to look toward the Fifth Squad’s position—only to find it completely empty.

Not a single person remained.

”Where the hell did they go?!” Adrian’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He stood frozen, disbelief etched across his face. A creeping sense of dread slithered into his chest, cold and suffocating.

The rest of the squad looked just as stunned, their expressions a mix of confusion and unease.

Someone quickly grabbed their comms device.

”Calling Fifth Squad—do you copy? Repeat, do you copy?!”

”Hello? Where are you guys?!”

”Come on, answer us!”

”...”

Their voices grew more frantic with each unanswered call, desperation bleeding into their tone. It was like they needed to hear a response just to shake off the chill crawling up their spines.

But the comms stayed dead silent.

Fifth Squad was gone.

Adrian stood there for a few seconds, stunned. But he wasn’t some rookie—he was a top-tier Genesis Biotech elite. His instincts kicked in fast. Something was out there. Something with a terrifying ability.

A Zombie King, no doubt.

And maybe... maybe that’s what really happened to Lucas.

This city of black mist wasn’t the same anymore. Something monstrous had taken root here.

”I’m gonna drag that thing out if it’s the last thing I do,” Adrian swore to himself, then barked out a new order.

”All squads, tighten formation! Stay close—don’t let anyone out of your line of sight!”

He wasn’t about to let another squad vanish into thin air. Not on his watch.

The Genesis Biotech Awakeners quickly moved in, closing ranks and forming a tighter perimeter.

And maybe it was the sheer number of people around, but that eerie, suffocating fear from earlier... it started to fade a little.

”RRAAAHHH—!”

A guttural roar suddenly tore through the mist, thick with bloodlust and rage.

”Shit!”

Everyone tensed up instantly.

They knew that sound. Every survivor of the apocalypse did.

”Zombies!”

Eyes darted through the fog, and sure enough—shadows began to emerge. Dozens of twisted, snarling figures, eyes glowing with hunger, surged forward.

Some of the more agile ones leapt down from rooftops or scrambled over walls, moving with terrifying speed and coordination.

Clearly, Ethan’s ”special training” hadn’t gone to waste. He’d taught them well—only by devouring flesh could they awaken their thirst for slaughter.

The horde poured in from every alley and street corner.

And with the human squads now clustered together, they were starting to look like prey boxed in from all sides.

”Goddamn it! What is this, zombie tactics now?!” Adrian cursed under his breath.

But deep down, he already knew what they were dealing with.

A Zombie King. A cunning, twisted one.

”RRAAAHHH—!” The roars grew louder as the horde charged.

Some of the elite zombies didn’t even hesitate—they launched themselves straight off buildings, diving into the heart of the human formation.

”Kill them all!” Adrian shouted.

The Awakeners sprang into action. This was the apocalypse’s grim rhythm—humans versus zombies, again and again.

Some fired up their Crystal Core Firearms, unleashing torrents of volatile energy that lit up the fog like a storm of lightning.

Others, trained in close combat, drew their weapons and met the undead head-on.

Screams, gunfire, and the wet crunch of flesh filled the air.

It was chaos.

Anyone who got tackled by a zombie was as good as dead—torn apart in seconds. But the humans weren’t helpless. Their weapons packed a serious punch. Even elite zombies couldn’t take a direct hit from a Crystal Core Firearm. One shot, and they were blown to pieces.

In the blink of an eye, the battlefield turned into a slaughterhouse. Severed limbs flew through the air, blood sprayed in every direction, and the ground was littered with twitching corpses.

It looked like hell had cracked open.

From a distance, Ethan watched it all unfold, his sharp eyes scanning the carnage.

He had to admit—humans had come a long way since the apocalypse began. Their gear, their coordination, their firepower—it was all on another level now. Even with a thousand specially trained zombies, his forces were starting to feel... a little thin.

”Looks like I’ll have to hit them where it hurts,” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

Time for another surprise attack.

...