Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The two guards rubbed their hands together excitedly, clearly looking forward to what was about to happen.

Without wasting a second, they ducked back into the mountain hideout to report to Big Hugo.

As soon as Hugo heard the news, his eyes lit up.

”Someone’s walking right into our lap?”

”Well then, I gotta see this for myself.”

He hauled his massive body out of the cave, dragging a group of his men with him. They crouched behind the rocks, Hugo’s beady, triangular eyes peeking out as he scanned the horizon.

Sure enough, Mia was getting closer—less than 300 feet away now.

”Well, well! Damn, she’s a knockout!”

Hugo noticed a few of them were pretty easy on the eyes. Of course, there were also a couple who were... less so—Chris and Griffin, for example, were kind of a buzzkill.

But the most ridiculous one had to be Sean. The guy had this weirdly sharp look in his eyes, like he was smart but also somehow not all there. And he was chomping down on a huge apple like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted.

In a world like this, an apple was practically gold.

”Even the idiots are eating apples these days?” Hugo muttered, genuinely surprised. These people must be loaded—plenty of supplies, no doubt about it.

”Yeah, this is a juicy target.”

”Tell the boys to get ready. We’re taking them down.”

”You got it, Big Hugo!” his men replied eagerly, nodding and slipping into position behind the rocks, ready to pounce the moment their prey got close enough.

What they didn’t know was that Mia and her crew had already picked up on all of it.

”There’s a decent number of guys in this outpost,” Mia said quietly. ”Too bad Slade’s not here.”

”So what do we do?” Chris asked. They’d taken out plenty of small outposts like this before—nothing new, and not much to gain. Their real target was still Slade, the leader of the Black Hand Legion.

”If we wipe this place out, won’t that just tip him off? He’ll go even deeper into hiding.”

”Yeah, that’s possible,” Mia admitted, frowning. She didn’t have a better plan. Were they really going to have to sneak into Blackhand City again like last time?

But then Ethan chimed in, ”Idiots. Just grab the lieutenant inside and make him call Slade out.”

”Huh?”

Mia and the others lit up. That... actually wasn’t a bad idea. It might just work.

Of course it would—this was the Zombie King, the ’scheming bastard’ himself.

While they were still talking, they’d already reached the base of the rocky hill.

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out from above, and figures began to appear.

”Get ’em, boys!” Hugo bellowed, leaping onto a massive boulder and waving his arm like a general.

The rest of the Black Hand Legion poured out from behind the rocks, faces twisted with aggression. There were over a hundred of them, forming a loose circle around Mia’s group, slowly closing in.

The numbers were clearly lopsided.

But Mia and her crew didn’t flinch. They’d expected this. Calmly, they scanned their surroundings, eyes sharp and steady.

Chris couldn’t help but feel a little proud—somewhere along the way, he’d started to carry himself like a real pro.

The wind howled through the canyon, kicking up dust and sand. Aside from that, the two groups stood in total silence, locked in a tense standoff.

Hugo narrowed his eyes. Something felt off.

Normally, survivors who ran into him would be panicking, scrambling to escape. But these people? They were way too calm.

”You’re not scared of me?”

”Sure we are,” Mia said flatly.

Hugo raised an eyebrow. ”That’s more like it. Don’t worry, sweetheart. A pretty thing like you? I won’t kill you. Just make sure you put on a good show for me later—give me a little sexy dance.”

”Sexy dance?” Mia blinked, genuinely confused. ”What kind of dance is that?”

Hugo grinned, showing yellowed teeth. ”Heh, don’t worry if you don’t know. I’ll teach you.”

”Oh, okay then,” Mia nodded casually—then reached over her shoulder and drew her tachi in one smooth motion. The blade scraped against the scabbard with a sharp, metallic screech that made your teeth ache.

”Hey—what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Hugo barked.

Mia’s eyes locked onto his. ”Making sure you don’t run.”

”Huh??” Hugo’s eyes bulged, fury rising in his chest. He felt like she was mocking him.

”You’ve got some serious balls, girl! Grab her—now!”

”Yes, sir!”

The Black Hand Legion soldiers surged forward without hesitation. They were used to dealing with ragtag survivors from the shelters—this should’ve been easy.

Mia’s eyes swept over them calmly. She didn’t know what the hell a ”sexy dance” was, but she was damn good at the Dance of Death.

In a blur of motion, she launched herself into the crowd.

Her tachi flashed through the air, slicing clean through throats in a single stroke. Blood sprayed like crimson mist as headless bodies crumpled to the ground. She moved like a phantom, graceful and deadly, weaving through the chaos with fluid precision. Every step, every turn, claimed another life.

Wherever she passed, bodies dropped. No one survived.

”What the hell…” Hugo’s face twisted in shock.

She was this strong?

But that was just the beginning.

Brandon activated his Blood Burst. At his current level, these Black Hand grunts were nothing.

The ones closest to him suddenly froze, their bodies locking up. Veins bulged across their faces, writhing like snakes under their skin.

Their expressions contorted in agony—then, one by one, their blood vessels exploded. A fine red mist filled the air as they collapsed, lifeless.

”What kind of freak power is that?!” the others shouted, panic spreading like wildfire. The ones who’d been charging at Brandon skidded to a halt, suddenly rethinking their life choices.

They turned their attention to Sean instead. He was still munching on his apple, eyes half-closed in bliss. He looked like an easy target.

”Kill him!”

A few of them rushed at him, kukris raised high.

Sean’s eyes snapped open. He clutched his apple protectively.

”You trying to steal my apple?” he growled, face twisting with rage. His body cracked and popped as he entered berserk mode, muscles swelling.

Then he threw a punch.

It hit like a volcanic eruption.

Sean was, after all, Awakener No. 02 from the L.A. Shelter—way stronger than Brandon.

The attackers didn’t stand a chance. They exploded like overripe fruit under a sledgehammer, their bodies torn apart by the sheer force.

The rest of the Black Hand Legion recoiled in horror. These people weren’t just strong—they were monsters.

It wasn’t a fight anymore. It was a massacre.

”Big Hugo! Help us, damn it!”

”R-Right!” Hugo stammered, nodding frantically. His men were dropping like flies, and panic was starting to creep in. He scanned the battlefield, looking for a weak link.

That’s when he spotted him.

A lone figure in white, standing calmly off to the side, not lifting a finger. Just watching.

Ethan.

Hugo figured the guy must be a non-combatant. No aura, no weapons, no movement. Probably just some support guy. Perfect hostage material.

Those bleeding-heart shelter types always lost their minds when one of their own was in danger.

”Everybody freeze! Or I kill him!”

Hugo roared, leaping from the rocky slope. He was high up, so he arced through the air like a human cannonball, aiming straight for Ethan.

”Huh?” Mia and the others paused for half a second, glancing back.

Then they just… ignored him and went back to fighting.

Chris and Brandon exchanged a look.

”What’s he doing?”

”Is he… trying to die?”

”Dude just jumped into the meat grinder.”

As Hugo plummeted toward Ethan, a strange pressure suddenly slammed into him—like a mountain had dropped onto his back mid-air.

His body instantly felt like it weighed a ton.

His knees buckled before he even hit the ground.

THUD!

He crashed down hard, landing right in front of Ethan… on his knees.

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