Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Huh???” Aiden’s face twisted in confusion. What was that about Tachi being broken?

Wait—was she saying that, compared to her, he was just... a weapon?

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. More vampires were charging in from all directions, and he had no choice but to dive back into the fight.

Meanwhile, Mia had already sprung into action. Her Stellar Fang katana sliced through the air, leaving behind shimmering afterimages as she moved with deadly precision. Heads flew. Vampire bodies dropped like rag dolls, spraying black blood in every direction.

The area around her turned into a slaughterhouse. Not a single vampire could get close.

But outside the street, more were closing in.

Big Mike’s BBQ & Buffet was engulfed in flames, thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Inside, humans and vampires were locked in brutal combat. The scene was pure chaos—blood, fire, and screams.

Elsewhere in town, the other humans had noticed the uprising. Shock and unease spread like wildfire.

”What the hell’s going on? All the guards are gathering!”

”Is someone starting a rebellion?”

”Maybe... maybe this is our one shot at freedom!”

”Let’s go! Let’s fight too!”

”...”

Some people’s faces twisted with rage and desperation. They were done being exploited. One by one, they started to rise up.

But most just stood there, watching like it was some kind of show. Some even scoffed.

”They’ve lost their damn minds! You think they’re gonna survive this?”

”No way they’re winning. It’s hopeless.”

”Pfft, look at them now, all fired up. Just wait till Lord Monroe shows up—they’ll be pissing themselves.”

”...”

They kept talking, watching from the sidelines.

Then suddenly, a guttural, feral roar echoed from behind them.

”Huh? What the hell was that?”

Everyone turned—and froze.

Zombies.

Dozens of them, pouring into the town. Leading the charge was the Zombie King himself—Lil’ D—his arms transformed into jagged bone blades, his face twisted in manic glee.

They’d received Ethan’s signal: any human who didn’t rise up against the vampires was to be slaughtered.

The undead surged into the town, biting anyone in their path. Lil’ D wasn’t just here to kill—he wanted to grow his army. Most of the bitten didn’t die right away. They convulsed violently, then began to turn.

With the zombies joining the chaos, the town descended into full-blown anarchy.

Aiden and the others fought with everything they had. At first, he’d thought they were outmatched. But now? Things weren’t looking quite so grim.

Especially Mia.

She was a force of nature.

Inside the burning building, she moved like a dancer in a storm of fire. Flames rained down around her, but she didn’t flinch. It was like the fire was part of her performance.

No vampire could get close. Even the ones known for their brute strength were sliced clean in half by her Stellar Fang—like watermelons under a butcher’s knife.

”She’s insane...” Aiden thought, awestruck. ”Wait... when she said I was like a weapon... did she mean she’s the blade?”

”Yo, stop daydreaming,” Chris called out beside him. ”Even the crystal core embedded in her old Tachi was higher level than you.”

Aiden: ”...”

The fire had been burning too long. The ceiling beams, now engulfed in flames, groaned and collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The whole building was about to come down.

”Move!” Mia shouted, leaping straight through a window and landing on the street outside.

The others followed right behind her.

The moment they hit the ground, the entire restaurant caved in behind them, reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble. Smoke and ash billowed into the air.

Aiden and the others rolled across the pavement, absorbing the impact. They scrambled to their feet, ready to keep fighting—but something was off.

The vampires weren’t attacking anymore.

They just stood there. Silent. Still.

”What the hell...?” someone muttered.

Aside from the crackling of flames, everything had gone eerily quiet.

Then, all at once, the vampires turned in unison—toward a single direction—and bowed their heads.

A wave of bone-chilling cold swept through the air. The temperature dropped so fast, everyone shivered involuntarily.

”Something’s coming...” someone whispered.

”Something big.”

”That aura... it’s terrifying...”

”...”

A deep, primal fear gripped everyone’s soul—an instinctive terror etched into human DNA. The SS-class Zombie King had arrived. Humanity’s natural predator.

The monsters flanking the street slowly parted, clearing a path with eerie coordination.

From the shadows, a boyish figure stepped forward. His skin was ghostly pale, his expression cold and devoid of emotion. His eyes scanned the group like he was looking at corpses already.

”Monroe! That’s Monroe!” someone gasped.

Aiden’s whole body started to shake. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed. His face was drained of color, pure fear written all over it. He never imagined Monroe would show up here.

This wasn’t even the core of the zombie nest.

”He... he actually came in person!” Emily’s voice trembled, panic rising in her chest.

Monroe’s icy gaze swept across the battlefield. There was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. He shook his head slowly.

”This is it? Just a handful of humans? I was expecting something... bigger.”

Then his voice dropped, sharp and commanding: ”Kill them.”

At his word, the thousand-strong vampire guard around them snarled and surged forward, bloodlust in their eyes. With their leader present, they were emboldened—more vicious than ever.

Aiden’s lips quivered. His heart sank into despair.

”What do we do now...?”

”Small fry,” Mia said flatly, completely unfazed. As long as the core horde of a hundred thousand zombies didn’t show up, this was nothing she couldn’t handle.

And besides, there was still a certain Zombie King up ahead. If he couldn’t handle the horde when the time came... well, she’d be happy to pin the blame squarely on him.

Gripping her Stellar Fang, Mia charged back into the fray. Her blade sang through the air, each strike clean and lethal. The monsters that had once seemed unstoppable now fell like paper dolls, shredded by her relentless assault.

”Huh?” Monroe’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected this. That human girl... she was something else. And that weapon—definitely not ordinary.

He decided to step in himself.

In a blur, his figure vanished, leaving behind a trail of afterimages. Vampires were a deadly mix of strength and speed—especially SS-class tyrants like Monroe.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Mia. His hand shot out and clamped down on her wrist—the one holding the blade.

Mia didn’t even have time to react. Her forearm felt like it was caught in a steel vice, the pressure increasing by the second. He was trying to crush her wrist, to rip the Stellar Fang from her grip.

Crack!

Under Monroe’s monstrous strength, her bones were on the verge of snapping.

”Still not letting go?” Monroe muttered, lifting his gaze—only to find Mia staring back at him, calm and unflinching.

Her wristband display flickered—pain levels spiking.

Then, with a sudden surge of force, she broke free from his grip. Her arm swung upward, Stellar Fang slicing through the air in a deadly arc aimed straight at his head.

Shhhhk—!

The blade cut through the silence, a silver flash of death.

Monroe’s eyes widened. He jerked back just in time, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

But not unscathed.

The edge of the blade grazed his face, leaving a thin, bloody line across his cheek.

”She actually cut him!” Aiden and the others stared in disbelief. No one had expected that.

Monroe stood frozen, blood trickling down his face. He didn’t wipe it away. Instead, he just stood there... feeling it.

Then, slowly, a strange expression crept across his pale face—excitement.

”Yes... this feeling...”

He lifted his head, eyes gleaming with a wild, feverish light.

”Mommy!”

...