Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Catching up to him wasn’t easy,” Mia muttered, panting slightly as she jogged forward. She couldn’t help but wonder—what kind of monster was Gunner tangling with this time?

The group picked up the pace, pushing ahead.

As they drew closer, the shrill screeches of vampires pierced the air, now mixed with deep, guttural roars. The barren land ahead was a chaotic mess—figures clashed in a haze of dust and smoke, the battlefield a blur of violence.

Vampires, their faces twisted and fangs bared, were pouncing on irradiated beasts, pinning them down and tearing into them with savage fury.

The mutated creatures weren’t just wild animals—there were zombies too, and they were everywhere. Tens of thousands of them.

Some looked like deer with rows of jagged fangs, others were kangaroos with multiple heads. One particularly grotesque type was a fusion of spider and zombie—its upper body a rotting human head, but below, eight long, razor-sharp legs that moved with terrifying speed.

These spider-zombie hybrids lashed out like living spears, slicing through vampires with deadly precision.

”Is this... a mutant beast horde?” Chris asked, eyes wide with disbelief. The sheer variety of twisted creatures was overwhelming.

Ethan stood atop a dirt mound, scanning the horizon. Beyond the chaos, he spotted the source of the horde—a vast, untouched forest stretching endlessly into the distance.

”Looks like something drove them out of the forest,” he said, narrowing his eyes. ”And they ran straight into Gunner’s crew.”

”Huh?” The others turned to look at the forest. Under the dim, smoky sky, it loomed ominously, shrouded in mist. Whatever was in there, it wasn’t friendly.

But what really caught everyone off guard was what Gunner was doing in the middle of the battlefield.

He was holding two human girls—one in each hand like they weighed nothing. Their clothes were in tatters, barely hanging on, offering no real cover. They looked exhausted, terrified.

Gunner’s face was lit up with manic excitement. ”Got ’em! Finally caught ’em! Mission complete—Lord Monroe’s gonna be thrilled!”

”Uh... Big Gunner,” one of the vampire grunts piped up hesitantly, ”didn’t we take... kinda heavy losses on this run?”

”Losses?” Gunner blinked. ”How bad?”

”Uh... five, maybe six thousand? At least?”

”Eh, not too bad,” Gunner shrugged, completely unfazed. His focus was locked on the two girls in his grip.

”...” The grunt stared at him, dumbfounded. Half the ten-thousand-strong Zombie Horde wiped out, and he calls that ’not too bad’?

Gunner turned to address the rest of his troops. ”Look, if Lord Monroe ordered a full-scale assault, that means capturing humans was the top priority. Any sacrifice is worth it.”

”Seriously?” the grunt muttered under his breath, clearly not convinced.

Gunner scanned the battlefield one last time. ”We’ve got what we came for. No point wasting more troops on these mutant freaks. I’m pulling out with the targets. You guys fall back and regroup—we’re heading home.”

”Got it!” the grunt replied quickly.

With that, Gunner hoisted the two girls like they were nothing more than sacks of potatoes and bolted from the battlefield, moving with surprising speed for someone his size.

Unfortunately for him, the direction he chose to retreat in? It led him straight toward Ethan and the others.

”Huh?” Gunner slowed as he spotted a group of figures standing on a nearby ridge, watching the chaos unfold.s?

They were clean, armed, and clearly not survivors who’d wandered into the radiation zone by accident.

Could they be... reinforcements sent by Lord Monroe?

He rushed over, calling out, ”Hey! Where’d you guys come from?”

”Saint Gaia City,” Oliver answered casually.

”Knew it,” Gunner muttered to himself. Then, louder, ”No worries—Lord Monroe’s mission is done. We marched across hell and back, but we finally bagged two humans!”

The group exchanged glances, stunned. This guy was seriously obsessed. In the middle of this radioactive nightmare, he’d actually managed to track down two humans—an almost impossible feat.

Chris’s eyes scanned the two girls. They were young, their delicate bodies bound tightly with rough hemp rope, barely clothed—what little fabric they had left hung off them like shredded rags. Their mouths were stuffed with filthy cloth, and their faces were frozen in terror.

A wave of pity surged through him. He couldn’t just stand there.

He started making exaggerated winks and nods at the girls, trying to reassure them. Then he nudged Oliver with his elbow, signaling him to help get the girls away from Gunner.

With Ethan’s strength, taking Gunner down would be no problem—but Chris knew Ethan wouldn’t hesitate, even if it meant collateral damage. The girls wouldn’t survive the crossfire.

Oliver caught on immediately. ”Lord Gunner,” he said smoothly, ”why don’t you let us take those two off your hands? We’ll escort them back for you.”

Gunner didn’t even blink. ”Sure, just be careful with ’em.” He casually dropped the girls to the ground like they were sacks of grain.

Chris rushed over, crouching beside them. He gently tried to lift them up, lowering his voice to a whisper. ”Don’t worry, we’re the good guys. We’re just pretending to work for Monroe to trick that idiot. Gunner’s about to die—once he’s gone, you’ll be safe.”

”Mmff...”

The girls could only make muffled sounds through the cloth in their mouths.

But then—something changed.

Their terrified expressions suddenly went blank. Cold. Their eyes lost all humanity, their faces stiff and emotionless, like dolls.

”Wait... what the hell?” Chris froze, alarm bells going off in his head.

He turned to look at one of them—just in time to see her neck twist unnaturally, and a slick, black tendril shoot out, aiming straight for his chest.

”Shit! Parasite freaks again?!” Chris shouted, stumbling back as the realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

These weren’t girls. They were parasite monsters in disguise.

Brandon reacted instantly. With a sharp wave of his hand, he activated Blood Burst—he wasn’t just the team’s ”mule” anymore.

The tendril froze mid-air, then exploded in a spray of dark, corrupted blood.

From inside the girls’ bodies came a shrill, inhuman screech. Their forms shriveled rapidly, collapsing into dry husks—just empty skins stretched over the grotesque remains of the parasites.

The infamous ”Sandwich Cookies” were back.

Brandon clapped Chris on the shoulder. ”Uncle Chris, you really know how to pick ’em.”

”I... what the hell, man...” Chris looked like he’d just swallowed a bug. His face twisted in disgust and confusion. ”How does this keep happening to me?”

Ethan stood silently nearby, watching it all unfold. He’d sensed something was off with the girls from the start—their energy wasn’t human.

There were no living humans left in this irradiated zone.

But the appearance of parasite creatures? That was actually good news.

It meant they were getting close to the Radiant Crystal.

Still, someone else looked even more devastated than Chris.

Gunner stood frozen, his face pale, eyes wide, like the sky had just collapsed on him.

”They’re... not human?” he muttered, voice hollow.

He’d led a ten-thousand-strong Zombie Horde across a hellish wasteland, suffered massive losses, and thought he’d finally completed his mission. He’d caught two girls—only to find out they were monsters in disguise.

”It’s over... it’s all over! I didn’t finish Lord Monroe’s mission!” Gunner wailed, clutching his head. But then, just as quickly, his eyes lit up again with manic determination. ”No! We’re not done! We just need to catch real humans! We keep going!”

But Ethan finally spoke, his voice calm and cutting through the chaos like a blade.

”I’ve got one more thing to tell you.”

Gunner looked up. ”What?”

”Monroe’s dead.”

”...???”

Gunner stared at him, blinking slowly. His face twisted into a confused mess of disbelief, like someone had just unplugged his brain. He stood there, motionless, like a statue carved out of pure shock.

...