Apocalypse: King of Zombies

With a single, thunderous blow, Ethan sent the towering beast reeling backward—it was a jaw-dropping sight.

But the giant octopus’s skin was tough and rubbery, its body soft and pliable like a massive sponge. The impact was absorbed, the force dispersed, and it barely took any real damage.

”Raaaargh—!”

Furious, the creature let out a deafening roar. A foul wind blasted outward, and the sheer force of its sonic bellow shattered the surrounding cliffs and boulders into rubble.

Then, several of its massive tentacles writhed in unison, slithering toward Ethan, aiming to entangle him—softness against strength, a classic counter.

”Not bad... pretty clever for a sea monster,” Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing.

From his vantage point, those thick tentacles stretched across the sky like mountain ranges crashing down on him. The octopus was colossal—compared to it, Ethan was like a human trying to pinch a mosquito between two fingers.

He didn’t try to brute-force it. The thing was built like a tank and had stamina to match. If he kept relying on the Domain of the Dead to block its attacks, he’d risk getting dragged into a drawn-out slugfest.

So instead, he bent his knees and launched himself into the air. The ground beneath him cracked and crumbled from the sheer force of his takeoff.

Midair, he kicked off one of the incoming tentacles, using it as a springboard to propel himself sideways, darting through the air like a missile.

Ethan weaved through the monster’s attacks with fluid, acrobatic grace. Every move was precise, every dodge perfectly timed. He danced through the chaos like a ghost, untouchable.

The octopus grew more and more agitated, its tentacles whipping faster and faster in frustration.

Then, in a sudden burst of motion, Ethan leapt again—this time landing right on the creature’s snout.

”Huh?”

The octopus’s two massive eyes slowly shifted, focusing on the tiny figure now perched between them.

Ethan raised the stone slab in his hands. It gleamed in the light, then came crashing down like a falling star.

BOOM!

The impact exploded with raw power.

A geyser of blue blood sprayed into the air like a busted fire hydrant. The octopus reeled backward, its enormous body lurching from the blow. It barely managed to catch itself with a few tentacles, stabilizing just before it toppled over.

”Holy crap! That was insane!”

”Looks like even sea monsters can’t handle him!”

”Yeah, it’s only a matter of time before Ethan finishes it off.”

”...”

Mia and the others watched from a distance, murmuring among themselves.

The octopus was no pushover—its hide was thick, its strength immense, and its soft body could absorb blows like a shock absorber. It was a beast, no doubt.

But it had one major flaw: it relied entirely on brute force. No special abilities, no tricks.

Ethan’s verdict? ”Not as tough as Nightbane.”

The octopus, now thoroughly pissed off after that last hit, let out another furious screech. Then it opened its gaping maw—an abyssal pit of darkness—and aimed it straight at Ethan.

”What the hell is it doing now?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

Suddenly, the beast spewed out a massive torrent of pitch-black liquid, thick and inky like oil. It surged out like a dam bursting, wave after wave pouring forth.

Ancient trees were snapped like twigs, some even ripped from the ground entirely. Boulders and chunks of mountains cracked and crumbled under the force.

The sheer destructive power of the blast was on par with a tsunami.

And Ethan quickly realized—this wasn’t just water. The black sludge was corrosive. Parasitic monsters caught in the flood began to sizzle and smoke, their flesh melting away until only bones remained.

The inky tide rose over thirty feet high, sweeping across the landscape like a living nightmare. There was no dodging it.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. With a thought, he unleashed the full power of the Domain of the Dead. The energy surged outward, parting the black tide like a divine force splitting the sea.

All around him, everything was swallowed in darkness—except for the crisp white shirt he wore, making him stand out like a beacon in the void.

The octopus glared at him, furious that its attack had been blocked. It roared again and kept spewing ink, determined to drown him in it.

The two locked into a standoff, neither side giving an inch.

The forest floor was now a blackened wasteland, smoke rising from the scorched earth. Some of the ink even flowed into the ocean, darkening the already shadowy waters into something even more ominous.

But the octopus didn’t stop. It was like a living fountain, endlessly vomiting black sludge as if it had an infinite supply.

Mia and the others had to retreat even farther to avoid getting caught in the mess.

”Is this thing ever gonna stop puking?”

”Seriously, how much of that crap does it have stored up?”

”Ethan’s holding his ground, but damn...”

”...”

They watched with tense expressions, analyzing every move.

The tide of parasitic monsters that had once surged across the battlefield was now almost entirely swallowed by the black water. Tens of thousands were wiped out in moments, the ground transformed into a hellish slaughterhouse.

The power of the oceanic behemoth was no joke.

And yet, the octopus kept spewing that inky black sludge…

It went on for a full five minutes. By the end of it, it looked like it had drained every last drop of moisture from its body. Its skin cracked and dried out, and its once-massive form had shrunk dramatically—from over 600 feet tall down to barely 300.

But finally, after all that effort, the area where Ethan had been standing was completely submerged in the black water. A massive crater had formed, filled with the corrosive sludge, and not a single ripple stirred within it.

”Hmm… now that’s more like it,” the octopus muttered to itself, clearly satisfied.

Nothing could survive that kind of corrosion. Everything that touched it turned to ash.

The battlefield fell eerily silent. The once-raging parasitic monsters had been nearly wiped out by the collateral damage from the two titans’ clash.

Aiden’s eyes were wide as saucers, scanning the battlefield. ”Where’s Boss? Did he really get melted?”

”No way!” Chris shot back immediately, but the worry in his voice betrayed him. Ethan had survived worse, sure—but this? This was something else.

He’d always come out on top, no matter how bad things got. Could this really be the one time he didn’t?

Mia, however, kept her gaze locked on the battlefield, her expression calm and confident. ”He’s fine. Trust me.”

”Oh?”

Everyone turned to look.

The octopus, clearly exhausted from its ink-spewing frenzy, began to slither back toward the ocean, probably hoping to rehydrate and recover.

But just then, a tall, lean figure drifted down from above, landing lightly on the creature’s massive head.

That white dress shirt—still spotless, still crisp—stood out like a beacon against the blackened battlefield. Not a single drop of ink had touched him.

”Uh…”

The octopus froze mid-motion. Some primal instinct screamed at it—danger. A deep, bone-deep sense of dread.

”Spitting ink when you can’t win? That’s just nasty,” Ethan’s voice rang out, low and smooth, with that signature edge of sarcasm.

Then he grabbed the stone slab with both hands, swung it around in a wide arc, and brought it crashing down. At the same time, the Domain of the Dead exploded outward at full force.

Point-blank. No mercy.

”RAAAARGH—!”

The octopus let out a blood-curdling scream. Its massive body, despite its size, was pinned down like it had a mountain dropped on it. It couldn’t move an inch.

Ethan didn’t stop. He kept swinging the slab again and again, each blow like a meteor strike. The entire island seemed to tremble with every hit.

Waves crashed violently in the distance. Thunder cracked across the sky.

Blue blood sprayed in every direction, only to be instantly vaporized by the searing energy of the Domain of the Dead.

The octopus had already been weakened after expelling all that ink. Now, under Ethan’s relentless assault, it had no strength left to fight back.

Its screams grew weaker, more ragged. Its life force was draining fast—until finally, it faded completely.

In its final moments, it was filled with bitter regret.

All it wanted was a quick snack on land… and now it was dying for it.

Ethan kept the pressure on, his power grinding the creature’s body down. Its skin turned crimson, cracked open, and began to crumble under the force. Then, from deep within its flesh, faint rays of golden light began to seep out…

…