Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The crowd of zombies stood frozen, their faces lit with awe, hearts pounding with excitement.

That was insane.

No wonder he was called the strongest Zombie King in America—he’d taken out a member of the Vampire Race with a flick of his wrist. Just like that.

The one-eared zombie leader looked like he was about to cry. If zombies could shed tears, he’d be bawling hard enough to flood the Atlantic.

So this… this is the boss I’ve never even met before.

Across from them, the remaining Vampires had lost all trace of their earlier arrogance. Their smug expressions had twisted into something else entirely—fear.

”The strongest Zombie King… why the hell is he here?!”

”No way. This has to be fake. We’re probably caught in some kind of illusion.”

”Yeah, he’s just bluffing. Watch me take him down!”

One of the female Vampires, clearly not buying it, launched herself forward with a snarl. Her legs kicked off the ground, claws flashing as she lunged straight at Ethan.

Ethan didn’t even flinch. His eyes stayed calm, detached—like he was watching a bug try to bite a mountain.

As she closed in, he casually raised a hand. In an instant, a pitch-black katana materialized in his grip. With one smooth motion, he swung.

Shlick!

Her head flew clean off.

Momentum carried her headless body forward, skidding across the snow and leaving a long, dark smear in its wake.

The scene was brutal. Stark. Unforgettable.

The surrounding zombies stared, jaws slack, minds reeling.

”Holy shit… Boss is insane!”

”He’s slicing through the Vampire Race like they’re nothing!”

”Still think you’re tough now, huh?!”

”...”

The remaining Vampires flinched, visibly shaken. Their fear deepened with every second.

This wasn’t an illusion.

This was real.

He’s really here.

”We have to get out of here—now!” one of the younger Vampires barked. ”We need to report this to Lord Malrick. This is critical!”

”But… can we even make it back?” a burly Vampire muttered, his face grim.

”We’ll split up!” the younger one snapped. ”Scatter and run!”

In the next instant, the remaining Vampires burst apart like fireworks, each one bolting in a different direction, desperate to escape.

But Ethan had no intention of letting them go.

The Domain of the Dead was already spreading—fast. Like a living shadow, it expanded outward from him, swallowing the snow-covered landscape in all directions.

With his current power, the domain stretched far and wide, like a massive net cast over the earth.

And once you were caught in it, there was no getting out.

The Vampires, caught mid-flight, suddenly jerked to a stop—like insects stuck in a spider’s web. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn’t break free.

The weaker ones didn’t even last a few seconds. Their bones shattered under the pressure, bodies collapsing into heaps of broken flesh and gore.

Screams echoed through the frozen air—raw, panicked, and short-lived.

The once-pristine snow was now stained with filth and blood, like a white canvas blooming with dark red flowers.

And through it all, Ethan walked forward slowly, calmly.

His eyes, cold and steady, swept across the carnage—admiring his work like an artist surveying a finished masterpiece.

The young Vampire at the front, now caught in the grip of the Domain of the Dead, collapsed to his knees with a heavy thud, as if the weight of a mountain had slammed down on him. He gasped, hands digging into the snow, his face twisted in agony.

His fangs clenched tight, trying to endure the crushing pressure, but the screams of his comrades—still echoing all around—stabbed into his nerves like needles, each one pushing him closer to the edge.

”Who’s your leader?” Ethan asked, his voice calm, almost casual.

The young Vampire trembled, his body shaking violently. He was already on the verge of breaking.

”Malrick… We’re from the Malrick family,” he choked out. ”Please… don’t kill me. I’ll submit to you. I swear! Just spare my life!”

”Oh, sure,” Ethan nodded.

”Huh? Really?” The Vampire blinked, stunned. He hadn’t expected that answer. For a moment, hope flickered in his eyes. Maybe this guy wasn’t as ruthless as the rumors said.

”You’re really not gonna kill me?”

”Of course not,” Ethan said with a faint smile. ”That was a lie.”

Shlick!

The katana flashed again, slicing clean through the back of the Vampire’s skull. His head dropped and rolled across the snow, eyes still wide open in disbelief, as if even in death, he couldn’t accept what had just happened.

His body slumped forward, lifeless.

Now, every last member of the Vampire Race squad lay dead—limbs twisted, bodies scattered across the snow like broken dolls. The once-pristine white ground was now streaked with dark, sticky blood, like a canvas painted in violence.

Ethan stood in the middle of it all, draped in his fur-lined coat, completely unfazed. His expression hadn’t changed—like he’d just taken out the trash.

The surviving zombies stood in stunned silence, staring at the scene before them.

This… this was the power of the Zombie King?

”Boss… I’ve been looking for you for so long…” the one-eared zombie leader finally stepped forward, his voice thick with emotion, like a kid who’d finally found his long-lost parent.

Ethan glanced at him, remembering how the guy had refused to submit even when death was staring him down. He’d even seen through the Vampires’ tactics. Not bad. Smart, too.

”What’s your name?” Ethan asked.

”Me? I don’t have one,” the zombie replied, shaking his head.

”Oh…” Ethan tilted his head, giving him a once-over. ”Then from now on, you’re One-Ear.”

”Yes, Boss!” One-Ear’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He had a name now. A real name.

And more importantly, he was officially under the command of the strongest Zombie King in America. That meant no one would dare mess with him now.

”Hmph. Let’s see those Mutant Vampire Zombies try to chase me again. I’ll rip them apart!”

”Let’s go,” Ethan said, turning away.

One-Ear’s eyes sparkled with excitement. ”Boss, are we heading back to L.A.?”

”No. We’re going to wipe out the invading hordes,” Ethan replied without hesitation.

The surrounding zombies perked up instantly, their bloodlust reigniting.

”Wait, are we going into battle already?”

”Hell yeah! Let’s crush those Mutant Vampire freaks!”

”With Boss leading us, we’ll steamroll them! He’s the Zombie King, after all!”

”Damn right!”

The group was fired up, their morale sky-high.

One-Ear was practically vibrating with energy, his blood-smeared face glowing with anticipation. ”Boss, let’s rally your army! We’ll form the biggest Zombie Horde in America and wipe them out! We’ll fight to the death if we have to!”

But Ethan didn’t respond right away. He just looked at them for a moment, then said calmly, ”Already done.”

”Huh? Where?” One-Ear looked around, confused. There was no sign of a massive horde. No thunderous footsteps. No undead army rising from the snow.

”You’re looking at it,” Ethan said flatly.

”…Us??” One-Ear blinked, then glanced at the ragtag group behind him—bloodied, bruised, barely more than a dozen of them.

Wait… this was the army?

Ethan was planning to take on the invading Zombie Horde with them?

”Boss, I mean… we’re not weak or anything, but going up against a full-scale foreign horde… we might be a little, uh… underpowered,” One-Ear said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

”What’s wrong? You scared?” Ethan asked, his tone casual but sharp.

One-Ear stiffened. No way he could admit that—not after all that talk about fighting to the death. He had to make a good impression. He’d just joined the King’s ranks, after all.

He straightened up and puffed out his chest. ”Scared? No way! Fear doesn’t exist in my evolved brain!”

”Good,” Ethan said with a nod. ”Then let’s move.”

…