Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ethan’s figure blurred as he shot forward, charging straight at the humans.

”Frostwall!”

A female Awakener’s eyes widened in alarm. She immediately activated her ability, throwing up a defense.

A wave of icy mist surged out, and crystalline frost rapidly condensed in midair, forming a thick wall of ice—clear as glass, solid as steel—cutting off half the sky like a frozen mirror.

But Ethan didn’t even slow down. He raised his fist and slammed it forward, like a beast breaking free of its cage. The force of the blow rippled through the air.

The Frostwall shattered instantly with a deafening crack. Shards of ice exploded outward like a hailstorm, slicing through the air with a sharp, whistling sound. The cold hit like a slap to the face.

”Shit…”

The woman shielded her face with one hand, bracing against the chaotic energy. She squinted through the storm of ice, trying to track him.

That Zombie King was way too strong. There was no stopping him. But at least… she’d bought them a few seconds.

Then, not far off, a psychic-type Awakener suddenly shouted in panic, his voice cracking with urgency.

”He’s right next to you!”

”What?” The woman froze, her expression blank for a split second. She whipped her head around—and saw him.

A figure in white, standing silently at her side. She had no idea when he’d gotten there.

”What the—” Her voice caught in her throat.

Before she could react, Ethan’s hand shot out. His fingers plunged into her skull like a knife through butter, and with a sickening twist, he ripped out her crystal core.

”S+ grade. Ice type,” Ethan muttered, examining it briefly. Then he felt a powerful psychic force lock onto him.

He responded instantly—unleashing his Domain of the Dead. The pressure surged outward like a tidal wave, crushing everything in its path.

”AAAHHH—!”

The psychic Awakener who’d shouted earlier screamed in agony. It felt like boiling oil had been poured straight into his brain. His mind blanked out for a moment.

When he came to, Ethan was already standing in front of him, eyes cold and unblinking.

”S+ grade. Psychic type.” Ethan raised his hand. His katana flashed once, slicing clean through the man’s skull. The crystal core popped out like a marble.

A few melee-type speed Awakeners tried to interfere, hoping to buy time.

They died even faster.

Ethan flipped his hand, pulling out five crystal core bombs—each one S-grade—and hurled them straight into the crowd.

In midair, the bombs began to glow brighter and brighter, until they reached a blinding peak—then exploded with a thunderous boom.

The night sky over the Inner City lit up like a fireworks show.

But in that dazzling light, dozens of lives were snuffed out.

Those closest to the blast were vaporized—no bodies left behind, just their crystal cores flung into the air like sparks.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He swept them all up.

Five S-grade bombs, and he’d harvested a nice haul of S+ grade cores.

”Not a bad trade,” he muttered.

The human elites were terrified. Ethan was cutting them down like weeds, their lives meaningless before the Zombie King’s wrath.

Fear, despair, helplessness—every kind of negative emotion was spreading like wildfire through the survivors.

Meanwhile, Howard was still en route…

He stared at the giant screen in front of him, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. Veins bulged on the backs of his hands. His teeth ground together hard enough to crack.

”Damn it!”

His eyes were bloodshot. He knew he’d made a mistake.

He never imagined that the Zombie King was actually the Voidborn Undying.

Because of that misjudgment, they hadn’t prepared properly—and the casualties were catastrophic.

But he was almost there now. Through the cockpit glass, he could already see the lingering shockwaves from the crystal core bomb explosions.

The aircraft streaked through the sky like a comet, heading straight for the battlefield.

Howard couldn’t wait any longer. He threw open the hatch mid-flight and jumped.

As he fell, flames erupted around him, a blazing red aura lighting up the night sky.

He looked like a meteor crashing to earth.

BOOM!

Howard slammed into the ground like a missile. The impact cracked the earth in every direction, spiderweb fractures spreading out beneath his feet.

”Finally… I’m here.”

”Mr. Hawke!”

The surviving humans lit up with hope at the sight of him, like they’d just seen their last lifeline arrive.

Ethan stopped his slaughter, backing off cautiously. His eyes flicked to the horizon behind Howard—where dozens more streaks of light were racing toward them.

Howard wasn’t the only SSS-grade human on the way…

Howard’s face twisted with fury, his eyes locked onto Ethan like a predator ready to strike.

”Where’s my son?” he growled, voice low and dangerous.

Ethan just shrugged, his tone maddeningly casual. ”Find him yourself.”

That was the last straw.

Howard’s rage boiled over, his desperation to save his son igniting into a full-blown inferno.

”I’ll kill you!”

A wave of blistering heat erupted from his body, distorting the air around him. The temperature spiked so fast it felt like the world itself was catching fire.

Infernal Soulflame Domain.

With a sharp command, Howard unleashed his power. Flames exploded outward in every direction, devouring the ground, the sky, everything in between.

The earth blackened and cracked beneath the pressure, glowing fissures splitting open as molten lava surged up from below.

The night sky was gone—replaced by a blinding, hellish daylight.

It was as if the sun had risen in the dead of night.

Ethan’s figure was swallowed by the flames, his silhouette flickering like a mirage, warping under the heat, as if it might shatter at any second.

The onlookers erupted with excitement.

”Damn, that’s Howard for you! He’s already got the Zombie King on the ropes!”

”I heard Mr. Hawke once killed a Voidborn Undying before!”

”Where are the other top-tier Awakeners? Once they get here, that bastard’s done for!”

”Yeah, no way he’s walking out of this alive!”

Hope surged through the crowd. The heads of the major families were all SSS-grade Awakeners, each surrounded by elite forces. Even the monsters from Necroterra—the so-called Voidborn Undying—couldn’t possibly take on the full might of the Inner City.

Howard, still ablaze, charged straight at Ethan, his voice a roar of fury.

”Where is my son?!”

”Relax,” Ethan said, almost soothingly. ”I didn’t kill him. You’ll find him. Eventually.”

But even as he spoke, something appeared in his hand—a crystal core bomb.

Not just any bomb.

This one pulsed with a terrifying energy, heavier, denser than anything before.

SS-grade.

The highest-tier bomb Ethan had ever come across—snagged from some lunatic in the Black Market. Even he couldn’t understand what kind of psycho would use an SS-grade crystal core to make a bomb.

Howard’s eyes widened. His pupils shrank to pinpricks.

He immediately shifted from offense to defense, his instincts screaming at him.

An SS-grade bomb was dangerous—even to him.

”Enjoy the show,” Ethan said with a smirk, and tossed the bomb.

The energy inside surged, swelling to its peak in seconds.

BOOOOM!

It was like a thunderclap from the heavens, detonating above the Inner City with a blinding flash. For a moment, everything turned white.

Then came the shockwave.

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky, towering and ominous.

The blast ripped through the area like a tidal wave of destruction. Buildings trembled. The ground shook. The air itself seemed to scream.

Everyone scrambled to shield themselves, activating their abilities to survive the aftermath. Through squinted eyes and scorched air, they saw Ethan’s figure… fading.

Bit by bit, his body was dissolving into the light.

”Is he… trying to take himself out with the bomb?”

”Holy shit, that’s insane!”

”No wonder they call him a Voidborn Undying freak…”

”But hey… maybe this means it’s over.”

”Yeah… maybe we’re finally safe.”

The crowd buzzed with nervous relief, their voices a mix of awe and exhaustion.

But Howard didn’t relax.

His brow furrowed deeper, his gut twisting with unease.

Something was wrong.

Even an SS-grade crystal core bomb shouldn’t be enough to kill a top-tier Zombie King. Not one of the Voidborn Undying.

Because the truth behind that name—Voidborn Undying—was simple:

They’re almost impossible to kill.

Howard’s eyes narrowed.

”No… that bastard’s already gone.”

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