Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ethan’s energy surged again—he’d activated Blood Rite, a power that burned his own life force to unleash a short burst of overwhelming strength.

It was a new ability, one that had only awakened after he broke through to SSS rank. That meant one thing—Ethan had entered the ”third phase.”

A crimson aura exploded around him, shooting into the sky like a blood-red beacon. In the next instant, his body blurred into a streak of black.

The very air around him trembled.

His presence was suffocating—so intense it made your heart race and your breath catch in your throat.

Serah’s eyes widened in shock. Her face paled as she felt the terrifying pressure rolling off him. A chill ran down her spine—something was very, very wrong.

But it was too late to back down. She’d already committed—her entire power stat had been converted into raw strength, and her punch was mid-swing. There was no turning back.

All she could do was grit her teeth and charge forward.

Ethan, now shrouded in swirling blood energy, was barely recognizable—he looked more like a shadowy demon than a man. He raised his fist to meet hers.

As their fists closed in, the space between them twisted violently, like reality itself was about to shatter. The sheer force behind their blows was off the charts.

BOOOOM!

The impact sounded like two mountains colliding. The shockwave was deafening, a thunderclap that made everyone’s ears ring.

A violent burst of energy exploded outward, tearing through the ground and leaving deep cracks in its wake.

Even the clouds above were ripped apart.

Behind them, The Skywall groaned under the pressure. Its glowing runes dimmed, most of them flickering out. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, and the entire wall trembled like it was about to collapse—like the world itself was coming undone.

Serah didn’t stand a chance.

Her thick, muscular arm cracked audibly. The veins bulging beneath her skin burst one after another.

Then her arm twisted grotesquely, and her powerful muscles began to tear apart.

The force of Ethan’s punch traveled up her arm and into her torso, shattering bones as it went. The sound of breaking echoed through her body.

A wave of searing pain hit her like a freight train, nearly knocking her unconscious.

Pfft!

Serah’s chest tightened. A metallic taste filled her mouth, and she couldn’t stop herself—she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Her body flew backward like a baseball hit out of the park, arcing through the air before crashing hard into the ground.

She didn’t get back up.

The damage was too severe—her mind was foggy, her body broken. She was completely out of the fight.

”Serah…” Howard’s face went pale as he watched her fall. He couldn’t believe it—the Alliance’s number one female war goddess, taken down again.

And this time, she’d been at full power.

Now she lay there, barely conscious. Whether she was alive or dead, no one could tell.

Howard turned his gaze back to Ethan.

The man was still standing tall, his spine straight, blood energy swirling around him like a storm. The pressure he gave off was monstrous.

He had Absolute Domain. His mental strength and physical body were both off the charts. This wasn’t just a powerhouse—this was a perfectly balanced monster.

A true six-dimensional warrior.

For the first time in years, Howard felt something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

Fear.

And he was SSS-ranked himself.

Ethan’s eyes swept the battlefield. He should’ve gone to take Serah’s crystal core—but then he looked up.

In the dark sky above, countless lights began to flicker—tiny specks at first, but quickly multiplying, forming a dense swarm.

More human elites were on their way.

Clearly, humanity still had cards left to play.

”Time to go,” Ethan muttered.

Without hesitation, he turned and bolted toward the shattered remains of The Skywall. Still in Blood Rite mode, he threw a punch at the wall.

BOOM—

The runes on the wall went completely dark. The golden glow vanished in an instant.

Cracks spread like spiderwebs across the massive structure, and then—finally—it gave out.

The towering wall collapsed with a thunderous roar.

And it didn’t stop there.

Like a chain reaction, miles of the wall began to crumble, one section after another.

Massive stones tumbled down, and a thick cloud of dust shot into the sky, blotting out the sun.

”The Skywall… it’s down!”

Every Awakener stationed at the wall stood frozen, staring in disbelief.

Some of them had been guarding The Skywall for thirty, even fifty years. They’d spent the better part of their lives here—sacrificed their youth, their families, everything.

And now, right before their eyes, that towering wall… had crumbled to dust.

But that was only the beginning.

As the dust settled and the last of the rubble stopped shifting, Howard and the others turned their eyes toward the outer perimeter of The Skywall—and what they saw made their blood run cold.

Faces. Dirty, gaunt faces began to emerge from the haze.

They wore tattered black robes and roughspun clothes. Their cheeks were sunken, their hair brittle and yellowed from malnutrition. These were people who had lived their entire lives in deprivation.

And now, like a rising tide of shadows, they were slowly closing in.

After all, 98% of humanity lived in the Outer Zone. The sheer number of them was staggering.

”Uh… what the hell…” Howard muttered, stunned.

He and the others had lived in comfort for so long, they’d almost forgotten the Outer Zone even existed. It had been years since they’d seen anyone from out there.

Now, faced with this sea of hollow-eyed people, they couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of awe and unease.

The battle earlier had shaken the entire wall, even before it collapsed. The tremors had drawn attention, and now the Outer Zone residents had gathered to see what was happening.

They’d all heard the stories—that behind The Skywall was a perfect world.

And now that the wall was gone…

Could they finally go in?

More and more people gathered, until it looked like an ocean of bodies. The bleak, gray tones of the Outer Zone clashed with the neon glow of the Inner City just beyond the rubble.

The Outer Zone people stared, wide-eyed, at the glittering skyline, the towering buildings, the sleek, luxurious vehicles. At first, their eyes were filled with wonder.

Then came the hunger.

And finally… rage.

”Heheheh… What are you all standing around for?” Ricky’s voice rang out, sharp and manic. He stood atop a chunk of broken wall, grinning like a madman. ”Get in there! The Inner City’s full of food, games, stuff you’ve never even dreamed of! Don’t let someone else take it all before you get a taste!”

He wanted chaos. He thrived on it.

And he could feel the resentment in the crowd—thick and heavy, like smoke—pouring into him, feeding him.

The people of the Outer Zone had always hated the Inner City.

”So this… this is what it’s like inside…”

”Why the hell have we been locked out our whole lives? Working ourselves to death, eating that disgusting Compressed Protein crap?”

”Yeah! They’re in there living it up while we rot out here!”

”I’m done with this shit!”

”If we’re ever gonna take back our lives, it’s now! Come on—charge!”

The first shout was all it took.

Like a spark in dry grass, it ignited the crowd. The dam broke.

A tidal wave of people surged forward, screaming, crying, laughing—completely unhinged. It was like watching a million-person zombie horde, only worse—because these weren’t mindless monsters.

These were desperate, angry humans.

”Hey! Stop! Everyone calm down!”

”Don’t listen to that bastard! He’s trying to use you!”

”Freeze! I’ll shoot, I swear!”

The City Guards tried to hold the line, shouting commands, raising weapons—but it was useless.

The crowd didn’t care.

Some of them tackled the guards, wrestled their Crystal Core Firearms away. Others stormed into shops, smashing windows, looting everything in sight.

Fresh food was ripped from shelves and stuffed into mouths, raw and unwashed.

The scene spiraled into chaos.

For the first time in human history, a full-scale riot had erupted inside the heart of civilization.

Ethan stood off to the side, watching it all unfold.

More and more Outer Zone people rushed past him, pouring through the breach in The Skywall like floodwater.

He narrowed his eyes.

”These people… they’re more destructive than zombies ever were.”

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