Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Lord of the Carrion Reavers turned his head, eyes narrowing as he looked off into the distance. The Overmind Queen was locked in battle with Ethan, and surprisingly, it was a pretty even match. The ground trembled, shockwaves rippled through the air, but neither of them seemed seriously hurt.

”Wasn’t that Zombie King supposed to be insanely strong? Did I pick the wrong opponent?” he muttered to himself, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

But Bloodveil wasn’t about to give him a breather. With a flick of his hand, he summoned another massive fist made of congealed blood and hurled it straight at him.

The thick, viscous blood surged forward, morphing into a giant crimson fist that came crashing down.

Lord of the Carrion Reavers let out a guttural roar, like a beast pushed to the edge. His killing intent exploded.

Instead of dodging, he charged forward, bracing his shoulder and using his brute strength to slam into the blood fist head-on.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, the massive blood-formed fist shattered on impact, bursting into a mist of red. Lord of the Carrion Reavers burst through the haze, but his body was already sizzling, smoke rising from his skin like a demon crawling out of hell.

”Hmph! You’re asking for it!”

Bloodveil didn’t flinch as the hulking figure barreled toward him. Instead, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

”Bloodtide Domain!”

In an instant, a surge of crimson light erupted from his body, casting a red glow across the entire night sky.

A strange, oppressive energy spread outward like a tidal wave.

”Wait… is that an Absolute Domain?” Lord of the Carrion Reavers’ eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected Bloodveil to have that kind of power.

As the Absolute Domain intensified, the world around him transformed into a sea of blood. Everywhere he looked, it was nothing but red. And then—an enormous wave of blood came crashing toward him.

”Good thing I saved this trick for now,” Bloodveil thought smugly.

He’d kept his Absolute Domain hidden from the start, deliberately luring the Xenobeasts into underestimating him. Now, with their guard down, it was time to strike hard.

Bet you didn’t see this coming.

The massive wave of blood swallowed Lord of the Carrion Reavers whole, and the corrosive energy immediately began eating away at his flesh.

A blood-curdling scream tore through the crimson night.

It was like he’d been dropped into molten lava—his skin melted away in chunks, pain wracking his body as he thrashed violently.

”Damn, Bloodveil’s a beast!”

”He was holding back this whole time. The Xenobeasts don’t stand a chance.”

”Yeah, that Lord of the Carrion Reavers looks like he’s done for!”

”...”

The other Zombie Kings were buzzing with excitement, their morale surging.

But things didn’t go quite as smoothly as they’d hoped. After all, Lord of the Carrion Reavers was an SSS-class monster. His body was built like a tank—he wasn’t going down that easy.

With sheer brute force, he clawed his way out of the corrosive blood sea, breaking free from the Absolute Domain and retreating fast.

But his massive body was in rough shape—smoke still rising from his skin, large patches of flesh eaten away, exposing gleaming white bone beneath.

He’d always looked terrifying, but now he was downright monstrous.

”Let’s see how long you can keep going,” Bloodveil muttered under his breath. The guy wasn’t dead, but he was definitely hurting. And his regeneration had slowed way down.

Not far off, the Overmind Queen of the parasitic monsters glanced over with a frown. ”Hey! You good or what?”

”This bastard’s sneakier than I thought. He was hiding his power. I can’t get the upper hand like this. Let’s switch targets,” Lord of the Carrion Reavers growled.

”Fine by me!” the Overmind Queen replied without hesitation. The two quickly swapped places, ready to face their new opponents.

”Wait, what?” Bloodveil’s brow furrowed. He was clearly annoyed—he’d just managed to seriously injure Lord of the Carrion Reavers, and now the guy was running off to fight Ethan?

”Your fight’s with me now!” the Overmind Queen snapped, seeing him still eyeing Lord of the Carrion Reavers. She lashed out with two whip-like tentacles, striking from both sides.

Bloodveil raised his hand, summoning the power of his Absolute Domain to block the attack.

”Damn it…”

He clenched his sharp teeth, eyes still locked on Ethan. Sure, they were calling each other ”allies” for now, but there was no way he was letting Ethan walk away with that SSS-class crystal core.

…

Meanwhile, Lord of the Carrion Reavers’ exposed wounds had already healed, but his aura was noticeably weaker.

He turned his gaze toward Ethan, and that murderous energy flared up again.

The Overmind Queen had held her own against him earlier—so he figured he could handle this too.

With a thunderous roar, his massive body charged straight at Ethan.

Ethan stood still, his gaze calm and steady as he watched the massive figure charging toward him. The truth was, he hadn’t even broken a sweat during his fight with the Overmind Queen earlier—he’d been holding back the whole time, basically just coasting.

But now? This guy was coming straight at him?

Fine. No need to play nice anymore.

Lord of the Carrion Reavers barreled forward, his enormous body radiating a suffocating, murderous aura that surged like a tidal wave.

In response, Ethan unleashed the full force of his Domain of the Dead—no holding back this time.

The mountains nearby groaned under the pressure. Cracks spiderwebbed across the rocky slopes, and boulders tumbled down in a cascade of rubble. The entire landscape looked like it was on the verge of collapse.

Lord of the Carrion Reavers raised a massive claw, ready to strike—but the moment he lifted his arm, a crushing force slammed down on him like a mountain of lead.

It was like he’d stepped into quicksand. His limbs locked up, his movements slowed to a crawl. That agile, beast-like grace vanished in an instant.

”What the hell?” he muttered, panic flashing in his eyes. A deep, primal dread crept up his spine.

What was this power?

Before he could react, Ethan’s figure flickered—then vanished.

A split second later, he was right in front of him, a blur of motion wrapped in deadly force.

Sure, Lord of the Carrion Reavers was a close-combat powerhouse. But inside Ethan’s Absolute Domain, no one had ever lasted long.

Inside the Domain of the Dead—I’m untouchable.

Ethan’s fist clenched tight. He pulled back his arm and drove it forward with devastating force, slamming it straight into Lord of the Carrion Reavers’ gut.

CRACK!

The beast’s massive body folded in half. Bones snapped like dry twigs. His abdomen caved in like he’d been hit by a freight train. The impact launched him backward like a ragdoll.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He crashed through mountain after mountain, each one exploding into rubble as he tore through them, finally skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust and shattered stone.

The shockwave rippled across the battlefield.

Bloodveil and the Overmind Queen both turned at the same time, eyes narrowing.

”What the hell just happened?” the Overmind Queen muttered, stunned. She’d been fighting Ethan for a while earlier, and nothing like that had happened.

But now? Lord of the Carrion Reavers had barely exchanged a single blow before getting launched like a cannonball.

Was he just too injured to fight back?

Bloodveil’s expression darkened. He was getting anxious now. Lord of the Carrion Reavers was on the verge of being taken out—and if Ethan finished him off, that SSS-class crystal core would be his.

No way Bloodveil was letting that happen.

He needed to find a way to switch opponents again—fast.

Meanwhile, deep in the rubble, a low rumble echoed out. Lord of the Carrion Reavers, battered and broken, slowly dragged himself to his feet.

His body was drenched in blood, bones shattered in multiple places. He looked like a walking corpse.

Back during the Battle of the Skywall, Ethan had crippled the human war goddess Serah with a single punch. Now, Lord of the Carrion Reavers looked even worse—there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body.

And yet, what terrified him most wasn’t the pain.

It was the realization.

He’d thought this Zombie King in a white shirt would be easier to deal with. But Ethan had been hiding his true strength all along—and he’d hidden it deep.

”You’re in no shape to keep going,” the Overmind Queen said, stepping forward. ”Let me handle him.”

”…Fine,” Lord of the Carrion Reavers grunted, nodding.

The Overmind Queen turned away from Bloodveil and returned to face Ethan once more.

Bloodveil, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t help but grin. Perfect. With Lord of the Carrion Reavers out of the way, that crystal core would be his for the taking.

But then—he noticed something.

Lord of the Carrion Reavers’ glowing red eyes swept across the battlefield. The bloodlust was gone. His massive frame slowly backed away, step by step, retreating into the shadows.

”…Huh?”

Bloodveil’s eyes narrowed.

Wait a second.

Was that bastard trying to run?

…