Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Aboard the Command Frigate, tension hung thick in the air as everyone watched the battle unfold.

”Instructor Garrick’s going toe-to-toe with a Voidborn Undying!”

”Can he really handle that thing?”

”Relax. It’s Instructor Garrick we’re talking about. Do you even know what it means to be a Master Instructor?”

”...”

Above them, aircraft continued to circle the skies, unleashing volleys of Crystal Core Blaster fire. The blasts lit up the battlefield, offering Garrick cover and keeping the surrounding zombie horde at bay.

Amid the chaos, energy surged and crackled.

Garrick’s eyes burned with battle-lust.

Bloodveil stared him down, his crimson eyes gleaming with disdain.

”This old bastard’s got some nerve.”

”Guess it’s time I stopped playing around.”

With a single thought, Bloodveil’s body erupted in a blaze of blood-red light, like a firestorm painting the sky in crimson.

Behind him, a vast ocean of blood began to churn and rise, radiating a crushing pressure that blanketed the entire battlefield.

He had unleashed his ultimate weapon—his Absolute Domain: the Bloodtide Domain.

”Die!”

The power of Bloodveil’s domain surged outward. From the blood ocean behind him, a monstrous tidal wave rose, roaring forward like a crimson apocalypse.

Garrick’s eyes widened in shock.

He’d assumed Bloodveil was one of the weaker Voidborn Undying—on par with Gravestone or Ragnar. Dangerous, sure, but not a real threat.

But this? This wasn’t just some grunt. Bloodveil had an Absolute Domain. That kind of power wasn’t supposed to show up in fringe territories like this.

Still, there was no turning back now. And honestly, he didn’t even need to win. The Dreadnought-class Starcruiser was already en route. Once it arrived, it wouldn’t matter what kind of monster Bloodveil was—he’d be reduced to cosmic dust.

”Earthen Bulwark!”

Garrick roared, pouring everything he had into the ground beneath him.

Elemental energy surged through the earth, and the ground responded like a living thing. Massive waves of stone and soil rose up, forming layered barriers that surged forward to meet the oncoming blood tide.

Garrick’s power was already brushing the edge of an Absolute Domain—far beyond what most Awakeners could manage. He hadn’t fully mastered it yet, but it was close.

The two forces collided—blood and earth, chaos and order—grinding against each other like blades, each trying to erase the other.

Boom.

The battlefield was a storm of destruction.

The war between humans and zombies had escalated fast. From the very start, heavy hitters had taken the stage.

And it wasn’t over.

More Zombie Kings were arriving from the rear lines, drawn to the chaos.

Umbradrake piloted his aircraft down to the surface and stepped out, eyes fixed on the clash ahead.

”Well damn. They’re going all out right from the jump?”

”No kidding,” Howler muttered, eyes locked on the fight. ”This is basically a showdown between two Voidborn Undying.”

The space around Garrick and Bloodveil warped and screamed under the pressure of their powers. The sheer force of their battle was terrifying.

Umbradrake wasn’t the only one watching. Zombie Kings from other regions had also arrived, their gazes drifting toward the aircraft circling above.

Each one of those ships was a treasure trove of resources—if they could bring one down, it’d be a huge score.

”Perfect,” rasped the Two-Headed Zombie King from Frostmere. ”Bloodveil’s keeping the human busy. Time for me to make my move.”

The other Zombie Kings turned toward him, curious.

The aircraft were still high in the sky. How the hell was he planning to attack from this far away?

Even if he jumped, he wouldn’t come close...

But then, the Two-Headed Zombie King’s gaze sharpened. The two heads—usually bickering nonstop—fell silent. Instead, their shared focus turned inward, their psychic energy beginning to radiate outward.

A strange mist began to rise from his body, swirling like smoke, almost like he was on fire.

Then, from one of the heads, a shadowy wisp of black fog drifted out—vaguely humanoid in shape. It looked like a soul leaving the body.

That ”soul” floated silently upward, heading straight for one of the aircraft above.

”Hehehehehe…”

The other head let out a low, sinister laugh, its expression unchanged.

But the head that had just released the spirit? Its face went blank, eyes dull and lifeless. It had completely relinquished control of the body to its twin.

”…What the hell?”

Even Umbradrake looked stunned.

Creepy.

Seriously creepy.

No wonder the Zombie Kings from Frostmere were so feared—none of them were normal.

The black ”soul” had no physical form. It was pure psychic energy, and it passed straight through the aircraft’s hull like it wasn’t even there.

Inside, it latched onto the pilot.

”Hehehehe…”

The pilot had been calmly adjusting the cannon’s aim, targeting the zombie horde below. But suddenly, a twisted laugh escaped his lips.

His once-focused expression twisted into something dark and unnatural. Slowly, he raised his head, revealing a grin that didn’t belong on any human face.

It was like he’d been possessed.

Then, without hesitation, he slammed a button—reversing the cannon’s aim.

And fired.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

A barrage of energy blasts tore through the sky, streaking like comets—slamming directly into nearby aircraft.

Explosions lit up the heavens like a deadly fireworks show.

Wreckage rained down in burning chunks, crashing to the ground below.

On the Command Frigate, everyone was stunned.

”What the hell just happened?!”

”Did he just… shoot down our own ships?!”

”Friendly fire? That many? No way!”

”Something’s seriously wrong!”

”…”

Panic spread like wildfire.

But this was Necroterra. Out here, the impossible happened every day.

Someone quickly grabbed a comm and tried to contact the rogue pilot.

No response.

”Hehehehe…”

The pilot kept laughing, eyes glazed over, firing wildly at anything in sight. His smile—twisted and inhuman—sent chills down everyone’s spine.

The fleet was falling into chaos.

Down below, Garrick was still locked in combat with Bloodveil. He was holding his own, but just barely. As strong as he was, he was still only SS+ rank—no match for a Voidborn Undying like Bloodveil.

His earth-based energy was being worn down, bit by bit. He was burning through his strength fast, and it was clear he couldn’t hold out much longer.

Bloodveil, on the other hand, was riding high on bloodlust, his power surging with every passing second.

”Still think you’re tough? Die already!”

The blood ocean behind him surged even more violently, crashing forward with unstoppable force.

Garrick gritted his teeth, struggling to hold the line. Against a Zombie King like this, even he was being pushed to the brink.

And now, the aircraft above were dropping like flies. Something was clearly wrong, but no one knew what.

The human fleet was falling apart.

They weren’t strong enough. Not yet. Not if they couldn’t even take down Bloodveil.

But then—

From the direction of the Exile Zone, a massive shadow began to rise on the horizon. A deep, thunderous roar echoed across the sky, like the heavens themselves were growling.

From a distance, it looked like a star slowly approaching… or maybe a floating island, drifting closer and closer.

Whatever it was, it was colossal.

And it radiated pure, overwhelming power.

The sight was awe-inspiring.

Even the zombie horde below suddenly fell silent, as if they too sensed the shift in the air. One by one, they turned to look toward the sky.

”Holy shit… that thing’s huge…”

”What… what is that?”

”Is the sun falling out of the sky or something?!”

”…”

Even the undead were murmuring, unease creeping into their voices.

Bloodveil froze in place, his corpse-like face going slack with shock. His eyes locked onto the approaching behemoth, disbelief etched into every inch of his expression.

The massive silhouette reflected in his pupils.

He knew exactly what it was.

”Th-That’s… the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser?!”

…