Apocalypse: King of Zombies

After the four zombies of the Overlord Squad disembarked from their aircraft, Big Ears pressed one oversized ear to the ground, hind legs tensed, creeping forward as he followed the faint vibrations.

Before long, he’d slinked around to the far side of the desolate mountain. Through the rocky wall, he could hear voices from the other side.

”Big Ears, what’s the sitch?” Shrimpy couldn’t help but ask.

”It’s a serious threat,” Big Ears replied, his tone grim.

The rest of the zombies fell silent at that, waiting quietly...

On the other side of the ridge, about a dozen zombies from Heartland were lounging around. A few were sitting on the ground, just shooting the breeze.

”Man, this is boring as hell. Not even a halfway decent opponent. The second our boss shows up, zombies from the other Regions scatter like roaches.”

”Can’t blame ’em. The other Regions are weak as hell. Always have been. Running’s the smartest thing they can do.”

”Yeah, but now there’s no one left to fight. The ones we’re hunting now? Total cannon fodder. Boss is still pissed, though.”

”Relax. Boss told us to hold this spot, right? Like those zombies aren’t gonna come crawling back eventually. They can run, but they can’t hide!”

”...”

The Heartland zombies kept chatting, clearly bored out of their undead minds.

Back on the other side, Big Ears listened in, his brow twitching, a flicker of irritation rising in his chest.

Seriously? These guys are full of it.

He felt like his status was being challenged...

”Let’s go. Time to wipe these clowns out.”

”Yeah, I’m in.”

The others nodded, and together they climbed up the rocky slope. Once they reached the summit, they had a clear view of the Heartland zombies below.

”Let’s see who’s been running their mouth. Hope your skin’s tough enough to back it up,” Big Ears said, standing tall at the peak, hands on his hips. The pendants hanging from his oversized ears swayed in the wind, clinking softly.

”Huh?”

The zombies below noticed something and looked up. Against the backdrop of three blazing suns, a silhouette with massive ears stood outlined in the light.

”Who the hell is that?”

”Is that a Southvale zombie?”

”Looks pretty badass...”

”...”

Big Ears raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Well, at least they’ve got good eyes.

The Heartland zombies’ leader stood out from the rest—tall and lanky, with pale green skin and straw-colored hair. Big Ears could tell right away: this guy was stronger than him. S-class, no doubt. And judging by his appearance, there was definitely some mutated plant DNA in the mix.

Figures. Heartland’s Zombie Kings aren’t pushovers.

Big Ears thought to himself, You’ve gotta be one of the top enforcers under the Deathless Sovereign of Heartland.

”Oh?” The green-skinned Zombie King looked surprised. ”Not bad. Sharp eyes. You nailed it.”

”I’m Pickle—one of the elite under Heartland’s Deathless Sovereign, Nightwraith!”

”...”

The air went still. Only the wind howled across the mountaintop.

Big Ears gave a silent thumbs-up in his mind.

Damn. That’s strong. Real strong.

With a name like that, you know he’s not your average corpse.

”I used to think Shrimpy had the most ridiculous zombie name out there... but looks like there’s always someone better.”

Pickle narrowed his eyes, his aura flaring. ”So, you’re one of Southvale’s top dogs too, huh?”

The two locked eyes, tension crackling between them. Neither one backing down.

”Top dog? That’s old news,” Big Ears said coolly. ”After countless battles, I’ve crushed my enemies beneath my feet and risen to the path of the Overlord.”

”Uh...” Pickle blinked, caught off guard. His aura faltered just a bit.

Who the hell is this guy? he thought. He talks even bigger than I do...

Behind him, Shrimpy and the others exchanged glances, quietly impressed.

”As expected... Big Ears never lets us down.”

Big Ears kept his hands on his hips, a smug grin creeping across his face. He was loving this. The corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction as he said, ”You seem like a real tough guy in Heartland. So here’s the deal—I’ll give you a shot. Let’s settle this one-on-one, fair and square. Don’t say I bullied you.”

”Duel?” Pickle raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. Sure, the guy talked a big game, but judging by his aura, he was maybe A+ at best—definitely not on Pickle’s level.

Not to mention, Pickle had the added boost of mutated plant abilities. ”Tch. You’ve been hyping yourself up so much, you actually believe your own BS now?”

”Believe it or not, we’ll find out soon enough,” Big Ears shot back, completely unfazed.

Pickle’s expression hardened. The air around him grew heavy with killing intent, his battle aura flaring to life.

The surrounding zombies tensed, sensing the shift. The atmosphere was electric—this was about to go down.

Pickle made the first move. With a powerful leap, he launched himself up the rocky slope, charging straight for the summit.

”I’m S-class, fused with mutated flora. My specialty? Binding, strangling, crushing. What the hell are you gonna do, Big Ears? Wiggle at me?”

”Oh?” Big Ears raised an eyebrow, still calm as ever.

”I’m A+ class, awakened ability: Hyper Hearing. And my specialty? This bad boy—an S-class Crystal Core Hand-Cannon. Let’s dance.”

”Wait, what??” Pickle froze mid-climb, his face scrunching in confusion like he’d just been hit with a pop quiz in a language he didn’t speak.

He looked up just in time to see Big Ears reach into his waistband and pull out something bulky and gleaming.

Under the sunlight, the weapon shimmered with a silver sheen. Embedded in its core, an S-class crystal pulsed with energy, glowing brighter by the second. The barrel of the cannon was already humming, charging up with a deadly heat.

”Holy sh—!” Pickle’s eyes went wide. He immediately crossed his arms in front of him, switching to a defensive stance.

BOOM!

A thunderous blast echoed across the mountain. The ground trembled violently.

From his high ground, Big Ears fired straight down, the cannon unleashing a blinding beam of energy that swallowed Pickle whole.

The shockwave tore through the cliffside, sending cracks spidering across the rock face. Debris rained down in chunks. The sheer force of the blast was undeniable.

Big Ears casually brought the smoking barrel to his lips and blew off the rising smoke with a cocky smirk.

”Is it over?” Shrimpy and the others squinted through the dust, trying to see.

After all, Big Ears had taken down an S-class zombie with a single shot before.

But as the smoke cleared and the energy ripples faded, something was off.

The zombie aura that had just been snuffed out... was back.

”Huh? I missed?” Big Ears frowned, leaning forward to get a better look.

Through the thinning haze, Pickle’s figure stood tall—still alive, still glaring.

His arms were crossed in front of him, but his hands had transformed into thick vines, woven into a makeshift shield. The shield was now shattered, and his forearms and hands were dripping with thick, blackish blood. He was hurt—badly—but not down.

Pickle’s eyes burned red as he stared up at Big Ears, rage boiling in his chest.

So much for a fair fight, he thought bitterly. You said one-on-one, and then pulled out a damn cannon?

”Overlord, huh? Crystal Core Blaster, huh? Alright... alright...”

Pickle’s jaw clenched, his sharp teeth grinding together. Then he let out a guttural growl and barked the order:

”Rip them apart!”

”RAAAHHH—!”

His underlings roared in unison. Whatever promises of a duel had been made were now out the window. They scrambled up the cliffside like rabid beasts, eyes glowing with bloodlust.

”Well... that backfired,” Big Ears muttered, his cocky expression finally cracking into a worried frown.

He’d underestimated Pickle. Sure, the guy was S-class—but with those mutated plant powers, he was easily pushing S+.

And now, a horde of pissed-off zombies was charging up the mountain like demons out of hell.

”Big Ears, what do we do?!” Shrimpy shouted, panic creeping into his voice.

Big Ears furrowed his brow, glanced over his shoulder at the others, then looked back down at the incoming swarm.

”You know the drill.”

...