Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”You’re cheating!!” Matt screamed, his voice cracking like a snapped wire.

This time, he completely lost it. If it were just a fair fight—two Tier 2 peak Awakened, one injured, one fresh—he could’ve swallowed it. But now? A wounded Tier 2 going up against a fully healed Tier 3?

What the hell was the point?

”Cheating?” Ethan blinked innocently. ”Nah. It’s a rest period. Gotta replenish your strength, right?”

”Replenish?!” Matt’s eyes bulged. ”You call that replenishing?!”

”Sure. You’re welcome to eat one too. I won’t stop you.”

”...”

Matt choked on air. If he had a Tier 3 crystal core, would he still be stuck at Tier 2 peak? Would he be standing here, sweating bullets, arguing with a guy who could probably kill him with a flick of the wrist?

”This doesn’t count! It’s not fair!” he shouted, voice rising again.

”Fair?” Ethan let out a dry chuckle. ”Buddy, fairness didn’t exist before the world ended. You think it’s gonna show up now? I gave you a one-on-one shot. That’s more than fair.”

”You don’t get to decide what’s fair!”

”No?” Ethan’s smile faded. ”You had five minutes. You could’ve done whatever you wanted to get stronger. If you didn’t, that’s on you. Don’t blame me because you came unprepared.”

Matt opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had nothing. No argument. No backup plan. Just a sinking feeling in his gut.

Sean, meanwhile, stared at the crystal core in his hand, emotions swirling. Something they’d risked their lives for, failed to get time and time again—Ethan had just handed it to him like it was a granola bar.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

”Eat it,” Ethan said, voice flat now. ”If you still lose after this, don’t bother following me.”

Sean didn’t hesitate. He took the core with both hands, nodded solemnly, and said, ”If I lose after this, just kill me.”

Then he swallowed it.

The energy hit fast. His body tensed, then surged with power. Within moments, the shift was complete—Sean had stepped into Tier 3.

Ethan glanced at the time. ”Alright. That’s five. Let’s get this started.”

Matt looked like he was about to be sick. ”Can we… not fight?”

”Sure,” Ethan said. ”I’ll just count it as a forfeit. You all stay.”

”Wait—no! I’ll fight!” Matt blurted, panic flashing in his eyes.

”Want to switch fighters?” Ethan offered, gesturing between himself, Chris, and Henry. ”Pick one.”

Matt stared at the three of them like they were executioners.

”...I’ll stick with Sean.”

He looked like he was about to cry.

The once-arrogant bully, now reduced to begging for mercy with his pride in tatters.

Funny how fast the world could flip.

The two stepped into the makeshift ring—just a cleared space in the blood-slick floor.

Chris walked over and handed Sean his barbell bar. ”Here. Yours sucks. Use this.”

”...”

Matt’s mouth twitched as he looked down at his own weapon—a standard fire axe—then up at the six-foot steel bar now in Sean’s hands. Despair settled in his gut like a stone.

But he didn’t protest. What was the point? The rules weren’t his to set. He was just along for the ride now.

They squared off.

Before Ethan could even say ”go,” Matt lunged, swinging the axe in a vicious arc straight for Sean’s neck.

Ethan’s brow twitched, but he didn’t stop it.

This wasn’t a sparring match. It was a fight for survival. If Sean couldn’t adapt to that, he had no business being here.

But Sean didn’t disappoint.

Just as the axe came down, Sean moved. The barbell bar slammed into Matt’s chest with a sickening thud.

BOOM.

The hit lifted Matt clean off the ground and sent him flying backward like a rag doll. His axe missed by inches, slicing air instead of flesh.

If Sean had still been Tier 2, Matt might’ve been able to tank the hit and still land a killing blow.

But Tier 3?

That was a whole different beast.

Matt never stood a chance.

Matt hit the ground hard but rolled with the impact, scrambling back to his feet in a flash.

But Sean didn’t give him a second to breathe.

He was already on him, barbell bar swinging down like a sledgehammer.

Matt raised his fire axe just in time to block.

CLANG!

The metal-on-metal clash rang out sharp and brutal. The force of the blow shattered the bones in Matt’s hand—his grip broke, and the axe flew from his fingers.

Sean didn’t let up.

He lifted the bar again and brought it down, aiming straight for Matt’s skull.

Matt rolled aside at the last second, the bar slamming into the floor with a dull thud. He sprang up and launched a spinning kick, his leg whipping toward Sean’s head.

Sean raised the barbell bar to block.

Matt’s shin collided with solid steel.

CRACK.

He let out a strangled grunt, face contorting in pain. That kick had cost him.

Sean seized the opening. He pivoted and drove a side kick into Matt’s ribs, sending him sprawling again. Before Matt could even groan, Sean was already on him, barbell bar raised high.

Matt, weaponless, threw up his arms in a desperate block.

THUD.

The bar came down like a hammer. Bone snapped. Matt’s forearm bent the wrong way.

He didn’t even have time to scream.

Sean raised the bar again.

”No—!”

Matt’s voice cracked with terror, but it was too late.

CRACK.

The barbell bar crushed his skull like a melon. Blood and brain matter sprayed across the floor. His body twitched once, then went still.

In that final moment, Matt’s eyes were wide with regret—too late to matter.

The fight ended so fast, even Ethan looked mildly surprised.

He hadn’t expected Sean to be that ruthless.

But damn if it wasn’t effective.

Sean hadn’t just won—he’d dominated. No hesitation, no mercy. Once he had the upper hand, he never let go.

Chris and Henry exchanged a glance, both a little shaken.

”Damn,” Chris muttered. ”Guy’s got a mean streak.”

Henry nodded silently.

Behind them, the eight remaining Boxing Club members stared at Matt’s headless corpse, faces pale with horror.

Then, as if on cue, they all dropped to their knees and started kowtowing, foreheads smacking the blood-slick floor.

”Please! Don’t kill us! We didn’t want to do this—it was all him! He made us!”

Sean looked at them, hesitation flickering in his eyes. Then he turned to Ethan.

Ethan let out a quiet sigh. ”If you start this, you finish it. No loose ends. Either don’t kill at all—or don’t leave anyone behind.”

Sean nodded slowly. ”Got it.”

He understood. These guys had ridden Matt’s coattails, enjoyed the power of the group. Now they had to pay the price for it.

And knowing Matt, they’d probably done their fair share of bullying too.

”Chris, Henry,” Sean said, voice steady. ”Help me out.”

”Yeah,” Chris replied without hesitation.

Henry paused, then gave a short nod. ”Alright.”

This time, he didn’t flinch.

Some lines, once crossed, got easier the second time.

The room filled with screams and curses, then silence.

It didn’t take long.

Truth was, the moment Ethan had let Henry use his healing ability in front of them, their fates had already been sealed. He couldn’t afford to let that kind of information spread—not yet.

Ethan wasn’t a bloodthirsty man. But he understood the cost of loose ends. Even the smallest threat, left unchecked, could grow into something dangerous.

Chris and Henry still had a lot to learn. They weren’t hardened yet.

But Ethan had seen the worst of people. He knew better than to leave a knife at his back.

And as the leader of this group, it was his job to make sure none of them paid for someone else’s mistake.

...