Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Outside the Deadlock Dimension...

Big Mike and the Celestials Patriarch were locked in a staring contest.

At first, Big Mike had run his mouth nonstop, infuriating the Celestials Patriarch. Eventually, the Patriarch seemed to shut off his hearing altogether. No matter what Big Mike said, he refused to respond.

With no one to argue with, Big Mike finally gave up. The two of them spent the next hour simply staring at each other.

Every so often, the Celestials Patriarch launched another attack to see if Big Mike’s ability was still active.

Unfortunately for him, nothing worked.

He was starting to get anxious.

He had no idea what was happening to the Gildari Patriarch inside the dimension, and the Beast Sovereign was probably already on his way. If Big Mike’s invulnerability never expired, he would have no choice but to abandon the Gildari Patriarch and flee alone.

But Big Mike was even more anxious.

His ability was rapidly approaching its time limit, and he still had no idea what was happening inside. Once it expired, any casual attack from the Celestials Patriarch could reduce him to ash.

He couldn’t let any of that fear show. He had to remain calm and convince the Patriarch that everything was going exactly according to plan.

It had become a battle of nerves.

Unfortunately, Big Mike was only in his twenties. He was no match for a Celestials Patriarch who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

At first, he held up well. But as the deadline approached, his nerves began to show.

The Celestials Patriarch soon caught on.

”You’re nervous,” he said with a cold smile.

”Please. What do I have to be nervous about?” Big Mike scoffed. ”You’re the one who should be worried. If you don’t leave now, you won’t get away once the Beast Sovereign arrives.”

But to the Celestials Patriarch, Big Mike’s warning sounded less like a threat and more like a bluff.

He smiled.

”So your ability is about to expire.”

”Like hell it is! This state lasts at least a full day. Go ahead—attack me again if you’ve got the nerve!”

”No. That would be a waste of energy.” The Celestials Patriarch sneered. ”I’ll wait until it wears off. Then I’ll tear that mouth of yours to pieces.”

He had clearly decided that Big Mike’s time was almost up.

Damn, this old bastard’s sharp, Big Mike thought helplessly.

Sweat began to gather on his body as the deadline drew closer.

He could imagine exactly what would happen once his ability expired and the Patriarch got his hands on him. Death would probably be the easy part.

Boss, are you guys done yet? I don’t think I can hold out much longer.

The Celestials Patriarch watched him with a cold smile, occasionally launching another attack. He was testing Big Mike more frequently now.

Big Mike silently counted down the seconds.

With five minutes left, he attacked the spatial node several times.

He waited.

Nothing happened.

”You’ve got to be kidding me.” Big Mike’s eyes widened.

He had deliberately waited until the final five minutes to send the signal, hoping to give Ethan and the others as much time as possible.

But now the signal had gone out, and there was still no response.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

Come on, Boss! I swear I’ll stop running my mouth! Don’t leave me out here!

He attacked the spatial node several more times.

Still nothing.

Big Mike’s face went ashen.

Shit. I’m dead meat.

”Hahaha! Looks like they abandoned you,” the Celestials Patriarch said.

”Our boss would never abandon me!” Big Mike snapped, seemingly furious. ”I may only have a little over ten minutes left, but I can still hold you off that long. By then, our boss might have already finished off the Gildari Patriarch!”

In reality, he had less than three minutes remaining.

He had deliberately given the Patriarch a specific but false time limit. Since the man had already realized his ability was about to expire, there was no point claiming he had hours left. But ten minutes was believable.

Every extra second mattered.

”Oh? Hahaha! So you only have ten minutes left?” the Celestials Patriarch laughed. ”What happened to lasting an entire day?”

”I—!”

Big Mike’s face flushed red.

”Hahaha! You think they can kill the Gildari Patriarch in ten minutes? What a ridiculous fantasy.”

”Enjoy what little life you have left. You’ll never get another chance.”

”And don’t worry. I won’t kill you right away.” A vicious smile spread across the Celestials Patriarch’s face. ”I’ll tear your mouth apart piece by piece, then carve your body into slices and make sure you die in endless agony.”

As a Tier 47 fighter and Patriarch of one of the four supreme races, he normally wouldn’t spare a Stage SS weakling a second glance. Torturing one would only be beneath him.

But Big Mike was different.

The Celestials Patriarch desperately wanted to make him suffer.

There was no deeper reason.

Big Mike was simply that damn insufferable.

Now that he knew how little time remained on Big Mike’s ability, the Celestials Patriarch relaxed. He no longer cared whether the Beast Sovereign was on his way.

Ten minutes wasn’t enough time for the Beast Sovereign to arrive.

There was no reason to worry about the Gildari Patriarch, either. The soulless thrall was indeed powerful, but killing the Gildari Patriarch in such a short time was impossible.

All he had to do was wait.

Then he could take his time torturing the hateful bastard in front of him and finally vent all the rage Big Mike had caused him.

Inside the Deadlock Dimension...

The battle was still raging.

By now, the Gildari Patriarch was in terrible condition. Ethan had nearly split his head halfway open, and wounds covered the rest of his body.

As the injury to his head worsened, his reactions and combat ability deteriorated sharply. He was no longer any match for Dopey and could barely fight back.

It wouldn’t be long before Dopey finished him off.

The others watched excitedly while restoring Ethan’s condition.

They hadn’t ignored Big Mike’s signal. They simply hadn’t noticed it.

The last time, everyone had been waiting quietly inside the dimension, so Ethan had sensed Big Mike’s attack on the spatial node immediately.

This time was different.

Two Tier 47 fighters were engaged in a brutal battle. The entire Deadlock Dimension was shaking, and explosions thundered without pause. Big Mike’s attacks were far too weak to stand out amid the chaos.

Eventually, Ethan returned to full strength.

He was just about to charge in and finish the Gildari Patriarch when Skinny Pete’s expression suddenly changed.

”Boss, Big Mike’s in danger!”

Everyone froze.

Then they checked the time, and their faces changed.

”Shit! We went over!” Sean exclaimed.

”It’s been two hours and eight minutes since Big Mike activated Fate Roulette. We’re eight minutes past the limit!”

Everyone went pale.

The Fallen Star Squad had been through too much together. Their bond had long since grown stronger than blood. Big Mike might have had an infuriating mouth, but the squad wouldn’t have been complete without him.

Ethan’s face changed as well.

The Gildari Patriarch was on the verge of death, but Ethan immediately abandoned the chance to finish him and released the Deadlock Dimension.