Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Henry, Abyron’s soul is still extremely weak, so he can barely use any of his power. He’s in your hands now.” Ethan turned to Henry.

”Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Henry nodded, then addressed Abyron. ”Come on. I’ll take you somewhere we can begin treatment.”

”You can heal souls?” Abyron stared at him.

”Easy enough. Let’s go.” Henry smiled and headed toward the room where he had gone into seclusion.

”You have my thanks.” Abyron followed him respectfully.

These humans might not be particularly strong, but their abilities were clearly anything but ordinary.

Perhaps humanity really could survive this disaster and reclaim its former glory.

If only...

If only those beings hadn’t noticed this world.

Once Henry and Abyron were gone, Ethan turned to the others.

”It’s late. Get some rest. We’re heading to the ocean first thing tomorrow morning.”

”The beach? What for?” Big Mike scoffed. ”No bikinis, no beach parties—what’s left?”

”You want to check out the marine life, right, Boss?” Sean asked.

”Yeah. We’re still not strong enough. We need to gather as many crystal cores as we can over the next two days, and there have to be powerful creatures in the ocean.”

”Right! The ocean is full of life. It must have produced some powerful mutant beasts by now. There might even be Stage SSS beasts down there.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. They had been wondering where they could find more high-Tier crystal cores, and now they had their answer.

”All right, get some sleep and save your strength. Tomorrow, we fight!”

”Got it!”

Meanwhile...

The soldier led Vaelrath to the part of the Beast Enclosure where the Beast Sovereign and the others lived. He pointed toward a scenic park in the distance.

”My lord, that will be your home from now on.”

”Not bad.” Vaelrath nodded approvingly.

New Atlas’s Beast Enclosure had been built by transforming the mountains around the former Atlas City. It had mountains, water, and open grassland—an ideal habitat for Outland Beasts.

The white-furred ape’s group and the Beast Sovereign’s group had both taken an immediate liking to the place. None of them wandered around New Atlas anymore.

”You can head over now, my lord. A few other lords already live there, and they should be resting at this hour, so please keep your voice down and try not to disturb them.”

”Me? Disturb them?” Vaelrath demanded, instantly annoyed. ”Have them move somewhere else. This is my territory now.”

”Well... I don’t think that’s possible. The Commander told me to put you with them. But don’t worry. Those lords are very easygoing. They won’t bully you.”

”Bully me?” Vaelrath’s eyes widened as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

It wasn’t looking down on the local creatures. It had already seen what this world had to offer. Ethan was the only one whose strength was remotely respectable. As for everyone else, Vaelrath could probably knock them over with a breath.

Just as it was congratulating itself, a massive creature flew out of the forest. In the blink of an eye, it was hovering above them.

”Oh? We’ve got a new friend?”

”Not bad. So this world has Stage SSS Beasts too.”

”Hey, kid. What species are you?”

Vaelrath froze.

Its entire body locked up, and it didn’t dare move a muscle. When it finally managed to speak, the words came out in a stammer.

”S-Stage SSS... Tier 47... peak!”

”I asked you a question, kid.” The Beast Sovereign frowned.

”Y-Yes, my lord. I’m... I’m a Dread-Eyed Lion.”

”A Dread-Eyed Lion? I don’t think we had your species back in our world.” The Beast Sovereign shook its head, then continued, ”Since you’re here, I assume you belong to Ethan too. That makes you my new little brother. I’ll look out for you from now on.”

”Yes, my lord. Thank you.” Vaelrath had become as docile as a baby.

Who could have guessed a beast at the peak of Tier 47 was hiding in this enclosure?

No wonder Ethan had been giving it that strange look earlier. The bastard had set it up!

”Beast Sovereign, my lord, I’ll leave our new guest in your care,” the soldier said respectfully. ”I should be heading back now.”

”Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”

”Oh, and remember to send us some extra barbecue tonight. I like that stuff.”

”Of course.” The soldier nodded and left.

At that moment, the other three Outland Beasts flew over and studied Vaelrath with open curiosity.

”Oh? A new friend?”

The sight of them made Vaelrath’s scalp prickle.

They’re all Tier 47!

”All right, all right! I know my place!”

...

Early the next morning, Ethan left New Atlas with Sean and the others.

He had assumed Henry could restore Abyron to his peak in one night, but he soon learned he had been far too optimistic.

Abyron might not be as powerful as the Beast Sovereign, but his condition was much more complicated. According to Henry, fully restoring him would take at least a day and a night.

That left Ethan with no choice but to take Sean and the others to deal with the Stage SS Beasts Miles had told him about.

Their first stop was an old haunt: the Blackpine Wilds.

Their first target was an old acquaintance—the Titan Bull that had once beaten Ethan half to death.

Ethan had always held grudges, so naturally, the Titan Bull was first on his list.

This time, there was no need to creep through the Blackpine Wilds with every nerve on edge. They marched openly toward its depths.

Swarms of Beasts attacked them along the way, but against their current strength, none of them even got close before becoming corpses.

Ethan left all the killing to Sean and the others, afraid that using his own power might scare off the Titan Bull.

Eventually, after they had slaughtered more Beasts than they could count, a thunderous bellow echoed through the forest. An enormous bull-like creature came charging toward them, snorting with every step.

A smile tugged at Ethan’s lips.

”Finally decided to come out!”

He took one step and instantly appeared above the Titan Bull’s head.

”Hey, old bull. Remember me?”

The Titan Bull stared up at him with huge, round eyes.

It didn’t take long to recognize Ethan.

Wasn’t this the bastard who had injured its nose last time?

And he dared come back?

Did he think the old bull couldn’t kill him?

Wait.

Something was wrong.

Fuck! Stage SSS!

The Titan Bull’s expression changed drastically. It spun around and fled.

”Haha! Little late to run now!”

Ethan instantly appeared in its path and brought his poleaxe down on its head.

”Moo!”

A yellow energy shield sprang up around the Titan Bull as it thrust its horns straight at Ethan.

Even knowing Ethan had reached Stage SSS, it refused to simply wait for death.

Thud!

The result was never in doubt.

The Titan Bull’s skull split open on the spot. Its massive body crashed to the ground, its legs scraped weakly a few times, and then it went still.

”I’m not big on holding grudges. I prefer settling them.”

Ethan smiled and reached out. The crystal core flew into his hand.

Four more to go...