Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The top enforcer, Scissorhands, just got his head lopped off—just like that.

"He's that strong?" Nightmare's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected a human to be this powerful.

Mia, on the other hand, muttered under her breath, "Edgy teenager…"

Then she turned to Nightmare and said flatly, "Stop staring. You wouldn't stand a chance against him either."

"You… go to hell!" Nightmare's already battered heart took another hit. Enraged, he lunged at Mia, unleashing a wave of psychic energy that engulfed her.

Mia was instantly trapped in Sleep Paralysis. Her body refused to move.

But she remained calm, her large eyes locked onto him without a hint of fear.

Nightmare's razor-sharp fingers slashed toward her, digging into her pale neck. He had intended to snap it in one swift motion.

But the moment he tried, he realized something was wrong—her bones had hardened. He couldn't twist them at all.

Blood trickled from the corner of Mia's lips, but she didn't seem to care. Instead, she grinned—a wild, almost manic expression flashing across her face.

[Pain Level: 69%]

Her cells surged with activity. Deadly Pain activated, boosting her physical capabilities. The Sleep Paralysis effect was forcibly broken.

In the next instant, her tachi sliced through the air, streaking toward Nightmare with blinding speed, leaving afterimages in its wake.

Panic flashed in Nightmare's eyes. He scrambled backward, trying to dodge, but he was a fraction too slow.

The hand gripping Mia's throat was severed in an instant. At the same time, her blade carved a deep gash across his chest, exposing bone beneath the torrent of dark, oozing blood.

The searing pain sent him into a frenzy. He staggered back, desperate to put distance between himself and this lunatic.

But just then—

Sean burst out from the horde of zombies behind him. Seizing the opportunity, he swung his fist straight at Nightmare's back.

Boom!

Nightmare, the so-called Zombie King, coughed up a mouthful of black blood. He felt his bones shatter under the impact. His chest wound tore open even further, revealing his mangled organs.

His body crumpled like a ragdoll, slamming into the ground with a sickening thud. He couldn't move. He could barely even breathe.

This was it. The end of the road.

Sean's sharp gaze flicked to Mia's neck.

Thanks to her heightened cellular activity, her wounds were already healing at an astonishing rate. The deep gashes Nightmare had left behind were closing up before his eyes.

"You good?"

"I'm fine." Mia shook her head, glancing down at her alloy wristband. It still displayed a Pain Level of 69%, but it was steadily decreasing.

"That was disappointing. Not even close to the Azure Scaled Zombie King from last time. Oh… I guess that means he's weaker than Azure Scaled too."

"..."

Nightmare was speechless. He was on the verge of losing his mind.

Was she seriously still talking shit?

Sean, standing beside her, couldn't help but call her out. "The guy's literally dying, and you're still rubbing it in?"

Nightmare's mental state crumbled even further.

Dying? Yeah, no shit. And whose fault was that?!

His injuries were beyond severe—shattered bones, a gaping wound in his chest, exposed organs. On top of that, his psychic energy was nearly depleted from the prolonged battle.

If he could still stand, he'd fight them to the death.

But then—

Even worse news arrived.

Ethan had just fought his way back from San Bernardino.

And he wasn't alone.

He was leading an army.

Several Zombie Kings marched at his side, along with his elite forces. They tore through what remained of Nightmare's horde like a hot knife through butter, cutting down his last remaining troops as they advanced.

Nightmare, lying broken on the ground, forced himself to lift his head.

And there he was—Ethan.

Behind him, seven Zombie Kings loomed, including the monstrous zombie tiger, Snowy.

Then came the elite royal guard—ten massive bio-mutants among them.

And beyond that—

Over twenty thousand elite zombies, a tidal wave of death surging forward, their bloodlust shaking the very air.

The sheer scale of it was overwhelming.

"So… this is what a true overlord looks like…" Nightmare murmured weakly.

This—this was the kind of power he had always dreamed of.

But now, it was over.

His top enforcers—Scissorhands, Giant Boulder, Toxin—were all dead.

And he was the only one left.

Nightmare stared blankly at Ethan—the mountain he had once sworn to conquer, the obsession that had driven him forward. And now, that mountain stood right in front of him.

Despite his broken body, he struggled, inch by inch, to rise from the ground.

"What the hell is he trying to do?" Ethan frowned, signaling for the zombie horde to halt. His piercing gaze locked onto Nightmare.

Nightmare was too far gone. Every time he tried to stand, he collapsed back down. But he refused to stop. Even if this was his last moment, he wanted to charge at the one he had always looked up to—one final, desperate attempt to reach his goal.

Ethan, Mia, and the others remained silent, watching him. It was as if they were giving him this moment.

Finally, Nightmare managed to stand. He staggered a few steps, barely keeping himself upright, then lifted his blood-soaked face and met Ethan's eyes.

"Kill!"

With his shattered body, he launched himself at the most terrifying Zombie King.

His movements were slow, painfully so—like an old man dragging himself forward. Blood dripped from his wounds, leaving a dark trail behind him. He was like a moth, drawn irresistibly to the flames.

But his eyes burned with an unyielding fire. Even in death, his determination would not fade.

"…Alright," Ethan exhaled, gripping the hilt of his tachi. "I'll admit it now—you were my opponent."

With a flick of his wrist, the blade appeared in his hand, gleaming coldly under the night sky. He moved.

As he passed Nightmare, his tachi flashed.

The blade sliced clean through Nightmare's neck.

Schlkk!

His head flew.

His broken body swayed for a moment before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"ROOOOAAARRR!!"

Behind Ethan, the zombie horde erupted into a deafening howl. Their voices thundered through the night, shaking the very clouds above.

The battle was over.

Victory was theirs.

From this night forward, Ethan's legend as a Zombie King would be written in blood—two new conquests added to his name: the annihilation of Rancho Cucamonga's zombie army and the fall of Genesis Biotech's San Bernardino division.

...

Under the Night Sky

The battlefield was a wasteland of corpses, piled high like mountains. Rivers of blood soaked the earth. The scars of battle were everywhere.

Zombies roamed the field—some feasting on human remains, others digging out Neurocores from fallen zombies.

In a way, the aftermath was even more grotesque than the battle itself.

This was how zombies handled "cleanup."

"After today's bloodbath, I've finally secured my place as a true overlord," Big Ears declared, hands on his hips, gazing up at the night sky with a satisfied sigh.

Shrimpy nodded. "Yeah, no surprise there. We were absolutely wrecking shit."

"Obviously." Big Ears puffed out his chest. They had their own achievements to brag about—after all, the three of them had taken down Rancho Cucamonga's so-called 'diplomatic envoy,' Wreckhead.

Locomotive chimed in, "As the rightful ruler of San Bernardino, it only makes sense that I was the one to take down Genesis Biotech's division. I should probably head back later, check in on my old stomping grounds."

Big Ears rubbed his chin. "In that case, I should swing by Rancho Cucamonga. You know, make it official—new king and all."

"Let's finish looting the battlefield first," Shrimpy suggested. "I'll go with you after."

"Good call." Big Ears nodded eagerly. Scavenging was a prime gig—who knew what kind of Neurocores or crystal cores they might find?

The three zombies wandered off, searching for anything valuable.

Before long, Shrimpy's eyes lit up.

He had spotted Scissorhands' headless corpse lying motionless on the ground. The twin bone blades extending from his arms gleamed under the moonlight, resembling massive lobster claws.

Shrimpy had been wondering about something ever since he first saw the guy. Now was his chance to find out.

He stepped forward, grabbed one of the bone blades—

And took a bite.

Crunch!

His teeth immediately throbbed with pain. The blade was rock-hard, nearly unbreakable. Shrimpy winced, clutching his jaw.

"Shit… guess he wasn't a mutant lobster after all…"

...