Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Staring at the katana in his hand, Hiro glanced at the wound on his daughter's neck—and in that instant, everything clicked.

An illusion…

It was all just a damn illusion.

The monsters he thought he'd been cutting down? They were his teammates. Every last one of them. And yet, somehow, he'd still seen them fighting beside him.

Thud!

Hiro dropped to his knees. His eyes were hollow, lifeless—drained of all color. With his daughter's death, whatever will he had left to survive vanished with her.

This brutal apocalypse… it was nothing but despair. No miracles. No hope.

His whole escape, all the running and fighting—it was like a fish flopping on dry land. A few desperate flips, and then… the inevitable.

Hiro knelt there, frozen. The kind of grief that doesn't scream or cry—just sinks in, deep and silent.

"You can die with some clarity now," came a calm voice from behind him.

Hiro turned his head slowly. Ethan was walking toward him. Judging by the aura he gave off, he still wasn't among the living.

Maybe… maybe there really weren't any humans left in this world.

Hiro didn't flinch. He didn't care anymore.

"Do it," he whispered, voice trembling. "Just end it."

Ethan walked past him, raised his blade, and in one clean motion, slit Hiro's throat. The body crumpled to the ground.

"You're welcome," Ethan muttered.

But just ahead, a patch of pink flowers began to stir—despite the still air. A sharp, feminine voice rang out from within.

"How dare you interrupt my fun!"

As the words echoed, thousands of petals burst into the air, swirling in a dense, chaotic storm. They began to converge, weaving together into a humanoid shape—feminine in outline.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. The figure was wrapped entirely in petals, like a pink mummy.

"Well, aren't you a handsome one…" the voice cooed.

"And you've got the balls to mess around in my Zombie Cultivation Ground? You must have a death wish."

The petal-wrapped creature had no face, no features—but it spoke clearly.

Ethan didn't flinch. "What's your name?"

"I'm Daisy," the voice replied proudly. "One of the Four War Generals of San Diego. Surely you've heard of me?"

Ethan gave a casual nod. "Yeah. Just now."

"You—!" Daisy's voice sharpened with fury. But despite the tough talk, she didn't make a move. That power Ethan had unleashed earlier—Domain of the Dead—was terrifying. No sane creature would charge in blind.

Ethan, meanwhile, was piecing things together. Just as he'd suspected, this Zombie King had fused with plant life and hailed from San Diego.

But… Daisy?

He couldn't help but cringe. What a lame name. His own naming skills were way better.

"What a waste…" he muttered.

"What's a waste?" Daisy snapped, confused.

Ethan looked up at her, eyes glowing red. "That I have to kill you, rip out your crystal core, and grow a new Zombie King from scratch—one with a better name."

As he spoke, the Domain of the Dead surged forward again, its oppressive force crashing down like a tidal wave.

This Zombie King had decent abilities, sure—but she was part of the San Diego faction. No way she'd ever serve him.

Still, her crystal core was interesting. Plant-type cores usually fused with seeds. If he could extract it, maybe he could grow a new Zombie King with similar powers—like Sprout or Lil' Shroom.

Daisy felt the crushing pressure of the domain and didn't dare face it head-on. She darted backward, fast, letting out a piercing shriek as she moved.

The sound was sharp enough to rattle bones, like it was trying to tear through eardrums.

Ethan understood immediately.

That was her battle cry.

"Raaaargh—!"

From the soil of the flower field, rotting hands suddenly burst forth—dozens, then hundreds—clawing their way up from the dirt. The air filled with low, guttural growls, like something straight out of the deepest pits of hell.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

So that's why it's called the Zombie Cultivation Ground… They were literally growing zombies in the dirt.

The undead kept clawing their way out of the ground, some of them clearly elites. They shook off the soil clinging to their bodies and let out deafening roars before charging straight at Ethan in a frenzied swarm.

But the moment they stepped into the Domain of the Dead, it was like they'd hit quicksand. Their movements slowed, then stopped entirely. The weaker ones collapsed on the spot, twitching as if their strings had been cut.

And that was with the pressure being spread out among so many of them.

"Damn, he's strong…"

From the rear, Daisy watched with growing unease. She'd definitely underestimated him.

Ethan raised his Tachi, the embedded crystal core pulsing with light. Flames erupted along the blade, igniting the beginning of a massacre.

In a blur, he moved—Tachi slicing through the air.

Zombies were cleaved clean in half, then consumed by fire, reduced to ash in seconds.

Ethan didn't stop. He charged straight for Daisy, the Domain of the Dead swirling around him like a storm from hell.

"What level is this guy?" Daisy cursed under her breath, panic creeping in. She kept retreating, summoning more of her undead minions as she went.

This time, she didn't hold back.

The entire Zombie Cultivation Ground erupted.

The earth trembled. The air filled with snarls and howls as thousands of zombies emerged from the soil, a full-blown army.

And Ethan?

He stood dead center in the chaos.

He scanned the horde calmly.

There were a lot of them, sure—but most were low-level grunts. Nothing special.

"You guys should've stayed buried," he muttered.

Then he stomped the ground.

BOOM!

A shockwave exploded outward from his foot, tearing through the earth. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, and the terrain began to collapse.

Zombies caught in the blast were obliterated—bones shattered, blood and gore spraying in every direction. Some had only made it halfway out of the ground before the collapsing soil crushed them where they lay.

Daisy's eyes went wide with horror.

In just a few seconds, her entire Zombie Cultivation Ground was nearly wiped out.

Even an S-class fighter couldn't do this so effortlessly.

Unless…

A terrifying thought struck her. Her confidence cracked. Panic took over. She instinctively kept backing away.

"Trying to run?" Ethan muttered.

Using the recoil from his last attack, he launched himself forward like a cannonball—closing the distance in a blink.

At the heart of the Domain of the Dead, the pressure was overwhelming.

The petals covering Daisy's body began to tremble violently, peeling away and scattering like they were about to disintegrate.

Ethan's flaming Tachi slashed across her chest.

FWOOSH!

The fire spread instantly, racing across her body.

"AAAGHHH—!"

Daisy screamed, the sound raw and agonized.

Fire—especially this kind—was a nightmare for plant-based mutants like her.

"I won't forget this!" she shrieked, voice dripping with venom. "You and I—we're not done!"

Then, with a sudden whoosh, her body unraveled—disintegrating into a whirlwind of pink petals. Some were still burning as they floated down, painting the sky with streaks of fire and color.

A rain of pink blossoms fell over the battlefield.

Ethan stood in the middle of it all, white shirt stained with blood, flames flickering around him. The scene looked like something out of a dream—beautiful, surreal, and deadly.

But with a flick of his will, the Domain of the Dead surged again, blasting the petals away from him.

"Filthy things," he muttered.

...