Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As the shadow solidified, Ethan's figure emerged from the darkness.

"Found you."

Behind him, Chris and the others lit up with joy, their hearts surging with relief. Finally—finally—they'd found one of their own.

Sean grinned, clearly just as relieved. "Ethan, man, you got here just in time. That damn snake had me half-paralyzed."

"Oh…" Ethan's eyes swept over the massive yellow-striped python. Its gaping maw was twisted into a grotesque snarl—and inside, there was still a human head lodged between its fangs. The thing looked downright monstrous.

Then his gaze shifted to Chris and the others. They were a mess—covered in dust, faces pale, clearly exhausted. And… someone was missing.

"Where's Mia?" Ethan asked, his tone sharp.

"She got snatched by some monster!" Sean blurted out.

Ethan gave a small nod. "Figures." He didn't seem too worried, though. Knowing Mia, and judging by the strength of the creatures in this desert, she was probably still alive. Barely, maybe—but alive.

Up ahead, the yellow-striped python locked its glowing amber eyes on Ethan. It had just been about to swallow its prey when this new guy showed up out of nowhere.

And not only that—he was chatting with the others like the snake wasn't even there.

"ROOOAAARR—!"

The severed head in the snake's mouth let out a guttural growl, echoing through the long, empty corridor like nails on a chalkboard. Then the beast lunged, its massive body surging forward like a freight train, jaws wide open, ready to crush Ethan just like it had tried with Sean.

Ethan didn't flinch. He narrowed his eyes and muttered, "What the hell are you yelling for? So rude."

A flash of red lit up his pupils—and then, with a pulse of raw power, the Domain of the Dead exploded outward. A wave of crushing pressure surged through the air, stretching hundreds of feet in every direction.

The once-ferocious python slammed into the invisible force like it had hit a mountain. Its momentum died instantly, and it let out a tortured, high-pitched screech.

"Slash."

Ethan flicked his wrist. A gleaming Tachi blade materialized in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

In the same instant, he passed the python in a blur, his blade carving a series of sharp Z-shaped arcs through the air.

Shff! Shff! Shff!

A heartbeat later, Ethan reappeared behind the beast.

The python, still hanging from the ceiling, froze mid-motion. Then, with a sickening crack, its body began to fall apart—sliced into dozens of chunks that rained down onto the stone floor below.

When Ethan turned back around, all that remained was a pile of steaming meat and a pool of thick, black blood that reeked of rot.

"Holy shit," Chris breathed, eyes wide. "He just one-shotted that thing…"

"Well, yeah," Brandon said, shrugging. "Would've been weird if he didn't."

Ethan sheathed his Tachi and finally took a moment to look around the underground ruins. The walls and floor were made of ancient, pitch-black stone slabs, worn with age.

"What is this place?" he asked, scanning the eerie surroundings.

Chris swayed slightly, his face pale. "Can we, uh… maybe figure that out later? I'm about to pass out from hunger."

He wasn't exaggerating. He'd already been starving before the fight, and then Brandon had drained a good chunk of his blood during the battle.

Ethan turned to look at him. Chris's face was ghostly white, dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he could collapse at any second.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Ugh, don't even get me started," Chris groaned. "I was this close to being completely drained by Brandon."

Brandon blinked, caught off guard. "Hey! Uncle Chris, could you not make it sound like I did something shady to you?"

"You did do something shady!" Chris snapped, still clearly pissed.

Ethan sighed. These two needed to refuel, fast. He kept his promise and summoned the mutated vulture carcass he'd stored earlier.

Chris didn't wait for an invitation. He got to work immediately, slicing off a few thick cuts of meat. Then he summoned a burst of fire magic and started grilling them right there on the spot.

He'd done this plenty of times before—he was practically a pro at it by now.

Soon, the meat was sizzling, turning a perfect golden brown, and the air filled with the mouthwatering aroma of roasted flesh.

Sean rubbed his hands together like a hungry fly and hurried over, eyes gleaming.

Meanwhile, Ethan was crouched beside the python's mangled corpse, examining it with a focused gaze.

Because the snake had devoured a zombie and undergone some kind of fusion, its blood had turned pitch black—thick and tar-like.

With a flick of his Tachi, Ethan pried open the creature's skull and extracted its crystal core.

He held it between two fingers, turning it slowly under the dim light.

Unlike the usual crystal-clear cores from mutated beasts, this one was a deep, murky red. It wasn't translucent at all. Instead, it was clouded with dark specks, like it had been tainted by the zombie's corrupted blood.

"Huh…" Ethan narrowed his eyes, a thought forming.

Back when he'd experimented with mutated plants, he'd managed to cultivate a fusion-type Zombie King—like Sprout and Lil' Shroom, two of his proudest creations during the nine months since the apocalypse began.

Maybe… just maybe, this core could be used to grow a Zombie King fused with animal traits.

If that worked, it'd be a huge breakthrough. He could start producing elite units—stronger, faster, more versatile than anything they had now.

Definitely worth testing once they got out of here.

...

A few feet away, Chris and the others were still devouring the grilled vulture meat like starving wolves. Between bites, they popped a few B-grade crystal cores to recharge their energy.

But then Chris paused mid-chew, sniffing the air.

"Wait a sec… what's that smell? Something reeks. Did one of you rip one?"

Brandon wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I smell it too."

Oliver immediately raised both hands in defense. "Don't look at me. I swear it wasn't me."

The three of them turned in unison toward Sean, who was still happily gnawing on a drumstick, grease dripping down his chin.

Sean looked up, unfazed. "Oh, that? Yeah, I got hit with snake venom earlier—my whole body went numb. I've been holding in a dump for like an hour, but I couldn't control it anymore."

The other three stared at him, waiting.

"So yeah," Sean said with a shrug, totally unfazed. "I kinda… might've pooped my pants a little. But, like, I don't feel the need to go anymore, so hey—win-win?"

"Ughhhhhh…" All three recoiled in disgust and immediately scooted away from him.

"I'm done. Lost my appetite," Brandon muttered, tossing his half-eaten skewer aside.

"Burp—yeah, same here. Sean, you can have the rest," Chris added, wiping his mouth.

Oliver nodded in agreement. None of them could stomach another bite. They turned their backs on Sean and wandered over to Ethan, joining him in inspecting the remains of the giant snake.

Sean didn't seem to mind. He looked down at the pile of roasted bird meat still left on the fire and grinned.

"Heh… more for me."

...

Back at the snake's remains, the others were poking around the scattered chunks of flesh and bone. Chris leaned in for a closer look at the creature's massive, gaping mouth—and froze.

"Holy crap… is that a human head?"

Sure enough, wedged between the snake's fangs was a severed head, twisted in a grotesque expression. Up close, it was even more disturbing.

Brandon pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures. "Man, if we had signal down here, this would be all over Facebook."

Oliver, meanwhile, was scanning the area when something shiny caught his eye—half-buried in a pile of gore.

"Hey… what's that?"

He didn't want to touch it right away, so he crouched down and peered closer. It looked like a bracelet—golden, maybe even real gold.

After a moment of hesitation, he reached out with two fingers like tweezers and carefully pinched the object, slowly pulling it free.

But as it came loose, his eyes widened in horror.

The bracelet was still attached to a severed human arm.

The skin had long since rotted away, leaving behind pale, exposed bone wrapped in a layer of slimy, yellowish muck. The whole thing was coated in a viscous film that clung to it like glue.

It was absolutely revolting.

...