Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The Star Map tablet was unbelievably tough—no one could tell what it was made of. Even Ethan couldn't put a scratch on it, and Lucas's shockwave energy didn't affect it at all.

That last hit had wrecked him. His bones were shattered, one arm hung limp like a sack of wet clay, blood pouring from his wounds. Half his body was paralyzed...

"Damn it!" Lucas gritted his teeth, forcing himself up from the ground despite the searing pain. He looked like hell.

Damon's heart sank at the sight.

Just a moment ago, Lucas had claimed his powers could close the gap between them—and then he got swatted like a fly.

And what the hell was that tablet?

How could it be that powerful?

Meanwhile, Mia had nearly wiped out the last of the grunts. Some of them were A-rank Awakeners, sure, but they were no match for her.

Sean was helping too, completely immune to psychic attacks, which drove their enemies insane with frustration.

Whether it was Genesis Biotech or the Black Hand Legion, their forces were getting torn apart.

"This is bad... this is really bad..." Damon muttered, watching the battle turn into a slaughter. The tide had completely turned.

And then Ethan came charging at him, tablet in hand, swinging it like a baseball bat straight at his head.

Damon's eyes went wide with terror. It felt like a whole damn planet was crashing down on him.

But trapped inside the Domain of the Dead, it was like moving through quicksand. His speed was crippled—he couldn't dodge in time.

In a panic, he raised his short blade to block.

BANG!

A dull, heavy thud rang out, followed by the sharp screech of metal shattering.

Damon's weapon snapped into pieces, shards flying everywhere. The impact sent him crashing to the ground, coughing up blood.

"What the hell is that thing made of?" Damon thought, stunned and horrified.

Ethan stood tall, tablet in hand, knocking down enemies one by one like he was swatting flies. None of them could get back up.

He was loving it.

This thing really was perfect for smashing people...

Ethan stepped forward, ready to finish Damon off.

"No—no, please!" Damon screamed, sprawled on the ground, his voice cracking with fear.

He was badly injured, trapped in the terrifying Domain of the Dead, and completely unable to escape. Despair gripped him like a vice.

Ethan raised the tablet high.

"Hang in there. It'll be over quick…"

THUD.

...

Elsewhere.

In the Black Hand Legion's city, Vanessa was still hunting for Harvey. After all, she'd fronted the crystal cores herself—no way she was letting that slide. She'd tear the place apart if she had to.

So she called a meeting, summoning all the zone supervisors to report in.

As the leader of the Black Hand Legion, her word carried serious weight.

Within minutes, dozens of people had gathered in a massive conference hall.

"Everyone here?" Vanessa leaned back in her chair, propping her boots up on the table like she owned the place—which, to be fair, she did.

A middle-aged man glanced around the room.

"Not quite."

"Hm?" Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Who's missing?"

"Victor and Greg."

"What are they up to?"

"No idea. I went to check, but no one answered the door," the man said honestly.

BANG! Vanessa slammed her hand on the table, clearly pissed, suspicion flashing in her eyes.

"You lying to me?"

Because not long ago, Damon had taken people to those two zones to make a deal with Genesis Biotech. And now suddenly no one's answering the door?

"No, no, I swear I'm not lying!" the man said quickly, waving his hands. "I really checked. Both zones were dead quiet. I even pressed my ear to the door—didn't hear a thing."

Vanessa's frown deepened, her expression growing darker by the second.

At that moment, the others started chiming in too.

"Yeah, I've got a buddy in that zone—haven't been able to reach him for two days."

"Same here. I was supposed to meet someone from there for a run, but they totally ghosted me."

"No way. I've been stationed near the perimeter this whole time. Didn't see anyone leave the city."

"There are over two thousand people in that zone. If they all left, someone would've noticed."

"Then... what the hell's going on?"

"..."

The room buzzed with uneasy murmurs. Everyone could feel it—something was seriously off.

Vanessa sat frozen, their words echoing in her ears. A chill crept up her spine as a terrifying thought struck her.

If those two zones were really empty…

Then who the hell opened the gate for Damon?

And who released the human survivors from the prison?

A wave of dread surged through her chest. Since the apocalypse began, she'd seen some messed-up things—but this? This was on another level. Unexplainable. Wrong.

And now it wasn't just Harvey who'd vanished. More people were missing from the city. A lot more.

She couldn't wrap her head around it. What the hell had happened?

But one thing was clear—whoever opened the gate for Damon and his crew… wasn't normal. Or maybe… they weren't even human.

Hiss...

The thought made Vanessa's scalp prickle. A cold sweat broke out across her back.

Then someone spoke up.

"Vanessa, maybe you should try contacting Damon?"

"Yeah, didn't he just take people from that zone?"

"We need to tell him about the disappearances—ASAP."

"..."

"Yeah." Vanessa nodded. They were right. If she didn't reach out now, this could spiral out of control.

She immediately pulled out her communicator and dialed Damon's frequency.

"Hello? Damon? You there? Hello?" she called out again and again.

But all she got in return was static—loud, grating, and completely devoid of any response.

There was only one reason for that.

His communicator had been destroyed.

Vanessa's pupils dilated. The dread in her chest twisted tighter.

"Damon... he's gone dark too..."

"What?" The people around her stared in shock, eyes wide. This was getting more and more bizarre by the second.

...

Back at the trade site.

Damon's head—and the communicator in his ear—had been smashed to pieces by Ethan's stone tablet. A crystal core popped loose from the wreckage, bouncing across the ground.

An S-rank speed-type. This was Ethan's first time taking one down.

And there was a rare special-ability type nearby too. Not a bad haul.

Ethan turned and started walking toward Lucas, ready to finish the job.

Lucas didn't even try to fight. Half his body was useless, and he limped awkwardly, trying to flee.

But right in front of him, a Tachi blade came slicing through the air.

The edge passed so close to his nose it nearly took his head off. Lucas stumbled back in terror, falling flat on his ass.

Mia stepped into view, blade in hand.

She'd already taken out or crippled the remaining Awakeners. The rest were being mopped up by Chris, Brandon, and the others.

Now, Ethan approached from the other side, stone tablet in hand, trapping Lucas between them.

"Don't kill me... please, I'm begging you!" Lucas cried, panicking. "I'm Richard's nephew!"

But Mia and Ethan just exchanged a glance, completely ignoring him. Instead, they started chatting casually, like they were out for coffee.

"Nice new weapon," Mia said, eyeing the tablet.

"Not bad. Found it lying in the street," Ethan replied.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Something you just picked up has that much power?"

"Yeah. Way better than that knife you gave me."

"Oh?" Mia smirked, tilting her head. "Too bad... it's got zero elegance."

...