Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The woman’s body went rigid, her eyes wide open in terror. The horror and fear she felt in her final moments were frozen on her face. Her pupils slowly dilated as her lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

”Ella!”

In the darkness, Grace spun around sharply, just in time to see a shadowy figure pulling a dagger out of Ella’s skull.

Her heart sank like a stone, her pupils constricting as fear and rage surged through her.

The monster was here!

Grace’s body tensed instantly, and the air around her grew icy cold.

Her awakening ability was frost-based. Clenching her fists, she summoned freezing energy that coalesced into two razor-sharp ice spikes, extending from her palms.

Without hesitation, she launched herself forward like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Ethan.

Her speed was astonishing, like a predator pouncing on its prey. The ice spikes sliced through the air with a sharp, piercing sound, their destructive force surpassing even that of bullets.

But Ethan had no intention of meeting her head-on. At the last moment, his figure flickered and darted backward, melting seamlessly into the wall and vanishing without a trace.

”What?!”

Grace skidded to a halt, her eyes scanning the area frantically for any sign of him. But all she saw was the cold, unyielding wall—completely empty.

Where did he go?

In that brief moment of hesitation, a dagger suddenly shot out from the wall, aimed directly at her head.

The dagger moved with impossible speed, giving her no time to react.

Instinctively, Grace tried to dodge, but it was too late. The blade pierced her skull with precision, driving straight through her head and extracting her crystal core in one swift motion.

Her body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The ice spikes in her hands shattered into countless shards, scattering across the floor.

It all happened so fast—so fast it felt like a nightmare.

”Ella! Grace! What happened?!”

At the entrance to the corridor, Marcus’s voice rang out suddenly. He and the others had sensed something was wrong and rushed over.

But when they arrived, the sight before them froze them in their tracks.

Two bodies lay on the ground. Ella and Grace’s faces were twisted in terror, their heads intact, but their crystal cores had been taken.

The way they died was identical to the five victims before them.

A suffocating sense of dread settled over the group, an invisible pressure filling the air.

Two more were dead…

”Where’s the monster? Where is it?!”

The remaining five scanned their surroundings nervously, their eyes filled with tension and fear. They gripped their weapons tightly, terrified that they might be next.

But the darkness around them had returned to an eerie stillness, as if nothing had happened. If not for the bodies at their feet, they might have thought it was all just an illusion.

”It’s still here,” Marcus said in a low voice, his tone laced with a chilling certainty. ”It never left.”

Billy’s eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaving as his emotions teetered on the edge of collapse. Clenching his fists, he roared into the darkness, ”Monster! Get the hell out here! Hiding in the shadows—what kind of coward are you? Come out and fight me one-on-one!”

His voice echoed down the corridor, but the only response was an oppressive silence.

”Billy, calm down!” Marcus barked, his voice firm. ”Shouting won’t help. We need to figure out how it’s killing people.”

”Marcus, did you notice something?” asked one of the remaining women, the only female Awakener left in the group.

Marcus nodded, his expression grim. ”I did. Look at where Grace fell. It’s strange—she was facing the wall. That means, before she died, she was attacking it.”

”Attacking the wall?”

The group exchanged uneasy glances, and a bold theory began to take shape in their minds.

”Could it be… the monster is hiding in the walls?”

”No, it’s not hiding in the walls,” Marcus said, shaking his head, his voice heavy. ”It can move through objects—walls, floors… even people.”

The others’ faces grew even paler at his words.

If that was true, the monster’s ability was far more terrifying than they had imagined

”Could an ability like that really exist?”

”It absolutely does.” Marcus’s voice was low and steady, carrying an air of certainty. ”And the fact that it can move large amounts of supplies in such a short time proves it. Combine that with its behavior, and it’s clear—it has some kind of spatial manipulation ability. It might have even awakened Absolute Domain.”

”What? Absolute Domain?” The four of them practically shouted in unison, their faces frozen in shock.

After the apocalypse began, Genesis Biotech had captured countless zombies and mutated beasts to use as research subjects. Scientists discovered that a rare few of these creatures could awaken strange, terrifying abilities. Among them, the most feared was Absolute Domain.

Creatures with this ability could appear and disappear at will, killing without leaving a trace. Genesis researchers classified these zombies as Phantom Infected.

”Are you saying we’re dealing with a Phantom Infected?” Billy’s voice trembled slightly, his eyes betraying a fear he couldn’t hide.

”That’s right.” Marcus nodded grimly. ”And it’s obvious this zombie doesn’t just have Absolute Domain—it’s also highly intelligent. It’s a master of stealth and evasion, and its lethality is off the charts. If we don’t take it out before it evolves into a ’Zombie King,’ the consequences will be catastrophic.”

The others’ faces grew even paler. A chill seemed to creep up their spines, freezing them in place.

For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of Marcus’s words pressed down on them like a suffocating fog.

Then Billy, as if grasping at straws, tried to reassure the group. ”But hey, we don’t need to panic too much. Didn’t the researchers say that zombies with Absolute Domain usually have weak physical bodies? That’s their Achilles’ heel.”

”Well, that’s… something, I guess,” someone muttered, their voice tinged with forced optimism. ”No wonder it doesn’t fight us head-on. It’s only brave enough to attack from the shadows.”

The group let out a collective sigh of relief, though the tension in the air remained thick.

Billy nodded, his tone growing more serious. ”The real question now is—how do we find it?”

”Exactly.” Marcus fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, before speaking again. ”With our current strength, if that zombie doesn’t show itself, we might never find it. But…” He paused, his eyes narrowing with determination. ”Maybe we can outsmart it. No matter how clever a monster is, it can’t outthink humans.”

Humanity had survived on Earth for millions of years, not because of brute strength, but because of its intelligence. Even the most cunning prey could be lured into a trap.

Marcus’s suggestion lit a spark of hope in the group.

They quickly huddled together, brainstorming a plan to draw the zombie out.

”We could have someone pretend to get separated from the group, act as bait, and lure the zombie into the open. Once it shows itself, the rest of us can ambush it and take it down for good,” Marcus proposed.

”But being the bait is way too dangerous. We’d need someone strong enough to handle it,” one of them pointed out, voicing the obvious concern.

Without hesitation, Marcus said, ”I’ll do it. I’ll head to the first-floor lobby while the rest of you stay on the third floor. The view from up there is clear—you’ll be able to spot it the moment it appears and attack immediately.”

”And remember, zombies with Absolute Domain have weak physical bodies. Get in close and take it down fast. Don’t let it escape again.”

”Marcus, it’s too risky for you to go alone!” A tall, muscular man frowned. ”Let me go with you. If the zombie sees two people, it’ll still attack.”

Marcus considered this for a moment, then nodded. ”Alright. Kevin, you’ll come with me to the first floor. Billy, you stay on the third floor with the others. Whatever happens, don’t split up.”

”Got it, Marcus!” Billy thumped his chest, his voice filled with a simmering anger. ”This time, we’re taking it down for good! That thing’s been toying with us for too long. Seven of our teammates are dead because of it. Tonight, it’s payback time!”

The group’s morale surged as they quickly moved to carry out the plan.

But what they didn’t know was that Ethan was hiding just next door, less than seventy feet away.

Thanks to his heightened zombie senses, he had heard every word of their plan, clear as day.

”Well, well… plotting out loud? How considerate of them,” Ethan muttered, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his lips. In a flash, his figure disappeared from the room and reappeared in the hallway—the very spot the group had just left.

Standing in the shadows, his icy gaze pierced through the darkness. He whispered to himself, his tone dripping with disdain, ”These humans… they’ve got some brains. But that’s about it.”

…