Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Nightmare had returned to his lair, feeling down and trapped in deep self-doubt.

The surrounding Zombie Kings exchanged uneasy glances, clearly sensing the heavy atmosphere. Normally, their boss would come back in high spirits, but today, he seemed unusually grim.

”Boss... what happened?” Scissorhands finally asked.

”You wouldn’t understand,” Nightmare muttered, his tone heavy. He had no intention of letting his subordinates know that the only reason he had managed to break into the shelter and intimidate the people of San Bernardino was because of Ethan.

On top of that, Nightmare had learned through others’ dreams that Ethan possessed two Radiant Crystals infused with radiation—crystals that could accelerate evolution.

The gap between them… was massive.

They weren’t even on the same level.

If Ethan hadn’t been concerned about San Bernardino, he could have wiped Nightmare out without a second thought.

Come to think of it… the only reason he was still alive was because of San Bernardino.

The more Nightmare dwelled on this, the more he felt like he was nothing. Am I really not qualified to be a ruler?

”Huh? Boss, why would you say that?” Scissorhands asked, confused. ”There are two other Zombie Kings on the outskirts of L.A. who call themselves rulers. If they can do it, why can’t you?”

”You’re comparing me to them?” Nightmare turned to glare at him, his glowing eyes flashing with irritation.

”Uh… no, no! That’s not what I meant!” Scissorhands quickly shook his head, terrified.

”Boss, you’re way stronger than them!”

”...” Nightmare felt a headache coming on. If Scissorhands weren’t one of his most capable subordinates, he might have slapped him into the ground right then and there.

At this moment, Ethan had become Nightmare’s inner demon.

The only way to break free from this shadow…

Was to defeat him.

Only then could he prove himself worthy of being a true ruler.

”Maybe… I should start looking for some of those Radiant Crystals too.” Nightmare analyzed the situation. The people of San Bernardino needed to be dealt with, and he needed to find Radiant Crystals. He had to gather every possible resource to make up for his shortcomings—only then would he have a real chance at facing Ethan head-on.

...

Meanwhile, Ethan was still holed up at home, completely unaware of what had transpired outside—until his phone buzzed with a message.

The text was short and to the point:

”Ethan, this is all your fault.”

”Huh???” Ethan stared at the screen, baffled. What did I do this time?

Mia sent another message.

”I just dreamed about you.”

”Oh.” Ethan immediately had a pretty good idea of what had happened. He typed back, ”Nightmare came to see you, didn’t he?”

”Yeah…” Mia gave him a quick rundown of what had gone down at the shelter—how Nightmare had been utterly crushed, how his confidence had completely shattered.

Ethan sighed to himself.

Classic.

Clearly, Nightmare hadn’t gained anything from his little visit to the shelter.

Mia continued, ”Now that Nightmare knows how strong you are, he’s probably scared of you. Maybe you could take this chance to make him submit?”

”Yeah, no thanks…” Ethan dismissed the idea immediately. It was way too risky. Nightmare was unpredictable, and everything he had achieved so far had been hard-earned. There was no way he’d just give all that up and pledge loyalty to someone else.

Even if Ethan managed to keep him around for a while, Nightmare would be a ticking time bomb.

Seeing Ethan reject the idea, Mia said, ”Well, when you decide to attack Rancho Cucamonga, let me know.”

”What, you got your eye on their supplies?” Ethan finally caught on. Suggesting he recruit Nightmare would’ve been pretty convenient for her.

Mia replied, ”Nope, I just wanna protect you. 😁😁😁”

”...” Ethan rolled his eyes. This girl was getting way too smooth with her words—who the hell had she been learning from?

That said, Ethan had no immediate plans to attack Rancho Cucamonga. Nightmare might be a troublemaker, but at the end of the day, they were both on the zombie side.

For now, they were still technically allies. No need to burn that bridge just yet.

Besides, San Bernardino was making a lot of moves lately. Not only had they brought in third-generation cyborgs, but they’d also hired an Awakener from Japan. Who knew what else they had up their sleeve?

Ethan figured it was time to put them in their place first.

...

Meanwhile, at the Genesis Biotech branch in San Bernardino…

Sophia was in a great mood.

Sure, their camp had been attacked last night by a Zombie King with some freaky abilities, but her losses were minimal—only four people missing, along with some supplies.

The only real shame was losing the chickens.

But compared to the Takahashi Family from Japan? They’d lost over a hundred people.

”Looks like letting them stay in our camp was the right call. They ended up taking the hit for us,” Sophia thought smugly.

Bringing them in had already paid off.

And more bounty hunters were still on their way.

That was the power of headquarters’ influence.

Sophia figured it was time to push Ryuji to hurry up and head to L.A. to hunt down the Zombie King. She needed that threat eliminated.

Without hesitation, she picked up the satellite phone and dialed the Awakener camp.

”Get me Ryuji.”

”Understood, Sophia.”

A moment later, a tired voice came through the line.

”Miss Sophia.”

Hearing how exhausted he sounded, Sophia couldn’t help but smirk. There was something oddly satisfying about this…

”Ryuji, when are you heading out to hunt the Zombie King?”

”We’re leaving now,” Ryuji replied.

Their supplies were running dangerously low. If they didn’t complete the bounty soon, they’d be starving. They were backed into a corner.

”But we’re not familiar with the route to L.A. We’ll need a guide.”

”Oh, that’s no problem,” Sophia agreed easily.

She decided to send an Awakener squad to lead them.

And the guide? None other than David.

That night, when Nightmare had invaded his dreams, David hadn’t died—he’d just been knocked out by a cyborg and later rescued.

After two days of recovery, he was back in action.

At the entrance of the Awakener camp…

A group of people had gathered.

David’s squad was there, along with Ryuji and the Takahashi Family’s elite fighters. While they had lost a lot of people, most of the casualties had been ordinary members.

Among them, only Kaito was considered a true powerhouse.

So overall, their combat strength hadn’t taken much of a hit.

”Ryuji, this way.” David gestured for them to follow.

”Mm.” Ryuji nodded, leading his group of over twenty people as they set off from the Awakener camp.

The journey ahead was anything but smooth.

The wind howled, kicking up dust and sand. The roads were littered with rotting corpses and skeletal remains—evidence of past battles.

And in the distance, the eerie howls of zombies echoed through the air.

Danger lurked everywhere.

One of the Takahashi Family members stepped forward, speaking rapidly in Japanese. ”Patriarch, are we really going after that Zombie King?”

”We don’t have a choice. If we don’t, we’ll starve,” Ryuji said grimly. Surviving in this world wasn’t easy. ”Besides, we might even find our missing people.”

”Oh, Patriarch, you’re right.” The clan member nodded in agreement.

Ryuji recalled what Jacob had said—What if the missing clan members had been captured and kept alive?

Maybe… just maybe… there was still hope.

...