Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Inside the Genesis Biotech Branch.

Jacob burst back into the building, panting heavily, his face pale with lingering fear.

He had seen plenty of zombies before, but nothing like this. These things were vicious. If he hadn’t run when he did, he’d be dead meat by now.

Meanwhile, Sophia and the other executives stood grim-faced. They had already ditched their suits for nano-combat gear and packed their essentials. It was clear—they were ready to bail.

”Sophia, we need to go! Now! A massive horde just broke into the city—we don’t stand a chance!” Jacob urged.

Sophia hesitated, her expression conflicted, but in the end, she gave a reluctant nod.

The surveillance feeds had already shown the nightmare unfolding outside. The city was overrun, swarming with the undead. If they waited any longer, the horde would breach the building.

”There’s an aircraft on the rooftop. We can fly straight to Richard, the regional director.”

”No way!” Jacob shot down the idea immediately, his mind racing. ”The sky’s crawling with those mutated crows. Even if we manage to take off, we’ll be swarmed the second we step onto the roof.”

Sophia frowned. ”Then what do we do?”

Jacob had already thought this through. ”We take the underground escape tunnel. It’s safer.”

”Oh… right.” Sophia nodded quickly.

Back when the company first set up shop, they had built an emergency escape route—just in case. That tunnel led straight into the dense wilderness of Mount San Antonio.

”But… what do we do once we get to Mount San Antonio?”

Jacob exhaled sharply. ”It’s not exactly safe there either. If the Zombie King catches wind of us, we’re screwed. So… our only option is to reroute to the Genesis Biotech branch in Los Angeles.”

”What???”

Sophia’s eyes widened in horror. The thought of running to the L.A. branch was almost worse than death. Just recently, she had been on the phone bragging to Nathan about how much better her division was.

”No way! How the hell am I supposed to face my colleagues after this?”

Jacob didn’t even slow down. ”If you stay, there won’t be a ’later.’ Either come with me, or stay here and become zombie chow. Your call.”

With that, he turned and headed toward the underground passage.

”Wait! Damn it… I’m coming too!” Sophia gritted her teeth and hurried after him.

Pride or survival?

Yeah, survival won.

But before leaving, she did one last thing—she activated the company’s self-destruct sequence.

Watching the empire she built crumble by her own hand was gut-wrenching.

But in the end, she made her choice.

”Live to fight another day! One day… I will rise again!”

With that, Sophia jumped into the tunnel.

The moment she disappeared, red emergency lights flared throughout the building.

The AI system began its countdown.

30 seconds to detonation…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The explosions ripped through the facility, fire and debris bursting from key structural points. The shockwaves shattered nearby windows, and the entire Genesis Biotech building began to collapse.

Dust and smoke billowed into the sky, and as the skyscraper crumbled, it conveniently buried the underground tunnel entrance—erasing any trace of their escape.

...

Outside.

Ethan had just finished escorting Elias and his team to their squad when the distant explosions rumbled through the city.

He turned just in time to see a massive building come crashing down, sending a thick cloud of dust rolling across the skyline.

The fall of Genesis Biotech’s San Bernardino branch was now official.

Ethan watched for a moment, his expression unreadable.

Then, without another word, he turned away.

”Let’s go. We’ve got to deal with Nightmare first.”

”ROAR—!”

The elite zombie warriors around them let out savage howls, their jaws still dripping with fresh blood. They had just feasted, and now, in their most frenzied state, they turned their attention outward—charging straight toward Nightmare’s undead army beyond the city walls.

Laura and several other Zombie Kings moved like shadows, vanishing into the battlefield once more.

Meanwhile, Nightmare himself was in deep trouble.

Sean and Mia had him cornered, relentlessly attacking from both sides. He was barely holding on.

His psychic abilities still had some effect on Mia when she was in her normal state, but against Sean? Useless. Completely ineffective.

The only thing keeping him in the fight was the sheer number of elite zombies under his command—far more than the human forces from the sanctuary.

Among them, his top enforcer, Scissorhands, was as ferocious as ever.

His razor-sharp, bone-like blades sliced through the air as he clashed with Robert, fully intent on cutting him down.

But something was off.

Robert wasn’t fighting like a typical human. He was slippery, dodging and weaving like an eel, never engaging in direct combat. He either retreated or defended, never going on the offensive.

Sometimes, after a brief exchange, he would suddenly pull back—standing completely still, unmoving.

If Scissorhands didn’t advance, Robert wouldn’t attack either.

”The hell is this?” Scissorhands growled in frustration. Zombies thrived on brutal, head-on combat. They were creatures of pure aggression, reveling in the chaos of battle.

But Robert’s evasive, patient fighting style? It pissed him off.

”Is he stalling? Trying to recover his strength? Hah, weak-ass human.” Scissorhands sneered internally.

His blood-red eyes locked onto Robert, who was once again standing motionless, watching him with an eerie calm.

”Fine. If he’s not in a hurry, I’ll wait too. I’ll tear him apart later.”

But then—Robert smirked.

A slow, knowing smile.

The sky had darkened even further. The wind picked up, whipping through his hair.

He lifted his gaze toward the horizon, where the last sliver of sunlight finally faded.

The light in his eyes dimmed with it.

And then—

A flash.

A silver gleam flickered in his pupils, like distant stars piercing the night.

”It’s time.”

Scissorhands tensed. His instincts screamed at him—something had changed.

The human’s aura had shifted completely, as if he were an entirely different person.

”What the hell…?”

Robert raised his Lightning Blade. The crystal core embedded in the weapon pulsed, crackling with electricity. Bolts of lightning coiled around the blade like living serpents, hissing and snapping in the air.

”I was waiting for nightfall.”

His voice was calm.

Then, his eyes locked onto Scissorhands.

”You? You were just waiting to die.”

”Justice—executed.”

The moment the words left his lips, he vanished.

A blur.

A streak of lightning.

His speed exploded beyond human limits, his body flickering out of existence.

The only thing visible was the blinding arc of electricity, surging forward like a dragon made of pure light—rushing straight at Scissorhands.

At night, Robert’s abilities tripled.

This was his domain.

The Nightblade.

The Star Knight.

The Night Demon.

Scissorhands’ eyes widened in sheer terror.

A storm was coming for him.

A force so overwhelming, so absolute, that even his undead instincts screamed at him to run.

But it was too late.

He barely had time to raise his bone blades in defense—

And then—

A flash.

A single, blinding arc of lightning sliced past him.

For a moment, everything froze.

Scissorhands stood rigid, unmoving, as if time itself had stopped.

His once-fierce, bloodthirsty gaze was now filled with nothing but shock.

Behind him, Robert reappeared, his Lightning Blade dimming as its energy receded.

Silence.

Then—

THUD.

Scissorhands’ head tilted slightly—then slid clean off his neck.

A fountain of dark blood erupted from the severed stump.

His headless body swayed for a second—then collapsed to the ground with a heavy crash.

One strike.

Instant kill.

...