Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”This job’s gonna be a real challenge for us.”

The man speaking was Samuel Drake, leader of the Black Hand Legion. An S-Class Awakener and one of the organization’s founding members, he carried himself with the calm confidence of someone who’d seen it all.

The head of Genesis Biotech shot him a sideways glance, clearly unimpressed.

”Whatever the case, we need to get to the bottom of this. Just don’t slow us down when things get serious.”

Samuel didn’t even blink. ”Well then… shall we?”

Despite being allies on paper, the two factions had their own agendas—and it showed.

Genesis Biotech, in particular, looked down on the Black Hand Legion. To them, the Legion was nothing more than a pack of unhinged lunatics with no moral compass.

”I still don’t get what Richard was thinking, teaming up with these psychos,” muttered Adrian, the field commander for Genesis Biotech. He leaned toward one of his men and whispered, ”Stay sharp. Let the Black Hand idiots take point. Use them as cannon fodder—we’re not here to rack up casualties.”

”Got it,” the subordinate nodded, fully understanding the plan.

The teams split into smaller units, forming a triangular formation as they moved into the city, covering each other with military precision.

The Black Hand Legion, on the other hand, had a much looser approach. No formations, no strict orders—just raw, chaotic freedom.

”Let’s move,” Samuel called out, waving his hand.

Hundreds of Black Hand members surged forward, flooding into the city. Many of them were speed-type Awakeners, darting up walls and leaping across rooftops like shadows, scanning the area from above.

Each group had its own style, but both were now deep inside the city.

As they advanced, a thin black mist began to settle over them, blurring their vision. Scattered zombies on the streets stirred, snarling and charging toward the intruders.

But to these elite Awakeners, the undead were barely a nuisance.

”They’re hiding in this city on purpose. No way they’ve left yet,” Adrian said, analyzing the situation.

”Agreed,” one of his personal guards replied. Adrian’s squad was made up of four A+ Class Awakeners—each one a powerhouse.

Their captain was a specialist in tracking, with a unique awakened ability called Hunter’s Instinct. He could follow a target’s scent and mark them with a psychic tag—Hunter’s Mark—that would alert him the moment the target came within range.

These weren’t just any soldiers. They were Richard’s elite, handpicked for this mission. That alone showed how seriously he was taking the disappearance of his nephew.

”I can feel them… the humans we’re after—they’re close,” the tracker captain said, eyes scanning the foggy streets.

He was the reason they’d even found this city in the first place.

…

Elsewhere in the city—

Ethan stood still, listening. From the edge of the city, the sound of zombie howls echoed through the air—sharp, guttural, and frequent. A clear sign: something had entered their territory.

”Someone’s in the city…”

”Oh? That was fast,” Chris said, raising an eyebrow.

He hadn’t expected them to show up this early in the morning. Whoever they were, they weren’t amateurs.

Mist, standing nearby, looked nervous. This was the first time so many outsiders had entered their turf. He wasn’t used to this kind of pressure.

”Boss, what do we do?”

”Get ready to fight,” Ethan said, vanishing from sight in an instant. He wanted to scout ahead—see what kind of ”delivery” had just arrived.

Mia and the others grabbed their weapons—Tachis, machetes, crystal-core firearms—and started discussing tactics. They were gearing up for a serious battle.

Outside—

Awakeners darted across rooftops, agile and fast, closing in from all directions.

On the streets below, Genesis Biotech squads moved in tight formation, covering each other as they swept the area with ruthless efficiency. The pressure was palpable.

A few stray zombies lunged at them, but before they could get close, their heads exploded in a spray of gore—taken out by crystal-core firearms with brutal precision.

”Not bad…” Ethan muttered, activating his stealth ability as he stood atop the city’s old clocktower, watching the scene unfold below.

He could already smell the distinct energy signatures of two S-Class crystal cores—Samuel and Adrian. And surrounding them were several A+ Class Awakeners.

Their formation was airtight. No gaps, no weak points. A frontal assault was the only option—there was no way to pull off a sneak attack on this crew.

”Can’t hit anyone just yet…” Ethan muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as he scanned the scene below.

He could see the human vanguard squads moving closer to the library district. The fight was about to kick off—no doubt about it.

Down on the street, the Tracker Captain walking beside Adrian suddenly furrowed his brow. He’d picked up on something.

”Boss, the scent trail’s getting stronger up ahead. They’re close—real close.”

”Oh?” Adrian, walking in the center of his squad, squinted toward the fog-shrouded buildings in the distance. A few tall structures loomed ahead, but the mist made it hard to see clearly.

He raised the comm device on his shoulder and issued a calm but calculated order.

”Ninth Squad, slow your advance. Let the Black Hand Legion take the lead.”

”Copy that, Ninth Squad slowing down,” came the immediate reply through the comms.

Sure enough, the Genesis Biotech team at the front eased their pace.

Meanwhile, the Black Hand Legion didn’t give a damn. Their members kept leaping across rooftops or strolling through alleyways like they were on a casual walk. Some were even laughing and chatting.

They were swapping stories—talking about the best food they’d had since the apocalypse, or the hottest people they’d seen lately.

They passed through the area without a hitch. No traps, no ambushes. Nothing.

Adrian frowned. ”Hey, you sure you didn’t screw up the reading?”

”I’m sure,” the Tracker Captain replied firmly. ”Even if they’re not there now, they were definitely holed up for a while.”

”Hmph. Fine. Let’s move in.” Adrian gave the signal.

The vanguard squad picked up their pace again, moving forward with renewed focus.

But just as they reached the edge of the library district, a sudden surge of energy erupted from a nearby three-story building. Multicolored auras flared to life, swirling and intensifying by the second.

”Open fire!” Chris’s voice roared out from above.

He pulled the trigger on his Crystal Core Firearm, and a torrent of energy burst from the barrel like a blazing comet, streaking down toward the street.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions rocked the area as dozens of energy blasts slammed into the Ninth Squad’s position. Fire and frost collided, lightning crackled, and the ground was torn apart in a violent eruption of elemental chaos.

The Genesis Biotech Awakeners didn’t even have time to scream. They were obliterated in an instant—flesh shredded, limbs torn, blood spraying across the pavement.

”What the hell?! An ambush?!” Adrian’s eyes went wide with fury as he watched his squad get annihilated.

And not a single Black Hand Legion member had been hit.

”They’re targeting us?!”

”Retaliate! Now!” he barked.

”Yes, sir!”

His troops didn’t hesitate. Dozens of them raised their Crystal Core Firearms, locking onto Chris’s position.

Hundreds of energy blasts charged up, glowing with every element imaginable. The sky lit up like a fireworks show as they unleashed hell on the library.

BOOM!

The barrage hit like a meteor storm. The entire library shook under the assault. Dust and debris exploded outward, stone crumbling, windows shattering. The building groaned under the pressure, parts of it collapsing in on itself.

”Jesus Christ…” Chris and the others scrambled back. There were only a few dozen of them—no way they could go toe-to-toe with Genesis Biotech’s full force head-on.

”Release the black mist! Now!”

The words had barely left his mouth when a thick, roiling fog surged out from the building, swallowing the battlefield in seconds.

Day turned to night in the blink of an eye.

The world vanished into darkness.

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