Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”They’re not human?” Ethan muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing.

Just then, a slender figure appeared behind Ray.

Laura’s predatory gaze locked onto him—this guy had just unleashed a blast strong enough to level a mountain. She wasn’t about to let that slide.

”Die, bastard!”

In a blink, she vanished from her spot, reappearing right beside him with terrifying speed.

Her mechanical arm swung out, claws gleaming like razors as they sliced through the air with a shriek.

Before Ray could even react, her blade slashed across the back of his neck.

Zzzzzzt—!

But instead of the satisfying spray of blood she expected, sparks flew.

Laura’s eyes widened in shock.

The skin on Ray’s neck had been torn open—but beneath it wasn’t flesh. It was gleaming silver metal.

”What the hell?”

She stepped back, stunned.

Ray didn’t flinch. In fact, he smiled—calm, almost smug.

”Just as I thought... a mechanical body really is superior.”

Unlike standard Cyborgs, Ray wasn’t controlled by an AI. He’d retained full human consciousness. His body, however, had been heavily modified—just like the reengineered zombies created by PhD. Flesh was weak. Metal ascended.

His eyes gleamed with a cold light.

”Now... let me show you what real power looks like.”

As his voice dropped, a strange sound echoed from the dark, unlit tents behind him—ka-chunk, ka-chunk—like the hiss of hydraulics and the clatter of heavy doors unlocking.

Moments later, figures began stepping out of the tents.

They weren’t human.

They were full-on machines—bodies forged entirely from alloy, no skin, no flesh. Their limbs were sleek and angular, their heads shaped like skulls, with glowing green lights flickering in their eye sockets.

Within seconds, dozens of them had assembled, forming a cold, silent army of steel.

In the swirling snow, the green lights blinked like ghostly stars. As the machines moved, their joints creaked and clicked, the sound sharp and mechanical—ka-chk, ka-chk—a rhythm that carried a crushing sense of dread.

Ethan watched, eyes narrowing.

He hadn’t seen Genesis Biotech in action for a while—but this? This was a whole new level. Their tech had evolved fast.

The entire mechanical army gathered behind Ray, standing at attention.

He stepped forward, voice steady and cold.

”You monsters love fresh meat, don’t you? Well, guess what—there’s no meat left. We’ve traded our flesh for steel. We’re not your prey anymore.”

”Attack!”

With that single command, the mechanical army surged forward.

Despite their metal bodies, they moved with uncanny agility—faster, more fluid than most humans. In some ways, they were even more graceful.

”Raaaghhh!”

The zombies roared in response, charging to meet them head-on.

But this time, their claws, their teeth, even their infection—none of it worked.

The only way to bring these machines down was brute force—ripping off limbs, smashing heads, tearing them apart piece by piece.

And the machines? They didn’t feel pain. They didn’t fear death. They didn’t hesitate.

They were colder than the undead—and far more efficient.

The average elite zombie didn’t stand a chance. Only the top-tier monsters could even hold their ground.

Some of the machines had glowing crystal cores embedded in their chests—faint pulses of light that hinted at what they once were.

Living people.

Now? Just weapons.

In a twisted way, Genesis Biotech had become even more ruthless than the zombies themselves.

”What the hell are these things?” Daisy 2.0—Petal—frowned, her expression tight with frustration. Her hallucinogenic pollen had completely failed.

”Yeah, these damn tin cans are a pain in the ass,” Lil’ Shroom puffed out his cheeks, clearly annoyed. With no fresh flesh to infect, his spores had nothing to feed on.

Even Elegy’s sonic interference was useless—her haunting melodies, once capable of driving humans mad, now served only to boost morale for their own side.

The Zombie Kings were built to slaughter humans. But now, facing an army of machines, they were caught off guard.

And it wasn’t just that the machines had no flesh or blood. The real kicker? They self-destructed when close to defeat.

Their crystal cores would suddenly flare with blinding light—then boom.

A deafening explosion would follow, sending up a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke. Any zombies nearby were instantly blown apart, limbs flying, torsos shredded.

”Damn it... this is starting to feel like a bad deal,” Ethan muttered, calculating the cost in his head.

Sure, the Zombie Kings were still dominating the battlefield. It was only a matter of time before they wiped out the enemy.

But in Ethan’s book, if he wasn’t getting more than he gave, it was a loss.

First it was the Black-Skin Zombies. Now it was humanity’s shiny new mech army.

To cut down on casualties, Ethan finally decided to step in himself.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a sleek, pitch-black katana—his newest weapon, a gift from Mia. Embedded in the hilt was an S-rank fire-element crystal core. He’d named it The Fire Stick.

This would be its first real test.

And what better way to break it in than slicing through a bunch of walking scrap metal?

Ethan’s figure blurred, vanishing like a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Ray.

His blade flashed like a dragon breaking free from the sea, aiming straight for Ray’s head.

Ray reacted fast, raising his arm to block. His entire body was forged from the hardest alloy known to man—every inch of him a weapon.

”Hah! You’re trying to cut metal with a sword? That’s just stupid.”

He sneered, full of contempt.

But then—his expression changed.

Fast.

Zzzzzzt—!

The katana sliced through his arm like butter, then plunged straight into his chest.

The sound of metal grinding against something harder echoed through the air.

Ray’s eyes went wide.

What the hell...?

Ethan’s katana wasn’t made from anything of this world. It was forged from meteorite—far tougher than any alloy Ray’s body was built from.

”Not so tough after all,” Ethan murmured.

Then he activated the fire core.

A surge of searing energy erupted from the blade. Flames exploded outward—S-rank fire, white-hot and merciless.

The synthetic skin covering Ray’s body instantly turned to ash, revealing the full extent of his mechanical form.

But even that began to soften under the heat, metal warping and melting.

His systems started to fail. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight back. All he could do was watch as the fire consumed him.

”You damn zombie... you’ll all be hunted down eventually!” Ray spat, his voice filled with venom.

”Still running your mouth? Even as a toaster?” Ethan muttered, annoyed, and cranked up the heat.

The mountaintop glowed red, fire lighting up the black sky. The snow around them melted into steam, rising in thick white clouds.

Ray’s body convulsed, his human consciousness flickering, breaking apart in a haze of rage and helplessness.

But just as Ethan thought it was over—something unexpected happened.

Ray’s head, which had slumped forward, suddenly lifted.

His eyes glowed brighter.

It was like something—or someone—had connected to him remotely.

A new presence surged into his body.

And then, a voice—calm, cold, and unmistakably foreign—spoke through him.

”Zombie King of America... this is not a place you should’ve come to.”

...