Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Ethan, can you give us a heads-up on what the hell’s inside this Void Realm?” Chris asked, worry in his voice. ”You came back looking like roadkill. We’re freaking out over here.”

Ethan grumbled, clearly in a foul mood. ”Tch... a bunch of sneaky bastards ambushed me. Good thing I had Teleportation or I’d be dead.”

”Wait—sneaky bastards? You mean people or mutant beasts?”

”Mutant beasts. But not the kind we’ve ever seen before. They’re definitely not from Earth,” Ethan said gravely.

”Don’t tell me... aliens?!” Everyone’s eyes widened.

”Most likely. The Void Realm isn’t part of Earth to begin with—running into alien creatures makes total sense.”

Chris sucked in a breath. ”Then, boss... what kind of power levels were those sneaky bastards operating at?”

”Four Tier 9s. One Tier 10,” Ethan said, voice tight.

”!!”

”You’re kidding, right?!” one of them gasped.

”Do I look like I’m joking? Why the hell else would I look like I crawled out of a blender?”

Ethan clenched his fists. ”Damn thing slapped me straight into the ground the second I stepped in. You think I’m just gonna let that go?!”

That finally clicked for them. Ethan, who always kept his cool, was furious for a reason.

Getting faceplanted by a monster the moment he arrived? Yeah, anyone would be pissed.

”Once we go in, the Tier 10’s mine. The rest—those four Tier 9s—are all yours,” Ethan said, eyes sweeping the group. ”There’s eight of you, plus Bengal Tiger, Goldie, and the others. Think you can handle them?”

”No problem!” they all said at once, nodding firmly.

Even though they were only Tier 8, they’d been pushing the limits with their Body Refinement methods. Their real combat strength wasn’t far off from a Tier 9. And with their abilities working in sync, they had confidence.

”Good. Still, stay sharp. These things are noticeably stronger than the mutant beasts we usually fight. Probably because Earth’s monsters haven’t had enough time to evolve properly.”

”Relax, Ethan. We got this.”

”All right. Get ready. I’m going in first. You follow five seconds after!” Ethan said, and without another word, leapt into the warped spatial rift.

What greeted him on the other side was a colossal primeval forest.

Towering trees surrounded him, each one stretching nearly 300 feet high, trunks thick enough for several people to circle with outstretched arms. You’d be lucky to find even one tree like this on Earth—but here, they were everywhere.

Shadows flitted through the woods, movement flashing between the trunks. It was clear that this forest was full of life—some of it lurking, some hunting.

In one secluded corner of the forest, several massive beasts crouched on thick branches, eyes locked on a section of empty sky. They stared with anticipation.

They resembled gorillas—enormous arms, thick builds, and black fur—but their faces were all wrong. Their heads freakishly large, eyes bulging, noses flattened, mouths grotesquely wide with upward-curving fangs jutting out.

Their legs were longer, more powerful-looking than a gorilla’s, built for explosion and speed.

And just then, the air in front of them rippled.

A shift in space.

The creatures’ eyes gleamed. The largest one leapt without hesitation, its enormous palm slamming toward the distortion.

Ethan barely had time to shake off the dizziness from the space jump before a violent gust of wind smashed toward him.

But this time, he was ready.

Without hesitation, he activated [Teleportation] and vanished right as the attack hit his former spot.

He reappeared down below, landing lightly on a patch of grass.

Ethan scowled, his voice full of ice. ”Oh, you wanna try that cheap shot again? Not happening.”

He stared up at the Titan Ape—the one that had sucker-slapped him the first time he entered.

He hadn’t even gotten his bearings back then before the damn thing smacked him out of the air and turned him into a meteor. He’d barely crawled away alive, pummeled by five of the beasts working together.

He hadn’t forgotten.

Wouldn’t forget.

Seeing Ethan reappear, the five Titan Apes didn’t hesitate. With thunderous force, they launched themselves from the trees and charged straight at him.

Their movements were terrifyingly fast—ninety feet closed in an instant.

Ethan blinked out again with a flash of Teleportation, widening the gap between himself and the charging beasts.

He’d already had a taste of what these monsters could do—no way he was going head-to-head unless he had to.

Just then, the twisted space in the sky rippled again. Moments later, Chris and the others started dropping one by one.

Luckily, they’d done this before. As they fell, they stabilized midair and landed smoothly. The portal sat only about thirty feet off the ground—not much of a concern for Tier 8s like them.

The moment the mutant beasts spotted fresh arrivals, they abandoned Ethan and redirected their attack toward the newcomers.

Chris’s team had barely hit the ground when massive shadows lunged at them.

”Holy shit, what are these things?! They’re hideous!” someone yelped.

No time to admire the scenery—they instantly snapped into combat mode.

Garrick stepped forward first, Earthen Armor encasing his entire body in a blink. He took up position at the front.

Sean followed, arms turning metallic as he moved to Garrick’s side.

With a whistle from Skinny Pete, Bengal Tiger Goldie and the black jaguar Speckles pounced into formation, taking the vanguard. Their thick hides and raw strength made them perfect for the frontline.

As soon as Ethan saw his team arrive, he Teleported straight to the Tier 10 monstrosity and swung his poleaxe with full force.

The creature threw its head back and roared, seemingly thrilled Ethan had chosen to face it head-on. It raised its massive fist and brought it crashing down toward the poleaxe.

BOOM!

A heavy thud echoed out. Ethan was sent flying, flipping through the air. He barely managed to hold on to his weapon.

He landed hard, sliding through the grass—but held his ground.

This Titan Ape wasn’t just Tier 10—it was a brute, with arms like piledriver columns. The sheer force in that punch was outrageous.

Ethan tightened his grip on the weapon, eyes narrowing. As much as he hated its sneaky tactics, he had to admit—this thing packed serious power.

But it hadn’t come away clean.

Blood trickled from the Titan Ape’s fist. The blade had landed—just not deep enough.

The beast didn’t even seem bothered. It shook out its bloodied hand and came barreling down at Ethan again.

With the Tier 10 beast locked in combat, the other four Titan Apes turned all their fury on Chris’s squad.

Garrick slammed a palm on the ground. The earth dipped beneath them—then a giant boulder dropped straight into the pit.

CRACK—

The rock shattered. All four Titan Apes leapt out of the pit without missing a beat and lunged right back down at them.

Mia swept her hand through the air. A wall of water surged into the charging beasts, followed by a snap-freeze ability. She managed to slow them down—but freezing four Tier 9s simultaneously was more than her power could handle.

”Let’s go!” Sean yelled, leading the charge as he swung his weapon down on the nearest Titan Ape’s head.

Garrick was right behind him, slamming his staff into another.

As the battle exploded, Bengal Tiger Goldie and Speckles pounced, claws flashing, slamming into a third.

The rest of the team moved fast, flanking and attacking from the sides, blasts of ability fire cracking against Titan Ape hides while spears stabbed in from every angle.

In the Fallen Star Squad, Garrick and Sean were the heavy front-liners—both wielded crushing weapons meant for brute impact.

Chris, Henry, Skinny Pete, and Big Mike all fought with long spears—perfect for both thrusting and blunt strikes.

Mia and Emily fought with longswords, moving quickly and cleanly behind the front lines.

They weren’t greenhorns. Everyone moved with snap precision, years of combat experience showing in their fluid formation and instant cooperation.

In just moments, the four Tier 9 Titan Apes were slashed, stabbed, and burned in every direction. Their thick, dark hides quickly showed signs of damage.

But the problem was... they didn’t seem to care.

The wounds barely slowed them. And their counterattacks?

Brutal.

A flurry of massive fists hammered down, faster than expected. The front liners took the brunt.

Boom—Garrick was launched backward, crashing into a massive tree.

Sean raised his metal arms to block, but still got blasted off his feet, slamming into a nearby trunk with a bone-jarring crunch.

Bengal Tiger Goldie and Speckles didn’t escape either—both beasts were knocked aside like ragdolls. Their mass helped—neither flew far, and both rolled to their feet fast, snarling.

Coughing blood, Sean spit to the side and wiped his mouth. His face turned grim. ”Ugly as hell... but damn strong.”

Everyone nodded in sweaty, grim agreement.