Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The monster lost one of its tentacles. While it wasn't a fatal injury, its strength was significantly diminished. It had already been no match for Ethan, and now it was even more out of its depth.

Swish! Ethan's tachi sliced through the air again, severing another tentacle.

"This time, let me handle it!" Sean shouted as he sprinted forward. With a powerful leap, he threw himself onto one of the remaining tentacles, pinning it beneath him.

Sean might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was strong. While he couldn't take on the monster head-on, holding down a single tentacle was well within his capabilities.

Seeing this, the others quickly jumped in to help.

"I'm in!"

"Let's all gang up on it! Hack it to pieces!"

"But... it's just a tentacle…"

"Doesn't matter! Hack it to pieces anyway!"

"..."

The monster's leader ground its teeth in frustration. On any other day, it could've easily wiped out these humans without even sparing them a glance. But today? Today, they were working together with that damn Zombie King, ganging up on it like a pack of wolves.

"Damn lowly creatures!" it snarled.

But it didn't have time to dwell on its anger. Ethan's relentless attacks left it no room to breathe.

The tachi slashed again and again, tearing through its flesh.

The monster's strength continued to wane, its energy rapidly depleting. Its body grew heavier, and even the oppressive force of the Domain of the Dead became unbearable.

Its movements became sluggish, its injuries worsening with every passing moment. It was a vicious cycle, spiraling toward its inevitable end.@@novelbin@@

Ethan's tachi moved with the force of a storm, leaving afterimages in its wake. Finally, with a precise thrust, the blade pierced the monster's chest.

For a moment, everything froze.

The monster's body stiffened. Slowly, it lowered its head, staring blankly at the wound in its chest. It could feel it—its life was slipping away.

In that fleeting moment, a strange sense of clarity washed over it. "I can't believe it… I'm dying at the hands of the creatures of this planet… I was supposed to rule this world…"

"Yeah, not even close," Ethan replied casually. "You couldn't even take over Santa Clarita."

The monster's eyes widened in disbelief. "I evolved to my ultimate form… I should've been invincible. How… how could this happen?"

"You're strong, I'll give you that. A bit of a pain to kill, honestly. But just a bit," Ethan said, his tone calm. With a sharp swish, he pulled the tachi free, flicking the blade to dislodge the blood. As he did, he deftly extracted the monster's crystal core—a blood-red gem radiating an intense, ominous energy.

This core was the culmination of the monster's consumption of thousands of lives, their flesh and blood condensed into pure power.

The monster's body swayed before collapsing backward with a thunderous crash. Even in its final moments, it muttered under its breath, "You lowly creatures… one day… you'll all die… every last one of you…"

"Hm?" Ethan caught the faint murmuring and frowned. It didn't sound like a curse born of spite. Maybe… it was a warning? Could something really be coming?

But Ethan shook the thought from his mind. No point worrying about it now.

With that, the battle was finally over.

The survivors let out sighs of relief, their faces a mix of exhaustion and disbelief. This mission had been a rollercoaster of chaos and danger. Some of them, their nerves finally relaxing, simply plopped down on the ground, too drained to care.

"It's finally over… we got our revenge…" Robert murmured, his voice distant. His expression was blank, as if he'd lost his sense of direction. For so long, revenge had been his sole purpose. Now that it was done, he didn't know what to do next.

Not that it mattered much. He figured his life was nearing its end anyway. The S-grade crystal core in his head was far too valuable to the Zombie King. There was no way Ethan would let him walk away.

As his gaze drifted forward, he noticed Ethan was busier than ever—more so than during the fight itself.

Ethan was systematically extracting crystal cores from Zane's group, pocketing them one by one. He didn't stop there, either. He collected the corpses of the parasitic monsters they'd killed, muttering something about "sandwich cookies." Even the monster leader's massive tentacles didn't escape his attention. "Grilled squid skewers," he called them, eyeing them like a gourmet snack.

From the monster leader's body, Ethan also unearthed a glowing Radiant Crystal that shimmered with an ethereal light.

"Now this… this is a treasure," Ethan mused, turning the crystal over in his hand. With this, he now had two Radiant Crystals. He couldn't help but wonder—how many of these existed on the planet? Five, maybe? If he collected all five and snapped his fingers, would something happen? Or maybe if he found seven, he could summon something and make a wish?

Ethan moved methodically, collecting crystal cores and bodies with a practiced efficiency that was almost unsettling.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he finished his work and slowly approached Robert.

The inevitable moment had come...

Robert let out a bitter laugh. "No matter what, I have to thank you. You helped me get my revenge. Without you, I'd probably already be dead on the battlefield. If you want my life, just take it."

"Oh, no need for that just yet," Ethan said suddenly.

"Huh??" Robert's eyes widened in shock, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. "You're… not going to kill me?"

"Nah. There are still plenty of monsters outside that need dealing with. If you die now, your group won't stand a chance of breaking through," Ethan replied matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, the others suddenly remembered—the fight wasn't over. There was still a massive horde of monsters outside, waiting to storm in the moment the entrance was opened.

"Ugh! Just let me drop dead already!"

"I'm completely spent. I've got nothing left in the tank."

"Well, tough luck. We've got no choice but to push through."

"..."

The group groaned and complained, their exhaustion palpable.

But Mia, standing off to the side, caught onto a peculiar detail in Ethan's words. "Wait a second…" She turned to him, narrowing her eyes. "You just said 'we' need to break through. So what are you planning to do?"

"What, me? You think I need to stick around for that?" Ethan said with a smirk. "I'm heading home, obviously. I've done my part protecting you all up to this point. If anything comes up, just give me a call. Later!"

Before anyone could respond, Ethan took a step back, his figure melting into the shadows. In the blink of an eye, he was gone, swallowed by the darkness.

Thanks to his Domain of the Dead ability, Ethan could bypass terrain entirely. He didn't need to open the entrance to leave, and with no high-level monsters outside capable of sensing him, he could come and go as he pleased.

The rest of the group stood there, dumbfounded.

"He… he just left like that?" Chris asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"What did you expect? For him to stick around and carve out your crystal core before leaving?" Brandon quipped from the side.

Chris instinctively clapped a hand over his chest, his face turning pale. Only now did he remember that he'd condensed a crystal core of his own. To someone like Ethan, that might have… certain "nutritional" value. "We… we can't let anyone know about this…"

Mia rolled her eyes, unimpressed. Ethan's behavior didn't surprise her in the slightest. After all, he was the kind of guy who always looked out for himself first.

"Alright, let's take a breather, gather some supplies, and then get ready to break out."

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"Got it!" the group responded in unison, snapping out of their daze.

After a brief rest, they began scavenging for supplies. Robert, who knew the layout of the shelter like the back of his hand, quickly led them to the storage area.

Most of the supplies were either expired or outright rotten, but they managed to find a decent amount of long-lasting food—canned goods, compressed biscuits, and the like, with shelf lives of up to five years.

They also stumbled upon some two-year shelf-life granola and nuts, which were still in good condition.

More importantly, they found a stash of medical supplies, which could prove invaluable.

Meanwhile, Sean was darting around the warehouse like an overexcited squirrel, rummaging through every corner.

Though he didn't find any fresh apples, he did uncover a sealed packet of apple seeds. His face lit up with joy as he held them up, grinning from ear to ear. He even started humming a little tune to himself.

🎵 "I'm a little apple…" 🎵

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