Apocalypse: King of Zombies

On the Other Side of the Battlefield

Ethan personally led his elite forces into San Bernardino, tearing through the human Awakeners like a storm. They never stood a chance—scattering in all directions, overwhelmed by the onslaught.

Screams of agony filled the air as people were dragged down by the ravenous undead.

The city, already in ruins, became a stage for pure carnage. Blood splattered across crumbling streets, painting a vivid picture of the apocalypse's merciless reality.

Even those who were still alive had lost the will to fight. Terror gripped them so tightly that they no longer dared to face the nightmare outside. Instead, they cowered inside the wreckage of abandoned buildings, praying desperately for a miracle, hoping against hope that they could somehow escape this hell.

But their final nightmare wasn't the zombies.

It was the crows.

A massive flock of them, dark as a storm cloud, loomed over San Bernardino, blotting out the sky.

They darted through alleyways, weaved between skyscrapers, their crimson eyes scanning relentlessly—like living reconnaissance drones, hunting for any sign of human life.

And once they found someone?

They would summon the undead.

A death sentence.

At this moment, the crows had become the very embodiment of doom.

...

Elias and the last of his squad, along with a few Genesis Biotech Awakeners, were holed up inside a high-rise building. They huddled in a dark corner, faces pale, bodies trembling. No one dared to make a sound—not even to breathe too loudly.

Through a crack in the wall, Elias could see a window.

Outside, a few crows flapped their wings, slicing through the air like missiles as they streaked past. None of them stopped.

"Shit… that was close." Elias exhaled slowly, relieved that they hadn't been spotted.

Beside him, a female squad member sat motionless, her eyes hollow, her face streaked with dirt and sweat. A single bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead, leaving a faint trail in the dust covering her skin.

"Captain… are we going to die here?"

"Don't talk like that," Elias whispered back. "I told you—never give up hope, no matter what."

"But… but Bison and Sarah are dead." Her voice cracked as she buried her face in her knees. The images of her fallen teammates flashed through her mind, over and over again.

Reality was too cruel. Hope always seemed to shatter in the end.

"Shh…" Elias suddenly raised a hand, signaling for silence.

A new sound reached his ears—wings beating against the air, passing just outside the building.

He turned back to the crack in the wall, peering through it cautiously.

This time, one of the crows had landed on the windowsill.

Elias froze.

The bird was massive—easily half the height of a grown man. Its feathers were pitch-black, its beak long and sharp, and its glowing red eyes burned with an eerie intelligence as it peered into the room.

Elias held his breath, his entire body tense. If the crow decided to fly inside, they were done for.

The others were just as terrified. One of them clamped a hand over their own mouth, eyes wide with panic.

Seconds stretched into eternity.

Then, the crow hopped to the next windowsill, then the next, before finally disappearing from view.

Elias let out a slow, shaky breath.

But this wasn't a solution. Hiding like this wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, they'd be found.

"Wait… where's your commanding officer, Captain Jacob?" Elias asked, turning to the Genesis Biotech Awakeners.

"No idea. He disappeared a while ago," one of them replied.

"Huh…" Elias frowned. He had been hoping Jacob could help them escape, but it seemed the guy had bolted the moment things went south—almost like he had planned it all along.

But then—

A strange feeling crept over Elias.

Even though his energy was nearly drained, his instincts as an S+ rank Awakener were still razor-sharp.

Something was approaching.

Slowly, he turned his head back toward the crack in the wall, intending to check outside again.

But this time—

All he saw was red.

A deep, blood-red glow filled his vision, like fresh-spilled gore.

"What the hell…?" Elias frowned, his gut twisting with unease.

Wait.

His breath caught in his throat.

The crow from earlier—its eyes had been this exact shade of red.

As if to confirm his worst fear, the crimson glow blinked once.

Then, it narrowed, gleaming with a predatory glint.

It wasn't just a glow.

It was an eye.

A crow's eye.

And it was staring right back at him through the crack.

"Shit! We've been spotted!" Elias gasped in horror.

The moment the words left his mouth, the sound of frantic wingbeats erupted around them. A dense swarm of crows surged toward the window, while the walls outside groaned under the pressure of something clawing at them.

That was the sound of elite zombies scraping their nails against the concrete—closing in fast.

"Run! Now!" Elias shouted.

He took the lead, bolting out of the room and sprinting toward the window on the opposite side. Without hesitation, he launched himself out, leaping from the upper floor.

His female teammate, along with several Awakener operatives from Genesis Biotech, reacted quickly and followed suit.

"Hey! Wait for me—!"

But one of them had an injured leg. He was just a fraction of a second too slow. The moment he stepped out of the room, a crow shot toward him from the side, its razor-sharp beak like a steel spike.

Schlkk!

The beak pierced straight through his temple. His body froze mid-motion, locked in place as life drained from his eyes.

Faced with imminent death, Elias and the others pushed their bodies to the limit, throwing themselves out of the window one after another—like a herd of mountain goats leaping off a cliff.

The Awakeners were built tough. A fall like this wouldn't kill them.

Elias hit the ground first, rolling to absorb the impact. But just as he was about to get up, he saw a pair of feet step into his field of vision.

"Huh?" His eyes widened in alarm. Something felt off.

The shoes were spotless. Not a speck of dirt on them. Definitely not a zombie's feet.

His gaze traveled upward—black dress pants. And then… that unmistakable white dress shirt.

"Oh, shit…" Elias instantly realized what was happening.

Ethan stood tall, looking down at him with an air of quiet amusement. Behind him, a squad of elite zombies loomed, their presence suffocating.

Above, the rest of the team was still mid-air, dropping down one by one.

Ethan tilted his head slightly, watching them descend. "Is this a skydiving class?" he muttered.

The others landed, only to freeze the moment they saw what Elias was staring at. Their expressions mirrored his exactly—like ducks caught in a hunter's grasp, eyes wide with sheer dread.

"…We're screwed. We just walked right into our own graves."

The female teammate's face drained of all hope. At their weakest moment, they had landed right next to the most terrifying Zombie King. Her lips trembled as she bit down, tears slipping down her cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

"Captain… I guess we couldn't outrun death after all."

"…Shit." Elias let out a long, defeated sigh, his whole body deflating like a punctured balloon.

"Now you decide to run?" Ethan's voice was calm, almost amused. "Maybe you should've thought of that before coming here. If you're gonna hunt zombies, you'd better be ready to be hunted in return."

Elias clenched his fists. He regretted everything. Maybe he should've never taken this bounty. Maybe he should've never come to San Bernardino. If he hadn't, neither he nor his team would be staring death in the face right now.

He had underestimated this new Zombie King.

Ethan raised the tachi in his hand, its blade gleaming under the dim light.

"Your teammates are waiting for you. Don't keep them waiting too long…"

…