Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ricky turned his head and shot a glare. "Don't listen to his crap. He's just trying to mess with your head. You've already chosen this path—there's no turning back now. Don't forget what we believe in."

"Yeah!" Veyra nodded hard, her eyes regaining their resolve.

Varick's gaze turned icy. "I gave you a chance, and you threw it away. Don't blame your Instructor for going all out."

Back at Pinnacle Academy, he'd been Veyra's mentor. Now that words had failed, he was ready to teach this rebellious student a lesson the hard way.

But before he could act, a chorus of monstrous roars echoed from the distance. Even after a round of bombing, countless parasitic beasts surged forward, filling the vacuum left by the explosions. They swarmed toward the humans like a tidal wave.

"What a pain in the ass…" Aria muttered, glancing over. She reached behind her back and drew a katana, its blade gleaming with a razor-sharp edge. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a cold, bluish hue.

Her weapon was one of a kind—crafted from rare, high-grade materials, designed for elite combat. There was only one like it in existence. Mass production? Not a chance.

"Domain of Tides, Everflowing…" she whispered as the monsters closed in. Water-element energy rippled out from beneath her feet.

The ground around her transformed, as if she were standing on the surface of a tranquil lake.

The parasitic monsters' howls abruptly cut off. Their bodies froze mid-charge, then—after a single heartbeat—split into chunks of flesh and collapsed to the ground.

No one even saw the moment of the kill.

"…Huh?"

Ricky raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. She was stronger than he'd expected.

Ethan, hidden in the shadows, watched silently. There were no SSS-ranked humans in this battle, but this girl… she wasn't ordinary.

Her gear, her entourage—everything about her screamed high status. And her talent? Definitely above average.

Aria pointed her blade toward Ricky. The Domain of Tides surged forward, deceptively calm on the surface, but laced with deadly intent.

Ricky's expression tightened. The air around him began to ripple, faint waves slicing the space into segments.

"Specter's Wrath!"

He growled, and a surge of dark energy erupted around him. A massive, shadowy specter formed, cloaked in rage and malice, rising to meet the Domain of Tides head-on.

The two forces collided with a deafening crack. Water exploded outward, the ghostly figure flickered and twisted. They clashed, devoured, and tore at each other.

The ground beneath them buckled and caved in. Trees already damaged from earlier were reduced to dust.

The other students from Pinnacle Academy quickly backed off, giving the two fighters space.

"Holy crap, they're strong!"

"Ricky's no joke…"

"Yeah, but who's stronger—him or Aria?"

"Come on, it's gotta be Aria. She's the top student at the Academy!"

"…"

At Pinnacle Academy, no one could match Aria anymore. It was rare for them to witness a fight this intense.

Aria's brows furrowed slightly. Among her peers, she'd always dominated. But against Ricky, it felt… even.

That didn't sit right with her. A genius shouldn't be struggling like this.

"Did he awaken his powers earlier than I did?" she wondered, doubt creeping in. Her katana flared with blue light, pulsing with the Domain of Tides. She launched herself forward, closing the distance for a direct assault.

Her movements were fluid, graceful—like a butterfly dancing through the air.

Ricky responded with a surge of fury. The specter behind him swelled, monstrous and demonic, and he swung his blade down at her with brutal force.

Their weapons clashed, steel screaming against steel. The shockwaves from their strikes rippled outward, tearing through the forest.

Still, neither could gain the upper hand.

Without a word, they both struck again.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Blow after blow, their blades collided in a relentless rhythm. The Domain of Tides and the wrathful specter energy crashed together, thunderous and wild.

The unleashed energy spread like a storm, snapping trees and reshaping the terrain.

Meanwhile, the other Pinnacle Academy students stopped spectating. They turned their attention to the rest of the White Robe Order, ready to join the fight.

Varick stood still, his eyes scanning the battlefield alongside another Instructor from Pinnacle Academy. At first, neither of them had planned to intervene.

But Veyra had once been his student—trained under his direct guidance. Seeing her now, walking a path he considered misguided, stirred a sense of responsibility in him.

"Fine," he muttered, his voice low but firm. "Looks like it's up to me to teach this rebellious student a lesson."

A faint blue glow shimmered around him, water energy beginning to gather and swirl. He, too, was a Water-type Awakener.

"Tidal Surge," Varick intoned.

The glow intensified, and in the next instant, a massive wave of energy surged forward, crashing toward Veyra like a living tsunami.

"Shit—!"

Caught off guard, Veyra's eyes widened. She clenched her jaw and threw both hands forward.

A towering Tidal Shield formed in front of her, just in time.

BOOOOM!

The wave slammed into the shield with a thunderous roar. The impact rattled her entire body—bones cracked audibly, pain lanced through her limbs. She was nowhere near strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Instructor Varick.

The shield shattered almost instantly.

And before she could recover, another wave came barreling in—bigger, faster, stronger.

Varick's attacks weren't just powerful—they stacked, each one building on the last, relentless and overwhelming.

"I told you before," he said coldly, "your water energy condenses too slowly. That'll always be your biggest weakness."

Veyra didn't respond. Gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain and began forming a second Tidal Shield.

But she was too slow.

Before the shield could fully materialize—

CRASH!

The next wave hit her dead-on. Her water energy shattered like glass, and her body was flung backward like she'd been hit by a speeding truck. She slammed into the ground with a sickening thud.

Pain exploded in her chest, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

When she looked up, Varick was already standing over her.

"You still can't take even one of my hits."

"Ugh…" Veyra's eyes fluttered open, dazed. Her mind flashed back to her academy days—one of the final exams had been to withstand a single strike from Instructor Varick.

And the move he'd just used… was exactly the same.

"You… regret it yet?" Varick asked, his voice low, his gaze unreadable.

But Veyra was nothing if not stubborn. She wiped the blood from her lips and shook her head.

"Leaving the Inner City… I don't regret it. Fighting for what I believe in—that's the Creed of the White Robe."

"The Creed of the White Robe?" Varick scoffed, lips curling into a smirk. "Please. What belief? You're just a bunch of kids playing revolution."

But before he could say more, the other Instructor beside him—Cassian Voss—suddenly tensed. His brow furrowed.

Cassian was no ordinary teacher. He was an SS+ ranked Awakener, and a top contender to inherit leadership of the powerful Voss family.

"Varick," he said quietly, "something's off. I'm sensing… a strange energy nearby. Something I've never felt before."

"Huh?" Varick turned, frowning. "What kind of energy?"

Cassian didn't answer right away. His eyes narrowed, scanning the treeline.

And then—

A crushing pressure rolled across the battlefield like a tidal wave.

A figure in white appeared in the distance, slowly walking toward them. Each step echoed with quiet authority.

Ethan.

The moment he emerged, it was as if the world itself shifted. The air grew heavier. The sky dimmed. His calm, emotionless eyes swept across the field like a god surveying mortals.

"I've got a test for you," he said, voice soft but laced with power. "Let's see if you can take one of my hits."

…