Apocalypse: King of Zombies

"We need to move. Let's hurry and find the others." Mia turned and started walking ahead.

The earlier fight had stirred up quite a commotion, and the noise had attracted a horde of zombies. Outside the factory, guttural growls and snarls echoed ominously, signaling that a large group of the undead was closing in fast.

Chloe supported Caleb as they moved forward, her mind clouded with worry.

I hope the others are okay.

But Ethan couldn't shake off a strange feeling. Something felt… off. It was as if an eerie, unnatural presence was creeping over them, wrapping them in its invisible grip.

It wasn't long before Sean suddenly shook his head, his expression dazed and confused.

"Hey… did you guys hear that? A cat meowing?"

"A cat?" The others exchanged puzzled glances.

"What cat? There's no cat here," someone muttered.

"Sean, are you hearing things again?" Lillian asked, raising an eyebrow.

They were all used to Sean's quirks by now. He had a habit of saying weird, random things or acting in ways that didn't always make sense. No one took him seriously.

But Sean pressed his palm to his forehead, his confusion deepening. In his mind, the faint sound of a cat's cry echoed again. It wasn't a normal meow—it sounded like a child wailing, sharp and grating, clawing at his nerves.

And then, without warning, Sean froze in place. His usually sharp, intelligent eyes suddenly contracted, transforming into slitted, glowing yellow pupils—like a cat's.

"Meowwwwwwwww…"

The sound that came from his mouth wasn't human. It was a drawn-out, mournful wail that reverberated through the dark, empty factory, sending chills down everyone's spine.

"What the…?"

This time, everyone heard it. The eerie cat-like cry echoed in the silence, and they all turned to look at Sean. What they saw made their blood run cold. A shiver raced down their spines, and the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end.

Sean's hair bristled, standing on end like an animal's fur. His narrowed cat-like eyes glinted in the dim light, and his lips curled into a strange, unsettling grin. A low, guttural growl rumbled from his throat—something no human should be able to produce. It sounded more like the snarl of a wild beast.

"Sean, you…" Lillian's eyes widened in shock, her voice trembling. She was frozen in place, too terrified to move.

"Meowwwwwww!" Sean let out another piercing cry, this one even more shrill and haunting than before. Then, in a blur of motion, he lunged at Lillian, his fist swinging toward her with terrifying speed.

"Get back!" Mia shouted, throwing herself forward to intercept him. She raised her arm just in time to block the blow.

BAM!

The impact was deafening, like two steel hammers colliding. Sean's strength was monstrous, and the force of the hit sent Mia skidding backward five or six steps before she managed to steady herself.

Her wristband flickered, displaying a damage reading: Pain Level: 29%

"This idiot's got some serious strength," Mia muttered under her breath, shaking out her arm.

Sean, now completely unhinged, seemed ready to attack again. His movements were erratic, almost feral, as if he'd lost all sense of reason.

But Mia wasn't about to wait for him to strike first. She darted forward, her speed blurring as she closed the distance between them. With a swift, powerful punch, she slammed her fist into Sean's face.

BOOM!

The force of the blow sent Sean flying backward like a ragdoll. He crashed through the factory wall, the impact bringing part of it crumbling down on top of him. Dust and debris filled the air as his body disappeared beneath the rubble.

The group stood frozen, staring at the wreckage in stunned silence. Their minds raced with questions. Why had Sean suddenly turned on them? What was happening to him? And… had Mia gone too far?

"Mia, what the hell just happened? Why did Sean attack us?" someone finally asked, breaking the silence.

"No idea," Mia replied, shaking her head. "But honestly? I've been wanting to punch him for a while now."

"Uh…" The group exchanged awkward glances, unsure how to respond.

Before they could say anything else, the rubble shifted. Stones and debris tumbled aside as Sean slowly rose to his feet. Despite the brutal hit he'd taken, he didn't seem to feel any pain. His glowing cat-like eyes narrowed, and a twisted grin spread across his face. He looked… pleased with himself.

Caleb's face paled as a horrifying realization dawned on him.

"This… this happened before," he stammered. "One of my old teammates… he turned just like this. He went crazy and started attacking us. That's how we got trapped here in the first place—because of them!"

"Could it be… mind control?" Lillian frowned deeply, her expression tense.

"No."

Ethan, who had been silent for a long time, shook his head. After carefully analyzing the situation and thinking it through, he finally spoke.

"It's more like… he's been possessed by a cat."

"Possessed?"

Everyone froze, their faces filled with disbelief. It was the first time they'd heard such a bizarre explanation.

Possession? What kind of strange ability was that?

Sean's mind was notoriously stubborn—practically immune to mental interference or control. It was like trying to hack into a broken computer: it barely turned on, let alone allowed anyone to manipulate it.

But possession? That was a whole different story. It was like plugging in a new operating system and running it on a fresh machine.

And for Sean, this was a direct counter.

"What do we do now?" Everyone's brows furrowed, their anxiety growing.

Outside, the sound of guttural roars grew louder. More zombies were closing in.

Meanwhile, Sean—his eyes now gleaming like a cat's—lunged at Mia again.

The two clashed, locked in a fierce battle.

For the moment, Sean was occupied.

Ethan's sharp gaze swept over the scene. He hadn't expected the black cat to have such a strange ability. It was unsettling. The outside world really was as dangerous as they'd feared.

But how could they break this possession?

Looking past the surface, Ethan knew the solution had to lie at the root of the problem. If they killed the black cat, it should sever the connection.

"Yeah, just kill the cat," he said calmly.

"What?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. His handsome face remained composed, as if he were discussing something as trivial as the weather.

Could that really work?

But there was no time to debate. The zombies were already closing in. Their grotesque faces appeared at the factory entrance, snarling and howling. They surged forward like a flood, a dense, unstoppable tide of death.

Caleb and Chloe were completely drained of energy, unable to fight. Mia was still tied up with Sean. That left only Ethan and two construction workers to face the horde.

In everyone's minds, survival alone seemed like an impossible dream.

Killing the black cat? That was a fantasy.

Ethan's gaze hardened. Gripping his tachi, he stepped toward the oncoming horde. His movements were steady and deliberate, his expression as calm as ever.

Alone, he faced the swarm of zombies with the unshakable resolve of a Spartan warrior.

A crimson glow flickered in Ethan's eyes.

Domain of the Dead.

In an instant, an overwhelming pressure erupted from him, like a tidal wave of blood and death crashing down on the zombie horde.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze.

The zombies, which had been charging madly, suddenly stopped in their tracks, as if someone had hit the pause button. They stood motionless, frozen in place.

The world fell silent.

Then, the weaker zombies began to explode, their bodies bursting apart in a spray of flesh and blood. Shards of bone and chunks of meat flew everywhere, painting the ground red.

Ethan tightened his grip on the tachi. Energy surged through him, igniting the fire crystal core embedded in the blade. A wave of heat radiated outward.

Whoosh—

Flames roared to life, engulfing the tachi in a blazing inferno.

Ethan moved.

His figure blurred, moving so fast that afterimages trailed behind him. He charged into the horde, his speed almost impossible to track.

The tachi sliced through the air, leaving streaks of fire in its wake. Each swing of the blade severed a zombie's head cleanly from its shoulders.

Wherever the blade passed, blood sprayed into the air—only to evaporate instantly in the heat of the flames, leaving behind nothing but black ash drifting in the wind.

In just a few strikes, Ethan had already cut down a large number of zombies.

It was as if he were untouchable.

He tore through the horde like a storm, unstoppable and devastating.

Where he stood, a vacuum formed—no zombie could get close.

Heads rolled, bodies were cleaved in two, and the tachi carved a path of destruction through the horde.

Nothing could stand in his way.

"This…"

Behind him, Caleb and the others were stunned. They stared in disbelief, their minds reeling from what they were witnessing.

He was that strong?

Was this even possible?

The scene before them shattered everything they thought they knew.

...