Apocalypse: King of Zombies
Chapter 540 - 540: That’s a bad habit

"So easy to fool?" Ethan muttered under his breath.

That version of Monroe just now? Totally a mental projection he'd conjured up. What surprised him was how smoothly the plan had gone.

Maybe this corpse nest had been living in comfort for too long. Like they say—comfort breeds weakness. That Gunner guy didn't even stop to question it.

With that, Ethan started wandering through the castle again, planning to do a quick sweep for loot.

There were still a few strong presences scattered throughout the place—like the butler types, the core combat force of this vampire den.

One elderly man in a sharp suit was holed up in a room, going over ledgers and financial records.

The door creaked open, and Monroe's figure stepped inside.

"I thought I said, during work hours—" The old man looked up, clearly annoyed at the interruption, but the moment he saw who it was, his face went pale with fear. "L-Lord Monroe? What brings you here?"

"I'm here to collect some crystal cores," Monroe said coolly.

"Oh! Of course, right away!" The old man didn't dare hesitate. He turned and walked over to a wall, where a hidden compartment housed a safe.

He moved fast—clearly a pro at this—and had it open in seconds.

Ethan glanced inside. Jackpot. There were easily over a hundred crystal cores in there. And this was just a fraction of what the castle probably held.

"How many would you like, Lord Monroe?"

"All of them."

"Uh… all right!" The old man blinked, a little thrown off, but didn't question it.

Maybe Lord Monroe was preparing for another breakthrough? That would explain why he needed so many crystal cores...

He grabbed a box, carefully packed all the cores inside, then respectfully placed it on the table in front of Ethan.

"Here you are, my lord. All the crystal cores."

"No. One's missing," Ethan said flatly.

"What? Missing?" The old man looked confused. He was sure he'd packed them all. Why was Monroe saying one was missing?

Then he looked up—just in time to see "Lord Monroe" reaching for his head.

"..."

And just like that, Ethan cleaned out the castle's stash of crystal cores and eliminated every vampire with even a hint of power.

With that done, he turned his attention back to Mia.

Mia and Monroe were evenly matched. She might be able to beat him, but killing him? That was a whole different level. There's a big difference between winning a fight and finishing someone off for good.

Ethan activated his Domain of the Dead ability and vanished from the castle, heading straight for the town.

It only took a few minutes to reach the battlefield.

The place was chaos—pure, bloody chaos. Vampire guards were locked in brutal combat with members of The Ember Ring.

In the distance, Lil' D and other zombies were tearing into humans—and vampires too. They weren't picky.

The town was so deep in the shitstorm that friendly fire was happening left and right.

But the real action? That was Mia and Monroe. The two of them were going at it like titans, clashing again and again, each blow sending shockwaves through the battlefield. Humans, zombies, vampires—everyone else had to keep their distance or risk getting obliterated.

Mia was covered in wounds—some from claws, others self-inflicted with her blade. Her pain meter was at 96%, dangerously close to the limit.

But she wasn't slowing down. If anything, she was getting fiercer.

Monroe wasn't doing great either. He'd taken multiple hits from the Stellar Fang katana—his clothes were shredded—but his vampire healing factor was insane. Every time he got cut, the wounds sealed up almost instantly.

"You're the strongest human I've ever met! You have to be my mommy!" Monroe shouted, lunging forward with his claws out, trying to infect her.

Mia swung the Stellar Fang with deadly precision, slicing through the air and blocking his strike with a sharp metallic clang.

They launched into another brutal exchange.

Nearby, Emily, Aiden, and the others could only watch in stunned silence.

They couldn't even follow the movements anymore.

All they could hear were the ringing clashes of steel and feel the terrifying pressure in the air. Any one of those attacks could've vaporized them on the spot.

"Mia's SS-rank?!" Emily gasped, eyes wide. "I totally underestimated her earlier!"

Aiden nodded rapidly. "Yeah… maybe she really can beat Monroe!"

"Huh?" Just as Emily was watching the fight, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention—a figure in a white shirt, calmly walking toward them.

All around, humans and monsters were locked in brutal combat, screams and clashes echoing through the chaos. But this guy? He strolled through the battlefield like he was out for a walk in the park—completely unfazed, like none of it even touched him. He didn't belong here. He didn't belong anywhere.

"Who the hell is that?" Aiden asked, frowning. He'd never seen Ethan before.

Emily hesitated, her voice uncertain. "He's… he's a friend of Mia's. I think he just got back from the supermarket."

"What?! Supermarket?!" Aiden looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Where the hell is there a supermarket?!"

Meanwhile, Mia gripped the Stellar Fang with both hands and brought it crashing down in a powerful arc, forcing Monroe back over a hundred feet. His pale face twisted into something between rage and pain.

The prolonged high-intensity battle, plus the constant regeneration, was clearly draining him.

"Guess I underestimated her a little," Monroe muttered, his voice low and bitter. Twisted as he was, he wasn't stupid. He was already thinking about retreating—heading back to his lair to regroup and bring reinforcements.

But then—suddenly—he felt it.

A killing intent, sharp and cold, flared behind him.

"Hey. You really shouldn't go around calling just anyone 'Mommy.' That's a bad habit."

"Huh?" Monroe's eyes narrowed. He spun around—and froze.

Somehow, without him noticing, a man in white had appeared behind him.

Ethan.

His gaze was cold, detached, like he was already looking at a corpse.

And then the pressure hit—crushing, suffocating. A wave of dread surged through Monroe's chest.

Ethan raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the Star Map slab materialized in his palm. It shimmered with radiant light, pulsing with overwhelming power.

Without a word, Ethan lifted the slab and brought it down like a hammer.

Monroe's eyes widened. He twisted his body, trying to dodge—

BOOM!

The impact shook the ground. Dust exploded into the air. Cracks spiderwebbed across the earth like shattered glass.

Monroe was sent flying, tumbling across the ground in a heap before finally skidding to a stop.

Ethan hadn't hit his head, but the slab had slammed into his shoulder with brutal force.

The damage was catastrophic—his entire arm hung limp, shoulder shattered, ribs cracked and splintered. Half his body was basically wrecked.

But Monroe's bones began snapping back into place with sickening crunches, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. He slowly pushed himself up, eyes burning with hatred.

"I was gonna play with you all a little longer," he growled. "But fine. You brought this on yourselves."

"What's he doing?" Emily asked, her voice tight with unease. "Does he have some kind of backup plan?"

Aiden's face darkened. "Of course he does. Don't forget—his lair's right nearby."

"Wait… no way…" The others seemed to realize something at the same time. A cold dread settled over the group. Tension spiked.

Then—

ROOOAAARRR—

Monroe threw his head back and let out a deafening howl, a monstrous, bone-rattling scream that tore through the sky and blanketed the entire battlefield in its echo.

...