The next morning, the group woke up early to prepare for the hunt.
Gear was limited, so they asked the village elders for whatever protective equipment they could spare.
The old woman handed over scraps of patched leather armor and makeshift guards.
As they strapped on their gear, Iris and Kael walked up.
Reian looked over at Kael, noticing his pale face.
“You should stay behind and rest, Kael.
You’re in no condition to fight.”
“It’s just a few minor bruises,” Kael insisted, adjusting his belt.
“I still feel a bit of pain, but I can manage it.
I’m coming with you.”
Reian stared at him for a second before nodding.
“Alright.
Stay close.”
Before they departed, the old woman grabbed Reian’s arm, her face etched with worry.
“Be careful out there.
Protect Silya, Silvia, and Flame.
Bring everyone back alive.”
“We will,” Reian said firmly.
The group set off toward the city center.
As they walked through the dense jungle, Reian and Flame decided to properly introduce themselves to the newcomers.
“I’m Iris, and this is Kael,” the girl offered with a small, weary smile.
“I’m Flame, and this is my brother, Reian,” Flame replied.
Silya and Silvia introduced themselves right after.
Reian smiled slightly.
“It’s good to have you with us.”
“Likewise,” Kael said softly.
“We’re glad we aren’t facing this alone.”
Talking amongst themselves made the trek go faster, and before they knew it, they had broken through the treeline.
Just outside the city limits, they noticed something strange: small clusters of zombies were actively moving *away* from the central mall, as if pushed out by a terrifying presence.
However, the moment the horde caught sight of the group, they turned and charged.
“Get ready!” Flame called out.
The fight was brutal.
Reian and Flame moved like demons, smashing through flesh and bone, tearing down zombie after zombie to clear a path.
But as the sheer mass of the horde wore them down, fatigue began to set in.
Suddenly, a lone zombie broke through their perimeter, lunging straight at Silya from behind!
Instinct took over.
Fueled by sudden, blinding rage, Reian turned and threw a monstrous straight punch before the monster could even touch her.
The sheer force of the impact exploded the zombie’s head into bloody shreds.
Without thinking, Reian immediately pulled Silya into a tight, protective hug.
Iris and Kael froze, their eyes wide in absolute horror and awe at Reian’s terrifying physical strength.
Realizing they were staring at something personal, both quickly turned their heads away to give them space.
“Reian…
hey,” Silya whispered, her heart hammering against his chest.
“Don’t worry.
I’m okay.”
Reian snapped out of his trance, his face instantly flushing red as he quickly backed away.
“I—I’m sorry,” he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Silya blushed, looking down with a small smile.
“It’s fine…”
By afternoon, they had pushed through the horde and arrived within a kilometer of the shopping mall.
The closer they got to the entrance, the fewer wandering zombies they encountered—as if every dead creature feared what was inside.
They carefully stepped through the shattered glass doors into the main atrium.
Suddenly, a massive concrete block came hurtling through the air straight at their heads!
Reian stepped up instantly, shattering the concrete block into dust with a single, heavy punch.
When the dust settled, the sight before them made everyone’s blood run cold. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Sitting atop a grotesque throne made from fifty to seventy mangled corpses sat the Demon General.
Its skin was gray and hardened like stone, and two jagged horns curled out of its head.
Iris and Kael gasped as they recognized the torn, bloody uniforms of their former teammates scattered among the pile.
Near the base of the pile, a survivor from their old squad was still breathing, half-buried under corpses.
“P-please…
save me…” he wheezed, crying tears of actual blood.
Before anyone could move, the General calmly raised its heavy foot and brought it down, crushing the survivor’s head like a ripe melon.
The group recoiled in horror.
The General looked up, a twisted grin spreading across its face.
“You finally made it,” it spoke in a raspy, intelligent voice.
“I knew someone was coming.”
Reian and Flame narrowed their eyes, stunned.
It can talk?
And how did it know we were coming?
Without warning, the General blurred out of sight and launched a strike!
Flame reacted instantly, swinging his katana to parry the blow.
Sparks flew, but the sheer force shattered the top edge of his blade.
Reian immediately countered with a heavy right hook to the General’s body.
The punch barely nudged the beast, though a microscopic crack appeared on its hardened skin.
Pain shot through Reian’s knuckles—he hadn’t expected the creature’s armor to be this thick.
“Fall back!” Silya yelled.
She sprinted toward the far wall, grabbing a pair of assault rifles left behind by dead soldiers and tossing them to Iris and Kael.
Silya then picked up a heavy sniper rifle, taking a high position to provide cover fire.
Reian, Flame, and Silvia engaged the monster all at once.
The General swung a backhand at Silvia, who managed to raise her guards just in time to block—but the raw kinetic impact blasted her across the floor.
“Silvia, pull back to Silya’s position!” Flame shouted, stepping in to draw the beast’s attention.
The General threw a deadly punch toward Flame, but Reian stepped in between, matching the monster’s fist with his own!
A violent shockwave blew outward, rattling the windows across the entire mall.
Reian managed to crack the skin on the General’s forearm.
For the first time, the General smiled.
Flame felt a sudden spike of dread.
“Reian, look out!”
He rushed forward to intervene, but it was too late.
The General swung its other hand, slamming Reian square in the chest.
Reian went flying back, crashing into a pillar and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
“Now…
I am fully complete,” the General chuckled, its body surging with dark energy.
In a flash, the creature vanished.
Flame spun around, trying to locate it, but the beast reappeared directly behind him, throwing a brutal strike that slammed Flame into the ground, badly wounding him.
Iris, Kael, and Silya opened fire from a distance, but standard bullets bounced harmlessly off its stone-like hide.
Flame pushed himself up, trying to attack from behind while Silvia distracted it from the front.
But the General was too smart.
Sensing Flame hiding a concealed blade behind his back, the General swatted Silvia away toward the snipers, caught Flame’s strike mid-air, and snapped his knife like a toothpick.
“Fools,” the General sneered, throwing Flame to the ground.
“You human scum really thought you could blind me?
Now, all your friends die.”
Flame spit out blood and smirked.
“Who said I was the one attacking?”
BOOM!
Reian appeared behind the General with every ounce of power he had left, driving a full-force strike straight into the beast’s shoulder joint!
With a sickening crunch, the General’s arm was completely ripped off!
The General shrieked in agonizing rage.
Going completely berserk, it swung its remaining arm and smashed Reian directly across the face.
Reian collapsed to the floor, bleeding heavily from his head, his vision going dark as he lost consciousness.
The General, bleeding dark blood, turned its murderous glare toward Silya and the others.
The General froze, sensing a sudden shift in aura.
It turned back to see Reian slowly dragging himself to his feet, blood streaming down his face, his eyes cold and lifeless.
What is this aura?!
the General thought in shock.
Did he—
Before the General could finish the thought, Reian lunged!
The General struck back, but mid-clash, Flame appeared behind the beast and drove his shattered katana deep into its back!
Reian followed up with a ferocious punch, knocking the General backward.
Desperate and heavily wounded, the General activated its secret technique.
It raised its remaining hand, forcibly absorbing the vital energy from the dozens of dead bodies scattered around the floor to heal itself.
“Burn the bodies!” Flame roared to the group.
“Don’t let it heal!”
Reian forced himself through the blinding pain, tackling the General to keep it occupied while Silya, Iris, and Kael threw flares and explosives into the pile of corpses, setting the room ablaze.
The General slammed Reian hard onto the concrete.
“Reian!” Silya screamed.
Flame grit his teeth and unleashed his own hidden art—The Void Slash.
A line of compressed energy cleaved through the air, cleanly slicing open the protective stone hide on the General’s back!
The General turned and kicked Flame away, but the damage was done.
Reian saw the opening.
Ignoring his broken bones, he leaped forward and drove his entire fist straight into the exposed, sliced area on the General’s back, punching a gaping hole clean through its stomach!
The General gasped, its eyes wide in utter disbelief.
How…
how did a human…
It collapsed to its knees as fire raged all around them.
Reian, Flame, and the rest of the group staggered over, standing over the dying monster.
“This is impossible…” the General choked out, blood leaking from its mouth.
“I cannot lose to insects…”
“It’s over,” Reian said, his breath heavy.
“You lost.”
The General let out a bitter, raspy laugh.
“You think killing me changes anything?
I am just one…
There are nine other Generals…
far stronger than me…”
As its life began to fade, the General’s expression suddenly melted into pure terror.
Tears began to stream down its monster face.
“I don’t want to die…
please…
please spare me…”
Reian looked down with cold eyes.
“You’re just paying for what you did to those people.”
The General’s eyes widened as a sudden memory—a flashback—flashed through its mind, hearing those exact same words from a past life.
Tears ran down its cheeks, but it gave a sad, fading smile.
“Be careful…” the General whispered, its voice softening.
“The other nine…
are scattered across the other nine countries…
When I die…
they will know…”
The General’s body began to disintegrate into particles of golden light, scattering into the ash and fire.
With the boss finally dead, the sheer exhaustion caught up to Reian and Flame.
Their legs gave out, and both collapsed to the floor beside each other.
In the distance, through the smoke and rising flames, the groans of hundreds of oncoming zombies echoed through the ruined mall.
Easily the insane battle so far.
Reian and Flame are completely passed out with a horde surrounding them…
how are they getting out of this one?
Let me know in the comments!