Chapter 439: Welcome

Even Lil’ Shroom, who was just a few feet away, had her claws dug into Daisy’s face, ready to rip her apart—skin, flesh, and all.

But suddenly, something felt off. Daisy’s face… it softened. Like dough.

Lil’ Shroom’s fingers sank into it unnaturally deep, but there was no blood. No resistance. Just this eerie, yielding texture.

“What the hell…?” Lil’ Shroom’s brow furrowed, a jolt of unease shooting through her.

Then Daisy’s whole body began to melt, her limbs turning pliable and snakelike. She coiled around Lil’ Shroom like a constrictor, locking down her arms and legs.

A grotesque head slithered up to her neck, jaws yawning wide to reveal razor-sharp fangs—then it bit down, hard.

“RAAARGH—!” Lil’ Shroom let out a howl of pain, her voice raw and confused.

“What the hell is this?!”

“Is this… some kind of illusion?!”

“…”

The entire rhythm of the battle shifted in an instant. But this wasn’t Daisy’s doing—not really. It was Nightbane’s.

His ability, Phantom Domain, had kicked in.

Inside his Absolute Domain, Nightbane could conjure illusions at will. But his psychic power was so overwhelming, those illusions had taken on physical form—manifesting as real, tangible energy.

Which meant his illusions didn’t just look real—they could actually hurt you.

This was no longer a clash between two zombie hordes. This was every undead on the field… versus Nightbane.

And with his SS-rank power and the full force of the Absolute Domain behind him, he had the strength to flip the entire battlefield on its head—alone.

Now, spectral phantoms—his “phantom spirits”—were popping up all over the place, fighting side by side with the likes of Bulldozer and the other Zombie Kings.

But the enemy couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. They were trapped in a waking nightmare, and it was tearing them apart.

“It’s the boss!” Kong, who’d been slumped and sluggish, suddenly jolted upright, eyes blazing.

Daisy bared her fangs, pollen swirling around her like a golden mist. “Now the real fight begins.”

“Damn right,” Falseword muttered, forcing himself to stand tall, eyes locked on the chaos. “Time to settle this.”

Nightbane’s intervention gave the Four War Generals a much-needed breather. They weren’t down for the count—they were regrouping, ready to strike back with everything they had.

Up above, Hellhound burst out of the murder of crows that had been swarming him.

“Let’s go, boys!” he roared, skimming low over the battlefield. Below him, a pack of zombie hounds howled and surged forward, their snarls echoing like thunder.

“RAAARGH—!”

The entire San Diego zombie horde let out a deafening war cry, the sound shaking the very ground. Nightbane’s presence had lit a fire in them. Their morale surged.

This was it—the final push.

The undead regrouped, even the wounded dragging themselves off the ground, eyes burning with savage fury.

Under the Absolute Domain, they charged straight into the black mist, like moths to a flame. They didn’t care what was inside. Whatever it was, they were going to tear it to pieces.

Bulldozer and the other Zombie Kings were being crushed under the weight of the Domain’s power. They couldn’t fight back. Couldn’t even move properly.

But then—something unexpected happened.

The black mist that had made even Hellhound hesitate… started to fade.

It thinned out, slowly at first, then faster, like snow melting under the sun. The darkness dissolved into the air.

“Huh? It’s… disappearing?” Hellhound blinked mid-charge. “I haven’t even hit it yet. Why’s it fading?”

Because Ethan had nothing left to hide.

He’d played every card in the deck. Unleashed every secret the Corpse Nest had to offer.

And now… he was bringing out the final weapon.

The most terrifying one of all.

Himself.

As the black mist finally dispersed, Ethan’s figure emerged from the swirling haze—tall, composed, and terrifyingly calm.

He stood straight-backed, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black slacks, his handsome face carved from stone. His eyes were cold, detached, scanning the battlefield like a god surveying ants.

“Welcome,” he said, voice low and eerily polite.

“Huh??” Hellhound’s pupils shrank, a chill crawling up his spine. Something was wrong—very wrong. A crushing sense of danger surged through him like a tidal wave.

In the blink of an eye, Ethan unleashed his full power—Domain of the Dead.

The pressure hit like a mountain falling from the sky. Every zombie on the field felt it—an overwhelming, suffocating force that made the air itself feel heavy.

If Nightbane’s Phantom Domain could suppress the likes of Bulldozer and the other Zombie Kings, then Ethan’s Domain of the Dead was more than enough to crush the Four War Generals.

Hellhound and the others suddenly felt like they were wading through quicksand. Their charge slowed to a crawl. Kong, already badly wounded, could barely move—his body crackled and groaned under the strain.

“So strong…” he growled through clenched teeth, pain etched across his face.

“Die,” Ethan whispered.

Then he vanished.

One moment he was standing still, the next—gone.

When he moved, it was like lightning. Silent. Instant.

In his hand appeared a rectangular stone slab, glowing with radiant light and etched with strange, ancient patterns. It pulsed with raw, devastating energy.

He leapt forward, materializing right in front of Kong.

Then he swung.

BOOM!

The slab smashed into Kong’s face with the force of a meteor.

His massive skull exploded on impact—bone, brain, and blood vaporized into a red mist. A single crystal core shot out from the wreckage, spinning through the air.

Ethan landed smoothly, reached out, and caught it mid-flight.

“A strength-type S-rank Zombie King’s core… not bad,” he murmured, almost to himself.

Behind him, Kong’s headless corpse—like a fallen giant—crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.

“He’s… dead?”

“Kong’s dead?!” Hellhound and the other Zombie Kings stared in disbelief, their eyes wide with shock.

One of the Four War Generals—slain right in front of them.

Just moments ago, they’d been ready to go all-in, morale surging, prepared to fight to the bitter end. And now? Kong was gone. Obliterated in a single blow.

“He’s too strong…”

They’d heard the rumors about the zombie overlord of Los Angeles. But this? This was on a whole other level.

Even their own boss probably couldn’t have taken Kong out that fast.

“Scatter! Now!” Hellhound roared, panic finally setting in. His bone wings snapped open as he shot into the sky, desperate to escape the crushing grip of the Domain of the Dead.

Falseword and Daisy didn’t need to be told twice—they turned and bolted, retreating as fast as their bodies would allow.

The moment Ethan appeared, the infamous Four War Generals scattered like rats.

But Ethan didn’t chase them.

They weren’t his real opponents.

Because right now, his Domain of the Dead was being pushed back—corroded—by another force.

Nightbane’s Phantom Domain.

At the edges of Ethan’s domain, illusions began to take shape—massive, snarling beasts, towering ghostly figures, all twisted and monstrous. They clawed and howled, trying to tear their way into Ethan’s space and rip him apart.

“Impressive…” Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing.

Beyond the wall of phantoms, he could see Nightbane standing tall, his gaze locked on Ethan.

These illusions were far stronger than before.

Because now, Nightbane was focusing everything—his entire psychic force—on Ethan.

Meanwhile, Bulldozer and the others, no longer trapped by the illusions, broke free and rejoined the main horde, diving back into the chaos of battle.

The final showdown had begun.

Ethan, still holding the stone slab, began walking forward—slow, deliberate steps. The Domain of the Dead surged with him, colliding head-on with the Phantom Domain.

The clash of the two powers was like tectonic plates grinding together. The sky itself trembled. Clouds scattered. The air cracked with invisible force.

Two of the most feared names in the Zombie King archives—Ethan and Nightbane—were finally face to face.

The ultimate battle was about to begin.

Far off in the sky, a small aircraft hovered silently.

Inside, a group of humans watched the scene unfold below, eyes wide with awe and fear.

It was Sophia and her team.

“The two Zombie Kings… they’re really going at it,” she whispered, barely breathing. “They’re both insanely powerful…”

…