Chapter 496: Stellar Fang

“Yes! That’s it! Perfect!”

Inside Genesis Biotech, Richard stared at the surveillance feed, his heart pounding with excitement. The powerhouse from The Awakened Files was every bit as formidable as the rumors claimed.

He’d gone toe-to-toe with that S-Class Zombie King from Los Angeles for several rounds—and hadn’t lost an inch of ground. That kind of performance was almost unheard of. Hell, it might’ve never happened before.

And the rest of the team? They hadn’t even joined the fight yet.

This was a clear upper hand.

“Send the order—tell all Genesis Biotech Awakeners to mobilize to combat positions. Activate T-01 through T-07!” Richard barked the command without hesitation.

“Huh?”

His assistant looked stunned. Was this it? Were they really going all-in against the Zombie King?

Genesis Biotech’s fourth-generation Cyborgs—there were originally nine of them, labeled T-01 through T-09. But T-08 and T-09 had already been lost in action. That left seven.

These weren’t just machines. They were Richard’s trump cards—his ultimate weapons.

“What are you standing around for? Move!” Richard snapped.

Snapped out of his daze, the assistant nodded furiously, like a bobblehead on fast-forward. “Y-Yes, right away!”

Within moments, Genesis Biotech erupted into motion. Awakeners rushed to the armory, each one grabbing a Crystal Core Firearm.

Seven maintenance pods hissed open in sequence, releasing clouds of cold mist. From each one stepped a bald young man, their expressions blank, their movements precise.

Each had a serial number etched into the back of his skull—T-01 through T-07.

Outside the corporate tower, swarms of drones lifted into the sky, thousands of them buzzing like a mechanical beehive.

Below, rows of armored vehicles—heavily modified and rumbling with power—lined up, engines growling.

Inside, Richard stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, watching his forces deploy. His eyes gleamed with a fierce determination.

“The future of humanity… it’s in your hands now.”

The zombie outbreak in Los Angeles had already reached the Texas border. They had to take out the Zombie King before he could link up with the rest of the horde—or worse, with their leader.

This was the moment. The best shot they’d ever get.

Every combat-capable Awakener from Genesis Biotech was being deployed. Reinforcements from branch offices across the country were en route.

Live or die—this was it.

Richard unbuttoned his suit jacket, then his crisp white shirt. Beneath it, he revealed a sleek, jet-black nano-combat suit.

He wasn’t just giving orders. He was going to lead the charge himself.

…

On the battlefield, Sable unleashed a devastating blow. Sand and dust exploded into the air, the ground cracked and shattered like it had been hit by a natural disaster.

But when the chaos finally settled, the spot where Ethan had been standing was completely empty. Not even a trace of a zombie remained.

Sable’s brow furrowed.

“Missed?”

“Maybe he got blown to bits?” one of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners behind her offered.

“No way,” Sable said, shaking his head. “That Zombie King’s body isn’t that fragile.”

Beside him, a Cyborg’s eyes flickered with green light. He was built using a psychic-type crystal core—his specialty was detection and tracking.

“That wasn’t the real Zombie King,” he said. “It was a psychic projection. The real one’s over there—off to the right.”

“Oh?”

Sable and the others turned quickly—and sure enough, not far from the blast zone, a figure emerged from the dust.

He wore a snow-white dress shirt, still spotless, not a wrinkle out of place. He stood there calmly, like he hadn’t just been at the center of a battlefield.

“What a pain…” Ethan muttered to himself. The Cyborg’s psychic field was interfering with his illusions—he couldn’t mask his presence as easily anymore.

From a distance, Leah and the others lit up with relief.

They’d been worried he might’ve gotten hurt. But not only was he fine, he hadn’t even gotten his clothes dirty. That kind of power—shrugging off an attack like that—was unreal.

“No wonder he’s the strongest Zombie King. His strength is off the charts.”

“Called it,” Chris said with a smirk. “I knew it’d turn out like this.”

Over in the Genesis Biotech camp, the mood was a lot less cheerful.

Everyone looked like they’d just been played.

Sable’s expression darkened. “This Zombie King… he’s definitely not ordinary.”

“Yeah. He’s strong,” Bloodrose said slowly, her voice low and cold. Her eyes gleamed with a chilling, murderous light—one that only grew sharper by the second, like it was turning solid.

“In that case… I’ll take care of him.”

Sable gave a firm nod. “Alright.”

Bloodrose’s ability was as deadly as it was dramatic—she could burn her own blood and life force to unleash devastating power. Think of it like casting spells that cost health instead of mana. The result? Explosive strength.

But the downside was just as brutal. The strain on her body was immense. She couldn’t keep it up for long, and using it recklessly could kill her.

That’s why she rarely stepped in during regular missions. She always held back, saving her strength for the moments that truly mattered.

And now… it was her turn.

Her eyes began to bleed red—literally. A drop of crimson seemed to fall into her pupils, then ripple outward like ink in water, staining her gaze with a deep, ominous glow.

Shing!

She drew a katana from the sheath on her back. The blade caught the sunlight and flashed with a deadly gleam, so sharp it seemed to cut the air itself. The temperature around her dropped instantly.

This wasn’t just any sword. It was a custom weapon forged by Genesis Biotech’s Global Headquarters, made from meteoric iron harvested from an extraterrestrial meteorite. The blade was nearly indestructible.

And since the material wasn’t of this Earth, there was only one like it in the entire world.

Bloodrose had given it a fitting name—Stellar Fang.

In the next moment, her long hair lifted as if caught in a phantom wind. Her aura surged, growing more intense by the second. A faint red mist—her blood energy—began to swirl around her, radiating a killing intent so sharp it could cut glass.

“Damn, is she going Super Saiyan or what? That’s badass,” Sean muttered from a distance, watching the scene unfold.

Chris frowned. “This isn’t good… looks like another one of their elite is stepping in.”

Leah’s heart climbed into her throat again. “This time… will Ethan be okay?”

Everyone held their breath.

Bloodrose’s power kept climbing, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack, spiderweb fractures spreading outward.

Then—she vanished.

In a blink, she was gone from her spot, reappearing mid-charge, Stellar Fang in hand, slicing through the air like a crimson comet aimed straight at Ethan.

She moved like a storm—wherever she passed, the earth split open in jagged lines.

The distance between them—nearly a thousand feet—was gone in an instant.

Stellar Fang tore through the air with a high-pitched shriek, slicing space itself. The sound was like a dragon’s roar, sharp and thunderous.

Where that blade pointed, nothing could stand.

Ethan didn’t flinch. He responded with brutal simplicity—he swung the Star Map stone slab like a meteor hammer. It lit up with a blinding glow, trailing a long, fiery tail behind it.

The power it unleashed was overwhelming, like a falling star crashing to Earth, ready to obliterate everything in its path.

BOOOOM!

The impact was deafening. The ground beneath them caved in, massive fissures ripping through the battlefield.

The shockwave blasted outward, pulverizing every grain of sand and rock in its radius into dust.

Bloodrose felt it instantly—a monstrous force rebounding through her katana, rattling her bones and sending her blood energy into chaos. Her body couldn’t absorb the shock.

She was thrown backward, flying over a hundred feet before she finally hit the ground and skidded to a stop, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Still gripping Stellar Fang, she looked up, her blood-red eyes locked on the figure ahead.

As the dust cleared, Ethan stood exactly where he’d been—unmoved, untouched. His eyes were cold, his face unreadable. Same as before.

Bloodrose narrowed her eyes.

“Looks like I didn’t burn enough blood.”

…