"Youâre dead!" Meteorfall snarled through clenched teeth, rage twisting his face. The blue light in his eyes pulsed hotter, brighterâhe was building toward something, and fast.
Hydrissa narrowed her eyes, unimpressed. Theyâd been fighting long enough that she thought she had him figured out.
"Same old tricks..."
She gathered her psychic energy, preparing to block another Destruction Ray.
But thenâMeteorfall did something unexpected.
He closed his eyes.
And the blinding blue light didnât fadeâit exploded outward from his skull.
"Radiation Domain... Radiation Mutation!"
With a sharp shout, he unleashed his second ability:
Radiation Mutation
. The searing blue light surged forward like a tidal wave, engulfing Hydrissa in an instant.
"Shit!"
Her pupils shrank as she realized something was wrongâbut it was already too late. The light swallowed her whole, dragging her into the heart of the Radiation Domain.
Her skin began to mutate rapidlyâcells multiplying out of control. Her head, limbs, and torso swelled grotesquely, ballooning into a bloated, pulsating mass.
In seconds, the once-terrifying Zombie King had transformed into a grotesque lump of fleshâa walking tumor.
But Meteorfall wasnât done.
The radiation kept pouring out of him, the blue light from his head now so intense it washed the color from the world around him.
Even the Heartland zombies in front of him werenât spared. The light touched them, and they screamedâagonized, guttural howlsâas they dropped to their knees, their bodies melting into piles of rotting sludge.
Meteorfallâs body began to rise, slowly lifting off the ground, glowing like a newborn sun.
"I am the sun!"
he roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
The Radiation Domain expanded to its limit, painting the earth in sickly blue. More and more Heartland zombies began to mutate, their bodies warping, breaking down, or simply disintegrating on the spot.
Even several Zombie Kings couldnât withstand itâthey were obliterated, their forms erased in the blinding light.
In that moment, Meteorfall became the most radiant, terrifying force on the battlefield.
Zombies across the field turned to look, stunned.
"Holy shit! Meteorfallâs going nuclear!"
"Overlord of Westmarch... yeah, heâs not just a title."
"I heard he got hit in the head by a meteor once."
"Hit or not, he just wiped out a Voidborn Undying like it was nothing!"
"...Damn."
The battlefield had just hit a new level of brutality. Even the mighty SSS-tier Voidborn Undying were falling.
High above, the three Deathless Sovereigns watched with grim expressions.
One of their ownâan SSS-tier Voidborn Undyingâhad just been killed.
"The first SSS-tier to fall... and itâs one of ours," Lilith said, brows furrowed.
"That one was trained by Gorthas," Endless replied, voice low. "He was always the weakest of the bunch. Losing to Meteorfall isnât surprising."
But thenâanother Voidborn Undying fell.
In the heart of the battlefield, two blurs danced across the chaos, moving so fast they were nearly invisible.
Laura and Velissra.
Their claws clashed in a flurry of sparks, each strike ringing out with a metallic screech.
The air around them rippled from the sheer speed of their movements. Shockwaves burst outward with every exchange.
They were both apex predatorsâagility-type Zombie Kings at the absolute peak of their class. This was a duel of pure speed, a razorâs edge battle where one misstep meant death.
Laura had the upper handâher combat instincts were sharper, her strikes more aggressive. She pressed the attack, her alloy claws slicing through the air, each one aimed at a vital point.
But Velissra wasnât easy prey. Her reflexes were razor-sharp, dodging with precision or deflecting with her own claws.
"I didnât think... anyone outside of Heartland could evolve this far," Velissra thought, stunned.
Sheâd always considered herself the fastest, deadliest agility-type Zombie King on the entire planet Originis.
But clearlyâ
thereâs always a bigger monster.
Lauraâs claws whistled through the air, aiming straight for Velissraâs throat.
One more inchâand it would be over.
"But... thatâs all youâve got?" Velissra sneered, swinging her claw up to block.
CLANGâ
A sharp metallic screech rang out as she caught Lauraâs alloy blade with perfect precision.
The entire exchange happened in a flashâbarely a blink.
Velissra didnât flinch. "Weâre evenly matched. Neither of us can take the other down."
"Oh, really?" Lauraâs voice dropped, cold and razor-sharp.
Suddenly, her claws twistedâ
SNAP!
âand locked around Velissraâs fingers like a vice.
"Whatâ?" Velissraâs expression shifted. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you donât run." Lauraâs hair whipped in the wind, her eyes gleaming with lethal intent.
Velissra tried to yank her hand back, but the grip only tightened. She couldnât move an inch.
Then, from Lauraâs mechanical arm, liquid metal began to slither outâlike living steel. It crawled up Velissraâs wrist, coiling around her arm like a serpent, locking her in place.
The two of them were now fused at the forearm, like conjoined twins.
"...And then what?" Velissra asked, confused. Sure, she was restrained, but Laura had sacrificed a hand too. It didnât seem like a winning move.
But thenâsomething shifted.
The shadow beneath Lauraâs feet darkened, thickened, began to pulse with energy. A presence stirred.
A figure rose from the blacknessâ
little shadow
, his body flickering like fire, his aura unmistakably that of a Zombie King on the verge of breaking into SSS-tierâon the cusp of becoming a Voidborn Undying.
Heâd been hiding in Lauraâs shadow the whole time, waiting for the perfect moment. He knew if he moved too soon, the Voidborn Undying might sense him. So he stayed hiddenâuntil now.
"Heh heh heh... didnât see that coming, did you?"
Velissraâs eyes widened in shock. "Oh, shit..."
She finally understoodâbut it was too late.
Little shadow raised his clawed hand, aiming straight for her throat. The air screamed as his strike tore through it.
Velissra panicked, tried to dodgeâbut Lauraâs grip held her fast.
SHLUNK!
Little shadowâs bone claws punched into her neck, locking around her spine.
Thenâ
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
With a brutal twist, he shattered her cervical vertebrae.
Velissra coughed up a mouthful of black blood. Her eyes froze wide in horror, the savage light in them fading fast. Her body went limp, her life force draining away in seconds.
Just like thatâHeartlandâs top agility-type Zombie King was dead.
"RAAAHHHâ!"
Behind Laura, the zombie horde erupted in a frenzy of cheers, their bloodlust ignited.
Velissraâs death sent a shockwave through the battlefield. Morale on Heartlandâs side plummeted.
Another one down.
Velissra had been one of their bestâso fast and elusive that even a Deathless Sovereign would struggle to land a killing blow. But even she couldnât escape the brutality of this war.
Lilithâs brow furrowed. "That one was yours, wasnât it?"
"Yeah..." Endless didnât even try to deny it. "Two-on-one, and they ambushed her. Dirty bastards."
"Of course theyâre dirty!" Nightwraith snapped. "Meteorfall pulled the same stunt with Hydrissaâpretended he was charging a Destruction Ray, then hit her with Radiation Mutation instead!"
Now, little shadow stood tall, holding Velissraâs severed head by the hair, blood dripping from the neck like a broken faucet.
"You did well," Laura said, her voice calm, her hair flowing behind her like a banner.
Little shadow was practically glowing with pride. Heâd just taken down a Voidborn Undyingâand not just any one, but one of Endlessâs top lieutenants.
"Of course I did. Back in L.A., I was the one guarding the northern front. They called me the
Northern Shade
. Iâve got a reputation to uphold."
"...Huh." Laura paused for a beat, that name stirring something in the back of her mind. Then she snorted. "Weâre in the middle of a war, genius. Save the autobiography for later."
...