Chapter 380 The Walking Dead

He poured everything in the vial onto the burnt man’s body.

The liquid hissed when it touched his skin, smoke rising in thin curls that stank of rust and rot. It soaked into the flesh like acid, and the man on the ground twitched violently. His eyes rolled back, his mouth opened in a silent scream, and then—he stopped moving.

Everyone went still.

Vanessa, Lilith, and Dickson watched without saying a word. The silence was sharp. Even the faint hum of the vault lights felt distant.

Then the man moved.

Slowly. His fingers twitched first, curling into the ground like claws. Then his arms flexed, his spine cracked, and before any of them could blink, he stood. Just stood—like nothing had happened.

Dickson’s jaw dropped.

The half-dead, burnt-up body that had been lying lifeless a minute ago now stood tall and calm. His charred flesh healed itself, skin forming clean over the melted patches as if time reversed just for him. His breathing steadied, his burned hair grew back in dark strands, and the sick, raw smell of cooked flesh disappeared into something else—something cold.

Apart from the burnt rags clinging to his body, there was no sign that Dickson had fried him nearly to death.

But something was off.

The man’s eyes.

They weren’t human anymore. Both pupils had gone completely white—milky, empty, soulless. No emotion, no pain, no thought. Just stillness. He looked at Lilith, and something in the air shifted. Tiny, black particles started forming around him, floating like ash caught in invisible wind.

"Holy fuck," Dickson muttered under his breath. "Incredible."

Lilith didn’t reply. Her eyes narrowed, the frost in her stare matching the darkness surrounding him.

"Dude’s like a walking dead," Dickson said again, louder this time, almost laughing. He rolled his neck, his knuckles cracking with electric pops. "Leave this to me."

Lilith gave him a hard look. "You might want to sit this one out," she said quietly, her tone serious. "Something’s wrong with him."

Dickson just smirked. "Please. I already took him once. A little upgrade doesn’t mean I can’t do it again."

He turned his gaze back to the creature. The air around him started crackling as lightning crawled across his arms. The veins under his skin glowed faintly, and his grin widened.

Lilith folded her arms. Vanessa stood back.

Dickson didn’t wait for anyone’s approval. He leaned forward, feet digging into the marble floor, then launched himself straight at the thing.

He was fast—really fast—but not fast enough.

The moment he reached the creature, lightning sparking off his fists, the man simply moved aside. No sound. No rush of motion. Just gone from where he was. Dickson’s fist hit air.

"What the—" he started, but before he could finish, the creature caught his wrist.

Dickson froze.

The grip was solid—too solid. The man’s hand felt like cold iron, completely still but impossibly strong.

Instead of panicking, Dickson smiled. A slow, dangerous smile. He turned his head toward the white-eyed face inches from his own.

"Idiot," he muttered. "You shouldn’t have touched me."

Then he pushed everything he had into it.

Lightning exploded from his arm, a blinding surge that filled the entire vault with blue light. Sparks flew off the floor, the air burned with ozone, and Dickson let out a short yell as the current tore through him into the man’s body.

For a moment, it worked. The creature convulsed. Smoke burst from his shoulders, his skin glowed faintly. Dickson kept going, pouring more and more electricity until his vision blurred. His knees almost gave out, but he grinned through the pain, convinced he’d won.

Then the smoke cleared.

The man was still standing.

Still holding him.

Dickson’s grin faltered. His eyes widened. He looked down.

The lightning danced harmlessly over the man’s body like sparks off metal. It didn’t burn him. Didn’t even leave a mark. The only thing that suffered was his clothes, which were now reduced to tatters hanging off his shoulders. His skin was untouched—smooth, flawless, unscarred.

"What the hell..." Dickson whispered.

The creature’s head tilted slowly to one side, like he was studying him. His expression didn’t change. Those empty white eyes flicked from Dickson’s arm to his face. Then his fingers tightened around Dickson’s wrist.

Dickson tried to pull away. Nothing moved.

"Okay, that’s new," he said, his voice strained.

Then—

Bang!

The punch came so fast no one even saw it land.

The creature’s fist buried itself into Dickson’s chest with a sound that cracked the air. The impact lifted him clean off the floor.

The sound that followed wasn’t human. A heavy, echoing thud as Dickson’s body hit the ground several meters away. He skidded across the floor, sparks trailing from his gloves, before slamming against a wall hard enough to dent it.

He stayed there for a second. Then another. Then he coughed.

"Fuck me," he groaned, the words coming out rough, broken.

He tried to sit up but his ribs screamed in protest. Blood spilled from his mouth and splattered on the white marble.

Vanessa took a step forward, but Lilith raised a hand to stop her.

"Wait," Lilith said. Her voice was calm, too calm. Her eyes stayed locked on the creature.

The thing hadn’t moved. It stood exactly where it was, motionless, shoulders rising and falling with slow, unnatural rhythm. The black particles around it thickened, drifting through the air like ash from a dying fire.

Dickson wiped the blood from his mouth and forced himself onto one knee. His lightning flickered weakly around him, but he still tried to grin. "All right," he muttered. "Round two, motherf—"

He didn’t finish. The pain hit deeper this time, spreading through his chest like fire under his ribs. He coughed again, more blood dripping from his lips.

Lilith didn’t move yet. She was watching closely—her instincts were screaming that what stood before them wasn’t human anymore. Whatever that liquid had been, it had brought something unnatural back.

Vanessa’s voice broke the silence. "What the hell is that thing?"

Lilith’s answer came quiet, almost like a warning. "Not him anymore."

The creature tilted its head again, and a faint rumble escaped its throat—something between a growl and a hiss.

Dickson wiped his face, staggered to his feet, and spat blood onto the floor. He looked at Lilith and forced a grin, though it trembled. "Don’t just stand there looking pretty," he said hoarsely. "You’re next."

Her hand flexed, and the air around her began to drop in temperature. Frost formed on the marble beneath her boots.

The creature turned its white, lifeless eyes toward Lilith. No sound. No words. Just that blank stare that carried nothing but death behind it. The air felt heavy, pressing down on everyone in the vault. Even Dickson, leaning on the wall with blood on his lips, went silent. He’d seen enough to know this was her fight now.

Lilith took a step forward. Ice crackled under her boots as the temperature in the room plummeted. The marble floor whitened with frost veins spreading out from where she stood. Her expression stayed calm, almost bored, but her eyes were sharp and calculating.

"Stay back," she said to Vanessa and Dickson without looking at them.

Vanessa nodded. Dickson wiped his mouth again and forced out a weak laugh. "Kick his ass, Ice Queen."

The creature moved.

It didn’t run. It just blurred forward like something had pulled it across the floor. Lilith barely shifted her stance when its fist came swinging. The punch whistled through the air before she ducked to the side, feeling the rush of wind scrape her cheek. The vault door behind her dented inward with a deafening boom.

The strength in that hit could have crushed bone.

Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Tough one."

The creature turned its head toward her again, then swung with its other hand. Lilith leaned back, her hair brushing the air as she avoided it by inches. She raised her palm, and a spike of ice erupted from the floor, stabbing toward its chest. The creature caught it. Just caught it with one hand and crushed it like thin glass.

Vanessa gasped. "What the hell is that thing made of?"

Lilith slid backward a few steps, forming another shard and launching it. Then another. Then a dozen more, each flying fast enough to crack steel. The creature didn’t dodge. It walked through them. The ice shattered against its body, leaving thin cuts that froze instantly but healed seconds later.

Lilith frowned. Her attacks weren’t doing enough damage. She could freeze water, stop bullets, crush metal, but this thing’s body was too damn durable.

The creature lunged again. Lilith crossed her arms, a wall of ice forming in front of her. The moment its fist hit the barrier, the sound was deafening. The whole wall shattered into pieces, shards flying like razors across the room.

Lilith was thrown back, sliding across the frost-covered floor. She caught herself just before hitting the wall, her boots grinding against the ice. Her arms ached from the impact, the sleeves of her shirt torn. She looked down at her forearm—blood.

The bastard had managed to draw blood.

The creature was already coming again, its body jerking unnaturally like a puppet with broken strings. It swung again, faster this time. Lilith dodged left, then right, her movements graceful but tight. The third punch grazed her ribs, sending a wave of pain shooting through her side.

She stumbled back, clutching her waist. The creature didn’t stop. It came down with a heavy fist aimed at her head.

Lilith’s eyes flashed.

The floor beneath her split open in an instant, a jagged column of ice shooting upward. It slammed into the creature’s chest, lifting it off the ground and sending it crashing into the wall with a crash that made the whole room tremble. Ice exploded in all directions.

The creature broke through the pillar and dropped to the floor, landing on its feet. Its body was covered in frost now, but it shook it off like dust.

Lilith sighed quietly, annoyed. "You’re really starting to piss me off."