"You're dead!" Meteorfall snarled through clenched teeth, rage twisting his face. The blue light in his eyes pulsed hotter, brighter—he was building toward something, and fast.
Hydrissa narrowed her eyes, unimpressed. They'd 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 then—Meteorfall did something unexpected.
He closed his eyes.
And the blinding blue light didn't fade—it 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 wrong—but it was already too late. The light swallowed her whole, dragging her into the heart of the Radiation Domain.
Her skin began to mutate rapidly—cells 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 flesh—a walking tumor.
But Meteorfall wasn't 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 weren't spared. The light touched them, and they screamed—agonized, guttural howls—as they dropped to their knees, their bodies melting into piles of rotting sludge.
Meteorfall's 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 couldn't withstand it—they 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! Meteorfall's going nuclear!"
"Overlord of Westmarch… yeah, he's 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 own—an SSS-tier Voidborn Undying—had just been killed.
"The first SSS-tier to fall… and it's 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 isn't surprising."
But then—another 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 predators—agility-type Zombie Kings at the absolute peak of their class. This was a duel of pure speed, a razor's edge battle where one misstep meant death.
Laura had the upper hand—her 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 wasn't easy prey. Her reflexes were razor-sharp, dodging with precision or deflecting with her own claws.
"I didn't think… anyone outside of Heartland could evolve this far," Velissra thought, stunned.
She'd always considered herself the fastest, deadliest agility-type Zombie King on the entire planet Originis.
But clearly—there's always a bigger monster.
Laura's claws whistled through the air, aiming straight for Velissra's throat.
One more inch—and it would be over.
"But… that's all you've got?" Velissra sneered, swinging her claw up to block.
CLANG—
A sharp metallic screech rang out as she caught Laura's alloy blade with perfect precision.
The entire exchange happened in a flash—barely a blink.
Velissra didn't flinch. "We're evenly matched. Neither of us can take the other down."
"Oh, really?" Laura's voice dropped, cold and razor-sharp.
Suddenly, her claws twisted—SNAP!—and locked around Velissra's fingers like a vice.
"What—?" Velissra's expression shifted. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you don't run." Laura's hair whipped in the wind, her eyes gleaming with lethal intent.
Velissra tried to yank her hand back, but the grip only tightened. She couldn't move an inch.
Then, from Laura's mechanical arm, liquid metal began to slither out—like living steel. It crawled up Velissra's 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 didn't seem like a winning move.
But then—something shifted.
The shadow beneath Laura's feet darkened, thickened, began to pulse with energy. A presence stirred.
A figure rose from the blackness—little shadow, his body flickering like fire, his aura unmistakably that of a Zombie King on the verge of breaking into SSS-tier—on the cusp of becoming a Voidborn Undying.
He'd been hiding in Laura's 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 hidden—until now.
"Heh heh heh… didn't see that coming, did you?"
Velissra's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, shit…"
She finally understood—but 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 dodge—but Laura's grip held her fast.
SHLUNK!
Little shadow's bone claws punched into her neck, locking around her spine.
Then—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 that—Heartland's top agility-type Zombie King was dead.
"RAAAHHH—!"
Behind Laura, the zombie horde erupted in a frenzy of cheers, their bloodlust ignited.
Velissra's death sent a shockwave through the battlefield. Morale on Heartland's side plummeted.
Another one down.
Velissra had been one of their best—so fast and elusive that even a Deathless Sovereign would struggle to land a killing blow. But even she couldn't escape the brutality of this war.
Lilith's brow furrowed. "That one was yours, wasn't it?"
"Yeah…" Endless didn't even try to deny it. "Two-on-one, and they ambushed her. Dirty bastards."
"Of course they're dirty!" Nightwraith snapped. "Meteorfall pulled the same stunt with Hydrissa—pretended he was charging a Destruction Ray, then hit her with Radiation Mutation instead!"
Now, little shadow stood tall, holding Velissra's 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. He'd just taken down a Voidborn Undying—and not just any one, but one of Endless's top lieutenants.
"Of course I did. Back in L.A., I was the one guarding the northern front. They called me the Northern Shade. I've got a reputation to uphold."
"…Huh." Laura paused for a beat, that name stirring something in the back of her mind. Then she snorted. "We're in the middle of a war, genius. Save the autobiography for later."
...