Heroes vs Zombies Part 1
William's flaming claws and sword whirled in a deadly spiral, carving a gruesome path through the relentless pink-eyed zombie horde. Then, he froze, stunned, as he locked eyes with a child zombie. Hesitation clawed at him.
In that split second, the surrounding zombies lunged, their teeth mere inches from his flesh. A sudden series of gunshots shattered the air.
BANG!
BANG!
The first two shots obliterated the child zombie, its neck evaporating in a crimson mist, while a third bullet slammed into an obese zombie behind it, scattering gore across the street.
Snapping out of his daze, William launched himself powerfully out of the encirclement. He bounded off the walls lining the narrow street with precision, darting through the zombie-infested chaos. Each leap left a trail of crimson streaks in the air, severed heads tumbling in his wake, as he emerged on the opposite side.
Conor arrived, flanked by a team of grim-faced heroes who had volunteered for this perilous mission. Among them were Santana, Immortal, and Robot, the latter commanding an awe-inspiring legion of his mechanical creations.
Immortal surged forward first, tearing through the undead with his bare hands, his flight granting him a brutal advantage as he ripped and smashed his way through the chaos.
Meanwhile, Conor melded into the shadows, teleporting into a nearby alleyway. From the darkness, he unleashed an inferno of precision, his hand cannons roaring as fiery arcs tore through the horde with deadly accuracy.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The zombies outside the alley were obliterated into a crimson mist, while those further back were violently hurled into the air by the force of the blast, colliding with others in a cacophony of cracking bones and dull thuds. This overwhelming attack cleared a significant stretch of the street, giving Conor the space he needed to act. Smirking in satisfaction, he dismissed his hand cannons in a sudden flicker of shadows. Raising his hand, now shrouded in swirling, pulsating shadow energy, he allowed the dark power to swell ominously before releasing it toward the lifeless remains of the fallen zombies.
Conor exhaled deeply, a thrill of anticipation coursing through him, as he finally spoke the words he had dreamt of ever since immersing himself in the Solo Leveling web novel.
"ARISE!"
The corpses of the slain zombies began to convulse violently, their grotesque, broken bodies twisting and shifting as they clawed their way upright in jerky, unnatural movements. Their once lifeless, pale eyes transformed into voids dripping with dense, inky shadows that streamed from their hollow sockets, radiating an aura of pure menace.
Abruptly, their spasms ceased, and they all dropped to their knees before Conor, bowing as if in reverence to their king. Then, as one, they rose again, their movements now steady and deliberate, standing tall as loyal soldiers under his command.
The moment Conor's risen dead marched in perfect unison, the tide of battle shifted dramatically.
Across the street, Immortal transformed into a whirlwind of destruction.
He tore through the undead horde with unrelenting savagery, his fists shattering torsos and skulls with devastating power. Each swing of his massive arms sent infected bodies hurtling through the air, smashing against walls, streetlamps, or colliding with other zombies. Snatching one by the leg, he swung it like a wrecking ball, obliterating a group of five, then leapt skyward and came crashing down like a meteor, demolishing another cluster and leaving the pavement in ruins.
Blood streamed down his beard, his eyes blazing with a rage as old as time.
"I've faced worse during the Black Plague!" Immortal roared, grinding another zombie's chest cavity into pulp beneath his boot.
Santana streaked through the perimeter, her movements so swift they left crackling arcs of lightning in her wake. To the untrained eye, she was nothing more than fleeting flashes of cobalt and gold.
She darted past isolated stragglers, her electric claws ripping through them mid-motion, never allowing herself to be trapped. One infected lunged for her as she paused briefly on the hood of a car. In an instant, she was behind it, her fist piercing through its spine before vanishing again, the body collapsing long after she was gone.
"Not getting cornered. Not today," she murmured, her eyes scanning the battlefield with relentless precision, analyzing, adapting, and constantly moving.
The street was chaos, but it was controlled chaos.
Above the fray, Robot's drones moved with eerie precision. They flew in synchronized waves, merging mid-air to create a towering, impenetrable wall of alloy and shimmering energy shields. The zombies crashed against it in futility, their hands smacking uselessly against the unyielding steel.
Yet they remained calm, undisturbed.
There was no scent of blood. No heat signatures. No heartbeats.
To the zombies, Robot's drones weren't prey.
They were simply obstacles.
And that made them the ultimate moving shield.
Behind the drone-wall, scores of GDA soldiers moved with practiced precision, seamlessly positioning themselves among the towering steel limbs and mounted cannons. They formed firing lines, rifles locked and loaded, scopes sweeping for targets.
"On my mark—"
The commanding voice of a GDA sergeant crackled through the comms.
"Three… two… one… light 'em up!"
RATATATATAT!
The night erupted in a symphony of muzzle flashes, illuminating the soldiers like fireflies in a storm. Zombies attempting to outflank Conor's reanimated horde were obliterated in a hail of bullets, their heads snapping back in gruesome bursts as controlled volleys tore through bone and flesh.
The street transformed into a deadly ambush, the infected now finding themselves the prey.
From a higher vantage point, William watched the chaotic scene unfold, his sword gleaming in one hand as his flaming claws dug deep into the concrete wall of a towering office building.
The chaos below was under control. His team, no, his allies, were buying them the precious time they desperately needed.
Conor's undead encircled him now, a full squad of grotesque sentinels awaiting his every command.
Immortal continued his rampage, carving through enemies like a chainsaw through flesh, leaving destruction in his wake.
Santana moved like living lightning, striking weak points with precision and methodically thinning the herd.
Robot's barricade held firm, not merely a shield but a fortress—a war machine, an unyielding wall of steel.
Behind it, the GDA soldiers stood their ground, bolstered by the brilliance of cold logic and synthetic precision.
William's eyes narrowed.
"We're pushing them back," he murmured, the glint of fire flickering in his claws once again.
Yet in the pit of his stomach… he felt it. A gnawing dread.
Something wasn't right.
It was too easy.
William's unease solidified into a crushing weight, pressing down on his chest. For a brief moment, the chaos quieted—a heartbeat of silence amid the storm.
And then, the air seemed to shatter under immense pressure.
CRASH!
A nearby building erupted outward in a violent cascade of bricks and shattered glass. Emerging from the swirling cloud of dust and debris was a towering figure, dragging the lifeless body of a former GDA operative as though it were weightless.
The figure stood nearly ten feet tall, its physique impossibly muscular, its skin an unmistakable shade of blue.
"Mauler…?" William muttered, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
But something was wrong. Its eyes weren't the usual pink; instead, they were deep, oily black with glowing violet pupils that pulsed like embers in a dying fire. The creature's flesh twitched unnaturally, as if barely clinging together. Veins bulged grotesquely, pulsating with an unnatural rhythm, while black ichor seeped ominously from its joints and orifices.
Its jaw cracked open, revealing rows of jagged, serrated teeth where once there had been flat molars.
"An infected Mauler Twin," Robot's voice came coldly over the comms, scanning the creature from above. "But only one."
The infected Mauler unleashed a guttural roar, but it didn't charge. It waited.
Then, the earth began to quake.
What started as faint tremors grew into thunderous, rhythmic pounding. The very buildings shuddered under the force.
From every major street, sewer outlet, and crumbling structure, they surged—a tide of infected so vast that the ground itself seemed alive with their steps. Thousands upon thousands, a seemingly endless wave of pink-eyed death stretched beyond the horizon.
Even the GDA soldiers, battle-hardened and unflinching, froze in place, their weapons silent as they stared in awe at the apocalyptic swarm bearing down on them.
Santana slid to a stop beside William, her eyes wide with disbelief as streaks of lightning flickered erratically across her skin.
"Oh, hell no."
Immortal crashed to the ground beside them, chest heaving, his face smeared with gore. He glanced at the Mauler infected and then cast a wary eye toward the horizon behind it.
"This just turned into a war," he muttered grimly.
"Robot?" William barked into the comms. "Can that wall hold?"
"Not against this. Not for long," came the icy, calculated response. "We'll need to adapt—divert power, reroute drone resources—"
"Do it fast," William ordered sharply, his gaze fixed on the Boss-tier Mauler. It trudged forward with deliberate intent, dragging its grotesquely overgrown left arm like a massive sledgehammer.
The monstrosity moved with chilling purpose.
Behind it, the mega-horde advanced, no longer a chaotic swarm of erratic runners but an organized, unified march. An army.
Conor's shadow minions stood motionless by his side, their forms flickering with barely contained energy, a silent yet formidable force ready to strike.
"They're not ready for that monster," Conor murmured grimly. "None of us are."
William's claws ignited with renewed intensity, flames licking up the length of his transparent crimson blade. He raised it high above his head, turning to face his comrades with a fiery determination.
"Form up and FIGHT!" he roared, his voice resonating with a commanding power that not only filled the air with resolve but seemed to infuse strength into everyone who heard it.
Above, Robot's drones shifted configurations once more, breaking apart into lethal formations of cannons and aerial turrets, their mechanical whirs mingling with the chaos below. Through the comms, a GDA tech officer's voice rang out, sharp and urgent.
"Enemy forces are multiplying exponentially. Biomass readings are... through the roof."
"Then we thin the herd," William declared without hesitation.
With that, the battlefield exploded into chaos once more, the clash of bronze, lightning, steel, and shadow colliding fiercely with the encroaching darkness.
The war for the city had entered a new and deadly stage.
The ground quaked beneath their feet as the monstrous infected Mauler twin towered over the battlefield, its grotesque form outlined against the smog-filled sky. Its swollen left arm swung with devastating force, smashing through concrete and unleashing tremors that rippled through the street.
Immortal clenched his fists, veins bulging beneath armor stained with blood and grime. His voice cut sharply through the chaos of combat.
"I'll take care of this monster!"
With an ear-splitting roar, he charged forward, leaping high into the air. His fist collided with the Mauler's immense forearm, a resounding CRACK echoing as the impact tore through the creature's flesh. The beast bellowed in pain but stood firm, unyielding.
William's flaming claws ignited in a fiery blaze as he tightened his grip on his sword's hilt, the infernal orange flames in his eyes flickering wildly, casting an ominous glow as he moved with lethal precision.
Before he could close the distance, the ground erupted violently as a seething mass of zombie bodies spilled forth. Hundreds of pink-eyed undead surged forward like a grotesque, living dam, their decayed hands clawing and grasping to form an impenetrable barrier between William and the Mauler.
William skidded to a halt, rage igniting in his eyes. "No! Move!" he bellowed, slashing through the nearest undead with his flaming claws. But the tide was unyielding—each corpse he destroyed was instantly replaced by two more.
Immortal cast a glance back, his expression grim and resolute. "You're stuck," he growled. "I'll handle it."
With a thunderous roar, Immortal plunged back into the chaos, hammering the towering Mauler's legs to divert its focus. The beast retaliated with a savage swing, landing a crushing blow to Immortal's chest and sending him hurtling through a steel support beam. Yet, undeterred, the Immortal rose again.
The zombified Mauler let out a sickening, gurgling roar, a sound that sent unease rippling across the battlefield. Its grotesquely mutated muscles bulged beneath decaying flesh as it snatched Immortal mid-air, intercepting his charging punch with one monstrous hand.
BOOM!
The impact reverberated through the surrounding buildings as Immortal crashed into the pavement like a meteorite, the ground shattering beneath him in a violent explosion of asphalt and gore.
"Guhh...!" Immortal wheezed, blood spraying from his lips as his ribs fractured under the crushing weight of the Mauler's massive foot pressing down on his chest.
The monstrous creature drew back one colossal leg, preparing to launch his battered body like a discarded ragdoll toward the group of reinforcements gathered nearby—
Conor among them.
William's heart sank, his eyes widening in horror. "No—!"
In an instant of consuming darkness, Conor stepped back into his own shadow, his form dissolving seamlessly into the void. The air shimmered faintly, as though reality itself hesitated, before he emerged once more behind William with a sharp gust of icy wind, shadows writhing around his coat like living tendrils of smoke.
The Mauler's colossal foot drove forward with earth-shattering force, aiming for the Immortal.
CRACK!
Immortal's body hurtled through the air like a blazing comet, but it tore through the empty space where Conor had stood just moments before. The Immortal collided violently with a reinforced GDA truck, reducing it to a crumpled inferno of twisted steel and roaring flames.
"Still alive," Conor muttered under his breath, his sharp gaze scanning the fiery wreckage. "Barely."