Inside the dungeon hall.
"That was insane! Hammer King is a beast! Wind is a beast! Uncle Blade is a beast! Sister Yukari is a beast!"
The adventurers were overwhelmed with emotion. Some were nearly in tears, others jumped around wildly, waving their arms and sprinting as they shouted at the top of their lungs.
Kanzaki Ren was puzzled.
It was just a Tank.
Was this level of hysteria really necessary?Anyone who didn't know better would think they'd just saved the world.
When they spotted Lord Ren, the adventurers immediately started showing off.
"Lord Ren!"
"That big guy must've been your ace, right?"
"Hahaha, gotta admit, it had some real power, but it still wasn't enough to stop us adventurers!"
"The first-kill Soul Core drop rate is super high. If a Soul Core drops later, that might be a pretty painful loss for you!"
"..."
These people.
They were really asking to be punched.
Faced with their smug sarcasm, Kanzaki Ren congratulated them magnanimously.
"Congratulations, everyone." He then rolled his eyes and added, "But don't get cocky. This dungeon of mine isn't that simple."
One Tank and they're already acting like gods.
Just wait until I throw in Gatling Trackers and a fully evolved G-virus specimen.
Let these country bumpkins learn how shallow their current triumph is, and just how cruel this world really is.
"What?"
"There are even stronger monsters?"
"Sounds like bluffing. I don't believe it."
The adventurers were clearly unconvinced.
A five-star monster like the Tank Zombie was already rare in ordinary dungeons. Having even one was impressive.
After the celebration died down, they returned to tense observation. Their chances of clearing the dungeon this time were extremely high.
If they could clear it in one go—
That would be double joy.
At that point, even the lord wouldn't be able to keep talking tough.
In this battle, Blackstone Hammer King had sacrificed himself, but Wind in Sleep, Lonely Blade, and Shirasawa Yukari were still alive. After using medical kits to stabilize their injuries, they continued exploring, hoping to push through and clear the dungeon in one final effort.
However—
After defeating the Tank Zombie, their ammunition was nearly depleted.
They searched nearby areas to replenish supplies and, in the process, entered a shopping mall they had not explored before.
"Something feels off."
Shirasawa Yukari frowned. "Why is it so quiet? There isn't a single zombie."
Wind in Sleep and Lonely Blade were equally suspicious.
Based on Apocalypse Surge's design, zombies should be everywhere, with random spawns occurring constantly. A completely empty zone like this made no sense.
They had already been exploring the area for over ten minutes.
Not a single zombie appeared.
That alone was deeply unsettling.
"Listen carefully," Wind in Sleep said, brows knitted. "There's a sound over there… it sounds like a woman crying."
"There really is," Lonely Blade confirmed.
"Could it be a survivor?" Shirasawa Yukari asked.
The intermittent sobbing grew clearer, slowly drawing closer. Even adventurers watching from outside the dungeon crystals could hear it distinctly.
"What's going on?"
"I've never seen anything like this!"
"Zombies don't cry, do they? At least, I've never seen one cry!"
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
"This is creepy as hell."
Nekomi Momo warned, "Sister Yukari, this place feels dangerous. You should withdraw."
Irritable Chick scoffed. "What are you scared of? We beat the Tank already. There's no way anything's worse than that."
Pig King agreed. "Yeah, nothing to be afraid of. Just charge in."
The adventurers outside argued loudly.
After a brief discussion, the three inside decided to investigate.
Unknowns were always the most dangerous.
They chambered rounds.
Advanced carefully.
As they approached the sound source—
A gaunt, disheveled figure staggered out from a corner. Her hair hung loose, her clothes were in tatters, and she covered her face as she sobbed.
She moved slowly.
Her steps were unsteady.
Even with adventurers nearby, she showed no sign of aggression. She looked so frail that a gust of wind might knock her over, the complete opposite of the Tank's overwhelming brutality.
"Is that… a person?"
"A survivor?"
Though they had never encountered anything like this before, seeing such a thin, weak figure made them instinctively relax.
Compared to the Tank—
This small, fragile, slow-moving figure posed almost no sense of threat. There were no obvious mutations. Whether zombie or not, she didn't seem dangerous.
Lonely Blade, Wind in Sleep, and Shirasawa Yukari exchanged glances.
"Let's see what's going on," Wind in Sleep said. "But stay alert. Be ready to fire."
Shirasawa Yukari nodded, holding her submachine gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other as she slowly approached.
"Hello…"
The light shone on her.
Before the sentence could finish—
The instant the beam touched her, the sobbing turned into a piercing scream.
The sound was shrill beyond belief, like a steel needle stabbing straight into the eardrums. Scalps went numb. Goosebumps erupted everywhere.
"Shit!"
The Witch Zombie snapped her head up.
Her withered, deathly face lit with terrifying red eyes. Paired with that soul-rending scream, she looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
In an instant—
She was right in front of them.
Five claws pierced Shirasawa Yukari's chest, shredded her heart, and killed her instantly.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Shirasawa Yukari's eyes widened in disbelief. She never even had a chance to pull the trigger.
"Open fire!"
Wind in Sleep and Lonely Blade fired frantically.
The screaming continued, sharp and maddening. The Witch's speed was so extreme it left afterimages. Even elite marksmen couldn't track her movement.
Wind in Sleep was slashed.
His head dropped cleanly from his shoulders.
Lonely Blade tried to retreat—but it was too late.
The Witch lunged faster than a Hunter, more vicious than anything they'd seen. She pinned him to the ground and tore him apart in seconds.
From the moment she was startled to the moment the team was wiped out—
Less than five seconds passed.
"Is the Witch really this brutal?"
Even Kanzaki Ren was surprised.
Dungeon logic automatically corrected inconsistencies in monster design.
In Left 4 Dead, Witches were fast, but not to this monstrous degree. They were tanky enemies that required heavy firepower to bring down.
But Apocalypse Surge was a science-based world.
The Witch was skeletal, pure flesh and bone. No massive frame. No armored muscles. No supernatural abilities.
So in Apocalypse Surge—
Her durability and health were reduced to around the level of Hunters and Jockeys.
But as a five-star monster on par with the Tank, her speed and attack power were massively amplified.
Gunfire.
Light.
Either would trigger her.
Once provoked, the Witch's aggression exploded, paired with speed beyond human reaction.
Her claws could slice steel like paper.
Soon after, several adventurers exited the dungeon.
They looked defeated—but more than that, utterly shaken.
Blackstone Hammer King complained, "Lord Ren, what the hell was that? Can we get some less hellish content next time?"
"That scared the hell out of me!"
"I swear that thing is scarier than the Tank!"
"Lord Ren, what kind of monster was that?"
Kanzaki Ren explained calmly, "The Witch Zombie is the same tier as the Tank. In some ways, it's even more terrifying. You were careless."
The crowd exchanged looks.
So he really did have more monsters.
Nansyliya's eyes sparkled.
Was this lord's source of inspiration endless?
Tank Zombie. Witch Zombie.
Both five-star monsters, both extreme, both brilliantly designed.
The adventurers complained, but monsters becoming more numerous wasn't a bad thing. Soon, they began comforting themselves.
"This one's not on the lord."
"We really underestimated it."
"The Witch is terrifying, but if you don't disturb her, her aggression is low."
"If we strike first, maybe we can kill her before she reacts?"
"Hard to say. Any sound or light triggers her, and with that speed, landing a fatal hit is extremely difficult."
"There has to be a way."
"..."
Once the initial shock and fear faded—
The adventurers' true nature emerged again: excitement and greed.
Two five-star monsters.
Miracle City had two five-star monsters.
And they were entirely new types, with extreme characteristics never seen before.
If this news spread—
Miracle City's gates would be trampled flat.
Before they could even discuss what this meant for Blackstone Town—
Something even more shocking happened.
Shirasawa Yukari suddenly exclaimed, "I got a Soul Core… it's a Tank Zombie Soul Core!"