Apocalypse Unbound

Grey vs Juggernaut Zombie

"System disabled?"

Grey read the penalty and reread it, refusing to believe what he was seeing. "This must be a joke, right?!" he said, his voice quivering. He was going to have to fight the tank zombie, or he'd lose the system.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] rose to its feet, revealing its full body—a hulking ball of muscle. It regarded him with almost human eyes and insatiable hunger, which made Grey take a step back.

"It was strong, really strong," Grey thought as his body trembled, but he gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. He had no choice but to fight.

As if provoked by Grey's stance, the zombie let out an ear-deafening roar before charging towards him. Grey's eyes widened as the zombie reached him in seconds, and he hurriedly dodged the blow.

Baam!

Its fist smashed into the wall as Grey leaped away. It was fast, more agile than a regular zombie. If he had wasted even a second, the blow would have pummeled his skull. The [Juggernaut Zombie] pursued Grey, launching its blows in a frenzy.

Grey evaded its attacks, not getting a chance to counterattack as the [Juggernaut Zombie] stacked blows in rapid succession.

If he forced an opening, he was bound to get hit, so Grey feinted left. The [Juggernaut Zombie] swung but met thin air as Grey had moved to the right.

With the zombie's left side open, Grey slashed his axe with all the force he could muster, but then...

The fire axe shattered on impact, barely cutting the [Juggernaut Zombie]'s skin. The axe wasn't made for combat, yet Grey had used it to kill more than a dozen zombies. Now it was gone, and Grey stood weaponless before an angry, hulk-like zombie.

"Shit!"

In a swift motion, the [Juggernaut Zombie] backhanded Grey.

Despite blocking with both arms, he was sent sprawling across the room, crashing into a desk piled with files.

Grey groaned as he tried to stand, his arm numb from the blow, forcing him to use only his legs to get up.

"The system is trying to kill me," Grey muttered in resentment as he wondered how he was going to defeat the tier-one juggernaut.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] was stronger, more durable, and more agile than him, and he had 30 minutes to clear the quest or lose the system.

The penalty was too dire. He couldn't afford to lose the system, not after experiencing its benefits. There was no running away from this.

Even if he tried, the [Juggernaut Zombie] wouldn't let him. He had to fight.

Grey, feeling more resolved, prepared to go at it again. His arm had somewhat recovered, so he grinned and gestured provocatively for the zombie to come at him.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] roared at the provocation and then charged.

Reaching Grey, it threw a punch toward his head but missed as Grey slid between its legs. Grey rose to his feet, turned towards the zombie's now-exposed back, and fired a lightning blast.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] yelled in pain as the electric current ran through its body and attacked with a wide swing, but Grey ducked and landed an uppercut on the zombie's jaw, sending it tottering backward.

Grey didn't give it breathing space and closed the distance, bombarding it with lightning blasts.

Under the relentless assault, the [Juggernaut Zombie] raised both arms to defend its head.

Grey was stunned; he didn't expect the zombie to go on the defensive. He rained more attacks but couldn't land a damaging hit. No matter how much he hit, the zombie wouldn't budge.

"This could be a problem," Grey thought. If he kept attacking at this pace, he'd burn through his stamina and energy reserves, and then it would be the zombie's turn. He had to end this soon, so he stopped attacking.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] noticed Grey had stopped and removed its hands. Grey wasn't in sight, but then it felt a touch on its back. The human was behind it.

"Hey, quit wasting my time and let's get this over with," Grey said and fired a concentrated blast of lightning at the zombie's back.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] yelped as its body was blasted forward, tumbling until it crashed into the wall.

Grey was shocked by the power of his attack, watching as fumes poured out of his arm. That attack had taken a massive amount of his energy, and he had only a little left.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] rose to its feet groaning. It then roared loudly, suddenly releasing powerful shockwaves. Its muscles began to bulge, its skin color changing from pale white to reddish pink.

[Warning: Juggernaut Zombie has used berserk]

"Berserk?"

Grey repeated in surprise. He recognized the skill from video games where the opponent suddenly gets boosted and goes on a rampage.

"This is what was happening, huh!" Grey grinned, watching the zombie and readying himself for any sudden moves.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] paused for a second, breathing heavily, then moved faster than ever, smashing its fist down on Grey.

But Grey's reflexes were on point, and he swerved to the side, avoiding the blow that decimated the ground. The zombie turned towards him and began to ram powerful blows, but Grey kept stepping away, focusing entirely on evasion.

He pushed his body to the limit, not able to stay in one place for a second before the zombie decimated it. He was starting to see how the juggernaut had made such a bloody mess out of the zombie corpses he saw in the hallway.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] hurled a desk at Grey, but it smashed into the wall, missing him as he jumped away. As Grey stood to move, his legs felt like they weighed a ton, and his speed slowed. His stamina had finally run out.

"Shit."

The [Juggernaut Zombie] caught up to Grey and wrapped its huge fingers around his leg, causing him to trip. It then lifted him into the air, leaving him hanging upside down. Grey's eyes widened in panic. "This is bad."

Before he could think of doing anything, the zombie mercilessly slammed his body to the ground.

Grey coughed out blood as his eyes went white, pain blurring his consciousness. If he hadn't raised his constitution earlier, all of his bones would have been broken.

The [Juggernaut Zombie] picked him up again, and Grey's arms swayed lifelessly, blood dripping from his lips. The zombie was going to smash him to the ground again, and Grey knew he was done for.

He needed to find a way out, but his body was in no shape to fight. Urged to give up, he held on to his will to survive.

Gritting his teeth, Grey channeled his energy, causing a materialized lightning blade to form around his fingers.

Using the energy blade, he cut the [Juggernaut Zombie] by the wrist, taking off its hand.