Zombie Apocalypse System

Chapter 12: The Global Tyrant Begins to Move

...filled the entire command room, creating frequency vibrations that nearly shattered Abby's eardrums!

"Ugh, my ears! Axel, this sound is getting into the central system! He's bypassing our fortress firewall like it's just a swinging saloon door!" Abby screamed while clutching her throbbing head.

"Chill, By. It's just a cheap hologram, why are you acting like you're being cursed?" Axel replied casually. He stared at the Supreme Boss's face on the giant screen with a bored expression. "Hey, Boss! What's up? You here to offer us doomsday insurance or something?"

"AXEL... YOU ARE AN ANOMALY THAT MUST BE ERASED. THIS WORLD HAS RULES, AND YOU JUST BROKE THE GAME BOARD!" the Supreme Boss's voice was incredibly heavy, causing the glasses on the table to shatter into pieces.

"Rules? Whose rules? Your rules where you slaughter people whenever you feel like it?" Axel stepped forward, standing right in front of the golden eye projection. "I'm just fixing what's broken, Boss. If you don't like it, then fine, come down here yourself. Don't just send a messenger wearing a white nightgown like this."

The man in the white robe, who had been silent until now, suddenly turned beet red. "How dare you! Do you know who I am?! I am the High Envoy of the Global Lord Alliance! You are nothing but a piece of trash that happened to get lucky with the system!"

"Global Lord Alliance? Your faction's name is so tacky, I swear. Did you all chip in to buy that name at a flea market?" Axel was incredibly dismissive, his hands shoved into his pockets. "Listen here, Robe Guy. Whether you're a messenger of gods or a messenger of demons, here, you're just an uninvited guest who just broke my door."

"Axel, don't make him angrier! The signal from that staff... it's not ordinary system energy!" Abby whispered, her fingers trembling as she typed on the keyboard. "That's 'Divinity' energy. He can alter reality within a five-meter radius!"

"Hahaha! You hear that, kid? Even your assistant knows who I am!" The High Envoy raised his silver staff high. "You have a nuclear fusion fortress? You have orbital cannons? All of it is useless before the Divine Authority I bring from the Global Lord Council!"

"Divine Authority?" Axel held back a laugh. "You think I'm going to bow down and beg for mercy? Man, I'm really sorry. I'm just not in the mood for religious drama today."

"Kneel, Axel! Hand over the Fusion Core and the blueprints for this fortress to the Council! If you comply, we might give you a position as an elite slave at headquarters!" the envoy commanded in a high-pitched tone.

"Elite slaves? Wow, that's a very attractive offer... but sorry, I'd rather be Emperor in my own house," Axel answered coldly. "Now, you'd better leave before I 'critique' that white negligee of yours into a mop."

"Are you really challenging us?! Do you know that the Black Tower fleet just now was only one percent of the alliance's strength?!" the envoy shouted. "Out there, the Lords from the other continents are already making their move! They all want your head!"

"Okay, tell them to come all at once so I don't get tired of waiting. Also, tell them to bring some good food, don't just bring missiles," Axel grinned broadly.

"Axel! Look at his hand!" Abby screamed at the top of her lungs.

The white-robed messenger silently threw a small metal ball under the command table. The ball made a rapid beep-beep-beep sound.

"Wow, playing dirty, huh? What's that? A firecracker?" Axel asked, his eyes glancing at the ball.

"That's a Micro-Singularity Bomb! Axel, if it explodes, this entire room will be sucked into a black hole dimension!" Abby screamed in panic, her face deathly pale. "We're dead! He's going to kill himself along with us!"

"Hahaha! You're dead, anomaly! I will be handsomely rewarded by the Global Lords for eliminating a virus like you!" The messenger laughed maniacally.

"Die together? Jeez, I really don't want to die with a tacky guy like you," Axel stepped closer to the metal ball with total composure.

"Don't get too close, Axel! The blast radius is ten meters!" Abby wanted to run, but her legs felt like jelly.

"Calm down, By. Have you forgotten who I am?" Axel tapped the metal ball with the tip of his shoe. "Critical... Thousand Explosion Concept Cancellation!"

TING!

The metal ball that was about to explode suddenly stopped. The beeping sound vanished, and the ball instantly turned into an ordinary clear glass marble.

"Huh?! Why... why didn't it explode?!" The white-robed messenger gaped, his staff nearly slipping from his hand. "That... that's mass destruction technology! Why did it turn into a marble?!"

"What did I just say? I just reduced the concept of 'explosion' in this thing to level zero," Axel picked up the marble and tossed it around casually. "Here, you can play marbles in hell later."

"You... you're a monster... how can you change the function of a system object instantly?!" The messenger backed away slowly, his face now twisted with terror.

"I'm the architect, you idiot. I determine how things should function in my area," Axel took another step forward, his aura exploding so violently that the messenger fell to his knees. "Now, tell me. Which Global Lord sent you?"

"I... I won't tell you! Lord Ares, Lord Zeus, and Lord Odin... they will level your fortress!" the messenger blurted out, paralyzed by fear.

"Ares, Zeus, Odin? Wow, a lot of them using god names. Sounds like they really need a history lesson," Axel crushed the marble in his hand until it turned to dust. "By, write those names down. We've got a new shopping list for next week."

"Already on it, Axel! I even got their signal coordinates when this white-robe guy opened the portal earlier!" Abby's spirit returned, her fingers dancing across the keyboard. "They're at a floating base over the Pacific Ocean!"

"Good. Nice work, By," Axel looked at the messenger with a predatory gaze. "Now, Robe Guy... since you've dirtied my floor with that nightgown of yours, I have a special punishment for you."

"What are you going to do?! Don't kill me! I have diplomatic immunity!" the messenger screamed while trying to raise his staff again.

"Diplomatic immunity? In a world that's already gone to hell?" Axel laughed cynically. "By, prep the trash ejector in the west wing of the fortress."

"Huh? The trash ejector? What for, Axel?" Abby was confused.

"I want to send a return package to the Global Lords. Just so they know their delivery was trash," Axel grabbed the messenger's collar and dragged him out of the room like he was dragging an actual bag of garbage.

"Let me go! You don't know what you're doing! The whole world will attack you!"

"Good, the more the merrier," Axel arrived at the trash ejector door. "By, open the hatch!"

"Hatch open! Careful, Axel, the air pressure is intense!" Abby shouted over the intercom.

Axel stood in front of the ejector chute that led directly to the abyss outside the fortress. He held the messenger up high.

"Tell your nightgown-wearing friends in the Pacific... if they want my fortress, tell them to come themselves. Don't send another weak courier like you. Got it?!" Axel asked in a bone-chilling tone.

"You... you'll regret this! Argh!"

"Sorry, I don't have time for regrets," Axel kicked the messenger into the chute. "Critical... Thousand-Fold Fall Velocity Boost!"

WHOOOOOSH!

The white-robed messenger shot out of the fortress like a rocket, piercing through the clouds in the blink of an eye. The sound of his hysterical screaming grew distant until it was finally swallowed by the wind.

"Good riddance. Hope he makes it to land... or not," Axel dusted off his hands.

"Axel! You're insane! You really kicked an envoy from the strongest alliance on Earth?!" Abby ran up to Axel, her face a mix of awe and horror.

"Let them be. Let it serve as a warning to the others that this fortress isn't a playground," Axel walked back to the command chair. "By, what's the status of their fleet outside?"

"They're all retreating, Axel! Once they saw their envoy get kicked out like trash, the remains of the Black Tower fleet high-tailed it out of there!" Abby pointed at the monitor. "But we can't relax. System notifications say 'The Iron Fang' faction is also starting to mobilize toward us!"

"Iron Fang again? Can't they come up with something more creative?" Axel sat down and leaned his head back. "By, what's our fusion reactor level?"

"Stabilized at 95%. We have enough energy to activate the 'Dimension-Piercing Cannon' from the blueprint earlier," Abby replied while checking the technical data.

"Good. Prep the cannon. I want to give a surprise to anyone brave enough to enter a five-kilometer radius of this place," Axel tapped his chin. "Hey, By, is there any pizza left? I'm hungry again after that kicking workout."

"You're unbelievable... the whole planet is about to besiege you, and you're asking for pizza!" Abby shook her head, but she still grabbed the pizza box from the table. "Here, two slices left. Eat up, maybe it'll help that crazy brain of yours work better."

"Thanks, babe," Axel grinned, enjoying the pizza. "So good. By, try to 'critique' the taste of this pizza, can you?"

"I'm not you, idiot! I don't have the critical talent!" Abby pinched Axel's arm. "But Axel... seriously. If they really attack all at once, is our fortress actually strong enough?"

"Whether it's strong enough or not is a problem for later, By. What's certain is that every attack they aim here, I'll turn into material to add more floors to this fortress," Axel stared seriously at the monitor. "Look, the portal in the sky is getting bigger."

"Yeah, that's the Supreme Boss's dimensional gate. Looks like he doesn't want to wait for the Global Lords to level us," Abby felt a chill begin to seep into the room.

Suddenly, the fortress alarm blared again. Louder, more urgent.

[WARNING: DIMENSIONAL BREACH DETECTED IN THE MAIN HALL.]

"What?! They're breaking in from the inside?!" Abby panicked, immediately drawing her Starlight Annihilator pistol.

"Looks like Big Eye Boss is playing dirty again," Axel stood up, his iron pipe beginning to emit sparks of silver electricity. "By, stay here. Activate all interior defense drones."

"Where are you going, Axel?!"

"I'm going to welcome the guest coming through the back door. If he's brave enough to breach my fortress, then he's ready for me to 'critique' him down to his DNA," Axel stepped out of the room with a highly menacing aura.

Axel walked down the vast main corridor. In front of him, the air began to crack like shattering glass. A small black hole appeared, and from it emerged a tall, thin creature with dark purple skin, wearing armor that looked like it was made from monster bones. In its hand, it held a massive scythe that radiated the aura of death.

"Axel... bringer of chaos..." the creature spoke with a voice like sandpaper. "I am the 'Void Stalker,' sent directly to take your heart."

"Void Stalker? Wow, that's a pretty cool name. Better than Robe Lord back there," Axel stopped five meters in front of the creature. "So, you want my heart? Did you get permission from my doctor first?"

"Your jokes aren't funny, human. Do you have any idea how many thousands of anomalies this scythe has slaughtered across various planets?!" The Void Stalker swung its scythe, causing the concrete floor in front of it to instantly melt into black sludge.

"Thousands of planets? Wow, you've got quite the flight hours. But sorry, this planet is currently under my management. And here, your scythe is just a piece of junk for mowing the lawn," Axel raised his iron pipe.

"Arrogant! Feel the power of the void!" The Void Stalker lunged with lightning speed, its scythe aimed directly at Axel's neck.

Axel didn't move. He just waited until the tip of the scythe was a single centimeter from his skin.

"Critical... Thousand-Fold Conceptual Mass Freeze!"

Instantly, the Void Stalker's movement came to a complete halt in mid-air. Its scythe froze, its aura vanished, and even the dust around it stopped moving.

"Huh?! What... what did you do?!" the purple creature was beyond shocked; it couldn't even move a fingernail.

"I just increased your body mass to the weight of a mountain. How's that? Feeling heavy?" Axel grinned coldly. "Now, since you entered without knocking..."

Axel raised his fist, a dark golden aura beginning to gather there with immense pressure.

"I want to try a new technique I just learned from that blueprint. It's called the 'Reality Eraser Punch'."

"No! Mercy! I'm just a henchman—"

"Sorry, I don't listen to trash," Axel whispered softly. "Conceptual Critical... Thousand-Dimension Single-Point Strike!"

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

Axel's punch didn't just destroy the Void Stalker; it created a dimensional hole in the air that instantly sucked in the creature's remains until not a single atom was left. The shockwave caused the fortress corridor walls to crack slightly.

"Whew... a bit too much power," Axel brushed off his hands. "Hey, Abby! The enemy's gone! Clean up the corridor, will you? There's a lingering smell of purple creature here!"

"Axel! Are you okay?! My sensors just picked up a massive energy explosion!" Abby shouted over the intercom.

"I'm fine, By. Just finished shooing away a purple fly," Axel walked back toward the command room.

But just as he was about to reach the door, the entire fortress suddenly shook violently. This time, the tremors were different. This wasn't an attack from within or outside. These were tremors from... the heavens.

"Axel! Look at the monitor! Now!" Abby's voice sounded terrified, almost on the verge of tears.

Axel ran into the room, his eyes immediately drawn to the giant screen. There, in space, was a fleet of giant ships the size of islands, numbering in the thousands, all pointing their weapons at Earth.

"That... that's not Lord Global anymore, Axel... that's the Main System Destruction Fleet!" Abby pointed at the screen with trembling hands. "They're going to fire a 'Planet Buster' at our coordinates!"

Axel remained silent, his eyes narrowing at the thousands of giant ships in the sky. "So, Supreme Boss really wants to play rough, huh?"

"Axel, what should we do?! Our plasma shields won't hold up against Planet Buster fire from thousands of ships!" Abby started to panic, her fingers typing frantically on the keyboard.

Axel took a deep breath. He walked over to the main console and placed his hand on it. "By the way, do you remember when I said I wanted to 'critique' the speed of light?"

"Yes, but for what?! Are we trying to run away?!"

"Not running away, By," Axel grinned the wildest grin ever. "I want to use our orbital cannon, but I want to 'critique' the projectiles so they can shift dimensions and explode inside the ships' engines simultaneously."

"What?! That's impossible! You'd have to calculate thousands of coordinates in less than a second!"

"So, you calculate the coordinates, and I'll execute it using criticality. Can we do it or not?!" Axel looked at Abby with absolute confidence.

Abby was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Okay. Give me ten seconds! I'll use all our Quantum servers to lock their coordinates!"

"One... two... three..." Axel began counting, his aura beginning to merge with the fortress's fusion reactor. The entire command room began to glow a brilliant golden blue.

"Seven... eight... NINE! COORDINATES LOCKED! SHOOT NOW, AXEL!" Abby shouted at the top of her lungs.

Axel clenched his fists, all the energy of the fortress focusing on a single point at the tip of the orbital cannon.

"Critical Conceptual... Thousand Shadow Dimension Bullet... EXECUTION!"

A giant blue beam shot from the fortress, but midway, it split into thousands of smaller beams that suddenly vanished from view. In the next instant, thousands of explosions erupted simultaneously on the monitors within the enemy carriers in space.

"HITS! ALL ENEMY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS EXPLODED FROM THE INSIDE! AXEL, YOU DID IT!" Abby jumped up and down with joy, immediately hugging Axel tightly.

"Hey, take it easy, By. There's still one left," Axel pointed to the screen.

In the midst of the thousands of exploding carrier wrecks, there was one ship that was far larger, pure gold in color, and completely unaffected by the explosions. That ship began to descend a giant beam toward Earth, aimed directly at their fortress.

"That... that's the Supreme Boss's Mothership..." Abby whispered weakly.

The golden beam from the ship touched Axel's fortress shield, and suddenly the shield began to crack severely. The Supreme Boss's voice echoed across the world once more.

"AXEL... YOUR GAME ENDS HERE."

The golden beam grew stronger, piercing the shield, penetrating the fortress walls, and beginning to incinerate all the equipment in the command room.

"Axel! We can't hold it! The energy is too massive!" Abby screamed amidst the blue flames.

Axel gripped Abby's hand tightly. He stared directly into the golden beam. "By, hold on. We're going to try one last thing."

"What?!"

"I'm going to 'critique' our very existence so we can enter that beam and..."

Just as Axel was about to finish his sentence, the entire room suddenly exploded into white, and the system voice rang out...