Zombie Apocalypse System

Chapter 17: Declaration of Dominance, Axel's Era Begins

...blasting the entire Jakarta sky into a sea of silver fire that rolled up those thousands of iron angels like burning paper!

BOOOOMMMM!

That conceptual energy explosion flattened the system's attack waves in the blink of an eye. The sky, which had been a blinding silver, suddenly cleared, leaving only shards of hot metal falling like a meteor shower over the Absolute Fortress's plasma shield.

"You're insane, Axel! That literally leveled the sky!" Abby screamed at the top of her lungs, her hands still trembling as she gripped the cannon console. "Did you see that? Those thousands of iron angels are gone—not even a fingernail's worth left!"

"Of course. Did you think I was just playing with fireworks?" Axel grinned wildly, his breath coming out as golden steam. "I just changed the concept of 'air' into 'fuel.' Once they passed through it, well, goodbye. They're all toasted."

"But our reactor energy dropped ten percent just for that one attack, you idiot!" Abby glared at the monitor. "Don't be so wasteful! The citizens down there are fainting just from watching your little show!"

"Relax, By. That’s exactly the point." Axel walked casually toward the main balcony, looking down at the thousands of refugees kneeling in gratitude and weeping. "They need to know that in this crazy world, only I can guarantee they won't die from a system attack."

"So what now? You going to give a speech?" Abby followed Axel, leaning against the balcony railing while wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Not just a speech. I’m making a declaration. By, activate the global broadcast system. I want the whole world to see my handsome face," Axel commanded.

"Global?! You want all the Global Lords to want to kill you even more?!"

"That’s the point, By. So they know who the new boss is."

Abby let out a long sigh, but her hands remained nimble as she typed on her tablet. "Okay, done! Every satellite frequency, radio, and even the apocalypse system screens on every continent have been hacked. Now, the entire planet is watching you, Axel. Don't embarrass yourself!"

Axel stood tall. A drone camera hovered right in front of his face. His voice, heavy and pressurized by his aura, immediately echoed across every corner of the earth.

"Hey, all you remaining inhabitants of Earth! Listen up!" Axel began to speak with the most arrogant tone imaginable. "My name is Axel. And the place you're looking at right now is the Absolute Fortress. From this moment on, I declare this territory as the largest and most luxurious Safe Zone in the world!"

On Abby's monitor, the viewer count instantly surged into the billions. Panicked comments from Global Lords popped up in secret chat channels.

"Listen here, you tyrants who love to oppress the weak! I don't care if you're Lord Ares, Lord Odin, or whatever Lord in a bathrobe! If you dare approach my fortress, your fate will be the same as that mountain I just erased!" Axel pointed toward a giant crater in the distance. "But for those of you who want to live in peace, those who have skills, or those who are tired of being oppressed... my doors are wide open. But remember, there is only one law here: My Rule is Absolute!"

"Holy crap, Axel! You're really challenging everyone!" Abby whispered, holding back a terrified laugh.

"Let them come, By. The more the merrier," Axel continued. "As of now, the Abyssal Empire is officially established. I am its Emperor, and this fierce girl beside me is the head of administration. Anyone who enters must obey the laws she creates. Got it?!"

Axel tapped his iron pipe against the floor, and the vibration was felt all the way to the earth's core. "Declaration over. By, cut the broadcast. I want some coffee."

"You're truly insane," Abby said, turning off the broadcast while shaking her head. "Do you know? The second you finished talking, thousands of asylum requests flooded my server. My server almost exploded, Axel!"

"Well, that's your job now. Screen them all. We need manpower to expand the underground city," Axel walked back inside.

"Okay, Boss. I've already prepared the draft for the laws. One: No violence inside the fortress. Two: All resources are shared equally based on work contribution. Three: Treason equals instant death via system chip. How's that?" Abby showed him her tablet screen.

"Good. Firm and simple. You really are the best assistant, By."

"Assistant my ass! I'm your right hand, you idiot!" Abby pinched Axel's waist. "Wait, but Axel, look at the radar screen. There's one group that didn't like your speech."

Axel looked at the screen. There was a large red dot at the West Jakarta coordinates. "Who is it now? The Black Garuda Faction again?"

"No. This is the 'Earth Liberation Front.' They're a rebel group that claims to be anti-system colonialism. Their leader is General Bram. He just sent a message: 'Axel is just a new tyrant wearing a hero's mask. We will not submit!'" Abby read the message in a mocking tone.

"Tyrant? Wow, that's a heavy term," Axel smirked coldly. "Where are they now?"

"In the old TNI bunker base in the West. They just captured several refugees heading here. They say they're using them as hostages to force you to hand over the fusion technology."

"Taking hostages, huh? How old-fashioned," Axel looked toward the balcony window again. "By, you have access to that plasma satellite we used to 'criticize' the mothership earlier, right?"

"I do. Why? You want to blast them?"

"Show them that a tyrant doesn't need to show up to commit a massacre. Lock onto their base coordinates. Make sure no hostages are hit."

"Coordinates locked, Axel. But it's ten kilometers from here. I haven't calibrated the satellite's accuracy one hundred percent yet!" Abby felt hesitant.

"Relax. Let me calibrate it with my instinct." Axel placed his hand on Abby's tablet. His golden aura flowed into the satellite system in outer space. "Conceptual Critical... Long-Range Shot Accuracy: One Thousand Times!"

"Holy shit! You're changing the satellite data directly?!" Abby stared in shock as the coordinate numbers on her screen turned pure gold with a precision of 0.001 millimeters.

"Do it, By. Give them a little 'criticism.'"

Abby pressed the execution button. On the monitor, a thin line of light descended from the sky, piercing through Jakarta's dark clouds and striking the center of the rebel base's armory.

DHUAAAARRRR!

The explosion didn't spread to the refugee area; only the armory and their command tower turned to dust. The rest? The rebel forces immediately scattered in panic when they saw their base destroyed by a god from the sky.

"Insane... that precision is terrifying, Axel. You literally flattened them without even having to move your ass from your chair!" Abby shook her head in awe.

"That's called efficiency, By. Let them know that in the era of Axel, there's no place for stubborn people who like to take hostages," Axel sat back down in his command chair. "Anyway, handle the citizen registration. I'm going to sleep for a bit."

"Sleep? You just set the world on fire, and now you want to sleep?!" Abby snapped.

"I'm tired, By. Criticizing concepts drains a lot of energy, you know," Axel closed his eyes.

But just as Axel was about to drift off, every monitor screen in the Absolute Fortress suddenly turned blood red. A siren that sounded like a human scream echoed through every corner of the corridors.

"Axel! Wake up! What is this now?!" Abby panicked, her fingers dancing across the keyboard, but everything was locked.

Axel sat bolt upright, his eyes fixed on the screen which now displayed massive letters: [WARNING: COSMIC ANOMALY DETECTED].

"The apocalypse system again?" Axel asked seriously.

"No, Axel! This isn't from the Supreme Boss! This is a signal from outside the system! The frequency is millions of times higher!" Abby's voice trembled violently. "The notification says... 'Cosmic Entity has detected a reality boundary violation in subject Axel'!"

"Reality boundary violation?" Axel frowned.

"It means you're so OP that you're bothering the universe, you idiot!" Abby pointed out the window.

The Jakarta sky, which had been dark, suddenly shattered like glass struck by a giant hammer. From behind the cracks, a giant purple eye appeared, larger than the entire city of Jakarta. The eye stared directly at their fortress.

"Holy... what is that, By?!" Axel stood up, his aura exploding until the entire room vibrated.

"I don't know! But my sensors say it's not a living thing! It's the manifestation of natural law trying to reset the world because of you!" Abby screamed in terror.

The giant eye began to emit a purple beam that slowly descended toward the Absolute Fortress. The air pressure caused the fortress's plasma shield to start cracking into pieces.

"Axel! Our shield can't hold! The energy is exceeding the fusion limit!" Abby cried while clutching her tablet.

Axel stared at the eye with pure rage. He wasn't afraid; instead, he felt challenged. "So that's how it is? Natural law wants to erase me?"

"Axel, run! Let's get to the lowest bunker!"

"No way, By. I'm not running from the home I just built." Axel gripped his iron pipe, his aura turning into a dark gold so dense that his body began to hover. "By, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?!"

"The system's voice in my head... it just told me that my talent can evolve again if I can withstand this attack," Axel grinned wildly.

"You're crazy! You want to fight natural law?!"

"Why not? Nature is already broken; I might as well make my own laws!" Axel leaped off the balcony, flying straight toward the giant purple beam.

"AXEL! DON'T!" Abby screamed hysterically.

In mid-air, Axel felt his body starting to crack under the pressure of that cosmic energy. But he kept moving forward. He clenched his fist, drawing all the energy from the dragon blood crystals and the fusion core into a single point.

"Conceptual Critical... Natural Law Rejection: One Thousand Times... DIE, YOU BUG-EYE!"

Just as Axel's fist was about to collide with the purple beam, time seemed to stop. A cold, emotionless voice echoed directly in Axel's brain.

[REALITY RESET PROCESS INITIATED. ERASING ANOMALY SUBJECT IN 3... 2...]

"I won't let you erase me, you idiot!" Axel roared, and his aura exploded into a blinding white until the entire earth felt the tremor.

From the balcony, Abby could only watch as the white explosion swallowed Axel's body and the giant eye in the sky. Everything turned white—no sound, no color.

"Axel... you have to survive..." Abby whispered softly before she fell unconscious from the shockwave.

As the white light began to fade, the Jakarta sky was completely destroyed. It was no longer clouds, but a view of outer space visible directly from earth. And in the midst of that void, Axel was still floating, but his clothes were gone, and a tattoo in the shape of pulsing golden wings had grown on his back.

"Hah... hah... natural law, huh? Is this all you've got?" Axel muttered, blood dripping from his mouth, but his eyes still glowed gold.

But suddenly, from behind the void of outer space, thousands of black shadows appeared in the shape of giant ancient warriors. They all held long spears pointed directly at Axel.

"What now?! Is it never going to end?!" Axel tried to raise his hand, but his body suddenly went stiff.

One of the giant warriors stepped forward, his voice sounding like thousands of thunders exploding at once. "ANOMALY AXEL... YOU HAVE OPENED THE GATE THAT SHOULD HAVE REMAINED CLOSED. NOW, YOU MUST..."

Suddenly, the warrior's hand pierced through Axel's chest and...