Zombies Doomsday

Chapter 9: Absolute Power

The inside of the Sovereign Tower smelled like metal and clean air. This was a change from the courtyard outside which smelled like ozone. Idris Cole walked down a dark corridor to the armory. His steps felt different now. He had reached level seven. His body felt balanced and strong. He moved easily like he was floating.

The walls flashed with blue light as he approached the armory doors. The Genesis AI, Valkyrie greeted him. She showed him numerous floating screens with information displayed on them.

Idris ignored the screens. He looked at the weapon racks that were appearing on the floor. The armory used to be a storage room. Now it was a factory capable of producing military-grade equipment.

Idris stood in the center of the room. His dark coat swayed slightly. He accessed his inventory with a thought. He looked at all the materials and gear he had collected. He saw a crate of pistols he had taken from a fallen patrol. They were not very good. They were useful.

Valkyrie prepare a plan to attack the Iron Clad camp Idris said. I want to know their defenses their soldiers and their heavy artillery. We are not sneaking in. We are going to destroy them.

A holographic map appeared in the center of the armory. The Iron Clad camp was in an industrial complex. It had three layers of steel walls machine guns and trenches. There were over 3,000 soldiers and 200 elite infantry units with walking suits.

The automated defense system was very strong Valkyrie said. If you attack directly the turrets will fire at the same time. They can destroy vehicles in 12 seconds.

Then we will make sure they can't fire Idris said calmly.

The armory doors opened behind him. Heavy footsteps echoed into the room. Idris didn't need to turn around. He knew it was Rhea Knox. His heightened senses told him it was her.

The Blood of the Leviathan serum was working. Rhea's physical power was strong. The air around her shimmered with heat.

The survivors are settled Rhea said. The medical bays are stabilizing the cases. I assigned the bodied individuals to maintenance and water distribution. They are scared Idris,. They are listening.

Good Idris said. Fear is a motivator. It keeps them obedient while we build the citadel.. Loyalty is what will keep it standing.

Rhea looked down at her hands clenching them into fists. Her Vanguard armor creaked. I feel like my body is running at capacity. My limitations are gone. My senses are. My reflexes are faster.

It is called evolution Idris said.. It is only the beginning. We have a way to go if we want to conquer the Grey Grid. Every step must be a leap.

The Iron Clad camp is a problem on the border Idris said. They hoard food enslave, and control trade routes. By destroying them we solve our resource deficit. Send a message to the surrounding factions.

Rhea stepped up to the map. Warlord Kael is not like Briggs she warned. He is paranoid. Will hide behind his walls. He will call the Central Sanctuary for help.

Which is why we will strike them before he can make that call Idris said. He pulled out a pistol from his inventory. Take it.

Rhea looked at the pistol with confusion and amusement. A standard nine-millimeter pistol? My armor can deflect plasma rounds. My strength is strong. What am I supposed to do with this?

I am not asking you to use it in battle Idris explained. I am using the system's laws. Our level four mechanic requires a transfer of ownership to a bound ally. The higher your potential, the higher the probability of a quality and quantity mutation.

Rhea smiled, understanding the strategy. She took the pistol. I accept your gift, Sovereign.

The reaction was instantaneous. The air, between them fractured. A deafening chime resonated through the Sovereign Tower. A blinding flash of light erupted from Rhea's hand.

System notification sequence initiated. Host Idris Cole has successfully gifted a tier one firearm to a bound ally. Bound ally Rhea Knox SSS-tier potential recognized. Level four critical rebate mechanic triggered. Calculating baseline value. Applying one hundred thousand times multiplier. Critical success achieved. Structural. Quantum duplication authorized. Host has received the SSS-tier weapon package designated as the Eclipse Void-Casters.

Idris felt a weight manifest within his inventory. He cleared the space in front of him. Pulled out the rewarded items.

Two big guns showed up in the air floating sideways. They were made in a way not like any guns before. The guns were made from a liquid metal that absorbed light. They had two prongs that glowed with energy. There were no magazines, slides or triggers. The handles were made to connect to armor.

Idris thought, "Check the guns." He looked at the guns. Saw they were special.

The guns were called Eclipse Void-Casters. They were super strong. Made from a dead star. They didn't use bullets or energy. They used the person's energy to make a black hole. If you hit something three times it would make a gravity well. The gravity well would pull everything in. Crush it.

Idris touched the guns. They connected to him. He gave them to Rhea. They connected to her armor. The guns glowed with light.

Rhea said, "With these guns we can destroy the walls." Idris said, "The system doesn't give us what we want. It gives us what we need." He meant that the guns were very powerful.

They left the base. Went to the wasteland. They were not just survivors; they were conquerors.

In another place Warlord Kael was angry. He had sent a team to destroy a place. They didn't come back. He looked at a screen. Saw nothing. His team was gone.

Kael shouted, "Where are they?" His team leader said, "We don't know. It was like they vanished." Kael was furious.

The team leader said, "It was a heat, like a sun explosion." Kael said, "That's not possible.". The team leader said, "It was, like a superpower."

Kael sent a message to his friends. It didn't go through. Then a scout came in bloody and hurt. He said, "They're here." Kael said, "Who?" The scout said, "Two people. A. A woman."

Kael was shocked. He thought it was crazy.. He prepared for battle. He said, "Sound the alarms. Get ready to fight."

Outside the Iron Clad camp, the sky over the territory was a dark grey ash sheet. The wind howled through the ruined highway carrying a scent of sulfur and rusted iron.

Idris Cole walked calmly down the center of the cracked asphalt road to the gates of the camp. His dark coat drifted around his ankles his hands in his pockets. He didn't look like a marching into a hostile fortress. He looked like a man taking an evening stroll through a forgotten graveyard.

Beside him, Rhea Knox moved with a grace. Her SSS-tier armor caught the light of distant fires. The twin Eclipse Void-Casters at her hips looked like judges waiting to deliver a final verdict. Her silver eyes were locked onto the steel wall that blocked their path.

The first defensive layer was heavily fortified. Over fifty Iron Clad soldiers stood along the battlements their plasma rifles aimed directly at Idris and Rhea.

Six massive automated machine-gun turrets hummed to life along the top ridge of the wall their heavy barrels spinning as they locked onto Idris's signature.

"Halt " a voice boomed from the loudspeakers on the wall. "You are entering the territory of the Iron Clad faction. Identify yourselves. You will be executed immediately."

Idris didn't stop. He raised his head his eyes looking at the soldiers on the wall with indifference.

"You have ten seconds to drop your weapons and open the gates " Idris said. "If you comply you will be allowed to live as laborers within the Sovereign Citadel. If you refuse this wall will become your grave."

The response from the wall was a chorus of mocking laughter. These men had spent years terrorizing survivors of the Grey Grid. They believed in the security of their steel walls and heavy machine guns.

"Fire," the commander on the wall ordered.

The sky erupted in a deafening torrent of noise. The six automated turrets unleashed a storm of high-velocity rounds. Fifty soldiers along the battlements pulled their triggers sending a volley of blue plasma bolts raining down on the highway.

The asphalt beneath Idris' feet disintegrated. Chunks of rock and dust exploded into the air creating a choking cloud of debris that obscured Idris and Rhea.

The soldiers on the wall cheered, believing the engagement was over. No one could survive that amount of concentrated fire.

The smoke cleared, shifted by the cold wasteland wind. The laughter on the wall died instantly replaced by a cold paralyzing silence.

Idris Cole stood in the center of the ruined highway, untouched by the storm of bullets and plasma. A wide translucent blue hexagonal barrier hovered in front of his face pulsing softly with energy.

"My turn " Idris said softly. "Rhea clear the gate."

"With pleasure " Rhea replied.

She moved in a blur of silver light. Her agility, amplified by the Blood of the Leviathan serum was immense. She crossed the remaining fifty yards of the highway in less than half a second.

She drew the Eclipse Void-Caster from her hip. The matte-black weapon hummed, its plasma rails flaring with energy as she aimed it at the center of the thirty-foot-tall reinforced steel gate.

She pulled the trigger. A low bass-heavy thrum vibrated through the ground. A small perfect sphere of violet darkness shot from the prongs of the weapon striking the center of the steel gate.

The massive steel plates, reinforced with titanium bars and weighing tons began to twist and warp inward. The metal didn't break; it compressed. The localized gravity well manifested by the Eclipse Void-Caster began to pull all surrounding matter into its center.

Within three seconds the massive front gates of the Iron Clad camp had been compressed into a solid ball of twisted metal. The sphere fell to the ground with a hollow thud leaving a massive perfectly circular opening in the first defensive wall.

The soldiers on the battlements stared down at the space where their unbreakable gate used to be their minds shattered by the display of god-like power.

"She has a gravity weapon " someone screamed from the wall. "Run. Get to the line."

"It is too late to run " Rhea whispered. She raised both Eclipse Void-Casters, her arms steady as she unleashed a succession of three shots into the center of the defensive wall.

The first two shots tore through the supports phasing through the physical shields of the automated turrets and neutralizing them instantly. The third shot triggered the effect of the weapon: Void Compression.

A massive violet detonation erupted along the top ridge of the wall. A localized gravity well materialized with the force of an exploding star generating ten thousand pounds of pressure within a ten-meter radius.

The fifty soldiers, the automated machine guns and thousands of tons of reinforced concrete were violently pulled toward the epicenter of the blast crushed into a horrific mass of stone and flesh before collapsing into the courtyard below.

The entire first defensive line of the powerful military camp in the eastern territory had been neutralized in less than two minutes.

Idris walked through the dust and debris his heavy boots stepping over the remnants of the steel gate. His eyes were focused on the layer of walls that stood three hundred yards ahead.

The alarms inside the camp were screaming, a desperate sound that echoed across the ruined complex. Red emergency lights flashed along the perimeters and the sound of thousands of boots running toward the defensive lines filled the air.

"System notification sequence " the voice inside his mind echoed. "Host Idris Cole has entered the conflict zone of the Iron Clad camp. Enemy casualties recognized: fifty-six active combatants eliminated. Automated assets destroyed: six tier one turrets. Cumulative experience points granted: one thousand two hundred."

Idris dismissed the notification. His primary objective was the eradication of Kael's leadership.

"Look there " Rhea said, pointing toward the top of the wall. "They have activated the defensive network."

A massive translucent green dome of shifting energy had materialized over the second and third layers of the camp. It was the localized shield generator that Kael had boasted about.

"Can your weapons phase through that?" Idris asked.

"The Eternal Phase effect allows the projectiles to pass through matter " Rhea explained. ". An electromagnetic barrier of that density isn't physical matter. It is a field of pure high-frequency plasma. If I fire the Void-Casters into it the gravity wells will detonate prematurely on the surface of the shield. It will damage the barrier. It won't breach the inner wall instantly. It will take time to drain their generators."

"We don't have time " Idris said. "I want this camp destroyed before the sun rises over the ash clouds. If the shield is a plasma-based energy field then the solution is simple. We overload the circuit from above."

He stopped walking, standing in the center of the courtyard between the first and second walls. He closed his eyes accessing the administrative sub-routines of his system profile.

"Valkyrie, establish a link with the Genesis mainframe, inside the Sovereign Tower " Idris commanded mentally. "Synchronize our GPS coordinates with the targeting matrix of the Ares-class orbital heavy ion cannon."

"Targeting sequence initiated "Valkyrie's voice responded. "Link established. Sovereign Citadel orbital defense grid is online. Weapon status: charged at one hundred percent. Cooldown sequence complete. Please designate the point of impact."

Target the energy relay tower of the second defensive wall Idris ordered. Fire at capacity.

Fifteen miles away the massive obsidian tip of the Sovereign Tower started to pulse with a blinding crimson light. The three structural rings around the top of the tower spun fast making a localized electromagnetic field that tore through the ash clouds above Sector One. High up in the atmosphere the satellite before the fall adjusted its path its big focusing lenses locking onto the exact coordinates given by Idriss's system link.

The sky over the territory changed from a dull dark grey to a deep bruised purple. The air got cold. The moisture in the air turned to frost in seconds.

Inside the command bunker, the chief tech officer stared at his monitors his face completely pale. Warlord... Warlord, it's happening again. The satellite dishes are picking up an energy signature right above our base. It's the profile from Sector One. It's locking onto us.

Activate the overload protocols on the shield Kael yelled, his mechanical eye spinning so fast it looked like a solid circle of fire. Give the barrier everything we have. Use the power from the sectors. Drain the hydroponic bays. I don't care about anything. Keep that shield up.

It was too late.

The sky split open for a time. A massive pillar of blinding crimson light came down from the upper atmosphere a beam of pure heavy ion energy that looked like a scar in reality. The beam hit the top of the green electromagnetic dome with the force of a million tons of TNT.

The collision between the strike and the high-frequency shield made a shockwave of absolute blinding light that lit up the entire eastern territory for fifty miles. The sound was deafening a roar of cosmic power that shattered every piece of glass every structural monitor and every human eardrum within a five-mile radius. The green shield held for a fraction of a second its plasma circuits flaring to a white as they tried to redirect the immense energy of the ion beam.

Then the shield generator exploded.

The three massive energy relay towers along the wall disintegrated into liquid metal their internal parts vaporized instantly. The crimson beam tore through the wall making a massive hundred-yard-wide gap in the reinforced structure melting the steel plates into streams of glowing red slag that poured into the inner courtyard like volcanic lava. The air pressure dropped violently a vacuum created by the sheer heat of the strike that pulled a cloud of dust and debris thousands of feet into the sky.

When the light finally faded the second defensive line was gone. The electromagnetic shield was nothing but a memory and the inner sanctum of the Iron Clad camp lay completely exposed vulnerable to the two figures who were already walking through the smoke.

Idris Cole stepped over a river of cooling, molten steel his dark coat entirely untouched by the sparks in the air. His level seven stats let him breathe in the superheated, ozone-filled atmosphere without any discomfort. His dark eyes swept over the interior of the camp.

The scene inside was one of unadulterated chaos. Thousands of Iron Clad soldiers were running in every direction their weapons forgotten as they tried to escape the destruction of the strike. The disciplined ruthless army that Warlord Kael had spent a decade building had been reduced to a horde of terrified animals. They had spent their lives preying on the weak relying on their technology and their brutal numbers to assert dominance. Faced with a power that completely transcended their comprehension their resolve had disintegrated in an instant.

Rhea Knox walked beside Idris, her twin Eclipse Void-Casters resting casually against her thighs. She looked at the fleeing soldiers with an indifferent expression. This isn't a battle anymore Idris. This is an execution.

Then let us finish it Idris said, his voice carrying a finality. Hunt down the officers. Destroy the infantry units. I will find Warlord Kael myself. We are going to erase the leadership of this camp. We are going to do it now.

Rhea nodded, her silver eyes flaring with power as she leapt forward disappearing into the smoke like a ghost. Later the low rhythmic thrum of the Eclipse Void-Casters began to echo through the inner sectors of the camp followed by the terrifying structural groans of localized gravity wells collapsing the buildings and the exo-suits of the enemy combatants.

Idris walked down the avenue of the manufacturing complex his sensory perception stat guiding him directly toward the heavy reinforced elevator shaft that led down into the underground command bunker. He didn't rush. He knew Kael had nowhere left to run. The long-range relay towers had been cut his army was being systematically slaughtered by an SSS-tier Vanguard. His superweapon had been turned to ash.

As he approached the entrance of the command bunker, a heavy steel door slid open. A squad of ten elite guards stepped out their heavy plasma rifles aimed at his chest. They were Kael's personal security detail, hardened killers who had survived the worst of the wasteland wars.

Die, mutant the lead guard shouted, pulling his trigger.

Idris didn't draw a weapon. He didn't activate his shield. With a strength stat of thirty-five and an agility stat of thirty-five, his body moved at a speed that defied sight. He vanished from his position appearing directly in front of the lead guard before the plasma bolt could even leave the barrel of the rifle.

He reached out his hand closing around the guard's throat. With an effortless twist of his wrist, he snapped the man's neck, the sound of breaking bone echoing loudly in the narrow corridor. Before the remaining nine guards could adjust their aim Idris swept through them like a hurricane. His physical strikes carried the force of a sledgehammer his fists punching through their reinforced steel chest plates shattering their ribs and collapsing their lungs with absolute ease.

Within ten seconds all ten elite guards lay dead on the floor their weapons scattered around them. Idris didn't even have a drop of blood on his coat. He stepped over the bodies his eyes locked onto the hydraulic doors of the primary elevator.

He raised his enhanced foot and kicked the center of the steel doors.

The two-inch-thick blast doors were torn off their hinges by the physical power of the strike flying down the dark elevator shaft and crashing into the luxury command capsule three hundred meters below with a thunderous roar. Idris stepped into the shaft looking down into the darkness. He didn't wait for an elevator car. He simply stepped off the edge falling into the void.

He dropped three hundred meters the wind howling past his ears as gravity pulled him down at a speed. Just before he hit the roof of the collapsed elevator capsule at the bottom of the shaft he extended his hand accessing his inventory to manifest a localized kinetic dampening field. His body slowed instantly his boots touching the metal roof with a quiet click.

He dropped through the ceiling of the command capsule stepping into the luxurious neon-lit war room where Warlord Kael stood alone.

Kael was holding a high-grade plasma minigun, his red mechanical eye spinning erratically as he stared at the man who had just dropped from the sky. His face was twisted in a mixture of rage and absolute terror.

You think you can take my empire away from me Kael roared, his enhancements sparking violently as he raised the heavy weapon. I built this camp from nothing. I slaughtered thousands to secure this territory. I am Warlord Kael. I am the ruler of the border. You are nothing but a ghost from Sector One.

Idris Cole stood still his hands in his pockets his dark eyes looking at the warlord with a calm terrifying indifference.

You built an empire out of iron and human suffering Kael Idris said, his voice cold and steady echoing off the concrete walls of the underground bunker. You thought your walls were thick enough to keep out the consequences of your actions. You thought the system would allow you to remain at the top of the food chain forever.. The system doesn't care about your past achievements. It only cares about power.. Right now your power is nothing compared to mine.

Kael screamed, a sound of madness and pulled the trigger of his minigun.

The heavy barrels spun to life unleashing a torrent of brilliant blue plasma rounds that illuminated the war room. The rate of fire was astronomical a wall of superheated energy designed to incinerate anything in its path.

Idris didn't move. He reached into his coat pulling out the Eclipse Void-Caster he had retained in his inventory. He didn't point it at Kael; he pointed it at the floor directly in front of him.

He pulled the trigger.

A perfect sphere of violet darkness materialized in the space, between them. The incoming torrent of plasma rounds struck the gravity well and were instantly pulled into the singularity, their thermal energy. Neutralized within the black void. The minigun continued to roar. Not a single bolt of plasma could penetrate the localized gravitational barrier.

Kaels weapon clicked empty the heavy barrels spinning uselessly as the plasma cells ran dry. He stared at the violet sphere hovering in front of Idris, his breath catching in his throat.

My turn Idris said.

He lowered the Eclipse Void-Caster aiming it directly at Kael's chest plate.

You are about one thing, Kael Idris said. His dark eyes locked onto the warlord's mechanical eye. I am a ghost. I am the ghost of every person you left to die in the ruins of this world.. I am here to collect the debt.

Idris pulled the trigger.

A violet sphere shot from the hand cannon. Hit Kael in the chest. The cybernetic parts, steel plates and bone structure of the warlord started to compress instantly. Kael did not even have a chance to scream. The localized gravity well twisted his body into a dense mass of metal and flesh. This crushed his organs and shattered his spine in a matter of seconds.

The leader of the territory fell to the concrete floor. His body was compressed into a shape. His red mechanical eye flickered once. Then went dark.

The war room was silent.

Idris lowered his weapon. The violet plasma rails slowly faded to black. He put the Eclipse Void-Caster into his inventory. He walked over to a rusted steel table. His eyes settled on the data core of the Iron Clad camp. It was still blinking on the console. He pulled out the metallic core and put it into his inventory.

A voice chimed in his head. It said, System notification sequence. Primary faction objective achieved: Warlord Kael has been eliminated. Iron Clad faction leadership erased. You have gained five thousand experience points. You have experience to initialize the next evolution threshold. Level eight evolution is now available.

Idris turned away from the console. He walked back to the elevator shaft. The sirens upstairs were fading. They were replaced by the silence of a conquered fortress. He heard the sound of Rhea's footsteps. She was approaching from the surface. Her mission was complete.

The era of the Iron Clad camp was over. The eastern territory belonged to the Sovereign Citadel. The first major step, toward their empire had been secured. Idris looked up into the shaft and smiled. The Grey Grid was about to learn that a new god had awakened in Sector One. His name was Idris Cole.