Zombie Domination-Chapter 76- Lightning in The Darkness

General Albrecht stood tall, eyes fixed coldly on the broken figure of Julian lying motionless on the ground.

Blood pooled beneath him, soaking into the shattered floor. The room around them was in ruins, walls torn open, dust hanging in the air, and through the broken ceiling above, the dark sky loomed. Thick clouds rolled overhead, blocking out any trace of starlight.

Julian’s breath was shallow as he stared up at the void above.

"...So this is how it ends?" he thought.

His mind wandered, not to victory or vengeance, but to the people he’d met along the way. He had never expected things to go this far.

Back then, all he ever wanted was to survive on his own. That was it. No glory. No responsibility. Just survival.

But things changed.

Maybe... it all started when he met Clarissa. Since then, his life wasn’t so hollow anymore.

A soft smirk tugged at his bloodied lips. "Damn... things really did get noisy."

His thoughts turned to the battle, his opponent, the soldiers. Stronger than any he had faced before. And worse, he couldn’t kill them recklessly. They had to be restrained... because there was still a chance they could be saved.

But then the question came again, why?

Why should he hold back? Why should he hesitate?

Every enemy in his way... he should crush them all. Tear them down. Fight until none stood between him and the people waiting for him.

There were still people waiting for him.

He wasn’t dying here.

Julian gritted his teeth and forced his body to move. One arm pressed against the rubble, his legs shaking as he pushed himself up. Pain screamed through every inch of his body, but he didn’t stop.

"Since when," he muttered under his breath, "did I get so soft?"

His posture straightened, bloodied, battered, but standing.

General Albrecht narrowed his eyes. "You should’ve stayed down," he said coldly, voice like steel. "I would’ve granted you a clean death."

Julian cracked his neck and looked up at him with a twisted grin, eyes burning with fire.

"Sorry to disappoint," he said darkly. "But I’m the one who’s gonna kill you... and it won’t be clean."

Julian rose to his feet, blood still dripping from his body, but there was something different in his eyes, clarity.

A new idea sparked in his mind.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fist. His shadow shifted unnaturally behind him, pulsing like it had a life of its own. In the next second, three shadowy figures emerged, forming into exact replicas of himself.

Julian grinned. "Looks like it worked..."

From the other side of the battlefield, General Albrecht narrowed his eyes, sensing danger.

He snapped a command.

"Wipe him out!"

The soldiers moved in without hesitation, but Julian didn’t even flinch. Instead, he tossed weapons into the hands of his clones: a spear to the first, knuckles to the second, and a dagger to the third.

"Time to slaughter," Julian growled.

Then chaos broke loose.

Julian and his shadows rushed forward like a black tide, tearing through the enemy ranks. His clones fought with lethal precision, each of them wielding different techniques honed through battle. One impaled soldiers from a distance, another crushed bones with brutal punches, and the third sliced through tendons and throats with graceful lethality.

The soldiers screamed and fell, but then, horrifyingly, some of them began to regenerate.

Julian clicked his tongue. "Persistent bastards..."

No matter. He didn’t stop. He kept cutting them down, again and again, until even their regeneration couldn’t keep up. Limbs flew. Blood sprayed. The battlefield became a blur of motion and shadow.

Watching his army crumble, General Albrecht finally stepped in. His eyes glowed with a chilling authority as he raised his hand.

"[Absolute Order]," he muttered.

A dark aura flared around him. His voice echoed like a divine command.

"Stay. Silent." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

In an instant, Julian’s body froze. His muscles locked up. His voice vanished in his throat.

And the soldiers swarmed him.

Fists and blades slammed into Julian’s body, but before they could finish him, his shadows reacted. One intercepted a sword. Another tackled two enemies to the side. The third covered Julian with a shield of shadow.

Julian’s fingers twitched... and then, with a snarl, he broke free from the command.

He spat blood and looked straight at the general.

"Nice trick," he said, his voice rough.

"But you’ll need more than that."

He clenched his fists, shadow swirling violently around him.

The general paused for a moment, observing Julian’s battered body with a faint flicker of respect.

"You’re still standing?" he muttered. "I’ll admit, that’s impressive."

Julian wiped the blood from his lips and smirked, barely able to keep himself upright. "This is for ending your pathetic leadership," he growled.

The general raised an eyebrow, then scoffed. "Let’s see if you’re still talking after this."

He tossed aside his cloak and pulled off the remains of his uniform, revealing a body scarred from countless battles, muscles like tempered steel, his torso covered in deep old wounds and fresh bruises. He looked like a weapon forged in war.

Julian gritted his teeth and raised his fists.

The general charged in with terrifying speed, and their fists collided with a deafening crack.

Julian struck first, but the general responded with a brutal hook that slammed into Julian’s ribs. Then, a rapid series of movements, blindingly fast and precise, forced Julian on the defensive. He blocked, dodged, but the sheer power behind the general’s blows overwhelmed him.

One strike knocked him off balance, and before the general could follow up, Julian’s shadow clones leapt in, attacking from all sides to force distance between them.

But the general’s eyes gleamed.

"Silence."

Julian’s body locked up again, the cursed command halting him mid-motion.

Without wasting a second, the general delivered a bone-shattering punch straight to Julian’s face, launching him backward like a ragdoll. He slammed against the wall, coughing blood, and dropped to one knee.

His breath was ragged. Something inside his chest felt... wrong. Crushed. Broken.

But the general didn’t give him time to recover. He came again, merciless. Julian rolled aside just in time, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow, and with the last flicker of focus, summoned a spark of lightning through his body.

"Tch... come on..." he hissed.

He forced all the remaining energy into his arm, channeling it into a single, desperate punch. The electricity cracked against the general’s chest. enough to jolt him back, but not enough to pierce through that monstrous frame.

The general’s counterattack came instantly. A fist crashed into Julian’s gut, stealing the air from his lungs. He slammed into the ground hard enough to crack the floor beneath him.

Stars danced in his vision.

Then came a brutal kick to his ribs. A sharp crack, bone broken.

Julian gasped, barely conscious, his mind racing.

He’s too experienced... His techniques outmatch everything I’ve learned...

As the general rushed in for the finishing blow, Julian gritted his teeth and pulled everything he had into his shadow, wrapping it around himself like armor just in time to dull the impact.

Still, the force sent him flying.

His vision blurred. His body wouldn’t respond.

But he wasn’t done yet.

Julian’s hand fumbled into his inventory, grabbing the small vial Rayden had given him earlier, the one with the golden liquid that shimmered like molten treasure.

No hesitation.

He uncorked it and downed it in a single gulp. The taste burned like fire down his throat.

Then, crash.

The empty vial shattered on the floor.

Almost instantly, Julian felt a surge. His breath deepened. His heartbeat steadied. The pain that had racked his body only seconds ago began to fade into the background, numbed by the warmth spreading through his veins.

His body was still wrecked, bones cracked, skin torn, muscles bruised, but it didn’t matter anymore.

All that mattered was the bastard standing in front of him.

Julian straightened his stance, his eyes sharpening.

"Maybe... that technique," he murmured to himself. "Maybe I can do it."

The general noticed something was off and moved in, fast.

But the moment he struck, three shadow clones intercepted him, halting his assault mid-swing.

Julian closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. This wasn’t just about strength anymore. It was about control, balance.

Lightning and shadow. Destruction and stealth. I need both.

He had tried combining them once before... barely scratched the surface.

But now, he needed more.

More speed. More force. More power.

The ground beneath him began to tremble. Sparks crackled at his fingertips. Darkness wrapped around his limbs like armor. The very air shifted, growing thick with tension.

Lightning sparked violently from his body, arcing through the shadows like serpents of pure energy. His aura warped, pulsing with unstable power.

From across the room, the general’s eyes widened. "Stop right there!" he barked.

"Silence."

The clones froze mid-motion.

In a blur, the general dashed forward and destroyed them in a heartbeat, one by one, his fists tearing through them like paper.

But he was too late.

Julian opened his eyes.

His entire body now pulsed with lightning fused into pure shadow, darkness that shimmered with violent, electric veins. His silhouette flickered between visibility and void, like he existed in two places at once.

The transformation was complete.

A storm cloaked in night.

Lightning hidden beneath the veil of darkness.