"What the hell is this?" One of the Contenders said while preparing their Seed Power. Their hands glowing red. "Not sure." Another said. "My Legie...." The undead behind Jake murmured. He could easily see just how upset and angry Jake was with these people. It warmed him to know such. "Kill them," Jake commanded, and the zombie dogs and ferals charged in.
The Contenders did their best to dispatch these creatures; however, many of them were wounded or lost a limb or two. They managed to cut down the zombie dogs and ferals. Jake never brought out more and simply just watched. His Eater Undead were still there, waiting.
"Hey, aren't you human!? Help us!" One of the Contenders saw Jake just standing there. To them, he looked human, so they hadn't realized that Jake was the one controlling the undead. "Help you? You? Human?" Jake asked before shaking his head.
"I am curious. Did those creatures attack you? Or did you just mindless slaughter them just because you could?" Jake asked. The least hurt Contender was confused by Jake's question. "Of course we killed them! It's an apocalypse. Why wouldn't we kill them!?" The Contender shouted.
All of them looked a bit too exhausted to do anything, which was why no one made any sudden movements. "So, you killed them just because you could?" Jake asked, trying to get to the bottom of things. "Of course!" The Contender answered, and Jake shook his head.
"Then you are no different from the others. You will just kill people for the fun of it once you have had your fill of killing the bugs and undead. I could understand if they attacked you first, but it seems like you just felt the need to kill them. All for your own amusement." Jake brought his hand up.
"Devour them," Jake commanded and brought his hand down. It was then that these Contenders knew that Jake was the one controlling the undead. A mere human was controlling these creatures as if he were their king.
The Contenders were doing their best to fight back; eventually, they were overwhelmed. One of the Contenders managed to flee since all of the Eater Undead were busy clashing with the Contenders. This person saw no reason to stay and die when she could easily return to her group and warn them.
Miranda saw that one of them was running away and looked at Jake. "Master Jake, one of them is escaping. Would you like me to go after her?" Miranda asked. Jake shook his head without looking at her. "There is no need. One of my Eaters is trailing her. I am sure she'll lead us to her group." Jake replied.
One of the other Contenders who was busy dealing with an Eater had overheard him. "What!?" He exclaimed. "How could you!? Aren't you human!?" The Contender shouted while struggling with the Eater's tongue. The tongue looked like a sharp sword, and the Contender was fending against it with deflects and dodges from his metal pipe.
"I wonder..." Jake replied. This reply caused the Contender to lose focus and slip up. The tongue pierced through his chest and through the heart. In the Contender's final moments, he saw that even if he did defeat this Eater, there were more waiting for him since all of his comrades were dead and being devoured.
"Please.... be safe... Ashley..." The Contender said before passing on. Jake would dismiss the Eater Undead that were preset and approach the corpses or what was left of them. "Take what is here and put it in the storage." Jake said, and the undead behind him bowed respectfully, "Sir!" He would collect the remains and take them with him. His strength of carrying so many bodies with only two arms showed just how strong ordinary undead were.
Miranda moved up to Jake but did not stand beside him. That place was only meant for a Queen or those who held the same position of power as Jake. She was neither, and so she kept one step behind him. "Your legion is quite powerful, just as the visions portrayed," Miranda said with admiration and respect.
"Is it?" Jake had to wonder. After all, the only reason he had been training so hard was to be able to build his own army. Miranda had told Jake that the visions showed her a powerful gray army of various undead that were not known to their world. Even if that were the case, Jake felt like his strength was insufficient. He could be better, and right now, that was what he wanted: more power.
Ashley, the Contender who had slipped away, was running frantically towards her small base. They used a duplex, two homes combined into one big one as a base. Half of their group was already eliminated, but she felt the need to warn her people. She was completely unaware of the Eater Undead that was following her.
When she arrived, she slammed on the door frantically. "James! James! Let me in, James!" Ashley shouted at the top of her lungs as if her murder was on her heels. The locking mechanism started to release, and eventually, the door opened. Seeing Ashley frantic and covered in blood, the man wondered what the hell happened. "The hell happened to you?" James asked.
"Undead! Crazy-looking undead and some guy who controls them! Our entire group was wiped out. We need to get out of here, find another base. Something! Anything!" Ashley tried to push past James, to get inside, and James let her in and quickly shut the door. The woman was screaming bloody mary, and all kinds of creatures could probably hear her.
"Calm down, Ash." James would guide the woman to the couch, where several others who had heard her screams entered the living room to see what was going on. "Tell me what you saw," James said, and Ashley began to explain in fine detail what she saw. Horrified faces seemed to fill around the room, and some people cried or turned away with sorrow.
"I told that idiot to stop hunting them," James said when Ashley finished. He didn't like that some of his people actively sought after Undead as if they were hunters. It could bring attention to them, and this was what had happened. "You said someone was controlling them. Maybe it was their power. Perhaps we can reason with them." James said since he was thinking of a way out of this mess without losing more people.
"Reason!? You want us to talk to that deranged man!?" Ashley exclaimed. She was baffled by what James said. She truly didn't believe they could reason with him, and even if they could, she didn't want to. That man killed her girlfriend, Nina. There was no way she would ever forgive that man for what he did.
Suddenly out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door. It was calm and polite. Everyone froze up since they didn't know who it was or what to do. James told everyone to be quiet and took his gun off the table. He would make his way to the door, and when he tried to use the peephole, he found darkness. The person was covering the hole, so no one could see who it was.
James internally sighed and started to unlock the door but left the chain lock. He would peak through the corner of the door only to see two people. A young man with a less than happy face and a gray skin-colored woman wearing nothing more than rags.
"Excuse me, but there is someone among you that I would like to talk with," Jake said, and instantly Ashley began to shiver. She remembered his voice. "Kill him! Shut the door! James!" Ashley screamed, and instantly James slammed the door, but before he could lock it, the door was kicked open. James was pushed with the door against the wall adjacent to him.
Everyone went into battle mode, but Ferals started to come out of the shadows before they could do anything. Radiating a gray aura and had them surrounded; however, they did not attack. The people found this strange, and before anyone else attacked, they could hear James shouting, "Don't attack!"
Jake and Miranda had entered the home, Miranda had stepped back to allow Jake to enter first after having kicked the door down. So, Jake was now inside the building. He looked towards James to see the man was bleeding from his head but was still conscious. "Huh, still awake?" Jake asked, and James grit his teeth to bear with the pain.
"What do you want?" James asked. He had seen that the undead radiating with a gray aura did not attack yet. So perhaps, this man wouldn't attack them without reason. "What I want? The person who killed my people." Jake said while looking towards Ashley.
"Your people!? Zombies are your people!? You sick fucko!" Ashley explained, and Jake's expression crumpled. "At least they don't attack people without reason or for greed and pleasure," Jake said, his tone less than friendly.
Jake was undergoing changes. Even though he had not yet realized it, his attitude towards humans was becoming less than friendly. In addition to that, he was becoming more bold and confident. Even though he still saw his present strength as weak, he didn't back down from anyone. The only thing that hadn't changed was his trauma. He wouldn't get his hands dirty, which was why instead of using any of his own skills, he used his Seed Power.
Everyone was confused and stunned. No one knew what to do or say. "Are you saying you can control the undead?" James asked, struggling to get up off the floor. Jake shifted his attention towards James and nodded. "I can. I had one of my own stalk her; although, I could've easily had it kill her." Jake said.
"Then why didn't you?" James asked curiously.
"To warn you, people. You probably would have sent out a search squad or something. I can't have that. So, I came to make an offer to you people. Give me the girl, and you all get to live." Jake said nonchalantly.
No one knew what to say. In fact, they were too scared to say anything. However, Ashley was different. "Fuck you! Kill him! Kill all of them! They killed our people! This sick bastard had his undead devour them!" Ashley shouted at the top of her lungs and quickly searched for a weapon.
"I've had enough of you..." Miranda was trembling with anger. Normally, she was calm, composed, and beautiful. However, right now, she had an expression of anger on her features. Miranda slammed her barefoot on the ground, which caused the flooring to cave in slightly. This stopped Ashly from moving around and everyone to look at Miranda with fear.
"You are in the presence of our King. The King of Undead. I will not stand idly by while you mistreat him because you are too arrogant to admit your own wrongdoings!" Miranda exclaimed and was about to charge at Ashley until Jake brought his arm out.
"Thank you, Miranda," Jake said in a calm and soothing voice. Miranda's anger and frustration instantly vanished, hearing his words and voice. She recomposed herself and stood a step behind him once again. She had been listening quietly the entire time but had enough of Ashley's rude behavior. Which was why she lashed out.
"King of Undead?" James asked, and Jake nodded. "Indeed. So, as you can see. I am not pleased that your group has killed one of my own. As long as you give me the girl, I will spare all of you. However, if you decide not to then, you will all die. So, what will your answer be." Jake said while waiting for an answer.
People began to walk in favor of leaving Ashley to Jake. Others disagreed, saying that they should take them on to fend for themselves. They also brought to light that there was no guarantee that he would let them live after giving Ashley away.
Jake corrected them, saying he was a man of his word, and if they decided not to believe him, it was up to them. Some bought his words, and ultimately after half an hour passed, they came up with a conclusion. "We will give her to you," James said. "What!?" Ashley exclaimed in protest. She had no say in this, so her words didn't matter.
"You choose to hang out with that idiot. I warned you and Nina that he would be the death of you, but you didn't heed my words. I will not sacrifice my group because of his misdeeds. Take her. I hope you will keep your word." James said, and Jake nodded while having his ferals move to grab Ashley. "Let go of me! No! No! No!" Ashley struggled to break free and even kicked and punched the ferals, but nothing worked. In the end, she was brought out of the home and tossed on the streets.
Jake and Miranda left the house without another word, and everyone in the house began to settle down. Some went to the windows to see what Jake would do while others stood at the door. Some decided to stay back, not wanted to watch what would happen. It was a tough decision to give over someone they knew for some months, but if it meant their lives being saved over hers. They would do it.
Ashley found herself surrounded by the ferals, encircled, so she couldn't escape. She was scared and shivering, but instead of crying for help or trying to flee, Ashley began to beg and plea for her life. She apologized over and over, but nothing was going to please Jake.
"For killing my people, you will pay the price. " Jake said since the Ferals made way for him to enter their circle. Miranda was standing one step behind him as usual with an apathetic expression on her face. "Please, Please! You are a king, right? I am sorry, My King. Please spare me!" Ashley exclaimed.
Miranda's calm expression crumpled when she heard Ashley call him her king. "You!" Miranda was about to lash out again, but Jake stopped her. Instead, an Eater Undead appeared in front of her. No one could tell, but it was the very same that had tracked her.
"You've done well...." Jake said to the Eater Undead. "Take your reward and savor it, as for the rest of you. Make a view for the audience." Jake said, and the ferals made way for those watching to watch. The Eater undead began to slowly and tastefully eat Ashley, piece by piece, as to savor the fleshy flavor. Ashley would scream in pain and agony, but eventually, their screams died out since she passed on.
Everyone watching had horror on their face, and some felt like throwing up. No one found the scene blissful and instead felt fear of what may have happened to them. They never saw the horror creature earlier, just the ferals. But now they knew they wouldn't have won against Jake if they tried to fight.
"Let this be a reminder to all of you that attacking my people means war. While I do not control every undead. Those that are intelligent enough to mind their own business are mine. Those who lash out randomly, you are allowed to do as you please. Should I find that you killed one of mine, you will be feed to my Legion." Jake said with a serious expression before turning away and making his way back to the cave.
The Ferals were dismissed along with the Eater Undead after he had his meal. All that was left was Miranda, who walked a step behind Jake. No one could say anything, and those in the house that were desensitized to such a scene wondered who Jake was talking to. Was it just them, or were there other people?
"Ha...Ha...Ha... Fuck, that kid really can control the Undead, and now he has an army of them." Avidity said since she was watching from a distance. She and the other Sin Squad members were on a mission to find Don and his people and bring them to their side. When she fought against Jake months ago, he could only create measly weak undead, but now he had powerful undead at his side.
"King of Undead, bah. What rubbish." Ego, who was standing beside her on top of a building, said. "If anyone is a King, it is I. No one else stands on top beside me." Ego claimed proudly; however, Avidity scoffed at him. "Is that why you act like a little bitch in front of the High Commander?"
Ego grumbled and cursed under his breath at Avidity. The only person he could never see himself above was their High Commander. Even if he wanted to, it was impossible. Sure, General Smith and the other Warlords were strong, but Ego figured that with training and more time he could surpass them. As for the High Commander, he knew that her strength was unmatched.
This was one of the reasons why he found it confusing that they were searching for Don and his group. "Why are we on this mission? Isn't the High Commander strong enough to deal with the boy?" Ego asked and Avidity shook her head. "I don't know, but we have our orders. Let's follow him." Avidity said and the two began tracking Jake and Miranda.