END OF VOLUME TWO: ESCAPE FROM THE HAUNTED SCHOOL; CHAPTER 166: THE NEW ORDER

Unlike the undead anomaly's deep, powerful voice, which carried an air of authority, the five-meter-tall ape sounded more like an excited teenage boy.

Rather than walking, the ape seemed to bounce with every step, its waist swaying playfully from side to side as its massive head, almost the size of a human torso, bobbed along.

And yet, despite the playful grin on its face, a shocking wave of pressure descended on an area several kilometers around it. The zombies and beasts that were already sprawled on the earth were pressed even deeper into the ground. Elena fell straight down, with Alice and Rose faring no better.

Yet the former student council president didn't even seem to register that her bones were groaning under the pressure. Instead, her eyes appeared empty, as she couldn't believe the others had ditched her. That the principal, the one man she still somewhat respected despite all she had experienced, would do this to her.

Haha! Is this a game of tag? If I remember correctly, you humans are quite fond of playing it with your pets.

As it spoke, the two weapons slipped from its grasp and plunged into the earth, their blades sinking deep enough to leave both weapons standing upright.

With another bounce and a playful chuckle, the ape disappeared. A hundred meters away, the humans reappeared in a flash of purple. Transporting seven others with him had drastically reduced the distance the old man could cover with each jump. Yet he wasn't deterred. He prepared to teleport again when the two massive white-furred surfaces before him suddenly pulled apart, and a huge face popped up right in front of him.

Peekaboo!

"AHH!" The old man fell on his rear, prompting the massive ape to laugh in amusement. The others screamed in fear when they realized there was another creature among them, towering so far above them that they could barely comprehend its size.

The ape stretched a hand to grasp the principal.

Sweat beaded on the old man's forehead as he activated his skill, only to realize that it wasn't working. With the ape standing directly before him, he couldn't teleport the others away. At the very least, this confirmed that the creature possessed a Legendary-rank class or something even higher.

His eyes growing wet, the old man whispered:

"I'm sorry."

And vanished.

This time, alone.

Haha! So, you still want to play?

The pressure the beast had held back before descended once more, sending the others face-first to the ground. But it didn't even give them a glance and continued with its chase.

Its playful laughter continued to resound, no matter how far it went.

By now, the massive globe in the skies was slowly descending.

The old man gradually despaired. He realized that no matter how far he went or how fast he moved, the beast appeared almost at the same time as him. Its speed was clearly unnatural. Each of its steps turned its body into an afterimage, and what further shocked the principal was that its movement didn't stir any dirt or even seem to displace the air. For such a large creature, such a sight should be impossible, as it defied the normal laws of physics.

But then again, this world had long since ceased to be normal.

The globe finally touched down, and with a resounding pop, it burst apart, unleashing a devastating wave of frost that swept across several kilometers. The temperature plummeted as a mountain of ice, nearly a kilometer tall, rose from the ground, transforming the surrounding landscape into a frozen domain.

Over fifty apes appeared in the open. Some had snow-white fur, while others were purple-furred, with the smallest of them standing three meters tall. Yet despite the palpable pressure surrounding each of them, which was not much weaker than that of the undead anomaly, none dared to move as they waited for their young leader to have his fun.

By now, despair had also settled over the faces of the human survivors. They shivered helplessly against the freezing cold, unable to even lift their heads under the crushing pressure.

The playful laughter of the ape continued to resound within the sealed space. Despite its playful nature, the ape remained especially cautious.

To make sure the old principal didn't escape, it had instantly manifested a transparent ice castle that spread across an entire kilometer. This special technique seemed even capable of sealing space.

The old man appeared once more, his combat suit completely soaked in sweat. Just when he was about to teleport once more, a spike of pain shot through his lower abdomen, and his vision grew blurry. With a soft thud, he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Aww, is that all? I must admit, though, that I had quite a bit of fun.

Just as the beast walked towards him with measured steps, the old man strained to raise his head in Elena's direction.

He gave a sad smile and mouthed three words.

A big hand suddenly wrapped around him before effortlessly lifting him into the air.

Alright, playtime is over.

The human survivors, despite the pressure weighing on them, shouted words of pleading from outside the castle, but the ice palace seemed to cut off their voices.

Seeing Elena break down in tears and watching how his students, no, his grandchildren, struggled to break free from the hold on them without any care for their own well-being, two lines of tears slipped down his wizened face.

More than the fate awaiting him, what pained him most was that he had broken his own principles and had actually considered abandoning them. The guilt tore at his heart so fiercely that he wished he could take back that moment of weakness.

The ape walked to the edge of the ice castle, and with a small tap, the construct shattered into countless ice particles.

I enjoyed our little game, but I'm afraid I can't keep you with the others. I hope you understand.

Saying so, the creature didn't even pause for a moment before tightening its grip, causing a disgusting, wet squelching sound to echo through the area. Blood poured out of its grip like a crimson waterfall.

Seeing that their young leader had finished playing, the other apes erupted into action. Some moved to subdue the beasts still sprawled on the ground, while others slaughtered the undead with just one or two movements. The Elite undead that had frustrated both humans and beasts alike throughout the past month were also torn apart as easily as paper.

Seeing one of the apes drag a frozen Daniel along, the leading ape growled in a threatening tone, causing its underling to handle the middle-aged teacher more carefully.

Only after supervising its underlings' actions for a moment did the ape turn towards the quiet humans. Elena, Claire, Nathan, Sophia, Iris, and the female teacher each kept staring at its bloodied hand with stunned expressions, their eyes unblinking, causing the ape to feel uncomfortable. It awkwardly rubbed the back of its head with its other free hand.

Claire's teeth chattered uncontrollably as the tears streaming down her face froze into sparkling crystals before they could reach the ground.

"...you..."

The ape leaned forward, straining to catch the words she could barely force past her trembling lips.

"...why?..."

The young teacher barely managed to get the one word out before breaking down completely into sobs.

"Wuuu… he didn't deserve to die. He was such a good man. Wuuu… he… wuuu… could have easily escaped by himself… yet…"

The more Claire spoke, the more the others finally began to react. Elena's face crumpled as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. Nathan lowered his head, his fists trembling against the ground. Sophia pressed her lips together, desperately trying to suppress her sobs, while Iris stared at the bloodied hand in disbelief. Even the female teacher, who had remained silent in fear until then, began to weep.

Apparently unwilling to hear any more, the ape flicked its bloodied hand, splattering the ground with blood, before shaking its head in mild annoyance.

You seem to be forgetting something. Before the apocalypse, you humans ruled this world with an iron grip. I watched my mother get ruthlessly gunned down while trying to save me. She died protecting me, yet you killed her as though she were nothing more than an animal. Then you took me to a zoo, raised me there from childhood, and turned me into an attraction for you and your children to gawk at.

As he spoke, the beast walked towards Claire and soon stopped before her, its shadow engulfing her completely. Yet she didn't react. Her gaze remained fixed on the small pool of blood in the distance, as though she hadn't even heard a word it said.

But you know what? I never hated you humans. No, not even once. You were the stronger ones back then, and that was simply how the world worked. I accepted it as the natural order.

Squatting down before the still human, it flashed a wide grin.

But this… this is the new order.

After saying its piece, it turned and walked away while growling out some instructions to its underlings. But this time, its words also resounded throughout the area, as if it wanted the humans to understand what it was saying.

Keep the special ones with me. As for the rest, make them mate and breed. These humans are so weak that I'm sure their meat will become quite the delicacy.

Hearing the words of their young leader, the older apes roared in excitement and began pounding their chests with their fists.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

_______

AN: End of Volume Two: Escape from the Haunted School. Thanks for following the story so far.

The title of the next volume is THE FIRST ORDER.  Just from the name alone, I'm sure many of you can tell I have no intention to wait hundreds of chapters before Kael breaks through. I'm very excited to write the next volume as we will be experiencing the apocalypse mainly through his POV. 

Also, I will be taking a short week break to edit previous chapters, and prepare more backlogs of chapters.

Finally, I will appreciate it if my dear readers could drop some comments. I would like to know your thoughts on the story so far. Don't forget to follow the novel, and rate it if you are yet to. It's important for the book's growth.

Thanks so much, and see you next time in the apocalypse.

LittleGiant7.