Chapter 8: Darius’s Most Humiliating Defeat
Absolute silence.
The entire arena watched Karmakus.
The giant Crimson War Beast...
was trembling.
Slowly backing away.
With its tail between its legs.
And completely avoiding looking at the cat.
Darius froze.
"..."
He blinked once.
Then again.
"Karmakus..." he said slowly.
The enormous beast let out a small, nervous whimper.
The bleachers exploded immediately.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO IT!?"
"WHY IS IT SCARED!?"
"THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!!"
"KARMAKUS NEVER BACKS DOWN!!"
Kael looked at the sleeping cat in his arms.
Then at the gigantic, terrified creature.
And honestly...
the difference was so absurd that even he was confused.
"I think your giant dog is scared of my fat cat."
Darius spun around violently.
"IT’S A WAR LION!!"
"Well, right now it looks like a scared little puppy."
Several people tried not to laugh.
They failed miserably.
Darius gritted his teeth.
"Karmakus."
The beast didn’t respond.
It kept staring at the cat.
More specifically...
at its eyes.
Because even though the feline had already gone back to sleep...
Karmakus was clearly still traumatized by that gaze.
Darius frowned.
"Karmakus, get up!"
The beast took another step back.
"I’M GIVING YOU AN ORDER!!"
Nothing.
Kael raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Wow."
"Shut up."
"I’m not doing anything."
"THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT BOTHERS ME!!"
The bleachers began to fill with murmurs.
"What kind of ability was that?"
"There was no magical attack..."
"No explosion..."
"It just looked at him!"
"That’s even scarier..."
Darius took a deep breath.
And finally raised a hand forward.
A red magic circle appeared beneath Karmakus.
"Fine."
His voice became serious.
"If you can’t get close...
we’ll attack from a distance."
The beast hesitated.
But slowly roared again.
ROOOOAAAAAR.
This time the roar sounded less intimidating.
More nervous.
As if it were screaming:
"I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS."
Darius completely ignored his summon’s emotional trauma.
"Karmakus."
The monster’s claws began to glow again.
"Use Hyperclaw."
Red energy exploded around its paws.
The air vibrated violently.
Several students nervously stepped back.
"Here it goes again!!"
"Now the match will really end!!"
Karmakus roared and shot forward.
BOOOOOOM.
The ground exploded beneath its paws.
Hyperclaw descended directly toward the cat.
Kael’s eyes widened.
"Oh. Now it’s coming fast."
Then he looked at the sleeping feline.
"...Please do something."
Silence.
The cat kept sleeping.
Kael: "..."
"We’re dead."
Karmakus appeared in front of them.
The enormous claws descended.
And then—
The cat slowly opened one eye.
Just one.
It looked at Karmakus.
Absolute silence.
The beast froze instantly in mid-air.
All the Hyperclaw energy disappeared.
Poof.
Like a candle being snuffed out.
And then something even more humiliating happened.
Karmakus slowly turned around.
Walked over to Darius.
And hid behind him.
Silence.
The entire arena froze.
Darius blinked slowly.
"..."
He felt something gently tugging at his uniform.
He looked down.
Karmakus was using its human summoner as a shield.
Kael burst out laughing.
"NOOOOOOO!!"
"IT’S HIDING BEHIND YOU!!"
The entire arena collapsed instantly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
"THIS CAN’T BE REAL!!"
"KARMAKUS IS CRYING!!"
"LOOK AT IT!!"
Darius felt his soul leave his body.
"Karmakus..."
The beast let out a small, traumatized sound.
It didn’t even want to look at the cat.
Kael was crying with laughter.
"Your giant lion is scared of me!!"
"SHUT UP!!"
"IT’S TREMBLING!!"
"I KNOW!!"
Luna was pounding on the bleachers’ table while laughing.
"Big brother is winning without doing anything!!"
Beside her...
Seraphina calmly watched the cat.
And inside:
"Incredible."
"Perfect."
"The little fat king psychologically dominates his enemies."
Outwardly she just nodded slightly.
"...Good work."
The cat yawned.
Darius clenched his fists tightly.
The humiliation was absolute.
He hadn’t lost due to strength.
He hadn’t lost due to strategy.
His summon had simply decided:
"I don’t want to get near that thing."
And that was worse.
MUCH worse.
The teacher finally raised a hand.
Desperately trying to contain his laughter.
"Ahem..."
He took a deep breath.
"Due to Karmakus’s inability to continue the match..."
Dramatic silence.
"I declare Kael Veyron the winner."
BOOOOOOOOM.
The bleachers exploded.
"HE BEAT ONE OF THE BIG FIVE!!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT CAT!?"
"THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST!!"
"IT’S TOO ABSURD!!"
Kael honestly didn’t know how to react.
Because technically...
he had done absolutely nothing.
He looked at the sleeping cat.
"I think I’m being carried by a furry interdimensional criminal."
"Meow."
"Don’t look so proud."
Then Darius slowly lifted his head.
And looked directly at Kael.
The arena slowly quieted down.
Because everyone expected anger.
Hatred.
Rage.
But Darius just looked...
confused.
Very confused.
He looked at the cat.
Then at Karmakus hiding behind him.
Then back at the cat.
"...I don’t understand."
Kael honestly didn’t either.
"Me neither."
Darius clenched his jaw slightly.
"There’s no ability that can do this."
No one answered.
Because honestly... he was right.
The cat made no sense.
Absolutely none.
Darius took a deep breath.
And finally put away his spear.
"I won’t accept this defeat yet."
The bleachers reacted again.
"A RIVALRY!!"
"THINGS ARE GOING TO GET GOOD!!"
Darius completely ignored the shouts.
His eyes remained fixed on the cat.
"I’ll find out what you really are."
The cat slightly opened one eye.
Then went back to sleep.
As if Darius wasn’t important.
That probably hurt more than losing.
Much more.
