49 [Bonus chapter]The Timid Demon v/s The Clown

Chris' armor, his outfit, hell even his loincloth was now in rags as the long battle had taken its toll on him. Conversely, William was still in peak condition, as good as when he first entered the arena.

'What type of frightening endurance does he have?!' Chris thought to himself.

By now Chris understood that the current him had no chance against this monster and decided to end this farce, lest he makes more of a fool of himself.

"I give up," Chris declared.

He was not ashamed in giving up the match because he knew that only the living could get stronger. What would be the point of fighting until his, undoubtedly certain, demise? 'Honor'? Sorry, you can keep that sh*t. He knew that only the living got to decide the rules, not the dead.

"Next time... next time for sure, I'll beat you!"

He knew better than anyone that the one who got the last laugh truly wins.

"I will surely win next time, so be ready because the next time we meet, it will be your loss." He said, still glaring at William.

William just took it with a grain of salt and casually strolled out of the arena.

"What a spectacular show of strength, technique, and raw power! The powerhouse, William, is moving on to the next round. Will his rise continue without the stop, or will someone finally be able to stop the Devil in his tracks? Find out here, at the Colosseum!", the Commentator said in an excited tone.

"Let's all give a round of applause for the Lone Hunter who fought bravely against the Banished Devil. And give a warm welcome for our next match's warriors. An exciting battle awaits between the Timid Demon v/s the Clown."

Cale walked to the arena in his usual manner, while his opponent Kannada came with his boisterous laughter, "Hohohohoo... tn..tn..tn..tn..tn!", he then shifted quickly to singing a song using his weird *ss laugh as a beat for the song:

"Look at me, all of you down under,

Cause I am here all alone,

Putting on a show, for the crowd's entertainment,

Surely gonna win, cause I'm hellbent,

Rotten eggs and tomatoes, thrown,

Cause I am here all alone, making a noise like I'm thunder

Welcome me Kannada, a Clown fixing to make a blunder,

tn..tn..tn..tn."

He bowed forward, in an expression of showmanship, as he lifted his face to bathe in the applause of the crowd of his "adoring fans".

His face was covered by a mask with the simple design of a smiling face. A pure white mask with red eyes and a huge smiling mouth.

The senior of Cale was looking at the arena with a serious face while looking at this.

Cale is a member of Demon Coterie, which is a shadow organization that the world doesn't know of, but more than that, he is the son of one of the four Leaders of the Demon Coterie who was called the 'Fist Demon'. Despite being the son of such a high ranker, his personal information was all kept away from the world, not because he wasn't strong enough to protect himself but because of the fears of his senior.

'He is probably stronger than Sanak...'

Cale, who was trained in martial arts from a young age, was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the son of the trinity.

'But he would never win a real fight against him'

He was indeed stronger than Sanak, but he knew he would never win against him because of his weakness:

Trauma

The vast majority of people in the Tower suffered from Trauma in various forms, whether it's the crippling fear of men, the loss of a will to live, or any other version, the general symptom is the inability to function due to a fear of something. Cale was one such victim and is the reason he wouldn't win in a death match. In the Tower where often, the Life and Death of a person hangs by a fine thread, having trauma is to their detriment and can even lead to their demise. It was a very serious problem, but who cared enough to address it?

"Take him, don't return until he learns to overcome his fears," were the exact words of his father, The Fist Demon, all those years ago had ordered him.

While it would be a great boon if Cale could reign in his fear, likely, he would not be able to for some time now. It's not like the feeling of watching your mother being burnt alive all while you are watching helplessly was something one could easily forget…

Cale's face was looking pale, with cold sweats, and slightly shaky knees. The round was fixing to start but his mind was a couple of thousand miles away, to where his people were. How they begged for mercy from their captures, who only smiled as they kept killing without hesitation. As his trauma started acting up from looking at the smiling mask of Kannada, he remembered the faces that he didn't want to remember, of the heartless demons that took his world from him as he could only stand and stare, unable to fight for what he loved or die with whom he loved.

Kannada was not someone who would let his opponent take his time and go on about fighting with honor and whatnot bullsh*it.

"Mind Read"

He used one of his skills as he Cale's pale face, It was a skill which enabled him to look into the saddest memories of his target,

"Hohoho what a poor child!"

He said looking at Cale and simultaneously using another one of his skills "Mind Impact"

It was Skill that would deliver every word he says into the target's mind and leave behind a strong impact.

'This should be easy', He chuckled inside as he started his word-arrows.

"You killed them all Cale. If you had just been a bit stronger you could have fought them off, had been just a bit braver you could have fought them off and saved everyone, had you just moved you could have helped them not be slaughtered like cattle. What disgusting b*sturd just sits there and watches while those he cares for die? You would have been better off dying there with the rest of your people."

Cale kneeled on the ground while holding his head, his breath turning erratic all while the voice kept piercing deeper into his mind.

"You could have saved your mother, but instead you chose to sit by idly and warm up by the fire."

"You could have saved your people, but instead you chose to avoid danger to save your own worthless life. You didn't even have to courage to die there with them."

"You could have done a million and one things to help the situation, but you just stood there. You killed them, Cale, by being a coward."

"You're a sinner, a killer!"

Cale was now on the ground hyperventilating, as Kannada's words were echoing in his mind.

"No...no...i..didn't kill the...m...i wa..s....help..less"

Kannada smiled seeing the Cale on the ground.

Snap!

He snapped his fingers as he said,

"Hypnosis!"

He used one of his main skills!

Cale's eyes went wide as his eyeballs now rolled back completely. Cale has been broken.

"Now, now... my dear Cale... won't you forfeit the match?"

Cale looked up at Kannada as he said with a delirious smile.

"Okay, Mom...I forfeit."

Snap!

As soon as he said that Kannada snapped his fingers again.

Plop!

Cale fell on the floor like a doll with its strings cut.

"Won't you announce the result dear friend!" He looked toward the referee as he declared his win.

The referee was confused as to what just went down. He couldn't make this call himself, so he looked towards the higher authority in the stand for guidance. Within the audience seat, among the throngs of the crowd, someone nodded his head at him.

"Match over! Winner, Kannada!"

"Would you look at this people, something hardly seen has occurred! There was no battle! No exchange and no blood! Kannada marches to the top 8 without a fight!"

"What a spectacle and show of one's abilities, to defeat his opponent without even having to use force."

"Kannada, the Clown! Who will stop him? That's a story for another time, but now guys, here we have an exciting match "

"Our Friendly, Neighborhood Necromancer is going to face off against the Rising Star, The Red Sword!"

"It's Shiva v/s Sasaki!!

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(edited by JokeDagger)

A bonus was released because of all the requests from readers. Happy reading guys!