Almost immediately everyone had forgotten about Hamid, for a new battle between Karim and Zon had begun.
Karim's large muscles bulged through his red and black fighting gear as his delicate red hair sat neatly on his head. He looked over to the other side of the arena where Zon stood upright. Karim lowered his guard while Zon solidified his. Karim appeared calm, relaxed, almost unserious. Zon, on the other hand, was already sweating, his face suggesting he was thinking deeply about his every move.
The crowd fell silent, awaiting the first move. Zon continued to eye up Karim, strangely refusing to attack just yet, as Karim averted his gaze to the floor, clicking his tongue as though he was bored.
Deceitful this proved to be, however.
Suddenly, Karim exhibited a devastating feat of speed. He, before the non-royal onlookers could even understand what had just happened, appeared directly in front of Zon. To Zon's dismay, he wasn't prepared for this. In reality, no mere human like Zon could.
Karim sent Zon flying with a gushing gut kick. Though the edge of the arena was nearby, Karim directed his kick toward the centre of the arena, keeping Zon in the fight.
"Had enough already? Well, clearly not, I guess," Karim muttered to himself as Zon readjusted his hair and headed straight for him. Zon threw a flurry of blows, each missing, while Karim refused to show even an ounce of worry. Karim took advantage of the slow final punch Zon threw at him, skillfully dodging Zon's straight right hand by leaping into the air before propelling himself off of Zon's own arm and somersaulting backward to give the crowd more to scream about.
Having landed graciously, Karim turned to the crowd, flexing his muscles and exerting small flickers of fire around his body. The crowd cheered, some having to restrain themselves from jumping onto the arena and getting a feel for themselves.
His flexes soon turned into what could only be pretend yawns, pointing toward Zon as he did so without bothering to even look at him. "Come get me," Karim playfully announced to Zon, still refusing to give him any attention.
Amidst the rowdy crowd demanding Karim display his divine powers, someone stood out. Someone equally as loud but filled with anger rather than anticipation. His words were demanding rather than pleading. The General rose from his seat, grabbing the barrier in front of him with all of his might and shouted at his son at the top of his lungs.
"Come on, son! He is wide open! Now's your chance to knock him off!"
Hearing this, Karim turned back to face Zon. His face was still layered with arrogance and he opened his arms to Zon.
"He's right. Come get me. I'm wide open!"
Zon frowned, quickly peeping a look at his father before fixating his gaze onto Karim once again. "You think you're clever, don't you, Karim?" Karim looked around, visibly unmoved from Zon's words, simultaneously shrugging and nodding as if he didn't know what else to do.
"But your arrogance will be your downfall. I'll make sure of it. I'll teach you to respect those who aren't blessed with your family's divine powers."
Karim exhaled somewhat exhaustedly while picking the dirt which had collected in his fingernails. "I'll believe it when I see it…my good 'friend'. Until then, keep dreaming of victory…it's the closest you'll ever get to feeling it."
"Arghhh, I hate you. All of you!" Zon shouted as he bolted at Karim. Then came a twisting kick, but it was finely dodged by Karim.
But then Zon caught Karim off guard while he was being sloppy. He feinted a punch toward Karim's head, pulling out halfway through and instead cleverly going to sweep the legs of Karim who had chosen to keep his lower body stationary when evading the attacks of Zon. Zon now had Karim in the air, free-falling and unable to turn the tables.
"It doesn't matter if you're stronger than me if I'm a lot smarter," Zon joyfully grunted as he unleashed a kick to Karim's gut, clearly with the aim of settling their bout by sending Karim off of the edge. The kick connected, throwing Karim across the air with a trajectory far beyond the arena's edge.
King Ibraheem jumped from his chair, alarmed that his own son was about to embarrass him. The General, on the other hand, bore a smirk so large that he couldn't possibly hide it from anyone.
Karim, however, knew it wasn't over. As he edged closer to the end of the arena, he improvised quickly. Though he didn't want to use his powers during the bout with a human, he had no choice. And so as he neared embarrassment, he raised both of his hands in the direction he had been thrust, released fire from his hands and used the force to stop himself from moving further through the air, barely landing within the arena.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" he said as he teetered along the edge of the arena upon landing, just about maintaining his footing.
Relieved, he wiped the sweat which had appeared on his forehead. And with one sharp glance at his father who looked overly dismayed in the crowd, he bashed his fists together, fire encroaching his fists while his eyes lit up.
"Alright, that wasn't cool. You almost embarrassed me in front of my father. And even worse…" Karim refrained from continuing to speak, but he twitched his head to the side, ushering Zon to look at a specific area within the crowd. There Zon could see three girls laughing in the crowd, their eyes fixated upon Karim as the flames around him grew.
Zon appeared confused, unsure what exactly Karim meant by what he was saying. "What do you mean—"
Zon's question was cut short as Karim wasted no time in ending their battle. Karim dove towards Zon, both of his fists extending in front of him, almost instantaneously connecting with Zon's stomach, forcing him back at an uncanny pace. Zon, unlike Karim, could do nothing to stop him from coursing through the air, having to rely on the closest wall to end his flight.
Karim turned to flex. The crowd cheered. Ibraheem breathed a sigh of relief. And the General smashed his fist against the arm of his chair, looking anywhere but where his son now lay.
As Karim waved his arms, the host took the stage for the very last time, announcing the final bout of the day.
"And there you have it, folks. We once again have an intense final between the two strongest kids of our kingdom. Amin, the electric technician, and Karim, the fiery ox."