King of Nothing Part 8

Euphoria, elation, glee, and delight, all these words might as well have been made-up words here in the city of Krimo. I've only been here for a couple of months, and I can tell the term misery loves company fits this place all too well. Nonetheless, I have somehow made the mentioned emotions common pleasures I experience daily, with tonight being no different.

Because in this century of superhumans and superpowers, society has blessed me with the power to find joy in misery, and I will not let it go to waste, for I am Damage.

The familiar painful rumbling sensation building in my very core for hours on end finally alleviated upon blasting that plebeian Eternus, replacing my hidden stress with nothing more than a calm wave of tranquility. For what seemed like an eternity, I basked in this rushing exhilaration while I gazed upon my thrilling masterpiece.

The stained and burned blood across the battlefield, the chipped tooth fragment that sizzled across his skin, and most of all, the deliciously delectable and defeated face made me want to smile at it forever. But like all good things, my private world came to an end once the rabble came calling.

"ETERNUS!!!," a passionate man said from the crowds.

When I bothered to turn my head, I saw my bronze subjects fall like flies to Eternus' allies. While the small mute and beautiful beast laid back, the blond woman who escaped her locker on her own used a locker door to defend them both.

Meanwhile, the pink-haired woman, with apparent strain on her face, fired a small barrage of adhesive blobs to confuse and stun my subjects, giving the burly man all the opening he needed to rush at me with an all-out blitzkrieg. Usually, I probably would've been livid at the sight of such fiery resistance. But with Eternus' noble sacrifice, I was as happy as a clam. So I decided to give the Cons one last mercy.

"Quill and Knuckle, defend your king; please do spare him, though."

Without so much as a word back, Quill and Knuckle descended on the approaching fool. Quill routinely fired off a small squadron of his bone-like spears. However, in a move that left even me surprised, the burly man didn't stop his momentum in the least bit, instead dodging each projectile with the most minimal of movements, eventually catching the last shot and throwing it right into Quill's. Shoulder!

Upon being thrown back, Quill, Knuckle, and I looked back at each with shared surprise before pain seized up his body up. Then, anger overtook Knuckle as he proceeded to lunge in with his glowing blue fists in a jab-like motion. The burly Con expected the jab though attempting to dodge it in a split second evasion, but Knuckle was waiting for that, employing an even quicker feint that disguised a perfectly laid out hook to his side!

Knuckle's familiar blue aura washed over the man, but he didn't even quit, instead taking the energy of the hit and throwing him down by the collar with inhuman torque! Once again, the stage cracked under the decisive move, but the strongman couldn't keep up the offense as evidence of an irritated wound was all I needed to make the killing blow.

Summoning more of my inner reserves, I fired off a clear light red voltage wave. The Con could do absolutely nothing against my paranormal might as it sent him throttling into the ropes! I thought I got done with him, but that mysterious phenomenon from before carried over, slingshotting the barely stirring opponent back to me!

But it was a matter that I could easily handle, simply firing off another wave that sends the bouncing man flying into his friends! A scrappy dog pile sooned from beneath me as I walked towards the nameless fools with the same request I've given dozens of others.

"Once again, I must admire your courage and resolve, but I suggest that you give up now. I've been very patient up until this point, but you plebeians have just about won the award for the most annoying initiates in the Monarchy of Misanthropes grand half-year history. So if you don't want to follow in the footsteps of your literal and figurative brain-dead leader, I suggest you kneel before you experience true pain," I said while leveling my sizzling hand, ready and willing to add more pieces to the art gallery.

However, before I could get an answer from the quarrelsome peasants, a new presence entered the fray. For months I've ruled over these sorry slums with the iron fist of absolute authority. I've crushed scores of enemies who couldn't even hope to match said authority.

My rule came from certainty from absolute power, yet I've felt something I hadn't in years. My body didn't dare forget this phantom pain; from the hairs on the back of my neck to the goosebumps on my skin, my soul got reminded of this dreadful feeling: The overwhelming ever-present feeling of fear.

That fear consumed everyone in the gym, leaving both The Cons and my subjects completely petrified, holding their breaths upon the twitching of Eternus' smoking carcass.