"I won," Gravis said evenly as he looked at Cynthia.
Cynthia was taken aback as she heard Gravis' words. What did he mean by he won? She was about to kill him, and he said that he won? Did he expect that he would be able to fight her? Gravis might have an impressive Battle-Strength, but Cynthia was sure that he wouldn't be able to fight over a full Realm above himself.
Cynthia shook her head to regain her bearings. It didn't matter what Gravis said. She just had to kill him, and everything will return to normal.
BANG!
The ground below Cynthia exploded as she burst forward with ridiculous speed. The Red King's abode was made out of incredibly powerful ore, and not even Gravis would be able to damage it. Yet, Cynthia just randomly destroyed it by accelerating.
Instead of getting ready for battle, Gravis just continued sitting there. If he were to fight her, he wouldn't be able to survive. Her speed was just way too fast for him. He wouldn't even be able to react to any of her attacks.
BOOOOOOM
But it wasn't Gravis fighting her.
Cynthia got flung back as a powerful fireball exploded before her, and her skin received a tremendous amount of cuts and burns. If that fireball had hit her directly, she wouldn't be alive anymore.
Cynthia's eyes widened in shock, terror, and fear as she realized who had attacked. There was only one beast inside the Red Kingdom that outclassed her to such a degree.
A small, red hawk landed between Gravis and Cynthia as it looked at Cynthia with unending fury. One of his commanders had betrayed him!
"M-My King," Cynthia quivered in terror. Why was the Red King here? Didn't he say that he would be gone for a couple of days?
"Explain yourself, commander," the Red King said with an icy voice that didn't allow for any disobedience.
The Red King's powerful voice took Cynthia out of her shock. "My-My King, this beast has cl-clouded your mind! Please, you must see the truth! I'm only doing this to protect you, my King!" she rapidly said in nervousness.
When the Red King heard that, he grew even angrier. This level three King dared to think that she would be able to protect him, the Red King!? He was one of the most powerful level five Kings in existence! He could even resist Emperors for a while! How dare this weak beast assume that it could protect him from anything!? Did this weak cat believe that she was more powerful than him!?
"How has this Lord clouded my mind, commander?" the Red King demanded in an icy tone.
Cynthia's breathing quickened as her fear rose. "I-I don't know, my King!" she shouted in panic. "But ever since this-this beast appeared, you have spoken words that you would have never said! You said that the Red Kingdom is only a tool to increase your power! The Red King I know would have never said something as selfish as this!"
"You are a kind and benevolent King. You always wanted the best for us, and I believe in you," Cynthia said weakly and sadly. "Please, you must see reason, my King! This Lord has put thoughts in your mind about grandeur and power, and that you-"
BOOOOOOOOM!
And Cynthia was no more.
"Weak, pathetic, naïve, stupid," the Red King spat one word after the other. Gravis could hear the Red King's genuine disgust and hatred for Cynthia.
The Red King respected power above everything else, but to achieve power, one had to be cruel and make sacrifices. The Red King knew these things and was ready to go through with these sacrifices. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so powerful.
Yet, this level three King spoke about kindness and benevolence? Even Lords knew that power was everything, so how did this beast reach the power of a level three King while still believing in these childish and naïve things?
When Cynthia had said that he was benevolent, the Red King took that as an insult. Being benevolent meant that he wasn't ready to give everything for power. If there were no gain, only a naive fool would help someone!
When Cynthia had said that he was kind, the Red King also felt insulted. He had killed so many beasts and had enslaved so many others. The Red King was proud of himself, but he wasn't a hypocrite. He knew that he wasn't kind in the least. His lack of kindness only showed his ambition and hunger for power. Kindness was weakness, while a lack of kindness was strength in his mind.
Cynthia saw the words benevolent and kind as a positive character trait, but to the Red King, these two words only meant stupid and hypocritical. He just couldn't believe that there was a high-ranking beast inside his Kingdom with such a weak mindset. The Red King felt a mixture of shame, disgust, hatred, and rage towards Cynthia.
"Called it," Gravis said from behind the Red King, which nearly made him explode in rage again.
The Red King turned to Gravis with burning eyes and glared at him. Gravis only looked back with his usual, even look.
Some seconds passed, and the Red King's body shook slightly. He hadn't been this angry in a really long time. Then, he turned around and took some deep breaths to calm down. Gravis didn't interject since he wasn't willing to gamble with his life right now. He shouldn't push the Red King too far.
Two minutes passed in which the Red King glanced at the burned crater to his side. Nothing was left of Cynthia. Usually, he wouldn't have wasted a valuable corpse like that, but he had just been too furious.
"How did you know that the cat would betray me?" the Red King asked as he looked at the blackened crater. Subconsciously, he had already degraded Cynthia from commander to just a common cat. He couldn't bring himself to call such a weak beast a commander of his Kingdom.
"I didn't," Gravis answered.
The Red King furrowed his brows and turned to Gravis. "Explain," he commanded.
"I wasn't sure if Cynthia would betray you or not. After all, I only know her superficially. There was a 50% chance in my mind that she would change her mindset, a 30% chance that she would remain the same and do nothing, and a 20% chance that she would betray you," Gravis explained.
The Red King snorted. "And this 20% chance was enough for you to make a bet with me?" the Red King asked with annoyance.
"Yeah," Gravis answered, "because if these 20% turned out to be true, I would be dead right now."
The Red King sighed when he heard that. "Understandable," he commented.
"Also," Gravis added, "telling you how I'm able to split into multiple bodies like that would literally be no loss to me. It makes no difference if you know or don't know."
The Red King grew a bit angry again as he glared at Gravis. "Then wh-"and immediately stopped himself. He knew exactly what answer would come. Gravis would just say that he didn't want to tell him.
"So, as for my payment," Gravis said as he trailed off.
The Red King only sighed again.
A couple of months ago, Gravis had contacted the Red King and told him that Cynthia would kill Gravis as soon as the Red King left. Of course, the Red King didn't believe that one bit. Cynthia was one of his most powerful commanders, and he looked very favorably upon her. She would never betray him.
Then, Gravis explained to him how he was judging her incorrectly and that he assigned his own mindset to her due to his pride in himself and her. Of course, the Red King still didn't believe it.
So, Gravis made a bet with him.
The Red King should act like he would leave for a couple of days but just keep watch from a hidden location. If Cynthia followed her orders, Gravis would tell him how he could split into multiple bodies.
The Red King wanted to know how that worked so badly. He had tried everything to get Gravis to tell him before, but he had been completely helpless. Yet, in his mind, as soon as Gravis offered the bet, he grew ecstatic. He would get to know Gravis' secrets without having to do anything or angering him? This was great!
Also, it would feel like he would have won against Gravis, which would have felt great. Gravis had been the greatest source of frustration he had ever had.
Yet, if Gravis won…
"So," Gravis said slowly. "Tell me."
"What will happen to me as soon as you hand me over to the Empress?"