Match 62: King Caesar vs. Iris

Match 62: King Caesar vs. Iris is the 62nd Match of the KWC and is written by Christian Salabert,

## Story

Suddenly, Iris was alive.

His cranial orb pulsing with light, the ancient beast rose to his feet. His tentacles began to swing lazily behind him. He wasn't sure why he was alive again, but he was not about to complain. Almost instantly, the evolved Gyaos craved completion. And he knew there was only one being on the planet that could grant it to him.

Ayana...

Splitting his tentacles open and forming his wings, Iris fired his jets and rose into the sky.

\* \* \* \* \*

The fearsome roar of King Caesar filled the air.

Rock and dirt exploded into the sea as the Okinawan deity awoke, emerging from his cave. The leonine golem could already sense the foul beast that had risen, angry that it would dare appear on Caesar's watch. Roaring furiously, King Caesar broke free from what remained of his resting place and began to make his way towards his foe.

Queen Minami watched as King Caesar disappeared into the distance. She knew the creature her guardian was about to face was a dangerous one, but she wasn't worried. She knew King Caesar would fight until the end.

\* \* \* \* \*

Iris set down in one of the humans' settlements, ignoring their screams as they ran from him. He could sense that Ayana was somewhere within this city, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where. She wasn't close, he could tell that much. He began to move forward, crushing various structures under his feet. He swept even more of them away with his tentacles. He wouldn't stop until he found her.

Though he was still a good distance away, King Caesar could see the beast. His eyes narrowed as he watched it destroy the humans' homes, sending them fleeing in terror. He would put an end to this right now. Throwing his arms out into an attack position, King Caesar charged the creature, letting loose with a roar to let his foe know its end was near. His ears folded upward.

Hearing the cry, Iris turned his head and spotted the approaching deity. The armored creature wailed out as it watched Caesar run at him. Once the feline beast was within range, Iris lashed out with one of his tentacles, sideswiping King Caesar in the head and instantly toppling him. As he got back to his feet, Iris sent his bottom two tentacles at Caesar, their speared tips aiming right at him. King Caesar reacted quickly, jumping into the air and spinning around. His foot impacted with the first tentacle's head, kicking it away with a loud clang. Seconds later, he was able to snatch the second limb out of the air, tugging on it with all his strength. Iris jerked forward, unable to resist his foe's pulling. Iris groaned in frustration; he was too far away to strike the creature.

Unable to wrench his tentacle free, Iris raised his two top tentacles into the air and pointed their tips at his opponent. King Caesar watched as they aimed at his head and split open, energy glowing within. Twin sonic beams shot forth from the spears, soaring towards King Caesar's head. Iris was confused. Instead of trying to avoid the beams, his foe looked up at them, facing them head on. The golden energy hit King Caesar's eyes and seconds later were redirected back at Iris. The armored monstrosity realized what was about to happen and pulled his tentacles out of the way, but King Caesar wasn't aiming for the ends. The beams lanced through his tentacles near their base, causing Iris to rear his head back and wail. The appendages fell to the ground, cleanly sliced off by their own sonic beams. With Iris distracted, King Caesar charged, quickly closing the distance between them. Before Iris even realized he was there, the golem began slamming his fists against the spiky creature's chest. Iris quickly responded, shoving against King Caesar and sending him sprawling to the ground with his superior mass. But Caesar was back on his feet and attacking Iris within seconds. Iris was about to counterattack with the spear on his arm, when King Caesar leapt into the air and slammed his foot into Iris' chest. With a sickening crack, Iris tumbled backward onto the ground. The armored beast groaned in pain. A large crack now went down the middle of his chest plate. King Caesar advanced, but before he could press his advantage, Iris raised one of his two remaining tentacles and fired off a sonic beam. This one hit home, piercing King Caesar's shoulder and sending him crashing to the ground.

Iris rose to his feet and turned to face King Caesar, who did the same. King Caesar leapt forward and wrapped his arms around Iris, grappling with the creature. The long spikes jutting from Iris' knees jammed into Caesar's gut, forcing him to back away. In retaliation, King Caesar backhanded Iris across his pointed face. Iris groaned as his foe's fist bounced off his face, shaking his head to regain his focus. As Caesar locked his arms around Iris once again, the mutant Gyaos brought one of his tentacles up behind his opponent. Iris thrust his tentacle forward. Seconds later, King Caesar howled in pain as the limb's speared tip impaled his hip from behind. As King Caesar began to pull the arrow-headed appendage out of his hip, Iris brought his other tentacle up behind him, this time aiming at the feline's head. Caesar was expecting the ploy this time, however, and flipped out of the way. Iris wailed as the tentacle's spear collided with his chest plate, damaging it even further. King Caesar, meanwhile, dislodged the spear head from his hip, batting the tentacle away and roaring furiously at Iris. The armored monster looked up just in time to see King Caesar tackle him head-first to the ground.

King Caesar quickly pressed his advantage and began bringing his powerful fists down on Iris' damaged chest. Iris struggled, trying to get the golem off of him, but Caesar refused to move, and in fact struck Iris across his spiked face in an attempt to cease the beast's movements. Iris cried in pain and anger as he was assaulted by King Caesar over and over. He wanted to finish this creature and quickly. When King Caesar lifted his hand, preparing to bring it down on his foe, Iris responded with his tentacle, wrapping it around Caesar's arm, pulling the feline creature away and sending him tumbling to the ground. Iris got to his feet just in time to be uppercut by Caesar, breaking several smaller spikes off his head. Another powerful kick from Caesar, and fluids began to spill from the crack in Iris' chest plate. King Caesar prepared to tackle Iris again, holding his arms out, ready to attack. The Okinawan deity charged, roaring loudly. Iris thrust his arm forward, but King Caesar avoided the spear, spinning around and planting his foot into Iris' armored back. The mutated Gyaos staggered forward, lashing out with his tentacles. One struck Caesar in the head, dazing him. The second slammed into his legs, sweeping them out from under him and bringing him to the ground. Iris raised his tentacles into the air and aimed their tips at his foe. In an instant, he thrust them downward. King Caesar rolled out of the way, and the tentacles' spears stabbed into the ground.

Iris pulled his tentacles out of the pavement just as King Caesar returned to his feet and attacked again. The furry creature slammed his fists into Iris' chest plate again and again, driving the beast back. King Caesar raised his leg and planted his foot into Iris' gut, kicking hard. Iris stumbled back, and flexed his arms. He was ready to finish this. As Caesar approached, Iris thrust his right arm forward once again. Once more, his foe dodged the attack, spinning to the side. But Iris was ready for the tactic. His slammed his left arm forward, jamming the limb's spear into Caesar's back.

King Caesar shrieked in agony as the deadly extension cut through his body like a knife through butter before finally exploding out of his chest. King Caesar desperately clutched at the spear's protruding tip, unwilling to concede defeat to his foe. Iris withdrew his spear, revealing the massive hole torn through King Caesar's torso. Shakily, the mammalian deity turned to face Iris, and stepped forward. Iris watched in amazement as Caesar fought to stay standing. He took another step forward, and just as Iris began to raise his tentacles to strike the beast down, King Caesar reached up and grabbed his head. Quickly tipping Iris' pointed face downward, Caesar headbutted his foe with terrifying force, cracking the armor that made up Iris' skull. As Iris staggered back, stunned and badly hurt from the blow, King Caesar turned away and dropped to his knees. Satisfied with his final act of defiance, he toppled face-first into the ground.

His vision blurred, Iris looked down at the fallen form of King Caesar. Despite the fact that his life force was rapidly ebbing away, Caesar still moved, fighting death every step of the way.

This angered Iris. The mutant Gyaos lifted his tentacles high into the air and aimed their tips at Caesar's head, bringing his sonic beams to full power. He would end this now. Golden orbs of energy gathered in the open speartips, aimed directly at the back of King Caesar's head. Caesar began to weakly push himself up off the pavement.

Iris' sonic beams fired. They pierced King Caesar's skull, instantly killing the protector of Okinawa.

But the beams hadn't claimed all their victims yet.

Nanoseconds after slicing through King Caesar's brain, the golden beams struck the backsides of the golem's eyes. Their reflective properties still worked, and the rays shot out of the back of King Caesar's cranium. One of them shot up harmlessly into the sky. The second blasted back towards Iris, and before the ancient creature could react, it seared through the yellow orb in his head. The light within died instantly.

For a moment, Iris stood, unmoving.

Seconds later, the beast toppled to the ground, slain by his own weapon. The impact of the armored beast hitting the ground shook the surrounding area, leveling any nearby structures.

Before long, the humans came out of their hiding places. Though thrilled that the evil monster known as Iris had been defeated, they also recognized the sacrifice made by their heroic defender, the ancient guardian known as King Caesar.