Karna stepped aside, caught the elbow, and twisted Kamsa's arm behind his back, forcing him down again. Kamsa's face slammed into the sand, and his teeth grit as pain surged through his shoulder.
The crowd watched in stunned silence.
This wasn't a duel.
This was domination.
Kamsa growled and tried to roll away, using brute strength to wrench his arm free. He managed to get to his knees, his body trembling with rage, and he rushed again, this time aiming low, trying to tackle Karna's waist and throw him down.
But Karna's stance didn't break.
He spread his feet slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and absorbed the charge like an immovable pillar. Kamsa slammed into him, but Karna didn't budge even an inch.
Instead, Karna wrapped his arms around Kamsa's torso, locking his grip around the ribs.
Then he lifted.
Kamsa's eyes widened.
His legs kicked uselessly in the air as Karna raised him completely off the ground. Karna turned, spun once, and executed a crushing dhobi pachhad, slamming Kamsa onto his back so hard that the sand beneath him caved.
Kamsa's head snapped sideways.
His breath came out in a strangled gasp.
The crowd erupted, but the sound was not cheering yet.
It was shock.
Kamsa tried to crawl away, his hands digging into the sand, his face twisted in fury and humiliation. He forced himself up again, staggering, then charged once more, swinging his fist toward Karna's jaw.
Karna caught the fist mid-air.
The grip was firm enough that Kamsa's knuckles went pale.
Karna twisted the wrist and stepped forward, using Kamsa's own momentum against him. With a swift pull, he dragged Kamsa into a lock, turned his body sideways, and drove his shoulder into Kamsa's chest.
Kamsa stumbled.
Karna didn't let him recover.
He hooked his leg behind Kamsa's leg and swept it cleanly, sending Kamsa crashing down again. Before Kamsa could even lift his head, Karna dropped onto him, pinning him to the sand.
Karna's knee pressed against Kamsa's stomach, his weight crushing the air out of him.
Kamsa thrashed wildly, roaring, trying to claw at Karna's face.
But Karna's grip tightened.
He seized Kamsa's throat with one hand and forced his head backward. With the other, he locked Kamsa's arm in a tight hold, twisting it until the joints creaked.
Kamsa screamed. "Gaaaah..."
The crowd began cheering now.
Kamsa's face turned red as he struggled, his eyes bulging. He tried to summon dark power, tried to force his asuric blood to erupt, but nothing came. The divine chains had suppressed him all night, and the humiliation had drained his focus. His body was strong, but his mind was drowning in hatred.
Karna's mind was calm.
Karna shifted his grip, sliding behind Kamsa's head. His forearm locked around Kamsa's neck, and his other hand clasped his own wrist, forming an unbreakable chokehold.
Kamsa's eyes widened in panic.
He clawed at Karna's arm.
He kicked.
He writhed.
But Karna's hold tightened slowly, steadily, like the sun setting without mercy.
Kamsa's movements grew weaker.
His face darkened.
His breath became a choking rasp.
His fingers trembled.
Then Karna leaned in close, his voice low enough that only Kamsa could hear.
"This is your karma," Karna murmured.
And then he twisted.
There was a sharp crack and Kamsa's body went still in the next moment.
For a moment, the arena froze.
Then the tyrant collapsed fully into the sand, his eyes open but empty, his mouth half-open like he had died still trying to curse.
Karna released him and stood up calmly.
He dusted sand from his palms as if he had finished a routine training session.
The tyrant of Mathura was dead.
*
For a heartbeat, the crowd didn't react.
It was as if their minds needed a moment to accept the impossible truth.
Then the arena exploded.
A roar rose into the sky, loud enough to shake the palace walls.
"Karna!"
"Karna!"
"Jai Karna!"
People cried. People laughed. Some fell to their knees in relief. Some hugged strangers. Old men raised trembling hands toward the sun and whispered prayers. Mothers clutched their children and sobbed because they finally believed their sons would grow up without fear.
The name Karna echoed across Mathura like a sacred chant.
Karna stood still for a moment, letting the sound wash over him without expression. He did not smile. He did not raise his hands. He simply looked at the lifeless body of Kamsa, then turned away as if the man was nothing more than a finished chapter.
He walked toward the platform where Ugrasena sat.
The guards stepped aside quickly, bowing instinctively.
Karna stopped before the old king and folded his hands briefly.
"Justice has been served, Maharaj," Karna said. "Now onwards, Mathura and the Yadavas can see a new future."
Ugrasena stood up, his hands trembling.
His eyes were wet.
He stepped forward and embraced Karna tightly, holding him like a father holding the son he never had. His shoulders shook as he spoke, his voice thick with emotion.
"You freed Mathura's citizens from my son's tyranny," Ugrasena said. "You freed me. And you freed my granddaughter."
He pulled back slightly, staring at Karna as if he couldn't believe he was real.
"I don't know how to express my thanks," Ugrasena whispered.
Karna's expression softened slightly, though his voice remained calm.
"I only did what I had to do, Maharaj."
Ugrasena shook his head immediately, gripping Karna's arms as if refusing to let those words stand. "No," he said firmly. "What you did is something we can never forget. We can never repay."
He looked out at the cheering crowd, then back at Karna. "Even if I give you all the wealth of Mathura," Ugrasena said, "it still won't be enough compared to the freedom my citizens gained today."
At that moment, a calm voice rose from the side.
"You can give me, Grandfather."
The voice was soft, yet it cut through Karna's mind like lightning.
Sumedha stepped forward.
Her face remained composed, her eyes steady, her posture graceful. She did not look like a girl speaking impulsively. She looked like someone delivering a decision she had already weighed for years.
Ugrasena froze.
Karna's breath caught.
Even Mrinalini, sitting nearby, rose to her feet instantly, her eyes widening in shock.
For a moment, it felt as if the world itself had stopped moving.
But the crowd below did not understand what had been said.
They continued cheering wildly.
"Karna!"
"Karna!"
"Jai Suryaputra!"
The celebration shook the arena.
However, for a moment, for all three of them, the celebration around them felt distant.