“WAIT!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

  The man with the rusty blade stopped for a second and took a glance at my direction before going at Lali again.

  At that moment, Pehugian, the Rat Boss, raised his short arm, “ Speak. What's the deal with the navy?” He asked again.

  Instead of answering him, I looked at him. My eyes narrowed slightly as I couldn't help but be wary of him, “Will you let us go if I tell you?” I asked.

  Pehugian, put a finger inside his nose, “Maybe.” He said.

  ‘Maybe? What if he is gonna kill us all!?’ I knew I was putting my life in danger when I decided to help Lali.

  I swallowed down whatever that was in my throat. For a moment, I couldn't say anything because I need to make sure that Pehugian think we are worth not killing. I needed to make him think we are just as important as wind and sun!

  ‘But what do I say!?’ As I was thinking what to say I saw Margaret glaring at me. ‘Why are you glaring at me!?’

  “Haa….we don't know what the hell is that deal between navy and Scarlet-Thews,” Margaret said loudly as if she is the boss here, “but, they have abducted this girl's mother. We were trying to help her.”

  ‘We were? I was!’ Why the hell did she even say that? Now there's no way the Rat Boss is gonna let us go.

  Pehugian, however, didn't say anything. He just sat in that girl's lap and looked at us, “Kill them.” He said.

  My eyes widened as a chill ran down my spine. I needed to escape. I glanced at the ‘genius’ who trapped us in this mess without thinking, she, also like me and the others, was visibly shaken.

  Jug?r tried to break free when some men with knives and blades approached him. Lali, clenched her tiny fists and closed her eyes shut.

  Dozens of people approached us as they sharpened their blades. Taimon loaded his gun and aimed it at my head. A few followed his lead. In their eyes, I saw the blood lust that they wanted to bisect all of us into bits and bits of meat.

  “I can help you wipe out Scarlet-thew!” I shouted out loud in a desperate attempt to win back Pehugian’s interest.

  For a second, every advancing Rats stopped and glanced at each other before the room fell into a chorus of laughter.

  I saw Margaret and Lali looking at me with their eyebrows furrowed and jaws slightly hanging down. Confusion clearly etched into their faces.

  “Yes! He can do it!” Jug?r shouted as he smiled at me.

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  ‘Ughh…don't smile at me, you pig!’ I wanted to say but…now's not the time. Because the thugs have gotten closer.

  “Ugh! Shit won't even budget!” Margaret cursed as she failed to free herself from the chair.

  ‘They won't listen to anything now!....Yes! Only that is going to work!’

  I looked directly at the Rat Boss through the gaps of the rats that were about to kill us all. “ Are you scared?” I asked. The moment I said that, all the advancing thugs stopped in their place.

  “Are you afraid of scarlet-Thews so much that you won't believe anyone could defeat them?” I asked again, but this time, even the very air was like a ticking bomb. One explosion and it would trigger all others.

  Margaret, Lali and jug?r looked at me cynically.

  ‘yeah keep looking at me like that and we all die!’ I did my best not to piss myself when I saw the faces of the little angry Rats.

  But I'm not done yet! Just got one more, “Or are you afraid of losing against me? Bring me your strongest man! I will rip off his spine!” I said.

  Pehugian, however, simply yawned. But the thugs were already too pissed off. One of them stomped their foot hard on the wall, the sound echoed through the hall, silencing everyone.

  “Let me fight him, Boss! I wanna fucking dissect him.” The man with only half a lip and rusty blade said to Pehugian.

  The moment he said those words, the thugs formed into a group of crowd and started shouting, “ Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  Pehugian watched everyone one by one until his eyes fell on me at last. His gaze lingered on me for a few seconds before he opened his mouth, “Haa…fine! You rats! It will be one versus one! Fight to the death! No outside help will be given.”

  A smile appeared on the faces of a lot of people plus Jug?r. Both Margaret and Lali looked at me with their eyes widened.

  “Both contestants! Step forward.” Pehugian announced. Soon, my hands and feet were freed. I walked at a moderate pace and stood only a couple of meters away from the rusty blade.

  “If you have any weapons or armor you can use it whenever you want.” Pehugian continued, “ however, they may only be the contestants own weapon, meaning you cannot borrow.”

  As soon as he said that the rusty blade guy raised his hand, “Boss, I want to use my armour.” When got a nod from the Rat Boss, he quickly went through the people to the back.

  Since I had time to prepare till he came back, I took off my hat and coat and neatly folded it and left it where I sat.

  My simple white shirt was now stained with blood all over. Margaret, Lali and Jug?r looked at me up and down, and after a few seconds they all sighed together.

  ‘Maa is going to be so proud of me today. Might let me sleep outside till the white shirt is white again.’ I shook my head as a smile came to my lips.

  I walked back to the place where we will start. The guy hasn't arrived yet. So I did some warm up. For some reason, I was very much excited. I looked at my left arm and the perfect black circle was already there.

  ‘If that power is still there, won't it help me once more? I mean, I'm scared to use it but now is the time to use it.’

  I looked around the room and saw Pehugian eating fruits as the girl fed it to them. The other rats were either chatting between themselves or they collected bets.

  Margaret, Lali and Jug?r were talking between themselves. Margaret would glare at Jug?r whenever he said anything.

  Suddenly I heard metal hitting the floor as the crowd cheered and shouted very loudly. I narrowed my eyes at the direction where the voice was coming.

  “I have a bad feeling about this. But I have already taken out Nackir and others. This guy can't be stronger than them.” I muttered to myself. Trying to calm my nerves.

  Just then, my opponent finally came into the arena. The moment I laid my eyes on him, I couldn't retract my eyes again.

  “Th-This is the armour he meant?” I muttered under my breath.

  He was wearing a half body armor which only revealed his upper front torso and head. His lower lower half, legs and hands were covered by thick metal armour.

  One of his armour’s limbs were twice or thrice the size of mine. And the most eye-catching thing of his armour was the almost transparent glass sphere on his back.

  He took a step forward, shaking the ground slightly. As he walked, steam gushed out of different tubes of both legs.

  ‘What the hell is that!?’ I couldn't help but swallow really hard when I saw that. The cheers of his friends reverberated inside the room.

  I turned back to look at my ‘friends'. But they all looked dumbfounded like me. Margaret was even holding Lali's hand.

  Jug?r nodded at me as if saying ‘good luck.’ His face, which was full of his cheeks, wasn't the least bit worried or shocked after seeing this thing.

  ‘Maa, your son, Alifaan Cordi, did something so stupid that it's the fifth time I'm about to die!’

  Pehugian raised his arms high and swung it down fast, “Begin!” He said.

  The moment he said that, the huge steam-metal junk charged at me! Steam sizzled and pumped out of the pipes and tubes he had on his armour.

  In a matter of seconds, he was in range where he could hit me. Before I knew it, he had swung his metal arm at my face.

  Orange and red flashed in front of me. I had a few seconds to dodge the punch of a metal fist that was coming, but before I could move, the metal arm's pipes released a huge amount of steam.

  The speed and force the steam added to the metal arm was greater than the speed of the warnings my colours gave me.

  The metal arm was just inches away from my jaw when the dark circle on my left arm glowed slightly.

  FIST OF FIRE will be released 4 times a week.