After about ten minutes they finally reached the area under the centre of the arena, the resistance that had faced had gone down again and now they were almost at the crucial stage of Bobby’s new plan.

  There were six doors that all lead to passages that connected with the arena above, each one provided access to one side of the arena, although one of them seemed to not be in use anymore due to the rubble of the ceiling partially collapsing blocking it. After a little bit of scouting he found all the passages were empty, but they all lead back to this point so he didn’t have to send troops down them.

  Bobby left half of his troops guarding the main passage with Michaela, then cast his annihilation spell to break through the rubble of the blocked passage. Not much surprise would be garnered by them appearing from an arena entrance that was unused, but he would welcome any extra surprises.

  The roar of the crowd got noticeably louder as he led his troops down the passage, accompanied by the other humans in his group. Some of them aren’t really human anymore, so maybe it's better to call them sapients instead? He idly mulled.

  Bobby walked up to the opening, seeing the arena yawn before him. The first thing that registered in his mind was the red stained sand in the centre of the arena from the countless people that had died there while drugged up to oblivion.

  The second thing was the absolute monster of a man who was actually midway through ripping the person who had challenged him in half. The victim was still alive although all his limbs had been removed so he had no way of stopping the boss. The serum seemed to be doing an insane job at keeping the man alive with that much blood loss, but no one survived being torn in half.

  The boss of the Kamden Crew was one and a half times Bobby’s height, with arms that had the diameter of his torso. It was an insane bulk, but he reckoned if you cut into one there would probably be more machinery in there than flesh.

  The man finished tearing the body in half, being rewarded by a horrific cheer from the masked crowd. He let out a roar of his own before turning and seeing Bobby and his skeletons in one of the entrances. A flicker of surprise darted across his features, but that didn’t stop him gesturing them to come to him.

  And who was Bobby to resist such a gesture? He took a gun from one of the skeletons, then making sure they stayed back unseen by the crowd with Gary, he went out into the arena with James. Bobby forced magic into his system to quell his rising panic, his spells would probably get him through the situation alive in an emergency, but he’d never been good in front of crowds.

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  He made it halfway to the centre of the arena before stopping atop a surprisingly little bloodstained dune, far enough that he’d have ample time to cast a spell should the man run at him, but close enough that they could converse without the crowd hearing.

  The hulk of a man snarled at the temptation of the distance. “Where are your skeletons, small man, that gun won’t do shit against my bitanium subdermal armour.”

  Bobby, who had been expecting the man to know way more than he should, simply smiled.

  The man seemed confused at his lack of a reaction, “You know you have a traitor then,” he stated. “Well go on, begin casting your spells, I want to measure my muscle against your magic.”

  “No, I don’t think I will,” Bobby grinned at him, “You see I was struggling about what to do if my secrets were revealed, but then I realised I didn’t need to, because I can simply reverse the situation and reveal your secrets instead.”

  He drew a pocket knife and flicked it open, before going up to James and holding it suggestively close to the unreactive thrall. “My magic is dangerous, but I’m one man, and these cybernetic implants seem to be a bigger secret. So I was wondering, no one holds a monopoly on anything, not even the Undertakers, so what if all the gangs here without cybernetics found out about them. Who would they perceive as the real threat then?”

  The giant man didn’t react and Bobby continued, “I assume you were prepared to die for the Undertakers, although you wouldn't have agreed to just dying without some benefit for you or your gang, I will make sure you don’t get whatever it is if you do try and kill me.”

  The great man didn’t seem too bothered by his statement and instead gave out a laugh, “Haha, you are wrong, you see I have undergone too many procedures and my body is starting to reject these implants,” he waved an arm indicatively. “I am a dead man already, I only agreed to the Undertakers plan because I wanted to stir up trouble and pit myself against a new type of opponent.”

  “You don’t resent them for that?” Bobby asked.

  “No they gave me strength beyond my dreams, I can rip a man in half, I’m probably the strongest man in existence.”

  “I can stop you dying, you know? Turn you into an immortal being.”

  “Hah, no thanks, I like my freedom, I will tear you apart now, use your magic if you don't want to die.”

  Bobby quickly spoke to james, “Stop him chasing me at all costs, try to expose his cybernetic implants as well if you can,” then he turned tail and fled, he needed to draw the boss out from the arena, this was going to be a tough battle, but at least no one should find out about his secrets this way. Although I don’t think the Undertakers will get to keep theirs.

  There were gasps from the crowd and he looked behind himself to see James's finger blades fully deployed. The boss seemed to shrug now that the cat was out of the bag and his great arms split apart, expanding in width and telescopically doubling in length as compactly stored mechanics slotted into place, turning him into more of a cyborg ape than a man.

  James isn’t gonna survive that.

  +++++

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