Kids from all over town, orphans and not, were asking The Boy one question:
"Is it really true? You're fighting Ronnie in the ring today?"
Ronnie wasn't just a spoiled rich brat. He was notorious for preying on younger and weaker kids so they would do his bidding. Because it was a 'juvenile' matter, and thanks to his influence, there was nothing to be done. Unless you wanted to be functionally exiled from town.
Among the children, though, rose a hero, one who had long already been exiled.
"But what're we supposed to chant while he's fighting...?"
"You've never been to one of his fights? Just scream—"
"RAAAAAAAAHH!!!! KILL HIM, DEMON CHILD!"
The Boy, 'demon child,' was standing in The Ring—a dirt fighting pit on the outskirts of town. Standing beside him was Lori and Andel. They were giving him a pep talk, but he didn't hear a word.
"I'm so hungry... I wonder if anyone'll treat me to lunch after this..."
Ronnie was standing across from them, and had his own group standing beside him. They were trying to wrap his hands, but he slapped the cloth away, laughing.
All non-participants left the ring and everyone waited for the sound of the bell.
"Let's just get this over with, alright?" Ronnie said. "I don't wanna make a show out of beating a little—"
DING!
The Boy leaped forwards, punching Ronnie in the face. The strike caught the large boy off-guard, but he remained standing.
"You bitch, I was trying to be nice."
Ronnie swung at The Boy, trying to grab him, but he was slippery and slid through his legs. The Boy kicked Ronnie's knee in, causing him to fall to a kneel. Once he was on the ground, The Boy went in for a choke.
He climbed onto Ronnie's back and wrapped his arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. Usually, this would be the end of a match. But Ronnie didn't falter before the kid half his weight and size, and instead stood up straight while The Boy still dangled from his back.
"Uh oh, that's not good," The Boy thought, wide-eyed.
Ronnie peeled The Boy from his back and held him up in the air. He gripped The Boy's shirt tightly and slammed him down into the dirt. The Boy felt his breath leave his body, and for the first time in that ring, felt fear.
Ronnie wasn't done, however, and brought The Boy back up into the air for another round. The entire audience knew that if he didn't escape, the match would be finished.
He was brought into the air again, but when Ronnie slammed his fist into the dirt, he held only a shirt in his hand.
"What the hell?" Ronnie thought. "He was just—"
The Boy landed on top of Ronnie's head, shirtless, and wrapped his legs around his neck, going for another choke.
"You weak fuck, whether it's your arms or your legs, choking me isn't going to work!"
Ronnie ripped The Boy's legs off his neck and swung him around by the ankle, throwing him into the side of the pit.
The audience was silent now, watching The Boy lay there in the dirt. They didn't even have the courage to shout for him to get up. It was fine, though, since he hadn't gone in a hero or anything that was looking for their support. He just wanted to kill Ronnie.
The Boy spat out the blood filling his mouth and stumbled up, saying "You're pretty strong for your age. Dumb too. That's why you go and play gangster all day despite being a spoiled brat, because that thug is more of a father to you than your actual one, right? Because he likes that you're so strong and stupi—"
The Boy was shut up by Ronnie's fist colliding with his face. This would've been the end for any normal fight, but The Boy still had one thing going for him.
He hadn't felt a single strike.
To put it simply, he still felt good! His inability to feel pain meant this fight wouldn't end until he was knocked unconscious or he was killed. Why would he risk his life for something so trivial, you may ask?
Because he'd never known any other way to fight. There was no surrender in the wild.
The Boy bared his teeth into an unnatural grin. Ronnie grabbed him by the neck, but The Boy used the leverage to send a barrage of kicks into his nose, causing him to let go and stumble backwards.
Seizing the moment, The Boy charged forwards, slamming his body into Ronnie's, sending them both to the ground.
The audience erupted into cheers, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Why would he take it to the ground? Ronnie's way heavier than him!" Andel thought.
"Relax, there's never been a doubt in my mind that he wins this," Lori said, seeing his expression.
"Yeah? And since when were you the fighting expert?"
"I never said I was. I'm just the expert at his fighting. Once he gets like that, you feel it in your bones—you can't win!"
The Boy didn't try to grapple Ronnie; it was clear he wouldn't be able to exert enough power to force Ronnie to submit. Instead, he went for a more... animalistic way of concluding things.
At least, that's what the audience thought was happening. The Boy's own thought process was certainly a lot different.
"RAAAAAAH! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
The Boy foamed at the mouth as he scratched and tore at Ronnie's face, sending blood flying into the air. When Ronnie tried grabbing him, he bit into his arm and tore away the flesh.
"HUNGRY... MMM, DOESN'T TASTE BAD!"
By this point, Ronnie was screaming as if he was being attacked by a wild dog. I suppose it wasn't too different.
"END THE FIGHT! END IT! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" he screamed.
The audience either couldn't hear it over their own noise or just didn't care, as the first one to step in to stop the fight was Andel. He jumped into the ring and tackled him off Ronnie.
"Stop it, you've already won," he said as The Boy bit into his shoulder.
"...Oh? I have?" he said, unclenching his jaws.
The two stood up and Lori jumped into the ring with them. He grabbed The Boy's arm and yanked it into the sky.
"Demon child has won the match! Any words?" Lori announced.
"Anyone in the crowd wanna buy me food?"
"YEAAAAAAHHH!!!! DEMON CHILD!!!!"