#012. Street Kids (2)
It wasn't that I'd never seen objects imbued with mana before. Even scrap piles often contained discarded items flowing with mana. 'But I've never seen one holding this much.' This ring was clearly deeply connected to magic. My first real clue. Ray couldn't look away from the ring.
"Sit. You're not an enemy - I invited you as a guest." Cedric, the boys' leader, gestured to the opposite couch with his chin. As Ray sat, Philo and the others swarmed around him, flanking the sofa front and back. Hostile glares rained down from above Ray's head - a clear power play. Cedric didn't stop them, but to Ray who'd endured countless such displays, it meant nothing.
When Cedric saw Ray remained unfazed, he spoke with renewed interest. "Seeing you up close... I like you better now. Steel nerves."
"......"
Ray finally tore his gaze from the ring to study Cedric. A boy around his age with calm features. The worn jumper hinted at a tough physique, though his frame was average at best - similar to Ray's own build. Yet he led boys much larger than himself. That spoke volumes.
"Got your message loud and clear. You're not the only ones watching me. Entertaining. Never had prey come at me like that before."
"Lucky you. Now we don't have to kill anyone. I would've hunted you through hell's depths if you'd ignored my note."
Ray held his ground. Not a bluff - just decades of experience teaching him to never show weakness here.
"Where from? Kids said you came by car."
"Sector 50."
The surrounding boys erupted in whispers. They'd guessed from the vehicle, but hearing confirmation shocked them.
"Bullshit! No one's ever come up from 50! People come down from above, sure-"
"-but that's crazy far! You drove alone?"
These boys had never left Sector 49, never even considered it. Ray's claim detonated like a bomb.
"Enough." Cedric's raised hand silenced the crowd. He turned back to Ray. "If true, that's impressive. You've got the stones to join our organization."
Organization. Ray remembered them calling Cedric "boss," not leader.
"Organization?"
"Yeah. We're not just some orphan gang." When Ray didn't react, Cedric chuckled. "Half-serious now, but soon we'll be part of a real syndicate. Merging with Mercrad in Sector 45."
The mana of anticipation swelled in Cedric's chest. Ray understood now why he'd sent that dramatic note - street kids sometimes got recruited, and Cedric wanted to play boss before his promotion.
"When you say merger... It's not just you joining alone?"
"Right. All of us get absorbed. They want 66 members."
Cedric's face stayed calm, but yellow excitement burned brighter within him.
"Good enough reason to join? You've got nowhere else. A chance to climb up."
He pushed up his sleeve, tracing a feather shape on his forearm. "Mercrad's mark goes here. Big gang in Sector 45."
"Talk like you've been there."
"Overhear enough street talk, you learn things."
Cedric explained Mercrad lieutenants visited their hideout, promising relocation to Sector 45 once they hit 66 members.
"Fascinating." Ray deadpanned.
"Exactly! This is our ticket out. Let's face it - our future's either becoming chem-pushers..." Cedric leaned close, voice dropping to a whisper, "...or dying on blind steel before adulthood."
"......"
He wasn't wrong. The difference was Ray didn't fit the street kid mold.
Cedric mistook Ray's silence for hesitation. He sank into the couch, smug. The boys nodded along.
"Wouldn't refuse."
"Right. Can't pass this up."
No one ever had. This outsider brawler wouldn't be first.
Finally Ray spoke. "Joining a group isn't hard."
"Smart choice. Once we're family-"
"But I don't serve under weaker men."
The room froze. Everyone except Ray turned to stone.
Cedric took moments to process. "...You saying I'm weaker?"
"Sector 50 leaders earn their place through combat. Not smooth talk."
Ray's honed taunt struck true. While insults bounced off him, he knew exactly how to enrage others.
"You fucking bastard!"
A red-faced boy lunged for Ray's hair.
Crack!
Cedric moved like lightning. Suddenly the attacker hung choking in midair, Cedric's hand vise-locked on his throat.
"Milo. Did I say you could interrupt?"
The atmosphere curdled. Cedric's face twisted into something inhumanly vicious - unrecognizable from the calm boy moments before.
"K-kkh! S-sorr-kkh!"
"You know I hate interruptions."
Fingers dug deeper. The boy's eyes rolled back, foam bubbling at his lips. Others shrank away trembling.
"......"
Ray watched calmly, focused on Cedric's fingers. A crimson thread pulsed from ring to heart, quivering like fuel line. Now he understood how this average-sized boy commanded respect.
'Magic.'
Muscle-enhancement spells. Similar to what Ray used, but Cedric didn't cast it himself. The ring's secret?
As the choked boy paled, Ray asked nearby kids: "How long?"
"T-til someone dies."
"Y-you fucked up. Made Cedric angry..."
Terror radiated from the boys. Ray studied the crimson mana tether.
'Can I sever it?'
He focused, pulling the energy toward himself. The thread stretched rubber-taut before-Snap!
Thud!
The boy collapsed, gasping and clutching his throat.
"Apologies. Got carried away." Cedric sat back, calm restored. The abrupt shift made Ray frown. Cedric seemed unaware of the ring's magic - no reaction to its disruption.
"Back to business. You called me weak?"
Faint anger colored Cedric's voice. Residual red mana still flickered within him.
"Yeah. You look weaker."
The red mana exploded.
Boom!
Cedric kicked a barrel, sending firewood scattering. Flames leapt to furniture, licking at Ray's cheeks.
"ANSWER! DO I LOOK WEAK TO YOU?!"
The boys cowered before his madness. When the crimson mana ballooned to bursting, Cedric roared:
"FUCKING ANSWER! YOU THINK I'M WEAKER THAN THIS SHIT?!"
Echoes died before the whimpers came:
"Y-you're stronger!"
"B-boss is strongest!"
"N-no one beats you..."
Cedric melted into the couch, red mana gone. His breathing steadied to a tired murmur:
"...Right. No one in Sector 49 beats me."
Snap!
His fingers clicked. Boys scrambled to douse flames.
"Sector 50 picks leaders through combat? Same here. Strength rules."
"Good. I'm no talker."
No reaction to the jab this time.
"Want to fight? I'll give you a proper match."
Exactly what Ray wanted. Victory meant command - access to intel networks, tax collection rights, streamlined income.
"Leader position on the line. If I lose, I'm yours."
"Deal. But plain brawling's boring."
Cedric stood, arms spread like a preacher amidst dying flames.
"We fight publicly. One week. Every gang in the sector watches."
He whipped toward Ray.
"Then everyone knows who's strongest. Deal?"
"......"
The overreaction puzzled Ray. Even prideful Sector 50 fighters weren't this extreme.
After weighing pros of quick resolution against spectacle's benefits, Ray nodded.
"Add a wager?"
"Money on the fight? Obviously."
"Then one week it is."
"Love that fearlessness. These brutes piss themselves when I twitch."
"One more question."
"Shoot."
Ray nodded at Cedric's hand.
"That ring."
"This?"
"Where'd you get it?"
Cedric examined his ring, then smiled cryptically.
"Win and you'll find out. Not that you will."
