Blackrock prison - The king arena - morning

Stepping outside of the long hallway behind Gil, the audience ramped up their excitement for the fight. The arena is well lit , complimenting the clean, white metal walls.

“Gentlemen! Today, I am proud to be narrating this fight, because is not only another fight but a king title match! Now, let's give it up for our fighters! Our challenger for today is none other than the shorty that’s been raging through the fights!” Seriously? Did he have to focus on that goddamn short part? I’m a normal height for my age! “...Zero losses, but taking the fights by storm! Give it up for Proxy!"

The audience bursts into cheers, hyping me up while they yell out my name. Feels nice having people cheer me on.

"...And now, for our other fighter. You bums already know him! He's the king of the ring, he's the man who's defended his title: 30 fights in a row! Give it up for Gilhart!"

The audience erupts into cheers, showering him in encouragement that beats mine by a whole mile. They’re going wild up there, telling him to beat me down. He’s making me a bit jealous, but I’m not shaken.

"Now everyone, the king's pot has been opened. Place your bets under 50,000."

That’s a bigger number than last time; must be because this is a title match.

"Proxy, you ready for this?" he asked me, stretching his legs.

"Yep, this is going to be awesome. Just remember: I'm going to be coming at you with my best, so don't get relaxed around me."

"You, too."

I’ll still go a tad easy, just to be safe.

"Okay folks, we have collected all the bets. Now we're going to be beginning the match on five..."

As he counted from five to zero, we took our stances. Gil's stance was meant to get the first hit in with his left foot put in front. I needed to dodge it the moment he moved in.

"...One, zero, FIGHT!"

Gil reacts the fastest. He closes the gap with two steps. Running away isn’t gonna help, so I need to engage! I throw the first hit, only for him to veer out of the way. His nimble movement surprises me, causing me to lag. That second, no matter how short, lets him land a blow. At my ribs, I feel his knuckles press into my ribs.

“First blood goes to Gilhart!”

Shit, I should’ve been the one to get the first hit.

“Proxy, I told you before, but you better take this seriously…”

Gil’s expression, even his presence, is different. Every muscle in my body twitches, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand. W…what is this? It’s like I’m facing down a demon!

Dust kicks up behind Gil, who shot after me. I snap out of my stupor, barely blocking his fist. The impact is ungodly! All the weight in his left arm is pushing against my arms, threatening to destroy them like paper mache. I gotta get away, now!

“See that, folks! Proxy is retreating! But wait, Gilhart ain’t giving him the chance!”

What!? Gil’s behind me, wearing the face of a war god. His leg shoots up from the ground. It whiffs in front of my face, but I can still feel the full force behind his blow. If that had connected with my head, I’d be knocked out– No, I would be dead!

He throws a mix of punches and kicks, each one flows into the other without pause. His style reminds me of Marital arts, but this is wholly reliant on strength less than it is quick moves. I can see each blow coming, but it's the strength behind it that terrifies me. One mistake, I die, block it, my arms get crushed, even dodging it is daunting… Gil really is a devil.

“Gilhart got Proxy on the defensive! Has the kid’s luck run out!?”

Shit, shit, shit! I can’t get hit, I can’t get hit! Don’t slip up, don’t mess up! Then, unaware of my footing, I slip. Shit! I catch myself, however, the fact I stopped moving was a setback. Gil’s fist soars across the air, aiming for my face. There isn’t enough time to block or evade… His knuckles smash into my nose. A crimson liquid leaves my nose. My head hits the ground, and all the strength in my body leaves me motionless. Sound becomes a haze, my vision fades in and out, and my brain pounds inside of my skull. One punch is all it took for him to lay my ass flat…

Mumbled voices, a crowd cheering, and my heartbeat… I can somewhat breathe, but the blood is clogging my nose. My face is going numb, except for the throbbing pain… So, this is what it’s like to fight someone strong. I’m such a dumbass. I thought I could easy on him, acting like I was stronger than him. Aw, who the hell am I kidding? The moment I wanted to fight him, I’ve been underestimating him; looking down at him. Damnit!

The white noise is clearing up, feeling returns to my limbs, telling me to get back up. Folding here isn’t acceptable! The escape plan isn’t why, I just don’t want to go down like this! So I’m gonna get the hell up and fight!

“No way! Proxy, who was almost close to KO, got back up!”

I stagger to my feet, buckling my knees. My arms feel weightier than usual and my breathing is erratic, but I should be fine.

“Are you okay? You lost a lot of blood.”

“I know, that’s what I get.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “What does that mean?”

“...I thought I was going to fight you like this was another fight on the street. But no, now I know… Those fights mean nothing, nothing at all. I’ve let all of that go to my head, so I bit off more than I can chew.”

“Then you give up?”

“Not on your life. I just wanted to say that I was acting pompous, and I’m sorry for doing that.” I drop into a stance, putting my left leg forward. “...From here on out, I won’t underestimate you!”

Speeding off, the crowd returns to being animated. Their roaring applause fades from my mind, leaving me to focus on Gil. He throws a left, intercepting my arrival. I duck under, slamming my fist into his gut, then going for an uppercut, nailing his chin. Our pace doesn’t halt. Gil goes for another face blow. I knew he was gonna try it eventually. I bite back my fear and evade the blow. Instead of retreating, I leap into the air. Both of my feet stretch out, crushing his face. When I land back on the ground, I make a hasty retreat.

“Look at that, boys: Gil’s bleeding from his nose!”

“An eye for an eye,” I tell Gil, narrowing my sights on him, studying his posture.

“So, you’re developing the proper mindset for fighting?”

“I guess, but it’s still sinking in.” A smirk creeps up on my face. “Wanna help me drill it in?”

Gil shares a faint smile, breaking the devilish around himself. “Gladly. Though, I won’t hold my punches.”

“Sweet. Me neither.”

I dig my feet into the ground, shifting all my weight into them. A fire runs wild in my heart, boiling my blood, making me itchy. That split moment where we decide to rush the other is coming. I can taste it, along with the blood from my nose. When that moment comes, we’ll start whaling on each other, locking in close-quarters combat. This is gonna sound weird, but I’m not terrified of coming to blows with Gil anymore, instead, I’m excited! Fighting someone strong, letting the heat of battle get to you, bashing at each other with everything we got, I can’t think of anything more fun than that.

"Whoa, what is going on in the audience area?"

My feet dig back into the ground, caught off guard by the announcer. Someone comes flying out of the audience. Gil, quick on his feet, catches him. I rush over to them, getting out of my fighter's sense of thinking.

“He okay?”

"He's gravely injured,” Gil states, grave in expression.

"What the hell is happening up there?"

Is there a riot going on up there, or maybe a fight just broke up there? Either way, this might affect the escape plan, so– T…this skin-crawling presence. No other prisoner could replicate this pressure, only that old man can.

"What in the hell are you doing here, you old bastard," I spat, having to force the words to come out

"Proxy, Gilhart. Good morning. How are you two doing?"

The old man edges closer to us, releasing a demonic aura from himself.

Gil mean-mugs the old man, clenching his fist and teeth. "How did you get out of your cell? You shouldn't be able to break out.”

"I could break out whenever I wish to. However, I heard you were fighting today. I thought, ‘why not come here to fight you both before I left’."

"Leave to where?"

"I was growing bored with this place as of late, so I decided after this fight I would leave and see the outside world."

"Like I'll let you!"

Gil rushes him, barraging him with punches stronger than the ones he was using on me. Each one is aimed at the enemy’s head, but the old man doesn’t seem fazed by this onslaught. His rage seeps into his fists, pushing to act wilder than I’ve ever seen a man act before. Each punch could destroy my bones in mere seconds, but this old man doesn’t even flinch. His bored expression says it all. Right as Gil is about to throw another punch, he grabs his fist, stopping Gil in his tracks.

“You sway a little too much with your blows. Makes it easy to upset your balance like this.” He sweeps Gil’s foot. “Then, I can follow up like this.”

He swung his fist into Gil’s face, crushing his big hand against his nose. The attack threw Gil back, his feet firm on the ground while he slid back.

"Gil, you alright?"

He ignores me, charging in for round two. Idiot, he isn’t thinking straight! Well, I sure as hell ain’t gonna let him go in alone. Following behind him, the old man raises a single hand, folding it straight, kinda like a sword… Wait, don’t tell me…!

“Gil, wait a minute!”

No good, he isn’t listening. Fine, then I’ll have to make my own move! The old man brings his hand down, aiming for Gil’s neck. In the seconds leading to Gil’s impending death, I manage to slip in front of him, then pushing him back with all the weight in my body. The taste of death flashes us by, carried in the hands of an old man who wears a delighted smile during battle.

“Quite rude, would you not say, boy?”

Just ignore him, Gil is more important right now.

"Yo, you almost got minced meated by him. Hey, are you listening!?"

He’s still staring down the old man, fuming with scorching anger, enough to burn away all rationality in his head, turning him into nothing but a vessel for vengeance. Something tells me that if he keeps going like this, it won’t end well for him… Sorry about this in advance. I kick him in the shin, hard.”

He cries out in pain, holding his shin. "Ow, ow, that hurt! Why did you do that!?"

"Cause you’re ignoring me, damnit! I'm trying to talk to you, and you're just scowling at him and acting like a moron!"

"But, he–”

"I know… I get your anger, but don’t let that overtake you. Hone all of that anger, but it into your fist, and beat his ass with it! Don’t let it swallow you up!”

The anger on his face fades, and the confusion turns to a calming gaze.

After taking in a deep breath, he slaps his cheeks as hard as he could. "You're right, I wasn't thinking with my head. Got caught up in my emotions.” He takes a stance leaning on defense. An air of composure reigns over Gil, honing his focus on the old man. "Proxy, if we want to beat this man, we need to work together."

He’s got a point. Either one of us fighting him alone would get that person killed, but if we tag team him, beating his ass will be simpler. I ain’t stupid enough to get myself killed, so working together is the only way. Plus, I wanna help Gil knock this dude’s teeth out.

“Sure, I got your back. I’ll distract him, you just make sure he gets a nice knuckle sandwich, yeah?”

“Got it!”

Alright! Back to back, I know we got this one in the bag. Even with that dangerous ass chop of his, there’s no way we can’t beat this dude. I’ll get this over with so I can meet up with the others, and maybe we make room for one more while we’re at it?