In a ruined city in the middle of two continents, a little boy Pedro was born into a difficult life. His parents were murdered, and he was raised by the men that did it. The most dangerous things in Mexico City was not the beast or draconians. It was other humans.
Humans here killed each other for food. Some families were even raised as livestock. Most draconians and even beastmen stayed away from this place on account of how crazy the humans were.
Every single human attacked the last powerhouse Core Builder that came here, and the endless assault cost him his life.
Pedro became what they called a runner. He was only eleven, but he was fast. So, the men in charge of him gave him the job of running around messages for them and delivering goods.
A man named El Grande ran the cartel he belonged to. He was the most massive man anyone has seen in this era. This was a man that never went hungry.
El Chapo II and El Piedra led the other two cartels. These three cartels were the gangs that controlled this area. The three would only help each other if another race invaded again.
There was only one rule in this city never enter the Aztec tomb. It was the only standing building from the old ages. People say the place is haunted.
Just like any day, today Pedro was delivering a package to the prostitution district. He never knew what the ladies at the Chateau House was inside, but at least were always lovely.
"Mi Hermana mayor." Pedro bowed to the tan skinned lady wearing very little clothing at the door.
"Aw, mi Hermano Menor. Pedro, El Ama is waiting for you." Pedro walked inside and headed to the back office. A lady wearing an old silk dress was sitting at a desk. Her long dark hair lightly danced on her shoulders.
Seeing the boy knock on the door, El Ama waved him in. "Pedro place the package down right there." She pointed to the table near her desk. "Go see Johnny at the bar and get you some water and jerky."
"Thank you, El Ama." Pedro shot her a smile so broad that she couldn't help but return one.
"Johnny!"
"Hey, little amigo."
"The usual." The small boy gave Johnny a wink and tapped on the bar like he was a regular patron. Johnny laughed and poured him a glass of water and handed him a small piece of dried meat.
"Is El Grande treating you well?"
"Yes. I have a place to sleep. That more than most can say."
"Lil amigo, be careful at night. The El Diablo has killed again. He attacked some of El Chapo II men last night."
"That's just a story, you adults tell us to keep us in line."
Johnny put both hands on the bar and looked at Pedro seriously. "I'm serious. Please be careful."
A lovely lady with long brown hair walked up to the bar. Johnny looked at her and got angry. She had bruises on each leg and a black eye. "Johnny don't get mad."
"I will kill the son of a b..."
"Johnny, stop. This is how I earn my living."
Johnny was upset. He loved the girl in front of him and wished he could protect her. "Maria, I'm just worried about you," Johnny said in a low tone.
Maria touched Johnny's hand. Then she looked over and noticed Pedro was there. "Pedro, you are growing more handsome every day." Maria let go of Johnny and touched Pedro's cheek.
Maria took care of Pedro when he was a baby, and they have always been close. "One day Maria, I'm going to take you away from this place and marry you," Pedro said confidently.
"Looks like I have some competition," Johnny teased. Maria smiled seeing the two compete for her. Besides El Ama, these two were her everything.
'Pedro, I have a gift for you at my shack. It's around the time for your birthday, right?" Maria looked at the boy.
"Oh yeah, it is. I forgot. Once, I finish delivering today. I'll come to pick you up. Johnny takes care of my Maria until I get back," Pedro said and stuck his tongue out at Johnny.
"Haha. Bold. Truly bold. Alright, I will watch over her until you get back." Maria just laughed at the boy's banter.
Pedro ran out the door and back to El Grande's place. He had to deliver four more packages that day. Two packages went to El Chapo II's home, one package went to El Piedra's house, and the last one went to a factory El Grande owned. This factory is where weapons and technology stolen from draconians and beastmen are repurposed.
The sun had just set, and most of the city became dark. Pedro ran through this town every night and knew it by heart even if he was running in the dark.
Pedro showed back up at the Chateau House. Johnny was standing outside. When VIPs showed up, it was common courtesy for him to leave the bar and stand out.
"Done delivering already?"
"Of course. I'm the fastest." Pedro shot Johnny a thumbs up.
Maria stumbled out the door sweaty, clothes ruffled, and hair a mess. Johnny looked down because he didn't want to think about what she was doing. Maria smiled at the boys and leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
Pedro didn't know exactly what kind of work Maria did, but he knew it didn't make her happy. It also looked like it hurt her a lot too. He wished he was strong enough to protect her from everything.
Maria finally calmed down and said, "Pedro let's get going." She placed her hand on Johnny's shoulder and kissed his cheek.
"Good night, Maria."
Pedro led Maria through the dark. Even though she took the same path every night, she liked to let Pedro lead her as her protector. Coming to the end of an alleyway three men holding a torch walked up.
"Maria, you give services to little boys now."
"Shut up, Miguel. That is El Grande's runner. Don't touch him unless you want to die."
"Scram kid. We have some business with Maria."
Pedro ran in front of Maria and said, "Don't you dare touch her."
"Pedro get out of the way." Maria tried to move him, but Miguel came up and kicked Leo to the ground. Then he began to stomp on him.
The other two grabbed Maria and started ripping the clothes off Maria. "You better give us a good time whore, or we will kill you and the boy." After hearing that Maria quit putting up a fight.
Tears formed in Pedro's eyes from the pain and watching Maria raped in front of him. He was hurt and couldn't get up. All three men took turns on the girl.
"Die."
Three earth spikes flew out and stabbed two of the men in the head. The third ducked and dodged the spike. He looked down the alleyway and saw a man with a dark furry coat and hood.
"It's the El Diablo!"
An earth spear came from behind the man and stabbed him through the chest. "Arghh." The man was instantly killed.
Pedro watched this scene in amazement. How can anyone have this kind of power? He looked at El Diablo and saw the demon of a man turn around and disappear into the night.