CHAPTER 130: WE DO!
"Aha!"
The blood vessels around Fusui Kure's eyes were bulging. She was maintaining a low-output [Removal], pushing her visual processing to its peak to catch every nuance of Akoya's mechanics.
"The cop is pissed," Fusui giggled, her gaze never wavering. "He's started 'Cheating' for real now!"
Hearing this, Nozomi Tenma felt a surge of professional worry. "Is it really okay to just let him pull a stunt like that? We should inform the Referee."
"It's fine. Ren-chin and I talked about it," Fusui said, waving a hand dismissively. "From a 'Match' perspective, the cop is a low-life. But from Ren-chin's perspective? The opponent's trickery is just another part of the battle."
"He doesn't want a fair sport. He wants to overcome a Lethal System."
ZIP!
Akoya lunged. He led with his shoulder, his massive, armored body acting like a steel tank as he charged directly at Ren.
Ren's eyes were wide, tracking the trajectory. He stepped back half a pace and fired a lightning-fast left straight.
[LUKE: SUPPRESSOR]!
The punch was light but incredibly fast, designed specifically to disrupt an opponent's rhythm and halt their momentum.
But the microsecond Ren shifted his weight, Shunsuka Hiyama pressed a button on her console. A sharp "Beep-Beep" echoed in Akoya's earpiece. Preset Alpha: Engagement.
Bypassing his conscious mind, Akoya's superhuman reflexes took over. He adjusted his lead foot, sliding it forward by exactly three centimeters.
That tiny adjustment was the difference between life and death. Ren's jab missed, and Ren himself was now back inside Akoya's "Kill Zone."
THUD!
Akoya's left fist slammed into Ren's guard. Ren's forearms absorbed the impact, but Akoya didn't retreat. He stepped deeper, using his massive bulk to pin Ren's arms against his own chest.
BAP! BAP!
Akoya executed two rapid-fire shuffles. He pressed his right forearm horizontally against Ren's throat, a heavy, blunt-force pressure that threatened to crush the youth's windpipe. He was squeezing the air out of the room.
Cosmo Imai stared in awe. "Is that the police style too?"
Takeshi Wakatsuki nodded grimly. "Taiho-jutsu was designed to suppress violent suspects. It incorporates 'Weapon-Logic'—using the shield and baton. Akoya has turned his own body into those tools."
"His left arm isn't a limb anymore. It's a reinforced riot shield. And he's using it to crush Shiroki's spirit before he even throws a punch."
Ren was being bent backward, his spine groaning under the pressure of Akoya's "Shield."
As he reached the point of no return, Ren's hands shot upward. He caught Akoya's forearm and yanked it downward with a sudden surge of core strength.
ZIP!
Akoya fought the pull, his muscles remaining rigid. But the resistance gave Ren the leverage he needed.
Ren fired a low-line leg sweep. THUD! His boot caught Akoya's ankle, and as the giant's balance hitched, Ren drove his left elbow upward in a vertical arc.
[LUKE: NOSE BREAKER]!
BANG!
The strike connected squarely with Akoya's face. The officer was launched back several steps, blood erupting from his nose and painting his white gi a vivid crimson.
Cosmo gasped. "Whoa! He broke the suppressive rhythm!"
Wakatsuki nodded. "He had to. If he'd stayed in that clinch any longer, Akoya would have collapsed his lungs."
But Akoya wasn't finished.
Inside his head, the voice of the machine spoke again. Hiyama's signal pulsed. Akoya's body blurred, sliding forward to re-engage before Ren could even lower his arm.
They were face-to-face. Eye-to-eye.
SHING!
The visual friction between them was so intense that the spectators felt the air heat up.
Ren fired a hook. Akoya dropped into a deep crouch to slip it, simultaneously lunging for a double-leg takedown to pin Ren against the floor.
ZIP!
Ren back-dashed a full meter. As he reset, he launched a high-line spinning kick aimed at Akoya's temple.
[LUKE: FATAL KICK]!
BEEP!
The signal hit Akoya's brain. He didn't think; he just moved. He leaned his torso back at a sharp angle, letting the heel whistle past his eyes, then lunged forward with a shield-check.
THOOM!
Ren raised his guard but was shoved back several meters by the raw mass of the strike. He skidded toward the edge of the parking bay.
"Hoo... huff..."
The venue was an unfinished garage. There were no ropes, only the vast concrete floor... and a row of heavy structural support pillars.
That was Akoya's goal.
He intended to use the environment to strip Ren of his mobility, pinning him against a pillar so he could "Execute" him at his leisure.
SHING!
Akoya fired two rapid punches. Ren slipped them, but his heel hit the concrete base of the pillar behind him. He was trapped.
"YES!"
The gamblers in the crowd roared. "The Executioner has him! It's over! Smash him, Akoya!"
Akoya's left arm pressed forward, his right hand open and reaching for Ren's throat. He intended to lock Ren into a three-point pin against the stone.
Next micro-second—
BEEP!
The earpiece signaled a retreat. Akoya's body obeyed, halting his lunge just as he was about to commit his weight.
At that exact heartbeat, Ren Shiroki launched himself into the air. He didn't go forward. He used the pillar behind him as a springboard, vaulting upward into a high-tension rising uppercut.
[RYU: SHORYUKEN]!
The strike missed by a hair's breadth because of Akoya's signaled retreat.
But Ren didn't care. Mid-air, he executed a high-velocity leg sweep, his boot catching the concrete pillar to push off. He flipped over Akoya's head and landed gracefully five meters away.
"He... he escaped?!"
Cosmo let out a sigh of relief, sweat beading on his forehead. "If he'd stayed there, Akoya would have dismantled him. But even if he keeps jumping, his stamina is going to hit zero eventually!"
Nozomi Tenma bit her lip. "Ren-kun can't land a hit. Every time he finds an opening, Akoya 'Knows' it's coming. It's that damn earpiece!"
Cosmo looked at Nozomi. "Sensei, if the external support is the only reason he's winning... shouldn't we stop it? We can track the signal! We can find the 'Controller' and shut them down!"
Nozomi hesitated, looking at Ren.
Fusui Kure, however, didn't move. She kept her eyes locked on the ring, a faint, proud smirk on her face.
"Ren-chin doesn't want you to interfere," Fusui said softly. "He doesn't just want to win the match. He wants to win the Logic."
"For the last two weeks, he's been obsessing over his 'Shadow Training.' He's been studying how to break a 'Perfect Machine.'"
Fusui's black-and-white eyes shimmered with anticipation.
"So... don't you want to see it? Don't you want to see how a 'Human' beats a computer?"
The group fell silent.
Heihachi Furumi and Takeshi Wakatsuki exchanged a look of profound curiosity.
Did they want to see the impossible? Did they want to witness the "Might" that could bypass a 75ms reflex and a tactical AI?
They didn't have to say it. Their grins said it all.
They did. They absolutely did.
☆☆☆
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