CHAPTER 131: THE EXAMINER
Akoya lunged forward, his body low to the deck. Inside his ear, Hiyama's signal pulsed with a sharp beep. He obeyed the instruction perfectly, raising his forearms to absorb Ren's testing jabs.
BAM! BAM!
The assault continued, forcing Ren to backpedal as his "Survival Space" was systematically compressed by the armored advance.
"Hoo... huff..."
Ren exhaled a cloud of heat, his mind processing the frame data. Between his deep-memory files and the current exchange, he finally understood the nature of Akoya's tactical dominance.
First: Akoya Seishu was a powerhouse in his own right. His techniques were refined in the MPD's most violent divisions, his will was forged in the fire of radical "Justice," and his physical endurance was that of an immortal gladiator.
Second: His reflexes were inhuman (75ms).
But those two factors alone weren't enough to suppress Ren. The real secret was Shunsuka Hiyama.
From the sidelines, she had perfectly decoded Ren's "Breathing Intervals." She saw the micro-pauses in his oxygen intake that signaled a move was coming. She sent a signal, and Akoya reacted to the intent before the movement even manifested.
It was a perfect synchronization of data and reflex. In a "Clean" arena, they were a combat computer that always moved faster than the opponent.
Ren adjusted his breathing, testing the perimeter. Akoya was an iron wall. But Ren realized the "Shield" had a logical flaw.
Akoya and Hiyama weren't predicting his moves. They were providing a Perfect Answer to his "Questions."
TAP!
Ren slammed his right foot into the concrete and launched a high-line roundhouse. Akoya slipped it and fired a straight punch counter.
Ren anticipated the counter, whipping a left hook around to strike the inside of Akoya's forearm, batting the punch away before it reached full extension.
Akoya's strike missed. His expression darkened, and he let out a sub-conscious curse. "Dammit!"
I knew it, Ren thought.
The Executioner's style was reactive. He was a student taking an exam—relying on his elite reflexes to fill in the correct answer to every strike Ren threw.
Ren looked at Akoya and let out a sudden laugh. "You're just like the honors students at Arisa's school, aren't you? You never miss a point on a test!"
Akoya, having completely discarded his conscious thought for the sake of the sync, didn't respond.
BEEP!
The signal hit his ear. Hiyama forced him to switch presets. Akoya lunged into a new offensive cycle.
ZIP!
Akoya fired a low-line sweep. Ren hopped over it, but Akoya's left fist was already whistling toward his face.
THUD!
The left straight connected. It hit something even "Harder" than a fist.
Ren had tucked his chin, meeting the iron knuckles with the top of his skull.
"SEI—YAH!"
Ren ignored the stinging cut on his forehead. He caught Akoya's wrist and yanked the man forward, using the giant's own momentum to pull him off-balance.
ZIP!
Akoya stumbled half a step. Ren didn't give him a frame to reset. He drove his knee upward, catching Akoya squarely in the face.
BAM! BAM!
Double knees to the bridge of the nose. Akoya's face "blossomed" with blood, his features twisting into a snarl of agony.
DIT-DIT!
The next signal came from Hiyama. Akoya obeyed, twisting his body to avoid a follow-up elbow from above.
But Ren's rhythm had already evolved. He swung a horizontal hook that caught Akoya on the cheek.
THOOM!
The 114kg officer was launched sideways, crashing into the concrete floor.
"Guh... what?!"
The shock of the impact forced Akoya's conscious mind back to the surface. He glared up at Ren, but his anger turned into a flicker of genuine bewilderment.
Ren Shiroki was standing in the center of the ring, his pupils vibrating with a high-frequency tremor. The red veins in his eyes looked like glowing chains holding his irises in place. Blood was pouring from his nose and mouth, and a few "tears" of crimson squeezed out of his tear ducts.
"Nice! Simply perfect!"
Ren grinned, blood staining his teeth. "Even the best student can be trapped if you give them a question that's too difficult to solve."
"If one 'Hard Question' isn't enough, I'll just give you a ten-hour Final Exam. Eventually... you're going to fail."
"As long as you can't solve my 'Technical Puzzle,' you can't provide the 'Correct Answer Move'!"
Ren spat a mouthful of gore, his eyes locked on Akoya.
"I wonder... where is the limit for you and your partner?"
[ENGINE] — OVERDRIVE!!!
"He's redlining it!" Nozomi Tenma gasped.
Beside her, Takeshi Wakatsuki leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. He hadn't seen the [ENGINE] state before. "That combination just now... the transitions were seamless."
"It's not just training," Wakatsuki analyzed. "No one can change styles that fast through muscle memory alone. He's manually directing his neurons."
Cosmo Imai looked confused. "So he's surrendering his body to the techniques?"
"No," Fusui Kure said, shaking her head. "It's the opposite. He's predicted Akoya's 'Answer.' He's deciding his next four moves in advance and using his will to force his body to execute them in a single, unblockable burst."
ZIP!
Ren fired a straight punch. Akoya slipped it, but the microsecond his head moved, a rising uppercut was already waiting for him in the new position.
BOOM!
"Gah—!"
Akoya retreated, his breathing ragged. He couldn't understand the physics of it. Ren was hitting him where he was going to be.
"It's Pre-Input," Ren explained, rolling his shoulders. He was loving the sensation of the strike.
"Hiyama-san can analyze my breathing, right? She sees the 'Start' of my move."
"So I decided... I just have to move faster than her brain can process the data!"
ZIP!
Akoya lunged in a desperate attempt to grab Ren, but Ren vanished.
Ren spun, throwing a hook. Akoya parried, but a follow-up kick hit him squarely in the face before he could reset his guard.
BAM!
"A student who only knows how to 'Solve' is a slave to the Examiner," Ren mocked.
"As the one setting the exam, making things difficult for you is child's play."
Ren stalked forward. "I've predicted every possible 'Response' you have. I've already decided my next three strikes. Your 'Answers' are now the 'Wrong Answers'!"
THUD!
A punch-kick combination caught Akoya in the jaw.
"No matter how fast your analysis is, you can't solve a problem that hasn't been written yet, can you?"
"That's the realm of Prediction. And you two... you aren't masters of that."
Ren closed the gap.
Inside Akoya's ear, Hiyama's voice was a frantic, high-pitched scream, trying to provide a new preset to survive the blitz.
Akoya snapped.
"ENOUGH, HIYAMA!"
The Executioner's face twisted into a mask of pure, primal savagery. He spat out a shattered tooth and growled, "You're useless now! SHUT UP!"
He ignored the earpiece. He abandoned the "Shield." He didn't avoid Ren's next kick; he tanked it with his ribs, lunging forward with his arms wide, his fingers clawing for Ren's flesh.
Ren slipped the grapple, but Akoya twisted his neck with a predatory snap. He opened his mouth and dove for Ren's inner thigh, aiming his teeth at the femoral artery.
CLACK!
The sound of teeth slamming together echoed through the garage.
The spectators stood frozen in horror.
"He's... HE'S BITING HIM!"
☆☆☆
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