The tension fractured the air.
Neither moved. Leaves floated lazily between them, and the small forest clearing grew quiet—as if naturrre itself was holding its breath. Then, without warning, both men exploded forward at once.
Torres was the first to strike, his feet kicking up a burst of dust behind him as he lunged, shoulder low, fist drawn back like a cannon. The officer responded with his own momentum, bringing his curved sabre diagonally downward to intercept the rush.
Clang!
Their collision sent out a shockwave, a brief ripple of air that tossed dirt and leaves in every direction. Torres's fist met the flat of the blade, driving it backward with raw force. The officer spun to the side, redirecting the impact and countering with a reverse slash aimed at Torres's throat.
Torres ducked low, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge as it whistled past. He twisted mid-duck and launched a spinning back-kick toward the officer's ribs, but the man reacted just in time, stepping backward and letting the blow pass inches from his side.
They both slid apart, barely a second between breaths, then lunged again—this time faster.
Torres closed the gap with a zig-zag dash, making his path unpredictable. The officer adjusted his grip on the sabre, his eyes tracking every motion with precision honed by years of experience. As Torres closed in, he unleashed a flurry of jabs—left, right, fake high, punch low.
The officer deflected the first with the guard of his sabre, twisted around the second, and used the hilt to bash downward, slamming toward Torres's collarbone.
But Torres caught the hilt with both palms—stopping it cold—then twisted his body and tore the officer's weapon arm off-center, pulling him forward.
Using the momentum, Torres slammed his knee into the officer's gut.
Thud!
The impact made the officer grunt, his eyes widening from the blow, but he didn't fall. Instead, he pushed forward, shoulder-checking Torres and launching both of them into a tangled grapple.
Torres snarled and slammed his elbow into the officer's back, but the sabre's handle jerked upward, cracking him under the chin.
Stars burst in his vision.
He staggered for half a step—but the moment he blinked, the officer was already mid-swing.
Slash!
Torres leaned back, narrowly avoiding decapitation as the blade sliced through his vest, drawing a line of red across his chest. He hissed through his teeth, but smiled.
"Not bad…"
He twisted on one foot and spun like a cyclone, his leg sweeping wide. The officer jumped to evade—but that was exactly what Torres wanted.
Mid-spin, Torres launched himself off the ground, flipping upside down and driving his heel down in an aerial axe-kick.
The officer raised his blade in defense.
Crash!
The blow thundered against the sabre, knocking the officer down to one knee. Cracks appeared beneath his boots. But instead of faltering, the man roared and shoved upward with sheer strength, tossing Torres backward.
Torres flipped in midair, landed on one foot, and charged again.
They clashed—over and over, fists against steel, steel against speed, movements blending into a deadly dance.
The sabre slashed horizontally—Torres ducked, jabbed the officer's stomach. The blade came up—he spun around it and aimed for the ribs. The officer parried and countered, his strikes flowing like a whip, bending and redirecting. Every motion was practiced and deadly.
But Torres was wild. Unorthodox. He moved with chaotic grace—feinting with his shoulders, shifting his center of gravity, punching from impossible angles.
The officer went for a downward slash.
Torres caught the wrist, twisted it, and kicked the side of the officer's knee, forcing it to buckle.
But the officer dropped low, rolling with the movement, and slashed upward from the ground—cutting across Torres's thigh.
Blood spilled.
Torres stumbled. The officer surged upward, sabre in both hands, and swung in an arc meant to end it.
But Torres vanished.
The sabre cut only air.
The officer blinked—too late.
"LIFTING DRIVE!" Torres's voice echoed behind him.
A foot smashed into his back, sending the Judge Officer flying forward like a launched arrow. He crashed into a tree trunk with such force that bark exploded around him, and birds burst into the sky.
But he wasn't finished.
From the debris, the officer twisted mid-air, rebounding off the tree like a bullet, sabre gripped tight, the blade dragging sparks against the bark.
SLASH!
The sabre sliced through the air, grazing Torres's cheek.
Torres spun backward, his arms forming a defensive cross as he skidded to a stop.
"Damn… you're annoying," he spat, wiping the blood with his thumb.
The officer didn't speak. His chest rose and fell, but his stance remained perfect.
They stared at each other again.
Both wounded.
Both panting.
And both smiling.
Then, without a word, they collided one more time.
Torres ducked under a wide swing and drove his palm into the officer's sternum. The officer staggered—but countered with a spin and slashed horizontally.
Torres flipped over it—literally vaulted off the officer's shoulder—and delivered a knee to the back of the skull.
The officer fell forward, but stabbed backward blindly—the sabre grazing Torres's arm.
Torres clenched his fist.
"Final one."
He stepped forward, delivered a right hook to the officer's jaw, followed by a rapid left elbow to the ribs, then ducked under a wild retaliatory swing, and—
Uppercut.
Direct to the chin.
The Judge Officer's head snapped back as his entire body lifted off the ground. Time seemed to pause. His sabre slipped from his hand. His eyes rolled back.
And then—
CRASH!
He collapsed onto the earth with a heavy thud, unconscious.
Torres stood over him, breathing hard, blood running down his leg and cheek.
"…Tough guy," he muttered.
Bonny emerged from the bushes, her face pale with awe.
"You… you actually won," she whispered.
Torres gave a tired grin, then dropped onto his back, staring up at the tree canopy, the stars flickering through the leaves.
"Y-your just a no-name... How the hell did you beat a Judge Officer?!" Bonny's face was pale from the fight that she just witnessed.
For someone who isn't known, beating someone with a judge officer rank is quite an achievement.