Hayato Noda moved without testing his opponent.
He simply lunged-like a cornered beast charging its hunter with the last of its strength. The broken Galactron Gun tip in his hand was not a weapon, but a fang.
Shinji did not retreat. He met the charge. The combat techniques Zero had taught him flashed through his mind like data.
Clang!
Sparks exploded in the gloom as the Head Blade struck the gun tip. The two figures crossed, then separated, their soles plowing deep furrows through the rubble-strewn floor.
Hayato Noda anticipated his landing first. He had already turned as he retreated, planting his left foot and twisting his joints at angles that almost defied human anatomy to force a change of direction. Like a ballistic missile, he lunged back in for the kill-the gun tip aimed straight at Shinji's throat.
Shinji turned sideways. The gun tip grazed his neck and buried itself in the back of a bench three meters behind him.
Boom!
The bench exploded down the middle, sending fragments flying.
Hayato Noda abandoned the weapon without hesitation. The instant the gun tip pierced the bench, he released his right hand and drew a second piece of metal wreckage from behind his waist with his left-shorter, but with one end fashioned into a grip and its edge sharpened. He gripped it tightly and used his momentum to spin halfway around, swinging his right elbow at Shinji's temple.
Shinji did not block it head-on. He leaned back, letting the elbow skim past his nose. At the same time, his left leg swept out at the knee of Hayato Noda's supporting leg.
Thud!
Hayato Noda staggered but did not fall. He used the elbow strike's momentum to complete his turn, slashing the short blade in his right hand diagonally upward at the