In the middle of the arena, two fighters make their entrance. They are face to face.
- “Here is Iron Mesh vs Hard Skull!”
- "You know the rules, in guard!" say the referee as the fighters walks a few steps back and take their respective stance.
- "Fight!"
The first fight begins.
Hard Skull vs Iron Mesh
And now, even though the referee called the start of the fight, yet, nothing happens. Boths fighters are keeping their distance, observing each other. “Who’s gonna make the first move?” Everyone in the audience was wondering.
Iron Mesh, on the right of the arena, have a well-composed guard. He is right-handed, his right arm armed backwards and his left arm in front. The head tucked into the shoulders, elbows tight so as not to leave any space exposing his chest, his chin protected by his fists, his ribs and his liver protected by his arms. A classical English boxing's guard.
But he is not a boxer, thought a certain young man from the arena’s stands. A certain young man who liked to watch fights, fighters, and try to understand everything.
He is not so much on his legs, as boxers are usually. Even if he is slightly bent forward, he does not have too much weight on his legs, which allows him to have a good mobility. It is a classical MMA's guard well held, revealing an MMA's style rather focused on English boxing. Which is very different from his opponent.
The young man was continuing to analyze both fighter’s guard, and he saw that Hard Skull had his guard rather open, leaving an opening at the level of his plexus, even his bust in general. He was right-handed. His fists were closed, not tight. It almost did looks like a Muay Thai guard, but it wasn’t one. Unlike Iron Mesh, who was rather calm and focused, Hard Skull seems to be confident with a big mischievous smile.
“Hard Skull”, heh? He seems to very like fighting, this one, was thinking the young man.
Here we go, with his sharp gaze, Iron Mesh reduces the distance. The two fighters are now at mid distance.
At this stage of the fight, the goal is to find your Jab’s distance as quickly as possible, before the opponent finds it before you. Of course, that’s theoretical, maybe they have totally different strategies of fighting was thinking the young man.
And he was not wrong: Iron Mesh was proactive, throwing jabs that were very light, easily parable and predictable.
The aim of such jabs is not to touch the opponent, but to allow the one who sends them to judge and gradually find his distance. Once the distance is found, he can then send jabs to exactly the right distance and then withdraw immediately without being touched. “Touch without being touched”, the basics of boxing, thought the young man.
On the other side, Hard Skull didn’t throw a single shot yet. He’s just barely dodging Iron Mesh’s jabs for now, without much efforts.
That’s not good. If he doesn’t do anything, he leaves the field open to Iron Mesh not only to find his distance but also to set his pace and direct the fight as he pleases. It’s only a matter of time before Iron Mesh finds his distance and that those jabs hit badly.
In the middle of those “approach jabs”, suddenly a jab much faster and sharper than the previous ones, almost touched Hard Skull’s nose.
- "Oh! This one almost touched him!” Said at low voice the young man. That’s it, Iron Mesh is starting to find his jab’s distance. The next one will certainly pass.
- “Yes, it was a waste, that’s too bad,” said someone next to Heriss, the young man, watching the fight.
He continued:
- “He was just about to break him his hand.”
...What? What did he say? Break him his hand? What he’s talking about?
- Heriss: “Break his nose, you mean? That’s it, Iron Mesh has found his distance, the next jabs will pass, for sure."
At this stage of the fight, Heriss had come to a conclusion: Hard Skull must have a clearly established combat plan. Given how passive he is since the beginning of the fight, there is very little chance that he took this fight purely on his instincts, without clear combat plan. Or it is that there is a difference in level between the two fighters.
- "Next jab, Iron Mesh will break his own hand" Said suddenly the man.
- Heriss: "...Break his own hand?"
- "Have you ever tried to hit a wall with all you might? Which one do you think would win, you, or the wall?"
- Heriss: “Well, the wall.”
- “Exactly. Well, look carefully because Iron Mesh is about to hit straight into the wall.”
- Heriss: "What do you mean?"
Just after their talking, Hard Skull relaxed and lowered his guard slightly for a second. It was the mistake too many, was thinking Heriss. Lightning-fast jab had been thrown from Iron Mesh. Heriss did not know, but this jab, was exactly what Hard Skull was waiting for. As soon as Iron Mesh’s arm began to move, Hard Skull threw himself straight into the direction of the jab, head completely bent, skull in front, with a big smile.
- “You don’t know these two fighters, I suppose. Hard Skull's favorite opponent type are Strikers, like Iron Mesh. His main strategy is to break his opponent's fists, by banging his skull as hard as possible against them. Hard Skull is a headbutt He fought using this his whole life.
- Heriss: “It’s completely surreal!”
- "Well, then what follows after the jab will seem even more surreal to you."
BAM!
After a violent impact of the closed and tight fist of Iron Mesh against the Hard Skull of his opponent, his arm was expelled backwards. With such an impact, it was certain that his fist, at least his fingers, must have broken violently.
So that was the strategy of Hard Skull. Seriously? Thought in shock Heriss. That’s why he has not sent any shots since the start of the fight: He let his opponent find his jab’s distance on purpose.
Heriss was right. When Hard Skull saw that his opponent had finally found his distance, he then dropped his guard deliberately to trigger his opponent’s jab. With the distance set, it was certain that Iron Mesh would hit his target.
At that moment, Hard Skull had only one thing to do: Lower his head and go straight ahead.
Damm. This guy completely manipulated the fight from the beginning, without even throwing a single punch, realized Heriss.
While Heriss was shocked by what he had just realized, he noticed something: Hard Skull’s skull had also been expelled backwards. So much that he even took a step back.
It is not normal, immediately thought Heriss. By the manner he had perfectly placed his legs and sent his skull against Iron Mesh’s fist, he shouldn’t have moved and completely absorbed the impact and force of the blow. But then he still backed away?
Heriss’s doubts were confirmed when he saw the expression of Hard Skull: He looked completely surprised and confused. He was not knocked out, yet the power of the impact had clearly surprised him.
- "Surreal, you did say, huh?" The mysterious man said.
- “Indeed, for someone who is not used to seeing such fights, it must seem surreal. I mean, who would be stupid enough to throw his own fist right against the wall? Huh? But you know what? The most surreal thing about all of this, is that, Iron Mesh, him, might blow it up, this wall....”
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Part2
What the-, what was that blow? Is he ambidextrous? Or he conditioned his fists, like they do in Karate? No, even with that, his blow was way too… powerful? Nah, it's not power... it's hardness. Like I had crushed my skull against a pole.
Destabilized, Hard Skull resumed his posture while analyzing what had just happened.
Okay, whatever. I must have missed something in the heat of the moment. Maybe a timing problem? Yes, that must be it, I must have waited a second too long before countering his jab, which allowed him to position himself better and generate more power. Or something like that.
Hard Skull’s eyes focused on Iron Mesh’s left hand. Iron Mesh normally held it in front of him, closed, as usual. He didn't show any signs of pain on his face or anything. His hand seemed intact.
He's playing tough, huh? Or did he manage to protect his hand in extremis, at the last minute? …His hand should be broken by now. But hey, I guess I must have messed up somewhere.
- Heriss: “I can’t believe his hand came out intact. It's just not possible!”
- “‘Surreal’, right?!” Said the man next to Heriss.
Hard Skull shifted slightly to his left. Iron Mesh then took the opportunity to move forward very slightly, barely a step.
And BOOM!
Barely did he step forward, that a powerful right middle kick from Hard Skull crashed onto Iron Mesh. But Iron Mesh saw it coming: He blocked it with perfect timing. But something was strange.
When Iron Mesh blocked the blow, despite the powerful impact of the middle kick, Iron Mesh’s left arm barely moved. His arm had completely absorbed the blow.
After this middle kick, Hard Skull immediately resumed his posture. But as soon as he stabilized, he leapt toward Iron Mesh and stopped halfway. He then swung his right foot towards Iron Mesh leg. Iron Mesh's reaction was lively, he raised his leg slightly so as to block the blow that was about to come and also lowered his left hand slightly.
As soon as Iron Mesh lowered his left hand, Hard Skull stopped his kick, and swung it backward powerfully. He used the inertia generated by his movement to finally send a quick right straight into Iron Mesh’s face.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
BAM!
…What? Heriss, like all the other spectators, did not understand what was happening before their eyes. And that’s quite normal.
Indeed, although Hard Skull managed to touch Iron Mesh with his right, Iron Mesh’s head did barely move. Maybe of a centimeter or two. Once again, Iron Mesh fully absorbed the shock of the blow.
But, how?
The scene was surreal, Hard Skull's arm remained stuck against Iron Mesh’s head.
Puzzled by this abnormal situation, Hard Skull froze for a moment. Iron Mesh then threw his left arm over Hard Skull's arm and hit him head-on. The blow was clean and violent; it was a powerful cross.
- Heriss: “Okay, explain to me what’s going on, I don’t understand anything anymore” Heriss knew that something abnormal was happening in this match. He resigned himself to asking his fellow spectator, who seemed to know much more than he did.
- “Yes, actually, Iron Mesh is somewhat of a cyborg.”
- Heriss: “…What?”
- “The entire left part of Iron Mesh is robotic.”
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Part 3
- “I don't really know what happened to him, but after a big accident during his last mission in the army, the entire left part of his body was burned, paralyzed, in short in a pitiful state.”
Heriss was surprised; So, he is a former soldier? That's why his fighting style is so clean.
- “Out of gratitude to his services over all his years, the government tried to return him the favor.”
- Heriss: “…?”
- “As a result, they made the entire left part of his body mechanical, robotic. I don't really know the details, but it's all smoke and mirrors, in reality, under that skin, its good old metal, or something like that. In fact, you could say he's an augmented Human soldier.”
- Heriss: “…An augmented human soldier? Isn't that a bit exaggerated? I mean, it's just some ultra-modern, sophisticated prosthetics or something like that.”
- “No, it’s not “simple prostheses”, there are… how do they say, already? A sort of, “micro program”, implemented at the mechanical level of his skull, which works with his brain, I believe, to control the mechanical part of his body. And these “prostheses”, these are not just basics "prostheses". They are mechanical and robotic, that allows those to be much faster and more powerful. Iron Mesh is actually augmented. Have you ever seen Terminator? Well, Iron Mesh is half of a Terminator. In a way..."
- Heriss: “Is this a joke?! Is this true?!”
- “Totally true.”
Taking a few steps back, Hard Skull tightened his guard, not understanding what was happening now. But Iron Mesh didn't let him think: He quickly advanced towards Hard Skull. That's it, Iron Mesh goes on the offensive.
His left arm flew towards Hard Skull's face, who squeezed his arms and raised them towards his face, revealing his lower body. Midway, the jab suddenly changed direction, finally bending and landing powerfully on Hard Skull's liver.
…What is-!? In the midst of his pain, Hard Skull had noticed it: this liver’s blow was not normal at all. The way Iron Mesh’s left arm changed direction midway, all while maintaining its speed and accuracy, without talking about its power, that shouldn't be humanly possible, what with inertia and all. And Hard Skull did notice that. However, under the constant assault of Iron Mesh, Hard Skull could not think more than that.
- Heriss: “Did you see that!? Did you see this movement?! But this guy really is a robot, actually!”
- “Half of one.”
- Heriss: “But it’s crazy! This is cheating!”
- “Cheating?”
- Heriss: “Obviously! The fight is unfair, how could Hard Skull win against that!? It's a robot! It's unfair, how could a human win?”
- “But, Iron Mesh is human too.”
- Heriss: “No! This fight is rubbish, it’s completely unequal! Of course, that Iron Mesh will win! But he has no merit!”
- "Oh, really? And why? If he wins using the strength he has at his disposal, I don't see what the problem is, it would be a deserved victory.”
- Heriss: “…Are you serious? Is winning like this meritorious to you?”
- “I don’t understand… What does being strong mean to you?”
- Heriss : ‘’…What?’’
- “The meaning of strength, what is it to you? Alright, imagine, you are in a cage, or a ring, or whatever you want, we have checked that your opponent is not doped, that he is the same weight as you, with a clearly established set of rules. He doesn't hide any weapons, and there are a bunch of referees and judges all around watching your fight. Imagine you managed to win. Let's even say, you blew up your opponent. Does would this suit you? Would you be satisfied?”
- Heriss: “Well I-”
- “Me, no. I won’t feel like I’m really “strong”. In fact, that's why most people here chose to fight here. Being strong isn’t more like “winning, no matter the situation”? Being strong is not, rather, fighting with and against what nature has put in place?”
- Heriss: “…What?”
- “I mean, we agree that in real life, rarely during one of your daily walks, you come across two guys in boxers in a cage with gloves, weighing perfectly the same weight, ready to fight. Generally, if you come across this, it's more likely that there has been human intervention to try to balance things, right?”
- Heriss: “Well yes but-”
- “Generally, you rather find yourself in situations where there are three guys against one, or even a man who attacks a woman, that kind of thing”
- Heriss: “…Yes?” The hell is he talking about?
- “What I mean, is that, in real life, no one is born equal. Some weigh more, while others are faster, and others are even more lively. “Real strength”, in “real life”, is unequal fights, where you find yourself against someone who is 20 kg heavier than you, where sometimes there are several of them, or even armed. Yes, it’s unfair, yes, it’s inequitable, but it’s “real”. And it is only if you succeed in winning in these “real” situations that you will achieve “real strength”. Trying to take away someone's natural advantages during a fight to make it "fair" for both opponents, THAT, is what I would call an "unfair fight".
- Heriss: “But this guy is a robot! It’s nothing natural! That’s nonsense…we might as well have weapons fights allowed, at that point.”
- “…It’s already happened. It's rare, but special fights where one of the two fighters has the right to a weapon have happened in the past.”
- Heriss: “What?!”
- “That said, generally, even when offered, those who seek true strength do without weapons. But this is not necessarily the case for everyone.”
- Heriss: “Well That’s-“
- “Anyway, we'll continue our philosophical debate later. Iron Mesh is half robotic, it's true. But Seyl is not the type to organize pointless matches. If this match was organized, it is certainly because Hard Skull surely has a chance of winning. But how?
Seyl. This name sparked keen interest in Heriss: Seyl, the man who is the master and champion of this “organization”. If I understood correctly, he is the one who organizes the matches. It’s true that I can’t imagining him organizing uninteresting matches. Not that I know him, though. Seyl. How to describe him? He gives off this aura... how to explain? It’s not “strength” …It’s something else. He doesn't look particularly strong, but he has that thing, which leaves no one indifferent. I have never seen any of his fights, yet, when I see him, it almost appears logical to me that he is the champion... Anyway.
Author’s note: If you’re Okay listening music while reading, I invite you starting from there, to listening AirMesh’s theme, that would be something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbNQFqylnI&ab_channel=Sethycakes
- Heriss: “I really don't see how he could win. Iron Mesh just need his robotic intelligence do all the work, and that’s it, victory is in your pocket.”
- "No, not at all. It only helps him. It eliminates choices, does calculations to optimize everything, but in the end, it's always Iron Mesh that makes the final decision. Not only does he have to work with his own ideas, but also with those of his robotic side.
- Heriss: “…Like, it offers him choices, and he accepts or refuses?”
- “…Yes, well, it’s not as simple as that, but roughly, yes. Don't put Iron Mesh down because he has this tool. I'm sure if it were you or me in his position, we would have been constantly confused, with all the information he has to receive. Iron Mesh is not invincible, he certainly has his weak points. But I'm very curious to see how Hard Skull will perform. In any case, he won't be able to win “technically”.
- Heriss: “That is to say?”
Iron Mesh continued to advance aggressively towards Hard Skull, while the latter tried to move out of the way. Suddenly, Iron Mesh launched a left jab. Taken aback, Hard Skull stopped retreating and prepared his symbolic counter. He propped himself up on his right leg and threw his head towards Iron Mesh’s fist.
He's going to try to break it again. He took more momentum this time, Heriss said when he saw Hard Skull take off.
- “Well, Iron Mesh is a very intelligent fighter. He knows how to adapt quickly to find the necessary solution against anyone. His military composure coupled with his analytical mind allows him to perfectly choose the solutions proposed by his robotic part.”
Suddenly, in the middle of the linear trajectory of his Jab, Iron Mesh’s fist began to turn 90°, to be vertical.
- “His military analysis capacity linked to its flawless robotic intelligence makes Iron Mesh the best in terms of rapid decision-making. ?
Then, barely a second and a half from colliding with his opponent's Skull, Iron Mesh’s fist finally deviated quickly to the left, then came back powerfully to the right. It was a powerful hook.
…that’s it. We have entered Iron Mesh’s “Momentum”, thought a certain man in the stands near the fight.
Iron Mesh continued: from his left hook, he pushed hard on his left leg to launch a powerful right front kick. As the power came from his mechanical leg, almost no resistance could stop this kick. Hard Skull received the violent blow to his stomach and was thrown back a few steps. Iron Mesh was now in a left-handed guard, from which he threw a quick one-two. Then, out of nowhere, after sending his right, Iron Mesh sent a quick, powerful and precise left kick.
Thanks to this left low kick, Iron Mesh was able to take again a right-handed guard. He then jumped toward Hard Skull to close the distance. But Hard Skull guessed the blow that was coming: Iron Mesh was going to follow up with a powerful right. So, without further thought, he prepared his Skull again to crush it against Iron Mesh’s right fist. But, Iron Mesh already knew what Hard Skull was going to do. It wasn't a right that Iron Mesh had prepared, but rather a powerful right hook, which Hard Skull took right in the temple.
Got it! This is Iron Mesh’s strategy! He constantly tries to speed up the pace of the fight, so that he and his opponent are constantly in situations where they must make decisions quickly, situations where danger is immediate and it is impossible to develop a plan. He does this on purpose, because he knows that in a duel of rapid decision-making, Iron Mesh’s will inevitably win and make better decision than his opponent! He's smart!
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Part 4
- Iron Mesh:“…Well, I think you understand your situation now. You don’t stand a chance. You should give up before taking any more unnecessary blows. It might hurt… a lot.”
- Hard Skull: “Humpf… Humpf… Humpf…”
In total control of the situation, Iron Mesh lowered his guard slightly.
- Iron Mesh: “Well, you’re giving up, right? Anyway, it wouldn’t make any sense for you to continue. You have the choice between losing with minimal injuries, or losing and ending up seriously injured. In fact, even if you miraculously won, you’d probably be too injured to continue in the tournament. Giving up here would suit us both.”
With his guard completely down, calmly and serenely, Iron Mesh advanced towards Hard Skull, almost as if to extend his hand.
- Iron Mesh: “I've laid out all the perfectly logical arguments for you, it's-”
- Hard Skull: “Consequences…”
- Iron Mesh: “…Huh?”
Blood flowing down his forehead, his gaze piercing the darkness he was plunged in, Hard Skull replied:
- Hard Skull: “Those consequences… you’re talking about… they do come after, right?”
- Iron Mesh: “That’s… the very definition of a consequence, indeed.”
- Hard Skull: “…I never really understood that. That way of thinking. When it comes, it will come.”
With an empty, bloodied gaze, Hard Skull spoke, his face turned toward the ground, both fists raised in the rough shape of a guard.
- Hard Skull: “What’s the point of worrying about what comes next? When the moment you’re living is happening right here, right now, before your eyes? What comes next, comes, next, RIGHT!?”
Hard Skull lunged furiously at Iron Mesh, throwing a powerful left hook — slow and predictable, an overhand.
Like a sniper round, Iron Mesh’s robotic leg left the ground and drove into Hard Skull’s plexus, stopping his assault dead.
This strike was wide and open. Did he really expect to hit me with that? Iron Mesh thought, surprised.
- Iron Mesh: “…Tell me something. You don’t look so good.”
With tremendous effort, Hard Skull slowly lifted his eyes toward Iron Mesh, fighting the pain, fighting to stay conscious.
It felt as though he had taken another blow to the head when he met Iron Mesh’s piercing, direct, and sincere gaze.
- Iron Mesh: “You should give up. Don’t you think?”
The moment he heard those words, Hard Skull gritted his teeth and lunged at his opponent in anger. He barely moved before the pain caught up with him, his vision blurring. His head fell forward, on the brink of losing consciousness.
Bent over in pain, Hard Skull didn’t notice Iron Mesh closing in, now within kicking range. The finishing move: a powerful middle kick to Hard Skull’s face. That was Iron Mesh’s plan. But… nothing happened. Once in range, Iron Mesh stopped moving entirely, as if frozen.
1 second… 2 seconds…
- Hard Skull: “Humpf… huph- !?”
That strange lapse gave Hard Skull a chance to regain his wits. He leapt backward, but—
TAC!
He couldn’t get very far: he found himself pinned with his back against a wall.
- Hard Skull: “!?”
Hard Skull stared at the wall behind him, as if witnessing something unbelievable. He was… shocked.
It was a very strange scene. Hard Skull, in a critical position and on the verge of being finished, wasn’t even looking at his opponent in front of him. He seemed completely fixated on the movable wall, while Iron Mesh, who could have ended it at any moment, stood frozen, motionless.
- “Hey… what’s going on? What the hell are they doing? Why isn’t he finishing him off?”
People in the stands were wondering.
- “What’s Hard Skull doing!? Why’s he looking over there?! Iron Mesh is right in front, not behind!”
Despite all the blows to his head, when Hard Skull saw the wall, his thoughts became crystal clear.
Is… a wall?
Is…
…A joke? I’m stuck… against a wall?
Me?
- Iron Mesh: “Tell me, why won’t you give up?’’
Why did I stop my strike? And why am I asking him this? Shouldn’t I just finish it? Yes… yes, I should. But something’s bothering me. I can feel that…
On his side, Iron Mesh found his thoughts growing less and less clear.
- Hard Skull: “Give up, huh?”
This is strange. All my life, I’ve pushed forward.
Forward, fighting head-on. Never backing down. Yeah. Retreat was never really something I even considered.
And now… it only took one fight in this tournament to leave me stuck against… a wall?
Amid the roar of anger and confusion from the stands, Hard Skull tried to understand.
Actually… what the hell have I been doing since the start of this fight? I’ve done nothing but… fall back? …Or maybe…
Hard Skull slowly lifted his eyes and fixed his gaze on his formidable opponent.
No. It’s more like… I was pushed back. I ran into someone who keeps moving forward… “stronger” than me.
Amid the roar of anger and confusion from the stands, Hard Skull finally understood.
I get it now. Hah. So this is my true nature? Is this what I really look like… when I’m up against people stronger than me?
- Hard Skull: “Why did you enter this tournament?”
- Iron Mesh: “To become stronger.”
- Hard Skull: “Yeah. And I think that’s the same for everyone. Do you think giving up will make me stronger?”
- Iron Mesh: “Yes.”
That settles it. My doubts are confirmed.
- Hard Skull: ”I see. We don’t have the same answers.”
- Iron Mesh: “Hm ?”
My time is running out, before I pass out. I’ve taken too many blows to the head. And yet… I think I understand.
- Hard Skull: “If… two overwhelming forces—let’s say… bulls… If those two bulls were to charge straight at each other, and one is weaker than the other, and realizes that if this keeps up, he will inevitably lose this contest of pure strength—what do you think the solution would be for him?”
- Iron Mesh: “He would have to think, to outsmart the other. Or, if the gap in strength is too great, give up. There are fights you can’t win.”
There are fights you can’t win.
There are fights you can’t win.
There are fights you can’t win.
That phrase echoed in Hard Skull’s mind.
- Hard Skull: “Tell me… when you’re backed into a corner, what do you do? This is my last question.”
- Iron Mesh: …Backed into a corner? You have to analyze. Analyze every parameter of the current situation, find the best solution, the one with the highest chance of turning the fight around or surviving. Sometimes that means giving up.”
- Hard Skull: “That’s what I thought… You and I don’t have the same answers.”
Hard Skull lowered his guard and turned toward the wall.
- Hard Skull: “Do you know what you’re supposed to do when you’re backed into a corner?”
Slowly, Hard Skull took an exaggeratedly wide swing with his head. He smashed it with full force into the wall.
- Iron Mesh: “Wh-!?”
- Hard Skull: “Break the wall. Break your limits. The bull that wins is the one that charges the hardest. That’s it.”