When Max and Dipter squared up, thankfully the Pit members were doing a good job of keeping the other students out of the fight.
Which meant the two of them could finally face each other one-on-one, without distractions, without interference.
Max moved in to fight, aiming to strike, and just as he got within range, Dipter lifted his leg. It was a fast kick.
Max's body, he thought it could react in time. But as he raised his arm, a twitch of pain shot through his shoulder, the same shoulder that had betrayed him before. Dipter's leg crashed straight into his face, splitting his lip.
He had to step back and re-evaluate. That kick was no joke. If he were in his old body, he might've been able to power through it. But from that single hit, his head was already spinning.
My shoulder's still not a hundred percent, and even if I blocked that kick, it would've hurt, Max thought. I'm not in my old body. I can't just brute force my way through this.
