In the blistering expanse of Hell's blinding desert layer, where dunes of scorched sand stretched infinitely under a sky choked with ash and eternal noon light, Gabriel the Supreme Angel descended like a falling star. His wings, vast and radiant, cast fleeting shadows over the heat-shimmering ground as he gripped Justice and Splendor—twin swords forged from holy light—in his gauntleted fists. The air warped around him, thick with the scent of brimstone and ozone from his barely contained power. Opposite him stood Hiromi Higuruma, the former defense attorney turned harbinger of cursed justice, his black suit pristine amid the desolation, gavel in hand already morphing into a sleek hook. The sand hissed as cursed energy crackled from Higuruma's form, his eyes sharp behind glasses, unyielding. "An angel playing judge in Hell?" Higuruma remarked coolly, voice cutting through the wind. "The law here is corrupt—I'll render the verdict myself." Gabriel's laugh boomed like thunder, pride etching his flawless features. "Foolish mortal soul. I am Gabriel, arbiter of divine retribution. Your petty curses bow to holy light." Gabriel struck first, teleporting in a blaze of light to slash with Justice, the blade slicing a furrow through the sand that erupted in purifying flames. Higuruma reacted with superhuman speed, his hook extending like a serpent to grapple Gabriel's arm mid-swing, yanking him off-balance. "Predictable aggression," Higuruma said, calm under the pressure, his genius intellect already dissecting the angel's patterns. "Holy light? It's just another form of energy—cursed or divine, it follows rules." He followed with a mallet transformation, slamming it down to unleash shockwaves that rippled outward, forcing Gabriel to fly upward in evasion. Sand exploded in geysers, pelting them both. Gabriel sneered from above, hurling a throwing axe of condensed light that homed in relentlessly. "You dare lecture me on rules, worm? I wrote the scrolls of judgment!" The axe detonated on impact with Higuruma's guard, scorching his jacket but drawing first blood—a shallow gash across his shoulder. Higuruma touched the wound, Reverse Cursed Technique knitting flesh in seconds, his regeneration a quiet defiance. "Wounds heal. Injustice doesn't," he retorted, channeling cursed energy into his gavel-staff hybrid, thrusting it forward to whip up a vortex of sand infused with binding force. Gabriel dove through it, Splendor parrying the staff with a clash that shook the dunes. "Your tricks falter before true supremacy!" the angel roared, his pride fueling a barrage of light blades that rained down like judgment from on high. Higuruma dodged with strategic precision, his quick learning adapting to Gabriel's teleport feints—rolling under one blade, countering with a hook that snagged a wing and pulled, slamming the angel into the sand. "Teleports have tells. Air displacement. You're fast, but not untouchable," Higuruma analyzed aloud, his legal mind turning combat into a courtroom dissection. Enraged by the indignity, Gabriel felt the first stirrings of his Rage state ignite as bruises formed on his divine form. His speed surged subtly at first—500 more points ticking up every minute—allowing him to blur past Higuruma's hook and land a glancing blow with Justice that carved a smoking trench across the lawyer's chest. Blood welled, but RCT surged again, sealing it. "Rage becomes you," Higuruma quipped dryly, transforming his gavel to hammer form and swinging in a wide arc that Gabriel barely evaded, the impact cratering the ground. "But emotion clouds judgment. Mine stays cold." Gabriel hovered, wings beating hurricane winds, his voice laced with haughty fury. "Cold? You'll freeze in the abyss I cast you into! Witness the Judge of Hell!" He summoned a massive sword of holy light, cleaving downward; Higuruma countered by amplifying his domain aura, neutralizing the light's raw magic edge, forcing it to clash on physical terms alone. The desert trembled as their weapons locked—holy sword against cursed hammer—sparks of clashing energies birthing glass from sand. Gabriel's Rage built, damage output inching toward its peak every six minutes, his strikes growing ferocious. "You neutralize nothing eternal!" he bellowed, teleporting behind Higuruma for a point-blank axe throw that grazed the man's thigh, drawing a hiss of pain. Higuruma spun, staff extending to trip the angel mid-air, his voice steady: "Eternity means nothing without due process. Your 'rage' is just sloppy sentencing." He pressed the advantage, mallet slamming shockwaves that clipped Gabriel's wings, slowing his flight. The angel crashed down, sand billowing like a shroud, his HP dipping but fueling more speed—now a relentless blur. Gabriel rose in a vortex of light, fully enrag'd, his form glowing with unholy aggression. "You'll beg for mercy that won't come!" He unleashed a flurry of teleporting strikes, swords weaving death from all angles, one finally piercing Higuruma's guard to rend his side deeply. RCT flared desperately, but the angel's escalating damage overwhelmed it momentarily, blood soaking the sand. Higuruma gritted his teeth, calm fracturing into grim resolve. "Mercy? I'm the executioner here." His gavel hooked Gabriel's leg, yanking him into a hammer uppercut that launched him skyward, shockwaves pursuing like vengeful spirits. The battle escalated into aerial chaos, Gabriel's speed now godlike, raining axes that pockmarked the dunes while Higuruma leaped with cursed propulsion, staff parrying mid-air. "Your intellect is wasted on denial!" Gabriel taunted, landing a solid hit that shattered Higuruma's glasses and staggered him. "Intellect wins cases— and wars," Higuruma shot back, regenerating just enough to activate fuller Domain Amplification, dampening Gabriel's light manipulations to blunt force. He grappled a wing with his hook, slamming the angel down into a dune that collapsed like a grave. Gabriel exploded free, Rage at its zenith—speed unimaginable, damage doubled and redoubled. His swords blurred into a storm, slashing Higuruma across torso and limbs, RCT straining against the onslaught. "Judgment rendered!" Gabriel proclaimed triumphantly. Higuruma, strategic to the end, feinted a retreat, then unleashed a mallet grand slam amplified by cursed energy, the shockwave hitting Gabriel point-blank amid his teleport cooldown. The desert fell silent as Gabriel staggered, holy light flickering, his immense HP eroded by relentless pressure. Higuruma, battered but unbowed, gavel reforming. "Case closed." Gabriel's superior base stats (HP 500k vs implied lower for Higuruma, power 26>20, guard 16>15, speed 34>20) and Rage escalations gave him overwhelming speed and damage output over time, outpacing Higuruma's RCT regeneration and Domain Amplification. While Higuruma's intellect, adaptability, and counters neutralized some magic early, he couldn't sustain against Gabriel's raw scaling aggression and teleport-fueled pressure in prolonged combat. Winner: You