Page 70 of Celestial Combat

Chaos.

He dropped to his knees, clutching the stump of his arm, his body shaking with shock. I barely had a moment to register it before the second man, the one who’d hit the wall, came at me again.

I stepped into his momentum.

The blade drove deep into his stomach.

His breath hitched, a shuddering sound as he looked down, realization dawning. But I wasn’t done.

I dragged the blade upward.

His insides split open, warm blood spilling over my hands. He crumpled forward, dead before he hit the ground.

A sudden force yanked me backward.

The third man.

His arms locked around mine, pinning them to my sides as he lifted me off the ground. He was strong, too strong.

I struggled, but my grip on the katana was lost. It was still embedded in the second man’s corpse, its tip sticking up from his back as he’d fallen face first on the floor.

Before I could think, the first man staggered to his feet, his face pale, his severed wrist still bleeding.

He stumbled forward.

I used what little leverage I had, swinging my leg up.

My heel caught his face, snapping his head back with a sickening crack. He lost his balance, tripping backwards.

Straight onto the waiting blade.

It pierced through his chest as he collapsed onto the second man’s corpse.

His body convulsed once, then stilled.

Two down.

The third man roared, his grip tightening as he crushed me against him.

I threw my head back as hard as I could.

The impact was instant. His nose crunched beneath my skull, and with a snarl of pain, he hurled me to the ground.

I landed hard, rolling onto my back just as he lunged.

I caught him between my legs.

He thrashed, but I twisted, wrapping my arms around his neck and squeezing – using the same Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu moves I’d learned as a kid and mastered at Python.

He gasped, struggling, his fingers clawing at my skin.

I held on. Squeezed tighter.

His movements slowed, then…

Nothing.

His body sagged against me, unconscious.

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