Michael

I thrust in and out with my spear and move left to avoid the counter thrust only to walk face first into a foot I'm sure breaks my nose as I spin from the force of the kick, feeling like my skull has just been split open.

I roll on the ground as urgently as I can avoiding a series of slashes and desperately blocking the last with the shaft of my spear by some sort of divine intervention. I'm not given a chance to be elated by my survival before a kick to the side propels me a ways from my opponent but also fracturing my ribs as I'm sure was intended.

I somehow manage to roll and land on my feet with my spear still in hand as I face my cloaked and masked opponent. Our eyes meet before I bend my head forward and puke out a ward of blood, my arm instinctively shielding my side.

He or she comes towards me in a confusing move that makes me slightly dizzy to watch, he is so much better at this than me. But I thrust forward with enhanced thrust chakra release even as I somehow manage to reach the state of Blossom seeing where he will be when we reach each other.

He stumbles as he tries swerving away but it isn't enough as his own moment takes him into my enhanced thrust chest first. But he must be wearing armour under the cloak because my spear nearly doesn't penetrate as though I'm thrusting against the bark of a solid tree stump.

I pull back with only the tip of my spear bloodied and duck under his counter swing only for his reverse swipe with his second shorter blade to dig deep into my wrist, cutting muscle and tendons and some bone leaving my hand hanging by a thread.

But even as he cuts I deliver a s onora kick right under his left rib that bends him slightly forward. I'm saved from his follow up by not being were he expects a person that has just lost a hand to be and he cuts through empty air even as I splash my blood onto his face blinding him a moment.

With the opening I thrust again this time aiming for the base of his neck with enhanced thrust and again a feel resistance against his skin but this time the tip in the throat seems to be enough to leave him suffocating as a pink frotty liquid bubbles from the hole that used to be his windpipe.

I step back and let him slowly die trying to stop the air from escaping his lungs. I cradle what little remains of my left hand as I stop the bleeding instinctively using my body manipulation skill.

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I breath through the pain, or at least I pant as I try to calm myself down long enough to asses the situation. He is taking longer than he should to die and so I grab my spear and help him along with two more thrusts into his neck. The spear goes in easily this time and he is finally quiet enough for me to think.

I can't really catch my breath and I think that's due to the kick in the ribs, I can taste the blood in my mouth and I have numerous other bruises , cuts and yes a useless left hand that is slowly starting to throb louder and louder calling for my attention.

It's over a minute I stand there panting, my tunnel vision receding and I look around me at the chaos of blood, guts, gore, steel and magic flying about. I tourniquet my hand with a clothe then cut a piece of the cloak and use it to sling my arm to my chest as tightly as I can.

I keep low so as not to attract attention, everyone is busy fighting as the attackers outnumber us at least 3 to 1. I've only killed one of them, the first person I've killed on Gaia but there are already a number of their bodies scattered about the place as though some third world atrocity has just been conducted.

Max and Edward are fighting together against one of the ninjas, John groaning at their feet trying to hold his guts in with another ninja dead body besides him.

I look around at most of our escort which seem to be taking this in stride, some even grinning as they face two or three opponents yet still seem to maintain the upper hand. They are paying for it dearly in injuries though I conclude as I watched one of the escorting soldiers lose and eye but takes a head in return and keeps fighting with a loud below of rage and glee, glee?

Saya is a maelstrom of activity as I see her unleash herself for the first time since I've known her. She swings and spins like a cyclone taking head and limbs with her twin short swords that seem to be sheathed in an aura of fire. I notice she is moving steadily towards were Max, John, Edward and I were before the ambush begun but she is constantly being harassed by opponents that seem even stringer than the one I just faced.

I stumble forward towards were two of the masked mages are slinging off spells against Stacey as she mostly defends but now and the slings back a spell of her own. There are explosions of soil and bodies as the spells are directed onto the ground or other places as though they were slinging grenades at each other.

The two mages don't even hear me approach them from behind and I notice that whatever shield they are using only seems to cover their fronts in a concave purple half dome.

I take a deep breath, hunch my knees in and launch myself with enhanced thrust forward and my spear rips easily into his back and out his chest to the spray of gore. His mouth opens in surprise but nothing comes out but I've already ducked and diving with a dagger in hand at the second one.

The second one stuns me somehow I'm not sure how but I'm deaf, dumb and dizzy but still moving forward dagger first. My vision clears right as I see Stacey rip through his shield and my dagger slams into his chest and we both go tumbling down together.

I stab him a few more times for good measure as I scream through my own pain and frustration. Then I lay there panting and spitting out blood the fights going on around me still. I lift my head up and notice that the fucker with a spear through his back and chest is still alive but lying on the floor panthing.

Resilient fuckers these, I crawl towards him and slit his throat with the dagger before laying on my back in utter exhaustion. The sky is so blue today, there are birds circling around height up above, the wind is picking up and its so refreshing on my skin.

I sigh, and close my eyes for a moment, just for a moment.