Page 52 of Ash Storm

Ash shifted in an attempt to dissipate the strength of the blow, but the boot still caught him hard enough to make him howl in pain. More significantly, it unbalanced him—just as his opponent had intended it to. Before he knew what was happening, Ash found himself on the ground. Then Johannes-Wilhelm was on him, twisting his body like a pretzel until he was lying face down, his arms pinned under his body.

Ash tasted dust and turned his head sideways to take a series of shallow breaths.

He was going to need oxygen.

Ash waited … waited … until he felt the knee at the base of his spine.

He pulled his elbows under his arms and exploded up from his hips. Because that knee at the base of his spine meant his opponent’s legs were open, and he was naturally unbalanced. Ash managed to turn over, then kneed his opponent right between his legs.

As Johannes-Wilhelm doubled over, because fuck it, his kidneys might be made of solid rock but his genitals weren’t, Ash reached from behind and choked the man. It took a good ten seconds for his opponent to realize that whatever was happening to his air supply was more dangerous than the agony between his legs, and by then, it was too late. The man’s hand moved up to Ash’s arms, but couldn’t find purchase. He scratched Ash’s arm violently, but Ash didn’t let go. Instead, he lifted the man to his knees, thereby increasing the pressure on his neck, until Johannes-Wilhelm went unconscious.

Now for the tricky bit.

Ash shifted his grip, holding the man’s chin with one hand. He growled, getting ready to apply the ton of force needed to actually break a man’s neck. Except, in this case, he didn’t need to do anything, except let the unconscious man’s head loll sideways. The darkened sky and the tenuous lighting did the rest for him as Ash let the man drop like a stone to the ground.

Ash leaned into the crowd. He raised his arms and bared his teeth, roaring out his victory.

He had to sell this moment, and sell it quickly. Because, though nobody else knew it yet, the man wasn’t dead, and it would only be a matter of minutes before he woke up.

The crowd took another step closer, as if pulled by an invisible thread—wanting to get as close to the red mat as possible without actually stepping onto it. Everybody wanted to get a look at what they assumed was the first dead body of the evening.

All eyes were on Ash and the fallen giant as the fight master made his way towards them.

Which was why nobody—except for Ash—saw Griffin step back towards the dais. The former CIA agent fiddled with something in his watch for an instant.

Then two thick curtains of smoke appeared, on either side of the courtyard.

And then the screaming began.