Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

A searing pain shot through Ezra's body as he looked down at the weapon jutting out of his torso.

Like a leaky pipe, purple blood began flowing out of the wound, and should the spear be removed, the flow of blood would become more akin to a gushing fountain.

This was a truly grievous wound, even for someone like Ezra. He could feel that some of his internal organs were damaged, and that it was only a matter of time before the injury became fatal if he did not receive treatment.

Still, as Oliva tried to retract her spear and deliver a finishing blow, Ezra reached down and grabbed the shaft that was sticking out of him.

Summoning all of his willpower and strength, he kept the hard light spear in place even as he felt it jerking around his insides and causing more damage.

The agony was nearly paralyzing, but he could not give up. To stop now would mean death for him, and the continued enslavement of his friend.

With his free arm, he twisted around and threw his elbow at Oliva. Hitting her square in the chin as she struggled to retrieve her weapon.

There was a sickening cracking sound from the hit, and when Ezra finally turned all the way around to face her, he saw that her jaw was broken and out of place.

This certainly ruined her pretty face, and while Ezra might have normally found this to be a shame, such a matter was not of concern right now.

As if he was some sort of wounded animal lashing out, Ezra threw himself at Oliva as she was staggering to stay on her feet.

With a devastating punch he smashed his fist into her torso and sent her flying across the corridor.

For several meters she limply flew through the air until slamming hard against the reinforced metal wall behind her.

Ezra could see red blood pooling below her as she slumped over on the ground unmoving. The heavy impact had cracked open her head and she was now bleeding profusely.

Seeing that his enemy was down, Ezra gritted his teeth and pulled out the spear jammed into his gut.

The sight was far from pretty as blood poured out of him, but he was prepared for this.

From out of a small pack tightly held against his back, he pulled out an emergency medical pad that he used to seal the wound and administered an injection of recovery nano machines that entered his blood stream and immediately went to work on fixing the damage he had taken.

It was just as he was finishing his emergency treatment that Ezra's instincts started blaring that something was wrong.

He had fought through countless battles, and he knew to trust his senses even if he was unsure of where his anticipation was coming from.

At the last movement he turned his head to the side as a bright beam passed by him. Slightly grazing his cheek and leaving a nasty burn in its wake.

Despite having been momentarily knocked unconscious, Olivia had just regained her bearing and immediately restarted her attack.

In her right hand she held a laser pistol, and was with great effort pulling herself up off the floor so that she could continue the battle.

"I really just wish you would have stayed down." Ezra said, breathing heavily.

Of course, Oliva would have preferred this outcome as well. If she had remained unconscious, there would not have been a chance of the submission implant activating. Sadly, so long as she was awake, she would be compelled to fight. With refusal to do so only bringing her death.

For a few seconds, the two of them merely stared each other down, waiting for the first move to be made.

Eventually, Oliva pulled down the trigger on her weapon and fired a shot. If she took too long, the implant in her head might register it as resistance to obey orders.

Ezra had been waiting for this moment, however.

With nearly imperceptible movements, he swung his halberd and blocked the laser coming his way.

This was a difficult technique that required the ability to read weapon trajectories and anticipate when the laser would be fired, but Ezra was confident in his skills.

Over and over again, he batted aside Oliva's laser fire. She was in too rough of a shape to move fast, so all she could do was continue to shoot and try to bring Ezra down.

Naturally, some of her blasts managed to land, as she swiftly and calculatedly aimed and fired her weapon.

Nevertheless, Ezra endured the pain as he was struck by the searing beams. Only blocking the ones that would prove fatal or debilitating.

By the time he closed in on Oliva, the edges of his sides, shoulders, and limbs were covered in horrid burns.

"It's over now."

With a flash of his weapon, Ezra sliced through his opponent's laser pistol.

Now inoperable. Oliva threw the gun away and swiftly drew a combat knife from her belt and lunged forward.

Even considering her injuries, it was a sharp strike that would have been able to bring down plenty of experienced fighters.

Yet to Ezra, it appeared to only be a last desperate blow.

With his left hand he grabbed Oliva's arm and slammed it back into the wall behind her. Shattering her bones and forcing her to drop her last weapon.

Struggling to the end, she kicked Ezra where her spear had impaled him earlier. He winced as a new round of pain assaulted him, but he did not let go now that he had his enemy in his grasp.

"Just go to sleep until this is all over." Ezra said, slamming her head against the sturdy wall behind her and rendering her unconscious.

The moment he had won, Ezra slumped to the ground, feeling the strength leaving his body. It had been a long time since he had last experienced such an intense battle.