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The Tap and The Truth: The Ballad of the Iron Crucible

Chapter 4

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The older man pushed open the cage door and stepped fully inside. His posture was perfectly relaxed, completely devoid of any recognizable fighting stance. His arms hung loosely at his sides."I am a man who knows that strength without discipline is just a temper tantrum. You broke the contract, son. Release her."Blindly enraged by the condescending tone, Kael shoved Lyra away like a discarded ragdoll. She collapsed heavily onto the canvas, rolling onto her side, coughing violently, violently gasping for the cold, metallic air as hot tears of pure physiological shock and terror streamed uncontrollably down her face.Kael stood up to his full, terrifying height, looming over the older, significantly smaller man. "I'm going to kill you, old man."With a guttural roar, Kael lunged forward. He threw a monstrous, heavily telegraphed, looping right overhand, carrying all 240 pounds of his weight.The old man didn't raise his hands to block. He didn't scramble backward to retreat. Instead, he stepped directly into the overwhelming danger. With a microscopic, impossibly precise pivot on the ball of his lead foot, he slipped his head to the inside arc of Kael’s massive fist. The devastating punch sailed harmlessly past his ear.As Kael’s immense forward momentum carried him recklessly forward, entirely off-balance, the old man’s hands moved with terrifying, liquid speed. He caught Kael's extended right wrist with his own left hand, stepped his hips deep under Kael’s armpit, and placed his right hand squarely and firmly on Kael's tricep. He dropped his own center of gravity drastically, redirecting the giant's violent forward energy in a perfect, sweeping arc straight down into the earth. It was a flawless, textbook execution of a Seoi Otoshi.CRACK.Kael’s massive frame slammed onto the dense mat with a catastrophic, echoing impact. Every single ounce of air left Kael's lungs in a violent, involuntary rush. Before Kael's concussed brain could register the fall, the old man flowed seamlessly onto the ground, pinned Kael’s trapped right arm ruthlessly across his own thigh, and locked out the elbow joint in a viciously tight, inescapable armbar."When a fighter taps, you let go," the old man said softly. "A true martial artist protects his partner. A coward breaks them. Which one are you?"Kael, his face pale and eyes wide with sudden, agonizing terror, frantically tapped his free hand against the mat. The old man immediately released the hold.Chapter 7: Graveyard of PotentialCoach Miller finally snapped out of his paralyzed trance. He pushed aggressively past the bystanders and rushed into the cage, completely ignoring the traumatized woman on the floor, moving frantically to check on his golden boy. Kael rolled over heavily onto his side, groaning pathetically, clutching his hyper-extended right arm to his chest, his carefully crafted aura of sheer invincibility permanently and irreparably shattered.The old man walked calmly over to Lyra, extending a calloused, heavily weathered hand toward her. She took it, and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet.
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The Tap and The Truth: The Ballad of the Iron Crucible

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