Cho saw Tre'yan's arm rear back as his overhead slash hit nothing but air. His reflexes were superhuman, but nothing prepared him for what hit him next. Even as he turned his head, he saw the punch incoming, scattering the myriad dust particles that hung in the air from their scuffling about in the engagement. He immediately made to duck, and duck he did, crouching low as his free left hand came up reflexively to cover his head. Fast, but not fast enough. The oncoming fist grazed him; barely two of Tre'yan's five(?) fingers met his raised hand and head, but they were enough. The sheer force of the punch sent him flying to the right (Tre'yan's left), a cloud of dust in his wake and a loud crack in the air that rang for several seconds. He tumbled for a good second or two before rolling to a stop, face in the dirt, ears ringing, eyes spotty with darkness. His head hurt, like someone had driven a truck over it. But he was still conscious, albeit barely. Cho dragged his tongue across his teeth and felt one come loose. Dammit. He braced the floor with his hands and struggled desperately to his feet, the weakness that held him, however, made him fall to a knee almost immediately. With the fight in mind, Cho willed himself to make a status check. Brain: injured, oh definitely injured, but still in the mood to fight. Skull: fractured in several places. Any more jostling and it'd break, sending shards of bone into his brain, ending him instantly or at least until he regenerated enough to recover. That would take days, if not a week or two. Balance: shot to shit. The impact on the left side of his head had scrambled his inner ear. Hearing: his right side still functioned, but his left was shot. That would heal within minutes. Head: bruised heavily along the top of his cranium. Barr. [color=c79dd7]"Boss, you alright?"[/color] Cho shook his head, trying to clear his mind and get his balance back. He could feel the dark within him slowly knitting and restoring his left inner ear, but the process would take at least a few more minutes. In the meantime, he was a sitting duck. [color=c79dd7]"Boss?[/color] With a daemon-possessed knife. Cho spit the tooth and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. [b]"Barr? I think it's time I fed you again."[/b] [color=c79dd7]"Oh great. I was hoping for a meal."[/color] Cho put his left hand to his injured ear and found it bleeding. The thick, black blood that only he bled was...unappetising to say the least, but he brought his blood-soaked hand back to the knife's blade. The glossy black metal slowly sucked up the blood, and a faint growling grew in volume. [color=c79dd7][b]"Peeeeeeeeeeeerfect."[/b][/color] He drew in a breath, held it there, and let it out slowly. Ahead of him, the undead boxer was still in the fight. That right arm had to go down. One nick from Barr would end his fighting game. [color=c79dd7][b]"We gonna go, boss?"[/b][/color] [b]"Yeah, but it'll be mostly you now. My game's kinda shot to shit from that."[/b] [color=c79dd7][b]"Yeah well, so far you've been doing fine. Just keep at it and we'll get through just fine. Your blood's a nice little appetiser, but now I'm really raring for a taste of his."[/b][/color] [b]"Right. I'll try not to let you down."[/b] [color=c79dd7][b]"Oh you better not. I'm just a knife, I can't fight by myself."[/b][/color] With an unsteady gait he slowly walked back to where Tre'yan stood, waiting. His balance was shot, no, half-shot. He could still fight, just barely. With Barr still in a forehand, he readied himself again, standing in the same stance he had been before. Cho gave Tre'yan a little nod, a small smile on his face. [b]"That really, really, really hurt. You're the best fighter I've fought in, like, ever."[/b] With a roll of his shoulders, he squared them and prepared himself. [b]"But you know what they say about hitting a dead man; you can't really put him down that way."[/b] Play defense. He's only got his right. His offense game is just as shot as your balance. Play it right, you'll come up trumps.