The mage’s arm flexed upward to grab Tablurath’s wrist moments after the explosion of his sword. The twist of the man’s own wrist a clear tell for the perceptive fighter. The sudden wrist grab attempt interrupting Tablurath before he launched himself forward given the window of opportunity to exploit his opponent clearly did not exist. 

Practiced in close quarters combat Tablurath’s merely twisted his fist down before the mage could get a proper hold against the thumb of his opponent's left arm, using the greater mass to roll around in a circle going up and then push down suddenly forcing the mage’s wrist into an uncomfortable twist. His opponent was strong sure, but that did not mean much when proper leverage was applied in the right area. The sudden burst of speed as he enacted flash point on a small scale which allowed him to completely break free of the hold attempt as he finished the twist with a sudden downward push further aided by gravity.

This alongside the movement of his opponents quick thrust upward. Tablurath’s right hand clenched into a fist as he struck the mage’s wrist at the end of the clockwise spin just as it reach as high as his chest. Applying force and pressure to knock the mage’s arm sharply to the man’s right, possibly knocking the knife free in the process. He pushed off his left leg pivoting sharply to his right and his opponents left. 

In the peripheral of his vision he could see Serenity, blade down, partly buried in the sand off to his opponents 8 O’clock. The Mage suddenly froze in place as Tablurath pushed his body into a short range flash-point, rushing past him in a blur. Stopping with a sharp turn to his left with Serenity at his feet and his opponent now at his right side just a little over five feet away, the extra momentum shed into Mercy allowing him to decelerate instantly. The Cardinal leading with his left foot, his right leg slightly behind.

Ideally he would have simply cut him during the pass, but the world blazed by too quickly even for his ocular skills. Before His opponent might recover from the initial shock of losing track of his opponent. Tablurath drew Mercy in one smooth motion, as he slid his left leg forward, aligning the draw into a single cut aimed for the back lower left side of his opponent.