As he turned to continue his run, he felt a sudden flare of Mana coming closer. Instinctively, he ducked and several small trees were scored with what looked like claw marks. He straightened and Asla landed on her hands on the ground and tucked her legs in to kick him. She was amazingly fast, he had to give her that as he brought an arm up to block the kick and infused it with Mana. The wildkin drove into him and knocked him back, and he slid deeper into the forest before he finally came to a stop on the road.
Koli checked his arm. It had been a powerful kick but left no more than a slightly pink bruise. He looked around and realized he had been knocked off-course. Before he could gain his bearings, he heard a rustle and looked up. Devol plunged toward him, his blade pointed at his head. He smiled. Well, it appeared he would have to fight for a while. This was certainly not the worst outcome.
It was a pity, though. Maybe in a few years, the boy would have made a great adversary. It looked like he would have to find another prospect after today, although perhaps he would last at least a few minutes.
Chapter Thirty
As Devol landed, his blade struck nothing but the earth below. He looked up to where Koli stood only a few inches away from him. The man lifted a hand and swung the back of his palm across his head, almost dislodged his sword, and hurled him several yards away. He flipped himself in midair and stopped himself with his hand. Asla bounded out of the forest to attempt a kill-strike. Their adversary simply lowered his head and her claws swiped through empty space and scored the bark of the trees. She bounced off one of the trunks for a second strike.
The man looked at her and made no effort to defend himself as her claws lunged at his eye. Impossibly, they stopped barely short of a strike and Devol couldn’t believe it. He had been so certain she would land a sure hit. Koli snatched her arm, spun her, and flung her at the young swordsman. He caught her and both stumbled back a couple of feet as their friend appeared next to them. “He’s strong,” he muttered.
“No kidding,” Jazai mumbled, holding his cheek. “And I didn’t say this before but come on, man. That’s a she!”
“What?” He looked at Koli in confusion. “It’s a man with spiky violet hair, isn’t it?”
“I see a man as well, Jazai,” Asla confirmed and the other boy raised an eyebrow as he examined their adversary. “But I do not see the spiky hair either, Devol. I see long hair that hangs down his back.”
Devol stared at Koli and tried to discern the truth. “Some type of illusion?”
The man smirked and nodded. “People tend to see what they want to but it is more literal in my case.” He used his free hand to point to the back of his neck. “I have a rune—had it since I was a child, actually. It casts a simple illusion that alters my appearance enough that my visage always looks slightly different to each person.”
“I see you as a woman,” the diviner told him. “They see you as a man. That doesn’t sound like a slight difference.”
“My power increases the effectiveness of the illusion,” Koli explained. He tossed the box behind him and rolled his shoulders. “Or, I should say, the power of my malefic.”
Jazai tensed, as did Asla. “Malefic?” Devol repeated and glanced at the other boy. “When we saw that mask, you said the same thing.”
The scholar nodded slowly and his jaw tightened. “I can’t give you the entire explanation, not when we need to focus. But they are extremely dangerous and work similarly to a majestic.” He held a hand up. “I don’t know what his power is, but it seems to protect him from almost anything. Watch. Missile!” He launched five orbs at Koli. They circled him for a moment before each attempted to strike from a different angle. The man did not move, but each orb slid around his body. Two impacted with the road while three redirected and headed at the team. Asla jumped out and slashed with her claw to send a Mana-infused strike through the missiles that destroyed them.
“I was controlling those missiles before they attacked,” Jazai stated. “They should all have hit, but they veered around him.”
“I saw.” Devol nodded. “Is it another illusion? Maybe a power that lets him control the Magic of others?”
“No, he has been able to do that even against physical attacks,” Asla reminded him.
“You are thinking about this too hard,” Koli all but purred. “Here, allow me to show you.” He pulled his eyepatch off and the team gasped. His other eye had been replaced by some type of dark orb that shifted between hues of violet, purple, blue, and white at a rapid pace. Something that resembled an iris was in the center, but more elongated and diamond-shaped. He pointed to the unnatural eye. “This is my malefic, known as Madman’s Eye,” he explained with a hint of mirth. “It allows me to distort space around me.”
“Distort space?” The swordsman frowned and considered his missed attacks. “I see.”
“Why would you tell us that outright?” Jazai demanded. “That’s putting you at a major disadvantage.”
Their adversary laughed. “Thank you for your concern but I think I’ll be fine.” He stared at them for a moment, enjoying their discomfort. “You see, my malefic gets stronger when it can see the target or area I wish to distort.”
“He doesn’t feel any stronger,” Asla noted before she looked down and realized she had an orange glow around her. “My Mana—” She gasped as she backed away.
“It responded automatically to mine increasing to shield against you,” Koli explained
