His adversary’s eyes widened and he gestured hastily with his wand to launch the hail of fireballs at the mori. An explosion of darkness turned the projectiles to ash and any remaining flames extinguished while all the plant life around Vaust withered instantly and died.
Chapter Thirty-One
Koli could no longer feel Salvo’s presence. Had he died? No, his Mana had vanished all at once instead of gradually so he must have used the marble to teleport out of the forest. He could still sense the mori’s Mana very keenly. In fact, it was stronger and had grown to the point where it was almost sickening. He heard a grunt and looked at where Asla strained against the warped area she was contained in. Distracted by the possible fate of his partner, he had almost slipped. It would be bad form to have this battle end due to their negligence. A better option would be that Devol finally attacked.
A hasty glance at the swordsman confirmed that he’d had the same thought and was now only several feet away. The boy began to swing his blade—valiant but foolish, of course. He began to shift the space in front of the blade enough for it to swing harmlessly to his side, which would leave his young opponent wide open.
The light in the blade flared and it corrected its trajectory to remain on a direct course toward him. He was surprised and the young Magi seemed a little shocked too, although it was mostly masked by his anger. Unfortunately, he could not move if he continued to hold the girl in place. He needed to concentrate to keep her there, but it looked like that was no longer an option.
Regretfully, he released his hold on the wildkin and jumped back. The blade sliced along his chest and when he landed, he checked his tunic. It appeared that it had narrowly missed the flesh although it had certainly cut the tunic rather cleanly. But as he raised his fingers, he felt a warm substance on them and he scowled at the blood that stained their tips. Small droplets of it seeped through the garment along his sternum.
He looked at Devol, who was helping the girl up, and smiled. While he was unsure if this was his skill alone or something to do with the majestic he wielded, it appeared that his intuition was quite right. The boy would make a wonderful plaything in the future.
For now, however, he needed to complete the mission. He’d had his fun, but with the real Templar approaching, he could not guarantee the retrieval of the box. While he might be able to defeat the mori, the younglings could easily escape with the box. If they found an anchor point…well, all would be lost. He turned to snatch the prize but before he could, it sparkled with blue light, elevated sharply, and hurtled to Jazai, who smiled cunningly at the thief.
Koli frowned slightly. “You are becoming annoying.”
“I pride myself on that,” the diviner retorted and pointed three fingers at him. “Bolt.” Three Mana arrows formed and launched at his adversary much faster than his missiles had. The man’s Anima surged and a wave of his arm simply knocked the projectiles away.
His malefic flashed and the earth began to shift around the young apprentice. The ground burst open and threatened to swallow him while the trees behind him fell and almost crushed him. The boy was able to blink away but had to use far more Mana than usual to break through the assault.
In turn, this left a clear image of where he would reappear for a skilled Magi such as Koli was. He drew three small knives from his belt and flung them at his opponent as he manifested. Jazai’s eyes widened as they were too close for him to dodge, but before they struck, they were intercepted by Asla and fell harmlessly at his feet.
“Asla!” he called and the wildkin gasped as her Mana flickered around her. She released it as she toppled.
Well, that was two, but where was Devol? Koli turned as an immense light broke through the trees. The boy surged out and his blade glowed brighter than it had before. He focused on the young swordsman and attempted to trap him in the same distorted cage he had used with Asla. As his opponent pushed forward and increased his speed, light poured out of the blade. Surprised, he reacted by distorting the space around him.
When the weapon impacted with him, the sword unleashed a surge of light that enveloped him and continued to streak through the forest behind them. It tore through it and obliterated anything in its path for more than a hundred yards.
Devol could feel his Anima depleting from the strike. What had just happened?
When the assassin reappeared, his clothes were torn and various wounds were visible along the top of his arms. He stood motionless for a moment before the shock of the assault subsided. The two combatants stood in silence and stared at one another in a moment of mutual surprise. But the older Magi’s stunned expression turned to one of happiness, almost like he was looking at the swordsman with pride in his eyes. At least that is what it appeared to be before he delivered a solid kick across the boy’s chin and hurled him away as he produced a small black marble.
“Truly magnificent,” he whispered, broke the marble, and vanished.
“He teleported,” Jazai muttered and glowered at the area where the thief had stood. “Far, far away. I can’t even track him.”
“Devol!” Asla called and jogged to the swordsman, who pushed himself into a seated position. “Are you all right?”
He rubbed his chin ruefully. “It hurts but I’ll be fine,” he stated as she helped him up. “Thank you. That could have been much worse. My Anima was weak but
