Draelusa's smile never wavered, but something in his eyes sharpened: reassessment, recalculation.
"Bold words. Let's see if you can back them up."
He moved.
Not running or leaping, simply ceasing to exist in one location and manifesting in another, directly in front of Jaenor with one hand extended in a strike that carried centuries of accumulated killing power.
Jaenor met it.
His own hand came up, and when their palms connected, the shockwave flattened grass for a hundred feet in all directions.
BOOM!!
The sound was like thunder concentrated into a single instant, painful even for those with enhanced hearing.
They held that position for a heartbeat, locked together, power against power.
Then they both disengaged, leaping apart to create distance.
The battle had begun.
Draelusa attacked with methodical precision, his movements minimal and devastatingly effective.
