Maddox's eyes widened when Grane recovered so quickly from his last attack.
He's definitely not human, Maddox thought, recomposing himself as a grin formed on his face.
"Let's see." When Grane appeared in front of him again, this time taking the offensive initiative, Maddox's grin vanished. He leaned back, letting gravity assist him in dodging the opening punch, though the flames seared his shirt as they passed on by.
Manually dodging against someone of Grane's caliber, particularly while still in the air, was now beyond Maddox's capability. On his next attack, Maddox teleported back to the ground, out of harm's way. Wasting no time, trying to get Grane before he could teleport to follow him, Maddox thrust his left palm forward. A ball of red energy was flung at the Council member. But despite the speed of the attack, Grane was able to keep up with Maddox and the ball of light missed. It struck the ceiling, creating a large explosion that shook the cavern and caused some small rocks to fall from the ceiling.
I've never fought someone that could keep up with me before, Maddox thought to himself, teleporting away from Grane's next fiery strike.
Nor have I faced someone that could stand after the attacks I've dealt so far, let alone fight back with such vigor. Perhaps I underestimated the Magic Council. Perhaps I overestimated my own capacity? The larger, draconian man was upon him again, forcing Maddox to jump back. He almost landed in the large lake, stopping just short and wincing slightly before teleporting into the air.
Rather than wait for Grane to come after him, Maddox teleported back towards Grane. The maneuver was an attempt to fake him out and catch him off guard. His right foot was glowing red with power when he appeared before Grane, before shooting out in an attempt to kick his gut. The powerful attack missed the target as Grane himself teleported away. He appeared behind Maddox, already continuing his attack. The red-haired mage teleported again, reappearing in the air towards the top of the cavern.
"You are certainly a terrifying opponent, Grane," Maddox said, before holding both his arms in front of his chest with his palms facing toward each other.
"It isn't a stretch of the imagination to say that you probably could destroy my guild." Red light began glowing between his hands now.
"You have been testing me so far to gauge how threatening I really am, and that alone is enough. It is time for me to stop holding back." He thrust both his palms forward and the red light from his hands grew brighter.
Then he vanished. Maddox reappeared on the ground several feet behind Grane, in the same pose he was in when he teleported. The red light took solid form, blasting forth in a powerful wave aimed at the center of Grane's back. The ground underneath the wave, despite not touching the magic itself, was disrupted by the energy flying over it and scattering dust and small rocks off to the sides along its path.