Reagan waited for a hit that never landed.
"Shield," cried a voice, and gusts of wind responded to gather around him in a translucent barrier that shattered like glass when Alex's fist struck it. Without hesitating, Reagan called up his speed again and dashed away from the fight in a blur.
Alex blinked in surprise and looked around. His gaze landed on the Fool, who had called the wind. The Fool specialized in using his inner force to cast spells to control the elements.
"That's a pretty neat trick," Alex said. "Now I'll show you one of mine."
He spread his hands and reached for his power. The moisture in the air began to condense into ice and snow and formed a foot-long icicle that hovered in the air. With a flick of his wrist, Alex sent it flying toward the Fool like an arrow.
The Fool met the attack by stabbing the ground in front of him with his cane, which immediately sprouted roots and vines. In the blink of an eye, his cane had become a tree. Alex's icicle struck the tree and dug into it with enough force that it almost passed right through. Beads of cold sweat formed on the Fool's face.
Valentina noticed his unease. She was the leader of the Snow Mountain sect, and she hadn't realized that the Fool had mastered tree herding to that degree. That spell's been lost for centuries, she thought. She was surprised that the Fool had recovered it. It could be used offensively as well as defensively, with branches and tendrils that could attack at the will of the caster. But the effort of creating and maintaining such a tree was immense, and it was impressive that the Fool was still standing.
She also noticed that Alex's icicle had almost bored through the bark, which was about as hard as steel. The Fool was lucky that Alex could only cast one icicle at a time. She watched the tree continue to warp and shift as it produced spiky fruits on its branches. Tendrils like hands wrapped around them and started flinging them at Alex with incredible force. He ducked out of the way, and one of the thorny projectiles slammed into the ground behind him like a cannonball.
The immortals watched Alex to see how he would respond. He went still and used his inner power to create an invisible wall, and then the tree's fruit disintegrated into powder as they slammed into the unseen shield.
"Your tree caught one missile," he said, holding his hands out with his palms facing the Fool. The air around his fingertips began to shimmer. "Let's see if it can catch ten."
Ten needles of ice formed and flew toward the Fool, eliciting a gasp of surprise from some of the immortals. Each icicle was comparable to an armor-piercing bullet, and it was shocking that Alex could create them so quickly. He made it look effortless, and several immortals were quietly reassessing their judgment of the young man. There was more to him, to his power, than they had originally assumed.
The Fool grunted and sent his power into the earth at his feet, raising a wall of mud and stone around him. At the same time, his tree extended its branches to create a second barrier.
The barrier stopped almost all the icicles, but a few broke through. The Fool twisted and spun, dodging all but one. The last would have plowed through him if not for his last defense. A small jade ring on a cord around his neck suddenly emitted a blinding green light, and the last icicle shattered into dust.
The jade ring was destroyed at the same time, and the Fool looked pained by its loss. It had been an ancient relic that was meant to protect the wearer from hundreds of arrows. That it could not withstand one hit from Alex worried him, and he felt the first stirrings of fear. The Great One is too strong, he thought.
With a shout, Reagan rejoined the fight, distracting Alex and giving the Fool a moment to regroup. Alex engaged him in hand-to-hand combat while summoning projectiles of ice and fire to keep the Fool off balance. He managed to keep them both from mounting a decent offensive strategy, and the immortals began to realize that they might have a problem. Alex was fighting two enemies at once and making it look easy.
Reagan was being knocked around like a rag doll, and his lightning was the only thing keeping him alive. Meanwhile, the Fool's tree was nearly in splinters while he struggled to launch a counterattack. The Fool was considered to be one of the strongest spell casters in the world, and Alex was keeping him at bay with one hand. There are two of us, and he still has the upper hand, Reagan thought. How can he be this powerful?
Farris watched the fight with mounting dread. Reagan and the Fool were legends in their world, but the Great One had them pinned down, and it looked like he was toying with them. "Is this what a divine-level expert's power looks like?" Farris muttered.
Sweat poured down the Fool's face while Alex dismantled every spell he threw at him. He was shocked to find that his most powerful spells paled in comparison to what Alex seemed able to do, and Alex had barely used the same spell twice.
Reagan was thrown to the ground by a kick from Alex. Breathing hard, he rolled to his feet and glared at Asher. "Are you going to just stand there and watch this guy beat us to death, or are you going to attack?"
Stone-faced, Asher stepped forward. Revered among immortals, who called him the God of War, he was ready to take the field. "Fine," he said. "We'll do this together."
Enormous wings of pure white light spread out behind him, and each lifelike feather was as strong as steel. He rose more than thirty feet into the air and circled the fight before diving like a hunting falcon.
Alex laughed. His eyes began to glow, and his clothes fluttered in the wind, as he watched Asher descend like an avenging angel. At least now the fight was getting interesting.