In the briefest of moments, the enemies strength had been significantly reduced. The horses were all dead and only two of the shadow beings had yet to fall. They seemed to come to an agreement, dividing their forces and moving to take out the greatest threats first. It seemed they considered those greatest threats to be Nymeri and Black, the two offensive magic users who were still conscious.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"I'll keep you from using your spells, magic user!"</span>spat the specter approaching Black.<br/><br/>"Try it," the demon spoke dangerously, his yellow eyes flashing briefly with manna. He was partially bluffing though. He didn't trust himself to cast another fire spell. He might just run out of manna in the middle of it and be left with nothing. He would have to use electricity; he could cast spells of that type so much more freely. It would still have to be something simple, but he could make due.<br/><br/>The demon drew from his belt several short rods of black metal. With an easy use of telekinesis they rose into the air and merged together, forming the demon's battle staff.<span style="font-style: italic">I'd wondered where his staff had gone,</span>Ijemaru thought, peeking upon the scene through the brush.<br/><br/>With speed that he hadn't yet displayed to the others, he dashed to the side, seeming to appear next to the specter, rather than run up to him. The demon pulled back his battle staff with both hands, preparing for a great swing. Just before he let loose, a spark of electricity shot up the rod, charging it with magical energy to help it make contact with its target. Muscles flexed where his shirt sleeved cut off shortly past the shoulder and the demon swung, holding back nothing. He aimed to make up for manna energy with physical force; if he delivered the small spell in such a way, he hoped it would improve the effect. Of course, he'd tried something like this before, and it typically worked to his liking.<br/><br/>The small spell charging the staff allowed the weapon to make contact, and it met the specter with a sickening thud. The creature, more or less, split apart upon the blow and evaporated. Whatever he'd had intended to attempt didn't seem to have happened. At least, Black didn't feel like he might have any trouble casting spells. Oh well, the specter had probably not realized what he was and underestimated him. The demon used that card to his advantage on a regular basis.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Nymeri's on his own,</span>Black thought, letting out a small sigh. His manna had depleted faster than it should have.<span style="font-style: italic">Probably because I didn't get any sleep and it couldn't recharge,</span>the demon thought bitterly. He glared upward at the light cascading down from the trees.<span style="font-style: italic">Sunlight makes me sleepy...</span>