Inclining her head slightly at her opponent in a gesture of respect, Nanami acknowledges his offer.  "It does, and your response does you credit. Relatively few would have also named and identified their master so."  A sudden wash of magical energy from her opponent coincides with his attack, and while she can feel the power behind the attack, she also knows that same power can be exploited to her advantage.  Judging from her earlier efforts to establish the circle, as well as what Essoat had told her about the area they were in, a significant amount of magical energy had been forcibly removed from the circle's area.  Thus, a similar rush of energy would also occur when the circle was broken, this time in the opposite direction.  Sweeping a leg back, Nanami cuts a thin line through the circle with her foot while creating a mana vortex in front of her, intending to divert the force of his spell around and behind her - possibly into the statue itself, but that concern was secondary to the opponent currently blocking her way.<br/><br/>[ OOC:  So, this is getting more than a little creative with it's intended purpose so feel free to say that it's not applicable here, but I'm going for a suction effect from breaking the circle to try to apply that boost to this defense roll. ]<br/>[<a class="postlink" href="http://orokos.com/roll/254544">Clever Defense w/ circle boost</a>:<span style="text-decoration: underline">4dF+5</span><span style="font-weight: bold">8</span>Well then.<img alt="^^;" src="./images/smilies/sweatdrop.gif" title="Sweat drop"/>Looks like I'm stealing some of Cassy's luck, because that Succeeds with Style even without the boost...I'll put a one-time 'Drained of Energy' boost on Essoat. ]<br/><br/>Seeing the effect her spell had on Essoat, Nanami gives a smile that mirrors the one he gave her only seconds earlier.  Not wishing to let off the pressure, she immediately shifts focus and goes on the offensive.  Using the still-flowing current of energy as a conduit, Nanami sends a spike of energy racing towards Essoat.  Intended to disrupt the target's control over their body, on its own it would be barely enough to stumble a prepared opponent, but taking advantage of his weakened state it has the potential to do far more.  Normally not this aggressive, Nanami knows that she has to end this fight as soon as she can as her friends likely need her help, and she rattles off a string of ugly-sounding syllables that lend the mental attack a palpable reddish-black glow as it speeds across the room.<br/><br/>[ Using both the Flashy boost from earlier and the just created Clever boost, as well as spending a Fate point to invoke Nanami's Daemonically-Charged Magic Aspect for another +2, giving the attack a +6 total bonus. ]<br/>[<a class="postlink" href="http://orokos.com/roll/254548">Clever Attack w/ lots of mods</a>:<span style="text-decoration: underline">4dF+9</span><span style="font-weight: bold">7</span>]