[@Divinity][@Nightknight]

Darquesse grunted in frustration, as her prey escaped the clutches of her solid shadows. While she wasn't able to see Alexandria she was able to sense the human's soul, allowing her to follow her movements even without sight. Of course, she could gain more detailed vision if she wanted, but there was no need to do so right now. Because it seemed Alexandria had taken to the air, and the air just happened to be Darquesse's domain. She was the big bird here, and nobody got to share her airspace. She gestured as if she were pulling down a curtain, and a powerful wall of air formed above the rapidly ascending soldier. A circle ten meters in diameter, an invisible barrier harder than steel. Alexandria would slam into this barrier before being pushed downwards again, the wall slamming her right back into the ground. It was a devastating attack, cracking the ground as the wall slammed into it. A normal human would have been squished to goo by the pressure.

As the other mage spoke, Darquesse raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "A mage duel? Oh wow. I feel honoured." She turned to Alexandria, who was most likely preparing another attack. "You heard him, Armour Girl, stay out of this one for a moment. I know you'd love to interfere, but if you do I'll just have to start targetting the squishies. And you don't want that, now do you?" Darquesse's smile and mannerism left not a moment's heistation as to whether she would kill the relatively defenceless soldiers of the squadron. And if she really wanted to deal some damage, there wasn't much the soldiers would be able to do to survive it.

Once more focusing on the strange transmutation mage, Darquesse grinned. He was good. He hid his magic, but her understanding of magic was phenomenal. She could see the very strands of energy, as well as the addition 'soul' he was carrying with him. Although his masking did make it quite hard to figure out just what the magic actually did. But she figured she'd find out soon enough. "I guess I'll go first." Breathing in, Darquesse drank in the death of the battlefield. Dozens lay dead around her, their last moments etched into the very soil. She could feel the darkness, she could feel their suffering. And she drew it into herself, and molded it into her weapon. Drawing power from every lost soul, every fallen soldier, every suffering little spirit. Shadows flickered over her skin, and beneath her skin, as the very air seemed to become colder. Her dark aura manifesting itself physically, an immaterial sense of dread that emanated from her.

"Let's do this."

Dozens of lances of shadow shot out from Darquesse like bullets, ripping through the air at supersonic speeds as they aimed to tear Corban to bloody ribbons. Even as he prepared against this attack, a massive blade of darkness would sweep towards him from behind. Commanding the shadows with her mind, Darquesse silently directed dozens of supersonic blades as they surrounded and attacked Corban with a constant and opportunistic frenzy of death. She was now beginning to unleash her full power, taking this mysterious opponent seriously as she amped her own considerable power with the environment's generous supply of death energy. She'd rip him apart in moments if he didn't figure something out, and he'd have to do it fast.