Kylista grinned at his observation, making no reply.

Well, he's not quite as slow as a normal human, I'll grant him that.

He shifted his stance, fingers flying into another sequence of signs. She noticed the difference in the pattern and flipped her left kodachi, preparing to defend. At the height of his attack, he vanished momentarily.

Or not. Oldest trick in the book, that.

Kylista lunged forward and turned around as he reappeared behind her, slicing at her stomach. She crossed her kodachi, ready to flip the weapon from his hands with a defensive move almost as old as she was. As soon as the tip struck the blades, she knew something wasn't right. Electricity sparked against the steel, running into her fingers. She aborted instantly, backing off for a moment.

The contact was brief, but she felt an odd tingling in her hands. Flipping the kodachi back into offensive position, she eyed the human warily. He'd done more than just an attack, but she was not familiar with the style. It irked her to think a human possessed a skill she'd not seen in her five thousand years of life.

Well, I guess it's only fair. I know a few he's probably never heard of, either.

It'd be hard to manage in a volcano with all its ambient light, but she decided to try it anyways. Kylista lifted into the air again, out of the human's range. Focusing on her own shadow, she gathered her power, feeding it into the darkness. She felt it take root and spread, linking with every other shadow in the cavern. She amplified it, the shadows forming a thick, fog-like veil. With the light of the magma and the cover of the rock to feed it, the cloak of shadow was much stronger than she'd thought possible in the environment.

The cavern was one giant shadow now, nearly impossible to penetrate with normal vision. Kylista estimated it would hold about three minutes, if she was lucky. Her crimson eyes pierced the cloak easily, seeing beyond human limits. She could see his aura now, as well as the tiny thread that linked him to the body double he'd tried to trick her with.

She flew across to that thread, examining it. It appeared to be the same type of energy, glowing a faint blue to her enhanced eyes. I wonder what he'll make of this, she thought as with one decisive cut, she severed the thread.