The first guard died before anyone understood what was happening.
Finn's hand moved in a simple gesture, urging mana with his intent to push forward. Reality inverted the action, and the man was yanked backward with violent force. His spine met a tree trunk at an angle that produced a sickening, wet crack.
He was dead on impact.
The second guard had barely processed this in horror, but yet he managed to quickly raise a fire shield. Finn intended heat, reality produced a freezing cold that flash-froze the moisture in the air around the man. His lungs crystallized in an instant.
Three seconds. Two dead.
The remaining guards immediately scattered, shouting warnings, launching attacks. Fire bloomed toward Finn from multiple directions. He gestured for the flames to intensify — they sputtered out and died, inverted totally into absence.
