[The shove does throw Jade off balance. Enough that when the kick comes, he's not in a good position to dodge it. He braces for the impact a split second before it connects; even so, he doesn't see the sheer force of the blow coming until it knocks the air out of his lungs and easily flings him several feet away from the girl.

The Colonel catches himself quickly and rolls back on his feet, but not without flinching. Judging by the pain in his abdomen, he'll be sporting a nasty bruise by the end of this. Careless. Even knowing Mana's transformation makes her stronger, he still underestimated her.

The real problem, of course, is that overestimating her could get her killed. Something that, despite his earlier words, Jade would rather avoid if possible.

He still has one advantage left. Mana shouldn't know about his short-range strike artes; the element of surprise may make a difference. They're not as powerful as his fonic artes, but in this case, that works in his favor.]

Well, well. Looks like you're not completely helpless. [His voice drips with disdain, hopefully goading her into attacking first.] Think you can handle me without your friends here to do your dirty work for you?