On the subject of magic users Idia explains, “The scariest cases are always the ones with magic who get their power real young,” and the Malleus seems to have been using magic from an extremely young age: Malleus says he once froze the entire castle (and all the people in it) back when he had “finally started walking on two legs.”
Freezing things seems to be a basic skill for Malleus, and it is possibly that weather/element based abilities come naturally to him as a faerie: When STYX’s director puts forward the option of waiting for Malleus’ magic reserves to run dry in Book 7, the chief engineer points out that “some fae can draw magical energy from nature in addition to creating it themselves…what if Malleus could do that as well?”
(Malleus himself has hinted that he does not have to worry about his magic reserves ever running dry.)
Malleus’ weather-based abilities seem equally as connected to nature as they are to his emotions:
・lightning for anger (which he seems to have inherited directly from his mother and grandmother)
・fire for excitement
・snow for distress
・ice for loneliness?
When Riddle expresses exasperation at fairies in general as “forces of nature who throw temper tantrums when someone makes them mad” Malleus responds, “Fairies can be surprisingly stubborn and petty. You’ll find precious few as mild-mannered as myself.”
After losing his temper during Halloween, however, Malleus reflects, “I need to get better control of my emotions,” so it is possible that he is aware to some degree that he lacks control in this area.
After Malleus fries magic-draining lotuses Silver asks him to never give in to anger and expose himself to danger again. He says seeing the others panic helped calm him down. Asked what he did he explains, “It wasn’t intentional. I simply unleashed my full magical might.”
Vague “attack” magic is not unusual amongst the students of NRC, and Malleus offers to attack people with his magic during Firelit Sky, Halloween and New Year’s, but it is not clear if these attacks were going to include his usual lightning, a different element or were to be something else altogether, as he is always interrupted.
Malleus also uses fire magic to bake clay during the Lantern event and offers to make it snow during Nightmare Before Christmas, where he also produces a “magical film” to keep plant-based dyes from coming into contact with an iron pot while dying fabrics.
Other magic that Malleus or others have eluded to him being able to use or shown include:
・Summoning mountains
・The ability to move a rowboat
・Curse immunity
・Renewing someone else’s lost magic
・Washing spells
・Creating a large water column
・Splashing water
・Building a ship inside a bottle
・Fire-breathing magic
・Wind- and fire-magic dual casting
・Flying a kite against the wind
・Controlling the wind
・Creating a tornado
・Levitating a car
・Creating protective barriers
・Summoning a storm
・Creating “dazzling lights”
・Fireworks
・Flight (without a broom, while carrying Riddle)
Malleus says that “there are very few instances where (his) magic isn’t sufficient for a task,” and it is common for other characters to comment on how powerful he is, but Malleus himself explains that not even he can cast color-changing magic that lasts forever.
Malleus explains that while he lives and breathes magic, it is all about familiarity, telling Deuce that the more one uses magic the better they become at it, regardless of their inherent talent for it.
As for why Malleus is as strong as he is, he explains the Draconia family is very powerful even among nocturnal fae because―according to his grandmother―it is their responsibility to “ensure that nothing diminishes the happiness of our people in Briar Valley.”
There are some things that Malleus cannot do, such as turn back time, and he says that the Queen is leagues beyond him.
While he says that he cannot repair his tamagotchi because he cannot repair what he doesn’t understand and he does not understand machinery, it appears that this is a hurdle he can overcome: in a vignette he reads a manual for a microwave, and is then able to magically repair it.
We see during Glomas that Malleus is not invincible: he has most of his power absorbed by lotus flowers during Rollo’s first attack, and while he insists he is not under great strain he requires more time that usual to cast spells, needing time to recover.
Azul explains, “It’s only because he’s Malleus that he’s still standing right now. Any other mage would’ve long since been sucked dry if that many flowers had got them at once.”
Idia says if Malleus’ magic is a 25-meter pool, the rest of them are “a bottle cap’s worth.”
Malleus says he wouldn’t describe his power THAT generously, but Sebek delightfully agrees with Idia.
During the final fight against Rollo, Malleus is attacked when his back is turned, but Rollo’s fear-powered flames do him no harm: “I am Malleus Draconia. Do you think I’m afraid of a little fire?”
Malleus’ stamina and magical reserves are fully restored after a day’s rest. Jamil comments, “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised someone with your massive reserves can replenish them quickly…” so it seems that one day is unusually quick.
We see another one of Malleus’ abilities during Spectral Soiree: he casts a spell over the campus that traps the inhabitants inside and stops time, in addition to kidnapping half of the student body (which soon increases to all students on campus).
This is later revealed to be preparation for a Halloween Party and Escape Room that was managed with ghost magic―not Malleus’ alone―and with Lilia’s full approval and cooperation, making it difficult to tell how much of the adventure was Malleus’ doing.
Another of Malleus’ powers seems to be an as-of-yet vague ability to return things to their “proper” form, as we see him do during Spectral Soiree (despite how he had never seen the Sparking Hall’s true form before) and Book 5.
In Book 6 it is revealed that this ability works on humans as well.
Malleus also seems to have a power that is similar to that of the Thorn Fairy: he says that he is capable of emulating her ability to fill a space with briars “in mere seconds,” though we do not see him do so. (Briars might also be a part of his unique magic?)
Lilia says that Malleus’ magic and lightning tends to break precision tech like smartphones, and Malleus having issues with “precision” is a theme:
Malleus is impressed with Azul’s ability to magically clear a room of firelotuses without harming the bell tower that the room is in, and Azul explains, “I’m fairly certain no one has more magical precision than me.”
Azul and Idia restrain Malleus from using his magic in the bell tower during Glorious Masquerade due to Malleus’ wild magical power.
While a beloved enchanted gargoyle says it does not want to become regular stone Malleus is forced to watch as it is drained of its magic, unable to help due to his lack of magical precision.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 