CHAPTER 20 – "ORACLE FANG"
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The crowd remained frozen.
Lysandra stood at the center of the docks, her white robes spotless, her expression calm. She waited.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
She tilted her head slightly. "No one?"
Silence.
She sighed. "Very well."
She turned toward the nearest person—a merchant kneeling with his head down, his hands trembling.
She raised her hand.
He fell.
The woman beside him screamed—then choked, her voice cutting off as she collapsed beside him.
Lysandra walked forward. Another person. Another death.
No blood. No wounds. Just bodies falling like leaves.
The crowd began to panic. People tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. The docks were packed. Trapped.
Lysandra kept walking.
Another body. Another scream.
"Stop."
The voice cut through the chaos.
Lysandra stopped. She turned.
Five figures stepped out from behind the crates.
Liora. Rynn. Theron. Kael. Alkeos.
They stood in a line, battered, bleeding, but upright.
Lysandra's eyes moved across them slowly, her expression unchanging. Then she smiled faintly.
"So there are not only two."
Kael's hand was already on his sword. Alkeos gripped his father's blade. Rynn's fists were raised. Liora's hands glowed faintly. Theron stood ready, his posture calm but tense.
Lysandra didn't look impressed. She looked *interested.*
She gestured lazily toward the guards stationed around the docks. "Get them."
The guards hesitated for only a moment. Then they charged.
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The team moved.
Kael drew his sword and cut through the first guard's weapon. The man stumbled back, disarmed, and Kael knocked him aside with the flat of his blade.
Alkeos moved faster. He ducked under a swing, drove his fist into a guard's stomach, then spun and kicked another in the chest. His father's sword stayed sheathed—he didn't need it yet.
Rynn fought with brutal efficiency. She blocked a strike, twisted the guard's arm, and threw him into two others. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
Liora stayed back, her hands glowing brighter. She raised one palm and released a pulse of energy that knocked three guards off their feet.
Theron fought smart—targeting weak points, avoiding direct confrontation, using the chaos to his advantage.
Within seconds, the guards were down.
The crowd saw their opening. People scrambled to their feet and ran—pushing, shoving, desperate to escape. The docks erupted into chaos.
Lysandra watched it all without moving.
Then she stepped forward.
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She moved so fast Kael barely saw it.
One moment she was standing ten feet away. The next, her hand was around his throat.
She lifted him off the ground effortlessly and threw him into a stack of crates. Wood splintered. Kael hit the ground hard, gasping.
Rynn lunged at her from the side.
Lysandra didn't turn. She just raised her hand.
Rynn stopped mid-step, her body frozen. Then she flew backward, slamming into the dock with enough force to crack the wood.
Alkeos drew his sword and charged.
He was fast—faster than anyone else on the team. His blade cut through the air in a perfect arc, aimed at Lysandra's neck.
She caught it.
Bare-handed.
Alkeos's eyes widened.
Lysandra twisted the blade and yanked it from his grip. Then she kicked him in the chest. He flew backward, crashing into Theron. Both of them hit the ground in a heap.
Liora raised both hands, to attack.
She Closed distance.
Liora stared. "How—"
She was in front of Liora before she could react. One palm strike to the chest, and Liora collapsed, gasping.
Kael pushed himself to his feet, his vision blurred, his body screaming. He drew his sword again and charged.
Lysandra turned.
She didn't dodge. She didn't block.
She just *moved.*
Kael swung. His blade cut through empty air.
Lysandra was behind him.
She struck the back of his knee. He dropped. Then she kicked him in the ribs, and he rolled across the dock, blood dripping from his mouth.
Rynn got up again, limping, her jaw clenched. She threw a punch.
Lysandra caught her wrist and twisted. Bone cracked. Rynn screamed.
Lysandra released her and stepped back.
Rynn collapsed, clutching her arm.
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Alkeos forced himself to his feet. His ribs were broken. His breathing was shallow. But he wasn't done.
He picked up his sword and charged again.
This time, he didn't aim for her. He aimed *around* her—slashing at the ground, the crates, the dock itself, trying to force her into a corner, to limit her movement.
Lysandra watched him calmly.
Then she moved.
She closed the distance in an instant, her hand wrapping around his wrist. She squeezed, and Alkeos gasped, his grip on the sword faltering.
She took the blade from him again and tossed it aside. Then she struck him—once, twice, three times—each blow precise, devastating.
Alkeos hit the ground and didn't get up.
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Theron was the last one standing.
He didn't charge. He didn't attack.
He just stood there, his breathing ragged, his hands shaking.
Lysandra looked at him.
"Smart," she said quietly.
Then she walked past him.
Theron collapsed to his knees.
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Lysandra stood in the center of the docks, surrounded by bodies.
The team lay scattered around her—bleeding, broken, barely conscious.
She didn't have a scratch.
Her robes were still white. Her breathing was still steady. Her expression was still calm.
She looked down at Kael, who was trying to push himself up, his arms shaking.
"You're strong," she said. "For children."
Kael glared at her, blood dripping from his mouth. "We're not... done."
Lysandra smiled faintly. "Yes, you are."
She turned and walked away.
Behind her, the team lay broken on the dock.
And the horizon was dark with shadows.
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**END OF CHAPTER 20**