(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don't hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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Before she could do anything, she felt her head being grabbed, before the said stone started growing larger in her vision and then blank, she was out.

Seris had gone straight for the leader; she couldn't tell who was the better fighter, but she was sure the girl had to be the leader for a reason.

She watched as the girl blacked out; it would take a while before she regained consciousness.

Her gaze turned to the remaining two, slight amusement in her eyes as she watched their stunned expression.

But she knew the stun wouldn't last long, and so she surged straight for them and as expected, they immediately snapped out of it.

The expression on one of them turned aggressive; she didn't hesitate to lunge towards Seris, her fists snapping towards Seris' jaw.

'She's a fighter, ' Seris immediately noted.

She sidestepped the swung fist, retaliating straight with her own, faster, nimbler and with more force.

The girl didn't dodge; she simply raised her arms to block it, but the intended collision caught her off target, and the force behind the strike made her stumble.

Seris didn't waste the chance; her right leg made a beeline for the girl's temple. She wasn't looking for a drawn-out fight; the faster she ended it, the better.

The girl noticed the strike mid-stumble, panic surging through her mind. The force behind Seris' strike was overwhelming, and she'd learnt she couldn't block it, so she simply stopped fighting her fall, successfully dodging the strike and landing on the ground with a thud.

Surprise flickered in Seris's eyes; she hadn't expected the girl to commit to the drop; it was definitely her best bet, but most people wouldn't be able to process actions that fast.

'I underestimated her,' she thought.

Her senses suddenly went alert, Kairos' step instinctively shifting her body away from a sneak attack.

A foot passed directly over her head from behind.

Seris didn't hesitate; she surged upwards immediately, grabbing said foot. Mana surged into her arms, and she hurled the attacker and slammed her down on the ground.

A scream tore out of the girl's mouth, air escaping her lungs in a violent burst.

Seris coated her fist with mana, prepared to lunge and knock her unconscious, but she felt a disturbance behind her.

Her former victim had gotten up.

She sidestepped the coming strike, twisting her torso and sending the mana-coated fist straight to the assaulter.

The girl had learned her lesson not to block. She did her best to move out of the way, the punch grazing her shoulder, sending pain through her, but she gritted through it and adjusted her stance because another was coming.

Seris didn't hold back; her fists moved in a blur, strike after strike surging out. The girl dodged and sidestepped as best she could, taking minor hits here and there, but she refused to yield.

The girl tried to counter, but Seris would shut it down immediately.

Seris changed strategy; she had to get a critical hit. She changed footwork, adjusting her stance every few minutes,

She sent a feint towards the girl's side, and she fell for it. Seris didn't waste a second before twisting and sending a spinning kick the other direction.

The hit slammed fiercely into the girl, her body folding from the impact, pain written all over her face.

Seris' outstretched legs immediately came down before she crouched and swept the girl off her feet. Mana surged through her as she sprang up with greater acceleration before sending another mana-coated fist into the face of the already falling victim.

Her senses were alert, girl number two was still on the ground writhing, and the leader was out of commission; there was no interference.

'The strike would land true,' she thought.

Except it didn't, at the last second, the girl opened her struggling eyes before her head jerked to the side, dodging the punch as she landed on the ground again.

'Oh come on, ' Seris thought in frustration.

The missed strike caused her to stumble a little before she regained her bearing.

'That wasn't normal, Kairos step probably', Seris concluded.

Seris moved her feet to hit the grounded girl, but she immediately rolled away before jumping to her feet, her breath ragged as she clutched the side where she'd been hit.

"I made a mistake, I should have taken you out first", Seris muttered, her tone laced with annoyance.

But she truly couldn't have predicted who would be more troublesome, and there still wasn't clear evidence that the leader wouldn't have been worse.

The girl watched Seris, her stance guarded, her posture screaming pain.

Seris postured and feinted, surging forward. The girl instinctively stumbled back, but Seris immediately turned around and snapped her neck backwards, dodging a fist.

"You really don't learn," Seris muttered with an amused expression.

The second girl's eyes widened in fear.

Seris pulled the outstretched arm toward her, the girl snapping forward with astonishing force before her face clashed headfirst into Seris' raised knee.

The force behind the hit knocked her immediately unconscious, her eyes rolling upwards slightly.

Seris released her hands, allowing her to drop unceremoniously on the ground.

She sighed and turned back to the former victim, her eyes widening in surprise.

"You didn't try to sneak-attack me again," Seris said, her head tilted.

The girl stayed silent for a second before opening her mouth.

"There's no point." The girl said through gritted teeth.

"Is that so, but I'm still going to come after you either way, so I don't see the logic," Seris said

"Then again, not every decision we make is logical," Seris muttered before setting her stance.

The girl flinched, her gaze panicking.

Seris surged forward even faster than usual, her fist once again directly in front of the girl.

The girl activated Kairos step once more, eager to dodge, but surprise clouded her eyes before she got hit and blanked out.

"You caught me off guard the first time, not again. Kairos's step in front of me is useless."

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