A while later.
The air was still.
Twelve masked corpses lay motionless on the blackened forest floor, stiffened mid-fall.
They were all defeated by Raven's group in less than five seconds. They weren't strong enough to make Raven and his group even break a sweat.
But what came after was shocking.
Or maybe, it was merely unexpected.
The assassins didn't try to escape after they were caught. The only thing they did was twitch.
Then, silence.
A quiet click echoed from Jessy's blade as she sheathed it.
She stared at the bodies with narrowed eyes. "...They bit down."
"Poison capsules in their molars," Clara muttered grimly, stepping closer and examining one of the fallen. "Fast-acting. No hesitation."
Graye crossed her arms, expression tight for once. "That's not some local gang behavior. That's fanatic-level loyalty."
"Or fear," Rufus added. "They feared something more than death."
"They were all strong," Selena said quietly. "Five- to six-layer knights, minimum."
