Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 44: Chained Together [3]

Kyle and Eleanora burst into the ruined central plaza, the chain between them pulled taut as they skidded to a stop.

The once-grand square was now a battlefield of shattered stone and crumbling pillars, the sky above a swirling crimson void.

Three other teams arrived at the same time.

From the west, Reo and Luna emerged—Reo twirling his spear with a cocky grin, Luna bouncing on her heels, dual short swords glinting with frost.

From the north came Sylvie and Lyra—Sylvie’s wand already shimmering with water magic, Lyra nocking an arrow to her bow, her half-elven ears twitching.

And from the east, Cassian and his partner, Samuel Wilson, Rank 13—a towering figure with black hair and striking golden eyes, his massive greatsword resting effortlessly on his shoulder.

For a heartbeat, silence.

Then Nexus voice echoed—

"Final Battle Commences. Eliminate or be eliminated."

Kyle exhaled. "Well, this just got complicated."

****

Sylvie’s wand shot forward, the air itself seemed to tremble.

A roaring column of water erupted from the cracked pavement, surging toward Kyle and Eleanora like a living thing.

The attack was nothing like the timid girl Kyle knew from class – this was the controlled fury of a true water mage.

Kyle barely had time to register the attack before an arrow whistled past his ear, embedding itself in the crumbling wall behind him with a sharp thunk.

His eyes darted to Lyra, already nocking another arrow, her half-elven eyes gleaming with focus.

"Since when was Sylvie this aggressive?!" Kyle hissed, rolling sideways as another arrow sliced through where his head had been.

Eleanora didn’t answer.

Darkness surged upward like a living wall, swallowing Lyra’s next arrow whole. The projectile disappeared into the inky blackness without a trace.

Sylvie wasn’t done. She swung her wand, and the water swirling around them suddenly twisted, forming a spiraling vortex.

"Aqua Prison!"

The water prison closed in fast, threatening to trap them both. Kyle felt the moisture in the air clinging to his skin, the current already tugging at his legs.

"Chain!" Eleanora snapped.

Kyle didn’t hesitate.

He yanked hard on the tether between them at the same moment Eleanora pushed off the ground. The combined force sent them both flying over the whirling water, their movements perfectly synchronized.

They landed behind Sylvie in a crouch, the chain between them pulled taut.

Lyra reacted instantly. She spun, her bowstring singing as she loosed another arrow—

Only for darkness to swallow it mid-flight again.

Kyle didn’t waste the opening. Electricity crackled down his tachi as he lunged.

His blade blurred forward aimed for Sylvie’s ribs—

But Lyra was already there.

A gust of wind slammed into Kyle’s side, knocking him off course. His tachi grazed Sylvie’s arm instead of landing a clean hit.

The water mage gasped but recovered quickly, her liquid whips reforming into razor-sharp tendrils.

Eleanora’s eyes narrowed. "Enough."

Darkness exploded outward tendrils slithering across the broken pavement toward Lyra. The half-elf backflipped gracefully, avoiding the first wave—

But then Lyra slammed her palm into the ground.

"Nature’s Grasp!"

The earth ruptured. Thick roots as wide as human arm burst forth, tangling around Eleanora’s shadows.

The two forces clashed – darkness against nature – each trying to overwhelm the other.

Sylvie seized the opportunity. Her water whips lashed out toward Kyle, forcing him to dance backward.

"Getting tired yet?" Sylvie taunted her voice carrying an edge Kyle had never heard before.

Kyle grinned, lightning dancing along his free hand. "Just warming up."

He clapped his hands together.

"Thunderclap!"

A deafening boom echoed through the plaza, the shockwave blasting apart Sylvie’s water whips.

The mage staggered, momentarily disoriented—

Eleanora didn’t miss her chance.

With a sharp tug on the chain, she yanked Kyle toward her just as she leaped over Lyra’s roots. The sudden momentum sent Kyle flying past Sylvie—

His lightning-charged tachi found its mark.

Sylvie gasped as the blade pierced her side, electricity coursing through her virtual form.

Lyra’s eyes widened. "Sylvie!"

Her distraction cost her.

The darkness, now free from the roots, coiled around Lyra’s ankles and yanked. The archer hit the ground hard. Before she could recover, Eleanora was upon her—

One precise strike of her estoc to the throat.

Both Lyra and Sylvie body flickered, then dissolved into pixels.

Silence fell over the ruined plaza.

Kyle exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Well... that was new."

Eleanora flicked nonexistent dust from her sleeve. "She improved."

Kyle couldn’t argue. The Sylvie in class would never have fought like that.

But there was no time to dwell on it. The battle wasn’t over yet.

****

At the same time when Eleanora and Kyle were fighting Lyra and Sylvie.

Reo spun his spear in a arc, the wind humming around its tip as he sized up Cassian. The fire-wielder smirked, rolling his shoulders as flames danced across his gauntlets.

"Well, this will be fun" Reo said with a grin.

Luna rolled her eyes, shifting her grip on her twin short swords. Frost crackled along the blades, forming delicate ice patterns in the air. "Less talking, more stabbing."

Before the words had fully left her mouth, Luna was already moving—a blur of motion as she launched herself at Samuel.

The towering swordsman barely blinked, his massive greatsword rising to meet her attack with deceptive speed.

"Clang!"

The collision sent sparks flying, Luna’s ice meeting Samuel’s steel. For a moment they strained against each other, Luna’s boots skidding back slightly from the sheer force behind Samuel’s block.

Reo didn’t wait around to watch. With a sharp inhale, he lunged at Cassian, his spear tip whirling with concentrated wind energy.

The enhanced attack shot forward like a bullet. Cassian barely managed to twist aside, the spear grazing his shoulder and leaving a shallow cut. A thin line of red appeared on his uniform.

"Not bad" Cassian admitted, his smirk never fading as he examined the wound.

Then the ground beneath Reo’s feet exploded.

"Quake Fist!"

Reo barely had time to register Cassian’s fist slamming into the pavement before he was leaping backward chunks of rock and debris flying upward where he had just stood.

His heart pounded—that had been too close.

But Cassian was already on him, his other fist wreathed in roaring flames.

Reo barely got his spear up in time to block, the force of the punch sending him skidding back several feet. The heat from the flames licked at his face, uncomfortably warm even in the virtual environment.

Meanwhile, Luna was struggling against Samuel’s relentless assault.

Each swing of his greatsword carried enough force to shatter stone, forcing her to constantly dodge and weave rather than take the blows head-on.

"Focus on your own fight" Samuel said calmly as he brought his sword down in another crushing arc.

Luna barely rolled aside in time, feeling the whoosh of air as the massive blade carved a trench in the ground where she had been.

She growled low in her throat, ice spreading rapidly across her blades until they glowed with an eerie blue light.

She lunged forward, her swords leaving trails of frost in the air. Samuel blocked the first strike but the second grazed his arm—and instantly, ice began creeping up his greatsword, the frost spreading rapidly across the metal.

Samuel’s eyes widened slightly as his weapon grew heavier, the ice slowing his movements.

Luna didn’t let up, pressing her advantage with a flurry of rapid strikes.

Reo, meanwhile, was barely holding his own against Cassian’s relentless assault. Each punch carried the force of a sledgehammer the flames making it nearly impossible to get close.

"Damn, you hit hard" Reo grunted, barely managing to deflect another fiery punch with the shaft of his spear.

Cassian grinned, sweat glistening on his forehead from the exertion. "You are not bad either."

Just as Reo was about to counterattack, Samuel suddenly yanked on the chain connecting him to Cassian.

The unexpected pull made Cassian stumble backward, just as Reo’s spear thrust forward, the tip whistling through empty air where Cassian’s chest had been a second before.

Luna saw her opening and took it. She pivoted, blades raised to strike at Cassian’s now-exposed back—

"Magma Surge!"

Cassian’s fist slammed into the ground. The earth exploded upward in a spray of molten rock and superheated debris. Luna had no time to react—the virtual magma caught her full in the chest, the searing heat overwhelming her senses.

She screamed as she got knocked out.

Reo barely had time to process Luna’s elimination before Samuel was upon him, his greatsword—now free of ice—descending in a crushing overhead strike. Reo crossed his spear in a desperate block—

"CRACK!"

The sheer force of the blow shattered Reo’s guard, sending him stumbling backward. Before he could recover, Cassian was there—his flaming fist driving straight into Reo’s gut.

The explosion of fire and force sent Reo flying backward, his body slamming into a crumbling pillar before sliding to the ground. As his vision faded to black. As both Luna and Reo’s body vanished from the VR world.

Cassian exhaled sharply, shaking out his gauntleted hands as the flames dissipated. Samuel wordlessly retrieved his greatsword, the ice now completely melted away.

"That Reo Dustbane was better than I expected," Cassian admitted, rolling his injured shoulder.

Samuel nodded. "The ice girl nearly had me. Good teamwork."

Cassian grinned. "Yeah, well ours was better."

Their moment of respite was short-lived as Eleanora and Kyle team also defeated Lyra and Sylvie.

****