Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 46: Chained Together [5]

Cassian gritted his teeth as he yanked at the chain still connecting him to Samuel’s motionless form.

The massive warrior lay sprawled across the broken pavement his greatsword just out of reach. Every movement Cassian made sent a painful tug through the magical tether.

"Damn this stupid rule" Cassian growled, flames flickering around his clenched fists.

Across from him, Kyle and Eleanora moved in perfect sync, their own chain taut between them but not hindering them at all.

Kyle wiped sweat from his brow, lightning crackling along his tachi. "Give it up, Cassian. You are fighting two against one now."

Cassian spat to the side. "Like hell I am." He planted his feet and yanked hard on the chain, dragging Samuel’s unconscious body closer like some macabre anchor.

The movement threw off Eleanora’s next shadow attack, the inky tendrils missing by inches.

Eleanora’s crimson eyes narrowed. "You are really annoying."

Her shadows reformed into jagged spikes that shot up from the ground.

Cassian barely managed to roll away, the chain pulling taut as Samuel’s body resisted the movement. He came up swinging, fire erupting from his gauntlets in a wide arc that forced Kyle back.

"You are slowing yourself down," Kyle pointed out, circling carefully. "That chain’s working against you now."

"Shut up!" Cassian roared. He kicked Samuel’s greatsword toward his own feet, the massive blade scraping against stone.

With a grunt, he grabbed it one handed, his other arm still tethered to Samuel. The weight was clearly too much for him to wield properly, but desperation fueled him.

Eleanora didn’t give him time to adjust. Her shadows lashed out like whips, forcing Cassian to awkwardly block with the oversized sword. The impact sent vibrations up his arms, his stance unsteady.

Kyle saw his opening. Lightning gathered at his fingertips as he dashed forward. Cassian tried to pivot, but the chain caught around Samuel’s leg, jerking him off balance.

Kyle’s palm connected with Cassian’s chest just as Eleanora’s shadow spike shot up from below.

The double impact sent Cassian flying backward, the greatsword clattering to the ground. He hit the pavement hard, Samuel’s body flopping limply beside him like a ragdoll.

The chain dissolved into blue sparks as both Cassian and Samuel’s bodies began fading from the simulation.

Cassian’s last act was to flip Kyle off with a smoking gauntlet before disappearing completely.

Kyle let out a long breath, lowering his tachi. "That was... messy."

Eleanora nodded, her shadows retreating back into the ground.

"But effective."

***

The ruined city crackled with energy as Serena and Cedric circled each other, the glowing chains connecting them to their unconscious teammates dragging across the broken pavement.

Serena’s glaive hummed with electricity, her cold eyes locked onto Cedric.

"This is pathetic" she spat.

"You should have picked a better partner."

Cedric adjusted his grip on his longsword, the blade shimmering with golden light. "She held her own longer than I expected."

Serena scoffed. "Sentimental fool."

She struck first, a blinding lunge, her glaive cutting through the air like a lightning bolt.

Cedric barely twisted aside in time, the chain yanking at his waist as his unconscious teammate’s body was dragged along.

"Clang!"

Their weapons met in a shower of sparks. Serena pressed forward, her movements sharp and relentless, but Cedric stood firm.

Every parry was precise, every counter calculated. The difference in their skill was clear, Cedric wasn’t just defending.

He was waiting.

"You are holding back" Serena hissed, her glaive whirling in a deadly arc.

Cedric didn’t answer.

He ducked under her swing, then pivoted, using the chain’s tension to yank his teammate’s body out of the way as Serena’s lightning scorched the ground where she had been.

Serena snarled. "Stop running!"

She thrust her glaive forward, electricity surging down its length.

"Lightning Fang!"

The attack came too fast to dodge completely.

Cedric raised his sword, light flaring from the steel as he deflected the worst of the blast—but the shock still sent him skidding back, his boots grinding against rubble.

For the first time, Serena grinned. "Finally. A real fight."

Cedric exhaled, rolling his shoulders. Then, in a flash of movement almost too fast to follow, he moved.

His sword blazed with golden fire as he closed the distance, the chain snapping taut behind him. Serena barely blocked the first strike, but the second came faster—a brutal upward slash that forced her back.

"Tch—!" She retaliated with a whip of lightning, but Cedric was already gone, ducking low and sweeping her legs out from under her.

Serena hit the ground hard. She rolled, barely avoiding Cedric’s next strike, his sword embedding in the pavement where her head had been.

For a heartbeat, they both paused, breathing hard.

Then Cedric’s eyes hardened.

"Enough."

Light erupted from his blade, not just fire, but pure, radiant energy. The glow intensified, burning away the shadows around them as he raised his sword high.

Serena’s eyes widened. She scrambled back, her glaive crackling as she summoned every ounce of lightning she had left.

But it was too late.

Cedric brought his sword down in a single, devastating arc.

"Solar Judgment."

The blast of light and flame swallowed Serena whole. Her scream was cut short as her body disintegrated into pixels, the chain dissolving into nothingness. freёnovelkiss.com

Silence fell.

Cedric exhaled, lowering his sword. His teammate’s unconscious form still lay nearby, flickering but not yet gone.

****

Kyle and Eleanora turned to face Cedric their chain pulled taut between them. Across the ruined plaza, Cedric stood ready his longsword glowing faintly with light mana.

The unconscious body of his teammate still lay nearby, the chain connecting them like an anchor.

Kyle exhaled, his muscles burning from the earlier fights. "This isn’t gonna be easy" he muttered.

Eleanora didn’t answer, but her crimson eyes narrowed. Darkness coiled at her feet, restless.

Cedric adjusted his stance, his expression unreadable. "You two fought well. But this ends now."

Kyle moved first, lightning crackling around his tachi as he dashed forward. Cedric met him head-on, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks.

The impact sent a jolt through Kyle’s arms, but he gritted his teeth and pushed harder.

Eleanora didn’t waste time.

With a flick of her wrist, tendrils of darkness lashed out from the ground, aiming to wrap around Cedric’s legs. But Cedric was faster—he twisted mid-swing, his sword flaring with light as he severed the darkness.

Kyle used the opening to strike again, his tachi humming with electricity. Cedric blocked, but the force of the blow still sent him skidding back, the chain yanking at his waist as his teammate’s body was dragged along.

Nexus’s echoed through the battlefield.

"One minute remaining."

Kyle and Eleanora exchanged a glance. No words were needed, they both knew what to do.

Eleanora’s hands snapped together.

"Abyssal Shroud."

Darkness exploded around them, swallowing everything in a dome of inky black. Visibility dropped to almost zero—but Kyle had already memorized the distance between them.

He didn’t hesitate. Dropping to one knee, he slammed his palm against the cracked earth.

The air reeked of ozone as blue-white lightning surged from his fingertips, carving through the ground like something alive.

’Voltis Krait.’

Cedric’s eyes widened—just as the earth beneath him erupted. Before he could react, tendrils of darkness lashed out from every direction, pinning him in place.

Then, from the chaos, a massive serpent’s head burst forth—pure lightning, its jagged maw gaping wide, ready to devour him whole.

With a desperate swing, Cedric’s sword cut a golden arc through the electricity.

The clash sent a shockwave tearing across the battlefield, light and lightning ripping into each other in a blinding explosion.

For one heartbeat, the world froze.

Then—silence.

The darkness faded, revealing Cedric still standing. But just barely. His right arm hung limp at his side, the sleeve of his combat uniform burned away, the skin beneath charred black from the lightning.

His sword trembled in his grip, the blade dimmed. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, sweat and blood dripping down his face.

Kyle stared, panting. "... even that wasn’t enough?"

Eleanora’s jaw clenched. "Silver Rank" she muttered, shadows still flickering at her feet.

Cedric didn’t speak.

Couldn’t.

Every breath came as a pained gasp, his body pushed to its absolute limit. Lightning still sparked through him, coursing across his flesh.

But his eyes are still sharp, still defiant—remained locked onto them.

Then, before anyone could move—

"Time expired. Exam concluded."

The ruined plaza dissolved into light, the simulation ending before the fight could reach its brutal conclusion.

***