Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 169: The Endgame [10]

"Let’s see how you handle this," Kyle muttered, his voice rough and shaking with pain.

His body was barely holding on. Blood dripped from his mouth, his vision flickered at the edges...

"[Voidstorm Ascendant]."

The sky cracked.

Clouds spun above like they were being pulled by something unseen. Ripping open into the shape of a massive dragon’s jaw.

It didn’t look real. It looked like a nightmare made of lightning.

Jagged arcs of blue-white energy sparked between its fangs. The sound of thunder rolled deep and loud, like the heavens themselves were growling.

Kyle’s knees nearly buckled. His arms shook. His lungs burned. Every part of him screamed to stop.

But he didn’t.

He slammed his raised hand down.

"FALL."

The lightning dragon dove.

Rodrick’s eyes widened.

For the first time in... who knew how long, fear showed on his face.

The man who had faced a hundred battles. The monster who had walked through fire and blood like it meant nothing.

He tried to move.

But more shadows under his feet erupted.

Sharp and clawed, dozens of more black hands reached out from the ground.

Grabbing at his legs. His arms. His chest.

They dragged him down, held him in place.

Eleanora stood a few steps behind him, panting hard, her face pale.

A trail of blood running from her nose. She looked like she’d fall over any second. But she kept going.

She wasn’t letting him go.

Not this time.

Then the air around Rodrick changed.

It shimmered, bent, and froze. Like time itself had been paused.

Cedric’s hand was outstretched, purple light glowing faintly at his fingertips.

His face was tight with focus. His body trembling from the effort.

Space warped around Rodrick... So heavy. So thick he could barely breathe.

Rodrick was stuck. His body refused to move.

Kyle tightened his grip on power. "FALL!" he repeated, louder.

And the dragon crashed down.

The sky screamed.

A thunderclap louder than anything before shattered the air.

Lightning slammed into Rodrick like a god’s judgment. Blinding and brutal.

The world turned white. Then blue. Then nothing but flame and thunder.

The ground under Rodrick disappeared, torn to pieces by the force.

Earth and stone melted into light. Soldiers nearby were blasted away.

Some vanished in the blast, their armor melted. Their bodies turned to ash in seconds.

BOOOOMMM.

The explosion ripped through the battlefield like a god’s hammer. Wind screamed. Fire swallowed the sky.

For one blinding moment, everything turned white.

Then came silence.

Kyle dropped to one knee, his breath ragged. His heart pounded against his ribs.

His arms burned from the backlash. And his vision blurred at the edges. But he didn’t look away.

Eleanora fell to the ground. One hand digging into the dirt to stay upright. Blood ran from her nose, trailing down her lips.

Her eyes, wide and sharp, were locked on the smoke.

Cedric was kneeling too. His blond hair stuck to his face with sweat. His hands trembling from overusing mana.

A few feet away. Cassian and Serena were sprawled across the battlefield. The shockwave had thrown them back.

Their clothes were scorched. Their bodies bruised. But their eyes were still sharp. Still focused on the same point.

The crater.

It stretched out before them like a wound in the earth.

Slowly, the smoke cleared.

And there, at the center...

Rodrick.

He was on his knees, armor gone... completely vaporized. His body was a broken mess. Half of him was burnt black.

His skin looked like cracked stone. His white hair, once perfect, was now scorched at the ends. The tips still curling with smoke.

He coughed, spitting out thick blood onto the broken ground.

Then...

He laughed.

A raw, broken sound. Wild. Mad. Like something no longer human.

His fingers clawed at his face, dragging across the burnt skin, as his shoulders shook with laughter.

"Hah... haha... HAHAHAHA!"

His voice was cracked, filled with pain. But alive.

Kyle’s stomach turned. His heart sank.

Rodrick raised his head, and grinned through bloody teeth.

"You guys... probably wondering... how I’m still alive."

Another cough. More blood.

"But let me guess... you forgot, didn’t you?"

He pushed against the ground, forcing himself up. Every muscle twitched like it was fighting him. His skin peeled.

His wounds steamed.

"I’m a Gold-ranker."

His voice was quiet... But every word struck like a hammer.

He raised a burned finger and pointed at them, slowly. One by one.

Kyle. Cedric. Eleanora. Cassian. Serena.

"And to reach Gold..." His smile widened. "You have to pass a Trial."

Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

He knew what Rodrick meant.

Abilities.

Rodrick saw his reaction and grinned wider.

"Ahhh. So you already realized."

He turned his gaze to the others, like a teacher explaining something to slow students.

"When someone performs exceptionally well enough... the System notices. It rewards you. Gives you something extra."

He clenched his hand into a shaking fist.

"Mine... is called [Null Flux]."

For a brief second. A strange purple glow wrapped around him... then vanished.

"It lets me nullify any attack spell... as long as the mana behind it doesn’t go beyond what my body can handle, i.e., my maximum mana capacity."

He licked the blood from his lips. Almost absentmindedly.

"A shame, though. I can only use it once a month."

He gave a cracked laugh.

"But even then... overpowered, right?"

The wind blew through what was left of his hair. His body was a mess of burns. Cracked skin. And dried blood.

And yet. He stood. Alive.

"And still..." He looked down at his ruined body, chuckling.

"Even [Null Flux] couldn’t stop all of it. Half your spell still broke through."

His head tilted as he looked at Kyle.

"That... was magnificent."

Rodrick’s breath hitched. He coughed again, harder this time. Blood sprayed across the ground in front of him.

"The best I’ve seen in a thousand years."

Then his voice shifted.

Lower. Darker. Sharper.

"But..."

His eyes narrowed. His smile faded into something twisted.

"It’s not enough."

He took a step forward. Wobbly. Unstable.

Another.

Each step left behind drops of blood.

"This look on your faces..." he rasped. "The disbelief. The fear. The way your hope just died right there in front of me."

He was grinning again. But this one wasn’t joyful. It was cruel.

"I want more of it."

His voice dropped into a whisper.

"I want you to drown in it."

His fingers twitched.

Cracks of red light flickered between them.

His eyes gleamed.

"So let’s try this again."

And then...

Flames exploded around Rodrick.

He lunged at Kyle, his body a blur of charred flesh and burning fury.

Eleanora’s eyes widened.

She moved. Faster than thought, appearing in front of Kyle. Her shadows surged around her, coiling into a desperate wall of black to shield him.

Rodrick didn’t slow.

"You’re really annoying," he snarled.

Darkness burst from Eleanora. Spikes of pure darkness shot forward, stabbing through Rodrick’s chest, arms, and sides.

He didn’t care.

With a furious roar, fire erupted from his entire body, vaporizing the shadows in an instant.

His fist drove forward and slammed into Eleanora’s stomach.

CRACK.

She folded around the hit, blood spraying from her mouth.

Her body flew backwards, smashing through a line of boulders before finally rolling to a stop in the dirt.

Rodrick didn’t even glance at her.

He was already on Kyle.

His burned, bloody hand clamped down on Kyle’s face...

SLAM.

Kyle’s head slammed against the ground. His vision blurred. Everything turned white. Pain exploded through his skull like lightning behind his eyes.

Rodrick drove him down again. And again.

"Why didn’t you come sooner?" Rodrick hissed, his voice trembling. His eyes were wild, glassy.

"Why?!"

SLAM.

"Why?!"

SLAM.

"WHY?!" Rodrick yanked him up by the throat, his fingers crushing into his neck.

"If you had come earlier... she’d still be alive! She would’ve lived!"

Kyle choked, struggling in Rodrick’s grasp. His fingers clawed weakly at the man’s wrist, slipping on the blood and sweat.

His legs kicked uselessly. His vision began to blur.

Then...

CRACK.

A bolt of purple lightning hit Rodrick in the back.

It didn’t hurt him.

Rodrick didn’t even flinch.

He turned slowly.

Serena stood in the distance, barely upright.

Her knees were shaking, and blood trailed down her chin. Her arm trembled as she held it out. Still crackling with electricity.

"Leave... him..." she rasped.

Rodrick blinked at her.

Then laughed. A low, broken sound.

"As you wish."

He hurled Kyle aside like a piece of trash. Kyle’s body hit the ground and skidded across the dirt, rolling to a stop in a motionless heap.

"He’ll be dead soon anyway," Rodrick muttered.

Then...

He charged at Serena.

She tried to raise her weapon.

His fist slammed into her jaw.

CRUNCH.

Her body twisted in midair, and she crashed into a boulder with a sickening thud. Crumpling at its base.

Rodrick walked toward her slowly. His expression empty. Dead. A sword of flame formed in his grip, flickering with savage heat.

But...

A figure stepped between them.

Golden hair matted with blood. A sword in hand.

Cedric.

Rodrick blinked at him... then grinned.

"Still standing?"

Cedric didn’t answer.

His sword was wrapped in purple light. Space magic crackled around the blade like unstable static.

A flaming sword materialized in Rodrick’s grip, and he clashed with Cedric.

BOOM.

They fought. Blades flashing. Sparks flying. Fire roaring.

Each blow Cedric delivered was stronger than the last.

Faster, more desperate.

His stance was wild, his grip raw. But Rodrick was relentless. Stronger.

He pushed Cedric back again and again, laughing with every block.

Cassian came and slammed into Rodrick from behind. His fist wreathed in molten rock. The impact hit Rodrick’s spine hard.

CRACK.

Rodrick stumbled forward. But spun with a roar, his leg sweeping out in a brutal roundhouse.

THWACK.

Cassian went flying. His body flipping through the air before crashing into the dirt. He didn’t get back up.

Rodrick turned back to Cedric.

Their swords met again.

The ground beneath them cracked and tore. The air around them shook from the pressure.

Cedric gritted his teeth. His body screaming with each movement.

But Rodrick was relentless.

His blade slammed into Cedric’s sword, again.

And again.

Until...

SNAP.

Cedric’s sword broke.

Rodrick’s boot slammed into Cedric’s chest with a sickening crack.

Cedric flew backward like a broken doll, crashing into the dirt. He didn’t get up.

The Red Commander stalked forward, his burning sword trailing flames across the battlefield. His breath came in ragged, excited gasps.

"Still alive?" Rodrick giggled, the sound unhinged. "Let’s fix that."

The first thrust went through Cedric’s thigh.

Rodrick leaned in, watching the pain bloom across Cedric’s face. "Louder," he whispered.

The second stab punched through his palm, pinning it to the ground. Cedric’s scream tore through the air.

"Yes! YES!" Rodrick shrieked.

He yanked the blade free, only to plunge it down again... this time through the other hand.

Cedric’s back arched off the ground. A broken wail escaping his lips.

"More! Give me MORE!" Rodrick howled, raising the sword for another strike.

His entire body trembled with manic energy, spit flying from his lips. "Show me your despair! Show me your-"

The world exploded.

One moment Rodrick stood over his prey. The next he was tumbling through the air like a ragdoll.

He crashed through stone. Through soldier. Through splintered wood. The impacts coming so fast he couldn’t even scream.

When he finally skidded to a stop in the wreckage, his vision swam. Blood filled his mouth.

"What...?" he slurred, pushing himself up on shaking arms. His eyes darted wildly. "What just-"

The air crackled.

Rodrick’s head snapped up.

There. Standing where he’d been moments before, was the boy.

His white hair glowing like storm clouds under moonlight, the tips shimmering an eerie electric blue.

His eyes both of them now burned with an unnatural blue.

Power rolled off him in waves, making the very air tremble.

Behind him. Cedric coughed weakly, his bloodied lips forming a single word.

"K...Kyle?"

Rodrick’s eyes widened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

———

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l