Cassien hadn't recovered all of his memories yet, but there was something else - besides Naomi - that couldn't be taken away from him: an innate talent for combat sense and a masterfully honed skill of martial prowess.

His pulse slowed to a cold beat, like the last snowflake in a blizzard.

He dragged his iron longsword from his sheath in a swift motion, sounding more like a hiss of wind through cavern rocks than a heavy blade against scabbard. The warriors didn't so much as falter in their rough banter as Cassien crept his way closer along the shadows of the stoney walls.

Right now, he had the advantage of stealth and surprise; once he attacked, that was it. It would turn into a full on frontal assault that could be disastrous if he was less than fully attentive for even a second, so it was imperative that he approached this properly.

Cassien's eyes flickered across the table, taking mental notes of the men's statures, their weaponry, their positioning.

Heavy crossbow furthest away with a shortsword. First priority. Rangers are a no-go to ignore. Three greatswords, one cracked at the base - might break if I strike it right.

Cassien stretched to his full height, careful to keep his back flattened as he tilted his chin up for a better vantage. Great hammer behind the fourth's chair, but he's thin. Too weak to use it properly - no straps on the handle, so the momentum might be too much with a swing.

His eyes scanned the sixth man who leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head. He was bulky, heavily scarred across the chest, but no visible weapon. Cassien's brow furrowed - then he saw it. The man shifted forward, and the shine of something brassy glinted in the bare torchlight.

Brass knuckles, Cassien noted. Chains running down the side… most likely connected to a weapon of some sorts as a backup. A back up to avoid such a low melee range. With those chains, maybe a flail.

He took another minute to confirm his suspicions, aware that every second meant another chance that he might be seen. But with how he and Naomi came through the illusory path, it would be nearly impossible. Something else caught his eye before he turned to Naomi to signal his moves; hanging by a thick rope above the manmade door was a rusted bell.

An alarm, a warning call.

His priority immediately shifted from the crossbow wielder to the bell. It absolutely had to be the first to go, even if it would spoil his initiative to take out one opponent right off the bat. There wouldn't be a point in taking out all six men if reinforcements were to come in.

Cassien took in a deep breath and looked at Naomi. Even obscured by shadow and hidden behind a sheath of rock, he thought she looked too obvious in the dark. She wasn't - not really - but even if she floated among a constellation, he'd still be able to pick her out. To him, she was that bright, that dazzling.

Their eyes connected and she threw him a confident smile as if to say: what are you waiting for?

Cassien's boots barely made a sound as he burst out from the dark with a trail of frost behind him, whizzing past the men's table so quickly that they didn't even register what was happening. His longsword swung out and severed the bell's rope and caught it with his free hand; immediately, the surface turned dull as frost completely enveloped it, and the metal shattered in a dozen frozen pieces - rendered completely useless.

Time seemed to resume at its usual pace, the guards launching from their seats.

"What the fuck?" The ranger with coiled black hair shouted as he jerked his crossbow upwards, a bolt readied.

"He destroyed the bell," the thin one called out. "Kill him!"

Having lost his surprise on the ranger, Cassien had to react quickly. Before the bolt could fire, Cassien's hand flickered outwards with a lob of ice that slammed into the opening of the bolt's groove.

The man didn't realize the severity of his action in time and squeezed the trigger.

The string snapped forward, but the bolt barely bit into the frozen obstruction; the weapon rattled violently in the ranger's grip and the wood frame splintered in a sickening crunch, sending the forceful vibration back towards the wielder. The kickback sent a broken shard of wood into his right eye, and three of his fingers twisted in a brutal fracture.

Dry fire, Cassien hummed inwardly.

The man dropped to the ground in agony, clutching his injured hand. Before he could scream, Cassien silenced him with a guillotine swing, bright red painting the ground.

"Parvé!" The monstrously bulky man with brass knuckles roared at his fallen comrade before turning, his eyes frenzied at Cassien. "Kill this motherfucker!"

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Cassien twisted to see his charge, along with two of the greatsword wielders - the others were readied from closely behind, though there was only so much space to intrude on without harming their own allies. Both greatswords split to flank him on both sides, swords swung in a scissoring arc just as brass-knuckles flew towards his gut.

Cassien dropped low in a forward drift and tilted his head back to adjust for the man's lowered swing, and swung back in a horizontal slash. The tip of his blade sliced a straight gash through all three men's lower thighs as the greatswords clashed in a horrid clang, and the brass knuckled man buckled to the ground in over momentum.

Before Cassien could spring up from his back, he was greeted by the hulking third greatsword wielder, who slammed the hilt of his sword towards his face. Cassien twisted to the side, a heavy clunk dented into the ground. He aimed out with a frost-readied palm, and a sharp jut of ice erupted into his side. Blood sprayed out like a volcanic geyser, and with a heavy grunt, Cassien impaled the sword straight into his centre mass. He released it and rolled to the side, and the man collapsed with a thud as blood gurgled from his throat. Blood flowed outwards from his orifices, drowned in a pool of his own liquids.

Cassien ripped the sword out swiftly, killing him almost instantly rather than letting him choke to death on his own blood.

He rolled back on his feet, just in time for his instincts to trigger him behind.

He twisted without looking - the flat of his longsword was struck by something round, heavy, and spiked; his weapon flew from his hand as a flail returned back to the brass knuckled user. He had been right, at least, that it hadn't been his only weapon.

A whiff of movement came from behind him as the flail flung forward once again - Cassien feinted to the side with blinding speed, frost invigorating his legs. The spiked ball whistled past his ear with only the tip nicking off a single strand of hair. The brass knuckled man's eyes widened as his flail went straight for his comrade who had finally been able to lift the great hammer from its spot on the wall, and tried to adjust the trajectory - though too slow.

The heavy weight sunk into his heart with a wet splatter and turned it into shredded flesh, and he staggered backwards. His eyes rolled back into a milky white.

"Fuck! Gavin, get back up!"

Gavin and his massive hammer dropped to the ground with a thud, and Cassien was already moving once more towards him. He knew he had to be quick - the two greatsword warriors had pushed past the pain of the leg gash, and were headed his way.

Rather than leaving the flail behind, the man rushed towards Gavin to retrieve it - and Cassien's stomach twisted. It was in the direction of Naomi, and if he turned his head, she'd be exposed. He had to stop him from reaching her, even if that meant keeping his back exposed.

Naomi was, after all, his top priority.

But before the warrior could spot her first, a silver head of hair jumped out from the hidden spot with a burst with light. It struck the brass-knuckled man square in the chest, the smell of burnt flesh overtaking the earthiness of the cave air. He flew backwards onto his back with a heavy grunt of pain, curled inwards on himself.

Pale blue eyes widened at Cassien with a single spark of violet light from her right eye. "I've got him, go for the others!"

Time seemed to slow for Cassien as he realized the cleverness of her action. He employed the same, focusing on his tether to Naomi. His left eye swallowed his vision to pure black before the perspective shifted, and he saw himself in Naomi's vision: splattered with blood that was not his own, with two warriors charging from behind with their enormous swords raised.

Before Naomi could shout a warning, Cassien dodged to the side without so much as turning his head.

The blades cleaved through the air in a wide miss, sparks flying as steel scraped against the stony ground. The warriors appeared stunned at his unpredictable movement, though only for a split second before they swung again.

He didn't have time to search for his longsword. Cassien clenched his right hand and struck it downwards in a seemingly empty motion, though a long blade of hardened ice elongated from his grasp. Cold misted from it, hissing and trailing white. He could see from Naomi's vision that she held back the man with relative ease, radiant light flashing in the background of the cave.

One of the men with a grizzled beard and missing tooth spat at the ground. "I'm gonna make that whore o' yours my personal-"

Cassien didn't wait to hear another word.

He lunged like a wolf baring its fangs, tackling the man in a blur of blue-white so hard that his greatsword flew from his grasp. The second warrior reached out in interference, but as if he triggered a trap, sharp pricks of ice spitting outwards in an explosive aura. He didn't need to look to know that he essentially showered the man with a hail of icicles.

Cassien slammed the man into the cavern wall head first, a sickening crash and gush of blood pooling at the back of his skull. The elongated blade of ice was jammed straight into his stomach, and Cassien twisted it. His eyes rolled to the back of his head with a drooling, guttural groan.

Cassien's voice was ice cold, golden eyes blazing with blind rage. "Try insulting her again."

He seized his jaw with a vise-like grip and forced it open, released the blade, and materialized a razor sharp dagger of ice instead. The man's eyes bulged and he began to spasm frantically, but Cassien's body kept him pinned - and it was only then the man realized his entire lower body was becoming encased in ice, like a frozen coffin. With a flick of his wrist, the dagger of ice drove straight into the thick of his tongue like it was no more than a skewer of meat. A wet, muffled shriek echoed around the cavern, blood spilling back into his own throat.

"Cassien."

Naomi's voice was like a siren's call that cut through the fog of fury, quelling the rush of violence and adrenaline that thrummed through his veins. He turned to see the brass knuckled man sprawled across the stone, chest almost completely blackened and barely rising.

Her hands were still bright with magic, her breath ragged with shocked eyes staring down at what she had done. There was no fight left in the warrior, no danger to either of them - but Cassien knew exactly why she shook.

He crossed to her in three long strides and took her into his arms, and she nearly crumpled into him at his touch. Cassien dropped to his knees as she wrapped around him, a quiet sob wracking her shoulders.

"S-sorry," Naomi breathed. "I can do it. I-I can end it."

"No." His tone was firm and his hand came up to cradle the back of her head, tilting her into him and away from the carnage of the bodies.

She shook her head, but she didn't fight him. "I have to be ready at some point."

"But not now, and if it were up to me, not ever. You've done enough; all of this blood is on my hands."

Then, without releasing her, Cassien reached out his free hand with a calculated motion - and halted the warrior's last breath.

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