The Martial Unity

BADUMP!

Rui's arm flew across the colosseum arena.

The air plummeted.

A vague impending sense of despair and doom radiated across the battle arena.

None of the contestants had failed to notice despite their own losing battles. Many of the contestants had been disqualified, having been saved from absolute death. Those who still held on were severely wounded, even more so than Rui.

Yet, it appeared that Rui followed suit.

The colosseum was silent. Even the noise from the other battles seemed to melt away into the background as an overwhelming sense of defeat seemed to fill up the spectator stands.

That was when it happened.

THUD!

The abyssfeeder that took Rui's arm plummeted to the ground, forming a heavy crater when it landed.

BADUMP!

Everybody watched, shocked.

And confused.

The creature took off Rui's arm in the clash, why had it suddenly collapsed?

No one knew.

It began shifting in its crater, quivering as its body began shifting.

It was healing.

Or it would have, had it been allowed to.

BOOM!

Rui broke the silence as he blasted it with a tier-five Transverse Resonance.

A solemn expression emerged on his face.

He faced the abyssfeeder head-on.

words escaped his

"Mind wins."

fog of defeat as he made

intensified as he called upon every ounce of

His eyes sharpened.

as

Yet it bled.

care. A glint of madness flashed across his eyes as his offense grew

frenzy as he unleashed every ounce of

his figure, his movements,

emotion radiated

Frustration.

It was incomprehensible.

They didn't understand.

What happened?

could such a clear defeat morph into such a

was even more incomprehensible was the frustration that was visible

frustrated after they started

the Martial Masters understood the true depths of that

was close. Master Deivon

now… He's pushing himself to cross the precipice to

closed his eyes. The Martial Heart only heeds the call of

stared at him impassively, before closing

happened. Unlike the spectators, the truth of circumstances had not escaped

an uppercut. Master Gremingar narrowed his eyes. That single attack did more damage to the abyssfeeder than all of his previous attacks. It did more damage than even

used vibrations to permeate the impact all the way to the core of the creature. Master Carian

been adapting to Rui's long-range attack by protecting all of the vital tissue of its body by shoving it deep inside the core

this. Rui was

had capitalized

had continued launching more attacks from a distance. He had continued making it harder and harder for the abyssfeeder to absorb the

continued shifting more of its vital tissues to the core of the body while the exteriors became freer to absorb

was the perfect

He had known that.

continue using that adaptation with

for the moment the abyssfeeder would inevitably cross the distance between

been for

he had launched his most powerful Flowing Canon throwing as much raw power in a

wasn't the power that he was focused

where that