The Martial Unity

The lava ecosystem was an incredibly interesting experience, Rui would have even taken the time to study the biology of harnessing lava in other circumstances. The issue was that the lava ecosystem could not feed him. It was unfortunate, but he could neither eat rock nor lava. His digestion system was far stronger than that of a human in every parameter, but not to the degree that he could digest inorganic materials and substances without care.

He also wanted to avoid using his Martial Heart any longer than he needed to, thus he had been carefully avoiding any and all lava golems in the area through Seismic Mapping, traveling across the area at a rapid pace.

One thing that Rui needed to be careful about was the fact that there were little to no ways in which he could possibly handle any more power than he already had.

RUMBLE

Rui froze suddenly. Loud warning alarms rang in his head as his Martial Heart activated before he could even react out of subconscious reflex.

BOOM!!

An enormous tsunami of white-hot lava erupted before Rui's eyes.

It dwarfed a mountain, so much so that Rui couldn't even see the sky. Yet it was incredibly swift, so much so that had he been a Martial Squire, he would have died. Yet thanks to his subconscious Senior-level reflex, he managed to activate his Martial Heart in time as his mind kicked into gear.

Rather than undoing his progress by going as far as to run out of the enormous range of the lava attack, he instead leaped towards it, preparing a Mighty Roar Flash Blast.

THWOOM!

The attack surged forward swiftly, blasting an enormous hole in the lava tsunami. Rui swiftly jumped through it, securing an easier escape route from the attack. He would rather have avoided taking that attack, given how absurdly hot it was.

In fact...

'This isn't just lava.' Rui's eyes widened as he turned his attention from it to the source of the attack.

Only to grow more surprised.

In the distance, there were enormous boulders laden with lava.

of them were

golem corpses was a single small figure. A single humanoid figure made up of rocks and lava

It was not large.

a

didn't resemble the rocks that the others were made up

Rui grew immensely curious.

Rui, tilting its head in interest to the creature that survived its attack

one is too intelligent for such a trick to work.' Rui narrowed his eyes as gauged the creature's interest in him. He was able to sense

bubbled within its core. Rui's eyes widened at

'Strong.'

grew grave as he understood

'Power.'

'Energy.'

'Hungry.'

'...Eat.'

predatory bloodlust sparked within the depth of its fiery eyes. Rui had mastered Fauna Flow many years ago

air grew taut

The lava on its body glowed like a flashlight, reaching extraordinary temperatures, sparking

took his neutral stance.

matter generally attained when gases reached a temperature so hot that the very atoms began shredding and tearing

proper look at the state it was in, it

RUMBLE

the creature's body

very air around him ignited into an inferno. The ground broke underneath the weight of

surging forward as

And yet...

BOOM!!