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.

yet none of them were

broken dead golem corpses was a single small figure. A single humanoid figure made up of

It was not large.

eyes narrowed. 'How did a human-sized golem destroy all those other gigantic

different from the norm as well. It didn't resemble the rocks that the others were made up of. It was jet black in sharp contrast to the lava so hot

Rui grew immensely curious.

neck creaked as it turned towards Rui, tilting its head in interest to the creature that survived its attack with its strange rock

to work.' Rui narrowed his eyes as gauged the creature's interest in him. He was able to sense thought

lava boiled and bubbled within its core. Rui's eyes widened at

'Strong.'

as he understood what

'Power.'

'Energy.'

'Hungry.'

'...Eat.'

many years ago on a whim, and it came to be of use in the strongest

taut

air crackled and sparked. The lava on its body glowed like a flashlight, reaching

Rui took his neutral stance.

of matter generally attained when gases reached a temperature so hot

proper look at the

RUMBLE

the creature's body began

lashed out, leaping at the golem with such furious velocity that the very air around him ignited into an inferno. The ground broke underneath the weight of his leap as the

forward as he

And yet...

BOOM!!