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.

And yet none of them were intact.

Atop a mountain of broken dead golem corpses was a single small figure. A single humanoid figure made up of rocks and lava stood atop all of them. Yet what truly surprised Rui was the size of the creature.

It was not large.

'It's human-sized.' Rui's eyes narrowed. 'How did a human-sized golem destroy all those other gigantic golems?'

Its color was 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 that sparkled white.

Rui grew immensely curious.

And yet, so did the golem. Its neck creaked as it turned towards Rui, tilting its head in interest to the creature that survived its attack with its strange rock eyes. Rui didn't even bother turning his Martial Heart off, the creature had seen his little maneuver.

'Besides, this 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 thought behind its rocky eyes and blinding pupils.

Suddenly, its body shifted, creaking as lava boiled and bubbled within its core. Rui's eyes widened at the gesture.

'Strong.'

His expression grew grave as he understood what the creature conveyed.

'Power.'

'Energy.'

'Hungry.'

'...Eat.'

A glint of predatory bloodlust sparked within the depth of its fiery eyes. Rui had mastered Fauna Flow many years ago on a whim, and it came to be of use in the strongest of times and places.

The air grew taut even as it boiled.

Literally. The creature was so hot that the air crackled and sparked. The lava on its body glowed like a flashlight, reaching extraordinary temperatures, sparking and crackling with lightning.

'That's not just lava.' Rui took his neutral stance. '...That's plasma.'

Plasma was the fourth state of matter generally attained when gases reached a temperature so hot that the very atoms began shredding and tearing apart into a cloud of hyper-energetic charged particles.

Yet before Rui could even take a proper look at the state it was in, it was too late.

RUMBLE

The ground shook as the creature's body began glowing.

'Damn!' Rui cursed as he 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 very skies recoiled from the massive sonic booms that he left in his wake.

His fist blurred, surging forward as he initiated a powerful Flowing Canon.

And yet...

BOOM!!

An enormous eruption of white-hot matter blasted out from the golem just before Rui's fist reached it. The plasma and lava surged forth, washing Rui with its enormous power.

And yet.

CRACK CRACK CRACK!

Rui's fist crashed into the creature, crumbling a huge chunk of the rock into pure sand with the sheer power of his attack.

And yet he was not unharmed himself.

"Rgh!" He leaped away grimacing at the third-degree burns that enveloped his entire body, leaving him smoking. 'It's far quicker than I expected! Other golems are practically statues compared to it.'

He hadn't expected it to be able to not only react to his approach but also release an attack before Rui could get in his. Yet he knew that he couldn't give any time for the golem to gain its bearings.

based on his observations of the previous golem, these creatures had immense stamina, while he didn't. That already set the win conditions for both combatants.

His body had already begun healing his burns rather quickly, there was nothing to wait for.

WHOOSH!

He sprinted forward with Gale Force Breathing, accelerating forward at tremendous speeds.

Yet the creature appeared to be more prepared this time. It's body began glowing before Rui could even reach halfway through, releasing yet another enormous eruption in Rui's direction.

BOOM!

And yet...

WHOOSH!