The Martial Unity

"I almost died but… I made it in time."

His declaration rung in her ears.

STEP

STEP 

STEP

With every step he took, he used Outer Convergence and Reverberating Lance to generate seismic pulses of the exact resonant frequency of the ground, permeating the seismic pulses relatively smoothly through the bedrock.

They traveled deep underground, interfering with the convergence and constructive resonance of the seismic radiation that caused the land to be displaced to attack Rui.

As a result, the land never surged to kill Rui.

RUMBLE

It shook violently. Yet not even a grain of sand rose to strike Rui.

"Dammit…" She gritted her teeth as her expression curled with frustration. "Huff…"

It was frustrating because she knew she was far more powerful when it came to raw power. Rui was indeed a man, but she had a far greater Martial Heart.

That was a gap that could not be bridged by the differences between the sexes, not even in the slightest.

Yet, he was able to sabotage her seismic convergence every single time. Although he used Outer Convergence and Reverberating Lance, they were only two techniques. 

She, on the other hand, had six supplementary techniques that she had worked hard to develop over the span of a century. On top of that, unlike him, her Martial Body was designed for this.

Her Martial Body contained a much greater amount and proportion of quick-twitch muscle fibers than the regular Martial Body. This meant that she was far superior to Rui when it came to short high-power and high-speed movements, which were highly relevant to vibrations.

Yet despite all these advantages, Rui was able to overpower her seismic radiation convergence with his seismic pulses.

Why?

The answer was simple.

'I CAN'T BREATHE!' She gasped for air like she was having an asthmatic attack as she desperately tried to generate her normal power levels.

The Breathing Crucifix refused to let her generate even a fraction of her full raw power. With just a single grade-nine technique, Rui was able to close a huge raw gap between himself and her, allowing him to suppress her seismic activity.

This was the result of two years of training. No matter who his opponent was, they would have to face heavy sabotage if they wanted to face Rui. He had harnessed the power of his mind.

'Dammit…!' She gritted her teeth. 'Damn it all!'

She struggled with every ounce of power. Using every trick, every technique, everything that her Body, Heart, and Art had.

It was crushed.

No…

It was being consumed.

His eyes fixed on her. The endless void that she had beheld within them had surged forward, enveloping her. The gap between them closed as Rui gained on her as her hampered respiration caught up with her.

Every attack she made, he erased.

Every step she took, he outpaced.

Every step he took oppressed her.

She could not avoid him.

She could not attack him.

She could not even breathe.

As she gazed into her eyes, she found herself standing on a path. A path that extended beyond the eye. A path she had walked for a long time.

Yet the VOID didn't care.

It enveloped her path.

It enveloped greedily.

Hungrily.

And then it consumed.

CRACK!

Her body shook, trembling. Her eyes quivered with despair as she watched her Martial Art unravel. All the pride she had ever felt in developing such a unique and powerful Martial Art crumbled.

'Unique and powerful?' Her body went limp. 'What a joke.'

CRACK CRACK CRACK!

Boundless emptiness consumed her as the sounds of her Martial Path crumbling under the weight of the VOID overlapped with the physical sounds of her ribs cracking under the weight of Rui's Flowing Convergence.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!

Rui's eyes narrowed as he bombarded her vitals with powerful blows. Her battered body grew worse with each blow as she began bleeding from multiple orifices. Her body grew limp as her eyes grew hollow.

CRACK!

A well-timed and well-placed kick to the skull did the trick. Her body fell to the ground as pool of blood began forming around her skull.

Rui heaved a deep sigh, narrowing his eyes gravely. He knew what had happened, but he didn't dare stop.

She had almost killed him once, if he stopped suppressing her mentally and physically, she could potentially use that absurd technique once more.

Besides, he intended to kill her regardless

"Rgh!" Rui grimaced as he coughed up several bouts of blood, deactivating his Martial Heart. "Damn…"

Abusing the Metabody System alongside his Martial Heart was very stressful to the body. The Martial Heart accelerated his aging while Weaving Blood sacrificed his constitution for healing. He could handle either one individually with no problem, but abusing both to the limit did his body no limits.

'I didn't have a choice.' Rui panted. 'If I didn't use Weaving Blood there I would have died on the spot.'

He had been forced to use Nemean Blossom to withstand the sheer pressure that her technique generated to converge on his body as well, further adding to the strain on his body.

His eyes narrowed gravely. 'If any of those spikes hit my head in the wrong way…'

He had done his best to guard his vitals, but he couldn't guard everything. And her offensive power had already been proven to handily overcome the Nemean Blossom.

'I could have died many times during the first half of the battle. In fact, if she hadn't gotten arrogant and done her best to make sure I was dead, I could have died then and there. At the very least, I would be much worse than I currently am.'

He shook his head. Reflecting was good, but he didn't want to get lost in too many what-ifs. The fact of the matter was that he won.

He won against a high-grade Martial Senior. 

A deep wave of satisfaction overcame him as he got up. He quickly inhaled a potion, before steadily distancing himself from the battlefield as he headed towards the human domain.