The Martial Unity

And yet, not even that was enough to overcome the sheer power of the Gatekeeper.

CLASP!

Sir Armstrong’s eyes widened with shock as he watched the humanoid entity effortlessly catch one of his strongest attacks in its hand.

The air boiled with peril.

The atmosphere grew eletrict.

The grin of the cyborg entity widened with glee as it relished his astonishment.

VMMM!

The creature’s body whirred as the impact of his tremendous attack was rapidly absorbed within the entity’s body.

Within the depths of its abdomen was a Impact Dynamo System that could convert impacts struck upon the creature’s body into electrical potential energy stored between capacitors comprised of superconductors at low temperatures, allowing the cyborg to not just absorb and store the energy of its opponents, but use it any way it deemed fit.

It grinned as its arm began glowing in exactly the same way, before dishing out a tremendous impact of even greater magnitude upon the Gatekeeper.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The sheer force of the attack didn’t just ravage the Gatekeeper’s body; it tore his flesh, allowing the fist of the creature to dig in deeper and deeper into the Gatekeeper’s body.

And it exited the other side of his body.

SPLAT!

Blood began emerging profusely from within the depths of the Gatekeeper’s body as the cyborg entity drew out its hand from within, stained with its red blood.

What followed sent chills down the spines of all those who beheld the battle from a distance.

The cyborg entity opened its mouth, laced with flesh, biological tissue, and mechanical components.

Its tongue extended out, licking the Gatekeeper’s blood profusely as.

Shivers ran down the spines of those who witnessed the demented cyborg consuming the Gatekeeper’s blood.

Then, it froze.

Its pupils dilated as its body shuddered.

It sent the blood to an internal evaluation and diagnostic system that took the samples of the blood that he had ingested before studying it thoroughly.

And then, the entity’s eyes widened with what was clearly shock and surprise.

Its gaze turned towards the Gatekeeper with fascination and amazement.

Its eyes lit up with ecstasy and delight.

A wide smile of joy appeared on its face.

STEP

The Gatekeeper stood up as his wound fully healed, his body staggered unsteadily as his Martial Heart blazed with power.

And yet, his expression was grave.

The cyborg entity wasn’t even taking him seriously as a threat.

It allowed him to get away with an endless barrage of attacks from the very get-go, emerging from it unharmed as if to shove the truth in his face that he didn’t have the power over the entity.

And then, it had shown him its power.

Power unlike anything that the Gatekeeper had ever fought before.

It was an entity unlike anything he had ever fought before.

And yet, it didn’t change what he had to do.

“If I have to burn this body to defeat you, then that is what I will do.”

His voice was laced with reckoning.

His body language grew intense.

His very presence seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

It seemed to grow more intense.

RUMBLE!!!!!

The world shook as a single whisper escaped him.

“Ragnarok.”

It was the same forbidden technique that he had used against Rui in their duel many, many years ago during the Kandrian Throne War. A forbidden technique that relied on the metabolic immolation of the cells of his own body to generate power that exceeded his limits by a significant margin. A technique that he had created as an application of Rui’s Hungry Pain.

It was the technique that had put him in a coma for many years until he had been healed by the Divine Doctor.

And yet, while the technique was absolutely self-destructive at lower Realms, its price could be ameliorated, for within the depths of his body was integrated a Master-level esoteric substance known as the Roctian Healing Pine Sap, a substance that could allow him to use the technique for longer than he had ever used.

On top of that, with the power of the Martial Soul, he could make the self-immolation more controlled and more restricted to the least vital parts of his body, burning mostly flesh and skin and cartilage while protecting his internal organs and systems, prolonging his life for as long as possible.

The result?

He achieved power far beyond anything that he could normally achieve.

The price was intense.

Especially since his lifespan was already pushed to the very limit, having lived for many years and having already used it once before.

He recalled the Divine Doctor’s words to him after he had recovered.

“Never use that technique again,” he had told the Gatekeeper with a clinical tone. “The next time you do, not even I will be able to save you.”

And yet, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

He knew that this entity was from another world.

He could also sense that it wasn’t alone.

Far from it.

If this was the magnitude of the threat human civilization now faced, then he couldn’t afford to hold back in fear for his lifespan.”I will take you down,” the Gatekeeper growled. “I will take you, don’t even if I have to burn myself alive.

RUMBLE!!!!!

His body roared with power as it grew covered in flames.

His skin and flesh singed, releasing plumes of smoke while they began darkening.

He had become no more than a silhouette within the fire.

And yet, in that moment, he achieved the power of a peak Sage.

The only other Martial Sage who had achieved that kind of power upon the breakthrough to the Sage Realm was none other than Rui and the traitor, making one of three people who had achieved extraordinary power upon breakthrough.

RUMBLE!!!!!!

One moment, he stood some distance away from the cyborg entity.

The very next, he instantly appeared before him, unleashing an attack that dwarfed all his prior attacks.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

The cyborg entity narrowed its eyes as both of its arms flew together in a powerful guard that just barely managed to ward off the attack.

And yet, the Gatekeeper was just getting started.

The battle was just getting started.

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