The Martial Unity

Oo—o- hadn’t expected the devastating impact upon her body that Ria had inflicted.

It would be one thing, like when Ria made her attack damage her body.

It was another thing entirely for Ria to inflict a heavy blow upon her body from her own attack.

Ria’s fist burrowed deep into the webbed chest of the homoarachnoid, inflicting such a heavy attack that it sent the homoarachnoid skidding away. Oo—o- cradled the sore point of impact with a shocked expression as she stared at Ria with a stunned expression.

Ria’s body was a mess. Even though she had manipulated the Water Integument exo-Martial suit to be as elastic and bouncy, it couldn’t possibly protect her from all that damage.

Blood trickled down out of every orifice on her face, which was checkered with many wounds and blood, while the gray dust of the planet covered her body. Her breathing was heavy while her heart rate rushed.

The posture of her stance made it clear that she hadn’t regained all of her mobility yet.

And yet, her amber eyes sparkled with power.

It was different from the more brash power that she had.

It was a power that had grown a little wiser.

A power that had grown up with her.

”Fuuuuu…” She heaved a deep breath, exhaling all the air in her lungs as she took a special stance that was optimized for her limited condition.

What she did next was even more shocking.

The Water Integument exo-Martial suit that she wore thinned around most of her body as the particles that comprised the powerful armor began shifting towards one part of her body.

Her hands.

Oo—o-’s six eyes widened at the sheer recklessness of Ria. That armor was her strongest defense. The fact that she was thinning it across her entire body but thickening it around her hands meant only one thing.

’She’s. Confident. She. Can. Intercept. All. Of. My. Attacks. With. Her. Palms,’ Oo—o- realized with a chilling expression.

She didn’t know whether to be angry at the sheer arrogance or be grateful at the sheer foolhardiness.

And yet, there was something about Ria that had changed.

As if she had breached a threshold.

She didn’t feel as much of an easy target to Oo—o- as she did before. This was especially stunning because the thinning of the exo-Martial suit across her entire body made her body look even thinner and leaner than otherwise, as only a thin layer of leptonic condensate covered the skin across her body.

It made the glaring gap in their raw physicality even clearer.

Meanwhile, the exo-Martial suit around her hands grew thicker.

STEP

Ria adopted a stance that was conducive to being able to intercept any attack that came her way with her hands, adopting a wide open-palm position.

Oo—o-’s expression tightened.

CLICK CLICK CLICK!

”Very. Well. Let. Us. See. You. Withstand. This!”

The webbing around the homoarachnoid’s body contracted and expanded in a particular manner as the homoarachnoid shot forward with a violent acceleration, rushing towards Ria with blindingly high speed.

And yet, it was within her anticipation.

As was the incoming attack.

She remembered her father’s words as her hands gently moved forward as she created a new technique on the spot.

”The Flow of Water.”

As if gently cupping and redirecting a falling stream of water, her hand intercepted the blow of the homoarachnoid, before redirecting the flow of her power through her body to the other hand.

It shot forth with the power of not just Oo—o-’s attack, but also the power that Ria herself poured into it, while hardening the Water Integument around her hand as hard as it could possibly get.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

The resulting collision was so intense that shockwaves rippled through Oo—o-’s body, causing the creature to be rocked where it stood. The sheer force of the attack lifted her off of her feet and into the air.

The sheer pain that the homoarachnoid felt was clearly visible on her face. Yet, she gritted her pincers and her fangs, before unleashing a flurry of soft swift blows at Ria, hoping to make it even more difficult for her to intercept them.

And yet, they were within her understanding of the chain of causality.

Her palms gently intercepted each and every single attack that came her way. She made the Water Integument around the hand that intercepted attacks to be highly elastic, to allow the power to flow through her as smoothly as possible, before returning it back to Oo—o- in the blink of an eye, hardening the other hand’s Water Integument for a maximum impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Another powerful blow ravaged the creature even as the creature grew more desperate, unleashing an onslaught of attacks at Ria to knock her out.

And yet, Ria’s hands became more than just muscle, flesh, and bone.

They became purveyors of the flow of power, guiding the attacks of her opponent, allowing them to flow through her body. Even as her body strained from all the pressure that permeated through her body, she remembered more of her father’s many words of wisdom to her in the many times that he had personally trained her.

’Seventy percent of the human body is water,’ his calm yet powerful voice reverberated in her mind. ’You are already most of the way there to being Water. And yet, to be Water must serve as a path to your destination, not the destination itself.’

She didn’t entirely understand what he meant.

And yet, she understood more of what it meant to be Water.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

Oo—o-’s expression coiled with pain as Ria’s palm jab tore through her web armor, blasting her body more directly.

’When facing opponents stronger, faster, and tougher than you, you must adaptively evolve yourself to become the version of you that would defeat them in one out of a million, billion, or even a trillion possible futures,’ his words were rich with wisdom that came from the countless battles he fought. ’While others, myself included, needed to train to reach this power. For you, it may as well be your birthright.’

He had smiled at her.

’That is the limitless potential for power that you have.’

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A devastating blow brought Oo—o- to her knees.