Chapter 1249 Insufficient BADUMP!
Rui's arm flew across the colosseum arena.
The air plummeted.
A vague impending sense of despair and doom radiated across the battle arena.
None of the contestants had failed to notice despite their own losing battles. Many of the contestants had been disqualified, having been saved from absolute death. Those who still held on were severely wounded, even more so than Rui.
Yet, it appeared that Rui followed suit.
The colosseum was silent. Even the noise from the other battles seemed to melt away into the background as an overwhelming sense of defeat seemed to fill up the spectator stands.
That was when it happened.
THUD!
The abyssfeeder that took Rui's arm plummeted to the ground, forming a heavy crater when it landed.
BADUMP!
Everybody watched, shocked.
And confused.
The creature took off Rui's arm in the clash, why had it suddenly collapsed?
No one knew.
It began shifting in its crater, quivering as its body began shifting.
It was healing.
Or it would have, had it been allowed to.
BOOM!
Rui broke the silence as he blasted it with a tier-five Transverse Resonance.
A solemn expression emerged on his face.
He faced the abyssfeeder head-on.
Two words escaped his mouth.
"Mind wins."
They cut through the fog of defeat as he made his declaration to the world.
His expression intensified as he called upon every ounce of power within his body.
His eyes sharpened.
His bleeding body mourned as it pulled itself together.
Yet it bled.
He didn't seem to care. A glint of madness flashed across his eyes as his offense grew even more aggressive.
The spectators watched, frozen, as Rui went into a frenzy as he unleashed every ounce of power onto a crippled creature.
They watched his figure, his movements, his attacks.
A single emotion radiated from him.
Frustration.
It was incomprehensible.
They didn't understand.
What happened?
How could such a clear defeat morph into such a clear victory?
What was even more incomprehensible was the frustration that was visible on his face.
What kind of Martial Artist grew frustrated after they started winning a losing battle?
Only the Martial Masters understood the true depths of that emotion.
He was close. Master Deivon sighed.
Even now… He's pushing himself to cross the precipice to a higher Realm. Master Gremingar shook his head.
But… It's too late… Master Carian closed his eyes. The Martial Heart only heeds the call of need, not the call of frustration.
Master Uma stared at him impassively, before closing her eyes.
They had all seen what had happened. Unlike the spectators, the truth of circumstances had not escaped them.
Just before his arm was taken off, he struck the abyssfeeder with an uppercut. Master Gremingar narrowed his eyes. That single attack did more damage to the abyssfeeder than all of his previous attacks. It did more damage than even the loss of an arm.
He used vibrations to permeate the impact all the way to the core of the creature. Master Carian mused. Ordinarily, that is nothing special but…
But the difference was that the abyssfeeder had been adapting to Rui's long-range attack by protecting all of the vital tissue of its body by shoving it deep inside the core of the body.
The Martial Masters were not the only ones who knew this. Rui was the only other one who had also recognized the truth.