Could Masata really be killed like that?
Of course not.
The four-legged serpent was the first to realize something was wrong. The thing it had swallowed wasn't solid flesh at all—there was no resistance, no texture. Instead, an unbearable heat was rapidly spreading through its body.
What it had devoured was magma.
While its external scales could resist extreme temperatures, its internal organs had no such protection. Molten rock surged through its insides, instantly destroying vital functions. The creature began rolling madly across the ground, its massive body smashing into the earth again and again, as if triggering a localized earthquake.
But magma was, in essence, liquefied stone.
After swallowing so much of it, the serpent's body collapsed quickly. A few seconds later, its jaws gaped wide as if it were about to vomit. Only thick black smoke poured out instead. Its last bit of strength vanished, and the gigantic body crashed lifelessly onto the ground.
Masata's form rapidly regenerated amid the surging magma. In moments, his body returned to normal. He stared at the hill-sized corpse before him and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He truly hadn't noticed the serpent's ambush earlier. If not for Jiro's warning, which allowed him to elementalize half a second in advance, the one lying dead on the ground might have been him instead.
Seeing the girls still locked in danger on the other side, Masata immediately rushed forward.
"Fall back!"
He shouted as he ran.
Raising his right arm high, it began to swell unnaturally, expanding until a gigantic magma palm formed above his head.
The girls' first reaction was immediate retreat. Anyone with functioning eyes could tell what would happen if they were caught by that thing.
Even as they withdrew, their attacks didn't stop, suppressing part of the monster horde rushing out from the cliff. Step by step, everyone retreated into the forest.
Only then did Masata finally breathe a little easier.
He turned to face the grotesque creatures before him. Nearly all of them bore fused traits from two or more species—some even more. Now, they had collectively locked onto Masata as their new enemy, shrieking at him nonstop.
"They're so ugly…"
The colossal magma palm swung downward.
Countless molten fragments separated midair, transforming into dense magma bombs that rained down mercilessly. The crimson glow illuminated the sky, the cliff, and every monster below.
BOOM!!!
Each magma bomb carved craters into the ground. Splintered molten debris tore through monster bodies like bullets. In a single strike, every creature that had just poured out of the cliff was annihilated.
"So strong…"
Yaoyorozu murmured softly as she stared at the blazing battlefield and the scattered corpses. The monsters they had struggled against moments earlier hadn't stood a chance before Masata.
"Get back to the boat!" Masata shouted. "I'm about to make this big!"
No one knew how many experimental subjects were still hidden on this island. Clearing them one by one was impossible—and worse, some might escape.
The safest solution was simple.
Destroy the island.
Even if everything was erased, it was better than letting a single monster slip into society.
Masata barked orders at the girls, then turned back. Violent lava surged around his fist, forming the outline of a ferocious tiger's head.
"Hurry up! I won't be in danger!"
He glanced back and made a firm gesture to Yaoyorozu before charging forward again. This time, he restrained himself from using wide-area techniques, conserving strength.
Yaoyorozu clenched her teeth, hesitation flashing through her eyes. But after witnessing Masata's power, she knew the truth—staying would only make them liabilities.
Swallowing her emotions, she turned to the others.
"Run! Back to the beach! Leave this to Masata!"
"Huh? But—"
Chacha instinctively tried to protest, but the moment she met Yaoyorozu's eyes—resolute, painful, unwavering—she fell silent.
"I believe in him."
That belief was unmistakable.
Without further hesitation, the six of them sprinted along the path they had come from under Masata's cover. At their current pace, they could reach the yacht in about twenty minutes.
Once the girls were gone, the final weight on Masata's heart lifted.
He smashed another flying monster out of the air, each punch detonating into lava as it landed. Like falling meteors, his attacks turned the ground into a sea of molten rock.
Still, the monsters surged forward relentlessly.
Though none were as powerful as the four-legged serpent—or even the lizard creature from the cave—their numbers were overwhelming. Attacks came from all directions. Masata, trying to conserve stamina, found himself unable to break free, forced into a relentless exchange.
Fortunately, magma was fatal to them.
Every monster struck by his fists was obliterated instantly. In this brutal stalemate, Masata fought alone for nearly fifteen minutes—until a distant sound reached his ears.
"…That's the yacht's horn. Did Jiro amplify it?"
The battlefield was deafening: monster screams, magma boiling, trees burning, explosions overlapping. He could only vaguely make it out.
"Good. The timing's about right."
Masata straightened, his gaze cold.
"This filthy place has no reason to exist."
"Let magma purify you all."
"Volcanic Eruption!!"
His entire body elementalized instantly.
Centered on Masata, within a radius of nearly a hundred meters, the ground began to tremble violently. White steam burst upward from countless fissures.
BOOM!!!
Underground magma erupted skyward like a newborn volcano. After reaching its peak, it scattered across the island like fiery fireworks, raining destruction everywhere.
The entire island was engulfed.
When it finally settled, the land was utterly ruined—cracked bedrock, drifting smoke, and rivers of glowing lava flowing through every crevice like veins of blood.
Masata's form merged seamlessly with the environment, his body completely transformed into living magma.
Staring at the apocalyptic scene, doubt flickered in his mind.
"…This isn't right."
"My power shouldn't be able to reach this level."
The scale of the eruption was far beyond anything he had ever produced. Compared to this, his previous large-scale techniques felt like toy water guns.
This was something else entirely.
...
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