Masata didn't dare to gamble anymore.
From the exchange just now, it was clear that this muscular man's raw physical strength was terrifying—already comparable to a Nomu. If elementalization failed and he took another direct hit, the situation would become extremely dangerous.
Moreover, the man's combat instincts were frighteningly sharp. Despite his crude appearance, he fought like a wild beast.
Whether it was exploiting Masata's brief lapse earlier, or using Nomu's position-switching ability at a critical moment, he had successfully injured Masata—something many professional Heroes couldn't achieve. Even Sister Mag, who had managed to suppress Tiger, hadn't lasted a single move against Masata.
Masata rolled backward swiftly, narrowly avoiding the downward crash of countless muscle fibers. His palm shifted like a blade, and the red magma hand cleaved cleanly through the roots of the fibers embedded in the ground.
"Little mouse—don't run, Three-Six-Zero!!!"
But the muscular man had already gone completely berserk. Pain no longer slowed him down—it only excited him further. He slammed into the ground and charged again, his massive body surging forward.
This time, Masata didn't clash with him head-on.
Instead, he used the magma pooling across the battlefield to maneuver.
"Weren't you fearless just now?! Why are you suddenly so cowardly now, huh?!"
The muscular man lashed out wildly, using muscle fibers to smash craters into the ground and restrict Masata's movement. Yet Masata moved like a slippery loach—dodging, slipping, and phasing through attacks with precise elementalization whenever evasion wasn't possible.
No matter how much the man provoked him, Masata refused to fight directly.
The muscular man was nearly driven insane.
"I wanted to save this for that guy… but it looks like I'll have to test it on you first."
Masata finally felt his mind completely steady.
He stopped moving.
His eyes sharpened.
"Huh? Finally done running? Can't wait to die?!"
Seeing Masata stand still, the muscular man was ecstatic. Muscle fibers erupted even more violently from his body as his size expanded once again. Bulging flesh writhed like tangled tree roots across his frame, as though all the suppressed power within him was about to explode.
"You'll be the first person to taste true despair."
Masata no longer regarded him as an equal—not even with Nomu backing him up.
"Your strength isn't bad," Masata said calmly.
"Letting you be the debut opponent for this technique… that's not an insult."
"Don't get cocky, brat!!! Who do you think you're looking down on?! Die!!!"
The monstrous figure charged forward, sonic booms detonating with every step.
At the same moment, Masata's voice rang out—
"Surface of Flame!!!"
Anyone familiar with Naruto knew the terrifying power of Susanoo—capable of battling tailed beasts and Sage Mode alike.
This technique was Masata's own inspiration drawn from that concept.
Magma erupted outward from his body. Within mere breaths, a colossal giant nearly twenty meters tall formed completely around him, fully enclosing Masata inside.
The entire construct was made of magma. Its extreme viscosity allowed the structure to stabilize instead of collapsing. As the molten mass surged upward, Masata's position shifted to the core of the giant.
Thanks to his Quirk, he entered a semi-elemental state—able to clearly perceive the outside world while maintaining control.
This was the foundation that allowed him to manipulate such an enormous construct.
Elementalization was the core of all Masata's techniques.
In an instant, the difference in scale became absolute.
If the muscular man had been a child before, now he was nothing more than an ant before the towering Flame Suzaku.
The muscular man barely managed to stop himself from crashing into the magma giant. He stared upward, throat dry.
"H-Hey… is this a monster?!"
Usually, size and power were proportional.
A twenty-meter-tall giant—even a casual movement would carry unimaginable force. And this one was made entirely of magma.
Masata ignored his exclamation.
The ground trembled violently. Shockwaves rolled outward, kicking rubble and dust into the air. The muscular man's single eye locked onto the giant's movements, terrified of missing even the slightest shift.
At Masata's will, magma extended from the giant's empty hands, forming two enormous swords. Flames and black smoke coiled around the blades—the unmistakable symbols of destruction.
With a single thought, Masata swung one of the blazing swords downward.
The overwhelming pressure and vast attack range left the muscular man nowhere to escape. In his vision, the sky itself turned red.
"Nomu!!!"
At this point, he no longer cared about orders or mission success. Survival was all that mattered.
In a flash, Nomu swapped positions with him.
Masata's massive blade descended.
"BOOM!!!!"
The magma sword cleaved downward like cutting vegetables, splitting both the ground and Nomu cleanly in half.
There was no blood.
The moment any fluid touched the magma, it evaporated instantly. The cross-section was charred black, flesh and organs indistinguishable.
Before magma, even the body of a modified monster was fragile beyond belief.
"…Huh?"
Masata narrowed his eyes.
Even with its regenerative ability, there was no way Nomu could instantly reconnect two completely separated halves—right?
He was about to pursue the fleeing muscular man when he noticed movement.
Nomu's remains were changing.
"…So you still have a trick up your sleeve."
From within the Flame Suzaku, Masata's eyes narrowed further.