MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1003: Internal Enhancement
Previously on MIGHT AS WELL BE OP...
With those words slipping from his mouth, his right hand lifted gradually toward his left, grasping the handle of his katana. He pulled the blade free from its sheath in a measured draw, the metallic scrape against the wooden scabbard echoing through the air like a prolonged, eerie melody that hung over the entire field of battle.
Aura Nova's gaze sharpened as she caught the movement and the noise of Anthony unsheathing his katana at last. Warriors of their level could instantly discern if an opponent was truly committing or just toying based purely on the manner of weapon extraction.
While she remained uncertain if Anthony planned to unleash his full might right away, Aura Nova sensed he was dialing back the playfulness he'd shown so far.
She swiftly assumed a defensive posture, bracing for what was next. 'He's coming now,' her mind raced as focus intensified to its peak. Every sense amplified to the maximum, making the surrounding world decelerate while her awareness expanded, hunting for the slightest twitch, the faintest quiver in the world, or any ripple in the atmosphere that might signal his strike.
A broader smile crept across Anthony's face as he observed Aura Nova gearing up. "Here I come," he stated plainly. Yet, in contrast to her, he skipped any formal fighting pose and just advanced.
Aura Nova kept her azure eyes fixed on Anthony, but suddenly her instincts blared louder than ever. Before her brain could process the alarm or figure out the cause, her body reacted on autopilot, her arms whipping sideways at incredible velocity.
A thunderous clash of steel on steel detonated like a nuclear blast when she halted the invisible assault. The blow's immense power crashed into Aura Nova, knocking her airborne and sending her tumbling back through the sky.
While her form hurtled away, Aura Nova's thoughts whirled in confusion. It made no sense to her. Anthony had been right there in her view, but then her warnings had flared and her body had acted independently. Even so, the Anthony she'd spotted remained in position, unmoved even after her parry.
'Incredible velocity,' she mused inwardly, a spark of awe lighting her eyes. Anthony's pace was so extreme that it created a solid lingering image, tricking her vision into seeing it as the actual him.
'No air shift registered at all,' she noted while swiftly reclaiming command of her form in the following instant. She spun gracefully in midair, righting herself before touching down, her boots gouging fiercely into the soil as she slid to a halt, leaving long furrows behind.
Her vision locked onto Anthony's previous spot. 'I must adjust—'
Her instincts hijacked her form once more before the idea completed. She blurred sideways in evasion, choosing not to intercept this time. The prior collision still left her palms aching, the bones inside humming with discomfort.
As she evaded, time itself appeared to halt, like the universe scoffing at her persistent endurance. Right after, the atmosphere howled and ripped apart from a explosive strike, with slashing sword trails bursting forth, shredding the area Aura Nova had just vacated. Air, noise, ground, breeze, grit—anything touched by that lone swing faced utter destruction.
A violent quake ripped across the battleground, whipping up dust in a furious storm that billowed skyward in a fungal cloud. Vast fissures and gullies yawned open from one blow alone, a strike aimed only at felling a single fighter.
Aura Nova reappeared several kilometers distant, her thoughts churning as she grappled with the events. Ever since Anthony's initial dash, she hadn't glimpsed, detected, or registered him whatsoever. She realized that without her automatic responses, gut feelings, and intuition, she'd be a corpse on the dirt by now.
Though stunned by Anthony's absurd prowess, Aura Nova understood she couldn't keep depending only on automatic dodges, innate senses, and gut moves for survival. That wasn't combat; it was mere luck. She required an edge. Something—anything—to let her at least detect Anthony. If she could spot just his shadow or glimpse a hazy trace of his path, it'd suffice.
Suddenly, an idea hit her: Sword Intent.
She recognized that pitting it head-on against Anthony would prove useless, but in this pinch, it could bolster her own abilities. With that resolve, her Sword Intent sparked to life, a brilliant yet subdued blue. It didn't surge out wildly. Rather, guided by her masterful restraint, it infused inward.
First, it entered her eyes, honing her sight past human bounds. Next, it surged into her mind, sparking her nerves with sharp precision. It coursed along her spine and through her core system, weaving into each fiber like flashing currents. From there, it permeated her body's framework—muscles, skeleton, connections, sinews, vital parts, blood vessels, and conduits.
It fortified her deep inside.
No trace of the intent escaped outward. Externally, her figure looked utterly ordinary, as if unchanged. But within, she surged with tremendous power, agility, and might, every aspect unified by the quiet resonance of her Sword Intent.
Her upgraded sight, cognition, and neural network made the world's chaos crawl even slower. Floating specks in the haze stood out as distinct particles. The quakes in broken terrain turned into decipherable pulses.
At last, she spotted him.
The youth who'd vanished from her detection since unsheathing his blade. He loomed right by her side once more, defying space itself. His katana pointed upward, his expression blank as he regarded her coolly. Abruptly, the sword descended like a plummeting star.
Targeted straight at Aura Nova's throat.
'How can his speed reach this level?' Aura Nova wondered, registering only the blade hurtling at her with deadly swiftness and crushing momentum.
Not even a fraction of a second had passed since she'd settled here, but Anthony was upon her, as if he'd never left and she'd wandered into his territory.
Aura Nova purged all irrelevant musings from her head instantly. No space for reflection. No place for surprise. Now that she could track the incoming threat, and with Sword Intent strengthening her core, evasion was unnecessary.
Her paired short swords lunged ahead like paired serpents biting together. A devastating clash boomed as destructive steel met steel, the force imploding then blasting out in a roaring surge.
The clamor echoed over the field like a chorus of swords in furious accord. With the duo leading the charge, metal served as the melody, turning the arena into a grand stage where war anthems and lethal beats swirled in chaotic delight and boundless frenzy.
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