MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1011: You Really Are Too Talented

Clenching his teeth fiercely, Aaaninja struggled to hold out against the force. His personal aura sought to erupt outward, surging up on pure instinct to challenge it, yet it got utterly demolished before it could even properly arise, as if it had never been there at all. Anthony remained silent, advancing with steady, composed strides toward Aaaninja, who now knelt beneath the immense disparity in their raw auras.

Halting right in front of Aaaninja, Anthony peered down at him. Serenity filled his eyes, and his face echoed the tranquility inside them. No sign of arrogance or overconfidence appeared in his manner, nor any hint of scorn or vanity. All that showed was the subdued certainty of a person who understood he surpassed by far any ambitions the wildest irregularities might ever pursue.

Defiance flared in Aaaninja’s eyes.

Indeed, he had witnessed the vast gap between himself and Anthony. Indeed, he had sensed the profound divide separating them. However, that didn't signify he'd abruptly surrendered his determination to battle right up to the finish. No, he'd press on until the very outcome. That defined who he was. Regardless of how impossible the chances seemed, he'd still try to forge ahead.

Moreover... he possessed fresh powers now, so without doubt at least one would prove effective, at least one would aid in breaking free from this oppressive bind. Fueled by that resolve, he directed the Time particles and mana encircling him.

Fractured Concept Of Ti—

Yet prior to completing the order to the Time particles, Anthony uttered, his tone steady; “Authority Of Severance.”

In Anthony’s sight, the world inverted. Existence itself morphed into an enormous fabric woven from innumerable luminous, streaming strands that extended infinitely through all being. Each event, each power, each bond appeared as a filament in that colossal universal pattern.

Anthony’s azure eyes locked onto Aaaninja. Uttering no further words, he cut every strand linked to powers and techniques.

The following instant, Aaaninja’s eyes bulged in terror and utter astonishment as he abruptly sensed his mana evaporate. Not fade. Not lessen. Evaporate. It ceased to exist as if it had never been present. His natural bond with the Time particles evaporated too. Even his tie to the River Of Time itself faded away entirely. The soul methods and techniques he'd honed relentlessly over years vanished. His bond with the blade at his side dissolved as though it had never formed.

Even the recent powers he'd labored to obtain got wiped out before they could fully take shape. And finally, though no less importantly, his Eyes Of Genesis disappeared as well. In place of that godly insight lingered merely normal white eyes, indistinguishable from Veronica’s.

“How...?” Aaaninja whispered softly, grappling to grasp what had transpired. He'd lost it all in a flash. “What sort of power is this?” he inquired, his pale eyes clashing with Anthony’s sky-blue stare.

A faint smile touched Anthony’s lips, yet he offered no reply to the query. Rather, he remarked on something unrelated, “when you lose, don’t bother going to the past like you did the last time. It would change nothing.”

Stunned afresh, Aaaninja froze. During his defeat by Anthony in the Starborn Tournament, he'd covertly traveled back through time via his mind's projection into the past. His sole aim had been to figure out his loss.

But Anthony shouldn't have known about that.

‘Did the Anthony from the past relay info to the current and future versions?’ he pondered to himself.

That... shouldn't have been feasible.

“You truly are exceptionally gifted, Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos,” Anthony stated evenly, like declaring an obvious truth.

Next, he lifted one finger and, in a gesture swifter than anything Aaaninja had ever seen or managed, Anthony slashed that finger over Aaaninja’s throat.

No ripping noise echoed. No explosive force struck. Aaaninja’s head simply rose into the sky. Then it tumbled to the dirt with a heavy thump. Blood sprayed out in a strange splatter. Shortly after, with one last inert crash, Aaaninja’s body slumped to the ground.

Anthony lingered motionless, gazing at the remains. After a pause, he let out a soft sigh, then, merely by willing it, he reconnected the strands he'd broken via the Authority Of Severance, returning all the powers he'd removed to the now-deceased Aaaninja.

‘Perhaps I overdid it this round,’ Anthony mused inwardly. But seconds later, he gave a slight shake of his head. Aaaninja's mind wasn't fragile enough to break from such a setback. ‘Maybe next time... I'll let him unleash those new powers,’ Anthony decided in his thoughts, before shifting his attention elsewhere.

“Null Anthony wins.” Klaus’s voice boomed from overhead, carrying a subtle note of regret.

Anthony exhaled again, then faded from his spot, having no cause to stay. The instant he departed, the Time particles near Aaaninja started to quiver. They gathered around his form, twisting with time-warping energy. His detached head and body blinked out of existence before stuttering back into view.

Soon, Aaaninja rose intact once again. Breathing. As awareness flooded back, the recollections of his dying seconds surged into his thoughts simultaneously. He stayed quiet for some time, absorbing all that had unfolded in mere minutes.

Wordlessly, he inspected every power and technique at his disposal, verifying that each had returned and operated flawlessly.

‘What manner of being is he...?’ Aaaninja reflected mutely. He remained in place for an extended while, at a loss for how to respond to such dominating might. He recalled the disparity between them. He recalled how Anthony had divested him of every power without even moving a muscle.

And he couldn't avoid pondering, had that power lasted forever? Or was it just fleeting? The idea of such a force being eternal sent shivers racing down his back. The disasters it could unleash were unimaginable.

Aaaninja breathed out softly before shutting his eyes, then reopened them. He'd anticipated this confrontation for full three years, three years of rigorous training, three years of readying himself... And it concluded in what...? Mere minutes?

Gradually, his mind turned to another person: Lucian Darkheart. The individual who'd repeatedly cautioned him about Null Anthony. Upon reflection, something seemed off. He and Lucian had encountered Anthony on the very same day, so why had Lucian always felt so sure Anthony would stay unbeatable?

‘He surely holds some secret,’ Aaaninja determined silently; he'd question Lucian at the appropriate moment.

Aaaninja sighed anew as the burden of defeat weighed profoundly on him. It hurt more intensely than anticipated, yet nothing remained to accomplish here; he shook his head lightly, then, saying nothing further, he dissolved from his position, abandoning the field of battle.

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