MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1097: Scythe Intent

As Anthony remained still, his sword still sheathed, the Blood Queen made her move in a flash, appearing as if from thin air. Her claws lunged towards Anthony's nape, but surprise attacks proved ineffective against him. With astonishing agility, he turned, his left hand a blur as he seized her wrist. Then, with immense power, his right fist slammed into her abdomen.

Driven backward by the impact, she rocketed through the debris of asteroids, crashing onto a moon before finally halting her momentum. The surrounding space dust dispersed as if fleeing her overwhelming force.

Anthony floated serenely, a smile gracing his lips as he addressed her. "I wonder what the Vampires of the Vampire Domain would say if they saw their queen resorting to sneak attacks," he quipped, his voice dripping with taunting amusement.

With a deafening roar, the moon where the Blood Queen was embedded crumbled into countless lunar fragments. Her power surged with every passing moment, the very fabric of void seemingly vibrating in response to her escalating fury, as if reality itself struggled to contain the pressure of her presence.

"As you can witness, your futile attempts at draining me and deciphering my fighting style were ultimately in vain. However, I acknowledge your efforts," Anthony added, speaking as if he were not the primary catalyst for the unfolding events.

The Blood Queen remained silent; the time for words had long passed, and her quietude now carried more weight than any utterance. She simply raised a hand, and a blood-red scythe materialized in her grasp, exuding a menacing aura that appeared to distort the surrounding space. Anthony merely raised an eyebrow as he calmly drew his own sword with effortless grace, his composure betraying no hint of apprehension.

In the ensuing moment, Sword Intent and Scythe Intent erupted from Anthony and Elara, respectively, expanding like unseen tempests as they locked gazes—one with exhilaration and thrill, the other with burning hatred and unbridled rage.

Instantly, they both vanished from their positions, space itself fracturing under the sheer velocity of their movements. With cataclysmic force, their weapons clashed like the final embers of a dying star. The instant their blades met, they disappeared once more, their forms flickering through the vacuum of space without cessation, as though distance had lost all significance.

They did not decelerate. They did not waver. They did not speak.

In a streak of motion, they appeared atop a star, and with phantom-like speed, they raced across its incandescent surface, their blades endlessly colliding. Their movements defied all logic and comprehension. Anthony's expression was one of a smile as he fought, his katana a blur in perfect sync with his hands, meeting each of the Blood Queen's assaults with tranquil ease and surgical precision.

The Blood Queen's visage was contorted with pure animosity, her strikes lethally accurate as she sought to draw blood. Her scythe moved as if wielded by the Grim Reaper himself, channeling death's own instrument.

Anthony's katana sliced downward, infused with devastating Sword Intent. The Blood Queen, without the slightest hesitation, evaded, her movements fluid and honed as she sidestepped with flawless timing. The moment she dodged, Anthony's katana bisected the star cleanly, its stellar energy immediately destabilizing before erupting in incandescent brilliance that illuminated the surrounding void.

But both combatants were already gone, their bodies reappearing on a distant moon. As they materialized, the Blood Queen's scythe descended swiftly towards Anthony's head, threatening to cleave it in two with ruthless accuracy.

Anthony's katana sang upward, meeting the onslaught directly. A colossal wave of cosmic energy exploded outward from the collision. The moon beneath their feet shuddered violently, quaking as if on the brink of disintegration, yet it somehow withstood the immense force.

The Blood Queen was far from finished; her scythe twirled within her grasp with practiced agility as she immediately drove the butt of the weapon towards Anthony's chest. Perceiving the incoming blunt force attack, Anthony reacted instantaneously, taking a step back as his body flowed backward like a tranquil river, effortlessly evading the strike with elegant precision.

The Blood Queen's scythe lashed out once more in a crimson blur as billions of scythe-blade-shaped manifestations of Scythe Intent erupted outward, converging upon Anthony from all directions like an inescapable tempest.

Anthony remained collected, his azure eyes gleaming with delight as he appraised the impending strike, relishing it as if it were the greatest thrill he had experienced in an eternity. His katana moved like lightning, and in response, incomprehensible amounts of silver sword lines, born from pure Sword Intent, ascended towards the heavens to confront the Blood Queen’s cataclysmic offensive.

Upon their convergence, the very fabric of space appeared to falter, then expand unnaturally, before violently detonating outwards. Shredding energies and unbridled chaos erupted in every direction. The moon they occupied was instantly obliterated, reduced to mere fragments and scattered debris, its former existence erased.

Anthony propelled himself from a shard of the moon, a swift streak towards the Blood Queen, his katana already poised in a deadly precise thrust. The Blood Queen reacted instantly; she didn’t deliberate, she simply reacted, her body moving by pure instinct as she raised her scythe to intercept.

However, just as their weapons were poised to meet, Anthony’s grip shifted subtly, his hold altering, his blade adjusting its balance and path as he flowed effortlessly from a thrust into a devastating sweep.

A flicker of astonishment crossed the Blood Queen’s eyes as she tried to adjust to the sudden shift in attack, but her efforts were in vain. Anthony's speed was astonishing, far too rapid to fully counter. In a blur of silver, steel imbued with Sword Intent sliced through the Scythe Intent enveloping her, carving into her flesh along her ribs. Crimson blood sprayed into the surrounding emptiness.

The instant she was wounded, she vanished from her position, retreating as she sensed Anthony’s Sword Intent breaching her defenses, ruthlessly tearing through her internal structure and very essence with cold efficiency. She hastily conjured her own Scythe Intent, attempting to expel the invading power. Yet, before she could fully manifest it, Anthony had already closed the distance, his katana once again a blur, set for another decisive thrust.

'Another ruse?' The Blood Queen mused internally, her mind working at breakneck speed to analyze the situation. She could typically discern deceptions effortlessly; her extensive combat experience, honed through innumerable battles, assured this.

This time, she opted for a more conservative strategy. Instantly, her Scythe Intent intensified, flaring with a sinister crimson luminescence. In the ensuing moment, it detonated outwards as an all-consuming, ravaging, and devouring wave of energy that rent through space and void as if they were naught but ephemeral illusions.

The unleashed energy struck Anthony at point-blank range. Yet, he did not evade; instead, he calmly observed the overwhelming force approaching, his offensive continuing without the slightest pause. Even as he absorbed the full impact of the Intent explosion, his katana surged forward resolutely, piercing the Blood Queen’s heart with a ghastly sound. It tore through her flesh as if it offered no more resistance than fragile parchment.