MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 925: Root Access Mode

A heartbeat later, their eyes collided with fresh intensity—azure meeting gold—as both combatants regained their footing almost simultaneously. Aura Nova had mended only her external wounds; she hadn't dared to fix her essence yet, fearing it would deplete her dangerously low mana levels. Meanwhile, Kingsley had managed to recover just enough physical strength to regain his mobility.

The brief tactical stalemate shattered instantly. Both moved at the same time, each preparing to deploy their final trump card. The atmosphere grew heavy with tension, as if reality itself recognized that the duel was reaching its ultimate conclusion.

However, Kingsley struck before Aura Nova could finalize her command or finish gathering her mana.

He required no mana and no lengthy preparation. Consequently, he didn't need even a microsecond to act.

Kingsley had ascended to a level where he could now delete a Concept, provided it was a minor one.

The moment the technique was unleashed, Aura Nova was paralyzed. Her hand stopped in mid-air. Her frame locked, her thoughts went silent, and her very will was suspended. The mana that had been a pulse away from exploding suddenly halted, flowing backward into her mana core as if it had never been stirred.

‘What am I doing?’ Aura Nova suddenly questioned. ‘Why am I fighting at all?’ Her internal monologue echoed with an eerie, unnatural gentleness. ‘I ought to be home with Uncle Rain, focusing on my training and growing stronger,’ she mused. ‘I shouldn't be out here hurting others. I should be peaceful... tranquil.’

Her arm drifted upward in a dreamlike state, her sky-blue eyes vacant. Her attention turned toward Kingsley, who stood across from her in silence, observing her every move.

‘I can't remember why I was even battling him,’ she thought to herself. ‘It appears I still haven't mastered my bloodlust... sigh. All the fighting since my awakening truly turned me into a combat addict. I hope Uncle Rain doesn't get upset.’ In that instant, the fierce grin that usually defined Aura Nova’s face vanished. Her fighting spirit, her passion for war, and her hunger for strife evaporated into nothingness.

This was the pinnacle of Kingsley’s power.

Concept Erasure had deleted a minor Concept: the very Concept of Fighting. When Kingsley utilized this, he could erase an opponent's drive to resist and everything associated with combat, forcing them to surrender completely.

That was the exact fate that had befallen Aura Nova.

With the Concept of Fighting erased, her battle intent was gone.

Kingsley had developed this method for adversaries like Anthony and nightmares like the Executioner. If victory could not be achieved through raw power, he would find an alternative route. This was that path: strip away their will to fight, then finish them.

But Aura Nova was a different case. He had no desire to take her life. She was not the kind of foe who deserved such a fate.

‘I should just quit... it’s not worth the effort,’ Aura Nova thought softly. Her gaze drifted toward the heavens as she prepared to concede the match.

Suddenly, her body seized.

Her Omniedit ability had triggered on its own.

‘What am I doing?’ she asked, confused. An instant later, something deep within her soul snapped, as if a thick curtain had been violently torn down.

This wasn't the first instance of Omniedit acting independently. It frequently intervened during dire straits, particularly when she obliterated her own mana core during intense training. Now, it had intervened once more.

Clarity returned to Aura Nova’s eyes. ‘Was that an illusion?’ she wondered. ‘No... I would have sensed it.’

Kingsley saw the immediate change in her expression. His eyes grew narrow as the realization hit him with the force of a blade.

She had somehow bypassed his Concept Erasure.

His massive blunder was now clear; he had failed to kill her while she was vulnerable.

He dropped into a crouch, muscles tensing as energy flooded his body. With a deafening boom, he lunged at Aura Nova, determined to end the fight right then. However, his speed was no longer peerless, his stamina was fading, and his physical constraints were finally showing.

Aura Nova watched his approach and, without a moment's pause, opened her mouth.

As the command was uttered, all of existence stood still. The galaxy paused. Everything within the Acarnis Galaxy was frozen in time. Suns stopped flaring, stars ceased their glow, and planets halted in their tracks as if time itself had been locked away. It felt as though an impossible, forbidden presence had descended upon the world.

Then, a second later, the world snapped back into motion.

A massive wave of unidentified energy erupted between the two fighters. The impact hit Kingsley at point-blank range, giving him no room to maneuver. His body was thrown backward like a leaf in a hurricane, smashing through trees and earth as he was blasted away.

Aura Nova ascended slowly into the air.

Her face became distant and vacant. A staggering amount of mana surged into her, followed by a foreign energy that flooded her consciousness. Another power enveloped her like a protective shell, sealing her inside layers of brilliant light.

Then the shell burst, sending shards of light scattering like dying embers through the sky.

There she hovered.

Aura Nova’s hair now contained every color imaginable, each strand vibrating with impossible light. Her form became truly ethereal, radiating a blinding white glow. Her eyes remained sky-blue, but they burned with a fiercer fire than ever before.

Aura Nova had never felt... more alive... more complete.

She had never utilized Root Access Mode before because it had never been necessary. But because of Kingsley, she was pushed to her limit. She couldn't take any chances against a man capable of erasing Concepts.

She looked down at Kingsley, who had already gotten back up and was ready for more.

But it was useless; in this state, Aura Nova felt like a god.

"Kneel."

The command left her lips without force or pressure. It was said simply, almost casually, yet in that moment, her speech was the ultimate law, and reality obeyed her command.

Kingsley felt the weight immediately.

His legs gave way violently as he was forced to the earth, slamming onto his knees. His eyes stretched wide in pure shock, his face pale with disbelief.

Aura Nova wasn't finished yet.

"You shall be stripped of all abilities."

It wasn't a request. It wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't an opinion.

It was a fact.

And in that heartbeat, Kingsley felt everything vanish.

His techniques. His skills. His Concepts. His very power.

Everything was gone. He felt hollowed out and empty, yet he could do nothing but sit there and take it.

"State your loss."

Aura Nova’s voice rang out again, calm and impartial, as she looked down at him as if she were the creator of the very galaxy Kingsley stood upon.

Kingsley’s head jerked up. He tried to move, to trigger some hidden reserve, but Aura Nova had already removed every possible path to victory.

"I forfeit," Kingsley finally uttered.

His voice resonated through the isolated dimension. And with those words, a deep silence fell over the world.

Aura Nova had triumphed.

Kingsley Sky had been defeated.