MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 926: Fifteen Minutes

Kingsley Sky remained fixed in a kneeling position on the floor, his knees pressed hard against the ground. His golden gaze was locked onto Aura Nova, who drifted in the air above like a divine architect, the supreme creator, and the ultimate judge of all existence.

She floated there without effort, her sheer presence distorting the very air. It felt as though the entire world continued to exist only by her grace. Kingsley struggled to process his emotions following this spar. A chaotic mixture of confusion, irritation, wonder, and skepticism swirled within his mind, yet none of these feelings managed to break through his surface.

For his entire life, he had been a powerhouse... or more accurately, ever since he was granted his Universal Blessing, immense strength had been the only reality he knew. No opponent had ever been a true challenge. During his military service, every mission he undertook was finished with absurd ease and flawless precision.

Foes were crushed before they could react, dangers were neutralized before they could grow, and conflicts were settled before they truly started. Combat had eventually turned stale, becoming a tedious routine that offered no stimulation. Only his relentless martial training provided a sense of purpose, giving him something to sharpen and refine.

However, that era of ease had vanished.

The shift began about two years prior, the moment he crossed paths with a youth named Null Anthony.

Since meeting Anthony, something inside Kingsley had transformed. He, who had always viewed himself as an immovable force, began to feel... different. For the first time, he was standing before a person of genuine power, a truly formidable individual who could match him without being crushed instantly.

During their initial mission together, they faced the Executioner—a traveler from a superior galaxy whose aura made Kingsley’s Concept of Destruction appear pitiful. That specific encounter had dealt a blow to his self-assurance unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Following that day, Kingsley committed himself to a grueling new cycle of training, driving himself with more intensity than ever before. He didn't train because of orders or for pleasure, but because he refused to remain at a standstill in a universe that had suddenly revealed its terrifying scale.

Then, his spar with Anthony took place.

Kingsley had sought to gauge the distance between them, wanting to measure the true gap in their power. But during that duel, the truth hit him with brutal honesty. He couldn't even keep pace. He failed to read Anthony’s flow or even track his physical movements. Ultimately, Kingsley was knocked unconscious by one perfect, decisive strike—a blow delivered without hesitation or wasted energy, radiating pure dominance.

Those consecutive defeats had reshaped him.

It wasn't a negative change, but a deeply constructive one.

He started inventing techniques—abilities he had never bothered to develop before because no enemy had lived long enough to require them. He designed variations, intricate refinements, and entire combat systems that transcended simple force. He established the Universal Technique and pushed further, creating a system to bypass his own universal constraints. Every single one of these advancements was crafted with a singular target in mind.

Anthony.

He had lived for the moment they would clash again.

Yet, looking at his current state, the situation felt almost absurd. Despite all those new techniques, his innate talents, and his meticulous preparation, he had still been defeated. He had lost to someone who, just like him, had only recently arrived on the Galactical stage. He hadn't even found the opportunity to test his new moves against Anthony, yet they had already proven useless against Aura Nova.

Kingsley pondered if there was even a point in challenging Anthony when the time arrived. What would be achieved?

He let out a soft breath, staying on his knees as Aura Nova’s words continued to weigh him down, both in body and spirit. 'What is the true nature of her ability?' he wondered. He grasped the basics—that she could manipulate reality—but what he had just witnessed surpassed such a basic description.

Under his End Of All technique, Aura Nova should have been annihilated. She was supposed to be wiped out entirely, erased from the fabric of existence and left with no means of defense. That technique had been used in conjunction with his Concept of Destruction, a combination Kingsley believed was absolute. Regardless of how Aura Nova twisted reality, his Concept of Destruction should have pierced through it without fail.

And yet, she lived.

She had returned.

To make matters worse, his Concept Erasure—the technique designed to strip the very Concept of Fighting from his foe—had failed to stop her. Or rather, it had taken effect... but she had simply transcended it. How she achieved such a feat was beyond Kingsley’s understanding. The logic of it was completely foreign to him.

'Three defeats,' he mused while kneeling in the quiet. 'Are there more to come?'

He glanced toward Lucian Darkheart and Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos. Though they hadn't lifted a finger, the mere thought of them caused a flicker of anxiety. He wondered, with total honesty, if he would fall before them as well.

His first downfall was at the hands of the Executioner.

The second was against Anthony.

And now, this third loss belonged to Aura Nova.

'It appears I might just be a frog in a well,' he thought to himself.

As he accepted this reality, his mind became steady. His aura shifted slightly, as if a lock deep within his soul had clicked open, or perhaps a dormant power had finally awakened after being sealed away for too long.

'It doesn’t matter how high Anthony ranks Aaaninja and Lucian,' he decided with calm resolve. 'I will face them. And if I am defeated, I will simply go back to my training.'

There was no trace of bitterness or despair in that thought. Only pure determination.

'But first... I hope my powers return,' he thought, looking back up at Aura Nova, who remained drifting peacefully in the sky. He couldn't comprehend how she had nullified every single ability, skill, and technique he owned. Even at this moment, Kingsley felt that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't activate a single power.

'Perhaps her commands are absolute law in this state,' he theorized. 'But would they hold up against Anthony?'

He pushed thoughts of Aaaninja or Lucian aside for now, simply because he had yet to see them fight.

"Aura Nova is the winner."

Klaus’s voice rang out from above, announcing the conclusion as Kingsley submitted to Aura Nova’s command. The sound of the declaration pulled Kingsley back to reality.

The instant those words vibrated through the air, the invisible weight forcing Kingsley to his knees evaporated. A moment later, his link to his abilities, skills, and techniques was restored as if it had never been broken. He stood up without saying a word. As he rose, a small smile touched his lips—a look that suggested he was the winner rather than the loser.

Though he kept it to himself, he had truly relished the fight.

Both he and Aura Nova had finally entered the cosmic arena, and both had a vast path of growth ahead of them. That thought alone inspired excitement rather than fear.

Kingsley stretched his limbs, his muscles tingling with adrenaline as they recovered from being pushed to their limits for the first time in ages. As he stretched, he knew he would be back at full strength in about fifteen minutes. That was all the time he required to recover his stamina.

After all, he had no wounds to close and no mana to restore.