MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 940: Cosmic Severance

A state of absolute ruin and madness had consumed the entirety of the separate plane. The atmosphere was thick with acrid fumes and a suffocating pressure that made the air itself feel heavy. Reality had partially liquefied, warping into unstable layers that struggled to remain cohesive.

Far below, the ground had transformed into a turbulent ocean of molten lava, where white-hot cracks pulsed beneath flowing rivers of fire. Toxic smoke and dense haze choked every corner of the dimension, blinding the senses and drowning the world in a lethal fog.

The overwhelming power of Anthony’s strike had even crippled the separate plane's regenerative functions, which were usually instantaneous. The world no longer repaired itself with its former speed. Instead, the fabric of reality groaned under the strain, hesitating as if it feared that fixing itself would only lead to being shattered once more.

Floating serenely above the devastation he had caused, Anthony hovered in the air. His posture remained relaxed and his presence detached, as if he were a mere spectator to the carnage. With a neutral, unreadable expression, his sky-blue eyes remained locked in a single direction, waiting for the inevitable.

Space began to ripple unnaturally where he was looking, unfurling like the petals of a blooming flower. The very fabric of existence peeled back, and Lucian emerged from the distortion with staggered, shaky movements.

Every inch of Lucian’s frame was wracked with agony. His body was a map of destruction, covered in deep lacerations and battered flesh as blood flowed freely from his many wounds. Despite the physical ruin, a fierce fire of defiance and resolve burned in his eyes. Anthony’s attack had managed to reach him even though he had been hiding within a layered dimensional space.

That outcome was to be expected. If Klaus’s pocket space could be annihilated, Lucian’s significantly weaker dimensional sanctuary stood no chance.

Lucian had only survived because he had desperately funneled massive amounts of mana into his layered dimension throughout the duration of Anthony’s technique. A single moment of hesitation would have resulted in his total erasure. It was only through this sheer expenditure of energy that he was merely mutilated rather than dead, as Anthony’s strike had sliced through the dimensions with terrifying ease.

Lucian's innate healing factor kicked in immediately. Bones snapped back into place and flesh began to knit together in a matter of seconds. However, the damage dealt to his essence—the very core of his life—was far too profound for natural regeneration to fix.

With a sharp thought, Lucian triggered his Event Rewriting ability.

Reality bowed to his will.

In a flash, his fractured essence was mended as if the trauma had never occurred. He pushed further, rewriting the state of his mana to instantly replenish his depleted reserves to their maximum. This was Lucian's strategy for contending with Anthony: a cycle of continuous event rewriting to grant himself effectively infinite mana and stamina.

Now restored to his peak condition, Lucian looked up at Anthony, who still floated with the arrogance of one who owned the heavens. Without further delay, Lucian unleashed a sequence of abilities he had mimicked over a lifetime of combat.

"Dimensional Lock!"

His voice thundered through the ruined plane. Space violently constricted around Anthony, folding inward to create a cage intended to pin him motionless in the void.

Anthony didn't fight it. He didn't even flinch. He simply watched the progression of Lucian’s technique with a look of cold indifference.

"Cosmic Severance!"

As the command left Lucian’s lips, the universe seemed to grind to a halt. In the following heartbeat, a massive blade of energy erupted from Lucian, tearing through the vacuum toward Anthony with the intent to cleave him in two. The Dimensional Lock had been set specifically to ensure the target could not dodge.

But Anthony had no intention of escaping.

The very idea of flight was laughable.

Though the Dimensional Lock restricted the space around him, Anthony simply raised a hand as the Cosmic Severance approached and casually batted it away like an irritating gnat. The strike rebounded instantly, flying back at Lucian with even greater velocity and power, amplified by Anthony’s touch.

Lucian didn't dare stay in its path. Knowing that Cosmic Severance could bypass almost any defense, he opted for the most basic counter: teleportation. He vanished in a flicker, letting the reflected blade carve through the already fragile plane, further shattering the stability of reality.

The moment Lucian reappeared, his eyes widened in shock.

A presence loomed right beside him.

His mind raced, wondering how Anthony could have closed the distance so fast. He tried to retreat, but he was already too slow. Anthony’s fist was already in mid-swing.

With a force that felt like it could crush worlds, Anthony’s punch buried itself into Lucian’s midsection. Space warped at the point of impact, sending violent shockwaves outward. Lucian, unable to evade at such close range, reacted by instinct with a counter-move.

"Existence Erasure!"

This was a lethal ability designed to wipe anything his fingertips touched from the face of reality. However, before his hand could reach Anthony, a horrifying sensation washed over him.

His palm was severed from his wrist.

Anthony had predicted the counter-attack before Lucian had even fully committed to the motion.

Blood sprayed as Lucian’s detached hand fell. His body was sent hurtling backward, slamming into the molten ground below. The impact created a massive crater in the lava and shattered earth as he skidded to a stop.

Lucian refused to stay down, forcing himself to his feet. But before he could take a second step, Anthony’s voice resonated through the air—chilling, steady, and absolute.

"Cosmic Severance."

Unlike the singular strike Lucian had used, Anthony unleashed a literal storm. Hundreds of spatial blades filled the sky in an instant, converging on Lucian from every conceivable angle, each one aimed to shred him to pieces.

Lucian’s expression twisted. He had initiated the technique, yet Anthony had not only copied it instantly but improved upon it, wielding it with a level of mastery that was utterly overwhelming.

As the net of slashes closed in like an executioner's shroud, Lucian teleported again in a desperate bid for survival. To his horror, the attacks were already waiting for him at his destination.

In the next breath, the barrage struck him at point-blank range with surgical precision. His body was violently torn apart, flesh shredded and blood erupting in a crimson mist. The slashes carved through him without mercy, leaving nothing but ruin.

Lucian didn't hesitate to trigger another stolen technique.

"Temporal Anchor!"

Mana surged violently as reality was forced backward. His existence snapped back to the point he had anchored moments before, rewinding the trauma and forcibly restoring his body before the fatal damage could take hold.